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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

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The interpretation of dreams (1st story), Black Queen Rising (2nd story), A change of worlds (3rd story)
First Story:(Britannic’s premonition)The year is 2040, the place is Britain, the event is a battle. His name is Brian Braddock and as Captain Britain and later Britannic, he is the greatest super-hero Great Britain has ever known. Right now, he is the only person standing between England and the invading armies, he has fought the good fight to the valiant end. They are called the Aryanites, horrors who have been attacking since dawn – three months ago. Brian struggles against the hordes in his darkest hour. All of his allies have fallen to the enemy, but Brian struggles on, as soon as he defeats one enemy, another attacks.
The handsome muscular hero is struck down by a mysterious duo, a male and a female who leer over him, ready to destroy a nations only hope. Suddenly, hope emerges – in the form of his brother, Jamie Braddock, who comes to his younger brother’s rescue, eliminating the commanders of the Aryanites. However, due to the siblings’ turbulent past, Brian wonders whether it will be he who is the next to fall at his brother’s hands.
Jamie Braddock destroys the surrounding enemy as he outstretches his hand to Brian, informing him that he could not wait any longer and had to fight at his side again. Brian is almost in disbelief…
(present)Today, Muir Island Research Center, Scotland. The home of British super-hero team Excalibur, and right now, a Braddock family reunion. For Brian’s sister, Elizabeth “Betsy” Braddock, also known as the X-Men’s sultry Psylocke is present also. Brian removes the virtual reality helmet, and informs Betsy that in the old days he would have just told her about his dreams, but now, thanks to Moira MacTaggert’s “Proteus Room” she can see them for herself. Betsy tells Brian that he has a very active mind, before asking him what he really makes of the dream – their older brother trying to save Brian as opposed to trying to kill him.
Brian tells Betsy that he doesn’t think it is just a dream, as he has been having flashbacks from his travels through the Timestream. Brian believes he has seen a possible future, and if that future world is to survive, then Jamie must be at his side. Psylocke informs Brian that the psychic cry she heard which caused her to come to Muir was from him, however after seeing the dream sequence she believes it may be from Jamie. Betsy adds that Jamie seems to be coming out of his coma.
Brian tells his sister that her presence is pleasing, but he is not in need of her help, as it is Jamie that they must aid, and that if they can reach the core goodness in his heart – the child within – then maybe they can turn their brother from the path of evil. Betsy adds that they will be able to teach him to use his powers responsibly and help him fulfill his destiny. Betsy narrows her eyes, and darkly adds that they have to be able to trust him. Betsy has disliked her brother for a long time.
Brian starts to leave the room, proclaiming that Jamie is part of his future life, an irreplaceable thread in the tapestry of time, that they must help him now, for the future must be fulfilled. Psylocke sternly asks how they are to know that Jamie is not manipulating their minds, and that the “vision” from the future is nothing more than an illusion Jamie created. Brian remarks that they cannot be sure, but nonetheless must take the risk.
With Brian out of the room, she of the purple-tresses approaches her comatose brother, announcing that Brian is too trusting and forgiving. Betsy adds that he hasn’t lived inside Jamie’s mind as she has, ever since she was forced to plunge her psychic daggers into his mind and free Excalibur from his twisted reality.
(flashbacks)It was that minute when Betsy delved into Jamie’s mind that she lived her brother’s entire life – the high life and the best of everything. Anything for the thrill of winning – even though it meant double-crossing the local Maggia who had paid Jamie a fortune to lose a car race, which he didn’t lose. Jamie ended up with the Maggia’s money, the winnings and a little side bet that he had placed on himself.
But Jamie escaped the clutches of the Maggia, however the money didn’t last long, nothing ever did, gambling – he went from one tight spot to another. There was no job too dangerous or risk to great, no morals to consider. Jamie soon started trading in human lives, robbing Red Cross supplies and using human lives as stepping-stones.
(present)Betsy realizes at that moment that she does not hate her brother, only what he has become – what Jamie believed his brother and sister forced him to become. Brian returns to the lab and apologizes to his sister for walking out earlier, adding that he thinks the strain of their telepathic link is taking its toll. He pauses before suggesting that they start, for they both know it is their only chance to save their brother. Betsy tells her brother that she isn't sure she can pull this stunt off, as she isn't a brain surgeon, never having used her psychic blades to trigger precise memories. Betsy reminds Brian that he said his foresight would guide them, and asks him if he realizes how dangerous it is going to be – and not just for Jamie!
(flashback)Betsy asks Brian if he remembers the time Jamie stepped out of line one too many times and was taken down by Joshua N’Dingi. The odds were catching up with their brother, and he blamed it on his younger siblings. Where were they? Jamie was on a ‘treadmill to Hell’ and his brother and sister didn’t stop to save him. Betsy saw in her brother’s mind how she had failed to love him and how she and Brian failed to save him, reminding Brian that he was forced to abandon Jamie in Africa to endless torture at the hands of Joshua N’Dingi. This, evidently triggered Jamie’s latent mutant power – the ability to manipulate and alter the matter and energies that underlies reality.
(present)The voice of Dr. Moira MacTaggert, the Research Station’s owner sounds over the intercom, informing the twins that the “Proteus Room” is now on-line and that it is time to strengthen the psychic link the share to include Jamie. Jamie is propped up into sitting position as Brian uses his powers to direct Betsy in using her blades to download Jamie’s unconsciousness into the “Proteus Room’s” computer banks. Moira reminds the twins that they are looking for a childhood experience, as according to Sigmund Freud neuroses are formed at in childhood, as something goes wrong with the learning process.
Brian places his hands on Betsy’s head as Moira tells the powerful twins to search in their brothers mind for a clue, hidden in his unconsciousness, adding that only Jamie can lead them to discovery and recovery. Just before the process begins, Moira informs the twins that as they release more and more unpleasant memories, Jamie will begin to resist the intrusion. Betsy whispers ‘Forgive me, Jamie. I only pray I don’t wipe your mind completely’. And bringing her psychic knife to her older brother’s head, the process begins.
(flashback)Happier times now, a time of childhood – a time too short. Some children would wish it were shorter still, for the luckier ones however there are no responsibilities, no cares or worries. For one child in particular, the oldest of three, put in charge of his younger siblings which became a burden – too much responsibility too soon, for him it is anything but a care free time. His name is Jamie Braddock. Jamie stands on a ledge, overlooking his younger siblings and holding onto a toy rabbit belonging to Betsy. Betsy calls for Jamie to give it back, and Brian backs her up. Jamie asserts his power and tells them that the toy is going for a swim in the river, adding that just because their parents said he has to look after them does not mean he wants to.
Jamie smiles and tells the twins that they are going to play “Civil Wars” and that they have to try and capture him. As Brian and Betsy run away to hide, Brian tells his sister that he knows a place they can hide where Jamie cannot find them and they will not have to play his games. Hiding under a bush, Betsy comments on how mean their brother is, when he used to be so much fun. Brian tells his sister that it is because she is a girl and Jamie thinks girls are sissies, that he hates all girls. A tear falls from the future-model’s eye as she doesn’t believe her brother can hate her. A hand reaches up behind Betsy…
(present)…and with a twist of reality on the Astral Plane, Jamie takes control. Jamie smashes his sister across the Astral Plane, telling her that she is not going to get away from him this time. He tells her to come and play his game that they never finished, and asks her if she is afraid of him. Psylocke steadies herself and tells Jamie that she doesn’t want to fight him, as it will get them no where. She thinks to herself that while she is keeping on the defensive, it is not working as well as they had planned, as Jamie is fighting for his life, almost as if Betsy and Brian were trying to kill him instead of cure him.
Betsy prepares for another attack regretting that they cannot break through to Jamie before his darker side took control, she kicks her older brother, annoyed that he has bought them into his insane world. Betsy remembers that despite Jamie getting so mad at them for running away all the time, they still looked up to and loved him. As the siblings grew up Betsy and Brian were always closer, for Jamie was usually away at boarding school. She wonders if they can really repair the damage of a lifetime of neglect. The siblings all grew apart when their parents died; after all, there was no real need to see each other. Brian and Betsy kept in contact, but the only time they heard of Jamie was the news he made in the newspapers.
Betsy attacks again, Jamie fights back well, physically and mentally. Betsy wonders what the memory triggered to threaten Jamie, before thinking she can use her psychic knife again to return him to Jamie the boy. Jamie narrows his eyes and tells Betsy that the first cut is the deepest, and he unleashes what can be described as “psychic barbed wire” which trap Betsy and attempt to shred her. Betsy keels over from the pain, her body wrecked from the link between her and the “Proteus Room”.
Betsy Braddock is an X-Man however, and all the training she has undergone tells her to put the pain to the back of her mind. She is also a fighter, and looks for an opening, punching Jamie and telling him he was never the fighter in the family for he always wanted to do things the easy way. She adds that she can take more than he can give, and she can give more than he wants. On the ground, Jamie looks up at his sister and tells her that it is not fair, that he should be stronger than her, before whispering ‘Help me Betsy, I think I’ve gone mad’. Psylocke walks closer to him and Jamie uses his powers on her again, telling her she is mad to help. With Betsy wounded, Jamie runs away, disappearing from this world he created.
The handsome hero, Brian Braddock, stands his ground, he hasn’t been the same since his return from the Time Stream, dedicating his life to saving the future, he changed his codename from Captain Britain to Britannic. However, he is still a man, a brother – in search of a brother. So far, he has remained undetected on this part of the Astral Plane. Jamie Braddock, dressed now in more than his thong, a formal suit in fact, appears, trusting that his witch of a sister won’t find him here. Jamie tells himself that he was better off before he got powers, which are what he believes got him into trouble.
Jamie cannot see anyone, and thinks he can make a clean get-away – until he runs into Brian’s statuesque body. Knocked back to the ground, Jamie asks his younger brother when he got so big, before telling him that he knows he always wanted him dead so he could take his place. Jamie uses his powers and a gun materializes, Brian asks him to put it down, as Jamie tells him that he couldn’t quite fit his shoes – though it would be easier to fill a dead mans shoes. He fires the gun and energies swarm around Brian who tells Jamie that he and Betsy are here to help him not kill him. He informs his brother that any harm he suffered was self-inflicted, that like he has done in the past, he is just taking refuge in his own insanity to avoid the guilt.
Jamie shrugs what Brian has to say off as lies before proclaiming that he should have been Captain Britain, that it was his heritage and Brian stole it. Enraged, Brian tells Jamie that he could not even face the truth, let alone the future, adding that he lived it and Jamie would not have. Brian leaps over to Jamie and punches him over, asking him when he was going to get over his instant fame and instant fortune schemes and grow up. Jamie smiles and asks why he would want to grow up, asking what is so good about reality. ‘I have a flare for the dramatic’ cries Jamie as he uses his powers against Brian, knocking him back and telling him he will see him in another life.
(flashback)The home of the Braddock family, where a young Jamie is desperately searching for his siblings, once again he has been left home alone and in charge, something in the past that he has failed to do. The young Jamie wonders how his brother and sister do it, and thinks that they are so close they will always have each other, while he will have…himself. Brian and Betsy are hiding in a large chest and peering through the keyhole the watch their older brother. Brian asks Betsy what they should do to which she suggests they should let him join them and that if they concentrate hard enough, he may be able to hear them.
Moments later, Jamie lifts up the lid to the large chest, telling his siblings that he knew they were close by. Brian proclaims that this is their secret hiding place and Betsy asks him to join them. Young Jamie is taken aback at this and eagerly climbs in. The afternoon passes and Jamie asks his siblings to never leave him. Brian tells Jamie that they can play together forever, to which Betsy adds that when they grow up they can all remember the time they spent together. This incident never happened of course, and Psylocke knows that. It is simply an attempt at childhood wish fulfillment, hoping it is not too late to grant.
(present)Back in the “Proteus Room”, Jamie strikes out in one last effort to maintain his status quo. Betsy holds onto him, trying to get Jamie to relax with the idea that they can be a family again. She adds that she never knew how he felt and asks for a second chance. Jamie frees himself from Psylocke’s hold, Betsy knows they are going to loose him, for he is trying to force them away. She tells him they can close again, until she is knocked out. Brian takes his chance and uppercuts Jamie, ordering him to stop messing with his mind, asking him if the fist and violence is all he understands, and if this is the way he wants to spend the rest of his life.
Brian smashes Jamie against a wall, asking if this is what he wants a brotherly embrace to be and their eyes meet for the first time in many years, locking a look that spans many generations and age old hatreds. The two brothers see eye to eye for the first time in decades – is it enough? Jamie Braddock falls to the floor with a thud. Kurt Wagner, a.k.a. Nightcrawler, Excalibur’s team leader teleports into the room and remarks that it looks like he missed an interesting family reunion and teleports Jamie to the medlab.
Later, where emotions and scars have been returned to the rightful places, world-renowned Dr. Moira MacTaggert examines Jamie and tells Brian and Betsy that he is still in a coma, however her senses do indicate an increase in brain activity. She believes the twins have made some progress, but she cannot know more than that. Nightcrawler offers his assistance to Psylocke, who states that her brother has been through so much pain, and that she never realized as much as Jamie was fighting her and Brian, he was fighting himself as well.
Betsy believes Jamie was reaching out for love and comfort, yet still holding onto what he knew – the corruptive evil side of himself. She proclaims that the unconscious manifestations and his different hostile personalities and psyches were his way of expressing everything he had inside him for so long. Nightcrawler fares Betsy well before teleporting out. Brian tells Betsy that they have to have made a difference, but that the final battle is up to Jamie, he must face his demons himself. He asks Betsy if she can feel an inner peace, a calmness that wasn’t there before.
Betsy replies that she can, and asks if it is a sign that Jamie is trying to tell them he has changed, that they helped him. Betsy solemnly adds that whether it was a dream of vision that Brian saw, she knows now she needs her brother – both of them. Betsy tells Brian she has a plane to catch, but that they should try to stay in touch this time, as there is so much she hasn’t told him yet. Once Brian and Betsy leave the room, the security containment fields are activated, and somewhere inside Jamie Braddock’s twisted reality, he is playing in their secret hiding place, and in his mind, he is happy.
Second Story:Amanda Sefton, the powerful member of Excalibur, the British Super-Hero team of mutants and superhumans is currently at work, stewardessing aboard aircraft. Though to the super hero sometimes known as “Daytripper”, being ‘senior in-flight passenger service relations interface manager’ is not work, but a chance for her to live her dream, to see the world. Right now though, Amanda is experiencing excruciating pain, nothing to do with work, more to do with the fact that she is currently undergoing transpatial bio-molecular displacement.
All her experiences as ally to the X-Men, member of the Muir Island X-Men and Excalibur, while all ranging from life threatening to simply casting a spell, they have not prepared her for such physical pain. Otherwise known as “spooling” the process involves being ripped to shreds and then reformed over and over and over again. In the few seconds of clarity between spooling cycles, Amanda wonders how it happened. But the only thing she can remember is a woman screaming for help. Then it is Amanda screaming again, as the pain starts again, only to end as quickly as it begun.
Amanda steadies herself in the flight attendants small cabin of the plane she is working in, wondering if it was a nightmare, though it couldn’t be, because she knows she wasn’t sleeping. Amanda is surprised that she didn’t scream before reminding herself that it is her job to care for passengers, not scare them. Feeling that it is over now, that perhaps it was just a magickal backlash she was receiving from an unknown source, Amanda decides to check on the first class passengers, until she notices her wrists have deep scars on them, like the wounds she received in her dream, or vision, or hallucination….
Now Amanda is scared and suddenly, she is knocked to the ground as the plane does a sudden nose dive. Passengers start calling out for help, crying that they do not want to die and they all panic. Amanda tries to calm them as the cockpit crew tries to pull the plane out of its uncontrollable dive, realizing that there are no mechanical failures, the captain and his crew are helpless to let the plane all but fall, as the captain sends out a mayday.
Sliding down the aisle, Amanda tells the passengers to strap themselves into their seats and assume the crash position. As she thinks to herself she is in a living nightmare now, she decides to figure out a way to use her powers to keep the plane from crashing – until she gets another vision. But it is a different kind of vision, as a pink sphere appears before Amanda, with a woman inside it. Startled, Amanda asks the scantily clad woman who she is, while trying to suppress her fears and look after the passengers.
The woman reveals herself as Selene, and she admits to Amanda that she is responsible for sending her the nightmare she experienced. Amanda asks Selene what she ever did to her, before adding that the people aboard the plane are innocent. Selene tells Amanda that it is not what Amanda has done for her, but what she can do for her. Selene tells Amanda that she needs her to come to her, where the reasons will be made clear upon arrival. Amanda sternly tells Selene that she is not going anywhere before the powerful witch tells her not to be stupid and that if Amanda does not obey her, then she will crash the plane. Amanda looks desperately to the ground as Selene tells her to decide now while she still has a choice in the matter. Albeit reluctantly, Amanda tells Selene she will come, and tells her to return control of the plane to the crew.
Sometime later, Amanda has changed from her stewardess uniform, to the brightly colored costume she wears as part of Excalibur. Amanda approaches a seemingly deserted mansion, the co-ordinates, which Selene gave her. Amanda wishes she had a chance to contact her boyfriend and fellow Excalibur member, Kurt, before reminding herself that she had been in tough spots before, and that she can get through this, whatever it is.
Daytripper makes her way through the darkened mansion, where stands before her is the spooling chamber, where flesh is torn apart and rebuilt in a never ending cycle, just like in Amanda’s nightmare. Trapped inside the chamber, Selene sees Amanda coming in and tells her that she sent her that “message” so that she would understand what she is experiencing and agree to help her, Selene reveals that she cannot take any more of this, and now she will not need to.
As always, concerned for others before herself, Amanda asks Selene about the plane, to which Selene replies that she is sure it was a quandary for Amanda, but that the plane was never in any real danger, she only needed to get Amanda’s full attention to bring her here. Selene comments on it being part of ‘Xavier’s precious credo’ to help any who ask for help. Amanda looks up at Selene as she thinks to herself by helping her, she would unleash a very powerful woman, and yet not helping Selene would go against everything Excalibur stands for. Amanda has heard about Selene from Nightcrawler, and she wonders if even after all Selene has done if she deserves such a fate, Amanda asks who she is to judge.
Amanda begins to search the room, looking for something that could turn the machine off without freeing Selene, and then she could contact the X-Men and they would be able to deal with her. Selene watches Amanda, calling her a “doe-eyed fool” she thinks to herself that Amanda can deactivate the chamber, and she will “repay” her in full. At a console, Amanda has trouble making sense of what the controls do, until she finds a lever which looks like it should lower the spooling chamber – and as Amanda pulls it down, Selene s freed from the painful spooling process.
Amanda is slightly distracted and doesn’t see Selene creep up behind her. Suddenly, Kurt “Nightcrawler” Wagner Amanda’s foster brother/teammate/lover teleports in and seeing what Selene is doing he pushes Amanda out of the way. Amanda shows her surprise at seeing Kurt, as Selene greets him before grabbing him and throwing him into the spooling chamber, warning him that he is not going to stop her plans, and that he can substitute for Daytripper in the chamber. Selene slaps her hand down hard on the panel, which sees the chamber bought back to life, and Kurt Wagner put in misery.
Daytripper fears that her beloved is being killed and asks Selene to release him. Gloating, the immortal informs Amanda that she cant do that as there is no way to shut the chamber down, for once it is activated there must always be someone in there, if not, it will self-destruct and destroy the mansion. Selene tells Amanda that it was she who was to be her replacement, but her “Knight in shining armor” will suffice. Amanda looks Selene in the eye and tells her that she has messed with her too many times now. ‘Take you best shot, blondie, we both know you’re no match for me’ Selene viciously remarks.
Amanda trips over as Selene uses her powers to rip large metal coils up from the floor and informs the reluctant X-heroine that even though she is weak from the spooling she is still superior to her. Amanda becomes trapped within the steel coils, which tie her up, cutting off her air supply. Amanda grits her teeth and uses magical bolts to fight back the coils. Selene says ‘Give it up Sefton’ before informing her that the mansion has built in power-dampeners and that while she has adjusted her abilities, Amanda’s are undependable at best.
As Amanda frees herself of the coils, Selene informs her that her powers are growing stronger with every passing moment, strong enough to warp the room, and Amanda is knocked back as the floor ripples. Amanda fires a blast of energy at the Black Queen, announcing that she will not be beaten. Selene calls Amanda an “impudent whelp” and tells her it is time she felt her full power, and the Black Queen causes the roof above Amanda to cave in. ‘Now who’s gonna whip who babyface?’ Selene adds cruelly.
Amanda Sefton lies still under broken beams and concrete. She cannot move and fears her ribs are broken. Kurt, still imprisoned within the Spooling Chamber, calls out to Amanda. The young sorceress knows she cannot let him down and tries to fight the pain, she pushes the pain, and the rubble off her, adding that Kurt’s sacrifice for her will not have been in vain. Thus, clearing her mind of all but one objective, Amanda uses a magical powersurge to free herself. Selene is shocked at Amanda’s revival and wonders where her strength is coming from.
Amanda’s eyes glaze over as she informs Selene that it simply ‘can and will’ and unleashing a huge force of magical energy, Daytripper pushes Selene back across the room, informing her that while she may have beaten her, she made a mistake going after Kurt, one which she needs to pay for. Amanda uses her powers to knock Selene against the wall several times, before sending her careening through the wall and out of the mansion. The power comes from deep within Amanda, a place she has rarely trusted and always kept well guarded – her heart.
Rather weary, Amanda looks up at her brother trapped in the spooling chamber. She places her hand to his, the glass all the separates them, and hopes that that takes care of Selene. As tears stream from Kurt’s eyes, Amanda tells him to hang on and that she will get him out, but will need to wait until the spooling process has completed or else he will end up disfigured like Selene, whose legs were badly bleeding. Kurt tells Amanda that he isn't going to make it, and as tears fall from Amanda’s eyes she tells him that he will, reminding him that he has been in worse situations than this.
Daytripper tells Nightcrawler to focus beyond the pain, block it out, but he replies that he cannot do it. Amanda tells him that he has to do it for her sake. As Kurt Wagner’s body starts to regain its normal shape, he takes Amanda’s hand and she pulls him from the chamber. They land on the ground and after a minute to recover, Kurt tells Amanda that she saved his life. The two hug and Amanda asks him if he thought she would leave him there. Kurt tells her that he never thought it, before alerting her to the looming self-destruct.
The mansion rumbles and Nightcrawler bamfs he and his sister out – but they reappear right where they tried to leave from. Kurt realizes that it must be the power dampener. Amanda suggests that they may be too weak to teleport out, and Kurt tells her to teleport out without him, as he is just holding her back. Amanda tells Kurt not to be an idiot – ‘And I mean that in the nicest way of course’ she adds, and tells him that they both have to concentrate and pool their resources.
Amanda and Kurt hold hands and he tells her that they have to do it now as the mansion is going to blow any second. There is a pause that lasts for eternity, then suddenly a bamf and an explosion so powerful that it destroys the entire mansion, purging it of its evil secrets and sadistic chambers forever. Daytripper and Nightcrawler rest against a nearby tree, and Amanda asks Kurt if he thinks Selene got caught in the explosion. He tells her that he doesn’t know, but assures Amanda that she did the best she could.
Nightcrawler suggests they go home and call the X-Men who are better equipped to deal with this. Amanda guesses Kurt is right, but nonetheless feels uneasy. Kurt tries to comfort Amanda by reminding her that she just faced down an “A” list baddie. He tells Amanda that she is a tough woman, and never to forget it. Amanda promises she won’t.As the couple walks down the path leading away from the mansion, Amanda asks Kurt how he knew where she was. Kurt tells her that he was waiting at the airport for her as he had something important to tell her. When the plane landed the crew explained to him what had happened and after getting the coordinates from them and started searching. Amanda asks Kurt if he is going to tell her what he wanted to tell her, ‘Or do I get to guess?’
Elsewhere, Her name is Selene, a.k.a. the Black Queen, she trudges through a swamp, legs still scathed and badly bleeding from the spooling process. She is a mess. She is a woman who has known many horrors, and has subjected many to her evil whims. She has never known the fear that is inside her at the moment, fear so deep it is beyond description. For she knows how it happened, that knowledge makes it worse. Her wounds do not heal, as she left the spooling chamber before she could be fully “reassembled”. No one hears her screams except for the trees…and the wolves in the night.
Third Story:Muir Isle, where Katherine “Kitty” Pryde, also known as Shadowcat, has just received a parcel from a courier. It is from her mother, various things from when Kitty was at Westchester. In the letter the former Mrs. Pryde mentions that she is giving away a lot of other things to the needy, before asking Kitty to get her father to call her if he rings. As Kitty’s pet dragon Lockheed sits on the package, Kitty moans to her close friend and team leader, Kurt “Nightcrawler” Wagner that her own hand-me-downs are not the kind of mail she was hoping for. Nightcrawler picks up the package and tells Kitty he is taking it to her room by “Nightcrawler Express” and with Lockheed on the box, they bamf out.
A moment later, Kurt and Lockheed bamf back in and Kitty thanks them for trying to cheer her up. Upset, she mentions that ever since her parents’ divorce, her mother has time for everyone else in the world except her own daughter and that no ‘package of old junk’ is going to change anything. Kitty calls Lockheed and they leave the room to look at the contents of the box.
In her bedroom, Kitty turns on her computer to look at the discs that were in the box of things, provided they are not rippled with a virus of course. Kitty moans to Lockheed that her mother sent the discs loose in a plastic bag, as usual, never caring about her daughter’s things. Kitty inserts one of the discs, hoping that the system doesn’t crash, and upon seeing the contents of the disc displayed on her screen, Kitty realizes that they are from the Xavier Institute, and she gets a big surprise as to what is on them.
The files are a disc-diary belonging to the deceased New Mutant Doug Ramsey, known as Cypher, who was one of Kitty’s closest friends. Accompanying this first file is a scan of Cypher and his alien teammate Warlock merging. As Kitty reads the file, Doug “tells” her that if it is she who is reading it he is glad, as she has known him the longest and is the only person he has shared everything with, not to mention she helped him when they discovered he was a mutant. Doug goes on however to tell Kitty that he doesn’t think she knew how inadequate he always felt. While he may have been a member of the New Mutants, his power of understanding and speaking languages didn’t exactly make him the most valuable team member.
Kitty reads that Doug always kept that hidden away, but with something that happened to him he no longer needs to. Doug tells Kitty that when they were in Asgard he merged with Warlock, for he saw him dying, needing “food” to survive. Doug admits that he has never been so afraid in his life, though he wanted to help him, but scared of the pain. Doug had never been in such pain, though he knew that this “soul-merging” with Warlock would save him. By giving Warlock some of his life force, in return Doug was able to see auras that every living thing radiated. Doug admits that he will never forget the way it felt to be in someone else’s mind, that it goes beyond understanding or translation. In the file Doug adds that when Warlock was his body armor he felt invincible, and after merging with his mind realized how precious each life is, that there is no such thing as invincibility.
In the next file, Cypher and the other New Mutants return to Earth, where they learn Magneto is going to be their new Headmaster. Doug proclaims that Magneto’s attitude towards him was awful, as he forbade him to participate in any training exercises in the Danger Room. Doug was furious. Though having no physical power, which Magneto constantly reminded him of Doug believed having no physical power was exactly the reason he should be in the Danger Room training with the others. He thinks it is rather ironic that Professor Xavier encouraged him to train in combat situations, while Magneto shielded him from any physical danger at all. It was Magneto’s belief that the needs of the team outweigh the needs of the individual members. Doug thinks Professor Xavier would disagree with that. Doug proclaims on the file that he is determined to prove Magneto wrong, that he isn't useless.
The third file retells the story of Cypher and the New Mutants up against the Magus, Warlock’s demented father. In this battle, the New Mutants were severely in danger of being beaten, and some words that Professor Xavier once said to Doug went through his mind; ‘All life, every moment, is a classroom, for those willing to learn. The key is within your grasp, Douglas. Be calm, as I taught you – have confidence in your abilities and your own courage – and you will find it’. With these words Doug realized that all life is based on genetic codes and that Warlock and Magus were father and son, thus by merging with Warlock it meant that Doug could decipher and rearrange Magus’ genetic encoding any way he wanted. So Doug regressed Magus back to infancy, Doug did it, thus slaying the Magus. Doug thinks he earned the right to be called a hero. On this day, Doug and Warlock united in a death duel against the latter’s father, they claimed courage and became partners.
Soon after, Warlock disappeared for some time, Doug lost his partner and didn’t know what to do about it, though he thought he was handling things well. But the nightmares came to Doug, thirty-two variations of the same theme – he permanently contracts the Transmode virus and is unable to control it, he infects his teammates and the world, and he is turned into an outcast. The worst of the dreams however was the one where Warlock becomes the Magus and kills him. Each night these nightmares occurred Doug woke up sweating and screaming, he felt so powerless, for without Warlock he is just a cipher. Doug is not sure what he is most afraid of – what he will become, what he has become, or what he won’t become.
A few minutes later, Kitty Pryde runs from her room carrying the discs she rushes past Kurt who is reading on a couch and shouts that she has to find Douglock! Kurt tells Kitty he thinks Douglock is in the upstairs library before asking her ‘what’s wrong?’ and trying to block her way, but Kitty just phases through Kurt and shouts at him to leave her alone. With Kitty gone, Kurt thinks to himself that he wont leave her alone, especially when she is so upset about something and he decides to be Kitty’s shadow until he knows how he can help her.
Shadowcat phases through the floors until she finds her target, Douglock who has plugged himself into a computer. The enigmatic Excalibur member asks Kitty if she wanted to use the computer. Kitty tells him she has been looking for him, to which Douglock tells her she has found him, and he says he is running an information retrieval on all known Artificial Intelligence. He proclaims that his goal is to cross-reference the data and compare it to genetic matrixes resembling the Phalanx so he can gain a greater understanding of who and what he is.
Holding the discs up Kitty tells Douglock she thinks she can help him with his search, and that he can help her with her search too. Kitty looks Douglock in the eye and tells him to read the discs, as he wrote them! As Kitty hands Douglock the discs she thinks that after all this time she may finally have one of her best friends back. She prays that it will work, but as Douglock examines the recordings from Cypher he tells Kitty that it is wrong, as the ‘discs pertain to the deceased human being known as Douglas Ramsey. That is not who I am. I am…Douglock!’ Douglock tells Kitty that if she is asking him to be who she wants him to be, he cannot help her. Turning back to his research at the computer he excuses Kitty, who makes a feeble protest.
A forlorn Kitty Pryde leaves the library and Kurt steps from the shadows to comfort her. Kitty hears someone approach and tells Kurt that if it is him to go away, but Kurt tells her that after seeing what happened he will not. Kitty accuses Kurt of spying on her and mad at Kurt, she soon gets mad at Douglock and asks Kurt why Douglock cannot just be Doug. Nightcrawler hugs Kitty and tells her that Douglock can’t be who she wants him to be as everyone is entitled to his or her own unique identity. Kitty says that she knows before telling Kurt she wants him to see something.
Back in her room, Kurt stares at the computer. Reading the discs Kitty’s mother sent her, he tells Kitty he can understand how upset she would be, especially with the recent losses of Illyana and Rachel. The final file, Doug wrote it in the Danger Room control center after being unable to sleep, partly because he has figured out what scares him the most. He is not naïve enough to think the New Mutants are unbeatable, that any of them are immune to the dangers they face when they go into battle. He wonders however if it is too much to ask for a hero’s death? Doug says in the file that he doesn’t want to die, but if he has to that is how he would like to go out, for even though the physical strength and protection Warlock gave him are gone it doesn’t mean he is going to retire to the sidelines.
Doug Ramsey knows there is a place for him amongst his teammates, and if necessary he will lay down his life for them. Cypher remembers Danielle Moonstar and how before she even heard of the New Mutants her grandfather told her about brave warriors being granted “good medicine deaths”. Doug thinks he knows what that means now. Quoting Hamlet he writes: ‘If it be now, 'tis not to come ; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the readiness is all’.
Kurt frowns upon reading the last file, realizing that it must have been written shortly before Cypher was killed by the Ani-Mator, he says. Taking up the Hamlet angle he quotes Horatio’s lines after Hamlet’s death: ‘Here cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest’. Kitty wipes tears away from her eyes and tells Kurt that after all this time she still cannot believe Doug’s gone, for she keeps thinking he will call and want her to come and look at the latest program he designed. Kitty admits that every time she looks at Douglock she hates him for being what he is not.
Nightcrawler tells Kitty that he knows she knows she must accept Douglock for who he is and not what he is not, that she cannot hate someone for not being what you expected them to be, for the joy of discovering who they are is part of the adventure. Kurt adds that Douglock cannot be Doug, but he can be her friend if she will let him. Kurt reminds Kitty of a time she was afraid of him, and tells her that it would have been very sad had she not opened her heart to him. Crying, Kitty tells Kurt he is right, that she is just trying to ‘raise the dead with megabytes’ and as the two friends hug, they remind each other that they are ‘Only human’, and neither notice Douglock at the door.


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The Douglock Chronicles part 2: Twisted Logic
Britanic, Meggan and Shadowcat, one half of the British super hero team known as Excalibur find themselves teleported along with a family of four and a techno-organic being resembling the deceased New Mutant Doug Ramsey, by the android known as Zero. Upon arrival at their destination, they who were previously under attack by droids who were set upon killing them all. Upon seeing their destination, everyone realizes they may have been better off under attack.
Zero welcomes his newfound companions to one of the many bases belonging to his late master, Stryfe. The techno-organic asks Zero if it was prudent to teleport them all to these coordinates since there are 3,362 droids in the base, and the droids are trying to kill them. ‘Prudent? They’re going to kill us!’ screams the mother of Davey and Courtney as she holds her son, while her husband looks after their daughter.
Kitty Pryde points out that the droids seem inert, to which the Zero reveals that the androids are deactivated for the moment. The mother turns and declares that she doesn’t know who - or what - any of the people present are, and doesn’t care. She reminds everyone that she and her family were camping in the woods, and although they are grateful to them for saving their lives, whatever it is that they are tangled up in, she has had enough.
Britanic agrees, pointing out that none of them know what any of this is about, except Zero. Brian declares that Zero has told them nothing, including why Excalibur was summoned, through him, to seek Zero out, nor why the heroes aiding him is so important that he can feel the dire weight of consequences - but does not understand them. Brian frowns and declares that he will understand, even if he has to wring the knowledge from Zero’s broken body.
Before Britanic can continue, the techno-organic stretches his body and comes between Brian, informing him that an assault on Zero will cause him to take counter measures, adding that he did not leave the Phalanx womb to see Zero destroyed. Puzzled, Brian asks the techno-organic what he means by this „Phalanx“, but Zero tells them to both ‘cease and desist’, as there is precious little time and they cannot waste it bickering.
Zero tells Britanic that he cannot answer his queries because most of the data is unavailable, even to him, however what he does know, is that along with his growing sentience, a purpose lies hidden within him. Zero states that this is a purpose his techno-organic companion resembling Doug Ramsey and he are desperate to discover. Zero reveals that this hidden purpose is the reason Stryfe’s droids were programmed to destroy him, even to the point of slaughtering innocents, like the family present, to do so.
Zero declares that he could not allow that, so reminds everyone that he teleported them all here, to this base full of deactivated droids - the last place the droids would search for them. Zero is about to continue, when Meggan suddenly cries out. Kitty calls to her teammate as the father of the family asks her if she is all right. Meggan declares that she is surprised, as her elemental senses finally got a fix on their location. Meggan reveals that the twisted psychopath Stryfe built this base a few miles directly beneath…the Pentagon!
A few miles above, within the Pentagon itself, Forge tells high ranking government official Doctor Valerie Cooper that this could be serious trouble for certain persons. Valerie informs the mutant Forge that this is why she passed this file on to him in the first place, pointing out that she has never second guessed him since he replaced her as X-Factor’s government liaison. Forge confirms that she hasn’t yet. But Val suggests that it would be better if the team acted on this immediately.
Forge replies that he knows two Valerie Coopers - the one willing to bend the rules for the people she trusts, like the Val who gave him this file for instance, and the Valerie Cooper who doesn’t know when to let those trusted people perform without interference, like the Val who got caught up in a fiasco called Wideawake. ‘Which Val is it going to be today?’ Forge asks.
Valerie simply tells Forge that she had a feeling that when he took over she was leaving X-Factor in good hands, and now she is certain of it. Walking away, Val tells Forge that she hopes the same capable hands find that file. Forge watches Val go and thinks to himself that it will take more than that if the file pans out. Opening the file labeled “Pryde”, Forge thinks to himself that the source of this corporate information is too shaky. Carmen Pryde, Shadowcat’s father or not, is on his own for now.
Meanwhile, on a tiny Isle off the coast of Scotland, the Muir Island Research Center home base of Excalibur sits precariously on a bluff, a man made shelter to keep the violent North Sea at bay. Though even within these walls, humankind’s struggle against violence of nature goes on, albeit on a different front. In this case, nature had some help from a madman called Stryfe, the violence he created takes the form of a deadly virus called Legacy, and the struggle for a cure lies in the weary arms of Doctor Moira MacTaggert and Professor Charles Xavier.
Examining some samples, the founder of the X-Men points out to the world renowned scientist that the virus if definitely mutating, but wonders what it is mutating into. The comely Doctor reminds Xavier that the strain they initially identified targeted the victims’ DNA using the mutant variant in their genetic codes as the access point, with the same devastating result in every case. Moira points out some of the victims of the deadly virus - Revanche, Mastermind and wee Illyana and reminds Charles that each of their DNA sequences slowly broke up their mutant powers running them wild, consuming them.
Moira begins to cry and mentions Jamie Madrox, her long time assistant on Muir Island, and declares that the same thing would have happened to him if he hadn’t been murdered first. Moira mutters that Jamie may have been the lucky one, to which Charles asks if this is what they have come to, wishing their friends the least painful death possible. Charles reminds Moira that all these years, he thought he was preparing mutant kind to face the worst, he thought that if anything, the threat was megalomaniacs like Magneto, or the prejudice the spawned the Sentinels. ‘But to bury our families, our friends…even our adversaries…because of a disease?’
Charles declares that it is more than he can bear. Moira puts a comforting hand on Charles’ arm and tells him that he must not give up, that he is needed now more than ever. Moira then asks Xavier if he has forgotten the promise he made a lifetime ago when they were an item - a promise made to a starry eyed lass by a supremely confident young man….
(Flashback, a very long time ago)
The French Riviera, one hot sunny afternoon, young Moira Kinross looks up longingly at young Charles Xavier and asks him if he is sure that if events continue on their present course, that humans and mutants will face a common disaster. Charles replies ‘absolutely!’ that he is as sure that working together in peace, the two branches of mankind can avert that disaster. Charles feels that he can make it happen, he is determined to make that happen.
Moira puts a hand on Xavier’s newspaper and tells him that she doesn’t believe him, especially as he cannot even look at her when he is saying it. Charles and Moira embrace as Charles tells Moira he will make it happen, he promises. Charles asks Moira why she should take his word and points out that as he is a mutant and she is a human, they should test the hypothesis together.
A few meters along the beach, a handsome man says to his companion in French: ‘There’s a sight, eh, Paul? Geek love!’ Paul tells Karl not to say it so loud as they might understand, but Karl asks Paul if he can believe they are making a spectacle of themselves on a public beach. Suddenly, Karl takes off his shorts and begins running down the beach naked, after a mental suggestion from Xavier.
(Present)
Charles and Moira laugh over the reminiscing, Moira telling Xavier that what he did was unethical. Moira points out that for a telepath to invade the mind and suppress the inhibitions of others, it was…’well deserved! Hilarious!’ cries Charles. Moira declares that Charles was irrepressible back then and asks what happened to the irrepressible young man. ‘I don’t know, Moira, another victim of this disease, I suppose’.
Moira begins to cry as she whispers to herself ‘No…not him…some other young lover I’m afraid…but never him’. Charles asks Moira if she is all right, to which Moira declares that she is not all right, before regaining her composure and exclaims that this is not how she wanted to do this, crying and all. Charles reminds Moira that they have been at this for thirty hours straight, they are stressed out and exhausted, so it is no wonder she is upset.
Charles suggests that they should quit for a few hours and get some rest, but Moira gets back to her feet and declares that she does not have time for rest. Across the other side of the lab, Moira exclaims that she has been trying to tell Charles something, and she is surprised that he hasn’t guessed by now. ‘Guessed what?’ asks Charles. ‘The unthinkable’ replies Moira, before ordering the computer to run program Finale.
Elsewhere, in the techno-organic womb that spawned the mysterious group called the Phalanx, the crowing center of that collective mind stirs. His name is Stephen Lang, and with his hardwired inputs to the Phalanx mainframe activated, he controls every facet of the collective - or so he thought. ‘Where is Ramsey?’ cries Lang before declaring that several coded transmissions require analysis and that counter intelligence passwords need deciphering, despite the summons after summons, the primary crypt is ographic, but the unit remains offline.
Stephen Lang orders the quarter master unit to report the current status of cryptographer Ramsey. Cameron Hodge approaches Lang and informs him that there is a system error and that the Ramsey cryptographic program is absent from all retrievable subsystems. Even though this defies probability, it would seem that Ramsey has been permanently removed from the Phalanx matrix. ‘WHAT? HOW?’ screams Lang, so Hodge reveals that this could have only happened with means of technology more advanced than their own, a category limited to Mr. Sinister, Apocalypse and Stry - Lang cuts Hodge off, exclaiming that he cannot tolerate failure. Someone tells Lang to calm himself, and reveals that this is a minor part of their grand design, so as long as the two of them work together, the plan is unassailable. Lang mutters ‘perhaps’ but that he still wants to know what happened to Ramsey.
Back at Stryfe’s base, Britanic asks Zero if to escape Stryfe’s droids, they need to hide in plain sight, among more of the droids, but wonders how long they will remain deactivated. Zero replies that he doesn’t know, which is why they must act quickly and discover the secret that the droids will destroy everyone here to protect.
The young girl with the family, Courtney approaches the techno-organic and tells him that she saw him in the woods with the blank man. The Doug Ramsey look-alike realizes Courtney is talking about Zero as Courtney reminds him that it was he who saved her. The techno-organic states that his actions were compatible with the situational parameters, ’uh-huh, I like you too!’ exclaims Courtney who is holding her stuffed bunny and tells the techno-organic that Milo likes her too.
‘Sp the stuffed animal likes you, eh “Doug“, snaps Kitty who then rudely declares that it is a warm gushy feeling all around – “Doug“. The techno-organic tells Kitty that his cryptographic systems detect a double meaning in her words, and voice pattern analysis reveals a high stress level. ‘you bet I’m stressed!’ snaps Kitty, declaring that she is stressed because it is obvious he is not Doug Ramsey, and that she will not allow a cold, unliving thing to make a mockery of her dead friend.
The techno-organic replies that he understands perfectly, however he points out that Shadowcat has mistaken him about his status, as he is a living being, who apparently does not conform to her somewhat narrow-minded definition of the term. ‘Narrow minded?’ gasps Kitty as the techno-organic asks Kitty if she would feel more comfortable referring to him as Douglock. ‘Why you misbegotten sonuva microwave!’ exclaims Kitty angrily as she plunges one of her phased hands into Douglock’s body.
As Douglock points out, Kitty phasing into his techno-organic body prompts massive systems disruption, and he thinks it is curious that such an emotional response should be triggered by a mere physical appearance. ‘Yeah, we real people are funny that way. Deal with it’ says Kitty harshly before walking away from Douglock and telling him to stay out of her way from now on. ‘I’m so glad we had this little chat “Douglock“’ she adds.
When Kitty regroups with Britanic, Meggan and Zero, the former member of the Mutant Liberation Front asks Kitty if everything is all right, to which Kitty remarks ‘just peachy’ and asks if they have made any progress. Brian states that he still has no answers, that he cannot remember why it was so vital to aid Zero, but then again, Zero is offering no satisfactory answers either.
Zero states that he has no answers, despite probing his own data files and attempts to explore his role in the larger world. The frustrated Brian points out that as Zero is the key, he must know the answers. Meggan tries to calm Brian, informing him that she senses Zero’s frustration and confusion are equal to his own, and tells him that patience and calm are their best means to further understanding.
Brian declares that he understands Zero’s artificial brain holds a secret so important that Stryfe reaches from his grave to destroy Zero, but that why he cannot access this information, he does not understand. Zero suggests that Stryfe must have protected the relevant files, as he is limited by that programming. Zero begins to apologize, when he suddenly grabs Meggan by her wrist and asks her what it was she just said. Meggan reminds him she said that patience and calm would lead to understanding, but Zero means what she said before that.
Meggan knows what Zero is referring to, and states again that she could sense his frustration and confusion. Britanic declares that he does not see the significance of this, when Zero tells him that it has no significance to their data search, or perhaps every significance. Zero declares that he only knows its significance to himself, and asks the others if they do not understand - Meggan sensed feelings, emotion, life from him, meaning at last, he is a fully sentient being. ‘I feel!’ he shouts.
Quietly, from above, previously inactive systems go online - Stryfe’s droids wake as Zero has become sentient. Young Davey tells Zero that he knew he had feelings long ago, to which Zero asks ‘how’ and Davey reminds Zero of how he saved him and his family when he did not have to. Meggan tells Zero that Davey speaks the truth, and suggests that he could have run from the danger, but instead he chose to stay and help. Davey tells Zero that he cared, and caring is an emotion.
Zero places his hands on the boy, and agrees, while mentioning that with awareness comes knowledge - and at last he knows! Before Zero can reveal what he knows, energy sparks above them as the droids make their alertness known by stating that directive 000.0 applies - delete Zero. As Douglock modifies his body to protect the family from the droids, Kitty declares that the droids are self destructing, trying to blow the base up, and with it, all of them.
Zero declares that it is because his sentience has finally overcome Stryfe’s programming, and in the name of their dead master, the droids will stop at nothing to destroy him and the knowledge he holds. ‘For within my systems, I possess his final ultimate secret - I hold the secret of the Legacy Virus!’ Excalibur look at Zero in shock.
Back on Muir Island, Xavier asks Moira what she means by “Finale“, to which Moira informs Charles that it is a theoretical model of the virus’s configuration and effects if its present development continues.  Moira states that with any virus, Legacy is mutating with the possibility for different pathology should a new strain develop. Charles reminds Moira that they know all this, and while it may be relevant to their work, they do not even understand the basics of the disease yet, like modes of transmission, why some are affected more quickly than others, and states that they should be focusing on those.
Moira cuts Charles off and tells him to hear her out, and tells him that Finale scenario is not theoretical anymore, revealing that she has personally uncovered information that confirms their worst fears - she brings a DNA model up on the holodisplay, and informs Charles that what they are seeing is not just a slight variation of its pathology - ‘the Legacy Virus is spreading to the human population!’


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Douglock Chronicles part 3, conclusion: Out Of Time
Imagine encountering an organism whose inner workings are totally foreign to you, and being forced to perform complex surgery on it…with your bare hands. Now imagine you can’t see what you’re doing, and that the operating room is being obliterated by a dozen explosions per second. It would be a difficult task in the best of times, but for the artificial life form called Zero, for his “surgeon“ Shadowcat and her teammates in the super hero group called Excalibur, what really matters is not “best“ or “worst“ but how precious little time they have left.
While the techno-organic being Douglock protects an innocent family and Meggan and Britanic of Excalibur under his body which he has turned into a shield, Kitty has plunged her hands into Zero’s body, as the former agent of Stryfe tells her to hurry, reminding her that if the base has switched to self-destruct mode then the destruct mechanism inside himself, placed there by his late master, Stryfe, will soon follow. Kitty points out that her phasing power disrupts electronics, which is why Zero’s systems are frying.
Zero states that he can endure it, and urges Kitty to move to the left, for she has located the device. Douglock offers his assistance to Kitty Pryde, but Zero tells him that he must protect the innocent family from the destruction around them. Brian „Britanic“ Braddock asks who then shall protect Shadowcat, as she risks her life for the machine. Brian’s lover and teammate, the empath Meggan corrects him, stating that the “machine“ is sentient, or else it would not sense the great pain that this procedure is causing him. As the family look on at the act, Meggan declares that both Kitty and Zero must survive this.
‘Got it!’ cries Kitty as she falls backwards from Zero, pulling a small device out with her. Zero clutches his chest and declares that his system’s integrity is restored, and informs Kitty that her phasing power can now render the destruct unit inert. Zero thanks Kitty, when Britanic suddenly comes up to him and tells Zero to save his gratitude, reminding him that he is the reason Excalibur were summoned across the ocean to these shores for some mysterious purpose, and the reason this family have become embroiled in one perilous situation after another, and who brought them to this dying base because he thought it would be safe.
Holding Zero up to his chest, Britanic reminds him how he claims to hold the secret of the deadly Legacy Virus, a disease that threatens to wipe out every mutant on the face of the Earth. Brian tells Zero that as they are doing their best to save his circuits from self-destruction, he would be best to tell them the secret now. Calmly, Zero states that while it is true, he does hold the key to the Legacy Virus, it is knowledge he was not even aware he possessed until minutes ago. Zero reveals that he cannot interpret the data, and points out that in his own time, Stryfe was the heir of Apocalypse, a man practiced in the arts of cruelty. So while Stryfe did enclose the secret of the virus in his data banks - but the file is totally inaccessible!
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, the two remaining members of Excalibur, foster siblings Kurt Wagner and Amanda Sefton arrive home, at Excalibur’s Muir Island base. Kurt thanks Dr. Rory Campbell for the lift from the airport, and points out that Amanda would have teleported them back from Germany, but their struggle against D’Spayre has left them both somewhat drained. The comely Amanda tells her some-time lover to speak for himself, all she needs is a hot bath and she will be as good as new. ‘Only if there’s room for two!’ remarks Kurt, before asking if there is any word from Shadowcat.
Rory replies that there has been nothing since Britanic dragged her and Meggan stateside on that whim of his. Kurt thinks that Kitty should have checked in by now, but he knows Kitty is capable, and hopes that no news is good news. Suddenly Kurt falls to the ground, clutching his mind. Amanda asks Kurt what is wrong, to which Nightcrawler replies that he received a wave of intense telepathic emotion from Professor Xavier. Rory points out that Charles must need help, and Nightcrawler teleports off into the complex.
Arriving in a lab, Kurt informs Professor Charles Xavier that his despair was overriding his psychic defenses, so he thought he was in danger. The founder of the X-Men apologizes, and informs Kurt that he was so lost in thought, he didn’t realize he had returned to the Island. Staring at some DNA samples, Xavier adds that as he thought he was alone, he left his thoughts unguarded, and should have known better, as a telepathy has responsibilities.
Xavier begins muttering that he should have never let his guard down, he should have known better. Kurt asks Charles to tell him what the matter is, and motioning to the DNA samples, Charles tells him that it is such a small thing, a detail, a minor change at position 26 in the molecular configuration - except this molecule pertains to the Legacy Virus, and the change means the virus is now spreading to the human population.
Kurt suggests to the Professor that there must be some kind of mistake, but Charles cuts Kurt off, asking him how he does it. Charles elaborates by explaining that he is staring at the abyss and feels himself drowning, but points out that Kurt has lived his whole life at the edge of such darkness, facing hatred and fear simply because of his appearance. However, Charles feels that in all those years since the two of them first met and Kurt joined the X-Men, Charles has never seen him give into despair, or even a trace of bitterness. ‘No one better embodies the spirit the X-Men seek to inspire all mutant kind.
Nightcrawler thanks the Professor, and says that if what he just said was true, then it is in large part due to the many people he has met throughout his life and most recently a teacher he had the good fortune to know - a teacher who pushed him further, dared him to live life without limits and challenged him to fight the impossible fight, whether against decades of prejudice, or mutant hunting sentinels, or - Xavier cuts Kurt off and offers the next obstacle - an incurable disease. ‘Who’s the teacher now, Kurt?’
Nightcrawler tells Charles that he would never presume to teach him anything, it is just that he has a faith in him, and most of all, a faith in God. Charles tells Kurt that he hopes his faith is not misplaced, to which Kurt replies that it is not, and declares that they have come too far, fought for the dream too long to let a silent killer take it all away. Kurt boasts that together, they will all find a way to beat the virus, and he is praying they find the way soon.
Charles leaves Kurt, thanking him and telling him that whatever he does, he needs to keep praying. Travelling down a corridor towards Doctor Moira MacTaggert’s room, Xavier wishes that he shared Kurt’s faith, but for better or worse, Xavier long ago put his trust in science, confident that science and a determination to save the world would be enough. Entering the famous Doctor’s quarters, Charles sees Moira asleep and remembers how they both felt so sure of themselves, they were so young, so much in love, with their dream and each other. But now Moira lies exhausted, bone weary from the search for a cure that they are nowhere close to. Charles puts a hand on Moira’s face, remembering how he used to think he could save the world. Now he realizes that he should have known better.
Back in Stryfe’s underground base, Britanic removes a grate from an exhaust tunnel, which he believes should provide relative safety from the destruction for the family, while the others salvage what data they can from Stryfe’s computers. As Meggan helps the family into the tunnel, Kitty asks Zero what it is they are looking for. Zero informs her that they are looking for anything that might save them, or provide the key to the Legacy Virus data, and they have to do it before the system short circuits - which it does on cue, a blast thrusts from the computer console, hitting Zero right in his face.
Kitty tells Zero to hang on, that they will get him to the tunnel with the others, when suddenly a huge wave of lava comes crashing into the complex near the family. It was just a matter of time before the blasts elsewhere in the complex weakened the walls of the tunnels being used as makeshift hideaway’s. Until the molten lava that rages here, near the Earth’s core broke free, certain to claim its first victims, long before any hero could act to save them.
But as the lava begins to fall upon the innocent family, it stops in mid-air. ‘Because I told it to’ remarks Meggan as she hovers above the lava, adding that she is surprised it listened to her. Brian asks Meggan what she is saying and how she is doing this, to which Meggan guesses that not only the environment can affect her body, but in her present state she can affect the environment in turn.
Young Courtney finds her stuffed rabbit, Milo, and rushes over to it, seeing Zero she calls her mother and father, crying that the blank man needs help - Zero’s face is gone. Zero tells Courtney not to be frightened, as the damage is mostly superficial, but her father pulls her away, despite Courtney asking after her friend. However Zero sadly replies ‘I could never be your friend, child. I am only a machine. I understand that now’.
Back on Muir, Amanda Sefton enters Rory’s office, and says ‘Gorgeous, isn’t it?’ Staring out the window, Rory turns and asks Amanda what she means. ‘The sunset’ Amanda replies, adding that there is still some soot in the air from the oil rig explosion a few months back, which makes it bad for breathing, but it makes for a great sunset. Rory mutters that he hadn’t noticed, to which Amanda tells him she knows, as he didn’t even hear her come in.
Seemingly annoyed, Rory asks Daytripper if there is something he can help her with. Amanda tells Rory that she thought she could help him with something, adding that whether he believes it or not, she knows what he is going through. Rolling his eyes, Rory addresses Amanda as „Miss Sefton“ and points out that he barely knows her, but thinks it is safe to say that even in her sorcerous life she has never experienced what he is facing.
Amanda declares that she never said she had, what she said was that she knows what he is going through - namely, Rory is worried that sometime in the not-too-distant future, he will become the obsessed mutant-hunter called Ahab. Rory spins around and looks at the powerful sorceress asking her how she could know. Amanda reminds Rory that she was there, and while she was busy time-switching Rachel Summers and Captain Britain, she was not so busy that she didn’t see the same vision in the time stream that Rory saw.
Scared, Rory asks Amanda if she “knows“ so much, can he do anything about it? Rory exclaims that no man should know his own destiny, much less that he is fated to become a murderer on par with Hitler! Rory informs Amanda that he has always made his way through life by taking matters in to his own hands, only to discover that no matter what he does, those hands are already covered in blood.
Amanda agrees that Rory has seen more than he should have, but tells him that he is blind to a greater truth, when all he has to do is look outside. Amanda states that the two of them see a sunset, but at the same moment in another part of the world, it is sunrise. Amanda reveals that time is not absolute, and tells Rory that he might become Ahab, or he might not - she cannot say for sure, and neither can he. ‘All we can do is live one day at a time and savor every precious minute we are given’.
Back at Stryfe’s base, explosions occur all around those trapped in the base and Zero points out that their time grows short, they must leave before the base enters final self-destruct phase. Shadowcat exclaims that by the way Zero is talking, it implies that he is not coming. Zero exclaims that he must remain behind to redirect the blast sequences, least the final detonations obliterate the surface and all its inhabitants for a seven mile radius. Douglock points out that such a course of action is certain to permanently terminate his life functions. Zero states that he was never truly alive, he knows it now, it was just a clever imitation of life. ‘Just a machine’.
Britanic asks what will happen to the Legacy Virus data hidden inside him, but Zero reminds him that it is inaccessible and therefore useless anyway, before telling everyone to go as Meggan creates a tunnel through the lava. The family make their way through the tunnel, when suddenly Courtney turns around and runs back towards Zero, her mother calling after her to come back.
Courtney reaches Zero and asks him if he is not coming back, to which Zero replies he is not, and Courtney asks if she will ever see him again. Zero replies that she will not, so Courtney thanks him for helping them, and as she runs back to her family tells Zero that she loves him and hopes his face gets better - ‘Cause you’re a nice person’.
Within the tunnel, Britanic urges Douglock to move faster as they smash a path to the surface while Meggan stabilizes it ensuring their safety. Suddenly, the mother calls out, asking where her children are, to which someone replies ‘Taking a faster route’. Indeed, Kitty Pryde is phasing both Davey and Courtney to the surface, while Shadowcat thinks that phasing the whole family would have been the safest, she is pushing her power to the limit as it is. Suddenly the reach the top, but she wonders where the others are.
On cue, Meggan, Britanic, Douglock and the parents burst through the ground with a blast of lava behind them. The children and their parents are reunited as Kitty tells her teammates that they have come through in the middle of the Pentagon. Brian exclaims that Stryfe’s base must have been directly beneath the Pentagon as Meggan and Zero both said.
Douglock informs everyone that he has secured their safety, and that there may still be time to save Zero, as he is in grave danger. Douglock exclaims that he must return to the base to assist in Zero’s rescue. Kitty asks Douglock how he can think that way, as she thought he were programmed for self preservation - so how could he even think to act selflessly? This perplexes Douglock greatly.
Below, at that very moment, Zero has hooked himself up to the main computer, and is greeted by the voice of Stryfe - ‘Hello Zero, my faithful friend’. Zero declares that this is impossible, before exclaiming that it can’t happen like this. Stryfe then informs Zero that if he is hearing the message, then it means that Stryfe is dead and his Legacy is sweeping the world. Stryfe adds that Zero’s inevitable, pitiful attempt at self awareness has led him to a selfless act that in moments will destroy him. ‘So here’s a little going away present’.
Stryfe informs Zero that at this very moment he is removing the last programming blocks to Zero’s full sentience, granting him full awareness, plus full access to the data that might eventually have led to a cure for the virus - if he had more time. ‘Congratulations - you’re human - for the next eight seconds’. Zero exclaims that there must be someway to salvage the data, when Douglock comes up behind him, informing him that he has returned to assist as Zero exclaims that there is no time to explain and thrusts Douglocks’ fingers into his own face.
As data is transferred, Douglock asks what the purpose of this is, as the recording of Stryfe informs Zero that the desolation that he must be feeling now is what being human is all about. ‘Enjoy it’. But Zero just tells Stryfe that he is wrong. Douglock begins to query Zero, who just tells him to go, as he has so much to achieve. ‘Remember me’.
Douglock looks back as the base explodes, with the recording of Stryfe informing his former lackey that his life has been a waste, he has seen to it so that no one can change that. No one will bear witness as his circuits fuse and turn to slag. No one will mourn and no one will remember. No one. Except Douglock.
As Douglock emerges from the tunnel, Kitty asks him what happened to Zero, to which Douglock replies that Zero no longer functions. ‘Neither will any of you in about two seconds - freeze!’ cries a soldier, and as a large group of armed soldiers surround Excalibur and the others, they are informed that by the authority of the United States Federal Government, they are placed under arrest, and that if any of them so much as twitch… Meggan whispers to Kitty, telling her to do something. Hands above her head, Kitty steps forward greeting the soldiers and telling them that they must have taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque, before asking if Forge is home by any chance. ‘Smooth lady, why don’t you just try “Wabbit Season“ next?’ mutters Davey.
Night time now on Muir Island, Xavier thinks about how Kurt’s pep talk did him wonders, as he hasn’t felt this energized in weeks. He cannot think of anything that would stop Moira or himself now, they are in the fight to stay - they will beat this disease, if only because once Moira sets her mind on something, it is nearly impossible to deter her. Charles knocks on Moira’s door and asks her if she is awake, as he has been thinking that they could have designed a molecular mimic of the cell receptors that the virus targets, as in an infected person’s bloodstream it could act as an anti-Legacy sponge.
Moira cuts Charles off, staring out the window, her back turned to the door, Moira declares that she doesn’t know, and that it could have been her own fault. Charles enters Moira’s room and declares that he doesn’t understand. Moira exclaims that maybe because she gave birth to a mutant she is more susceptible, or it may have been the autopsy she performed on Illyana…her voice trails off.
Charles realizes what Moira is talking about, and wide-eyed he declares that he didn’t even think to ask - the cells from the infected human - hugging herself, eyes intense, Moira replies ‘Yes, Charles…they came from me’.


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Provide a full summary of the comic book.

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Beginnings, Middles & Endings
‘Mine eyes have seen the glory’ begins Brian Braddock, formerly Captain Britain, Europe’s finest super hero, now known as Britanic, as he tells the tale of what happened to him while he was lost in the Time Stream to his lover and teammate, the faerie Meggan. Brian reveals that he witnessed creation in its infancy and the dying gasp of a universe in its doddering old age. Whenever he tries to speak of the things he saw as he plunged headlong through the ages, it starts the same way: ‘Once upon a time…upon a time…upon a time…upon a time’.
Britanic states that a billion years from now, he saw a new planet harbor the first stirrings of life. But he blinked and intelligent beings evolved and built civilizations before he opened his eyes. That made him afraid of what he would miss if he closed his eyes at all, so he saw everything that happened next - when their sun died. Trillions of lives, billions of years, every song, poem and dream swept away…in the blink of an eye.
But then he heard singing, and realized it was the very fabric of space vibrating from the sun’s pulse of gravity and light. Brian Braddock couldn’t bear to see anymore - and yet he had to see it all, simply because he thought it was the most beautiful, and most horrible, thing he would see in his entire life. But then a chronological wave swept him up and carried him somewhere else, another place, another time…and he found out how wrong he could be.
Britanic recounts these events to try and reunite himself with Meggan, as they have traveled to their old home, Excalibur’s former headquarters, the Lighthouse. Brian asks Meggan how could he help but be changed after seeing so many mind shattering things. Meggan tells Britanic that he obviously forgets that she is a elemental whose very shape shifts to echo her surroundings - so no one knows that can be wrought in mind and body better than she.
Brian realizes Meggan is true, and asks her of the rest of Excalibur, as they all seem to think he is crazy, and even he will admit that in some sense, he is. Brian boasts that no normal mind could have coped with the bombardment of events from his time journey, so he had to stop being “normal”, stop being Captain Britain, and become Britanic. Brian declares that he has known life and death on a scale denied all but a few, witnessed its patterns and cycles from an unimaginable perspective, and perceived a great force at work. ‘Call it the hand of…what? God? Fate?’ Brian declares that whatever one wishes to call it, it seems that having perceived it, he has become its instrument. Meggan puts her arms on her lover’s shoulders and tells him that it sounds incredible. Britanic smiles and replies ‘Not so incredible that I didn’t cross every barrier of time to come home to be here with you’. And the two sit and watch the moon.
Meanwhile, ‘Well? Don’t you recognize them?’ asks Excalibur member Katherine “Kitty” Pryde, a.k.a. Shadowcat as she hands her newest teammate, the techno-organic being dubbed “Douglock” a photograph featuring herself, as well as four members of the group once known as the New Mutants - Cannonball, Wolfsbane, Warlok, and the boy Douglock resembles, Cypher. The four New Mutants were kids, but not all were human, and while some of them went on to distinguish themselves with other mutant teams, some of them died.
That is the reason Kitty waits anxiously inside a pub in Aberdeen, Scotland, for an answer as her companion reviews those fresh young faces - she is so disconcerted to find one of those faces staring back at her. Douglock hands the photograph back to Kitty and tells her that this serves no useful purpose, adding that neither do any of the other activities, such as drinking this beverage that seems common in such establishments. Douglock adds that he does not hear the appropriate music.
‘Music?’ asks Kitty, before Douglock explains that it is a theme of specified duration after which time he must give a response but only in the form of a question - Kitty cuts the techno-organic off and tells him that this is not jeopardy. Kitty gets straight to the point and tells Douglock that the real Doug Ramsey was a very special friend to her, and that when he died she hurt for a very long time. Kitty continues - now Excalibur finds Douglock, a techno-organic construct in Doug’s image, and that her wound opened all over again.
Kitty boasts that she is sure he is not Doug Ramsey reborn, but that she has to know if there is anything of Doug in him. Kitty clasps Douglocks hands and asks him to try and remember who the people in the photo are. Douglock stares down at the table top, proclaiming that he is trying but that it is so difficult, that the strain is almost unbearable. Suddenly Douglock looks up at Kitty and asks her if that was an effective simulation of the emotional dynamic that she craves, and if not, he can intensify it.
‘That won’t be necessary!’ snaps Kitty before she informs him that when Forge bailed them out of the hot water they landed in at the Pentagon, Forge wanted to keep him for study - rip him into little pieces and find out what makes the Phalanx tick. Kitty informs Douglock that she convinced Forge that she might be able to learn more about him by keeping him whole and observing him up close. ‘I won’t make that mistake again! Kitty gets up and storms off with Douglock telling her that he regrets the emotions and memories she seeks do not exist within him - but before he can continue, Kitty phases through a wall, telling Douglock to save it and to not bother getting up, as she can see herself out. A waitress brings Douglock his and Kitty’s order, asking him where his ‘fine young lassie’ went to, before supposing that he will be dining alone tonight. ‘Alone…’ mumbles Douglock rather forlorn.
Meanwhile, in Paris, Professor Charles Xavier and Doctor Moira MacTaggert - teammates, friends and once ago much, much more, find themselves revisiting old haunts. Looking up at the Eiffel Tower, Moira asks Charles if he remembers what she said all those years ago, the first time they were at this very spot. Charles repeats what Moira said to him: “…But more than anything else, I’d like to see the two of us standing here again someday”. Moira begins to cry and tells Charles that he has a better memory than that, as she never said the word “someday”, she said “Before the day I…” her voice trails off, and Charles takes the good Doctor’s hand and tells her to remind him again when they are here forty years from now.
Moira wipes her tears and agrees, before telling him that he may be a brilliant scientist and a visionary for founding the X-Men, but that this is a daft idea if he has ever had one! Moira reminds Charles how he dragged her from Muir Island without a word as to where they are going or a moment to change out of her lab gear, so that they can sightsee in Paris - ’We’ve got work to do!’ Charles tells Moira that indeed, finding a cure to the deadly Legacy Virus that is devastating the mutant population is more urgent than ever. ’Now that you, a non-mutant human have become infected’.
But Charles points out to Moira that they are both exhausted, emotionally and physically, that they were not thinking clearly and asking the right questions. He wonders if Moira’s situation is unique, or a terrifying new phase in the epidemic, and once they learn more, how do they make such volatile information available to the public? He declares that they must act quickly but with the utmost caution, but that they cannot do either if they are half-dead with exhaustion. ‘No pun intended?’ asks Moira, before telling Charles that she will play along with his game - for now - but that if he ever pulls a stunt like that again without at least letting her get some decent clothes to wear, then she will dump him in the Seine, chair and all!
Suddenly, Charles thinks ‘Clothes? Uh-oh’ Moira turns to him and tells him that she knows that look and asks him what it is that he did. Charles mutters that he wasn’t thinking when he made the reservations, but asks ‘who really cares about clothes’ and declares that Einstein only had one suit. Moira asks if he made reservations for lunch, and if so, where. Charles reveals that he made reservations for the place he took her the first time they were here, but they couldn’t really afford it then. ‘you didn’t…you couldn’t possibly…’ begins Moira, before she raises her voice and asks Charles if he really expects her to eat at La Cremaillere, the finest restaurant in the fashion capital of the world, dressed like somebody who got pulled away from house-cleaning. ‘The Seine’s too good for you’. Charles asks Moira to calm down, and tells her he has an idea.
Back along England’s rocky coast, Britanic and Meggan walk along the shore, hand in hand as Brian asks Meggan if Excalibur are going to live in this Lighthouse someday. ‘Pardon?’ replies Meggan, before Britanic elaborates, explaining that the Lighthouse is not an ordinary Lighthouse, as realities meet there, and dimensions inter-change. Meggan informs her lover that they have already lived in the lighthouse, that they lived their before moving to Muir Island and became part of Moira’s research facility. Meggan suggests to Brian that he is confusing his memories with what he saw in the Time Stream.
Brian apologizes, and declares that it is sometimes difficult separating what was from what is from what will be. Meggan tells Brian that he has raised an interesting point, as he can put his experiences to good use by telling them what to watch out for in the future. ‘Tell the future?’ asks Britanic before laughing, and smashing a rock, telling Meggan that he will show her the future, in a manner of speaking. Brian carves a line in the rock with his finger, explaining that it represents the future, the past, everything he experienced from the dawn of eternity to its ultimate end.
Drawing a line beneath the first, Brian explains that it represents the life line of Earth, billions of years from birth to death, it is a mere fraction of the time line made above. He states that their entire lives compared to that are about the width of a grain of sand. Brian tells Meggan that for the most part, he has as much chance of telling them what will happen to whom, of knowing individual days in individual lives, as of knowing how many rocks are on this shoreline. ‘Twenty thousand and ninety-seven - not counting the stone fragments from your diagram’ replies Meggan.
Brian asks Meggan if she is joking, but Meggan replies ‘Hardly’ and informs Britanic that her elemental bond with nature gives her total awareness of her surroundings - to such an extent that she now not only shape shifts in response to the environment, but can apparently shape the environment to her will as well. Meggan wraps her arms around Brian’s shoulders as Brian puts his hands on Meggan’s hips. Meggan tells him that he is not the only one who has changed. Meggan reminds Brian how he called out to her across all bounds of time and space, and in answer, their love pushed her power to expand in its ultimate degree. Brian asks then, if they have changed so fundamentally, what does that mean for them, for their love? ‘Can we find out…together?’ asks Meggan before they kiss.
Back in Aberdeen, a thug knocks over an elderly man trying to sell flowers. The thug tells the man that he was warned, but the man is more concerned about his flowers that have been ruined - what will he sell now? The thug kicks the flower seller in the face, telling him to sell himself - if he can find a buyer for damaged antiques. The thug declares that every night they leave the pub they have to look at the old bag of bones begging for a handout, blighting their university, he tells the old man that this is a place of learning, a place for decent folks, not the likes of him.
Kitty steps out of the shadows and tells the thug that he is right - they only let decent people live here…’so you boys must just be passing through’. The thug tells Kitty to mind her own business, and lunges his arm at her - but it goes right through! The thug is surprised and exclaims she must be a sprite, but Kitty replies ‘Try Shadowcat, I haven’t gone by the name Sprite in years’. The thug realizes that Kitty is a mutant, and lunges at her again, declaring ‘I’ll see you dead, mutie!’ Kitty tells the thug that for a college guy he is not too bright, and asks if they didn’t just go through this, literally.
Kitty exclaims that her power is intangibility, and begins to spell it out, but decides it would be better if she spelt it out in terms someone like he can understand - and kicks him right in the crotch. ‘Tangible terms!’ Kitty adds as she does a high-kick, hitting his head too. As the thug falls to the ground, Kitty exclaims that that is their lesson for today, and that she hopes they don’t have to repeat it for their friends, who are running away. Kitty sits down on the unconscious thug, thinking to herself that she didn’t have to bust heads to resolve this, and realizes that the whole situation with Douglock, their argument in the pub has her more wound up than she would have thought. ‘So what the heck am I going to do about it?’
Back in Paris, ‘I canna believe ye did that!’ laughs Moira, before Charles reminds her that she wanted to appear well-dressed, so he telepathically planted an illusion in the waiter’s mind of Moira as an internationally famous, well-dressed woman. ‘Sure…but Princess Diana?’ asks Moira, suggesting that she may be a little too famous, even for this place, as the waiter nearly had a heart attack. ‘Besides, isn’t she touring the US now?’
Charles realizes that he is a little out of touch, as he hasn’t picked up a paper in weeks. Moira smiles and agrees, as they have been pushing the work a bit lately. Moira tells Charles that he was right, she did need this break, and that she had forgotten how much she missed traveling…’how much I missed you’. The waiter approaches Charles and “Diana” and hands Professor Xavier the bill. Charles telepathically informs the embarrassed Moira that the waiter thinks she is a femme fantastique, to which Moira asks what he means. ‘A hot babe’ Charles explains.
Moira tells Charles that the waiter must be seeing one of his mental illusions, but Charles smiles and replies ‘hardly’ before adding that he is shocked at Moira’s lack of confidence. Moira scowls and tells Charles that it is almost as shocking as him eavesdropping on an unsuspecting waiter’s thoughts. ‘Touché’ replies Charles, before admitting that it is harder for him to screen out other people’s stray thoughts when he is a bit tipsy.
As Moira and Xavier leave the restaurant, Moira asks Charles if this “femme fantastique” is as “fantastique” to more familiar eyes - eyes that have known her a long time. Charles replies that he wouldn’t know - since every time his eyes see her, it is as if he is seeing her for the first time, and that is the way it will be, forever. ‘Forever…isn’t so far away is it?’ comments Moira.
Back near the Lighthouse, Meggan flies out of the water, smiling, she tells Britanic she the warmth of his skin as it heats the water droplets she is splashing - and even feel his face as the drops trace a line down his cheek. ‘Oh, Britanic, isn’t this wonderful?’ Brian replies ‘absolutely’ before suggesting it is time they returned to Muir, as the others will soon worry about them. Meggan replies ‘let them’, for after so long apart, she wants to relish every moment they have together. Britanic tells Meggan that she does not then understand the most important part of what he has been trying to explain to her - for they have more than just mere moments together’.
Brian draws a circle around the two lines he carved into the stone, and as he kisses Meggan on the neck he tells her that from the beginning to the end of time, there was one thing that encompassed all, like an unbroken circle…’our love’. Brian boasts that their love has truly stood the test of time, for nothing else could have brought him back across the ages, which is why, no matter how much each of them have changed, or will change, he knows their love will endure, and that is the way it will always be. ‘Forever’ finishes Meggan.
Aberdeen, Kitty is still sitting on the thug, when Douglock comes up behind her and says ‘Rahne Sinclair, Katherine Pryde, Douglas Ramsey, Samuel Guthrie and Warlok’ Kitty asks Douglock what he is talking about, to which Douglock reminds her she wanted him to identify the persons in the photograph, which he has just done. Kitty asks why then is he all of a sudden Mr. Cooperative and asks him why he came after her and what he wants. Douglock declares that he wants what is in the photograph.
Douglock explains to Kitty that when his existence began, he was one with the Phalanx, their many voices joined with his. But then Zero freed him and Zero became a constant presence, his companion, in place of the Phalanx. But of course, Zero is no more, and for the first time admits Douglock, he finds himself…alone. Douglock too sits down on the thug and exclaims that Kitty and the other people in the photo do not seem alone. He asks Kitty to forgive him, as he should not waste time with such vague notions, for none of this makes sense empirically.
Kitty informs Douglock that it is the first thing he has said that does make sense, and declares that she has a proposition for him. ‘Very well, I am capable of simulating human male responses’ replies Douglock, before Kitty tells him she doesn’t mean like that and tells him to be quiet and listen. Kitty tells Douglock that she wants him to stay with Excalibur, work with them, that way they can learn about the Phalanx, and how much of Doug Ramsey is in him, and in turn, Douglock may find just what he is looking for.
‘So you want this simulation to involve the entire team?’ asks Douglock. Kitty smiles and wonders what she is going to do with him. ‘I could generate a list of safe practices complete with illustrations’. ‘I’m regretting this already; Kitty mutters under her breath in response to Douglock’s offer. However, Douglock states that first, he has a question: ‘Are unconscious humans commonly used for seating purposes?’
Back in Paris, Moira reveals to Charles that it was his intensity for his dream, for life, for the two of them - it scared her, which is why she called their relationship off. Charles suggests that perhaps Moira actually sensed what he had yet to learn - that with such intensity, something would have to give, and the dream would always come first. Charles admits that sometimes he wonders how their lives might have turned out if his priorities had been different - if he had been willing to grab their little bit of happiness and - suddenly, Moira trips over a brick jutting out of the pavement, and falls straight into Charles’ arms. ‘Honestly, Moira, you’ve got to stop throwing yourself at…me…’ jokes Xavier - which leads to a passionate kiss between the two friends.
For a moment, they are twenty years old again, wandering through the city of lights with all their love and all their lives ahead of them. Moira and Charles separate, and begin laughing. Moira asks Charles if he knows that he is insane, to which Charles smiles and tells Moira that having her in his arms has always had that effect on him. ‘I remember’ exclaims Moira. Moira asks Charles if he realizes that all this was, is just memories.
Xavier declares that they are some of the best memories of their lives, and asks if it is so wrong to relive them just for a day. ‘Wrong? It was magnificent fun!’ exclaims Moira, before telling Xavier that she cannot think of anything she needed more than a trip to Paris, and the knowledge that come what may, there is a place in their hearts where they are still in love. ‘And that’s the way it will be…forever’.