Visitation

by Phil Hartman

The air was remarkably clear.

#When ISN'T it here ?# Nathan Dayspring Askani'Son Summers reminded himself pointedly. #After all, there aren't any acid storms here.#

He was out of his combat gear, dressed in casual slacks and a white T-shirt with a vest over top of it, striding along the beach of Spuytin Dyvil Cove. He sniffed the early fall air again, nodding absently, and turned towards the graveyard.

#There won't be any acid storms here,# Cable reminded himself, a pang stabbing to the core of the object in his chest. He willed it to be coal, but failed, finding his feet carrying him forward to the Xavier Estate's burial ground.

#Because SOMEONE threw himself into Apocalypse, and Jean is struggling to deal with it.#

Cable stopped in front of his father's grave, shaking his head, and finally screwed his eyes shut.

#What am I supposed to do ?# he thought bitterly, fighting back another pang. #Scream ? Bawl ? Go find Sam and the others and throw myself into their fight ? They all but closed THAT door on me themselves - and I let them go do it.#

#I should've teleported Pryde into Wisdom's bed and let them fight out their problems, just to distract the kids -#

He opened his eyes and muttered, "Would've things been better if it was different ?"

A loud SOMETHING rang in his head in response, and everything seemed to slow to a crawl.

#Flonq - time-ripple -#

Nathan fought to regain his focus on the here and now, turning in the direction the "ripple" had come from, and broke into a run for the cove.

The splash, combined with a yell - #young, male - probably some stupid kid from across the cove, fell off a jetski,# Cable thought - prompted the mutant to fly over the cove after a quick psi-scan to check for ogling eyes.

He froze, actually stunned, as his quarry surfaced amidst a telekinetic bubble, and levitated before him shivering.

The boy was young, Caucasian, and no more than 13, with damp brown hair and chattering teeth. He was dressed - #or not dressed,# Cable thought with a quick flash of amusement - only in a blue brief-style swimsuit, and wobbled as he floated to the shore.

~So I swim for exercise, 'kay ?~ the boy shot back telepathically - BEHIND Cable's shields, the man realized with a jolt of shock.

"Oath," Cable muttered, landing beside the boy and looking at the newcomer's face.

"You're me."

-------------------------------------------------------

"Or," Henry said roughly 10 minutes and a bioscan later in the mansion's medlab, while "Little Nate" huddled in a towel on a medbed, "he's a cross-time version of you."

"No, really, Hank ?" Cable muttered sarcastically, looking at the tousle-haired Nate peeking back at him with painfully obvious suspicion and fear. "Oath, kid, relax. We didn't drag you here. Probably your latent chronovariant power kicked in or something."

"Latent - oh. Like Ray's," Little Nate said, looking up. Jean looked at him with a growing smile, and something flashed between them telepathically which brought a wistful smile to the boy's lips.

"Rachel ?" Cable asked faintly. "She's alive on your world ?"

"She's dead here ?" Little Nate asked, going pale. Jean shot her "elder son" a warning look, and helped the boy to his feet.

"Let's get you something more to wear, and we can talk," Jean suggested. Cable rose, shaking his head, and fixed the rest of Gambit's team of X-Men with a focused gaze.

~He can't stay here. I know you want to help him, Jean, but the longer he stays, the less attuned he'll be to his original atomic vibrational rate, and the less chance we'll have of getting him home,~ Cable sent.

~He's just a little boy !~ Jean pleaded. ~Nathan, I -~

~Jean. You didn't screw up with me. There's another you somewhen, just as frightened, looking for him. Just let me do what I need to do,~ Cable asked, more politely.

Jean closed her eyes and kissed Little Nate on the brow, then said, "Our Nathan will help you get home. Just ... be careful. OK ?"

"I will, Mom," Little Nate said, hugging her quickly. He returned Ororo's smile as she left, grinned at Hank and Remy, and turned back to Cable with an expectant gaze.

"Oath, don't DO that," Cable moaned. "You look so horribly needy."

"Well, I AM stuck in an alternate timeline," Little Nate shot back, pouting for a second. His expression went fearful as he asked, "Where are they ? Dad and Ray, I mean ?"

#Oath.#

Cable shook his head and muttered, "Look. It'd take more time to explain than either of us have, so -"

"I'm not gonna change history, ya know," Little Nate said, swallowing hard. He cast aside his towel and reached out, his eyes widening, as he sent, ~I'm just curious.~

~There are SOME things you shouldn't have to deal with, all right !?~ Cable demanded telepathically, glaring at the boy. ~You've got NO idea how lucky you are - how incredibly different we are.~

"We both care 'bout our families," Little Nate said, shivering again.

Cable looked at him, then took a deep breath.

"All right. Here, my mother was Jean's clone who went evil and tried to kill me. Rachel was a teenager from a Sentinel-ruled future who backtimed, saved me from a techno-virus infection and whose worshippers taught me to be some kind of messiah who failed and got Scott killed when he flonqing merged with Apocalypse. The. End," Cable babbled.

Little Nate blinked back tears, then finally nodded.

"So you gave up," the boy whispered.

"Gave - WHAT ?" CAble growled. "What did I give up ?"

"Hoping," Little Nate breathed, his face going serious. "That's what Apocalypse really did to you, didn't he ? Make you stop hoping ? I mean, if my Dad and Ray died, I'd NEVER stop hoping they came back. There's always hope - there's gotta be."

They looked at each other for a long moment.

Finally, Cable muttered, "Oath, you're one annoying little brother."

"I'm sorry," Little Nate mumbled, looking at the floor. He stared defiantly at Cable and added, "But you can't keep hurting Mom like you are, y'know. You're all depressed an' everything, an' she's worried 'bout ya."

#She stopped me from KILLING Apocalypse in the first place,# Cable thought defiantly, shoving down another emotion. #Don't bring THAT back up again - Jean had every right to do it, she still had -#

#She still had hope.#

He froze, then snorted, and shook his head before looking at the younger Nathan.

"Come here," Cable ordered, trying not to smile at the boy's now-fearful expression. "Relax. I'm going to send you back."

"OK," Little Nate said, taking Cable's right hand with his left one. Their eyes met again, and the boy said, "Take care of Mom, OK ?"

"Of course. Someone around here has to have a little hope," Cable said dryly. ~Just reach out - the timestream's there, just take ahold of it.~

~OK,~ Little Nate sent, starting to fade out. ~Thanks. Maybe we'll meet again ?~

~Who knows,~ Cable sent, laughing wryly as he added, ~Exhibitionist.~

~It's just for exercise,~ Little Nate sent back indignantly. ~Besides, I'M not gonna rust if I go in the water. See ya !~

"G'journey," Cable said to no one in particular, watching the boy fade completly out of view and mindsight.

He looked over his shoulder, feeling Jean's hand slip onto his techno-organic side, and let her hug him from behind.

"You're quiet," she said, letting Cable turn around and look at her. "Nate ... he - I never want you to think that we failed with you. He was just - so little, and sweet, and -"

"Something different," Cable finished her sentence, smiling faintly. "Come on."

"Where to ?" Jean asked, walking beside her son.

"Cerebro. I want to look for Scott's biosignature," Cable replied, glancing at his mother.

She said nothing, gratitude filling the aether as they left the medlab.

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