Emma Frost is tired of trying to be good (ice_queen) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-03-08 10:21:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, emma frost (white queen), nathan summers (cable) |
Who: Emma and Nathan Summers
Where: Massachusetts, the future
What: preparing for the times to come
When: 2213 (just after Neena, Nate, and Scott arrive in the future)
Warnings/Rating: no warnings, just a mother and son talking
Status complete
The Frost Mansion was still remarkably intact. It wasn’t a surprise, they were tended with care. Emma was in the garden, her feet crunching on the snow as she strolled through the yard, checking on the fence and the trees. The brilliant white of the snow couldn’t illuminate the depths of her cloak, and she hummed a tune as she checked everything. It was so beautiful, so peaceful. Every day was quiet now, and she was growing used to it. Maybe someday she would even like it.
She shook her head to dislodge the idea. No, she would always miss others. But like her home and the garden, there were things that needed tending.
There was a crunch of snow and a figure swathed in robes stepped out of the snow. “Hello, Emma.” His voice was hoarse and soft, quietly spoken. And he stopped as soon as he was visible. “May I come in?”
Emma wasn’t surprised. She wasn’t quite capable of it anymore. She nodded, her hood hiding any glimpse of the woman inside. “Of course, Nathan. Put the kettle on for yourself, I still have some propane left.” She took one last look at the garden before leading the way into the house. “You haven’t written or called in at least a decade. It’s good to see you again.” Her tone was even, undisturbed by emotion.
“I brought a solar cell set up for you. Shower, tea, and food, if you ever need it.” He nodded.”It’s good to see you, too.” He followed her in and smiled faintly. There was warmth to his mind and voice. “It’s been a long time, Mother.”
“It has been. You never call, you never write. I could be a different ethnic stereotype entirely.” Her voice was still flat, but there was a slight lift to it, just the barest hint of humor. Once inside she shed her robes, the light from the windows reflecting brilliantly off her diamond body. “It’s cold in here, isn’t it? I’ve almost forgotten what that feels like.” She offered her hand, for his robe, or so he could take hers. “Have you come back to regale me with your exploits?”
He turned to her and smiled, handing his robe to her, shedding it and revealing his cybernetic body. “No. To ask your help. Rachel and Nathan of the future contacted me again. It’s started. They’re here.” He spoke the words quietly.
“And soon, young me is going to need our help. What do you say, interested in a few more moments of changing the world? They’ll need your help in something else in a few years, too.”
“I suppose.” She went to the kitchen, starting the stove carefully. “How long until she’s born?” She looked into the kettle. It had water, but it was frozen. “Tea will take a few moments.” She put the kettle on the burner and took a seat in one of the kitchen chairs. “The mother dies, if I recall correctly.” It had hurt him so much. Even with so much time passing, and in this form, her heart ached for Scott. “It will be difficult for me, Nathan, as I’m sure you know. Not to reach out to them, to comfort them.”
“About ten months now. Took me awhile to get here.” Nathan nodded. “She will, yes. And young Nate will need our help to make sure she has the last moments to say goodbye, so that Scott doesn’t go mad utterly.” He gently touched her arm and nodded.
“I know. I feel for them all, and for my younger self. So much potential, wasted in this apocalypse. But if this all works out, this timeline will be wiped away and we will live better lives.”
Emma nodded. “I understand. I’ll do it, of course. The second task is to teach the girl, yes? That will be easier.” She would get to see her beloved again, after so long. Her hands shook a little at the idea. “Will they come to me, or will I be meeting them?” There was excitement in her voice.
Nathan nodded. “You’ll need to go to them. You’ll know when and where. We’ll each have our chances. Teach her and defend her. Some enemies don’t know how to let go of a grudge.” He gently smiled at her and held out a small red jewel. “This is for Scott when you go. It’ll finally be time for him to remember.”
Nathan winced. “He’ll need your help and forgiveness.”
Emma nodded. “I’ll need to practice again. To be around people. Do I have another year in me, Nathan?” She slowly slid from diamond to flesh. It took a great deal of concentration. She almost didn’t know what it was like to feel human anymore. She took the gem from him, and examined it. “I will do all I can.”
Nathan turned to her and then kissed her as a son would a mother, and power flowed, healing and freshening her again. He staggered as he stepped back. “You do now. Use it well, my dear lady.” He smiled. “I know, and thus do I have hope.” he had always had faith in this woman.
She nodded, and returned to her diamond state. It took nearly no time at all to go this direction. “I will. I’ll need some time to collect my thoughts for her.” She kissed Nathan on the cheek. “Will I see you again before the reunion?”
“I thought I’d come back here for when we reach out to young Nathan to help him and... stay awhile, if that was okay with you. I miss you.” He smiled shyly, almost. She was his mother, for all he and she had traveled apart for many years.
“I would like that. I’ve missed you.” She stroked his face gently. “I’ll need you to get Scott moving along again when I’m about to die. I don’t want to cause him pain.” He would figure out a way, she was sure.
“I know. Young me and older me will work on it.” He smiled softly. “Now, tell me about your garden, please.” Nathan smiled. Spending a little time here would be nice.
“It’s not much now, obviously. The trees are beautiful in the spring. I hope they get to see them.” She smiled, and stood when the kettle whistled. “Will you be putting up the solar panels this time?” She hoped so, it would give her time to fix the furnace. The place had to be warm if she was going to have company.
Nathan nodded. “I will. And don’t be surprised if some of the holdouts, the nice ones, come out of the woodwork.” He grinned at her as he gestured back outside. “Got my old car, the one I got from Zeus when he ascended, outside packed with the stuff.”
“I wouldn’t mind that. I’d like to see everyone before I die. Even the wild ones, they have a place in this, too.” She poured his tea, and went back to the front door. “I’ll get you unloaded. Your room is clean and ready for you.”
“Rahne called me last week, and I saw Dani’s ghost.” He smirked. Even Illyana had shown up briefly. She too sensed the arrival of hope. So to speak. He took the tea and sipped it. “Thank you, mother. You’ve made this world a lot more tolerable, just by being here.”
“I’ll be there for you always, Nathan. You know that.” She smiled as she set the things down. “Have you seen your. . . hmmm, how many greats niece? Is she still doing well? I can’t even keep track of them anymore, and I have near perfect memory.” She wished cameras were still a thing. Pictures would help.
“I know.” He watched her, admiring her as always. “My seven times niece? Yes. She is okay. She is off in Australia working on creating a new form, of mini-fusion which might allow science to start being grown out again. She’s a ghost of her ancestors in powers, but she kicks ass in science.” He smirked at her.
“Everything important survived, at least.” Emma said, nodding in approval. “It’s the mind that matters most, darling, not our mutations. I was always so pleased with our great grandchildren, even though they weren’t mutants. I’ll probably be bragging about that chemical reaction Joseph figured out until the end of time.” She began laying the parts out on the table. “Do you have anymore descendents?”
He nodded, grinning. “Quite a few, out there across the globe. Only one direct child left, but a couple of grandchildren, and various great-greats.” He chuckled. “Joseph figured out quite a bit.” He was proud of that kid. “Emma the third is off reinventing medicine in Ireland.”
Emma chuckled. “I always liked her. I’m not sure why. The remaining one is your son in Siberia, right?” She sat down again, still poking through the parts on the table.
Nathan grinned at her. “Yeah. He’s working on the thermal and hydrothermal energy ideas with the old secret science cities survivors. We’ll see if he ever figures anything out.”
“It must be hard for them to handle the numerous falls of the communist government. And the democratic republics, too. Nobody creates secret scientific cities like the Russians.” Emma smiled, and moved to the living room, grabbing a large volume, which she opened to a dog eared page. “Any new additions?”
“Jennifer, our descendent, had a new pair of twins, and named them after the legendary ones.” He facepalmed. “Fun times.”
Emma nodded, taking note. “Jennifer the farmer, or Jennifer the mayor of New Jersey?”
“The mayor. Her twins, Wanda and Pietro, are healthy and show no signs of mutant powers.” He paused, “Yet.” He shook his head.
“I still can’t believe Lorna managed to have a kid during all that.” Emma chuckled, “Or is she actually their child? I can’t keep track anymore.”
“She did. Before the second crisis, when we lost Florida. She and Alex took the plunge, then got married.” He chuckled. That had been a fun time.
“Yes, that’s right. I remember Florida, now. Nasty time. I can’t say I miss it.” She made a face, then noted the new names in the volume. “I’ll need more pages soon.” She flipped to the back of the book, counting the empty ones. “It needs to be rebound, anyway.”
“I can find you more. I looted a library in Phoenix with a book bindery. Been keeping the pages in secure holdings.” Nathan had learned a lot of things over the years.
“You take such good care of me, Nate.” Emma put her hand over his. “Thank you.”
“What else does a boy do for his mother?” Nate smiled softly at her and raised her hand to kiss gently. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Nate. I will always cherish the memory of our first meeting. You were so young, but already so grown up. I knew you would do great things. Even I couldn’t have predicted how great.” She cupped his face gently, and kissed his forehead. “I’m so proud of you, and Scott would be, was, and likely is, as well.”
Nate blushed and grinned at her. “You always made it easier, and helped me move forward. Without you, it would have been a lot harder.” He nodded. “But we made it here, and soon, we might just manage to make things even better.”
“I hope so.” She dropped her hand. “If you get to work on the solar panels, I’ll make sure your room is ready for you. I haven’t changed the sheets yet this year.”
“Sounds like a plan. See you in a bit.” he grinned as he grabbed the box with the parts in it and headed out. There would be more time for reminiscing and talking later.