Future Girl

Chapter 16: Family Ties

Rachel was feeling a little tired, she had been having a long day getting used to this time period. With everything going on she felt that she needed to recharge but she was also feeling antsy. She needed to complete her mission but without a target she felt frustrated. She was currently in the living room alone, everyone had gone to bet for school the next morning. That was something that Rachel had never gone to, she had been too young at first but then things had gotten bad. She had been mainly self taught or taught by her parents and others.

But then again she still didn’t like to walk around the city with how her face looked. It hadn’t been a problem back where she came from, but now she was starting to get self conscious of it. Although now looking back she never liked the marks that had been place on her face against her will. They had marked her as a slave as one of the Hounds. She had tried so hard to escape that part of her life, at times she wished she could just wipe her own memories of that with her powers. One time she had tried and someone had stopped her when they figured out what she was trying to do.

It was most likely a good idea as she had been told she had been close to wiping her entire mind. She had the power but she never had the finesse needed for the really tricking things with being a telepath. She sighed there sitting on the couch as her mind wondered.

There was one good thing and that was Alex. He had helped her to start moving on from what she had done, it still hurt of course but now she felt that she could do something about it. She may not be able to wipe it from her mind but she could make sure that it never happened outside of her memories. Plus it was nice to get to know him, she had few memories of him but he had always been a kind and carrying uncle. She smiled as they had talked a lot as she learned more about the young uncle that she never got to know. She didn’t know that he had adopted parents in Hawaii that were very supportive that he was a mutant and of Scott.

That last thought made her sad, thinking about her father. Or at least this young man that had grown up to be her father, she wished things could be better between them. It was strange to see her father only a few years older than her but she still remembered that face, that voice he had. She so wanted to just go up to them and hug them close and just be held by them, they were the closet thing she had to her real parents and it hurt so much that she could see them and yet do nothing.

While she was lost in her thoughts, Scott walked into the room. He paused not sure what to say to her or even how to begin. She looked a bit sad and he guess that he couldn’t blame her after all how could he cope with something like this? He nervously stepped forward and came up on her left.

“Uh...hey,” Scott knew it was a lame opening but honestly he couldn’t think of anything else.

Rachel jumped in her seat and was surprised that Scott was there and was talking to her. She felt nervous and anxious at the same time but trying to keep herself calm. “Uh...hi.”

“Listen I know that I haven’t been very good about this, but I was hoping that we could talk.” Scott asked her.

Rachel wasn’t sure what to say at first but she nodded her head to him. He gave her a small smile and sat down next to her. Both were nervous and unsure what to say, and the silence between them was pretty large and it was getting to the point that both were feeling very uncomfortable. Scott sighed as he tried think of what to do first so he went with just asking her how she was doing fitting in. They started up with that, she told him about liking the new people and even seeing a few faces she had known in her time. She was getting used to living in this time and was liking all the things they had here that she didn’t back where she had come from.

Listening to things made him wonder just how bad things get in the future. After a moment they fell into some silence again and Scott thought it was time to finally ask her what was plaguing him.

“Rachel...Do you hate me?” Scott asked.

Rachel was blown away by that comment, she thought that he hated her. She blinked trying to make sense of this. “What? Why would I hate you?”

“Because of how I failed-will fail-did fail...you know what I mean,” Scott sighed feeling a little headache trying to talk about events that haven’t happened yet. This was why he hated time travel stuff, it never made much sense to him and now he was dealing with it in real life.

“I couldn’t protect you, or Jean. I mean we died and left you all alone, I know what that’s like and I never wanted any children of mine to suffer through that. But I failed in that, you lost us and then your life went to hell because I wasn’t there to save you. I failed you as a father and I just thought that you hated me because of it. Because of me you were branded and...I don’t even want to think about everything they did to you.”

Scott looked down at his hands and wondered just how badly he had to have screwed up his daughter’s life. He only just met her and yet he felt that he was a failure as a father already.

Rachel however was having different thoughts, she never thought that was the reason he had been avoiding her. It wasn’t because of her but of how he felt she must have thought of him. But what really touched was that he did care about her, she could feel the emotions coming off him from being this close and he wasn’t shielding his mind at the moment either. Rachel felt her eyes stinging at what he said and she couldn’t let him think that she hated him.

She lunched herself against him hugging him tightly as he nearly jumped from the surprise motion.

“I don’t hate you!”

“But-“

“I could never hate you,” she said feeling the warm tears falling down her face. “I never blamed you for any of it, I loved you both so much but I never once blamed you for it. Please don’t think that I hated you.”

Scott was surprised by this, he had thought that she hated him but she never hated him to begin with? He started to see and feel her shake a bit and figured that she must by trying not to cry. His face softened as he wrapped his arms around her. It was so strange holding this young girl that wasn’t much younger than himself and yet he was holding his own flesh and blood. She seemed to bury herself deeper into his chest as he ran a hand gently over her back, he could feel a small wetness on his chest from her tears forming.

“It’s okay now Rachel,” He said gently to her using a hand to gently stroke her head.

Rachel couldn’t stop crying even if she wanted to, she felt so many emotions at this moment. She knew that he wasn’t the father she had lost but he was the closest thing that she would ever have to getting him back. A few long lost memories of her father holding her like this when she was a very young girl entered her mind. She had forgotten what it was like to be held by her father, or maybe she had just forced herself to forget so she wouldn’t miss it.

But being in his arms she felt a level of comfort and safety that she hadn’t felt in what seemed like a lifetime. She just wanted to bury herself in her father’s warmth and just pretend like the outside world didn’t exist. She could hear the beating of his heart and it was strangely comforting, so she let out all the pain she had bottled up inside. She just released herself and let the tears fall.

Scott just held her, even gently rocking the poor girl. Strangely enough he could almost feel like a father at that moment, but he wanted to protect this girl. He had failed in the future to protect her and he wouldn’t want her to suffer again. So he just held her into the night just being there for the damaged girl.

-Secret Location-

In one of the many places across the world, the evil geneticist Sinister was working in one of his labs. This was a huge one with wall to wall metal and filled with various machines and devices, some that he had invented himself. At the moment he was looking at the computer data of the DNA results that his Marauders had obtained from the girl they had fought Selene and the X-Men for. He had to admit the results were very surprising, she was somehow the child of two of the subjects he had his eye on. She was the daughter of Jean Grey and Scott Summers. It was something he didn’t expect to find and his mind was racing with possible explanations.

One was that someone else had made a perfect clone from both of their DNA but there was no trace of any of the hints that showed genetic tampering. So that was out, in fact the DNA showed that she was their daughter but then the question came as to how she came to be? All the evidence claimed a natural daughter through child birth but how could that be?

So he went back to find any clues, he had hacked into every system he could find any satellite coverage of the area on that night she showed up. What he found from a weather satellite was an unusual electrical storm, the really odd thing was that there was only in one small area and only for a few seconds. Most would have just overlooked it as a glitch but it was too much of a coincidence for him. He tried to find anything else and from a SHIELD satellite imagery he was able to get a look on something that even he had never seen before. That was a rare case for him but looking at it, there was nothing in the alley and then all of a sudden there was some kind of strange energy and then the girl was suddenly there.

He stopped the image replay and thought about what he was seeing. There were a few possibilities but he had to be sure of things. He would have to get there and run a few scans but if this was what he felt it was then he might be able to have found something that was very useful for his future plans. The girl was another thing, she showed to have great power just like he knew that any child of Jean and Scott would have. He grinned wondering what secrets he would be able to learn from her that is if she managed to capture the girl. The problem was that she was with Xavier it seemed and he would need to get the girl away from the mansion and split apart from the others. He would have to wait and watch before he could find the best opportunity to capture her.

He was just about to get some plans thought up when his computer started to alert him to an incoming communication. He checked to see who would be calling him as only a handful of people could have got in touch with him directly. When he saw who the computer identified he smirked, he had been expecting this call for some time now. He turned on the communications gear and on the screen a new image appeared. This was of a beautiful dark haired woman who hadn’t aged a day they met back in 1905.

“Ah Selene looking as beautiful as ever,” he smiled.

She gave a polite smile back, “Nathaniel I wish this was a social call but I believe you know what this is about.”

“Ah yes the girl that we both have our sites on.”

She nodded her head, “Yes. The girl has something hidden inside of her, she was touched by something ancient and powerful and I want to see what that power was. However what are your interests in the girl Nathaniel?”

He could have lied to her but in all honestly she was one of the few people that he was upfront with, she did the same honor to him so he gave it back. Plus if he lied to her she wouldn’t trust him again and she was one of the few allies that he felt he needed. When you were immortal most allies were only temporary things that died and became dust. But Selene being just as immortal as himself was a long term investment that he had many benefits to. One of them was that she was only one in this world that was like him.

Someone of darkness that would do anything to any lengths to gain what they wanted. And they had all the time in the world to do it as well.

“The girl’s DNA is very surprising and plus her origins are very interesting.”

“How so?” Selene asked interested.

“Do you know of Scott Summers and Jean Gray of the X-Men?” He smirked a little seeing her scowl.

“Yes and what of it?”

“The girl is their daughter,” he said simply and now Selene’s face showed shock. It wasn’t easy to surprise her either and it was nice to see that he could surprise her with this kind of information. He could already see the wheels turning in her head about the implications.

“You’re sure?”

“Please don’t insult me my dear,” he said to her. “I’m certain. So if she is their daughter that raises many more questions, and I need answers to those questions.”

“So what do you propose then?”

“Simple. You help me capture the girl, I get any information out of her and enough DNA samples to keep me satisfied and you can take your time in taking the girl apart for this power you seek.” It was a simple deal and one where both sides would get what they wanted. So he wasn’t surprised when Selene accepted the offer, he told her that she would have the Marauders for when they were ready. Selene couldn’t trust the Hellfire Club or the Hellions, plus she looked like she took perverse pleasure in being able to command the very same group that had fought her not too long ago. They ended the communications and Sinister felt very content at that moment.

Another sound of his computer told him someone else wanted to talk to him, he sighed. Some days it just didn’t pay to have a finger in every pie out there. With spreading himself out like that it was constantly busy. He checked who was calling and he was tempted to just ignore it but he knew that he couldn’t afford to at the moment. He punched in a few commands as a holographic projection covered the area making it look like an apartment somewhere.

He clicked on another command as the image of Magneto showed himself on the screen.

“Report Sinister.” He commanded.

Sinister never liked to take commands from his fool but he had to play his part to get what he needed. Currently he was supposed to be on a research mission looking into a possible mutant group operating together. What Magneto didn’t know was that group was already taken care by the new Genetic Security Agency under Mason Eckhart. The GSA already had the mutants captured as they had been nothing more than a street gang. But no one knew about this except for him as he had an information exchange with Eckhart.

“I’m still looking but it looks like it was false information about this group,” Sinister spoke to him.

Magneto didn’t looked pleased although Sinister didn’t understand way. The new Brotherhood was in the hundreds now but the man was still looking for more. Plus the fact that Magneto didn’t accept failure in any form as well.

“I want it confirmed and then you are to report back to the Savage Land, Sinister.” And just like that the video cut off. Sinister turned off the hologram as he really didn’t like working for this man. His vision was so narrow and small minded. But then again the dislike was mutual between them it was only that they had a use for the other that they tolerated each other. But soon a day would come where he would have to break away on his own and when he did, he planned to also take a few promising candidates as well when he left. There were growing rifts inside of Magneto’s forces, some felt he wasn’t doing enough. Others felt like they weren’t being recognized enough and were disgruntled.

Two such people who weren’t happy were of course Omega Red and Juggernaut. Both of them were used to being on their own and making their own calls, plus they had their own personal vendettas that they wanted to complete and it wasn’t a stretch that with Magneto’s inactivity they felt they wouldn’t be able to accomplish what they wanted. It would only take a bit more time before they decided to break off on their own as well.

He only could wish he could be there when everything blew up in his face, after all when all that happened the confidence in the people under him would waver and also his paranoia would also increase. The man didn’t trust many people and always thought that those under him had their own plans, well in some cases like his he was right of course. But at any rate when several of his powerful mutants left to strike out on his own, his forces would be crippled for a bit as he rebuilds.

Now the only question was how many mutants he could convince to get on his side. But at any rate he had some plans to make.

-X-Mansion-

Rachel and Scott had stayed up for a couple of hours by now, after Rachel had finally calmed down they got to talking and this time is was more about their pasts. Rachel didn’t know much about her family other than what she could remember of them. She was saddened to learn of her father’s past, how he too watched his parents die in a plane crash and then separated from Alex for years. Each of them had thought the other was dead only to be reunited a year ago. It was nice to hear something good happened although when she learned of his life before Xavier took him in wasn’t good. The orphanage sounded so horrible to her, how the adults and the students picked on him constantly and made his life hell.

And for the life of him Scott never understood why, his powers hadn’t kicked in yet so there shouldn’t have been a reason to. But they had and it had been the most miserable years of his life.

Rachel opened up as well about her own past, how she had been taken in and trained to be a Hound. How they branded her face and beat her when she didn’t obey. Thankfully she had been a bit too young, the older women and some of the men the guards liked to go into their cells for their own pleasures. She could hear the cries in the night and it had been horrible. Then she talked about how she was forced to kill Alex. Scott was shocked by that but he didn’t judge her he just listened to her. Then she told him how she had finally been freed and joined the resistance and of the final days too.

They had stayed up talking about each other’s hidden pains and they felt closer to the other because of it. Maybe it was because they were family in a strange way, or that they had such sad pasts, or even some strange connecting they had that lasted throughout time and space. But at any rate both of them felt a bond had started to form between them both. As Scott glanced at the clock he saw the time and said it was most likely time for both of them to get some sleep. Rachel tried not to giggle as he usually had said it was ‘bed time’ to her as a small child too.

They walked up to the living quarters and they stopped at her door.

“Scott...thanks for talking to me tonight,” Rachel said looking up at him.

He smiled down at her and placed a hand on her shoulder, “Hey don’t mention it. I know this is all weird I mean I know that I’m not really your father...”

“And I know I’m not really your daughter...” she said.

“But...well you’re still family to me, okay?”

She could feel the tears in her eyes again and just nodded not trusting her voice. On impulse she hugged him again burying her face in his chest. He smiled as he returned the hug back, she didn’t cry this time in his arms. She pulled back smiling up at him and he marvelled at just how much she looked like Jean it was scary. Although he thought that he could see a few traces of himself in her, it was subtle but he felt he could see a few things.

“So I’ll see you in the morning Rachel,” he finally said.

She nodded and paused for a moment, “Is...is it okay if just once I can call you, dad?”

He wasn’t sure but he just shrugged, “Well, just between us okay. It will get some getting use to before you should say it in front of everyone. At least not until it stops being so, weird.”

Rachel agreed, it was strange enough as it was, plus it most likely would make him very uncomfortable if she called him ‘dad’ all the time. But she really wanted to say it at least just once with him and maybe it was for the best if they were all alone anyway. That way it was just something for them and no one else.

“Okay, goodnight...dad.” she said with a small smile as she went into her room. Scott smiled as well getting a funny feeling with her calling him that out loud. It wasn’t bad or anything it was strange but it felt nice in a strange way.

Rachel went to change for bed and she couldn’t stop smiling. In a strange way she was getting her father back, after all these years she almost had a father again. She felt so happy that she wanted to cry but she might have just used up all her tears earlier. She knew it would be a struggle and it would never be ‘normal’ between them but she was willing to have anything that she could get. As she slipped into her nice comfortable bed she curled up under the sheets fully content.

‘Thank you Commander,’ Rachel thought hoping in some weird way that the Commander Freeman of her future could hear her thoughts.

‘Thank you for sending me back, thank you for giving me a second chance with my family and with my father and everything. I understand now and I hope you and the others can hear me. I know that with the changes I’ll make you won’t exist as you did but still I miss you and thank you all.’

Rachel hugged the pillow close to her hoping that if Scott had opened up that Jean would as well soon. She wanted her too just as bad and if that was possible then her family would be complete. She had her uncle and father and now all she needed was her mother back in her life. She slept more soundly that night then she could ever remember as well.

Next up chapter 17: Some Serious Talks