All characters are trademarked and copyrighted to Marvel Comics. They are used without permission, and no money is being made on this work. A very special thanks to Karen Burrows. Thanks so much for beta-reading, Karen, I owe you my soul . . . or at least a nice chunk of it . . . or maybe none at all since I love it too much, but I'd give you my car if I had one :)
Release, Epilogue
by Tangerine
The X-Men had yet to return from their mission, X-Factor had been incommunicable, and X-Force had completely disappeared from the face of the planet. So, at Warren's funeral, there was barely a soul there compared to the usual numbers. Only Excalibur and Generation X had been available to attend.
Betsy stood in the snow, watching as they lowered the casket into the frozen ground. He was to be buried beside her parents, where Betsy would be buried when she died, and then they would be together for eternity. That had been Warren's decision, for he thought it would better hide his body from any evil force that might want it. Betsy suspected it wouldn't be that easy.
"Betsy, I'm so sorry," Kitty murmured, hugging her gently as Pete Wisdom watched on, becoming increasingly aware he could lose Kitty any moment without warning. "If you need anything just call, okay? We can talk."
Betsy looked down at her, nodding slowly, and Kitty and Pete disappeared back into the small crowd. They had no idea of the despair she felt.
The teens hung closely together, Paige, Everett and Jubilee the most emotional of the bunch. Husk and Synch hadn't known Warren, but they were both highly sensitive persons, and death bothered them greatly. Jubilee was suffering the greatest loss and was being gently comforted by Ev and a silent Penance, who watched Jubilee's every movement carefully, occasionally reaching out to touch her shoe.
"Oh, Betsy, are you okay? Brian says you're coping, but I know it must be dreadfully hard for you," Meggan exclaimed, bringing her hands to her mouth as her eyes watered again after finally stopping the tears. "I'm moving back into your home with Brian, so I'll be there for you. Oh, Betsy, everything's going to be okay."
Betsy agreed numbly, wrapping her arms around her waist, hugging herself when it should have been Warren doing it. She walked slowly toward the hole in the ground, and picked up a bouquet of white roses. Plucking the petals from the stem, and ignoring the blood on her fingers as she was cut by the thorns, she threw the flowers on the coffin and a few disappeared in the wind, floating away like ghosts.
"As Katzen said, mein freundin, if you need any of us, we'll be there. You aren't alone in this, Elisabeth," Kurt assured her, and she heard his words but took little note of them. He couldn't understand what she felt.
"Betsy," another voice said cautiously, and she turned to see Charlotte with her son Timmy looking solemn beside her. Brian had paid for them to travel to England for the funeral. Betsy had insisted he did. "Warren was a good man, and unlike all your friends who are trying really hard to understand, I know what it feels like to lose the man you loved with every ounce of your soul. It never gets any easier, but don't let it destroy you. He wouldn't want it to."
"Thank you, Charlotte," Betsy murmured, feeling slight comfort for the first time since Warrens death. Charlotte nodded, leading Timmy away from the grave site with gentle hands. Betsy wondered if she would have to do that to her child someday.
Betsy wandered on, passing Brian as he and Moira argued over something heatedly. Brian caught her eye amidst the fight and gave her a look of encouragement, which she returned weakly. They both knew it meant nothing.
Bobby stopped his conversation with Remy and jogged over to her, stopping her from going any further. She sighed deeply and looked at him, and he, with eyes red and puffy, looked back at her. "Are you coming back to Westchester?"
"In time, I'll come back, but right now, right now I'm just going to spend some time with Brian and Meggan, trying to get past this and on with my life. He's gone, and I have to learn to live without him. I'll return someday, Bobby."
He nodded, and kissing her on the cheek as he went, he returned to his place with Remy. Betsy stared out across the moors, smiling at the beauty they held as she stroked her stomach, letting the child comfort her. Someday, she would return, someday.
* * *
Miles away in Egypt, the dark lord Apocalypse lay in sleep as his rejuvenation chamber cured his mangled body, and in his dreams of dementia, he planned his revenge against the woman who had nearly destroyed him and against the man who thought he could escape the contract etched on his soul.
* * *
Sinister sat in his laboratory, staring at a vial of dark, watery blood, thinking about the wonders that were held within the DNA and barely able to contain his thirst for the knowledge. There was a code there, a code that would finally allow him to beat and conquer Apocalypse, and he only needed to crack it.
Sinister placed the vial away in a safe place, turning to his other creations and surveying them. Did they know what they were a part of? Did any of them realise this was only the beginning? Did any of them truly understand nothing simply ends? Nothing ends...
The End. So... there you go, and though you may be wondering what the hell I was thinking when I wrote that ending, fear not! Nothing ends, only continues on with new players, and so the story continues in 'Pulse' soon to emerge at an archive near you!
I hope you all enjoyed the story, long as it was and even though I tended to go off in one direction then suddenly change my course. I know it was confusing at points, and I started a lot of plots I decided not to use halfway through, but I adored writing it. It was a labour of love, that's what it was, and thanks to everybody who read it and gave me feedback. It kept me going during the rough times (and there were a lot:). Special thanks to queenB, Min and Karen Burrows for helping with the story, whether through editing, beta-reading or encouraging comments to convince me it wasn't always as bad as I thought it was.
Any questions, comments, like it/didn't like it stuff can be sent to meghan@multiscreen.com. And I'll respond to it, always, usually the very day unless, of course, my computer gets kidnapped or my cruel teachers assign too much homework. Other than that, there's not a force on this earth that can keep me away :)
-Tangerine-