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Tiara awoke with a start. She stared
at her alarm clock.
It blinked 11:07 AM.
Tiara groaned and laid back down.
"I just went to bed about 4 hours ago!
Why am I awake?"
She laid motionless for several minutes
before sitting back up in bed. Groggily, she crawled out of bed.
Making her way around her room to her dresser, Tiara pulled open a drawer
and took out a pair of red, denim jeans and threw them over her desk chair.
Rummaging through her closet, she found a gold tank top and a flower print
vest. Taking each off the hangers, she threw them overtop the jeans.
She stripped off her nightshirt and began dressing.
Tiara dressed quickly and fixed her hair,
pulling it up into a pony tail. When she placed her brush back on
her vanity, she noticed a note addressed to her.
*I wonder.*
Tiara picked up the note, unfolded the
paper and read:
'Dear Tia,
'What can I say to you? I've never
been able to find the right words. But then with you, I never had
to. You listened -- no matter how hard I tried to push you away.
I wish I didn't have to go away, but there are some things we just can't
control. Take care of Scott and Jean. They need you more than
you realize. And don't worry about finding your dad. He's always
close by.'
It was signed by Logan.
Tiara folded the paper and replaced it
on her vanity. Her thoughts suddenly moving from Logan to Scott.
"Scott," she whispered. Were they
home yet? Was everything all right?
Tiara moved away from her vanity and ran
out into the hallway. She walked toward the staircase and started
downstairs.
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX
Scott and Jean sat together at the kitchen
table, each drinking a cup of coffee. They had arrived home soon after
sunrise. It had been a long night of story-telling. Scott discovered
that Cable had a lot of questions and he was happy to have some answers
for him. It was like a load had been lifted from both men's chests.
Jean and the Professor sat quietly and listened, occasionally slipping
in a word or two. Domino was silent to whole time. When Cable
and Domino left, the others headed back to the School For Gifted Youngsters.
Their first order of business was to check
on Tiara. Scott had done nothing but worry about her the entire trip
home. Scott found her asleep in her room, clutching the teddy bear
he and Jean had given her for her birthday, just weeks before.
Tired and relieved, Scott and Jean wen
to bed, only to wake up some three hours later. together they went
downstairs to the kitchen. Jean began to boil a pot of water and
placed fresh coffee in the coffee pot.
<<Scott.>>
Gulping down the last of his coffee, Scott
thought he heard his name in a telepathic call. He looked over to
Jean, who was tentatively sipping her coffee.
"Jean, did you hear--?" But before
she could reply, Scott had pushed his chair away from the table and
was halfway into the foyer. Scott stopped at the base of the staircase.
Tiara called Jean's name aloud before
rounding the corner and halting at the top of the staircase. She
took one step downward when she noticed Scott already standing below her.
For a few moments he just stared at her and she stared back.
Jean came up behind Scott and followed
his gaze to Tiara.
No one said a word. Then Tiara bounded
down the stairs toward them. Scott smiled happily as Tiara reached
the bottom of the stairs. His arms were open and she jumped right
into them. Jean embraced both of them.
Their family was together again.
"We were so worried," Scott said at last.
He held Tiara at arms length.
Tiara looked up at Scott. "So was
I." She moved away from Scott to embrace Jean.
"What about Tyler?" Jean asked as
she embraced Tiara.
Tiara moved away sadly from Jean and replied,
"He's gone." A tear ran down her cheek. "What of my father?
Is he all right? Where--?"
"He's fine," Jean cut her off and
smiled. "Just fine."
Tiara decided to let her other questions
slide. Instead she said, "I got a note from Logan. He's gone."
Scott placed a hand on Tiara's shoulder.
"So did we. He was gone when we got back."
"Have you read your note?"
"No," Jean replied sadly. "It doesn't
seem like the right time."
Charles Xavier watched the exchange from
afar. He made no effort to interfere. They looked so happy.
Tiara, especially, looked well. She was dressed in clean clothes.
Her hair was neatly done. One would think that nothing had happened
to her the previous night.
Only when he heard a brief silence did
Xavier speak.
"I'm surprised to see all of you up at
an early hour."
"Professor!" Tiara nearly screamed.
She ran over to the man and hugged him fiercely. After she released
him, Tiara planted a light kiss on his cheek.
"You're all safe," Tiara said with a smile.
Charles nodded. "It is good to see
you in high spirits. We were all worried what this experience might
have done -- the stress, the pain."
Tiara collected her thoughts a moment.
True, the last 24 hours had been stressful. But they were also educational
-- a miraculous adventure! Tiara finally knew, with certainty, who
she was, where she came from, and who her father was.
"Tiara?" Scott asked with concern.
"Are you all right?"
Tiara turned to Scott and felt something
warm slide down her cheek. She brushed her hand over her cheek.
She didn't realize she had begun to cry. She smiled reassuringly
at Scott and Jean.
"I'm fine."
"Well, then," Charles said with a smile
of his own. "Who's up for some breakfast?"
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX
"Who's up for some breakfast?" Rictor
asked his fellow X-Force teammates. He got an affirmative from most of
them as they staggered down the hallway, half asleep, towards the kitchen
area.
Rictor knocked on Cable's door and called
from the other side, "You want some breakfast, chief?"
Cable stared at the door, then replied,
"No thanks." He turned to Dom. "You?"
Domino shook her head, "No, I'm fine."
They heard Rictor's footsteps as he followed
his teammates.
Cable sat quietly on the edge of his bed,
pondering the past 24 hours. He remembered going to visit the grave
of Madelyne Pryor-Summers, the woman he now knew was his biological mother,
in up-state New York. He remembered talking to Domino, someone he
hadn't seen in quite some time. He remembered seeing Mr. Sinister,
the man responsible for the entire jumble of things in his head.
"Nate?" Domino said. She was
sitting saloon style across from him in a low-back chair. "You're
awfully quiet."
"No more than usual," Cable replied, a
small smile creeping across his lips. "I'm still trying to sort out what
happened. In the last 24 hours, I've had my mind, and body, commandeered.
And after regaining them, I learn about my parents -- people I thought
didn't exist!"
"Sounds like what Tyler and Tiara went
through."
Cable just looked at her.
"You never said anything about being married,"
Domino said.
"There are a lot of things I never said,"
Cable replied, the smile leaving his face. "To you, to my kids.
Or to myself."
Domino thought better of making a joke
or rude comment at this point. She knew when Nathan was being serious.
And right now, he was very serious indeed! Domino had thought she'd seen
it all in him, but this ordeal changed him somehow.
"My wife died in a battle with En Sabah
Nur, the Apocalypse," Cable told her. "I thought Tyler and Tiara were dead,
too. But Stryfe had taken them. Bastard!" He stood from
the bed and began pacing.
"Look, Nate. You don't have to do
this. You don't owe me an explanation." Domino smiled at him.
"We're friends, right? Besides, there's plenty I haven't said to
you either."
Cable thought over Domino's words and
nodded. He walked over to his night stand. In a broken frame
of some alien material sat a picture of his family as he remembered them.
Under the picture was an ivory envelope with his name on it. He carefully
picked it up and opened it.
"What's that?" Domino asked.
"An invitation to Scott and Jean's wedding."
"You going?"
Cable shrugged. "I suppose."
"Tiara would be there, wouldn't she?"
Cable's mind reeled at the thought of
seeing his daughter again. There was so much he wanted to explain to her.
She had grown so much. Would she be willing to accept him as her
father, again? Could he look her in the eye and tell her the truth?
"Maybe," Cable said. He placed the
invitation back into the envelope and sat it beside the picture on his
night stand. "We can discuss it later. How about some breakfast?"
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX
It was late afternoon when a young man
awoke from a long deserved rest in a deserted ally. He was in some
city, he doesn't know the name for sure. Gingerly, he stretched out
his arms and legs, bruised and achy after a fight the night before.
The young man thinks back to the events
that brought him to his current location. He remembered seeing his
father, feeling the hatred between them rise to unforeseen circumstances.
He remembered a small group of people, full of courage and strength.
He remembered the fight, seeing inside his father's mind and finally coming
to and understanding. He also remembered a young girl, and how they
parted. He could still hear her final words in his mind.
<<Safe Journey, Tyler. We
will meet again.>>
The young man smiled to himself as he
looked toward the nearest busy street. He walked out of the ally, ready
to begin a new day.
Things were pretty uneventful after Tiara's
little adventure. She spent most of
her time rehearsing the song she had picked
out for Scott and Jean's wedding. Logan's departure was hard on everyone,
especially Jubilee. Tiara also spent a good deal of time with the
younger girl. She knew what it was like to lose a loved one, and
being around Jubilee was never boring.
One day, Charles had asked the girls to
help with a new sign for the school.
He had decided to rename his school, The
Institute For Higher Learning, as a second school was being constructed
in Massachusetts under the old name. They were happy to help.
Two weeks later, the new school was under
attack by caterers, decorators,
family and close friends all preparing
for Scott and Jean's wedding. The ceremony was only six days away,
and there was a lot to be done.
"I've never seen this place so alive,"
Jubilee said as she and Tiara wondered around the grounds. "Except
for in a fight."
"Well," Tiara commented. "It looks
like the mansion is loosing this one."
Both girls laughed.
"Besides, there's more to life than just
fighting, Jubes. There's television, laughter--"
"Shopping!" Jubilee chimed in. She
smiled. "Speaking of which, I'm in need
of some new threads. These jeans
are a little too revealing, if you know what I mean."
Tiara looked at Jubilee with a critical
eye. She was three years younger than
Tiara, but they shared the same taste
in clothes. Jubilee was wearing a dark blue turtleneck under a bright
yellow sweater and a ratty pair of jeans with holes the size of Texas all
over.
"Maybe it's a fashion statement," Tiara
said. "Start a new trend."
"Right," Jubilee snickered at her ensemble.
"The long awaited answer to the
grunge look."
They laughed again.
"I could use a new outfit myself."
Tiara contemplated her green sweater and
her favorite blue, chiffon and silk skirt,
which stopped just below her knees. "Not to mention a new pair of
shoes." She indicated her out-of-place Wolverine boots.
"Now there's a fashion statement," Jubilee
said.
Both girls stopped when they realized
they were heading toward the mailbox.
"My turn," Jubilee said happily.
"I'll meet you back at the mansion," Tiara
said, smiling as she turned to walk
back the path. Slowly Tiara retraced
her steps up the driveway. As she neared the mansion, she saw Bishop
standing on the front porch. Sabertooth was beside him, his collar
lights flashing. Bishop was regarding him wearily.
Tiara couldn't figure Bishop out.
He was from the future, too, but a different
future than she was. He always had
a comment about what was happening, or rather what wasn't. He was
always ready for battle, never left his gun behind anywhere. She'd
seen him use his mutant powers a few times. He was always on edge.
Tiara believed he was the perfect bodyguard for Bishop.
Sabertooth had come to the school almost
a week ago, practically bringing down the mansion to ask for help.
He recently lost an important friend. Tiara never heard of her, or
saw her, but Sabertooth was lost without her. He savagely rejected
every test Professor Xavier could think of; ate six meals a day -- not
including snacks; and, for untold reasons, was the most civil when he was
with Tiara.
Tiara was convinced he was civil around
her --well, his version of civil anyway -- because she reminded him of
his friend. Charles told her to be careful, but
Tiara couldn't help talking to him.
He was interesting to her. True he was a homicidal maniac, but Tiara
had been raised by one. His threats didn't frighten her, and in a
short time, the girl had become one of the few people he expected.
" 'Sides," Jubilee had stuck up for her.
"He wouldn't want Tia to kick his butt
halfway to next century."
She noticed Sabertooth watching her as
she made her way toward them. Her feelings about him were mixed.
She didn't know him well, although she probably knew more than the Professor.
And though she wouldn't show it, she was scared of him.
"Afternoon, Tia," Bishop said when she
reached the porch stairs.
"Hello," Tiara said with a smile.
"Jubilee and I were just checking out the
damage the decorators were doing to the
back lawn."
Bishop only nodded, then glanced at Sabertooth.
Sabertooth was looking at the
floor, annoyed. He fingered his
collar, then tapped his fingernails on the porch railing.
"Out on good behavior, huh?" Tiara
asked Sabertooth.
"Hard to believe, isn't it," he replied
with a smirk. His eyes never left the
floor.
"Don't smirk, it looks bad on you." Tiara
said.
"Mail call!" Jubilee's voice came from
the driveway. She ran up the stairs and
handed Tiara an envelope. "You got
a card or somethin'."
Tiara thanked Jubilee and followed her
into the mansion. As Jubilee ran to the
kitchen, Tiara stepped to her right, into
the sitting room. She plopped down on the couch and ripped open the
envelope. She slipped the card out and glanced at the cover.
'Happy Birthday' the card cover read.
Curious, Tiara opened the card with care.
There was a handwritten message inside.
'Sorry this is late. Hope to see
you at the wedding.
PS. Happy belated birthday!'
Cable
With a sigh, Tiara closed the card.
She was a bit surprised that he remembered her birthday, even if it was
a little late. She looked at the card cover again: a little girl
sitting on a park bench receiving flowers from a little boy. Smiling,
she replaced the card into the envelope.
Tiara sat in silence until she heard a
strange voice say, "How could we miss
our grandson's wedding?!"
Tiara hadn't heard the front door open
and close. She looked up to see an
elderly couple fussing over Scott.
His grandparents, Tiara nodded to herself. No one else could make
him turn THAT red.
Scott had mentioned to Tiara that he would
like to introduce her to his
grandparents. The only problem was
explaining. It was pointless to try to lie, because they now knew
the truth about Nathan Christopher. But both Scott and Tiara couldn't
help but feel uneasy. How would they take the news?
The time had come. A little too
soon for, Tiara. She stood from the couch,
leaving the card her father had sent sitting
in her place. With a smile, she headed for the foyer.
While Deborah was fussing over their grandson,
Philip was taking in the decor
of the school. It was a fine place.
Larger than he expected. He glanced to his right and found a young
girl standing in the doorway to the next room.
"An angel among devil's," Philip said
with a smile.
Scott and Deborah glanced upward.
They saw Tiara standing in the doorway
to the sitting room, a smile on her face.
"Gran'pa. Gran'ma." Scott motioned for
Tiara to stand beside him. She
walked over to him and he hugged her to
him. He looked down at her with a smile and said, "This is the young
lady I've been telling you about."
There was a moment of awkward silence
between the four of them. Deborah
was the first to approach the young lady.
Not saying a word, she gathered Tiara into her arms. Tiara returned
the hug with a smile. Relief showing on her face.
"Scott's told us so much about you," Deborah
said. "It's good to finally meet
you."
Philip stepped up to hug Tiara as his
wife backed away.
"That it is," he agreed with his wife.
"I'll admit it's a bit awkward and all,"
he stepped back beside his wife and smiled
at Tiara, "but surprises are to be expected in this family."
Tiara stifled a giggle. She smiled
and nodded her agreement.
"I can show you to your room," Tiara
offered.
"We'd love that, dear," Deborah said.
She turned to Scott, kissed his cheek,
picked up her bags, and grabbed Tiara's
hand. She began asking the girl questions as they made their way
up the stairs.
Philip followed his wife's example.
With a hearty clap on Scott's shoulder, he followed the chattering women
up the stairs.
*That was easy,* Scott thought to himself.
When the three people disappeared at the top of the stairs, he made his
way into the kitchen. He grabbed a soda can from the refrigerator
and stood at the back doors, overlooking the decorator's progress.
<<Scott?>>
<<How's it going?>> Scott answered
Jean's mental call.
<<Great! But I wish it would
go faster.>> He heard her sigh. <<So much to
do.>>
<<So little time. I'll be
out to help in a few minutes.>>
<<Don't bother, Scott. They're
getting ready to clean up for the evening.>>
A pause. <<Have your grandparents
made it in?>>
<<Yeah. Tiara's showing them
to their room.>>
<<How did it go?>>
<<Better than I thought.>> A pause.
<<You were right, hon. They love her.>>
Scott heard Jean giggle through their
rapport.
<<See.>>
<<I'd better go check on them.>>
Scott turned away from the back doors and
left his soda can by the sink.
<<I love you.>>
<<I love you, too, Jean.>>
XXXXX XXXXX XXXXX
Camp Verde, New Mexico was unusually warm
for the beginning of January.
Here, the home of the mutant outlaws known
as X-Force, was unusually quiet until. . .
BOOM!
Sam Guthrie considered himself a sound
sleeper, until this morning. He
convinced himself it was a dream.
Then another explosion shook the bunker, followed by a third. But
if it were real, why wasn't the alarm going off?
Slowly, he climbed out of bed. His
roommates/teammates, Rictor and
Shatterstar were already sitting up, wiping
their eyes and stretching sleepily.
*The family that sleeps together, gets
awakened by a loud blast together,* Sam
thought.
A knock sounded on their door. Teresa
stuck her head in. Boomer stood
behind her, eyes half closed as if she
were still asleep.
"Are ye all right in 'ere?" Teresa
asked them. "What's all the racket?"
"An attack?" Star said.
"I'm not sure," Sam said. But he
knew it wasn't an attack. No one knew the
camp was inhabited.
Shatterstar was wide awake now as the
explosions continued outside the
complex. He wasn't assuaged by Sam's
answer. He wanted to be sure. Without a second thought, Shatterstar
grabbed his swords from under his pillow and hurried past Teresa and Tabitha.
"Hey Star, wait up!" Rictor shouted
and followed him out.
"Ric! Star! Wait a sec!" Sam cried
after them both, but was cut off by the
sound of Siryn's sonic scream. She
was following the boys outside.
Sam looked helplessly at Tabitha.
She only shrugged and followed the others
outside.
*It's going to be a bad day,* Sam thought.
Minutes later, Sam was topside with the
rest of his teammates. They were huddled together in a small area
just in front of the ruins of the main bunker. They looked in awe
at what was happening before them.
Cable was standing about ten feet ahead,
aiming at a target some thirty feet
away. He reloaded his weapon and
fired.
BOOM!
The group shook with the ground as it
vibrated from his blast.
"Morning," Cable greeted the group without
looking at them. He reloaded his
weapon and fired again.
BOOM!
"Uh, sir," Sam asked. "What's
going on?"
"Just practicing," Cable replied, his
eyes never leaving his target.
"At 6:30 in the morning!" squealed Tabitha.
BOOM!
Cable shrugged. "As long as you're
up, we've got a wedding to attend in New
York. Be ready to leave in two hours."
BOOM!
Everyone muttered amongst themselves as
they padded back to their rooms. Sam stayed behind. He knew
Cable wasn't firing his weapons this early in the morning because of insomnia.
Something was wrong.
"Sir, is everything all right?"
Cable aimed the gun, then put it down.
"Is it Scott and Jean's wedding?"
Cable looked at him with one of his rough-and-tough
looks, then heaved a
sigh. He had been waiting for this
moment - when someone would ask about the wedding -- preparing what he
wanted to say. He was happy for Scott and Jean, no question.
It was the fact that he would see his daughter again that had every nerve
in his body jumping with energy.
"I couldn't be happier for them, Sam,"
Cable said honestly. He sighed again.
The details he had given his team of what
had happened a month ago were sketchy at best. They knew Tiara; who
she was and all that. It had come as quite a shock to everyone when
he told them she was his daughter. He thought Sam was going to pass
out cold. So why couldn't he admit that he was nervous about seeing
her?
"C'mon, we're going to be late," Cable
said. He slung his gun over his
shoulder and headed inside.
Sam followed.
