Chapter 236: Cracks in the Dream
The television's glow filled the mansion's main hall, cold and blue against the dark oak walls. The commentator's voice rang sharp:
"The Mutant Control Act is gaining momentum. Public pressure on Congress has escalated. Protesters are demanding immediate action. Their chants are clear: We can't live with these monsters anymore!"
The screen cut to images of angry crowds, fists pumping, signs reading Cage the Mutants, Protect Humanity, No More Freaks.
Professor Xavier's hand darted for the remote. The screen went black. Silence rushed in like a wave.
Kurt's voice broke it. "Ve cannot continue like this." His German accent curled heavy around the words.
Charles turned his head, calm but firm. "What do you mean, Kurt?"
"I mean exactly what I said!" Nightcrawler slammed his three-fingered hand on the arm of the couch. His golden eyes burned. "Ve bleed, we sweat, we save them time and again, and still—still—they spit on us! Call us monsters. Hunt us."
Xavier's tone softened. "I know it is difficult, but anger will not—"
"No!" Kurt cut him off, tail lashing behind him. "Do not try to soothe me, Professor. Look at Ororo. She lost her powers because the military hunted Rogue! She was shot—shot—because they could not see her as anything but a target!" His voice cracked, trembling between grief and rage.
Storm sat stiff, jaw set, leather jacket tight around her shoulders. Her eyes narrowed but said nothing.
Kurt went on, voice rising. "Is this how they repay us? After ve save them over and over again? We ask for nothing—nothing!—but to live in the sun like them. Not hiding. Not caged. And now they want us in sewers, like vermin."
Xavier steepled his fingers, the weight of years in his eyes. "Kurt—"
"No!" Nightcrawler barked, tail slamming against the floor like a whip. "I joined you because of your dream. You said humans and mutants could live together. I believed you. We all did. But now… now I doubt it."
The words hung heavy.
Rogue hugged herself in her chair, shrinking in shame. Colossus looked down at his massive hands, silent, jaw clamped. Kitty fidgeted, gnawing her lip. Even Lockheed curled his wings tighter, hissing low.
Logan sat in the corner, chair tilted back, cigar smoke curling lazily above his head. His eyes stayed half-closed, unreadable.
Xavier's voice deepened. "And what would you do then, Kurt? Join the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants? Become like Magneto, making the world bow in fear?"
Nightcrawler's head snapped up. "Nein! I vould not! I do not vant to conquer, Professor. I do not vant to destroy. I just… I just vant to go back to a normal life. A simple one. Return to the circus. I do not vant to fight every day, bleed every day, only to be hunted in return."
His eyes swept the room, then landed on Logan. "And you. Logan. Why are you silent? I thought—you, of all people—you would understand. That you vould support me."
The room's air tightened. All eyes turned to Logan.
The Canadian's chair creaked as he leaned forward, cigar glowing red at the tip. He didn't speak. He just looked at Kurt, then shook his head slowly.
Inside, his thoughts churned:
Elf… you think I don't get it? I couldn't care less what happens to humans or mutants alike. World goes to hell? Not my circus. Not my monkeys. But I joined this outfit 'cause I had nowhere else to go. Thought it'd be a bunk, a job, a bed to crash in. Instead, I found somethin' I didn't expect. A home. A family. Now you're talkin' about leavin'? Breakin' it up? Hell, that just dumps me back to the start again. Alone. Empty.
But I ain't gonna chain you here. Can't. I'll respect whatever you decide. Just don't ask me to cheer it on.
Logan puffed smoke and stayed silent.
The silence shattered with pounding footsteps. Rachel burst into the room, face streaked with tears, breath ragged.
"No!" Her voice cracked. "You can't. You can't just—disband the X-Men!"
Everyone turned. Her eyes darted, desperate. "What about my future? In my world, the X-Men never quit! You fought! You stood! Even when the world burned—you never stopped!"
Her voice broke into sobs. "And what about your struggle? All of you—dying one by one, sacrificing yourselves for the humans who hated you. You didn't stop then. You didn't walk away." She locked eyes with Kurt. "Even you, Nightcrawler. You—" her breath hitched—"you were the first to die. And you did it without hesitation. For them. For all of them. How can you now be the first to leave?"
Kurt froze, tail going limp. His throat worked, but no words came. Rachel's sobs filled the room, raw and aching.
Finally, his voice wavered. "Did… did I truly do that?" He looked at her, trembling. "I… I was the first?"
Rachel nodded, tears dripping onto her shirt.
Kurt wilted. His shoulders sagged, his fury drained. He stepped toward her, voice low, guilty. "Do not cry, bitte. Please. I was just… talking. I did not mean it. I will not leave. I swear. Just… stop crying. You have cried enough already in your future."
Rachel collapsed into a chair, wiping her face, trying to smile through the tears.
The tension in the room broke, like glass under heat. Rogue sighed with relief, Colossus muttered something in Russian that sounded like a prayer, Kitty leaned against Lockheed. Even Storm's eyes softened.
Logan, watching from the shadows, exhaled a long, slow stream of smoke. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
The family's still one. Still standin'. For now. But damn if I don't feel the cracks already. One day, the weight of all that human fear and hypocrisy might split us wide open. And if that day comes…
He took another drag of his cigar, eyes narrowing.
I'll be right here. Holdin' it together. Or fightin' through the rubble.
The room hummed with quiet again, but the unity was fragile. Logan knew it. He always did.