I smile as a group of parents try to keep their curious adolescent offspring away from the remains of a crashed robot.
"Things settled down here?"
Ah, yes, kids
dig giant robots. It's something primal to a boy's DNA, really. Robots, Dinosaurs and Superheroes, among other things.
"Yes, though we have filed to make any progress on deciding what to do with the nation."
"Is that really our job?" I shrug. "We can ferry home everyone who wants to leave and… Hand over everyone in the government who thought that slavery was a good idea to the Hague or something, but beyond that… Is it our job to impose a particular government on Genosha?"
You want to leave it to the UN? It's not like they could make it much worse, honestly.
"It is not. But there are risks which come with overthrowing a government, and I would spare these people its consequences."
"Oh, I know. They don't actually teach us about
The Partition of India in British schools, but they probably
should." Oh. "Um, funny thing…"
Ah, Europeans, swinging their big colonial willies around in other countries affairs.

Nigh-on five hundred years of
that shit...
"From the way you are expressing yourself, I suspect that it is not."
"Have I ever told you that you speak really good English? Especially considering your background."
I wouldn't be surprised to find the Professor uploaded it into her mind when she joined the team, since what little English she'd have remembered from her childhood would have given way to Arabic on the streets of Cairo, and then... The specific dialect of her
mother's tribe during her Goddess days..
"I think that it would be better if you told me your concern."
"I bumped into Magneto and told him about Genosha. Honestly, he seemed more worried about the fact that he had two children he didn't know about, but… He might end up heading this way."
Don't forget to mention reuniting Scott with his long-lost brother! You did
some good today, after all.
"And he will do to the unpowered humans what they did to the mutants."
"Not necessarily. There's far less advantage in enslaving baseline humans than there is in enslaving humans with powers. And… It's not like Genosha has been settled all that long. He wouldn't be kicking people out of their ancestral homeland or anything."
True
enough. Probably because only Europeans would
want that god-forsaken rock.
"In the future, please avoid passing information about our missions to our enemies."
I nod. "Will do."
Not that he's likely to be able to stop himself... But it had to be
suggested, at least.
She smiles faintly. "In your travels, were you able to find the courage to propose to Rogue?"
"Courage wasn't exactly the problem. But Scott helped me see that I was overthinking it. Do you know where Anne-Marie is?"
"Oh, also, I
kind-of invited her foster parents to the wedding, and
disinvited Sabretooth, just in case."
"I believe that she has retired for the evening."
…
"Okay, so, I'm not a woman-."
...I don't think she'll mind getting woken up for
this.
"Please do not ask me for relationship advice."
Yeah, she's right. If she didn't want to wait six months then she's not going to worry about making a decision fully awake. I can-.
No, seriously, don't ask Storm. She does not have the
best track
record, with
male or female partners...
Ororo sighs.
"Um, if you want relationship advice from me-?"
Ha!
"I do not. My powers are tied to my emotional state. Becoming attached to anyone in such a way would put all those around me in dire peril."
"Seriously, your English is amazing. If the superhero things doesn't work out, you should consider qualifying as an English teacher. But I also think that living without attachment is a half-life, and that it's probably something you could learn to adapt to."
...Is that a joking reference to the Movie-verse
Storm?
"Thank you, but I do not believe that it is worth the risk."
"Becoming a teacher isn't that hard."
Heck, sooner or later, you
will be, given the increasing rates of mutant births.
I keep a straight face as she stares at me, unamused. I'd make a reference to the Jedi, but Phantom Menace doesn't exist yet so the whole 'no attachments' thing hasn't entered the public consciousness, if it's even a thing at all in canon yet. I don't remember Luke Skywalker hesitating to engage in romance in the old Star Wars novels I read.
"I'll leave you to it. Excuse me."
...Yeah, Luke
did more or less have a new girl in every novel, until Mara Jade. The less said about earlier stuff like '
Splinter of the Mind's Eye', though, where he's teased with
Leia...
"Your shift begins in twenty minutes."
I stop in the air, wincing. I mean, fair enough, this is still a mission, but… "What would it take for you to make that an hour?"
And let's not kid, he can provide just about
anything she could ask for, short of reviving the dead or fixing the world.
"You would have to find another member of the X-Men to provide you with cover."
Hah! Joke's on her. Hopefully. Ring, is Cable still around?
I mean,
technically... He
has sometimes been an X-Man in the comics.
Location available.
Because I definitely saw an 'X' on his costume, and even if he only inherited it from his father I'm pretty sure he'd be willing to help. I-.
And best to not leave him to his own devices, someone's likely to end up
dead.
Actually, ring? Don't make me appear right next to him.
Compliance.
Good plan. Instincts honed by a lifetime of war might not react
well to sudden appearances.
I appear… Near the prison where they're holding the high value prisoners. Cable-. He's below me, moving his binoculars up to see what the glowing orange thing above him is. I wave down, lowering myself slowly towards him so that he can object or leave if he doesn't want to talk.
He lowers his binoculars and picks up his gun, but he doesn't actually point it at me as I drop to his level.
Well, that's a good sign. I suspect out of
curiosity, at least.
"What?"
"Cable, X-Man from the future. Needed a break from fighting Apocalypse?"
...And then Lantern goes busting out the information
no-one in this era should know...
His eyes narrow. "Something like that. How do you know me?"
"Parallel universe thing. Look, I need an X-Man to police the beach, and-" I point to his collar. "-you count. Help me out and I'll help you out."
I don't know, Storm
might object to a functionally random
stranger being invited to join the team, even temporarily....
He snarls as he looks towards the prison. "This place reminds me of Apocalypse's
breeding pens. Every one of them deserves to die."
"People seldom get what they deserve. I'm afraid that they'll probably just get live imprisonment. Also, none of them are going to be in a position to hurt anyone else ever again."
...You
hope. Still, better than letting Cable take matters in hand.
"And you'll owe me."
"I can introduce you to your father's younger self. I haven't tested myself against someone in Apocalypse's weight class before, but I think I can make myself useful. If that's what you want. Food and equipment, to transport back to the future?"
Hell, the Ring could probably do a number on En Sabah Nur's Celestial technology...

Or the Techno-virus in Cable's system...
He considers, then nods. "I can do guard duty. But don't tell my father about me. I don't want to erase myself from time."
I nod as I send out filaments. "Transporting now."
Bah, as if the Marvel Universe's timeline is that
fragile. Heck, in the comics, there's
multiple timeline-orphaned Summers children running around, including a
younger Cable.
We appear on the beach, and I detach my filaments from Cable before flying back to… Her original room. She didn't move, because her stuff was already in here. I land on the balcony and walk into the room.
"Anne-Marie?"
Presumably the fighting didn't take place in
her room, then.
"Uh?" The shape in the bed stirs. "Paul, hun? That you?"
"Yes."
If I remember right, the Professor helped pin down at least his
given name, correct?
Anne-Marie blinks, then yawns and stretches and my goodness, yes, those are magnificent breasts.
Right then.
Ah, mutants. They're either hit with the ugly stick a dozen times... Or they make supermodels look frumpy.
I walk to the side of the bed, then kneel and hold out the rings. Her eyes widen and I hear a sharp intake of breath as she becomes very awake.
"I love you and wish to spend the rest of my life with you. Marry me."
...Better hope her forcefield is in place
and yours, because the next moment is probably going to be a
very strong hug...