Apartment Above Wellspring Arms, Friday Morning
Nathan sat, his back pressed to the wall, and he looked-- straight at the baby, who was sleeping quietly. Right. There were diapers. The security system was back in place the way it had to be.
And he had the baby.
Now was the time to start keeping some promises.
He dialed the number, wedged the phone between his shoulder and his ear, and waited for someone to pick up.
Scott"Cable?" Scott asked immediately upon picking up. "Is the baby okay?"
Cable"She's fine." Nathan leaned slightly into the phone, casting a look at the baby. Just to make sure. "I said I'd be in touch. Once we were safe."
Not in so many words. But it'd been implied.
Scott"Good. With the way things have gone recently, I was prepared for the worst," Scott said.
CableThat was enough to make him sit up. "Scott...?" He was hoping his point was clear by intonation. But, just in case... "Anything I need to worry about?"
Scott"Bishop wasn't out. He shot at you when you were leaving," Scott said. He paused for a moment. He still hadn't quite adjusted to saying it no matter how many times he had to. "He hit Xavier. Charles is dead, Nathan."
Cable"...What?"
So they hadn't always seen eye-to-eye...
The shock rolled through his body, looking for something to connect with. It found muscle in his neck; Nathan bent his head. Setting his jaw, he pressed his fingers to his forehead. "Askani preserve me," he muttered, then pulled-- well, his voice-- back together. "How are the X-Men dealing?" Would there be a funeral? (Again, the voice that sounded a little like Wade added)
Scott"I disbanded the X-Men," Scott said plainly. "Xavier's dream is dead. We're just mutants now."
CableWell.
...
"Are you sure that's wise...?" His tone was very-- careful. It was Scott, after all.
Scott"The world's changed, Nathan," Scott said. "We need to find a new way now and we're not going to do that by going back to doing the same thing we've tried time and again over the years."
Cable"That used to be my job..." A faint sense of-- nostalgia coated his words. Cable glanced up at the ceiling. "Bygones. What are you going to do next?"
Which was-- a good question all around, really.
Scott"Well, for now Emma and I are going to take a vacation," Scott said. "Then I need to get Stark off our backs because that's just a matter of time."
Cable"He won't know what hit him." Nathan smirked wryly at the phone. For about a second. "And then what? There's too few of us left to stand as a house divided."
Scott"And then we try to get our own lives straightened out," Scott said. "It's time we started paying as much attention to that as we do to the big picture."
Cable"Maybe," Nathan replied. Vaguely.
Maybe.
Scott"Definitely," Scott said. Definitively.
CableThere was a short silence on his end of the line.
Then: "I'm taking her in to get her shots in a few days. She sleeps a lot." He shot the baby a look. "A lot..."
Scott"Babies will do that," Scott said with a lighter tone. "Take good care of her, Nathan."
Cable"I'm doing what I can." Which amounted to the best in his book.
...
Nathan had also assembled a very impressive stack of books on the subject.
"Good luck, Scott."
Scott"You too," Scott said.
This was about as touching a goodbye as they were going to get.
CableA note Nathan was entirely happy to end the conversation on.
He clicked off the phone.
Charles was dead. Hell.
He leaned his head back against the wall, closed his eyes-- and then threw the stick across the empty apartment. It clattered on the floor with a hollow thunk.
"Fetch."
[ preplayed with the awesome fat_halpert, establishy and Scott's side of the conversation NFB, of course ]
And he had the baby.
Now was the time to start keeping some promises.
He dialed the number, wedged the phone between his shoulder and his ear, and waited for someone to pick up.
Scott"Cable?" Scott asked immediately upon picking up. "Is the baby okay?"
Cable"She's fine." Nathan leaned slightly into the phone, casting a look at the baby. Just to make sure. "I said I'd be in touch. Once we were safe."
Not in so many words. But it'd been implied.
Scott"Good. With the way things have gone recently, I was prepared for the worst," Scott said.
CableThat was enough to make him sit up. "Scott...?" He was hoping his point was clear by intonation. But, just in case... "Anything I need to worry about?"
Scott"Bishop wasn't out. He shot at you when you were leaving," Scott said. He paused for a moment. He still hadn't quite adjusted to saying it no matter how many times he had to. "He hit Xavier. Charles is dead, Nathan."
Cable"...What?"
So they hadn't always seen eye-to-eye...
The shock rolled through his body, looking for something to connect with. It found muscle in his neck; Nathan bent his head. Setting his jaw, he pressed his fingers to his forehead. "Askani preserve me," he muttered, then pulled-- well, his voice-- back together. "How are the X-Men dealing?" Would there be a funeral? (Again, the voice that sounded a little like Wade added)
Scott"I disbanded the X-Men," Scott said plainly. "Xavier's dream is dead. We're just mutants now."
CableWell.
...
"Are you sure that's wise...?" His tone was very-- careful. It was Scott, after all.
Scott"The world's changed, Nathan," Scott said. "We need to find a new way now and we're not going to do that by going back to doing the same thing we've tried time and again over the years."
Cable"That used to be my job..." A faint sense of-- nostalgia coated his words. Cable glanced up at the ceiling. "Bygones. What are you going to do next?"
Which was-- a good question all around, really.
Scott"Well, for now Emma and I are going to take a vacation," Scott said. "Then I need to get Stark off our backs because that's just a matter of time."
Cable"He won't know what hit him." Nathan smirked wryly at the phone. For about a second. "And then what? There's too few of us left to stand as a house divided."
Scott"And then we try to get our own lives straightened out," Scott said. "It's time we started paying as much attention to that as we do to the big picture."
Cable"Maybe," Nathan replied. Vaguely.
Maybe.
Scott"Definitely," Scott said. Definitively.
CableThere was a short silence on his end of the line.
Then: "I'm taking her in to get her shots in a few days. She sleeps a lot." He shot the baby a look. "A lot..."
Scott"Babies will do that," Scott said with a lighter tone. "Take good care of her, Nathan."
Cable"I'm doing what I can." Which amounted to the best in his book.
...
Nathan had also assembled a very impressive stack of books on the subject.
"Good luck, Scott."
Scott"You too," Scott said.
This was about as touching a goodbye as they were going to get.
CableA note Nathan was entirely happy to end the conversation on.
He clicked off the phone.
Charles was dead. Hell.
He leaned his head back against the wall, closed his eyes-- and then threw the stick across the empty apartment. It clattered on the floor with a hollow thunk.
"Fetch."
[ preplayed with the awesome fat_halpert, establishy and Scott's side of the conversation NFB, of course ]