X-Men: The Stanger

The Stranger, Part Four:
“Revelations”

By David Brashear

“Adam Lucas is no longer a student at this school,” Xavier announced. Behind him, four of the five X-men’s faces bore expressions of shock while Scott Summers kept his face perfectly neutral. Xavier finished writing on the blackboard and swiveled his chair around to face the class. He took a deep breath to clear his thoughts before beginning today’s lecture on the Industrial Revolution.

Adam sat on the street corner, turning his options over in his mind. He’d known telling Xavier was a risk, but one he felt he had to take. Still, he wondered how he would fulfill his mission now.

Miles away, Xavier’s mind began to wander as he remembered what Adam had told him…

“There’s something I need to tell you,” Adam said. “I can’t keep it hidden anymore.” Adam took a deep breath and continued. “I am from the future. I’ve been sent back in time to protect you from a dangerous criminal from our time.”

Adam had stood and turned away, as if the confession was difficult for him. “In our future, Professor, you are an icon. You were the first to accept that mutants and humans could coexist peacefully. That is a lesson we have never forgotten.”

”I am an officer of the XSE – Xavier’s School Enforcers. We are mutants who defend the world. We capture renegades and hand them over to the authorities for rehabilitation.”

“On a recent raid, a criminal was able to open a temporal portal and escape to this time. We believe that his mission is to try and commit a crime that will change our history. My assignment is to protect an important individual to our history.” Adam turned to look at Xavier. “It is you, Professor. You are the man who will champion mutant rights throughout some of the darkest days that our people will ever experience. It is you who will be vindicated like the Abraham Lincoln of the mutant people.”

As Adam continued to speak, Xavier listened silently. Finally he raised a hand and Adam stopped. “Is this true?” he asked.

Adam had nodded and affirmed that it was. Xavier heard himself speaking the words again:

“Adam, you are hereby dismissed from this school. It is too dangerous for you to remain here. You may sleep here tonight on the condition that you speak to no one else about what you have just told me, and you are to depart tomorrow morning.”

Xavier shook his head as the five remaining X-Men tried to figure out what was distracting him. He saw Scott Summers shoot a glance at Jean Grey, only for Jean to shrug in response to his unspoken question.

There was only one way to regain control of the class.

“Close your books,” Xavier ordered. “It is time for a surprise quiz.” As the students groaned, Xavier successfully put Adam Lucas out of his mind.

Hours later, Xavier wheeled into a restaurant where he was meeting Lord Jonathan Fitzroy. Fitzroy smiled as he saw Xavier, stood, and shook the Professor’s hand as he reached the table.

“Thank you for meeting me here,” Fitzroy said.

“It was my pleasure,” Xavier replied. He paused a moment. “I was surprised when you contacted me to let me know that you were interested in investing in my school.”

Fitzroy took a sip of water and replaced his glass on the table. “I can see how that might have come out of the blue for you,” he said. “However, I have always kept my eye to the future. After all, that’s how I built my company.”

Xavier listened carefully. Fitzroy made a great deal of sense with what he said. However, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong…

Adam’s eyes popped open. He’d been dozing in an alley when his ears picked up a familiar tone. He quickly pulled up his sleeve to reveal that a stud on his gauntlet was blinking. It was nearly time. Adam stood and began hurrying through the streets.

Fitzroy sipped his champagne and fought back a smile. It was time.

As Fitzroy reached under the table and opened his briefcase, motion slowed to a stop in the restaurant. Fitzroy pulled out a futuristic gun, aimed it at Xavier and fired. A beam of light sizzled outward and Fitzroy’s eyes went wide as the light simply splashed off Xavier.

He fired again and again with the same result. Panicking now, Fitzroy searched the restaurant. He froze when he spotted the figure in the doorway.

It was Adam Lucas, now dressed in his standard XSE uniform.

Lucas smiled. “Well, well, well…I’ve been looking for you, Fitzroy.”

“Lucas,” Fitzroy gasped. He dropped the gun. He knew it would be useless.

Lucas began slowly walking through the frozen restaurant. “Good idea to drop that,” he said. “We’re now in time freeze. That ray gun wouldn’t kill a gnat right now.”

Fitzroy aimed a hand at Lucas and began to glow. “Maybe the gun won’t work, but this should,” he said.

Lucas shrugged. “I wouldn’t recommend that,” he said.

With a scream, Fitzroy fired an energy blast at Lucas. The beam enveloped him before clearing, leaving Adam completely untouched.

“Now it’s my turn,” Lucas said, raising a hand of his own.

Fitzroy screamed in terror and began trying to run through the frozen restaurant.

Lucas unleashed an energy blast that struck Fitzroy. His scream was suddenly cut off as he vanished, leaving nothing behind.

Lucas turned and looked back through the restaurant. Although his orders specifically forbade it, he walked to the table where Xavier was frozen and took Fitzroy’s seat.

“Hello, Professor,” he said. “Before I go, I feel that there is something I need to tell you. I can only now tell you the full truth about my presence here. Fitzroy was a criminal from my time who had traveled back to now to attempt to assassinate you, thereby erasing the XSE from existence. Of course, that could not be allowed.”

“But I had another purpose as well. My goal was to provide gifts using my own low-level telepathy to your X-Men to help them as they grow.”

“I tried to help Scott Summers understand the value of humor. Without it, his heart and mind would collapse under the weight of what is to come.”

“To Jean Grey I taught how to wall her mind off from external forces. In years to come, this will be the only thing that will save her life.”

“To Warren Worthington I gave the power of will. His entire life has been spent in privilege and comfort. Years from now that force of will shall enable him to break free of slavery following a transformation.”

“To Hank McCoy I gave a chemical elixir from my time. This will allow his cellular structure to change as his mutation continues to develop and will allow him to survive changes that would have otherwise been fatal.”

“To you I give the gift of hope.” Although temporally frozen, visions of the future flowed into Xavier’s mind. He saw the marriage of Jean and Scott. He saw an exotic woman from a distant world named Lilandra. He saw his team grow as new members appeared and shrink as they left or perished.

Face after face appeared to Xavier, along with names that at this time meant nothing. Warpath. Longshot. Bishop. Gambit. Banshee. Jubilee. Rogue. Shadowcat. Sunfire. Mystique. Blink. Morph. Wolverine. Cable. Cannonball. Chamber. Forge. Multiple Man. Polaris. Nightcrawler. Thunderbird. Domino. Storm. Siryn. Sage. Strong Guy. Lila Cheney. Dazzler. Havok. Monet. Shatterstar. Rictor. Sunspot. There were many more names that swirled into a blur.

“You will have a wonderful future, Professor,” Lucas said softly. In his mind, the overwhelmed Xavier fought to take everything in that Lucas was showing him. “You will dance at weddings and weep at funerals. Your future holds both victories and defeats.”

“My gift to you is hope, Professor,” Lucas said as Xavier glimpsed the world he’d come from. “Always remember that although times will grow darker than you can imagine, your dream will come true.”

Lucas stood. “Farewall, Professor.” A moment later a portal of energy appeared. Lucas stepped inside and was gone.

Slowly life returned to the restaurant. Xavier was staring at his plate when a waiter arrived beside him. “Is everything all right, sir?” the waiter asked.

“Yes,” Xavier said as the last remnants of Lucas’s revelations faded into his subconscious. “I am afraid that you simply caught me daydreaming.” The waiter smiled as Xavier thought a moment. “Has Mr. Fitzroy arrived yet?”

“I am afraid not, sir,” the waiter replied. Xavier nodded and the waiter moved on.

The portal opened in another place and Lucas stepped out. He looked around his darkened quarters and winced at the paperwork he would be forced to fill out on the Fitzroy retrieval. He glanced at his wall chrono; by now Fitzroy should be safely locked away, with extra time added to his sentence for the escape attempt.

As Lucas prepared to leave in order to report to his superior officer, his gaze fell upon an old photograph that had been lovingly protected over the years. He stepped away from the door, which hissed shut again.

Lucas picked up the old photo and looked into it. “I have read your writings and diaries, Ancestor,” he said. “I never could have imagined what Charles Xavier was really like. He truly was everything that you described him as.” Lucas paused a moment. “I hope that I made you proud.”

Knowing his report was due, Adam Lucas replaced the photo on the desk and left. Time may have erased many of the physical attributes he’d shared with his ancestor, but the heart was still the same.

The photo of Lucas Bishop stared proudly into the empty room.

The End...

Previous Issue | Next Issue