2014-07-20 - The End of Time: Confession

He was just going to leave a note. But then there is that time-sliding. And that is not the usual power signature of his own tech time-jumping. Still, Nathaniel has reasons to be paranoid. He activates the armor camouflage system and hovers towards the main area. He remembers Stryfe from her visit to the Salem fair, so he has reasons to be wary. "What are you doing here?" He demands, without even greeting her.

"Hello Nathaniel," the woman states, the sound of her voice familiar. "It has been a long time since we have been able to talk. Well, without us trying to kill each other anyway." There is a moment of silence while the VR goggles are carefully set down. "You ruined my plans. The twins I was using to kill Kang, which in turn started the Dark Ages as an unfortunate side-effect. The timeline has been wiped out however, and I am starting anew," mild annoyance in her tone.

"I did not such thing," replies Nathaniel, his voice sounding tense even past the masking mechanical synthesizer. He lands a few yards from the woman, aiming at her with his right palm repulsor. "But if that was your plan, if you caused all this... you are a monster, just like him."

A laugh at that, "I'm only trying to keep my promise to you Nathaniel." The woman then reaches up with her far hand to remove her helmet, her movements slow and concise. Soon, red hair that has faded a little over the years tumbles down about her shoulders, and green eyes flicker to look over to where Nathaniel stands. "I keep my promises," her smile bitter as it twists about her lips, her green eyes hard.

The hope and shy dreams that Hope Summers of today has have long since faded from the woman that sits before Nathaniel without fear. "Why did you help him? Why are you walking the same old path?"

It is pretty horrifying to see Hope's face like that. But even worse to see her willing to let billions die in the Dark Age. Including most mutants. Some mutant messiah.

"He took control of my armor. I was not helping him, I was trying to foil his plans. I do not believe the twins would have necessarily hastened the coming of the Dark Age. I did not believe anything he told me." Explains Nathaniel. "I do not believe you either. You can not be Hope. She would never want the Dark Age in any shape or form."

"It isn't because I wanted, but there wasn't a way to avoid it. However, I could control how it was implemented, and some of its long-term effects." Lady Stryfe rises from the chair and steps away, looking about this place as if reliving old memories. She actually looks a little tired.

"So many scenarios, over and over again." She smirks bitterly then, "I failed, and you helped with that when you betrayed me. All I could do was try and migrate the damage." Her free hand forms into a fist. The future Hope turns to look back at Nathaniel then. "I altered the timeline already to give you a second chance, to give us a second chance Nathaniel; a friend died to give that chance. You always said I was hung up on Emil, but he's gone now, and I would have finally been able to say good-bye." Then more softly, "Don't waste it Nathaniel. Don't betray me again, don't break my heart."

"You... did that to Emil? To Hope?" Talk about being mean to oneself. Nathaniel can hardly believe it. "You already broke /her/ heart, you... crazy bitch." Unless it was the only way to break the timeline. But even so, it is going to take a while for Nate to forgive someone that made Hope cry so much. "Where is Kang now? What comes next in his list of crazy?"

"Losing Emil hurt," Lady Stryfe says. "But what do you think it felt like losing you Nathaniel? Or the fact you betrayed me! That you destroyed the one chance to stop the chain reaction?!" She shifts away, pacing a bit, "I lost my dad, I lost Scott, I lost Laura, I lost /everyone/ I ever cared about! So you tell me," she growls out, suddenly close to Nathaniel.

"Am I a crazy bitch? Or am I just trying to protect the world and myself from all the future heartbreak of losing /everything/ I cared about? You think if I could have just come back through time and told my younger self not to fall for you and have it work, that I wouldn't just do it? I'm too stubborn!"

Lady Stryfe has to take a deep breath and step back. "I'm doing whatever I can to turn the tide, to stop what is coming, to save humanity and those I love and care about."

There is a pause, than Nathaniel speaks again. "Kang said the same of you," he states. "That you betrayed him. That Hope will betray me. And he did the same you did. Manipulate, lie and hurt innocents. Do you think you are doing the right thing? Well, he said just the same. Stryfe and Kang. You could switch armors and I doubt we will notice the difference."

Lady Stryfe is quiet before she says, "I don't know. I want to save everyone's life, give them the chance they need to save the world. Even in the Dark Ages I accidentally generated, mutants survived and created their own corporation to protect themselves. It wasn't ideal, but there was hope. I'm not a genius Nathaniel, I'm just someone trying to fulfill a promise. A promise to save the world, and a promise to stop you as Kang. Maybe...I'm failing again, maybe, I'm screwing everything up again."

The future Hope looks back at you, "But I feel the pain of each of my decisions, the torment. My heart still beats, and rather than manipulate people I wish I could just tell them everything, spill it all out." And she taps over where her heart is. "Instead, I wear this armor not just for protection against attack, but as a reminder. I /failed/. This is my repentance. Even if I must become a villain, I'll make things right so others can be happy and live."

"I want to believe you," replies Nathaniel, his voice quiet. "But I cannot trust you, because if you wanted to manipulate me, you would be saying just that. Because if Kang wanted to manipulate me, or if he would go to see Hope, he would be saying the same: That he is doing the right things, even if it is hard, even if others get hurt."

He looks away, looking for any sign of the real Hope. Where is she? "The Hope I know and I love. She would have died fighting. She would not be this person I see manipulating things from the shadows. That is... that is what I would do, I am the one that is always planning and studying the best strategies passionlessly. But not Hope. And what happened now? It was Kang how came. He attacked the Baxter Building openly. He took the risk, and got his hands dirty with unborn children blood. To prevent the Dark Age, he said."

"Do you really love her Nathaniel? You...never once told me," the older Hope says, her eyes darkening. She shakes her head, "No, to prevent his death, to save his own life. The Dark Age, he doesn't care about stopping that in the least." A snort comes from Hope at that possibility. "I'd love to see him try, actually do something positive for once."

Though back to the main topic, "I wonder if you even know what love is. But perhaps having Emil come to the past is enough of a change to give it a chance, a hope for a different future. We are together sooner than in the previous timeline anyway." There is a slight smile, but it's bitter in nature.

"Also, ranting is typically not productive of manipulation Nathaniel. Least not when I last checked," Lady Stryfe advises.

"Oh sure, his intentions were completely selfish, of course," as if she would say anything different about Kang's intentions. "Do I love her? I think I do," and that is honest of him. Nate 'thinks' he loves Hope. He is not sure, because he had never been in love before. Nor had he ever felt anything this intense for anyone. "I told her I loved her last time I saw her."

A blink from the older Hope, and then a nod, "It is different then," she says quietly. A small piece of hope is better than nothing. "No one can tell you what love is Nathaniel, only you can realize that yourself. And obviously they are selfish, when is Kang not selfish?" A roll of her green eyes as if to silently say: I can't believe that just came out of your mouth. "And I'm not saying this about you Nathaniel. You aren't Kang, not yet. People can change over time; you did and choose to walk his path. However, you can also choose to walk another path, changing in a different way. The power was always in your hands and no one else's, it's a choice that only you can make."

Lady Stryfe is quiet for a moment before she adds, "I want both of us to have different futures than the ones now established. I hate Kang, but don't get me wrong, I hate myself too. To break the cycle, I have become a monster, but one without disillusions of grandeur. But once the cycle is broken, perhaps my younger self can succeed." She takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. "I don't ask anything of you for myself, but for my younger self. Please, support her. She may become lost at times, but her heart is in the right place. And it's that passion, that ability to love and self-sacrifice, that may help you save yourself."

Wait, what? That is not the plan. That is not what he came here to do, and to say. He needs to hide and he came to tell Hope he needed to go for a time. And... what a coincidence. Stryfe was here. "Why did you come here today? You knew I was going to be here, right? I was going to leave Hope a message and you knew it." He accuses.

"Not exactly." Lady Stryfe walks over and picks up something that was behind the platform that the table with VR system was on. She holds it up, "Energy sensor." She tosses it up into the air and catches it again with her free hand. "It alerted to me when you arrived. I knew when you were done licking your wounds, you would show up here sooner or later." She then raises an eyebrow. "I do hope you aren't planning to run and hide your tail between your legs Nathaniel. That would be highly disappointing. I've known Kang for being a coward, but not you."

"I am not going to run, but I am going to hide," replies Nathaniel, refusing to take the bait. "Kang found me, so he will come for me soon, to make sure his timeline is preserved. I will not allow Hope to get caught in the crossfire. I will deal with Kang in the field of battle of my choosing."

"Geez, so much self-importance. Do you realize how many Kangs are out there? They are all annoying, but there is only one I'm trying to kill. There are numerous timelines where you made the choice to walk the path of a villain. Damn, it be nice to have one where you was a hero," Lady Stryfe comments, hooking the sensor onto her her armor so it leaves with her. "Look, he can find you any time he wants, he's fucking Kang. He gets in your head, don't stress about that, it's really not important. He obviously won't kill you, and the most he will be is annoying as hell unless you let him con you into things."

Lady Stryfe then states, "Let me give you a piece of advice. Don't run, don't hide. Just give him the middle finger and do what you feel is the right thing to do in being a hero. Fight for the people important to you, you are stronger when you have someone to fight for."

"He is already in my head, remember," replies Nathaniel. "But I am in his, so it is not as uneven as you could think. He can try to manipulate me to pick the wrong choices, but it would be much easier to just grab me and alter my mind slightly. Did you ever thought maybe that was what happened to your version of me?"

He stares at the woman, "you should follow your own advice. Stop manipulating others. Remember who you were before being Stryfe."

"Not yet. I have my part to play in the grand scheme of things, but there will be an -end- to it." Lady Stryfe smiles a bit bitterly, "And no...he made a choice. The choice took him down that path, because once he made a choice to betray me, there was a second choice, and then a third. He could stop right now Nathaniel, if he so choose. He just doesn't choose to do so, just as I don't choose to do so until there is hope for the future."

"And by the way, it's Lady Stryfe. Stryfe is someone else, someone very, very scary, that could make your brain into mush," the future Hope advises. "I don't suggest asking Hope or Cable about Stryfe, both would freak."

Nathaniel snorts behind the faceplate. Play the part in the grand scheme of things. Sounds like an excuse to him to keep in the bitter path she is following. "You can stop too. But looks like neither of you want to stop, so you are both doomed." He will ask Hope about Stryfe, but right now it is something very low in his list of priorities.

"Of course I can stop, there are just consequences if I do; such as young Hope still fails. And if I stop, what do I get? A doomed world where everyone I love is dead or trying to conqueror it. Just so much -fun-, I can't contain myself," Lady Stryfe states dryly.

"No, stop doing what you are doing now," replies Nathaniel. "Join the Avengers, help them save the world. Or just go into the far future and build a good life for yourself so you have something to return. You have time in your hands, and yet you are here, where you do not want to be."

"Are you so sure Nathaniel?" The Future Hope smiles sadly. "Why would I want to be here, close to my loved ones in some form or fashion? The Avengers aren't equipped to handle that is coming, the X-Men will be overwhelmed. It isn't an easy answer, and believe me, I've played so many through the simulators. I have no future Nathaniel, being alone isn't a future, it's a punishment. And I have to give the young Hope a fighting chance to succeed. There are two prophesies, one where I destroy the world, and one where I save it," she says quietly.

"When your future self interfered, I choose the one to destroy it. I want a different choice to be made this time. Will you give it that chance, the chance for a difference future than the one birthed now?"

"I will fight for Hope," replies Nathaniel, folding his arms. He is not convinced at all this future Hope has her younger self best intentions in mind, so he won't give more details. "But Kang is my problem, and I have to deal with him if I want any future myself."

"You aren't alone in that particular desire. Kang played with fire this time. Tony Stark was very protective of the children, he didn't care that they were clones of him. You have more allies than you realize." Lady Stryfe then says, "I'll be heading out now, Kang sometimes successfully tracks my time bodyslides and I lingered here too long. You wouldn't have to worry about him killing you, but that is something I have to worry about."

Nathaniel sighs. Of course Kang is responsible for killing many people. Maybe the most hated man in all time. Himself. "Alright, take care." He almost adds 'and don't torture your younger self trying to fix her life' but instead he bites his tongue. The conversation is recorded for Hope, though. She has the right to know.

Lady Stryfe walks to Nathaniel, and if he isn't careful, she will reaches out to touch his cheek and his armor responds. Her own nano-armor seems to link with it for a moment to retract the helmet as she leans forward and actually steals a kiss from the young man. It may be awkward for poor Nathaniel, being she's a cougar at this point! But if Nathaniel doesn't leap back, she will steal this kiss and this moment in time.

He is wary, but not as careful, because her armor doesn't seem to be the same style of future supertech he wears. A bit too late he realizes the obvious: Hope must have developed tactics to deal with Kang's armor. And his own armor is an old version of Kang's.

Yes, awkward. Nathaniel steps back a second too late. Blinking in surprise and trying to recover control of the armor. "And I need to fix that backdoor," he grumbles. "Go away, I am not your Nathaniel. And you are not the woman I love."

And there is a bit of a sad smile that reflects in Future Hope's eyes before she bodyslides away, a normal bodyslide. She will move through time at another location...Nathaniel will soon find his records of the event from sensor readings to audio recordings all wiped.

That only means he need to rebuild the records from his memory. And then close the security leak in his armor. That will take him the rest of the day.