Second Genesis Part II
Dear Ma, Sometimes, late at night, when I'm all alone, I wonder how things woulda turned out if'n I never left Kentucky. Never met Charles Xavier, or Magneto, or Cable. I was here in the mansion for the first day of the New Mutants. And now I was afraid I'd come back here for the last day of X-Force. Boomer, Warpath, Shatterstar, Rictor and me, that's most of the team now. Y'see, Cable asked us, ordered us really he never asks, to meet him here. He's got something big on his mind. Has ever since he got back from Israel. I just hope it ain't what I think it is...
Sam and Tabitha strained their ears against the door to Professor Xavier's study. Inside Cable and Charles Xavier are discussing X-Force's future.
"I can't hear anything." Tabitha complains. "Can you hear anything?"
"Let me in there." James Proudstar tells them. "My hearing is much better than either of you guys."
"Is not." Tabitha retorts.
"Is too." James replies.
"Will both of ya shush!" Sam orders. "We'll nevah hear with both of ya carryin' on."
"Cable has been keeping us waiting for hours." 'Star complains. "I vote we kick the door in and demand to know what they're doing in there. What do you say, Rictor? Are you with me on this?"
"Hmm? Sure. Whatever." Rictor replies.
"Ahem...don't you all have something better to do?" Domino asks from behind them.
"Ooops."
James says.
"We're busted." Tabitha tells them.
"Hiya, Domino." Sam offers.
"Yes, um...good morning." 'Star tells her innocently.
"Look, Domino, ya must know what's goin' on in there." Sam tells her.
"And you know Cable well enough to know he's got his own way of handling things." Dom replies. "I'm sure he'll find you when he's good and ready."
"Hey, howcum you got a new uniform on?" Tabitha asks.
"Where are we supposed to live now that Murderworld is gone?" 'Star asks.
"My advice is, find something else to do and find someplace else to do it." Dom replies.
The team adjourns to the front lawn outside Xavier's mansion, but the conversation still centers on just what Cable has in mind for them.
"All I'm sayin' is, when we were the New Mutants, the idea was to train us ta become X-Men." Sam explains. "And now that they got the Generation X kids, where does that leave us?"
"You think Cable would disband X-Force?" 'Star asks.
"He wouldn't dare." Tabitha tells him.
"I dunno." Sam worries. "After Murderworld? After what happened with Bobby?"
"After what happened with Bobby, maybe we should move on." Rictor says.
"Speakin' of..." Sam points upward, as Sunspot flies down to join them.
"Hey gang." Bobby greets them. "Anybody know what's what?"
"No news, Sunspot." Sam tells him. "Cable's still in there and we're still in the dark. Y'know, Bob, your flyin' 'round is gonna' take some gettin' used to."
"It's cool, huh?" Bobby replies.
The rest of the team makes hasty excuses and leave to go back into the mansion.
"Jerks." Sam remarks. "Bobby, I'm sorry. I guess they jus' aren't comfortable with the new Sunspot yet."
"Who can blame them?" Bobby replies. "I'm not gonna pretend I understand how Cable did it, but for the first time, maybe in my life, I feel whole. I can put all that Reignfire stuff behind me. And I never felt this powerful."
"And you're not worried? At all?" Sam asks.
"Not as long as we're still friends." Bobby tells him.
"Goes without sayin'." Sam replies.
"Then, I don't have a care in the world." Bobby says. "I'm gonna soak up some more rays. Give a yell when the big guy wants us."
"Okay..." Sam tells him.
...Bobby Dacosta, Sunspot, still has to be my best friend. Only lately he's...different. Different in a good way, I guess...I hope. None of us have seen Theresa, Siryn, since yesterday. Cable doesn't seem concerned. But, Warpath finally called her father, Sean Cassidy, Banshee. You know, the headmaster at Paige's school. Yep. Jimmy's still carrying a torch for that girl. I've written you about the danger room. The X-Men's training gym. A while back they added this alien Shi'Ar technology (I've told you about them, haven't I?) So you can create any environment you'd want. Well, we'd all heard about how Wolverine went to the mat with Sabretooth and cleaned his clock. What we didn't know was what happened afterwards. They're now keeping Sabretooth in the danger room, got it set up like something right out of "The Lion King" with furry little critters and all. I don't like not knowing what's going on. Never have, you know. If Cable's got something to say to us, he oughta just come right out and do it....
Sam walks through the X-Men's hanger bay, lost in writing his letter home.
"Heads up!" A voice shouts, just as a wrench drops, narrowly missing Sam's head.
"Hey!" Sam shouts, picking up the wrench and flying up to the top of the Blackbird. "Why don'tcha look..." Sam stops short upon seeing just who had dropped the wrench, Scott Summers. "I mean...um...here's you wrench, Sir."
"How 'bout you call me 'Scott', okay?" Cyclops tells him. "Must be strange to be back in the mansion."
"Y'know, when we took off ta run X-Force, I thought I had all the answers. But bein' back here...I don't know..." Sam says.
"I was almost your age when I joined the X-Men." Scott explains. "And I felt just about as insecure. The one thing I've learned about being part of this X-Family, is that things usually work out for the best."
"Thanks...Scott." Sam replies.
Man-O-Man! It was Scott Summers, Cyclops, he's like the Babe Ruth of X-Men. I--
"Attention: X-Force, you are to report to Xavier's office at once." Sam hears Cable's voice telepathically in his head.
Upon making his way to Xavier's study, Sam meets the rest of the team.
"Was that Cable in my head?" Rictor asks.
"No kidding. We all 'heard' him." Tabitha says.
"I heard him...outside." Bobby tells them.
Suddenly, the door to Xavier's study is opened by Cable, himself.
"Cable..."
"How..."
"When..."
"Who..."
"Where..."
"If you'll all be quiet," Cable telepathically tells them. "And come in here, I'll answer all your questions."
The team files in, as Cable walks behind Xavier's desk to join Charles and turns to address the team, out loud this time.
"Xavier and I don't see eye to eye on a lot of things. At times I've felt he doesn't act aggressively enough. But, we do agree that the fight for a world where human and mutant live in peace...is a good fight. What I want to do is take another look at how X-Force achieves that goal. Now that the legacy virus has become public knowledge, the hostility towards all mutants is running hot. With what I know of the future, which is admittedly extremely limited, if we don't act quickly...it'll be too late."
"Sir," Sam interrupts. "If X-Force isn't living up ta it's potential, as team Captain, it's my fault."
"Always willing to take the blame and none of the credit, aren't you, Sam?" Cable smiles down at him.
"It's just that I don't think ya should disband X-Force." Sam replies.
"Disband?" Xavier asks. "Who said anything about disbanding?"
"No." Cable tells them. "We're going to try this again. We'll still be doing it my way, but working more closely with Xavier and the X-Men. For a while, we're moving back into the mansion. For some of you, it'll be like coming home. We're going to work as a team. That means we're going to dress as a team." With this Cable opens a box and removes the new team uniforms, purple and gold, that he had Blaquesmith make up for them earlier. "We're going to see if we can't boost your power levels. Like with Bobby. So those of you who have been holding back, think again. And that goes for me too. Which is why we're going to work more telepathically."
"You're gonna be in our heads?" Rictor asks.
"Yep." Cable replies, telepathically.
"Where's mine?" Sam asks, as he looks in the now empty box and finds no uniform for himself.
"I don't have a uniform for you, Sam, because...I don't have a place for you anymore." Cable tells him.
I felt sick to my stomach, Ma. He wasn't getting rid of X-Force. He was getting rid of me!
Xavier smiles, as the rest of the team begins to yell all at once.
"I was the first one to join this team, Cable!" Sam tells him. "I supported ya when everybody else said not ta! And now you don't have a place for me?!"
"Sam, you can't be on X-Force because..." Cable accepts a box from Xavier and hands it over to Sam, as he explains, "You've just graduated!"
"We think you're ready to join the X-Men." Xavier tells him.
All I can think of is...I can't wait to see the look on Paige's face!
The entire team explodes into a cheering mob.
"I'll take that as a yes." Cable says.
"Can we come in now?" Dom asks from the doorway, where she stands with Caliban, who is also in the teams new colors.
"Caliban liked waiting with Patcheye. Does Cable/Nathan want us to wait some more?" Cal' asks.
"No!" Dom answers. "There're just so many games of chutes an ladders I'm willing to play."
"We'll be adding Caliban to the squad." Cable tells the others. "Not only for his strength, either. His ability to find mutants is as good as Cerebro's."
"Cable," Rictor says. "I'll wear the uniform, but...this business of you being in our heads...my thoughts are my own."
"I understand your concerns...But this is for the best." Cable tells him.
"You talk a new game, Cable, but it's the same old song!" Rictor yells, throwing down his uniform. "And I'm not listening!"
"Wait Rictor." 'Star tells him. "Julio, there has to be a way to work this out."
"'Star...I gotta think it through." Rictor says. "Maybe if I take some time off...get away...I haven't been home in a long time. My family needs me."
"But I need you." 'Star pleads. "Julio, you're my best, my only friend."
"And I'll always be there for you, Amigo." Rictor tells him. "You or anybody else on this team needs me, all you gotta do is ask." With this, Rictor turns and walks out.
I've learned that dreams don't have to die, Ma. They can change and grow like the people who dream them. When I was little, I remember Pa coming in late from the coal mines. He put on the radio so we could listen to the Reds outta Cincinnati. I think that's all he ever wanted for me...to play in the big leagues. Being a mutant changed all that. And while I've done some things I'm not entirely proud of, I know that Pa is up in Heaven, smiling down at me now. I'm going to the big leagues, Ma. Your son's gonna be an X-Man! Love to you and the kids, Sam
Cable had a dream...that X-Force would be the X-Men of tomorrow.
Sam Guthrie proved that the dream is a good one...and who knows what tomorrow will bring.
Finis
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