Letting Go

Even late into the night, the winds sweep hot across the Arizona desert sands of the abandoned Camp Verde Apache Reservation. Hidden from view beneath those sands and ruins, lies the bunker headquarters of the outlaw mutant rebels known as X-Force.
And cautiously making her way through those tunnels is Domino. The team's mysterious "Mother-Figure"...Mother Teresa by way of Ripley from the movie, "Aliens." A woman who, looking at her sensor-pad, has come to a tense realization...
"Whatever was here...has gone topside. And guess who's going to be dumb enough to chase after it?" Dom thinks, as she exits back into the night.
Having spent the last week scouting potential new headquarter sites for the team, Domino returned an hour ago, only to find the bunker abandoned and completely drained of power. All the internal systems were off-line. Electrical fire flashes charred the walls throughout the network of underground corridors. Something had come and just as quickly gone. But who, or what, was it?
As Dom enters a narrow canyon, a familiar voice startles her.
"Domino, my dear...I could use some assistance...For it appears, as Rictor would put it..that I am seriously 'Spazzing Out'!"
Dom spins and aims up at a metallic, almost robotic form that is in the process of falling from the edge of the canyon wall. It lands at her feet with a dull thud.
"Odd, I anticipated, from the angle of my descent, that I would have landed directly on top of you, causing substantial injuries. I am glad that I was mistaken." The strange man tells her.
"Yeah, well, things tend to go my way, you know? Now, do you mind explaining who you are before I do some plasma tracer dental work on you. Assuming you have teeth, that is." Dom says.
"Why, Beatrice, I have known the pleasure of your company for years. Although you did not officially make my acquaintance until quite recently. An' if the face ain't familiar, toots...I would hope the voice is!" He tells her. "Professor?! The sentient operational program that runs Cable's cybernet systems?! But that's not possible!" Dom says, as she lowers her weapon.
"Indeed it is, my friend. Although, if you don't mind, I would prefer to be called Prosh. It is an amalgam of what I once was, what I am now and perhaps, with the help of all my friends, what I may yet one day be. Before we do that though, It would appear that I may require some physical assistance returning to the bunker, for it seems I have finally drained my storage cells completely dry...of..my..remaining..power...*" Prosh falls back on the sand unconscious.

Days later, Prosh awakens. "Hmmm? Oh, my. Is this what waking up feels like? How exhausting and exhilarating, both at once! There! I do most certainly feel rather refreshed now." Prosh says, upon noticing Cable and X-Force gathered around him.
"Good. Now maybe you can make the rest of us feel better by telling us what the flonq is going on?!" Cable asks.
"Nathan, and the rest of you as well, how wonderful to see you all. I take it then, that things went rather well against the Phalanx? Good. Good. My own unexpected encounter with one of them here at the bunker complex, as you can see, has left me in a rather...interesting position. By the way, how long have I been inactive?" Prosh asks.
"About seventy-eight hours now, Prof." James Proudstar tells him.
"Prosh, if you please, James. With an 's-h' say it with me.." Prosh says.
"Sh-oor, Prosh. I like the sound of that." James replies with a smile.
"Domino dragged you back here an' plugged you into the secondary fusion generators." Sam Guthrie explains, "An' you been feedin' off the bunker's power supply ever since."
"Kinda skinny for such a hungry dude, eh Amigo?" Rictor asks, hitting Prosh in the arm.
"Why, Julio, I can only get as big and strong as you are if I am allowed to eat like a growing boy should." Prosh replies.
"'Zactly how did you get the hunky bod, Prosh?" Tabitha asks.
"Tabitha, the exact details are a bit confusing to me." Prosh snaps his fingers and a projector emerges from the control panel. "But I can activate the bunker's security cameras to play back the Phalanx attack which led to my current condition. An agent of the Phalanx came to Camp Verde, looking to assimilate all of you, I imagine. But when he tried to infiltrate my cybernet, the poor fellow was in for a rather shocking surprise. His form was completely discorporated. Lost to the overwhelming flow of information amassed in my neural net." Prosh explains, as the team watches it transfold on the screen. "But what the Phalanx lost, I apparently gained. Namely, a corporeal form...a body. For the first time in my long life, I could see from my own eyes. I could taste the air, smell the desert flowers...and I could run! I guess I found that most enjoyable of all, because I ran too long and too far, losing power, and nearly my newfound life as well. Until Beatrice found me."
"Beatrice?" Tabitha asks, wide-eyed.
"Not another word." Dom tells her before she can get started.
"All's well, Prosh, 'cause you got yourself a great set of gams for all the hassles." Tabitha says, popping her bubblegum.
"Wait a minute, Folks." Dom says, stepping forward. "Just to play devil's advocate here, but after what we went through with the Phalanx, how do we know that Prosh isn't--"
"Another killer robot? My dear Domino, your doubt are logical, but totally unfounded." Prosh says, as he steps forward, takes Dom's chin in his hand, pulls her forward and plants a kiss square on the tip of her nose. "But how would you feel about a 'Lady-Killer' robot?"
"Dom, stand down." Cable says, as he pours himself a cup of coffee. "There's as much a chance of the Professor, I'm sorry, Prosh, being a threat to us, as there is of me travelling through time."
"I thought you could do that." Sam says, confused.
"That was before Greymalkin was lost to us and the time displacement core was taken off-line, Samuel." Prosh explains, "Though if only Nathan would wake up regarding the true nature of his powers--Ah, but that is for another time." Prosh adds upon catching the look in Nathan's eyes.
Prosh then marches over and takes the coffee cup from Nathan, eliciting another glare. "And what are you looking at?" Prosh asks. "I've made you coffee you told me was 'Worth killing for.' Now that I finally have a mouth, I'd like to see what all the fuss was about." Prosh lifts the cup to his lips, even as Theresa brings Nathan another cup. "Feh! That wasn't worth it. You do realize this is nothing more than water filtered through crushed roasted beans?"
"Are you making fun of coffee?" Nathan asks, giving Prosh yet another warning glare.
"Ye tempt death, Prosh." Theresa laughs, "T'be disparaging Nathan's very life's blood."
"'Star, how come you're not hanging out with the rest of us?" James asks, approaching 'Star at the monitor station.
"I do not wish to rain on anyone's charade, Warpath. But I have been monitoring Prosh's energy intake." 'Star replies.
"By all means, Shatterstar," Cable tells him, "Rain on our 'charade'--What've you found?"
"Actually, nothing. And that's what's so strange about all this. The equipment should be registering the output drainage. But I'm getting a flatline reading. Perhaps Prosh's presence is somehow interfering with the diagnostic equipment?" 'Star surmises.
"No." Cable replies, "That can't be. You must be reading it wrong. When did you become a specialist in fusion energy drainage systems?"
"Nathan, don't speak on subjects you know nothing about." Prosh interrupts. "five hours after I first taught Shatterstar to play chess, I never won another game against the lad. So don't belittle his intelligence.
"Hah!" James laughs, "We'll just belittle his lack of personality. I'm kidding, 'Star. Put that sword down. Seriously, gang, should we be concerned about the quantity of energy it may take to keep Prosh mobile?"
"I promise I won't deplete too much of your reserves, James." Prosh tells them. "I'll be a good boy and you'll still have enough power to go fight those nasty, bad mutants."
"I think James was worried a little bit more about the refrigerator!" Theresa laughs.
"Hmmm. Well, he's sheer out of luck then, Theresa." Prosh replies. "You can starve for all I care." And Prosh laughs.
"I can see this has degenerated pretty quickly." James says deadpan. "No sense trying to figure out any solutions right now, I guess.
"There ain't really that much of a problem, Jimmy." Tabitha says. "Prosh is alive! That's what matters. If it means we gotta conserve our stupid energy supply, so what?"
"Even if it means you cain't use you blow-dryer no more, Boomer?" Sam asks.
"Oh. Let the transformer rot, I say." Tabitha replies laughing.
"Apparently, Prosh, this little change in you has brought out quite a bit of life in the rest of us." Nathan says, thinking how long it's been since he seen the kids laugh so much. "I think I'm speaking for everyone here when I say, It's a pleasure to welcome you to X-Force!"
"Nathan, though I have always considered myself a part of you, and your entire family here, allow me to say for the record. That the pleasure is all mine!" Prosh replies. And then he does something he has longed to do many times. He walks over and gives Nathan a warm hug.

Days pass. And for a change of pace, it is a relaxing time. Prosh quickly becomes both a teacher of and pupil to the young mutants at the bunker complex. His warmth and compassion serve as a perfect focal point to the needs he shares in common with these young people. The need for direction, for hope, for a sense of being and belonging. And most of all, the need to have some fun.
"Ach!" Theresa cries out, upon exiting the bunker into the bright sun. "Sun in my eyes! Give me a cold breeze whistlin' off Clew Bay anyday. What is it they're doing?" *OOF* Theresa is hit square in the stomach by a football. "Oh no."
Before she can blink she is scooped up by James.
"Sacked for a twenty yard loss! And so, having recruited the young Apache from out of nowhere, Buddy Ryan has turned Arizona Cardinals into a contender." James says, though he makes no move to put Theresa down.
"Will Theresa be joining us?" 'Star asks.
"Maybe. If'n ye choose t' play real football!" Theresa replies.
"Fekt! Soccer lacks the physical stimulation of American football!" 'Star grumbles.
"Skins' ball!" Prosh says, taking the ball from Theresa, who is still cradled in James' arms.
"Shirts and skins?" Theresa asks, "Which side is Prosh on?"
"He insisted on playing for skins." James replies, "Go figure. He said 'If I'm going to have one, I'll flaunt it every chance I get!'...Speaking of any chance I get..." James pulls Theresa in closer.
"Uhm...Jimmy...Ye can put me down now, y'know." Theresa says softly.
"I know. But I'd rather not." James slowly moves his lips towards hers.
"Jimmy...don't...I..." Theresa whispers, but does not pull away.

THONK

On a hill overlooking the makeshift football field, Dom sits watching. She too is dressed for leasure in a tank-top and cut-off shorts, but makes no move to join the others.
"You don't have to keep avoiding them just because of me, Dom." Nathan says from behind her, hidden in the shadows.
"I know, Nate. But they were lied to enough by someone wearing my face when Vanessa impersonated me. I'd rather not give them any reasons to mistrust me." Dom says, softly.
"I don't want you to lie for me, but I don't want them to know yet, either." Nathan replies, "I want them all, especially Prosh, to enjoy the fun they've been having."
"Even if it kills you, Nate?" Dom chokes on her words and curses as a tear runs down her face.
"Well, at least until we find some hard evidence that Prosh's new life really does have something to do with what's happened to me." Nathan steps forward a bit, and Dom's tears flow freely as she sees his condition has worsened since this morning.
The techno-organic virus which covers Nathan's left arm has spread and grown more intense. Sharp spikes have formed on his arm and the left side of his face where the virus has spread.
"It's too similar to the change you went through when your arm interacted with Nimrod's neural network last month." Dom tells him, "The continual control your mind needs to exert on the techno-organic portion of your body is being disrupted by something. And if it keeps up, Nathan, it's going to tear you apart! I like Prosh, but I'll be damned if I'm going to sit by and watch you die!"
Nathan just lowers his head, for once at a total loss as to what to do or say.

That evening...
"Yo, Shatty, why'd you skip out on dinner?" Rictor asks, approaching 'Star at the monitor station. "It was my turn to cook tonight, too. Total disaster area! The temp gauge on the oven was shot and I didn't know it. Shoulda' seen Guthrie's face when he bit into the chicken..."
"I imagine it was quite comical." 'Star replies.
"What're you up to in here? You set up a VCR playback for a 'Love Connection' marathon again?" Rictor asks.
"The remote selector is not operating properly. I have been trying to fix it for over an hour." 'Star explains.
"D'jou check the batteries, Dude?" Rictor asks laughing.
"Humph. What I have done is perform a complete diagnostic on all our communications systems. And I have not liked what I have uncovered." 'Star moves aside so Rictor can see the screen.
"According to this, something's pitchin' a frequency broadcast which is scrambling all our electro-magnetic links." Rictor observes.
"Indeed." 'Star replies, "A perpetual haze of static incursion into everything here which runs on any kind of energy source. And I am afraid, I have also gone a long way towards identifying the source, and it confirms my initial suspicions from days ago."

Morning, inside the Hangar Bay...
"Well, this is gonna be a heckuva lot more work than I thought." Sam says, as he observes the PAC-RAT which has grown several spikes on it's sleek fuselage.
"'Just gonna go re-route the fusion plasma inverters, ya'll wanna help out or what, Jimmy? Ha-Yuck. Ha-Yuck!'" James says.
"I never said 'ya'll' and I only used one 'Ha-Yuck.'" Sam grins, "I guess we better find Cable an' tell him the PAC-RAT is growin' big metal zits all over it."
"If you can find him." James replies, "No one's seen him since the other morning. Domino only said he was having a really bad hair day."
"An I hate t'think what Boomer said in response." Sam tells him.
"Hmmm. So what now?" James asks.
"We gotta find out what, or who, is responsible for this." Sam replies.

"ME?!" Prosh asks, staring in amazement at Nathan.
"Yes, Prosh. It is you." Nathan replies softly. "S'much as I didn't want it to be true. The energy signatures you exist on, the transmissions running through you, like blood through us, your mechanical equivalent to our DNA, is disrupting everything in the bunker...including my T-O mesh."
"If my very existence has been doing this to you...then the solution is logical. I must cease to exist." Prosh says softly.
"NO!" Nathan shouts, "You just found life. Real life, for the first time--"
"But, Nathan, I cannot live while you suffer." Prosh walks towards Nathan and takes his hand, "What else can be done to stop this?"
"We...we don't know, Prosh." Dom replies softly, "But I think it's time we got everyone in on this. And maybe together, we'll be able to figure something out."

Later in the medical lab...
"Madre De Dios!" Rictor exclaims, "Cable's a mess! We can't even get a decent reading out of the medical scanners."
"This is all because of me!" Prosh yells, "I have corrupted everything all of you have tried to build here. I have to discorporate. Try to purge this from within my neural net, which is linked to all the systems here in the bunker."
"And are you aware, Prosh, that to do so would, in essence end your physical life?" 'Star asks, "That which you seek to purge is also responsible for having given you this present form."
"I know, Gaveedra-Seven. I know exactly what I have to do." Prosh replies.
"Gaveedra-Huh?" Tabitha asks.
"There has to be a better solution than that." Nathan says, "There has to be a way for you to live and for us to live, too. What's killing me...is keeping you alive. So how about saving me at the same time as you save yourself? Why not just take everything here with you and...leave?" Nathan chokes on the last word.
"But Nathan...that would mean you would lose all of your equipment and most of your data network." Prosh replies.
"They're just things, Prosh. They used to matter to me...when that was all I had...but people matter more to me. Your life and happiness matter more." Nathan places his arm on Prosh's shoulder and gives him a reassuring squeeze. "Besides, I've got several vehicles and weapons at each of my safe-houses. We'll...get by."
"But if I were to leave...I would never be able to...see you again...Nathan...I..." Prosh falls silent.
"But you'd be alive, Prosh." Sam tells him. "Out there somewhere in the stars! Think about how much there is for you t' discover!"
"It would be...wonderful..." Prosh lied, "...to be soaring through the Cosmos again. James, for me to do this would require that I severely disrupt the foundations of this camp. Not just the bunker, but many of the buildings above would need to be co-opted into my mass as well, to properly prepare this form for interstellar travel."
"My people's Burial Ground is a mile south-east of here. That's the only place which I ask you to leave untouched." James replies. "As for the rest of this place...I can't think of anything which would make me...or the restless spirits of my friends and family that I lost here...happier than to see a new life emerge from the ashes of the old."
Prosh walks over and hugs the large Apache, "I will try to honor the souls of your people, James. I will always turn towards the sun and fly on wings of discovery."
"Yeah...great...don't forget...to write, huh?" Tabitha begins to weep.
"If I am able to, I will, Tabitha. Nothing would give me more pleasure than knowing how you all will develop into adulthood." Prosh gently kisses her on the forehead, "Don't be too upset. It is the only choice we have."
"I know...still stinks, tho'..." Tabitha hugs him a last time.
Prosh turns towards Nathan and sees the big man's throat convulsing as he fights back the tears.
"I will miss all of you so much...and you most of all, Nathan." Prosh places his hands on Nathan's shoulders, "I have watched over you since you were a babe. I have seen you struggle through a life of such loss...sadness and tragedy, that a lesser man would have been crushed long ago. It only made you stronger. And I leave now...like a father proud to see his son having become...a stronger man...a better person...than he has ever been in his entire, difficult life. I love you, Nathan."
Nathan pulls him close and hugs him fiercely, "Even though I was blind to it for so long, Prosh...You were, and always have been...the best friend I ever had. I love you, too."

Nathan, Dom and X-Force stand on a hill overlooking the camp.
"He's getting ready now...I can hear him." 'Star says softly.
"It's working, Nate. Your T-O mesh is stabilizing and retreating." Dom tells him.
"I know, Dom." Nathan replies, "The further I get from him, the better I look...but that isn't making me feel better...you know...?"
"I know how hard it is for you to lose him, but it's the right thing to do, Nate...for you...and for Prosh." Dom replies.
Cable watches, both happy and sad, as Prosh rises like a Phoenix, spitting fire and fury from his self-made craft. He sees the smile on Prosh's face...feeling the joy and excitement in his heart. The being who started his life as a sentient spaceship is going back where he belongs.
As the light slowly disappears into the upper atmosphere, Cable breathes in deep, feeling the ache in his gut tighten. The muscles of his neck once again grow taut.
Domino's hand slips into his, holding it tight. He turns to face her and she smiles up at him.
In order to appreciate everything he has now...family and focus...he has had to let go of all that which was once his.

Seeing the big man's muscles grow tight, and Dom approach and take his hand, Sam turns and motions the others to head on down the hill and leave them alone.

It is one of the two hardest things the man called Cable has ever had to do since coming to this time.
The first was admitting how much he needed this rag-tag family to begin with.
The second was seeing his last hope of returning to the time he was reared in stolen from him.
And it was a hollow voice called the Professor who was there for him both times. So in all ways, they have come full-circle...and each given hope to the other.
His left eye glows brighter as the tears pour forth.
Dom holds him there atop that hill, until the tears subside and his breathing returns to normal. He turns towards her, kisses her gently on her lips.
"You going to be okay with this, Nate?" She asks softly, wiping a last tear from his cheek.
"Yeah, Dom....I am. He helped teach me..that I am...I always was...more then metal...I'm blood too." Nathan slips his arm around her and turns to head down towards the others. "And I have blood again. I have a family again. I have a life. Let's start living it..."
"That sounds fine to all of us, Sir." Sam smile up at him, "But where're gonna go to do it?"
Dom smiles and pulls Nathan a little closer to her,
"Funny you should ask, Sammy..."

Our Journey Continues With
Holding On

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