#And Jean not needing Cerebro

[x-mensirens]

Madelyn Pryor and Jean Grey in the Astral Plane

[thebestandworstdayofjune]

i'm down on my knees, i wanna take you there

summary: you are suiting up for your first mission, the only problem being everyone "forgot" (intentionally withheld) this information from Logan wc: 2.3k a/n: thank you thank you so much for all of your support about my other Logan fic!! I am really enjoying writing for him, and have a few ideas for this Logan as well as some for Worst!Wolverine aka Deadpool 3!Logan as well! More info about empath!reader's powers and her role at the school in this one <3 warnings: slight (incredibly) slight angst, protective!Logan, a bit of a hurt comfort vibe, Ororo, Scott and Jean are meddlers this is the previous fic with these two, not required reading at all, though!

The leather was cool and surprisingly soft against your skin. There had never been reason for you to have to accompany a mission requiring one of the suits before, and you were shocked at how comfortable the uniform was. Typically, when you were asked to help with a mission, you were there for intel. Scope the place out, get a read on the general vibe of the place. Your powers didn’t provide the same level of protection as laser eyes or a strong regenerative healing factor. You would typically arrive with Rogue, in clothes from your own closet and one of the least fancy cars from the garage. You would slip in, get your read, and get out. 

It wasn’t that you didn’t want to help, you just lacked the training that the other members of the team had. And after all, someone had to stay back to mind things at the school. When Charles had approached you a few months ago about some possible applications for your mutation that would come in handy on missions, you’d been hesitant. It was so outside of your comfort zone to load yourself onto a jet that you’d never even considered the possibility. You were far more comfortable in the library where you held English classes for the students, or helping Charles keep students calm while exploring their powers. Neither scenario included the possibility of a lot of violence. 

Ororo helped you finish zipping yourself into the suit, smoothing her hands along the sleeves before giving you a final nod of approval. Jean and Scott granted you small smiles and you did your best to look as confident as you knew they felt. 

They’d promised it was a simple mission, the kind they usually took students on when Charles felt they were ready to join the team, if that’s what they decided to do after wrapping up their schooling. Charles had heard word of a young mutant who had some kind of telekinetic powers and had recently had an eruption while at school. Everyone agreed that it would be best to find them and convince them to return to the school for some training with as little force as possible, only expedited by the fact that Charles had found them hungry and afraid after running away from home using Cerebro. In the past, the kids had been resistant due to huge amounts of fear, causing them to lash out. You knew they were right that your powers would be useful at times like these, and if you were able to help in any way you were inclined to. 

“The fuck do you think you’re doing to her?” You sighed. It wasn’t that you were all conspiring to keep this a secret from Logan. It wasn’t a discussion that you’d had to agree on group espionage. It just seemed that all of you had a sort of understanding that it might be better to ask forgiveness rather than permission. Not that you needed permission. 

Logan looked furious, and what’s worse, he felt furious. You and Charles had been working to extend your powers over further distances, no longer needing to touch someone directly to know how they feel. Though it certainly doesn’t hurt matters. You’d sensed him upstairs, seemingly pacing around and seething. You’d hoped one of the kids had gotten on his nerves, or something on tv had set him off. You could see that was foolish now. 

“We aren’t doing anything to her,” Scott had his visor on, blocking his eyes from view, but you didn’t need to see to know that he was rolling his eyes. “She’s chosen to accompany us on a mission.” 

“A small mission!” Ororo chimed in, doing her best to give Logan a reassuring smile. 

You checked back in with his aura. Still furious. But it was a nice try, you supposed. Logan’s hackles were raised, his chest heaving. This certainly wouldn’t do. “Can I have a moment with you,” you glanced around the room, briefly meeting the other three mutant’s eyes. “Alone?” 

Logan was still staring daggers at Scott. He wasn’t even the one who suggested you were ready to come along. Jean and Charles had approached you this morning. You laid a hand against his arm, hoping to lead him out of the room, but he flinched away. The pang in your heart was immediate. Did he really think you were so callous that you would ever use your powers without his express permission, or some kind of emergency. You could feel the tears starting to gather in the corner of your eye, your arms wrapping protectively around your midsection. 

Jean slipped one arm through Scott’s and took Ororo’s hand with her other, gently leading them out of the room. “We are going to check a few things with the jet, last minute.” She began to hustle them out of the room. “Call if you need anything!” 

The door shut firmly behind them, and you were left alone with Logan, who looked like he was going to start shaking. “I wasn’t going to-”

“You don’t think I know that?” You can’t help but recoil. You have never been afraid of Logan, even when it may have been in your best judgement to be wary, and you still aren’t. But you can’t deny that it hurts when he snaps at you. Especially when you thought, well. You thought you were growing close. You started to turn away, but before you could, a warm hand caught ahold of your arm. “I’m not… fuck.” He took a heaving breath, shaking his head as if he could clear whatever thoughts were bothering him. “I’m not mad.” 

Despite the serious energy of the conversation, you couldn’t help the incredulous look you shot his way. He tried his best to hide it, but you could see the corner of his mouth turning up at you. “Fine, I’m not mad at you.” 

“You know, you really can’t be mad at anyone, they were just doing-” you were cut off when you fell Logan’s hand traveling down your arm, and pushing your sleeve up gently from where it was covering your hand. He slipped his hand into yours and you felt yourself relax a bit. “Just, take a look, yeah?” 

“Are you sure you want me to?”

“I trust you, bub.” You searched his eyes for any sign of hesitancy, but all you found was trust. Complete and utter trust. You nodded, tightening your own grip on his hand. Doing your best not to let the gentle rub of his thumb against your knuckles distract you, you took a deep breath and opened yourself up to his feelings. 

At first you did feel anger, bright red and hot. You sifted past it, steeling yourself. The first time you had encountered such strong anger, you had felt as if you were going to collapse. But you were stronger now, more prepared to deal with these kinds of feelings. The anger was strong, but also surprisingly shallow. In the depths of his emotions, Logan was worried. Terrified. A deep dark purple that made your own hands shake. His grip on your hand tightened, effectively drawing you back to yourself. There was more, a soft inviting pink that you didn’t dare to touch and shiny bright gold, which told you he was proud. 

You opened your eyes, fighting back the heat you felt creeping onto your cheeks. His expression hadn’t changed, pure trust and tenderness. It should have been disarming, or at the very least surprising. Logan wasn’t so open and honest with people. But the two of you had always had different expectations for the other. 

You couldn’t help it, a smile crept over your features. “You’re proud of me?” 

He rolled his eyes, but his smile only grew. He took your free hand in his, pulling you in closer. “I’m always proud of you.” He hesitated for a brief moment, and you did your best to bite your tongue. You could tell Logan had been making an effort to open up lately, and not just to you, but that didn’t make prolonged silences and easier to bear. “I know it’s not my place to demand anything of you.” 

“You’re my… friend.” You cut him off, wincing at the pause. It didn’t feel like the time to pressure him into labeling whatever feelings may be floating around. “And I always want to hear my friend’s opinions. What’s bothering you so badly?” 

“I could hear your heartbeat from upstairs.” Your eyes grew wide, too shocked to try to school your expression. Logan had told you several times that he had learned to block out his enhanced hearing when he was quite young. Usually to tease you when you got on a long tangent about something you enjoyed. He pretended to zone out and ignore you, but he would always remember small details about your rants, bringing them up nonchalantly at a later date  “I, uh, keep an ear out sometimes. Helps with the worry.” 

He worries about you? Even more surprising, he’s listening to your heartbeat like background music to his day. You promise yourself you will ask him about it when you don’t have a room full of your friends waiting on you. “I thought we’d covered this. I can take care of myself.” 

He sighed, bringing a hand to rest gently where your jaw meets your neck. “Sweetheart, I know you can. But that doesn’t stop me from watching out for you.” 

Your hand moved to rest overtop of his. “The good news is that I will have lots of people watching out for me. You know they won’t let anything happen.” You receive a single huff in return. He’s not convinced. “You know that these are the kinds of missions we send the kids on. I’ll be fine.” 

He considers for a moment, before dropping his hand and nodding. “Give me a second to get changed, and we will head out.” 

You grabbed for his hand, but he was already out the door, and moving too fast for you to stop. “Logan, don’t be ridiculous.” 

“What’s ridiculous is you thinking that I would ever let you go out there alone.” 

“As we already established, I have three very capable friends coming with me. I am only going as a contingency plan.”

“Well then consider me the contingency to the contingency plan.” You huffed, following him next door. 

You darted around in front of Logan, pushing against his chest with all your strength, even if you were fully aware that it was the equivalent of a fly buzzing around him. He stopped all the same, eyebrows pulled together in frustration. “I know you’re worried and I know that this is you trying to help.” Logan had his I’m about to interrupt you look on his face, leaving you to shove him again. Thankfully, he understood your intention. “This is important to me. You can’t be there every time, and I have to stand on my own two feet. I want to contribute to the work we do here more than just teaching kids about how awesome Shakespeare is.” The look was back. “Which is still an important contribution.” You added, which seemed to appease him. “But, I don’t want it to be my only contribution. So I am going to go and make sure that this scared kid who is all alone out there makes it back here safe. And you are going to stay here and make sure that everyone gets dinner and help with their assignments. And then when I get back, we are going to have a talk about all this.” 

“All this?” A smile crept back onto your face, hearing the teasing tone in his voice. 

“Oh my god shut up!” He caught your hands before they made contact with his chest, but he was slow to let go this time. He brought the back of both of your hands to his mouth, dropping a small kiss on each one, before returning your hands to your side. 

“If you come back with so much as a bump to the head, Scott’s dead.” 

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes, and pointing out that this was exactly what you were talking about earlier did little to sway him. So you gave in, agreeing to give him a full report before slipping your hand into his and tugging him towards the jet. 

“We’ll be back in a bit.” You promised. You could feel the others staring from just inside the jet, but you barely noticed. Logan was checking over your suit meticulously, tugging zippers a few more clicks up and making sure that the collar wasn’t too tight around your neck. He kneeled down, checking to make sure the laces on your boots were double knotted. “Logan,” you laughed, reaching down to tilt his head up to look at you. “I’m too seconds away from sending a lot of exhaustion your way and leaving you passed out in here. You have to let me go, it’s going to be fine.” 

He remained kneeling for a second too long, a look in his eyes you couldn’t entirely place. The sound of the jet powering on broke the both of you out of your trance. He was on his feet in a flash, checking over you one final time. You rose up on your tippy toes, balancing by resting your hands on his shoulders, before gently kissing him on the cheek. You pulled back, nose scrunched up from the tickle of his facial hair. “We’ll be back in a few hours. Hold down the fort for us, yeah?” 

He nodded, pupils slightly blown out and a dreamy look on his face. You giggled, walking backwards for as long as you can before turning around and finding a seat on the jet. You could feel Jean and Scott’s eyes on you as Ororo began maneuvering the jet out of the garage. “Don’t even start.” You muttered, settling firmly into your seat, doing your best to soak up the pride and confidence the others were projecting into the cockpit. 

as always, feedback is so appreciated! if you have any requests for these two/wolverine in general, please leave them here!

next part

[awkward-walking-potato]

Do you write for charles xavier?? If so cloud we get a reader who just keeps bothering him while he is working cause they want his attention and every one else is busy? I hope you have a good day!

I hope you don't mind I wrote this Pre Wheels Charles

The afternoon sun filtered through the large windows of the Xavier Institute, casting warm, golden light across the vast room where Charles Xavier sat, surrounded by papers, books, and a holographic display projecting data from Cerebro. His brow was furrowed in concentration, his mind focused on the delicate task of tracking mutant activity across the globe. The mansion was unusually quiet, with the other X-Men off on various missions or training sessions. It was a rare moment of peace, one that Charles was determined to use to catch up on work.

And then, you appeared.

“Charles?” Your voice broke the silence, drawing his attention away from the screen.

“Yes?” He looked up, his expression patient but slightly distracted.

“What are you doing?” You leaned against the doorframe, eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Just some work,” he replied, hoping that would suffice as an explanation.

You nodded, stepping further into the room. “Looks important.”

“It is,” Charles confirmed, his eyes drifting back to the hologram. He tried to refocus, but he could feel your presence, still lingering, still watching.

“Everyone else is busy,” you continued, moving closer to his desk. “Scott, Jean, Logan—they’re all off doing something. I’m bored.”

Charles glanced up again, his lips quirking into a small smile. “And so you’ve come to bother me?”

“Pretty much,” you said with a grin, leaning on his desk now. “What’s that?” You pointed to the hologram.

“Mutant activity tracking. I’m trying to—”

“Sounds complicated,” you interrupted, picking up one of the pens on his desk and twirling it between your fingers.

“It is,” he said, still smiling despite himself. He could sense your playfulness, and though he knew he needed to focus, he couldn’t help but be charmed by your persistence.

You sighed dramatically, putting the pen down and plopping into the chair across from him. “Can I help?”

“I’m not sure this is something you’d find very interesting,” he said diplomatically, though the idea of you sifting through the data with him did amuse him.

You groaned and leaned back, staring at the ceiling. “Why is everyone always so busy? It’s like this whole saving-the-world thing never ends.”

Charles chuckled softly. “It does tend to keep us occupied.”

There was a pause, and for a moment, Charles thought you might have given up. He returned his attention to the hologram, his fingers hovering over the controls.

But then, you spoke again. “Charles?”

“Yes?”

“Do you ever just—” You hesitated, searching for the right words. “Do you ever just want to take a break from all this? From being the wise professor and the leader of the X-Men? Just…be Charles for a while?”

Charles looked at you, truly looked, and saw the sincerity in your eyes. It wasn’t just boredom driving you to seek him out; it was a desire for connection, for a moment of normalcy in a life that was anything but.

He sighed, leaning back in his chair, the work momentarily forgotten. “Yes, I do. More often than you might think.”

You smiled, a warm, understanding smile that made something in his chest loosen. “Then maybe you should take a break. Just for a little while. You deserve it.”

Charles regarded you thoughtfully. “And what would you have me do during this break?”

“Well,” you said, leaning forward with a conspiratorial grin, “I was thinking we could take a walk in the garden. Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, we could raid the kitchen for some of those cookies Hank made yesterday.”

Charles laughed, a genuine, light-hearted sound that echoed in the quiet room. “Cookies and a walk in the garden, you say?”

“Maybe even some tea,” you added with a playful wag of your eyebrows.

He shook his head, still smiling. “You’re very persuasive.”

“It’s one of my many talents,” you said, standing up and holding out your hand.

Charles looked at the work spread out before him, then back at you. The world could wait a little while longer. With a nod, he reached out and took your hand, letting you pull him to his feet.

“Alright,” he agreed, a hint of amusement in his voice. “Let’s go see about those cookies.”

As you led him out of the study, chatting animatedly about all the things you wanted to do, Charles couldn’t help but feel grateful for the interruption.

[fluff-lover]

Healing Touch | Chapter 4: Trauma

Logan Howlett x Fem!Reader

Story summary: You’re a new member of the X-Men. Your mutation allows you to heal other people: you can close any wound, and cure any sickness. You’re not a fighter at all, but you’re useful at the battle field when it comes to saving injured mutants.

Masterlist

It’s been three days since the incident and you’ve hardly left your room. No one in the mansion blamed you. You were still shaken up, so they took turns to bring you water and food. Ororo, Jean and Rogue would stay with you to keep you company for a little bit every once in a while, just to make sure you were fine.

You were alive, that much was true, but you wouldn’t say you were fine.

Despite being an X-Men you never experienced much violence. You were a lover, not a fighter. So when you suddenly got stabbed -by your friend, no less- you were shocked. The memory haunted you: the way your blood ran down Logan’s arms and pooled in the couch, the searing pain of his claws, the choking sensation as your own blood filled your throat… That kind of trauma would change anyone. As much as it pained you to admit it, for a fleeting moment you had been afraid of him.

And Logan…

The pure horror in his eyes when he snapped open and saw you bleeding. You could still hear his anguished cries out for help as he held your limp body on the couch. You were the one wounded yet you wanted to comfort him, to reassure him you were fine and not mad at him.

But he had run.

You didn’t know how to feel about him running away. Was he scared? Wracked with guilt? Did he think you’d died?... The questions broke your heart. You wanted to see him, to talk to him, but at the same time you weren’t sure if you should be afraid of him or not. He never meant to hurt you, you knew that, but he did and you hoped someday you’d be able to move past it.That is, if you ever saw him again. He was nowhere to be found.

Curled up on your bed, your face buried in a tear-stained pillow, you could only think about him. Was he safe? He’d left with nothing, not even a bag. The uncertainty made you cry harder.

Not knowing made you cry more.

There was a soft knock on your door and then Jean stepped in.

“Hey hun.” She said sitting down on your bed next to you.

“Any news?” Your voice just above a whisper.

Jean smiled kindly and nodded.

“We got a location. Scott and some others are heading out.” She replied. Charles had been working extra hard with Cerebro to locate Logan.

“What if he doesn’t want to come back?” You asked and sniffled.

“I’m sure he will, once he knows you’re okay and miss him.” She reassured you. “They’ll find a way to bring him back, I’m sure of it.”

“You should go with them.” You said. “If there’s anyone that he would do anything for, it’s you.” You added. It was no secret that Logan would follow Jean to the end of the world if she asked.

A flicker of something crossed Jean’s eyes, and she quickly looked away. 

“It’s not like that.” the redhead said.

“He loves you.” You sobbed. “You know it, I know it, even your fiancé knows it.” 

Jean gave you a pitiful look and sighed, she knew how you felt about him. She didn’t need to read your mind to know you were head over heels for him. It was easy to open up to Jean, even if she was the cause of your jealousy and envy. Even if you wanted to hate her, you couldn’t. 

“He’s never gonna love me back, but I don’t care about that now… I just want to fix things. Do you think I’m stupid for loving him after what he did?” You asked shyly. It was a question that had been plaguing you lately.

Jean took a moment to think and then shook her head.

“Love makes us all do stupid things, but the act itself of loving someone is never stupid.” Jean said while rubbing your arm soothingly, like a mother comforting a frightened child.

“I feel like I should be scared of him.” You confessed. “But I’m more terrified of the idea of never seeing him again.”

“Logan’s life is filled with violence, but I can assure you he never meant to hurt you. And he’d hate for you to be afraid of him.” She reassured you.

“Please bring him home.” You pleaded.

“We will. And I promise we won’t come back without him.”

-

“I’m cutting you off.” The bartender said as he pushed Logan’s glass away.

“The hell you are!” Logan said, baring his teeth.

“You had enough. It’s time to go.” 

Logan let out a low snarl and dropped some money on the bartop. Usually he would put up a fight, but tonight he was exhausted. The last few days were nothing but hopping from one bar to the other to get fucked up until they either closed or kicked him out. The rest of his time he spent it in a small motel room. He didn’t get much sleep though, everytime he closed his eyes he had nightmares of you dying in his arms. Not only he remembered that moment over and over again, but each time it got worse, more violent, more desperate.

He stumbled out of the bar and made his way to his motel room, his mind clouded by guilt and alcohol. As he pulled out the key and fumbled with the keys, he realized he had to get his shit together. He would run out of money soon, his healing factor burned through liquor faster than his wallet could keep up. Logan mulled over his options. Maybe he could go back to cage fighting? or go back to Canada?...

Just as he stepped into the room, everything went black.

The next thing he knew he was inside a moving vehicle. He groaned, the back of his head hurting a lot.

“The fuck…?”

“I think he’s waking up.” A voice said. It took him a moment, but Logan recognized that voice.

“Rogue?” Logan sat up and looked around the large car, his vision clearing after a moment. He was in a car with Rogue and Colossus, Scott and Jean in the front seats. And of all things, they were riding in a ridiculously looking Honda Odyssey.

“How are you feeling? We were worried Colossus hittoo hard on you.” Rogue said.

“What the fuck happened?” Logan asked, confused. “Did you punch me?” He asked, this time specifically to Colossus. The other mutant had the decency of looking ashamed.

“We didn’t think you’d come willingly.” He explained.

“What the fuck is going on? Where are you taking me?” Logan pressed.

“Back to the mansion.” Jean replied.

“No, you’re fucking not.” Logan protested.

“Colossus, can you punch him again?” Scott asked.

“Hasn’t it occurred to you that I don’t want to go back to the mansion?”

“Logan, this is ridiculous.” Rogue said. “The mansion is your home, you belong there.” Logan looked away. The mansion was the first place he could remember feeling like home. After a moment he managed to clear his head and gather enough courage to talk again.

“I can’t go back… What about Angel? Is she… Is she okay?”

Rogue smiled softly and nodded her head.

“She’s fine. She healed right away, actually. Barely left a mark.”

The relief Logan felt in that moment was like taking a deep breath after minutes under water.

“She wants to see you.” Jean said, catching Logan’s attention. “She’s been miserable since you left.”

“Isn’t she afraid of me?” Logan asked almost shyly. “She should be.”

“No. She’s afraid of losing her friend, though.” Jean replied. 

Guilt filled Logan once again.

“I never meant to hurt her.” He grumbled.

“We know, and she knows it too.” Rogue reassured him. 

“But you did hurt her, so now you have to apologize and fix it.” Scott said. Jean rolled her eyes and turned to look at Logan over her seat.

“Listen, you belong with us, with the X-Men. You made a mistake and someone got hurt, but that doesn’t mean you have to leave. This is still your home. And Angel is still your friend. She made me promise we would find you and bring you back.”

“She did?” Logan asked incredulously and Jean nodded.

“Mhmm, like I said, she’s really sad, and she misses you. She hasn’t left her room since you left.”

Logan didn’t know what to say. The thought of you being sad because of his absence made something stir in his chest.

Once they arrived at their destination and got out of the car, Logan looked at the mansion with hesitation. He didn’t think he would be back here, let alone to face you.

“Just an advice…” Scott said as he walked past him. “Take a shower and put on some clean clothes, you look and smell like crap.”

Logan growled.

“Thank you, Summers.” He said sarcastically. 

Despite his annoyment, Logan did follow Scott’s advice and got himself presentable. He never took so long to get ready before but that’s because he was stalling. He didn’t know what he would say or do once he saw you. His hands shook as he buttoned up his shirt and he felt like a teenager before prom… but worse.

Logan could face lots of villains with infinite power, yet he couldn’t bring himself to talk to you. You. Little, sweet angelic you. His friend.

With a groan and nothing left to do, Logan stepped out of his room and headed to yours.

To his surprise you weren’t in your room. He knocked several times but no one answered. At first he thought you were ignoring him. 

Maybe Jean was wrong. Maybe you didn’t want to see him.

“She’s in the garden.” He heard Charles say. Quickly turning around he found the Professor with a knowing smile on his face

“Are you spying on her?” Logan arched his brow.

“No, I just saw her on my way back from my walk.” Charles continued down the hall. “Can you believe that? I go on walks now!” He joked.

Logan shook his head and smiled softly before heading out.

He wasn’t surprised when he found you on your usual bench. When you heard him coming and turned to look at him, Logan froze.

“Hey.” he hesitated, not knowing if he should walk closer or not.

“Hi.” You said softly. “You’re back.” There was relief in your voice. 

“Yeah… I pretty much got kidnapped.” He muttered, awkwardly shoving his hands into his pockets.

“You shouldn’t have left in the first place. But you’re here now, so let’s celebrate.” You turned to pick something up and when you turned back around Logan saw you were holding a bottle of champagne.

“I’m not much of a champagne type of guy, sweetheart…” He said a bit confused.

“Oh, no, you got me all wrong. This is for me. This…” you turned around and picked a bottle of whiskey. “...is for you.”

That got a laugh out of Logan. How did you always manage to make everything better?

“You know me so well.”

“Come, sit with me.” You said, and finally Logan found the courage to get close to you.

Once he sat down he took the bottles from you and opened them. When you took the bottle of champagne again your eyes locked in.

This was it, this was the moment he was dreading.

“I’m so sorry, Angel.” He said softly. “I never meant to hurt you.”

“I know, Logan, I know. I don’t blame you for it.”

He raised his hand to stop you. 

“Please let me finish.”

You shut your mouth and nodded. Logan took a long swing of the whiskey, almost drinking half of the bottle in one go. Then he took a deep breath and looked back at you.

“Ever since I can remember, which isn’t long because most of my memory consists of scraps and broken parts, I’ve had really bad nightmares. I have bits and pieces of what happened to me when I was experimented on. And it was torture. It was insufferable pain. No matter how much I try to run away from that past, every night I find myself back in that room, with those needles and cables attached to me, the adamantium filling in…” He took a shaky breath in and then another swing of whiskey, trying to calm himself down.

You didn’t say anything, as expected, but you did place your hand on top of his, encouraging to go on.

“...I remember parts of wars I fought in, crimes I committed when I ran with the wrong crowd… people I’ve lost.” He closed his eyes and defeat. “I lost so many people. I can’t lose you too. So when I saw what I did to you, I didn’t know how to handle it, I couldn’t deal with it.”

“Oh, Logan…” You whispered, wiping a tear away from his cheek. Logan tilted his head on your hand, seeking your warmth.

“I won’t lie to you Logan. You did scare me that night.” You confessed, and Logan’s heart broke a little bit more. “But I think that is to be expected. Maybe for a moment there you lost yourself, but it wasn’t your fault. You’re dealing with so much trauma, and you’re doing it alone, there’s only so much you can do.”

“What’s the alternative?” He asked, sounding defeated.

“To let others help you.” You replied. “Let me help you.”

“How?” Logan asked, confused.

“I can try to use my powers to heal you, to heal your mind, your brain, whatever it is that needs healing.” You offered. “I can’t assure you it will work but it’s worth the try. And if it doesn’t then we’ll figure something out.”

Logan placed his free hand on top of yours. 

“You always help, Angel. It’s all you ever do, help others.”

“It’s what I do best.” You shrugged and smiled. 

“I will never be able to express how sorry I am for hurting you. Not just for physically hurting you, but also for leaving you when that was the last thing I should’ve done.”

“I forgave you already.” It was true. Before Logan came back your thoughts were all over the place, you didn’t know how to feel, or if you two would ever be friends again. But the second you saw him standing there, a look of shame and sadness on his face, every doubt flew away. You loved him, and even if you never got to be more than just friends, you couldn’t imagine a life without him in it.

“You’re way too good, sweetheart.” He shook his head in disbelief. “There has to be something I can do to make it up to you.”

You nodded your head.

“There is something! I want you to promise you’ll never run away from me again.”

Logan smiled softly.

“Only if you promise not to run away from me either.” You felt the weight of his words. He was asking you to stick around, even if you were ever afraid of him again.

“I haven’t gone anywhere so far, that’s gotta count for something, right?” you smiled. Logan nodded.

“You got yourself a deal, gorgeous.” He said, closing the deal. You smiled and blushed at the nickname. “So, where do we start?”

You pursed your lips, deep in thought.

“Let’s piece your memories back together. What’s the first thing you can remember? Do you remember anything from your childhood?”

Logan tilted his head.

“Alberta, Canada… I was a kid… I remember my father, he was a kind man. And then I remember running away, I was scared because suddenly I had claws…”

You listened closely and after a moment you raised the bottle of champagne.

“I guess we’re going to Canada…”

[loving-barnes]

LOGAN HOWLETT - 'HELL'

A/N: And here I am, still writing and I am here for it. I am actually trying a lot here.

Pairing: Logan Howlett x mutant female reader

Warning: mentions of blood and torture

Summary: Y/N shares how she escaped 'hell'.

Please, do not read if you are under 18. This story includes mentions of abuse.

Words: 4300+

Important note: Again, Logan is a tall MF, because they fucked up in the movies. Also, Hugh Jackman!Wolverine.

A TOUCH OF HOPE MASTERLIST | Chapter One

LOGAN HOWLETT - 'HELL'

Y/N was lying on the grass, enjoying the warm sunlight rays. Her right hand was in the air as she tried to make the force come out in a ball-shaped form. She finally made some progress.

Charles helped her train in his office. He aimed to teach her to make a protective shield around another person. Two weeks in, she made some progress. But the goal was still far away. On the other hand, she did learn something new. 

The ball-shaped forcefields were bewitching. Y/N could admire her power up close. It was a thin blue layer of radiant energy with a hint of silver sparkles. Beautiful. She hoped to get better and become useful. Now, she had the chance after all those years. It brought tears to her eyes for many reasons. 

If only I could get you out. 

The nightmares appeared every night. They changed, playing twisted games in her sleep. It was hard to close her eyes. Her past, her present, it all got mixed. They were suffocating her. And his face kept coming back to her. 

“How’s it going with her training?” Hank asked the Professor. He was standing at the window, watching Y/N in the distance from the office. 

Some of the teachers, the X-Men, were present, discussing the newest addition. The last one who entered the conversation was Logan, smoking his cigar. One look from the Professor, and he extinguished it against his palm. He gritted his teeth when he felt the burning sensation on his palm.

“She’s making progress,” said Charles with a smile. “We still have a lot of work to do.”

Storm walked to a window, watching the kids enjoy the sunny afternoon outside. And there, far away, she noticed Y/N practising her little forcefields. “Her ability is convenient, powerful. She would be great on missions.” 

“That is the plan. I want Y/N to be able to protect other people, too. She can create the forcefield around herself and in smaller forms. It might take us more time before she reaches her goal,” said Charles. 

“I don’t like her,” Scott confessed to them. “There’s something off about her.” Everyone’s eyes were on him. 

“What, that she doesn’t want to let anyone in because she doesn’t trust easily?” Storm glared at her friend. 

“She’s not telling us something.” 

“Would you tell your life story to a group of strangers you know for two weeks?” Kitty added. “If there is something off about her, the Professor would tell us.” 

Charles sighed and turned to his friends. “There is something I need you all to know.” 

“He, there it is,” Scott grinned. 

That single sentence got everyone’s attention. Charles wheeled into the middle of the room, eyes looking at every person present. Logan frowned. Storm was intrigued, and others kept their faces neutral. 

“Years ago, when I had been searching for more mutants, I managed to find Y/N. At that time, she was a teen who happened to discover her mutation. The plan was to bring her here. I wanted to send Hank to get her.”

“Why didn’t you?” Logan asked. 

The Professor sighed. “She kept slipping off.” 

“What do you mean?” Jean asked, confused. 

“When I wanted to find her location, she was nowhere to be found. Not as a mutant or a human,” Charles explained. “I thought she died. And then, months later, I stumbled upon her again. As I tried to reach her, she slipped again.”

“Oh, right,” Hank said. “I remember you thought there was something wrong with Cerebro.” 

“The Cerebro was fine. Until this day, I have no idea how it kept happening.” 

“So, she’s a telepath?” Bobby asked. 

Charles shook his head. “There was a time when I believed she was. It would make perfect sense. Only strong telepaths can shut their minds. That would explain why I couldn’t reach her.” 

“So, when you saw her the first time since Logan brought her, you knew who she was. You didn’t need to read her mind?” Storm chimed in. Her eyes kept staring at the Professor.

“That is true. However,” Charles turned to face Logan. “The fact that you found her was a mere coincidence. You two happened to be in the right place at the right time.” 

He didn’t comment on it, only shook his head in disbelief. “Is that all, Charles? Or is there more to this story?” He suspected that the Professor wasn’t telling them the whole truth. 

“This is all you need to know, now.” 

Groans echoed around the office. That answer didn’t bring enough satisfaction. What was he not telling them? Logan was ready to push his buttons. He needed to know more. Everyone deserved the truth. With a sigh, he stood back. “Why so mysterious?” 

“I will tell you more once I have more answers,” said Charles calmly. “For now, all we need to do is to help her train. She wants to be better. She suffered enough, and she wants to turn her life upside down.” 

“She asked you not to read her mind,” Jean raised a brow. 

“I don’t need to read her mind. We talk a lot when I teach her. I promised not to look in. When I met her, it all came screaming at me. All you need to know is I trust her.”

Scott scoffed and shook his head in disbelief. “That’s it?”

The meeting ended shortly after that. Everyone dispersed around the school. Logan’s legs brought him outside, his eyes quickly finding the young woman far away, resting on the grass. 

For the last two weeks, he didn’t talk to her much or see her for that matter. He observed from afar. Logan noticed how she started to open up to some of his friends. She tried to get to know each member of the school. Storm, Kitty and Rogue spent most of their time with her. With them, she was able to laugh freely and smile. Damn, that smile. He wanted to see it more.

He frowned. Why did he think that?

He saved her ass, and now she felt like a magnet. He tried to resist, but it was hard. Would it be that bad to know her more? He brought her here, where he promised she’d be safe. And from what he had learnt, Charles knew about her existence for a long time. 

Sighing, he moved forward. He took out the cigar that he hadn’t finished and smoked on his way to her. His eyes lingered on her body, eyeing her from head to toe. Compared to their first unexpected meeting, she seemed relaxed and happy. The bruises were gone. Only faint scratch marks remained.

Her hand was still in the air, creating small forcefields. The need to talk to her got stronger.  As if she were a water that would extinguish Logan’s thirst. Fuck, he wanted to know her more. 

“Hey, kid. How’s the trainin’ going?” he asked when he was close enough for her to hear him. 

Y/N turned her head to the side, eyes locking with his. “It’s fine, I guess,” she said with a fleeting smile. “I am trying to figure out how to make a forcefield around another person,” she explained. 

“Any luck?” he leaned against the nearest tree. He held the cigar with his fingers.

“No,” she sat up. “I got better at creating it in the shape of a ball. It still does glitch. But it’s a step forward. If only I knew how to project it around another person.” 

“It cannot be that hard,” he raised a brow. “It looks so easy.” 

She laughed at that. “If only. It requires a lot of concentration and energy. I can protect a person if they are next to me. I can wrap us into the forcefield. That’s about it.” 

A gentle smile appeared on Logan’s face. “Like you did when I took you out of that dive bar.” 

Her eyes widen. “Oh yeah,” she nodded. “I forgot about that. It was wild. I remember fragments of that day. Shit, the last days before you brought me here are kind of hazy.” She stood up from the grass and wiped off her lower back and ass. 

Logan’s eyes followed her every move. “Wanna walk with me?” the question was out before he could think about it. Even he was surprised he had asked that.

“Sure,” she nodded. “I wanted to explore the estate a little more.” 

Side by side, they walked away from the school and the noise. The estate reminded her of a gigantic park filled with trees, surrounded by nature and peace. She noticed there were well-trodden pathways. The students must have walked around the place many times.

“How did you get to that bar anyway?” he had to ask. 

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I kept walking until my feet brought me there. All I knew was to get as far away as possible.” 

He took a deep breath. “What happened to you?” 

Y/N bit her lower lip and looked somewhere away. “Um,” she hesitated. Was it wise to share it already? “I escaped a lab. I was a guinea pig for five years,” she admitted. 

“What?” It was hard to believe what she said. Why was he so surprised? He had his suspicion about this before.

“Yeah,” her eyes were focused on the ground, ashamed of the story. “I’m surprised they didn’t kill me. Five years to keep a mutant for an experiment is a long time. Before you ask, I have no idea how I managed to survive the torture and imprisonment for that long. Those years are a blur.” 

“Shit,” he sighed. “Sounds like a hell of a life.”

Y/N lifted her head, scanning Logan’s face. “The Professor didn’t say anything to you?” When he shook his head, she was impressed. “And here I thought you would already know about everything.” 

“It’s your story to tell, Y/N. It’s up to you if you want to share it with us,” said Logan. 

Out of nowhere, she started to giggle. Logan didn’t understand what was funny. “You know, you don’t seem that kind of a guy who does this a lot. But it’s nice.” 

“Shut up,” he rolled his eyes. He took another drag of the cigar. And Y/N laughed a little more. “When did you discover your mutation?” 

The smile disappeared. “I was around fifteen when it happened,” Y/N replied. “And it started a life full of misery and darkness.” One of her hands reached for a tree, mapping its texture with her fingertips. After all those years locked up in a lab, she never thought she would feel nature under her hands again. 

Logan didn’t question further. He noticed it was a heavy topic for her. She wasn’t ready to give him the details. Somehow, Logan felt he was the only person, except Charles, who got information about her past. 

“What is your mutation?” It was her turn to ask questions. She wanted to know more about Logan. Even though his rough exterior told the story of a withdrawn, grumpy man, he had the softest eyes. Were they green? They seemed like it. 

They stopped walking. Logan turned to her and brought his hand to his chest. When he closed it, three metal blades slid out of his skin. 

Y/N’s mouth opened. “Shit,” she cursed. “Does it hurt?” 

“Every time. I’m used to it by now,” Logan said. “They are made of adamantium.”

“Adamantium?” 

“One of the strongest metals on Earth.” 

Her fingers reached to the claws. Logan’s eyes followed her moves. She wanted to touch them. Before she could, she put her hand away. “Sorry, it’s just fascinating.” 

Logan’s heart skipped a beat. “Well, that’s a first,” he commented. “No one said anything like that before.” 

“I’m sorry,” she took a step back. “I didn’t want to overstep. Never had much opportunity to admire other mutations.” 

“It’s fine.” The claws retracted into his skin. Y/N’s eyes noticed the wounds instantly close and disappear. Her hands quickly reached for his hand, fingers caressing the spots where the lesions would be. 

Logan couldn’t believe what he had witnessed. It’s been a while since he felt such a gentle touch on his skin. Her hands were soft and delicate. He cleared his throat. “I heal quickly. In a matter of seconds,” he explained before she could ask. 

Her eyes lingered on his hand until she realised what she was doing. “Oh, sorry,” she let him go and hid her hands behind her back. “That was rude. I am so sorry.” 

She made him feel things he hadn’t experienced in a long time. It made him flustered. “That’s okay, kid.” 

The intense moment ended, and they moved forward. Y/N’s face was burning hot, embarrassed by what she did. Her mind focused on the trees and the pleasant weather around them. The air was warm even though it was autumn. The leaves were sparkling with a range of colours, coming from green to yellow. Some of them were red. It was her favourite season of the year.

“I’ve heard you save mutant children,” she changed the topic as they approached the school grounds. 

“Charles finds them, and some of us would collect them,” he explained. “I was on a mission to get a child that needed our help. Unfortunately, it was a failure. The facility was a trap. I was glad I got out. Later that night, I stumbled upon you.” 

Y/N pressed a hand against her chest. “What facility?”

“The one hidden in Salem,” he replied. “Why?” 

Y/N felt as if her soul left her body. All colour drained from her face. “Oh god,” she brushed her fingers into her hair. “It’s my fault,” and then she hid her face in her palms. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he turned his body to her. “What are you sayin’ there, kid?” 

It took her three deep breaths to look him in the eye. He wasn’t angry. It looked like he was concerned. “I was locked there, in the lab, for some time. I escaped a few days before we met.” Panic bubbled inside of her. “I know who you were looking for. I know the kid.” 

That night, that moment, it all came rushing back. It was like a movie, reflecting in front of her eyes. She felt it all: the pain, the horror happening in front of her eyes. She knew the child. He helped her escape. And she couldn’t take him with her. His screams echoed inside her mind. 

Logan gripped her shoulders. “Y/N, look at me.” He said her name for the first time. That did the trick, and she looked up, eyes meeting his. “There you go. Take a deep breath.” He could see she was listening.

“I have to tell you what happened,” she whispered. “You need to know. It’s my fault you went to a trap.”

Logan brought her inside the school. His hands rested on her shoulders as he walked with her through the hallway. When something happened, all the teachers would gather around immediately. Professor X would call them to his office. 

He helped Y/N take a seat on an armchair. A bottle of water appeared in front of her. It was levitating in the air. It was Jean’s doing. 

“What’s going on?” Hank was the last one coming inside, closing the door behind him. He had a white lab coat on him, and his glasses were on the tip of his nose.

“This better be good,” Scott scoffed. His hands were wrapped around Jean’s shoulders, holding her close. 

“Stop being a dick, dude,” Remy scowled. “Keep your mind shut.”

Y/N glared at Scott. He was the only person who didn’t sit right with her. That’s why, most of the time, she would ignore him. Luckily, he was sweet to Jean. 

She grabbed the floating water bottle and took a sip. “Logan told me about the failed mission,” Y/N started to talk. Her voice was low and timid. “He told me he went there to get out a child. He went to a facility that was in Salem - the same place where they held me.” 

Charles tilted his head, listening carefully. His face remained neutral. No one could read what he thought.

“I know the kid,” she told them. “His whole body can stretch as he wishes.” 

“Elasticity,” Hank stated.

“How did you escape?” Kitty’s voice interrupted the stream of Y/N’s thoughts. 

“There were five of us locked in that lab. We were in cells designed to suppress our mutations. It made sure we wouldn’t harm anyone or try to escape. That changed when they brought in JJ.” 

“JJ?” Logan questioned that name. 

“Jerome Junior,” she explained. “For an eleven-year-old, he was cunning. Because he was the youngest, he had the most energy. The rest of us were barely holding on. 

“Never underestimate a child. That’s the greatest advice I’ve learnt in there. I don’t know what happened or how he did it, but the doors to our cells opened. Somehow, he was able to get us out. That’s when hell on Earth started. To get out, we destroyed the place.” 

Y/N could feel the smell of chemicals and fire around her. As if she was back there, trying to get out of prison. 

The pain in her body was excruciating. After all those years of experiments and torture, she was almost free.

There were bodies on the floor - killed guards and scientists as well as two other mutants who shared the hell with her. They got them before she could put a forcefield out to protect them. So much blood was on her hands and face. When she looked down, there were red puddles. The smell was nauseating. 

“Let’s go,” one of the mutants shouted. The man was bleeding from his thigh and arm. 

“Where’s JJ?” Y/N asked, looking for the kid. She lost him during the fight. “I’m not leaving him here.” 

“We don’t have time to get the kid. They’ll kill us if we don’t leave!”

She was turning around, trying to find a way to get to him. “I said I am not leaving!” 

“Fuck this, I’m out,” said the mutant and fled the scene without anyone else. 

Limping, Y/N ran out of the destroyed lab and walked through the hallways until she found a swarm of guards holding the child. Guns pressed against the boy’s head as they put a collar on his neck. It beeped once, and a tiny light turned green.

JJ’s eyes found Y/N standing on the other side of the room. He did one last thing before they packed him into a truck - he shook his head. It was a sign for her to leave. Her vision blurred as tears hit her eyes. The boy got them out, and she couldn’t save him. 

“I tried to get him, save him, but they took him away,” her voice broke. She let the tears fall. “He was eleven, for fuck’s sake. He somehow got us out. I wanted to do the same thing for him, and I couldn’t.” 

“How do you know it was him?” Jean asked. 

Y/N thought back, trying to get to the point when she realised he opened the cells. “I remember him stretching his fingers. He must have found a trigger on the table that opened the doors.”

Ororo reached for her hand, squeezing it tightly. “You did your best. You tried.” 

“It’s not enough,” she shook her head. “Even now, I feel like a traitor.” The story was not over. “When I left the building, I wandered for a few days,” she continued. “I got some old clothes and hid everywhere - in the woods, old buildings. Without energy, I happened to injure myself more. I even took a fall before I found the dive bar. My body was in pain, my head a mess, and I don’t remember much when Logan got me out.” 

Silence spread around them. They all let the information sink in.

“When I came to the facility,” Logan started to talk. The attention was on him. “Many soldiers were guarding the place like their own eyes. They were ready to kill anyone who approached the building. I managed to get in but never got far away,” said Logan. “The place was a mess. As if a bomb exploded inside.” 

“It doesn’t make sense,” Kitty spoke up. “Why would they keep the place highly secured if it got damaged and took the child away? Think about it. Maybe they’ll use it as a cover-up. No one would think that the lab was still active.” 

“Kitty’s right,” said Bobby. “In the end, there are only two options. Either they did take him away, or he’s there, well hidden from the world.”

“They did it to evoke confusion,” Jean added to the conversation. 

“Scott, Jean, try to find as much information as possible about the facility in Salem. We’ll be better prepared to take him out of there,” Charles gave instructions.

Y/N jumped on her feet, letting the water bottle drop on the floor. “I’ll go with you.” All eyes were back on her.”I have to get him out.”

“You need to train more,” said Scott strictly. His hands fell off Jean. “You’ve been here for what two weeks? Forget about it. You’re not going on this mission.” 

“Mind your tone, Scotty,” Logan warned him with a snarl. 

“She doesn’t know how to fight or use her ability. She’s a newbie, a trainee. I will not put anyone’s life in danger because of her,” he pushed himself from Jean and approached Y/N. “If we go to get the boy, she’s staying here. Period.” 

Logan was close behind Y/N, ready to step in. But she stood her ground, not afraid of the Cyclops.

Jean reached for Scott’s shoulder. “That’s enough, Scott.”

Y/N approached Scott with one long step, glaring at him. “I survived a lot of things in my life. You don’t know what I am capable of, so don’t underestimate me, Cyclops. And don’t be a dick. I’ve never been rude to you, never did anything to you. So don’t raise your voice at me. I am not afraid of you.” 

“Oh yeah?” he challenged her. “You better start talking about your past life then. We know nothing about you.” 

Her fists clenched hard until her knuckles were white. There was a lot of anger building inside of her. And it showed. The forcefield started to glitch around her. 

“You can’t even control your power, Y/N,” Scott mocked her. “Look what you are doing.” 

“Y/N, please, calm down,” said Charles calmly. “Same goes for you, Scott.” 

She closed her eyes and took a step back, relaxing her posture. She knew better than to get riled up. When her blood pressure lowered, she looked at Scott again, shaking her head in disbelief. What a dick!

Turning on her heel, Y/N left the office without another word. Her walk was brisk, taking long steps to be outside as soon as possible. Of course, there would be a person who would make her freedom difficult. 

I will get you out. 

She wrapped her arms around herself and walked through the driveway to the estate’s main gate. She didn’t want to leave. She needed to walk and think. 

Y/N wanted to get little JJ out of that hellhole before it was too late. Fear crawled through her back, tapping on her head. What if they kill him before they get there? He saved her life. He helped her escape. It’s her turn to return the favour and secure him a better life here in a school for mutants. 

There was another thing that drove her to save the boy. But she didn’t want to open that door. After all those years, it was painful to think about it. 

Fucking bitch! How could you?! Cries were echoing in her mind. Psycho! Murderer! 

“Y/N,” she heard Logan’s voice behind her. That made her halt and sigh. “You okay?” 

She pressed the bridge of her nose. “Yes,” she said. 

“You are full of shit, ya know that?” he laughed. “Just admit that you are pissed.”

She spun around. Her eyes could kill. “I’ll get JJ with or without help. I don’t give a shit what you say. I will be the one who will get him out of that place.” 

“I know,” Logan nodded, understanding. “I won’t be the one who’ll stop you. If I were you, I’d do the same thing. And I would  punch Scott in the face.” 

She couldn’t help but giggle. “You have your way with words, Logan.” 

“I was thinking about becoming a motivational speaker,” he shrugged and smiled at her when he made her laugh again. “Bobby was right. We only have two options, and we must prepare before we leave to get the kid. I was there. I saw how many guards were securing the facility. One or two people won’t do it. We need a strategy.” 

“All I want is to help, get him out of there so he can have a better life than I ever had. I don’t want him to experience that much torture. I need…” she started to choke on words. “I need…” Tears escaped her eyes as she felt the pain inside her soul. Was this a panic attack? Her heart was beating fast. The world was crumbling down. 

Logan was quick enough to close the distance. His hands found her shoulders. “We will get him out. You hear me, bub? I can’t tell you when. We must prepare for the mission and gather information. We won’t make it far without a strategy.” 

She gripped his flannel shirt tightly, holding for dear life. “I worry he’ll be dead.”

He shook his head. “You said he was cunning. He’ll find a way to survive.” Without thinking, he pressed her body against his, holding her. “While we are planning, you’ll be training your power and how to fight.” 

She closed her teary eyes. As much as the hug was unexpected, it was comforting. “Promise me I’ll go with you.” 

Logan nodded twice. “I promise.”

[a-roguish-gambit]

I made a turn of the century x men evolution au

Hey everyone so a big special interest of mine is the period from 1900 to about 1928 so I decided what if I took the kids from the X-Men evolution cartoon from their point at the turn of the 21st century and put them at the turn of the 20th century instead...and also added a few characters. I hope you enjoy this. I have a lot for this au, and I'm gonna put it all under the read more.

So Au thoughts

 The year is 1912. Xavier has started his institute a few years prior with scott summers and jean grey as students. Scott was adopted by Xavier after his parents died in a train crash and jean comes from a family of doctors and scientists Xavier is friends with. 

Because no computers yet, as the microprocessor  has yet to be invented, Forge didn't get stuck in a pocket dimention and got to grow up he works for xavier. He helps design and build a modified danger room that's more steam punk/dieselpunk. Lots of things are gear powered and Holograms are projections onto steam curtians. Because no computers, no cerebro. But jean and Xavier have trained themselves to be able to sense those with mutant powers around them and have been working with a network of underground individuals, some cases literally like the morlocks, to find out about new strange individuals popping up in the states. The morlocks are much more involved in this. they are good friends with Xavier and frequently helps young morlocks train their powers. 

One of those individuals is Gambit. Gambit is 17 in this and does various jobs for xavier. One is listening through the grape vine for odd individuals popping up. The other is essentially working the danger room with forge. As The danger room  is more steampunk/dieselpunk in this, with storm's help as well it can simulate weather events, earth quakes, fires, unstable ground, flooding, (bb gun based) old west shootouts, explosions (thanks to Gambit), search and rescue, avalanche / rock fall settings, and much more. 

Gambit helps set up the room and make the mechanisms work.  it functions well with automatons, steam engines, pistons, and a lot of theater special effect tricks. Gambit helps forge scrap hunt for machinery to repurpose for it. He has befriended the local street children and finds out from them wherever a factory tosses out a machine. 

Speaking of theater though, we have morph as well as a staff member. Kevin is well known fairy(period equivalent  to someone who does not fit into either gender) and drag expert from New York where they worked on broadway and a very close friend of Logan. So close they share a bedroom....;)

Morph is there to help with tailoring as well as helping kids who need disguises to pass in public cause of their time in broadway and avoid harassment, like Kurt. 

They also help simulate battles in the danger room with foes they have faced off against before.

Kurt doesn't have an image modifier in this obviously. No computers, no digital holograms. But with forge and morph they are able to help him pass. Morph designs pants for him that have a  special pocket for his tail to tuck away, as well as boots with  special braces that help disguise his digitigrade feet. Morph also helps him with makeup and hair in the morning to hide his blue face and pointed ears. 

For his hands forge has built some prothstetic fingers that are controlled by the other fingers in his hand like a puppet, so it appears he has five fingers on each hand covered by riding gloves, as well as colored contact lenses for his eyes to disguise them as brown. 

Kurt's parents came to America from Germany with him as a toddler. People found out about their adopted son and they had to flee. They settled in a small German speaking community in the middle of nowhere Iowa where they could be safe. They would have a priest visit Kurt to give him mass in private for his own safety and had a nun come to tutor him. Xavier found out about Kurt through gambits grapevine. 

Ororo came from Africa as a citizen of  British colony egypt to Jamaica where she met Charles she has family living in the states via her sister who do  are wealthy merchants.  they were british colony  expats that moved to the states to control British imports to the states easier. Thus how we get Evan. Skateboard hasn't been invented yet so he is big into the turn of the century cycling craze as well as roller skates. 

 Rogue is still a goth. A very very classic goth. Victorian goth. She still dresses like it's the 1800s to in part keep others from touching her skin but also she is just a great appreciator of Poe and Shelly and stoker. 

One thing that is different for Scott is that on top of the train crash his brother havoc is still with him at this time. His parents are very, very dead tho. No alien rescues. (Forgot to draw Alex tho but he's there as are the minor character students)

Beast is also there more from the begining as a teacher he helps take care of the kids medical needs. He got kicked out of his scientific circle, not cause of his mutant ness that came later, but because he insisted doctors must wash their hands before interacting with patients. 

Jean grey is a highly educated absolute Gibson girl. She and Kitty sneak out to do suffragette stuff regularly.  Speaking of, kitty is definitely a girl of the new century. Wants to go to college one day with Jean. Insists on wearing riding/sports pants wherever she goes. She is girly in certain ways, but defs is a very modern young woman. She likes helping Forge out with his projects. 

Magneto's hatred for humanity in this case comes from his survival of the pogroms of eastern Europe only to see there is still antisemitism once escaping them. And mystique has a boarding house where the brotherhood kids live, but she wasn't principal of the bayview school. 

Wolverine is a cowboy in this au yes. He has a horse, but he's also toying with some of the very few motorcycles. They are more of dirt bikes at this point tho, so his horse his still his go too. It's a deep black mare named Blackbird. He does not have an adimantium skeleton but his claws have been capped with silver to help protect them. 

No x jet but they do have a few biplanes they are training with. Forge is modifying them to be able to cary more people. So far he's made one that can vary five. 

 Gambit introduces everyone to jazz cause it hasn't left Louisiana yet. He brought his Grammaphone and all hell broke loose from there. 

Also rogue having a bit more of a high society upbringing thanks to irene. Gambit hasn't had a day of real school as public school wants universally established until the 1910s. He knows his reading, writing, and arithmetic from Sunday school and such and whatever jean luc  had him taught, but he's excited to learn about what the kids are learning about in their normal school. 

Rogue brings him her study material and teaches it to him and in return he teaches her the various crafts and skills he learned in the bayou and as a member of the theives guild. 

Hope you guys enjoy all this!!! Please feel free to share your thoughts!

Tried to keep things period accurate outfits wise.

[welcometomytrashcan]

Before the Dawn: Chapter I // Logan Howlett

This is the first fic I’ve written in 11 years, so pls be nice. I’m sensitive. Also sorry for the formatting of the dialogue, I’m more used to writing scripts. 09/17/24 Update: I revised the dialogue

Logan Howlett x f!mutant!reader Chapter 1/4 Word Count: 1874

Background: You are a mutant with hydrokinetic abilities (think Percy Jackson meets the mermaids from H2O), and arrived at the X-Mansion 4 months before Logan. You started dating Logan after the events of X-Men but before he left for Alkali Lake. You are both in love with each other but have yet to confess it. Takes place within the events of X2, Canon violence, pre-established relationship, allusions to sex

Today was already shaping up to be a difficult one. You were taking the students on a field trip to the science museum, but your hopes weren't high. The prospect of wrangling groups of children still learning to control their powers filled you with dread, especially with the escalating tension between humans and mutants.

Things went from bad to worse when you heard raised voices coming from the museum food court. You quickly glanced over to see John, Bobby, and Rogue in an altercation with some human boys. Just then, the televisions blared breaking news, drawing everyone’s attention.

“An attempted assassination at the White House?” you murmured, your stomach dropping as the report unfolded. A mutant had infiltrated the building and tried to kill the president in the name of mutant freedom.

Later, you found yourself standing in Charles' office with him, Scott, Jean, and Storm, discussing the attack.

Scott crossed his arms, his expression grim. “My opinion? Magneto’s behind this.”

“No,” Jean replied, shaking her head. “I don’t think so, Scott.”

Charles leaned back in his chair, contemplating. “While Erik might have organized something like this from prison, it’s too irrational. It only hurts his goal of mutant prosperity.”

Scott scoffed. “You mean superiority.”

“If Erik had his way, yes,” Charles admitted.

You interjected, “You know how the government will respond to this. They’ll reintroduce the Registration Act.”

Storm nodded. “Or worse.”

“Do you think the assassin was working alone?” Jean asked, her brow furrowed.

“The only way we’ll know is if we find him before the authorities do,” Charles said. “I’ve been trying to track him using Cerebro, but his movements are erratic.”

As Charles continued explaining the plan, you felt a weight in your chest. You were assigned to watch over the kids tonight. Normally, you wouldn’t mind, but with Logan gone for so long and the events of the day hanging over you, you weren’t in the best mood. Still, you kept your thoughts to yourself.

Just as the meeting was wrapping up, a sputtering rumble from outside caught your attention. You stepped to the window and your eyes lit up as you spotted Logan talking with Rogue, Bobby, and Storm. You caught the tail end of their conversation.

“We need a babysitter,” Storm said.

“Babysitter?” Logan replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, with Y/N,” Storm added.

Logan perked up at the mention of your name, and your heart fluttered.

“Y/N? Where is she?” he asked, scanning the room.

“Right here,” you called, leaning against the staircase banister, smiling at him.

His eyes widened as he saw you—the most beautiful person he’d ever seen. He strode over to the staircase as you walk down, stopping on the step closest to his height. He wraps his arms around your waist.

“I missed you,” he said softly.

You cupped your hands around the back of his neck, trailing your fingers through his hair. “I missed you too, Logan.”

You pulled each other into a kiss, savoring the moment. But just as it deepened, you heard Storm clear her throat.

“There are kids around,” she reminded, and you pulled back, smiling sheepishly at Logan.

“Well, I should get the jet ready,” Storm said.

“Yeah, we should go too. It was nice to meet you,” Bobby added, pulling Rogue toward the common area.

As they left, you and Logan were left hyper-aware of the students passing by.

“So, what’s been going on here?” Logan asked, leaning closer.

“Well, you and I are on babysitting duty while Storm and Jean head to Boston. The professor wants them to track down the mutant who attacked the president,” you explained.

“Sounds like a blast,” he said sarcastically.

“You’re not gonna run off again?” you asked, tilting your head.

“I can think of a few reasons to stick around,” he replied, his hazel eyes sparkling with mischief.

You leaned in, kissing him again, pulling him further from any potential onlookers.

“You make me crazy, Princess,” he murmured, his breath warm against your lips.

“Keep that energy for later,” you teased, tugging lightly at his hair. He closed his eyes and groaned softly, and you loved how he reacted to you.

“Before we get too carried away, I should check in with Charles,” he said reluctantly.

You both pulled away, and he lifted your hand to his lips, kissing it gently. “We’ll talk more later, yeah?”

“Yeah,” you replied, watching him walk away with your heart swelling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night, after a passionate evening together, you were exhausted and just wanted to curl up in bed with him. You slipped into pajama shorts and one of Logan's shirts, turning to find him deep in thought, staring at a photo of the two of you on his nightstand. It was a candid shot Storm had taken, capturing you both leaning into each other on the mansion’s couch, completely absorbed in conversation. The look of pure infatuation between you is palpable, even in the still image.

“What’s on your mind?” you asked.

He looked up, breaking from his trance. “Hmm? Nothing. I just think you look beautiful in this picture.”

You sensed he wasn’t telling the whole truth, but you didn’t press. “Wanna come to bed?”

He took your hand, and you both settled in, snuggled together. It didn’t take long for you to drift off, enveloped in his warmth. Logan, however, was still plagued by nightmares of his past or what he couldn’t remember of his past. After about forty-five minutes, he gave up on sleep, kissed you on the forehead, and quietly slipped out of bed.

In the kitchen, he searched for something to drink and found Bobby sitting at the island.

“Doesn’t anyone sleep in this place?” Logan grumbled, rummaging through the fridge.

Bobby shrugged, taking a sip from his drink. “You’d be surprised.”

“Is there any beer?” Logan asked.

“This is a school,” Bobby pointed out.

“Well, is there anything here besides chocolate milk?” Logan continued.

“There should be some soda in the cupboard over there,” Bobby pointed.

Logan grabbed a bottle of Dr. Pepper but hesitated before drinking it. Instead, he passed it to Bobby to chill it with his powers. As they continued talking, a noise caught Logan’s attention, and he walked out of the kitchen to investigate.

As he turned back, he spotted a soldier, camouflaged, stalking toward Bobby, who was turned the other way. Logan sprang into action, grabbing the soldier and twisting his arm behind his back.

“You picked the wrong house, bub,” he growled.

Suddenly, a sonic scream filled the mansion, forcing everyone to cover their ears. For Logan, with his heightened senses, it felt like his head was going to explode. The soldier broke free, opening fire in the kitchen.

You jolted awake, disoriented from the sonic screech. An armed man stood in your doorway. The pain in your head was overwhelming, and before you could react, he shot you in the neck with tranquilizer darts. Everything went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Logan fought through the chaos, he felt a sharp sting in his shoulder—three tranquilizers embedded in his skin and yanked them out. He fought through the brief haze, dispatching the soldiers around him. But as adrenaline coursed through him, his mind raced back to you. He had to know where you were—if you were okay.

He sprinted to his room, finding it empty. Panic clawed at him as he called your name. “Y/N!?”

He rushed toward the secret escape tunnel, spotting Colossus helping kids through a hidden opening.

“Have you seen Y/N?” Logan shouted.

“No,” Colossus replied, his face grave. “But I can help.”

“Help them,” Logan urged, pointing back toward the opening, his heart pounding as he fought his way back through the mansion.

When he spotted Bobby, Rogue, and John in danger, he leaped over the banister, taking out the soldiers and shouting for the kids to follow him. “Did you see Y/N?”

“No, but she probably made it out with the others,” Rogue said, her voice shaky.

Logan closed the escape hatch behind the kids, preparing for the incoming squad. “If you wanna shoot me, shoot me!”

“Wolverine, this is certainly the last place I’d expect to find you. How long has it been? Fifteen years? You haven’t changed a bit,” Stryker taunted, stepping into the light.

Logan’s claws extended, fury boiling within him. “Who are you?”

Stryker smirked. “I didn’t realize Xavier was taking in animals. Even animals as unique as you. Seems to be quite a life you’re trying to make for yourself. A home… a beautiful woman…”

From his pocket, Stryker pulled out a photo—the very one from Logan’s nightstand. They had you. Logan lunged forward, but a wall of ice sprang up between them.

“No!” he shouted, pounding on the ice.

“Logan, come on! Let’s go!” Rogue urged.

“He’s got Y/N!” Logan roared, his heart racing.

“We’ll get her back. Let’s go,” Bobby said firmly.

“Go! I’ll be fine!” Logan insisted, his determination unwavering.

“But we won’t!” Rogue plead.

Logan looked back at the wall of ice and then at the kids, torn between the two. Finally, he let out a frustrated huff and walked back to them. As they navigated the tunnel system, dark thoughts consumed him. The person he loved was captured. He might never see you again. He never got the chance to tell you he’d gladly run away with you, to live a life free from the chaos surrounding them. Tears welled in his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away, not wanting the kids to panic further. These fears haunted him throughout the drive to Boston.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You woke up in a dim, concrete cell, surrounded by six kids from the mansion. Only two were conscious.

“Are you guys okay?” you asked, trying to remain calm.

They nodded. “We’re gonna be okay,” you reassured them, though doubt gnawed at you.

You tried to feel around with your powers for any ounce of water, but to your horror, you realized they were dampened. A faint blue glow illuminated the top of the cell—power dampeners.

After some time of comforting the kids, a soldier appeared in the grate above, drawing his gun.

“What are you doing?” you demanded, fear rising in your throat.

He pulled the trigger six times, one by one the kids collapsing around you with tranquilizer darts now back in their necks. “Please! They’re just kids!” you pleaded, desperation spilling from your voice.

An older, stockier man stepped out from behind the soldier. “Hello, Y/N,” Stryker said, his tone chilling.

“Why are you doing this?” you asked, shaking.

“I’m trying to fix a problem,” he replied coolly.

“You’re the problem!” you shot back.

“Oh, contraire, my dear. Mutants are a threat to our way of life, and I intend to fix that by any means necessary.”

The soldier shot a taser at you, and pain coursed through your body, forcing you to the floor. A door opened to your cell, and another soldier approached, holding a vile.

He flipped you onto your stomach, brushing your hair away from your neck, and you felt a sharp pinch. Whatever they injected you with turned your world upside down. Everything faded to black once more.

[permanentmess]

Can you do a quicksilver x reader where the reader has a twin and quick silver thinks the reader is cheating on him but it’s just the twin? (Gender neutral or male reader pls!!!)

a/n: i wanted to do this idea justice, so i tried my best to make the situation line up so that it would work. i hope you enjoy it, and thank you for your request! i also wanted to use this as writing practice for angsty feelings because i need to get better about showing and not telling

title: seeing double (peter maximoff x twin!gn!reader)

word count: 1015

warnings: obviously beliefs about cheating, angst but a happy ending, hurt/comfort, some pet names (babe/baby), use of the word shit (once), not really proofread, gender neutral reader technically but its pretty vague and pronouns are only used for the twin (unnamed + they/them/their) and peter (he/him)

GIF NOT MINE

~~~

He hasn’t realized he’s shaking until his chest starts to hurt. His head feels fuzzy and he wants to puke. You wouldn’t do that to him, would you? But he can’t fathom what could possibly be happening right now. You, with your lips on another man, your arms wrapped around him. His world feels like it's crashing down around him, with no logical thought in sight. 

Peter can’t help it, he has to clear his head. He can’t think about what this entails, what will happen once he talks to you about this. He runs and runs until he’s found the arcade, burying his sorrows into Galaga.

~~~

Peter was acting…strange to say the least. Well, you’re sure he would be if he was around. He wasn’t the most “normal” person, but that’s what you loved about him. And you knew, after 2 years of being with him, that he was being too weird just by being gone. 

He wasn’t in any usual place he’d be at, or any of his favorite hiding places (that you knew about). You asked your sibling, but they hadn’t seen him either. Not since earlier that day in the hall after he was done teaching. They were with their boyfriend, so only caught a glimpse of the silver-haired boy speeding away.

It wasn’t like him to just up and disappear, even if he was fast enough to do so. In fact, that man couldn’t go more than an hour without bothering you (lovingly) in some way. 

You were about to call out all the stops and have Charles use Cerebro when Peter walks through your bedroom door, looking somber. His hair is unkempt and he’s fidgeting more than usual. 

“Oh my god, Peter, where have you been? I’ve been worried sick, what’s going on?” You exclaim as you stand up to meet him. It feels like the words are spilling out of your mouth. 

He closes the door gently. “We should talk.” Your heart drops, but you gesture for him to sit on the edge of your bed, joining him on his right once he sits. You feel a pit in your throat but you try to swallow it down. 

He’s silent and refusing to look at you, and taking shaky breaths in and out. “Hey, what’s going on?” you ask softly, reaching out to touch his arm, but you decide against it. It’s at this moment you wish you had Jean’s powers instead, so you could understand what was going on. 

“Are you cheating on me?”

Your entire body goes cold, muscles tightening. Your mouth is open, but you make no move to hide your shock. “What?” 

“I saw you earlier in the hallway, with some other guy.” Even in a time where you’d think he’d be seething, his voice remains even. It was scary; he was never serious for very long. 

“Babe, I’ve been teaching all morning, and then I went straight from a classroom to back-to-back training sessions. I’ve barely had time to eat.”

“Then who could I have seen?” His voice is uneven and shaking now, like he’s on the verge of tears. “I want to believe there's a good explanation.”

You pause, taking a deep breath to try and bring some reason to your mind. When you finally realize what was happening, you let out a laugh. He finally looks at you, eyebrows furrowed. “What?”

“You know, for a speedster-” you laugh a little more, cutting yourself off, “you sure were slow about this one. Peter, what kind of sibling do I have?” 

“A twi-ohhhh” he closes his eyes, dropping his head into one of his hands. “Oh, god, I’m so sorry baby, I wasn’t even thinking. I was so stressed because my class was acting up and I wasn’t thinking straight.” He’s ranting, now refusing to look at you out of embarrassment. 

“Maximoff, look at me,” you tell him gently, smiling at the confusion. Honestly, there are long stretches of time where you forget about your own sibling, about the lack of similarities, because you never see them. It’s a big and busy school, what can you say? 

He peeks out his eyes from behind his hand, but won’t remove it. You set a hand on his thigh, rubbing gentle circles with your thumb. “Hey, I’m not mad. I’m glad you cleared your head and talked to me about it.” 

When your relationship with Peter first started, he would suppress anything he was upset about, whether it was towards you or not. He’d ignore the issue and jump head-first into any distraction he could find. It took a lot of coaxing to get him to talk about anything bad that happened. 

“You’re not mad?” He asks quietly while removing his hand from his face, grabbing yours with it. His eyes are searching your face intensely, tears filling the rims. Your heart feels like it's beating so loud. It’s a rare occurrence that he’ll cry. 

“No, not at all. I have a twin, shit like this will happen.” 

He looks at you for a moment before he leans in for a gentle kiss and then pulls back. “I didn’t think you’d do that to me by the way. That’s why I was so confused, it didn’t make sense.” 

“I know, baby.” You lean your head on his shoulder. “You don’t have to explain. I’d be upset too if I was in that situation.” He rests his head on top of yours and then pulls you both down so that you’re laying on your bed. He’s exhausted suddenly, all of the panic and confusion and hurt crashing and dissipating. 

He shifts so that he’s holding you against his chest and you wrap your arms around him tightly. It’s a long time just laying in silence, and he thinks that you’ve fallen asleep, but when he pulls back slightly he sees you looking up at him. 

“Soooo,” you drag out. “I’ve got the rest of the day off, and you do too. What do you wanna do?” 

“Star Wars marathon?” He grins.

You return the gesture. “Absolutely.”

[kalinara]

This scene, from House of X #3, fascinates me. It's basically the first substantial scene that we see between Scott and Xavier since Xavier died by Dark Phoenix fuckery.

(There's actually a quick scene about the mission in Powers of X before this, but it doesn't really get into much beyond "this is what we need you to do" Aside from a really interesting visual parallel to a Scott and Illyana scene much later, there's not much to it.)

But there's a LOT here. (I'm going to put this behind a cut tag, because it is LONG.)

I mean, on one hand, it's almost sweet. We have an Xavier who is openly calling Scott his son, who is offering comforting reassurance to his fear.

On the other hand, Scott didn't ask for this reassurance, did he? He's afraid, but he's putting on "a brave face". Something pretty standard for the kind of soldier Scott's always been. And Xavier calls him out, puts him on the defensive, and gently applies the pressure. "What matters is that you overcome it -- and you do so for your family."

It's not clear to me exactly when resurrection becomes known on Krakoa. It seems implied that the deaths on the Master Mold mission (the one Scott's going to embark on, in which there will be no survivors) are the first public resurrections at least. Scott SEEMS to believe that death is a real option here. And they carefully keep their reassurance very metaphorical. Immortality in memory, not in fact.

There's something interesting to me about how Krakoa is set up. Because Scott is NOT on the Council. And it seems like he'd be an obvious choice to be up there, right? Certainly other characters have commented on it, periodically throughout arc. Both Forge and Emma have said things that implied they thought he was kind of shirking a duty by not being there.

There's this ever present idea too, of the Summers family as a kind of "Krakoan Royalty". It's why Abigail Brand puts teen Cable on SWORD, figuring that he lacks any real experience or influence, but as a means to manipulate his parents. Gabriel's manipulated with the idea of said royalty on Arakko. It seems to mean something.

But WHY? At this point, Scott is either the Captain Commander of Krakoa - a field general role expressly subordinate to the Council, or the leader of the X-Men, which have asserted some independence, but are primarily Earth based and have no role in governing anything Krakoan.

They may mean Jean, since she was on the Council and is certainly powerful enough to be terrifying. But that's not really the impression I get.

There is a point where we see Scott specifically offered a seat on the Council. That's just after X of Swords, when Scott and Jean have their slight bloodless coup and basically reform the X-Men.

(X-Men #16)

The funny thing about this is that I don't get the sense that they'd ever offered Scott a seat before. And again, that seems surprising. For better or worse, Scott's was the head of the entire mutant race at one point. And even after his fall from grace, his time as a mutant revolutionary, he was still bizarrely influential. There was a Rolling Stone cover, remember?

(And isn't it kind of fascinating how this version of Cerebro rather looks like a blue, metallic version of Scott's post AvX mask?)

It's only now, once Scott and Jean have enacted their own bloodless coup to reform the X-Men and rescue their son and friends, that Scott's asked.

But I could be wrong. Maybe Scott WAS asked. But if so, there's a very obvious reason why Scott wouldn't have taken it.

Mister Sinister is on the goddamn Council. There is no fucking way that Scott would ever, I believe, be able to sit on a Council across from Mister Sinister. And there's no way that Xavier wouldn't have known that.

On some level, Charles Xavier chose Mister Sinister over Scott Summers, and while I don't think this is the literal cause of the fall of Krakoa, I think the fact that he COULD make this choice was an indicator of the failings that doomed them all.

It will forever frustrate me that, as far as I know, we never actually see the reunion of a resurrected Charles Xavier with the son who, under the influence of the Dark Phoenix, killed him.

But I do remember one part of that scene:

(Avengers vs. X-Men #11)

And I start thinking again about how, in Krakoa, Xavier is very open, very content to call him his son.

A prince, an heir, but not a rival or an equal. The man who cast Xavier out from the X-Men, twice. The benign dictator of Utopia. The face of the Mutant Revolution. Xavier has made sure that this won't happen again.

It's interesting though, especially light of the From the Ashes Infinity Comic that digs into Xavier's motivations for his actions during Fall of the House of X.

And there are a few bits that stand out:

So this little story arc establishes a few important things.

a) Xavier didn't actually kill the crew of the ship, he had them replaced with mindless drones made by Sinister.

b) Xavier planted clues based on Arthurian Legend, specifically hoping SCOTT would find it and understand.

c) And Xavier has been pretty active in telepathically influencing other people away from conclusions he doesn't want them to draw. But he can't be really subtle - it causes a nosebleed.

And it's fascinating, I think, that Warren gets a nosebleed HERE. When he thinks about Xavier's role in Krakoa. And then he thinks of Scott's.

Later, Xavier will explain to Sally that he chose his actions because of Scott's trial. And I find myself wondering, is it because Scott's in danger of death (which would be funny as Xavier actually ends up sabotaging their best hope of rescuing Scott by calling Rasputin IV to him, WHILE they were in place to extract him, so she can serve his purposes instead). Or is it because, scapegoat and target or not, Scott Summers has suddenly become the face of Krakoa after all.

But now, Xavier's "the Butcher of Krakoa."

In AvX, before the Phoenix Five start fraying at the edges, Scott challenges Xavier, suggesting that part of the reason he has a problem with what they've done is because Scott did it. Not Xavier.

I think maybe there's some truth to that. And it will be very interesting how much, if anything, gets addressed in Raid on Graymalkin.

[cemeteryspider]

Haunting Memories

The same universe as: The Shadow's Redemption, you don't need to read it before this fic, but it might be helpful.

Platonic! X-Men x New X-Men! Reader

Nightcrawler! Kurt Wagner x Necromancer! Reader

Summary: Sinister still plagues your conscious and unconscious moments, Jean and Kurt help you regain control over your dreams.

Trigger Warnings: Nightmares, Traumatic Memories, Emotional and Psychological Abuse, Violence, Death (Sort of), Supernatural Elements, and Telepathic Invasion

Word Count: 1556

Your dreams never seemed to be pleasant. Your dreams were a haunting mix of fragmented memories from before Mister Sinister and harrowing nightmares of the years under his control. Sometimes Logan and Storm would stand outside your door while Kurt held you when you cried. When Kurt wasn't availableLogan was a steadfast presence, mentally listing the many ways he'd kill Sinister while Storm held you, offering her shoulder as a safe haven for your tears.

You knew Jean and the Professor knew about your dreams, but they never pressured you into asking for help. You were healing on your own time, and surely you would come to them if you felt you needed to. Except that didn't happen.

~~~

'No need to worry, you're home now,' Sinister stroked your hair as you lay frozen on the mattress on the floor of your old room.

"No," You mumbled, trying desperately to regain control of your limbs, but the harder you tried the more trapped you felt.

'Oh darling, no need to get upset, you know I forgive you for running away, after all, you led me right to my enemies,' He laughed at the look of utter confusion on your face, 'Don't tell me you've forgotten already, here let me show you.'

Sinister's cold hands gripped your face, forcing you to look at the side of the room where the lifeless bodies of your friends lay, 'See no need to worry about anyone trying to take you away.'

You were looking at the lifeless corpses of your friends, of your boyfriend, of people you thought of as siblings. You tried to scream but nothing came out.

Just when things looked to be at their lowest their spirits appeared in front of you.

Wolverine looked at you with such disdain, 'I trusted you, Bub.'

Storm looked down at you with such apathy, 'To think I thought of you as a sister.'

One by one they appeared to berate you. Cyclops and his disgust with you that stayed despite the lack of mind control turned downright cruel, Gambit and his usually friendly demeanor turned angry, and Jubilee, your best friend, looked at you with a hostility you had never seen on her face before today. Still more appeared in front of you Morph, Jean, Magneto, Dazzler, Bishop, Cable,... it just kept going.

Lastly, Kurt appeared in front of you, 'I wish we had never met, Liebling'

Sinister's laugh punctuated your gasping shallow breaths and you squeezed your eyes closed. Still, the laughter continued and the angry comments assaulted your ears.

'See, Professor, we shouldn't have let them in'

'Can't do anything right'

'They're just as bad as he is'

'Useless'

'Cowardly'

You just sobbed through the comments and the laughter hoping that they would end soon.

~~~

'My X-Men, evacuate the children, it is not safe in the mansion at this moment. Jean, Wolverine, Jubilee, I need you here with me,' Your mind was swirling with anguish and thoughts Charles didn't want anyone to see unless completely necessary, and right now it seemed it was.

Your eyes, black voids of despair, unleashed dark tendrils from your mouth and legs, while vengeful spirits gnashed and thrashed, preventing anyone from approaching you and Kurt. He was holding you in his arms, and trying to get you out of whatever trance you were stuck in.

"Professor, what's going on?" Jubilee asked.

"There is no time to explain, Jubilee makes sure nobody comes into this hallway, it is unsafe for the children. Wolverine you are coming with me to Cerebro, you will try to get through to them, and if need be protect me from spirits should they come. Nightcrawler, you get Jean close, and again try to get through to them. Jean, you need to try to get through to them. I will try to break down some of the barriers Sinister put in their mind, and you will put up the scaffolding to keep him out of good."

They all knew their assignments well and soon enough the plan was in motion. Quickly Kurt zapped from his position behind you to grab Jean and get her inside your circle of undead souls.

Jean gently placed her fingertips on your temples, her touch warm and reassuring as she delicately breached the barriers of your mind, something she had been waiting to explore until you gave her permission. However, these were extenuating circumstances.

~~~

Your eyes were shut tight not allowing any of the red-tinged light into your retinas.

'Y/n it's me, Jean. Can you hear me,' You tried desperately to ignore the sound of her voice, you had been fooled by Sinister many times before and you would not be tricked so easily this time around, 'Please, it's me, I'm here to help you.'

They got better with every nightmare you faced. More realistic, more like you remember them. You shut your eyes tighter and tried to keep out these manifestations of your former friends.

‘Kurt’s here,’ Jean’s voice was soft, almost tender. ‘He wants to talk to you, to hold you in his arms.’ That was new, Sinister shouldn't know about Kurt, let alone your relationship with him.

You felt something touch your arm, but it wasn't Sinister. It was more gentle, more caring than he could ever be, 'Liebe, it is me. Truly me. I know you've been fighting these battles alone, but I am here trust me. Let Jean in.'

You opened your eyes, and Sinister was frozen. The person in front of you was Kurt. All of the spirits of your friends had vanished, and all that was left were Jean and Kurt.

You threw yourself into his arms, only realizing after you did it you were able to move again.

"Kurt, please help me, I'm scared and I don't know what to do," The word scared came out of your mouth, but the main feeling you had was rage.

'Trust in Jean, and then you can help yourself,' He held your hand in his as Jean walked over to the two of you.

'You have let me in. I can put supports in place in your mind, and help you block him out. You wouldn't have these nightmares where he is in control of them. Just open your mind,' You leaned further into Kurt and he looked into your eyes.

'She will not hurt you like he has,' You looked into his eyes and saw they were wide with sincerity.

For a brief moment you could see Sinister move you out of the corner of your eye, 'You will never be rid of me, I am in everything you do. Every movement, every thought, and every emotion you have ever and will ever have has me in it.'

You took Jean's hands in yours and closed your eyes. Your shoulders tightened and your toes curled waiting for the cold entrance of a telepath in your mind, but it never came. Instead, Jean's mind felt like a warm summer day.

You felt her drift through different memories you thought you had lost to Mister Sinister. You might not be able to access them now, but just knowing they were there gave you a level of comfort you were scared you would never get back.

She started making walls that shielded your mind. Helped keep unwanted intruders out, and allows your mind to heal. The tension seeped out of your body as Sinister slowly disappeared from the scene.

'You know I will always come back... I made yo....,'

"No, I made me," You grasped his head in your hands, "You just stood in my way."

With a surge of righteous anger, you squeezed until his head disintegrated into a cloud of silver and red dust, a symbolic release of your pent-up rage.

With that, he was gone. Just like that.

'Come back to me, Liebe, wake up'

~~~

You blinked the sleep out of your eyes and allowed them to adjust to the darkness you found yourself in.

"Kurt?"

Something poofed beside you and you felt a pair of arms wrap around you, "You did so well, Liebe, I am so proud of you."

His arms squeezed around you and you could barely manage to speak, "Why's it dark."

"Oh, heh, you may have knocked the power out with how many spirits you were summoning. Also, your darkness was swallowing the light whole."

A warmth spread across your cheeks, "Sorry, bout that."

Kurt cupped your face gently, his eyes full of warmth and relief. 'There’s nothing to be sorry for, Liebe. You’re safe now, and that’s all that matters.'

It took a few minutes for Jubilee, Wolverine, and the professor to enter the room, armed with flashlights and tentative movements. Once seeing you without any spirits to rip apart anyone who came close to you, Jubilee ran towards you. Kurt poofed out of the way of the hug and Jubilee put her arms around your neck.

"Jeez, you scared us! I was so worried about you!," She took this moment to pull away a little and smack you on the shoulder.

"Ow," You said, rubbing the spot on your arm that she barely hit.

"Don't scare us like that again!"

You looked to Jean who was just now getting over to you, "I don't think anything like that will happen anytime soon."

[thorias]

So I've been thinking about how the "Saving Gambit" story is going to play out in season 2. Not much else to do right now but speculate since it doesn't look like we'll be getting any new information for a while; hell, at this rate, they probably won't even let AJ acknowledge that mid-credit scene in the finale until we've at least got a trailer to sink our teeth into.

Anyway... ideally, I'd like there to be more to it than just Rogue telling Deathbit that she loves him and then he's back to normal like magic. That's okay for Rogue, I guess, but Remy needs an arc too. And it would feel anticlimactic if it's that easy, especially after we got so gipped with the lack of Romy content in season 1.

I'd like them to build a real story around this, with the X-men trying a bunch of different ways to get through to Remy, but none of them work. I want to see Rogue try to drain the evil out of him like she did with Archangel in XTAS, only for her touch to have no effect because Apocalypse has accounted for that this time. I want to see Jean try to shut down the Deathbit persona telepathically, only for it to force her out of his mind.

I want to see them try everything they can think of to bring Remy back and fail every time until it all seems hopeless... and then hope arrives from an unexpected place.

We're getting into fanfic territory here, but we don't have much to go on for the time being, so screw it. Here's how I'd write the thing...

Archangel shows up to help the X-men with Apocalypse/Deathbit, giving them some new insight to go on. He explains how Apocalypse turns mutants into Horsemen; what it feels like and whatnot. Maybe it's a psychological thing where Apocalypse burrows his way into a person's subconscious and plants a seed that grows into something dark and twisted, which warps how that person thinks and perceives the rest of the world.

I see Archangel describing it as Apocalypse sifting through every memory and experience a mutant has ever had, looking for their absolute lowest, most vulnerable moment, when they feel utterly alone, hopeless and are most in need... and in that moment, Apocalypse appears to them (in their subconscious) like a savior and offers them a hand.

Them taking his hand symbolizes them surrendering to his influence and allows him to set up shop in their head, so the Horseman persona can take over. So if the X-men want to save Remy, they're going to have to deprogram him by getting inside his mind and finding that moment, so they can stop him from accepting Apocalypse's offer.

So maybe the X-men have to fight Deathbit to immobilize him. This gives Xavier an opening where he'd use Cerebro to boost his telepathy enough to get through Apocalypse's mental defenses, so he can take Rogue, go inside Deathbit's mind and start poking around in Remy's memories.

This is where Remy's arc can come in because they can do a lot of cool character stuff here. They start by looking at his childhood. Maybe they see him as a little kid in an orphanage (pre-thieves guild) with the nuns who run the place calling him "le diable blanc" and trying to beat the devil out of him. Then, after the beating, Apocalypse appears to child Remy and offers his hand... but Remy turns away.

They see teenage Remy having just run away from Belladonna and the thieves guild, having to leave his home, his first love and the only family he ever had. He's alone, miserable, heartbroken... again Apocalypse appears and offers his hand... and again Remy turns away.

They see Remy in Paris with Genevieve Darceneaux and her winding up dead simply because Remy Lebeau entered her life. As he stands over her grave, feeling guilt-stricken and heartsick, once more Apocalypse appears, offering him salvation, to free him from his self-loathing... and once more Remy turns away.

You know where I'm going with this, right?

Finally, they end up at the Genoshan gala on the night of the attack. A heartbroken Remy watches Rogue dance with Magneto, but can't stomach it and walks out. He sits alone outside, feeling utterly desolate, wondering if everything he thought him and Rogue had meant to each other was all for nothing.

One final time, Apocalypse reaches out... extends his hand... and in his despair... Remy takes it. That's the moment they have to stop.

The rest pretty much writes itself. Rogue jumps in between Remy and Apocalypse. Maybe there's a psychic battle with Xavier keeping Apocalypse at bay while Rogue tries to get through to Remy, finally telling him what really happened, that she'd actually rejected Magneto, realizing that Remy was right about what they have being "deeper than skin," but his self-loathing rears its' ugly head and he refuses to listen to her.

So finally, Rogue does what fans have been waiting for for 6 seasons, across 2 different cartoon series and 3 freaking decades: She finally tells him that she loves him... and she kisses him (they're on the psychic plane, so they don't have to worry about her powers hurting him here).

Maybe Rogue has gotten through to Remy and maybe she hasn't. His reaction is ambiguous, he still seems confused...

Xavier can't hold Apocalypse back anymore. Apocalypse confronts Remy and offers his hand again. It looks like Remy is reaching out to take it... but instead, he hands Apocalypse the Queen of Hearts card, which explodes in his face.

Apocalypse's hold over Remy is broken, the Deathbit persona is gone.

If they wrote something like that, I'd be pretty happy. But given how season 1 turned out, I'll probably have to lower my expectations.

[ecinev]

The brotherhood and the X-Men finding out about Cherik. (Please pretend this is chronologically correct)

It did seem weird that Charles and Erik would always leave at 4 pm on Saturday at the same time, no matter what important event, situation, or emergency there was. Leave 4pm, come home 5pm.

At first no one thought about it, the brotherhood would be too scared to ask Erik and the X-Men would just assume that Charles was meeting up with Moira. Until after Erik was imprisoned (X2)

They would check Charles schedule, before Erik was in prison it would just suggest "Meeting" but now it said "Visit Erik's prison".

"Wait you don't thin-" Scott said, before he was cut off by storm

"you don't actually think that this 'important' meeting that Professor would go to every week was with Magneto?" Ororo said, almost laughing

"Its fair to assume Oro" Jean said.

Ororo rolled her eyes, Scott forgot about it, and Jean didn't care that much. But they all agreed to keep a prep bag of tools and equipment just in case anything happens to the Professor

While Erik was in jail, Mystique and Azazel would check up on Erik, Azazel teleporting in and asking if Erik needed anything, and Erik ignoring him because he didn't wanna be saved by him. This one time, Mystique begged Azazel to visit Erik, worried since Erik wouldn't talk to them. Azazel agreed, teleporting in Erik's cell. Shocked as he saw Erik playing chess with Charles, teleporting out as soon as he saw Charles, reporting everything back to Mystique who was Erik's right hand woman. Pyro overheard everything.

Even though Pyro hated the X-Men and everything there, he had to tell someone.

"John! What happened? Bobby said freaking out, its not every day your ex-bestfriend who decides to join an evil mutant leader randomly unblocks you and messages you "WE NEED TO CALL NOW"

"OKAY SO I OVERHEARD AZAZEL AND MYSTIQUE" John said, full of excitement

"this is why you called me? With hot goss" You could almost see Bobby's disappointment.

"MAGNETO AND PROFESSOR! THEY MEET UP EVERY WEEK" John screamed

".." Bobby didn't reply, he has heard rumors from the other students about this schedule, and now it's confirmed??

Bobby just exclaimed a yelp and hung up the phone, John rolled his eyes.

"PROFESOR SCOTT!!" Bobby yelled, Scott came running. Bobby told him everything, Scott told Ororo and Jean and the rumors spread wildfire, even reaching the brotherhood.

The next time the Professor went to visit, Scott insisted on coming. (Okay then ykyk they get kidnapped by Stryker. Watch X2)

But this time it's different.

After Magneto and Mystique broke into the Cerebro 2, Magneto first asked Mystique to wait outside, wanting to talk to the Professor.

He came up to Stryker's son, putting his helmet on his head, making him defenseless. Charles came out of the illusion, panting.

"CHARLES! are you okay?" Erik said concerned, just mere hours ago they were playing chess and flirting.

"Erik? Wha-what happened?" Charles said, he felt faint and exhausted.

"Look, the X-Men and Mystique are here. Do not focus okay?" Erik said alerting Charles.

"okay okay" Charles said, trying to listen.

Erik was scared, but he needed to put on a show, he called mystique back, and did their plan of switching Charles to focus on humans.

The only people who knew about them were Jean and Hank. During their visits, Erik would tell them the plan, Charles would think of a defense. (Just imagine them using war as foreplay)

Charles wouldn't tell Jean EVERYTHING, but that he read Erik's mind and knew his plans. (But she knew because it's obvious)

The X-Men defeat Erik and Mystique using this brilliant plan that Jean just 'thought of'

The rumors get too loud, and everyone is asking is it true? Even Erik gets asked.

Then its too late, they have no more excuses and confess.

The X-Men were shocked, the Brotherhood(full of gays) was more supportive. The X-Men were worried about how this would affect the war, plans, and stuff. While the Brotherhood celebrated more, still intimidated as Erik showed them that this fact didn't change him.

Charles and Erik were more open about their relationship, still keeping secretive.

[justsomerandomfanfic]

Humans And Mutants - Chapter 5 - Logan Howlett X Female Reader

Title: Past Illuminated

Previous Chapter | Current Chapter | Next Chapter

Logan Howlett X Female Reader

Additional Characters: Jean, Ororo, Mystique (Mentioned), Magento, Stryker (Mentioned), Kurt, Bobby, Rogue, Charles (Mentioned), and Pyro (Mentioned)

WC: 1,455

Warnings: X-Men canon fighting, still canon storyline soft of, Logan's past mentioned, slow burn, tension, child abuse mentioned, slight angst, mini fluff

(Sorry, if this series is a bit odd, I made this in 2018)

Logan, Jean, Ororo, and Y/N sat on one side of the campfire, while Magneto and Mystique sat on the other. They stared at each other in silence. You fidgeted in your spot, staring into the fire until it made your face hot and your eyes tear up slightly. You blinked rapidly before looking down at the grass, digging your boots into the dirt below.

“His name is William Stryker.” Magneto finally spoke.

“What does he want?” Ororo asked as she sat on the log in front of the fire.

Logan glared at Magneto, not trusting the man before him, “That’s exactly the same question we should be asking Magneto.” Logan answered, irritated, and the man in question just sighed as Logan continued, “So, what is it? What do you want?”

“When Stryker invaded your mansion he stole an essential piece of its hardware.” Magneto spoke as Ororo pursed her lips in confusion, her eyes narrowed.

“Cerebro?” She asked as Magneto shifted in his seat.

Magneto cleared his throat before speaking, “Charles and I built Cerebro as a tool, a tool I believed would unite us all. But, the good Professor, as with all things, never truly explored its full potential.” He explained as you, Jean, and Ororo listened carefully, as Logan boiled in his seat. “In the wrong hands, I fear it could be used as a powerful weapon against mutants.”

He finished.

“But Stryker would need the Professor to operate it.” Jean spoke up, as Magneto nodded.

“Which is the only reason why I think he’s still alive.” Magneto said deeply.

Logan glared at Magneto, unable to push his suspicions away, what did he have planned?

~~~

At the kid’s camp, Pyro stared at the fire, lost in it as Bobby turned to Rouge. “Can you hear what they’re saying?” He asked his girlfriend as she shook her head.

“They’re too quiet.” She stated.

“I… I can get a closer look.” Kurt said sheepishly, wanting to help the teens.

“How?” Rouge asked him, tilting her head.

In a cloud of smoke, Kurt vanished as the teens stared at each other, impressed.

“Nice.” Bobby said, a small grin on his face.

High above the campfire, the Nightcrawler hung upside-down by his tail. No one noticed him as Logan continued to glare at Magento, not believing him at all. “How would Stryker know where Cerebro is or how it works?”

Magneto paused, he lifted his hand and rubbed the back of his neck, exposing his round scar. He seemed flustered and resigned before he spoke up once more, “Because I told him. Stryker has positive methods of… Persuasion, even against a mutant as strong as Charles.”

Magneto continued.

“Please understand if we don’t take it all in good faith, but why do you need us?” Ororo asked, tilting her head to the side, as Magneto cleared his throat.

“Stryker has a base he’s been operating out of for decades. And I don’t know where it is. But I suspect one of you might.” He turned to Logan and eyed him skeptically.

Logan ignored Magento’s gaze, “Who the hell is this Stryker anyway?”

“Are you sure you don’t remember, Logan? The metal on your bones carries his signature.” Magneto said as Logan just stared at him.

The understanding escaped through his body. Magneto looked to Jean, she looked back to Magneto. “But the Professor tried…” Logan began only for Magento to interrupt him.

“No, he didn’t. He's always known.”

Realization gave way to much doubt and dishonesty. Logan turned to Jean.

“I can’t. If those memories exist, they’re buried very deep.” Jean spoke, frowning as Logan turned to stare at the fire.

A long moment of stillness went on until someone conversed. The night air was chill but the fire in front of the X-Team, Magneto, and Mystique kept them warm. Crickets could be heard, chirping, hiding in the bushes and tall grass. You bit your lip briefly, rubbing your hands together as you tried to warm them. You tried to choose whether or not to speak up or not. You never really spoke about your past or any of your other powers. This was going to be a huge step for you, but this was important to Logan and the team… Mostly to Logan. You knew that if you were in his position, you’d want to know what had happened in your forgotten past. 

You looked over at Logan, his dark eyes lit up by the flames of the fire in front of him. A deep frown laid on his face, his hair disheveled and hands clasped tightly on his lap. You could feel the pain radiating off of him. You needed to speak up.

“I can do it.” Everyone turned towards you, making you feel a little bit nervous with all the sudden eyes on you.

“I thought you had teleportation?” Ororo asked, confused as you let out a small hiss through your teeth, rubbing the back of your neck.

“Oh, I do. But, that’s not all I can do.” You spoke before explaining, “I was… I was experimented on when I was little. The scientists injected me with stuff and electrified my mind in hopes of me getting a genetic mutation or any mutation for that matter. At the end of their torture, I ended up with mind mutations powers.” You finished, unable to look anyone in the eyes as you finally told your truth.

“What can you do?” Jean asked, making you shrug a shoulder, fidgeting with a patch on the left arm of your jacket.

“I- I can read memories, and I can erase memories, and more. And I think I could do it.” Minutes later, everyone sat silently as they watched you leave your spot and walk over to Logan. Sitting down beside him, you turned your body to face him. Waiting patiently, you watched as Logan slowly turned to you, staring down at you uncertainly. Slowly, you reached both your hands out towards his face, making his back a bit. “Chillax.” You tried to calm him with a soft whisper. You closed your eyes, your hands finding their place on his stubbled cheeks, your fingers brushing his temple.

Logan looked at you before closing his own eyes, “I hope you know what you’re doing…” He muttered, only for you to shush him.

“Shut up, I’m working here.”

You grimaced as blurry visions from Logan’s mind flashed in your mind. Your mind saw many images, blurry and confusing, coming and going swiftly until it came to one. You could see Logan clearly. He was at a bar, talking to a military officer. It flashed again to Logan riding in the back of a military truck. The truck was driving past a tremendous frozen barrier, entering a tunnel from above ground. There was snowfall everywhere. It flashed again, Logan walked into a medical lab, doctors crowded around a giant tank. Then, in the last vision, you watched in horror as Logan screamed and yelled in pain. The water in the tank splashing and sloshing around as he trembled and tried to escape the restraints. With a flash, the images end. You pull away, exhausted, you hold onto your head as your heart raced; trying to regain your breath. You held back tears as you looked up at Logan.

“Stryker is at Alkali Lake.” You answered, your voice soft, as the others around you looked at you in shock.

“I was just there. I saw that base. Nothing’s left.” Logan said insistently, as you only shook your head, regretting it after as a headache began to spawn.

“That’s because he’s below it.” You muttered, before quickly getting up from the old log and heading over to the teenagers.

Logan watched as you left, his hands clenching and unclenching before he reluctantly looked away. He stared back at the fire, wanting to know what you had seen. You were able to break through his mind, past the barrier, and see his past. You were able to see what he went thought, and he wanted to know what it was. For years he was searching for the answers... And you had them all. Glancing over to the teens' fire, you sat on the cold, damp grass, holding the side of your head.

Logan wanted to go over there and talk to you, but what you had done for him had seemed to have taken a lot out of you. He didn't want to bother you, no matter how desperately he wanted to know about his forgotten past. Logan also began to wonder, as he watched as you flopped onto the grass below you, he wondered more about you... And why he was feeling this way.

------

@ashdoctor @powergirlsupremacy

Slashed out means Tumblr won't let me tag you.

[rei-ismyname]

Dark Web: X-Men highlights 2

Anecdotally, I only ever see negative commentary on Dark Web. I don't know why - it's a lot of fun with a solid emotional core decades in the making. Also, I'm a sucker for Cyclops and Magik working together, dunking on Havok, and Maddie Pryor in general. Havok is sidetracked fighting shopping carts! We don't need to see that - it's much better if we have to imagine what TF he's doing and why (losing.) Happy New Years btw!

Jean is right, it is a diversion. A running theme in Dark Web is that Scott and Alex have problems and shouldn't be on a team together. The rest of the team is kind enough to not dwell on having to rescue him from shopping carts.

Behold! The Summers brothers not understanding each other very well. There's definitely wisdom in just bailing on a situation that isn't for you, though they should both beat Forge up. He might be good at fixing mechanical problems, but he's not qualified for Summers drama. Maddie absolutely is - the puppies and Goblin gown allow her to set the terms of engagement and shush them up.

It's little Yana again, using her stick to poke Jean this time. Still chasing ice cream too, though she never gets it (boo.) Jean throws down the gauntlet with a hefty backhand slap. Kinda fair, but not cool. Little Yana clearly agrees with me.

Maddie stole a Cerebro drive, or had Venom do it for her. The drive itself is not important here, but we learn that Jean Grey is mutant 00000000001. Not Charles, not Scott, not Hope. Jean. We don't see Maddie's reaction to this but I doubt she'd appreciate it. What does it mean? Importance? Indication she was the first person copied to Cerebro? Charles being a creep? Idk, but it's interesting.

Maddie is wearing a massive smile while beating Havok and Cyclops unconscious with chains. Let's call it an effective use of girl power. As I mentioned earlier, they're definitely shushed.

Jean is the most powerful X-Man, but she's also very good at knowing when not to use it. Scott learnt that shit from her, and they both probably learnt how not to do it from Chuck. He tries this approach at the worst possible times plus he's just not great at empathising with people. Jean surrenders, surprising everyone. I love this and I love how much trust Ilyana has. 'Okay boss.'

Jean surrendered because there's nothing to fight over. Maddie never thought to just ask (because she's so used to strings being attached) and Jean asked herself 'what does she want?' realising she can just give it to her.

Possibly for the first time ever, a crossover event is solved with a conversation and rejecting the notion that it's a zero sum game. I think if the event was longer it might be more clear that women are often forced into competition with each other, with fuckheads like mister Sinister getting away scott free. It's understandable that Maddie wouldn't want anything to do with Krakoa when they have the author of all her misery on the ruling council.

Maddie ends the conflict by decree, but needs to take the whole empathy thing a little further. She opens up Limbo to the powerless and rejected, declaring it a place of healing and safety. With Krakoan backing and some gunboat diplomacy the Limbo embassy to New York city is established. It becomes a haven for mutants during Fall of X and even ORCHIS gives it a wide berth. Oh, Havok is there too, making himself useful by opening curtains. Maddie, as ever, serves cunt.

[gaddaboutgriffon]

Super X-Man

ok, this is one of those crossovers I have no idea why I don't see much more of. but have you ever considered the concept of Kal-el landing in kansas in the X-men universe? he still ends up with the Kents but him having enhanced strength and speed as a young kid makes teaching him to hide his abilities even more important.

now let's establish some world building for this fic. 1 most mutants only have one power. a rare few have 2 and mutants with 3 or more powers can be counted on one hand throughout the history of that world. Also the earliest the x gene activates in this AU is age 12. 2 Kal was toddler sized when the ship landed. it opened and he wandered a bit before being found by the Kents. Next day someone else found the spaceship and took it away. Kal is named Clark, and they never really knew about the ship. So, growing up, when his super strength and speed starts really increasing when he is about 10, the family think he is a mutant. The rest of Clark's powers start coming in at age 15. 3 Because Clark is an alien Cerebro does not pick up on him. also, I was going to play that up and that Clark's alien brain works so differently than human or mutant that Charles basically gets static when trying to read his mind. between those two things and him having Super strength, speed, heat vision, and x-ray vision by the time he meets the X-men he is quite the mystery. 4 This fic isn't based on any one X-men cartoon or comics. So it is going to have ages and the timeline rearranged. When Clark meets the X-men it is going to be a little in the early years. The adults at the school are Charles/Professor X, Ororo/Storm, Logan/Wolverine, Hank/Beast, and I'm going to throw in Forge/Daniel Lone-Eagle (took me a while to find his name) The older kid's class which is ages 16-18 and i'll call the A class is going to include Scot/Cyclops, Jean gray, Angel/(who I just learned his name is Warren Kenneth Worthington III), Gambit/Remy (cause I want comedic chaos), and Iceman/Bobby. The younger kids B class ages 13 to 15 Nightcrawler/Kurt, Colosus/Piotr "Peter", Shadowcat/Katherine "Kate / Kitty", Rogue/Anna Marie LeBeau (also just learned her name), and Jubilee. And that is it for the ground level world building. now onto the actual story idea.

So this starts with two mutant kids I made up called Clarence with the power of short-term future vision, only able to see about a day ahead. And a girl named Jade with terrakinesis (basically earth bending) that are on the run going from town to town and basically running a gambling scam with some stone dice. (yes, this is directly inspired by avatar the last airbender season 3 episode the runaway.) Clarence only being able to see about a day in the future helps him find easy marks for their scams but isn't far enough in the future to see all the consequences and they get into a bit of trouble which has them running into someone they scammed before while they are in Smallville. We will get to that in a minute. Before that they scam Pete, one of Clark's friends from school, out of an engraved knife that had been passed down through the family and he goes to Clark to help him get it back.

While trying to help get pete's knife back he accidentally uses his powers. Jade then gets the idea that they'll give the knife back if he helps them with a few scams they haven't been able to pull before. after a week of that Clark has had enough and goes to tell them he is done with it and finds them just as they are being cornered by someone they scammed in the past. Toad, and his friends back up friends Blob and Quicksilver.

There is a fight and Cark helps Jade and Clarence get away and now they are hiding out in kent farm barn. Quicksilver calls Magneto that they found some pretty tough mutants, talking about Jade and Clark, but need help recruiting them. Meanwhile that fight got Charles attention with Cerebro. So, he is bringing Storm, Wolverine, Cyclops and Jean to go help the two teens mutants and try to convince them to come to the school. But cerebro didn't pick up on Clark.

This all comes together with the X-men and Magneto's mutants converging on the Kent's farm. It starts out with both sides talking their pitch. Clarence is more interested in Charles school, and Jade is more interested in Magneto's point of view. Clark outright rejects Magneto and Mr Kent tells them to get off the farm. Of course, things end up with a fight, which ends up wrecking the farm, and both sides find out Clark had more than just speed and strength when he hits magneto with heat vision to get wolverine out of his magnetic grip.

the brotherhood of mutants are forced to retreat, but Jade decided to go with them. Clarence apologizes to the Kent's for bringing trouble to them and chooses to go to Xaviar's school. Clark is interested in the school for mutants but is more concerned with helping rebuild the farm. Charles knows Magneto won't back off from this young boy who displayed three strong powers and and he wants to help the most unusual mutant he has seen. (remember no one knows clark is an alien at this point, and assumptions are being made.) He offers to pay for the damages (which he would have done anyway) to help convince Clark to come to his school too. clark and his parents go inside to talk about it for a few minutes before coming back out to agree to send Clark to Xavier's school for gifted children.

and that is where I am ending it. What do you guys think should happen next? tagging my mutuals @confusedshades @emacrow @chaos-bringer-13 @bianca-hooks123

[positivelybeastly]

X-Men #5

Late, but who cares? Let's go.

So, I've made no secret that I thought Kwannon wasn't really being given enough to do, these last few issues of X-Men, and it's for the same reason I'm happy to see Greycrow here - Zeb Wells' Hellions was amazing. It was one of the few Krakoa era titles that actually bothered to examine the moral double standards of the era, that really took advantage of its unique status quo, that looked at mutant resurrection and thought, okay, how can we mine this, not for obscure background cameos that will make a person on Twitter happy, but for actual drama? It was a truly great series, and I was hoping it would be followed up, if only in small ways.

I do like that Kwannon and John have a cabin together. With how they left off, it felt very personal and intimate between them, like they truly didn't need anything else to be content with one another, and neither of them struck me as people who need action to be fulfilled - or, rather, they don't see action as a means for enjoyment. As Kwannon says here, it merely gives them purpose. So far, so good.

Wasn't expecting an Amelia Voght callback, of all characters. Then again, this is a Jed MacKay joint.

Psychics and death, name a more iconic X-Men duo.

It is interesting that we get kinda sort of confirmation that Quentin remembers being a head, since I would've figured that the Cerebro cradles were down and he'd have lost those memories, but I suppose it's also possible he could have just heard about it second-hand and been like, wow, I got turned into a head in a box? Weird.

Yeah, no, you don't get to call Scott Slim, Quentin. Only Hank, Bobby or Warren get to do that. And Jean, if she's feeling quirky.

Can I also say something? I actually dig Quentin's fit? I don't know if that says something about my fashion sense or what, but I actually like this look for him more than . . . pretty much any other look he's had. Granted, that's not saying much, given his other uniforms were black blazer with t-shirt, the 60s retro-futuristic mutant fascist attire, or the bland melange that was his X-Force uniform, but I do actually like it. Purple and checker pattern work.

So, this whole issue is an homage to New X-Men #121, which was part of Marvel's Nuff Said initiative, and it, along with all the other issues published that month, had pretty much no dialogue in it, it was all told purely through art. It's not a direct homage, of course, since dialogue is happening, but I appreciate the lampshade being hung on it here, with Quentin both pointing out that this isn't like the other homage, and then not-so-subtly pointing out why it isn't like them.

Because Quentin can't shut the fuck up.

Honestly, that's a fun spin on it. That's how you iterate on something you've seen before.

I'm a sucker for mental landscapes. Always have been, always will. I just like getting to grapple with a character's psyche in a tangible way, it's why I like series like Silent Hill or Star Trek's many telepathic episodes. And if I had to break down why I like them?

Well.

Pretty much.

You really could've just called this New X-Men volume 3, Jed, and I don't think anyone would've objected. That being said - I couldn't have given less of a shit what happened in Marauders volume 2, so seeing that Cassandra Nova is back and wasn't consigned to the dustbin because of that series is a win in my book. She's a top tier villain, tbh, one of the best new X-villains of the last 20 years, and her particular incisive methodology for breaking down heroes' psyches feels like it's perfectly suited for the team of this book.

As she demonstrates.

Ahhhh, good foreshadowing earlier, good stuff. And I have to say, Stegman's Sabretooth is fucking top tier. Excellent rendition of the big man himself (whom I already miss, even if he does have a miniseries coming up very soon).

This is a great sequence, tbh. Like, poor Quentin - this is actually the most anyone has made me feel for Quentin since Aaron, about ten years ago - but in terms of threat and character exposition, it's very good, with some excellent art and very Nova-esque deconstruction. I also particularly like this panel composition.

His head is in a smaller panel. His head is literally in a box.

Good stuff, tbh. Again, this is the most useful Quentin feels like he's been in a while, because if he did anything of real worth in X-Force other than die, I'll freely admit that I do not remember it.

Hank, Scott, do you . . . wanna get them some paper towels, or . . ?

Overall, not a bad issue - definitely not as memorable as the original psychic rescue, though.

Now, originally, I was gonna say, you can't hold that against it, it's not easy to match Morrison, that's just common sense, but then again, most writers don't directly invite the comparison, so, I really hope Jed is cooking up something long term and satisfying, because constantly referencing Morrison is all fine and dandy, but it needs to go somewhere.

Still, I'd say the title has been squarely good thus far, and it still has room to get better and better, so I'm gonna give it time to breathe.

Also?

Our expert panel of judges have concluded that Hank McCoy once again wins the title of Original X-Man with the Dumpiest of Dump Truck Asses. Thanks for trying, Scott, but, uh. Your nickname is Slim for a reason.

Conner, you and I are gonna fight.

Damn right. It's not Hank's fault comics readers don't read anything from before 2010 . . .