....And Then, There Was Chaos

CHARACTERS: The X-Men (Gambit, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Jubilee, Rouge, Cyclops and Xavier). Plus, my own characters. Also, appearing in short sections- Sinister. My Characters include- (Jonathon, Benji, Sarah, Dr. Candice, Duke, Karen, MacKensie "EmotionalStorm" and refugees.)

RATING: R-NC-17 (MATURE AUDIENCES APPLY)

SUMMARY: The X-Men are knocked through a portal 45 years into the future, and land in a war-struck town. The war between humans and mutants have played out into a big mess consisting of the humans having the upper hand with a new weapon- The Beam. It is used against the mutants, leaving them slowly dying from having their genes stripped away. Wolverine and Cyke are both hit by the beam, but Wolverine recovers. E.S. stumbles upon them and brings them to their underground base. Trouble soon follows the team.

DISCLAIMER: THE X-MEN AND ALL LIKENESSES BELONG TO MARVEL COMICS. MY CHARACTERS IN THE STORY, DO NOT, HOWEVER BELONG TO ANYONE BUT ME. NO MONEY INVOLVED, JUST MY UNIQUE THOUGHTS AND IDEAS.

*action* "speak" mind-talking


Sarah lay on one of the empty cots, in the back of the room. Partisians made of metal frames and cloth shielded her from anyone who might look in. She curled herself into a small ball on her left side and wrapped her arms around her round stomach. It was time for birth. Moan after moan while she watched Candice hurrying around the room, trying to get ready for the delivery. "Is he here, yet?" Her weak voice was even more hushed from the strain of constant contractions that had passed moments earlier. Clothed in only a hospital gown and sweat, Sarah made several failed attempts to sit up when the child inside started to move around.

"Not yet. Lie still, hun, the baby can't take much movement." Candice soothed as calmly as she could. She hadn't the heart to tell either Sarah or Jonathon that their child, let alone Sarah, might not survive. Her blue scrubs would have to do, eventhough she had wished for something a little more sterile than an old warehouse. The back of her right hand brushed aside a stray lock of hair that had been in her eyes since she started gathering supplies for the delivery. She kept the rest of her hair tied back in a tight braid and was very careful not to touch anything with her hands as she had only washed them a half a dozen times already. Calming the other woman back into laying down, Candice fluffed pillows, took Sarah's temperature and checked dilation. "I am having MacKensie and the X-Man- Jean Grey assist me in the birth so, you won't be alone with me. I will let Jonathon in as soon as the baby is born, okay?"

A pained nod. The contractions were happening again, and Sarah reached for the rails on the sides of the bed for support. She screamed in pain as the next hit even harder than the first. "Cand--... it..... it.....is....... com.....ing." A cringe and moan between clenched teeth as she began to push, spreading her legs and bending them at the knees. Sitting up from being already inclined, Sarah was ready to be over and done with this part of the delivery.

Jean took hold of Sarah's left hand and moved it from the rail into her own while soothing the woman and telling her to relax. "Breathe in......*inhaling slowly*....... breathe out........*exhaling in the same slow motion*......... and again. Just relax, Sarah." Jean was almost whispering into the woman's ear, repeatedly.

"Where is Mac?" Candice asked, rather annoyedly. "Not like her to be absent from a birth." The doctor glanced up from watching for the baby, to Jean.

Still telling Sarah to relax and repeating the same words over and over in her mind to Sarah, Jean glanced back at the doctor and answered. "She is coming. She had to clean up after helping fix an engine to a truck." Going back to verbally telling Sarah to relax, Jean sent a telepathic message to the missing woman. Mac, hurry up. Sarah is ready to give birth. Jean locked eyes with Sarah after another pain hit, and held them until a hand on her shoulder was easing her away.

Mac was clean and now stood beside Sarah in a clean pair of jeans and old grey T-shirt. "I'm here. Help me make her comfortable, but do not touch me." Talking to Jean but holding Sarah's hand in her left while her right brushed away the damp hair from her temples, Mac did her best not to sound condescending. "Sarah, hunny, I need you to open up to me and let me guide your pain away. Okay?"

Sarah nodded and continued to breathe as Jean had told her to.

Jean glanced up at Mac from focusing on Sarah and wondered what she meant. "Empath?"

"Hybrid. Omega on my father's side. There was alot of things he could do but, I am more advanced than he is." Mac answered, neglecting the details of just who her father was. She began to hum quietly and soothe Sarah into a relaxed
mood before her powers of empathy had completely taken over. On the next contraction, it was Mac who grunted and moaned in pain but it was Jean and Sarah who were pushing the baby out.

Candice, who had been watching for the baby and listening to the discussion, spoke up. "It's coming. I see the head, keep pushing Sarah, you're doing just fine." She sat on a small metal stool at Sarah's feet and waited. Her knowledge of medicine had the amount of only a few years of medical school before the riots forced the mutants out of every human job. "One more push, sweetie. You're doing good." She cheered calmly, not showing her concern in her words proved a task. "Don't push! Don't push! The cord is around the neck. I'm just going to move it out of the way." A sigh as her fingers gently pushed the cord away from the baby's neck. "There we go." She whispered. "Breathe in,...... and out..... now push hard, hun."

With Jean holding Sarah's right hand and Mac holding her other, Sarah and Jean pushed once more and was able to pushed the rest of the baby out while Mac made sure Sarah had no pain as no drugs had been administered at all. Sarah panted and released her hold on the two women as she sighed in relief that it was over. Tears fell from her eyes in a tired emotion as she reached out to hold her child.

"A boy. It's a boy." Candice had cleaned him and wrapped him in a fresh white towel before handing the small baby to the tired mother. "I think Jonathon may come in now." Looking to Jean to stay with Sarah while she pull Mac away to speak to her before telling her to go get Jonathon. Closing the partisians and keeping her voice low, she knew Mac already knew what she was going to say. "The child is dying. Both of them might not make it through the night. I've narrowed it down to the genes that are in Jonathon's blood that is causing the child's life to disintergrate but, the trauma must have been just too much for Sarah to handle, even with both yours and Jean's help. When you tell him, make sure he understands this. There is nothing I can do other than make them as comfortable as I can."

Mac nodded and glanced back at the partisian. "I understand."

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Jonathon was informed and calmly understood of what the conditions were. It had been his idea not to tell Sarah about the baby, just yet. Instead, he simply wanted time to spend with his family. "I understand. How long does she have?" His words were calm and tinged with sadness, the same sadness he was fitted with when Mac denounced him as father of her child.

"Candice thinks sometime in the night."

"And, what do with think?"

Mac paused. For the first time, she had actually seen the hurt in him. "Johnny," She sighed. "she won't last that long. Neither will. Spend the time you need with them, I'll take care of everything." Patting him on the shoulder, Mac hugged him and opened the door to the medical lab. She felt utter sadness in him, the same that she felt when she learned the two people she wanted in her life were gone.

Sighing long and deep, Jonathon entered the room and was met by Candice, as she stood beside the bed of Sarah and their child. "May we be alone, Candy?" His eyes focused on the sleeping child in Sarah's arms. She too, rested while waiting for him.

Sarah lay on her left side, pillows propping her up, while the baby lay on his back beside her. "It's ok, Candice. We'll be fine." Her whisper was more tired than audible but she managed to have enough volume for the other woman to understand. She opened her eyes and reached out for Jonathon's hand. Her hair was damp and her skin was clean and cool from the bathe Candice and Jean had given her and the baby while they waited for him to come in. She smiled, tiredly as he climbed slowly up onto the bed and lie on his right side with the child between them. "I haven't named him but, I thought you would think of one." Her eyes met his and they both smiled.

Jonathon leaned over and kissed her on the lips before kissing the top of the baby's head. "Matthew." He smiled and gave a little laugh, easing the tension he felt. "I knew my middle name would come in handy, one of these days." He felt better as she smiled with him and tiredly nodded. "Shh, rest darling. I'll be here awhile." He stared into her eyes as she nodded again and closed her eyes. Lying on his right side, he sighed and laid his left hand on her right as it rested on the baby's chest, lightly. He spent the next twenty minutes watching her and the baby sleep, silently.

At the end of the half hour, his ears caught the final breath of the small child. It hadn't stirred, or made even the slightest sound other than an exhale. Controlling the desire to scream for Candice or panic, she simply swallowed and let his mind tell the child "good-bye". Ten minutes later, Sarah stirred. Her hand twitched and tried to hold his, only to fall slack against the baby's, still and motionless. This time his tears fell and he reached to embrace her and his child as all he could do was lie there. He stay there, silently crying and praying for the two souls before mustering the courage to get up and go to the door. Wiping his eyes as he reached for the door, he opened it to find a crowd waiting just outside. "They're..... gone." He paused and glanced up at Mac, who was standing not too far from him. "Mac, if you would-- I need to -- um..... I'll be in my room."

Mac nodded and placed her hand on his back as he passed through the crowd, making his way slowly to the stairs. "I'll make the arrangements, if you would get them ready, Candice?"

"Of course."

Eyes never leaving Jonathon's back, Mac started to follow him and try to give him comfort when a heavy hand on her own shoulder, stopped her. She turned to see Logan shaking his head at her.

"Let him have this time alone, first. You just get the group ready for tomorrow."

She nodded and left for the main hall to explain why she'd taken over command. Remy, Logan, Rogue and Beast followed her but said nothing as it had become a touchy subject. During the long walk, that seemed to get longer by the step, she thought back to the feeling he had on him when she told him about Sarah and child. It was the same sadness and anger she cursed herself with 10 years prior. But Jonathon's was different, deeper.

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The whole camp of mutants, and some sympathetic humans, had gathered around to listen to Mac's plan of attack. Being the daughter of a thief, and trained by the best hunter, she had clearly thought everything through before telling of her plan to invade Sinister's lair and shut down the satelites by any means necessary. "Jonathon will not be accompanying us, tomorrow. Instead, he will stay here for the wounded and look after the children. I need your whole support for this thing to work."

"Aww, did poor wittle Jonny-boy get his feelings hurt?" A voice from the crowd spoke up from the second floor railing. "He always was just a bit 'light in his loafers' for a man's job." Duke hadn't bothered with stairs or moving through people. Instead, he leapt over the balcony railing and landed on his feet, several feet away, in front of Mac. "But, then again, Mac- here- has always worn the pants in the relationship. Right Mac...? MacKensie..? Miss LeBeau." He paused to flash a smug smile. "What's the matter, did the swamp gators get yer tongue? Or, is it that daddy's here," nodding towards Gambit who stood to his right. "checkin up on his little prissy girl? C'mon, Mac, stop showing off for a has been. This is a man's war. Women and children are better left in the kitchen." Duke was a bit old-fashioned when it came to brass taxes but, he was a good fighter nonetheless. He stood a few feet from her and crossed his arms in front, staring down his nose at her as if daring her to make the next move.

Mac hardened her expression and growled under her breath. Her eyes glowed and pulsed with white. Letting them turn blue and looking past him to the many children, who's eyes glowed as well, she exhaled and the glow, children, and anger dissipated. As the crowd began to rise with panic of the missing children, she added. "The children stay gone until this is over." She spoke to the crowd first, and then leveled her tone to speak to Duke, taking slow steps forward. "If you feel you can lead, be my guest. If not, shut the Hell up. There's no place for whiners in war." Her tone hadn't been angry or unkind as she turned to walk away.

He laughed and spat his retort. "Just like daddy! Thieves always turn tail and run."

That did it. Mac stopped and spun on her left foot, balling her right fist and connecting it with his left jawbone. "My family is none of your concern." She stood over him as he lay on the floor. Looking back to the hushed crowd, she added just why Jonathon was to be left behind. "Sarah and their child are no longer with us. It is not his fault, nor mine. This issue does not concern anyone else but Jonathon and who he deems a shoulder. We should mourn their loss but not hold it against him. He could do nothing, nor could anyone. If it's pity and shame you feel, feel it for yourselves." Her words echoed throughout the wide room, not only with voice but emotion as well. She began to sing a song with no words, that was so sad and filled with hurt and anger and dread that the whole camp began to cry and hold back their feelings of anger.

"MacKensie, stop." Jonathon's voice halted everything. He stood in the doorway, behind her, and calmly stepped forward into the light that shone from above like sunlight. "My feelings and personal traumas are for me only. I will go with tomorrow but only as a guide into Sinister's fortress. The rest of you," raising his eyes to see the hundreds staring back at him. "follow Mac's lead." Without another word, he turned and left.

Logan stood up and stalked over to the two of them, still standing in the middle of the room. "I'm gettin real tired of all this pussy-footin around. Settle yer differences, or I'll do it for ya. I didn't come here to babysit children while the world is endin." Both hands balled to fists and all six claws released, he glared and growled at Duke before tossing a glance at Mac.

"Logan is right. We need to focus on how to stop these beams and heal the wounded." Storm stood up from sitting on the bench to a table. She sat between Jubilee and Rogue, and quietly made her own conclusions about the conversation. She couldn't help but stare at Mac and think of either Rogue or Remy but, something in her mind told her a different story.

Mac sighed, inwardly. "Fine. We'll gather the weapons we need and divide into teams tonight. In the morning, each team will have certain stations and on my marks, move in. There'll be six teams, fifteen to a team. Four teams will spread out along the perimetre while the other two work from inside. I'll head the first group, along with Jean and Beast. Jubilee, Storm and Rogue will head the next team and--" She was cut off by Logan taking charge of the next.

"Gambit and I'll get the next team. Which means, Duke, here, is gonna be my tour guide." Claws back inside, his arm draped itself around Duke's shoulder and he smiled an 'I mean business' smile.

Duke didn't object. Instead he huffed and shrugged out of the embrace and stomped away.

Mac went on to gather the rest of the groups and explain the posts before dinner was served. While everyone else was eating and talking about the next day's already planned victory, Mac barely touched her food, save for a bite or two she stuffed into her mouth. She watched the hundreads of people talking and laughing before settling her focus on a pair, eating and talking quietly to themselves. Logan sat beside her and Storm sat across. He occassionally patted her leg and pointed to her food, she smiled to herself as this was the Logan she had come to cherish in her youth.

"I am curious, Emotional Storm, how is it that you and the boy are the only two to lead this number of people?" Storm asked between bites of stew. She had watched silently throughout the night and wondered about the young woman's mysterious background that somehow linked her to Gambit and Rogue.

Mac looked from Gambit to Storm. "We've never settled on a leader. They are here because they are scared. We all are. Here, there is no X-Men, or Xavier to save us. I've watched them all die or go into hiding from the beam. My family is Omega, I was raised by an Alpha and taught to fight for survival. So, they tend to follow me but, Johnny, is more of a ..... he can handle himself. Some are human, some are mutants. Most are mutants. We shouldn't have to fight in our own world, to survive as equals. Evolution is for the children. That is what we should fight for." She paused and turned to look at a group of children eating at a smaller table, to her right. "The Civil War was 200 years ago. It's time to move on."

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After dinner, Mac went upstairs to check on Jonathon and bring him some food to eat. Knocking on his door with one hand and holding the tin plate in the other, she listened for any movement from inside. Turning the knob and cautiously opening the door, she peered inside to look for him. "Johnny....? Come out, come out wherever you are." Opening the door a little wider, she heard a noioce come from the right, opposite the bed. "What ya doin, cher?" Her eyes adjusted nearly immediately and she was able to see him sitting on the floor in front of a box of clothes, folding them. She stepped in and closed the door behind her, quietly.

Jonathon didn't look at her. He couldn't bring himself to do anything but pack and repack Sarah's clothing in one small box. "I uh-- gave Candice a dress for her to wear." He paused to place the shirt he was folding for the second time, in the box. "The-- uh-- baby ..... has a knit blanket around him." After years of living with Mac, he had learned not to shed a tear but, that philosophy was becoming obsolete at every turn.

"I know, honey." Mac knelt beside him and watched him for any signs of breaking down. Her eyes traveled from his face to his hands as he picked up another already folded shirt and started to refold it after shaking it out. "Jon, stop." Her voice remained calm as her hand casually reached out and eased the shirt away from him. "This won't bring either back. Darlin, don't beat yerself up over somethin that wasn't your fault. She wouldn't want you to do this." Setting the plate down on the floor, her left hand raised to stroke his hair back from his face. "I know I did the same when poppa and Logan died. I know I put you through Hell but, now it's my turn to be here for you. Kick, scream, cry, punch, whatever you want to do." Leaning closer to him and kissing his right temple, she waited and hoped he would allow her to give comfort to him. She realised that she could easily have taken advantage of him but, his friendship and love for Sarah had cancelled it out. He had consoled her when the two people she cared about most died, so the least she could do was return the favour.

He didn't speak or look at her at all. Wrapping his arms around her waist and laying his head on her chest, he closed his eyes for a moment. The feel of someone's hands on him, touching him and holding him close to them, somehow made him smile. His nose picked up the stew but, his stomach equally rejected the offer. As he listened to her slow and even heartbeat, he began to think about who was holding him. The voice was Mac's and the warmth of the frail body was hers, also. But, the sound of the heartbeat wasn't who it belonged to. A yawn and a shiver as Mac switched positions. How long had they been like that? After all the cruel words between them, through the years, why was she there, comforting him? And had she and her son survived when Sarah and Matthew had not? A thousand answerless questions flooded his mind. Did he really want to know the answers to them, or just taunt himself with the questions?

It was quiet in the room. The light beside the bed glowed like a soft candlelight.

Sighing and continuing her small soothing strokes to his left temple and hairline, Mac felt for his emotions. "Johnny...... let's get you into bed, huh? C'mon." She held him and started to slowly move to stand up. He followed and let her guide him over to the bed. It wasn't on her mind to take advantage of him at all. She could see that he was clearly tired and the bed was alot more comfortable than the cold floor. Lying on her back, half propped up by his pillow, she let him crawl up beside her and lay next to her, with his head on her chest once again.

"The funeral is in the morning, before we head out." Jonathon mumbled in an attempt for semblance.

She nodded. "I know. Shh, now."

He hushed for a moment but spoke again as if it had some importance. "Logan and Dr. McCoy are gonna build a nice box for them. They're gonna put them together so, they won't be lonely."

"Oui cher. I know. Hush now, and rest. Can't have you yawnin and yappin all night." Again her voice was soft and calm.

"Don't go. Just-- um- stay here..... with me." He held tighter and closed his eyes as the tears started to fall onto her shirt.

She nodded. "Okay."

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The next morning at exactly 5, the funeral of Sarah and child was held. It had only been a small crowd that surrounded the nicely made casket. Jonathon, Mac and Benji had been among the few in the front. He stood alone and placed a red rose on the box, just underneath a carved epitaph that Logan had carved with his help. His tears had taken forever to dry and his knees somehow stopped him from falling to the ground and cursing the box.

A light breeze blew as they and the group of X-Men, and Candice and several close friends of Sarah's listened to Beast give a heartfelt eulogy with a poem from Robert Frost. He concluded with a few words of his own, doing his best to convey his gentlest feelings though he hardly knew the young woman. "Though life is too short, and an eyeblink even shorter, that is how long we are here for. Their time seemed too short but, in our hearts, time is infinite. Be her hand ever in your grasp, and her gentle smile ever in your heart. I am truly sorry, Jonathon."

Jonathon stood there, motionless and numb. He stared at the wooden box and carving. He had been the only one dressed in blue jeans and grey T-shirt, while Mac dressed in her black leather 'Sweepers' uniform. The baby had been so beautiful, and Sarah glowed with tired vibrance. He closed his eyes and for a brief moment, saw her holding the child and smiling. He smiled and held onto the image as the words choked in his mouth. "Time to go."

"Are you sure, shugah?" Rogue had been cuddled against Remy's chest, wiping her tears away with gloved fingers.

He nodded and squeezed Mac's hand as it slipped into his. "I'm a mutant, not a monster."

"Ready the teams and let's move out." Mac's tone was firm but kind in the moment. "Keep to the code, and stay safe."

Dividing into the teams assigned, Mac took her team and lead the caravan in her black SUV followed by Gambit, Logan, and Duke with theirs. Jonathon lead a team of weapon specialists and a large number of ex-military humans. The teams branched off somewhere along the long drive, and all headed towards their assigned stations. The closer each team had gotten, the more jittery and anxious and nervous they became.

"What code do you mean to keep, Emotional Storm?" Beast questioned as they neared an enormous building with a rather iconish tower reaching the heavens.

Sighing and keeping her eyes fixed to the road in front of her, Mac answered. "We all go home, or none at all."

Beast gave a moment to think about the mission with Morph, and the failed attempt at success. "Fair enough."

Jean sat beside Mac in the front while Beast sat behind her. She turned her head and studied the young woman's profile. She spotted a glow in her that had often appeared in Gambit and Rogue, at times. Though, she was taken in by the fact that Mac had been so different from any mutant she had ever known or linked her mind to. Jean felt she could trust this woman with her life but, also fear her for her rabidity. She took a moment to think about what Beast had called her, and what she had called herself; Emotional Storm. Empaths are emotional, very, at times but, she was positive she would find out what the whole name meant before the night was done.


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