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IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE Part 1: Confusion written by Dark Claw
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"IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE: Confusion"
WRITTEN AND FINISHED ON JUNE 30TH, 1999
WRITTEN BY Dark Claw
--Bring Back Blink--
Before you read the story, allow me to clear up something that might be of confusion.
This story takes place shortly after Magneto gained control of Genosha. So when Logan is talking with Xavier about 'ol Buckethead and speaks of his 'new residence', he's referring to Genosha.
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"So... dark. Where am I?"
Confusion swept over the young girl as she realized her surroundings were no longer the same. Glancing down, she noticed something warm and sticky covered her hands.
"Blood?" A sense of panic quickly filled her as she tried to understand her situation.
"Mr. Creed? Mr. Creed, where are you?!" Glancing around, all she could see was darkness. Clarice never liked the dark. Her entire life that was all she ever knew, from the dark confines of the camps to the sudden darkness that overcame her before the bombs hit. She was supposed to be dead, that much she knew. Either the man with the tattoo succeeded or failed; either way she knew she shouldn't be here.
Standing up, Clarice reached for one of her darts and charged it. She felt so tired and weak, she could barely maintain her balance. The room was familiar, yet the smell in the air was different. It wasn't a putrid stench, like that of death. The room was a section of Apocalypse's tower, the one that had housed the M'Kraan Crystal. Her mind still foggy, she slowly climbed her way through the rubble until she broke through, blinded by sunlight. Clarice stumbled at the sight of what stood before her, a sight that she had never witnessed in her life. She saw New York. A New York with people. A New York with life. A New York with hope.
This was not home.
"Could this be Bishop's world? B..but how?! How did I get here?" Clarice thought back to the final moments of her world, but it was still too hazy. "The mansion... Mr. Creed will be at the mansion, and then he can help me figure out what's going on!" Opening a portal, Clarice rushed into the swirling void. No, this wasn't home. But she knew what was, and she knew where she would be safe in any reality.
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Professor Xavier was quiet. It required quite a bit of concentration to pin point the disturbance in the astral plane. A new mind had surfaced, a surprisingly familiar one. But why couldn't he figure out the identity of the stranger? "Damn!"
"Problems, Chuck?" A shadowed figure stood in the doorway with a stogie in his hand. "Logan, please. I specifically asked not to be disturbed," Charles said somewhat annoyed. "Not everybody gets what they want, prof. See, I wanted to go snuff out Magneto when I had the chance. Now their ain't no shot at him, considerin' he's holed up in his new place 'o residence."
Xavier quickly turned around, facing Logan's direction. "We've gone over this before, Wolverine. I am not in the mood to have another argument about what we should and should not have done concerning Magnus. Now if you will please leave, I have some pressing matters to contend with." Logan stood silently for a moment, then turned to walk away. Before exiting the doorway, he looked back and said, "You know, Chuck, we've got a world 'o problems, Mags being the least of 'em. With all of the hate 'n bigotry against mutants, he ain't helping matters any. At some point you've got to remember that he stopped being your friend a long time ago. At some point you've got to let go."
As the door slammed shut, Xavier remained still. Logan's words echoed in his ears, reminding him of the pain and suffering his one time friend had caused. "And sometimes, Logan, you've got to hang onto hope. I believe Magnus can redeem himself. He can follow the right path."
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"Amazing!" The mansion was in perfect condition. She never remembered it like this. She only knew the damage that was inflicted upon the building during Apocalypse's take over, and how even after the wars that took place on its doorstep it still stood. But regardless of appearance, she knew only one thing: this was still home.
Running through the front door, tears fell from Clarice's cheek. "Mr. Creed! I'm safe! Bishop did it!" She was too happy to even care who else was there. All she knew was she was home and safe and everything would be all right. As she ran down the hall to what was Sabretooth's room in her world, she screeched to a halt at who stood before her. "My, my. Running in the halls is not permitted, young lady. May I inquire as to who you are?"
"Da... Dark Beast! McCoy!" Falling to the floor, Clarice backed away from the furry X-Man. "Well, dark is a bit misleading. I'm more of a royal blue, but I don't consider myself all that dark." Anger swelled up inside of the girl as she remembered the horrible things he had done to the innocent. "Butcher! Dog of Apocalypse!" McCoy was overcome with surprise. As he walked closer to the young girl, he couldn't help but sense that he knew her. "Pardon, miss? I'm afraid you must have me mistaken for someone else. Please allow me to help you up." As Hank reached for her hand, Clarice panicked and screamed. "GET AWAY FROM ME, MONSTER!"
The spatial shearing lasted only a moment. A brief, painful moment. Hank lay on the ground, shaking uncontrollably. He didn't exactly expect this. The girl was familiar, no doubt about it, as was the proceeding 'blink' sound he heard so clearly. The power she displayed was fascinating. No doubt she could have killed him if she chose to, he thought. The girl stood over him, grasping a dart in her hand. The death grip she had showed how scared she was. Searching for the appropriate words to ease her fear, Hank spoke the only thing that came to mind. "Oh m...my stars.... and gar...garters..."
Clarice knew better than to kill him. As one of Apocalypse's lap dogs, she knew McCoy would have vital information about his operations, and she knew how impressed Mr. Creed would be knowing she captured the Beast without any trouble. She considered herself lucky that she had the strength to pull off the spatial displacement. She still felt weak, but she wasn't concerned with that at the moment. The thought suddenly dawned on her that one of the X-Men's most deadly enemies was in their place of operation. "Mr. Creed! Oh no!" Glancing down at the immobilized Beast, she growled, "If you've done anything to them, I swear I'll dig your heart out with this dart, monster." Interrogations would have to wait. Turning around, Clarice opened a portal and jumped into it.
Hank didn't move. "Fascinating. A teleporter with the ability to spatially displace matter out of place for a fraction of a second. Once I can move again, I must delve further into this girl's genetic background! But in the meantime... Professor? Charles, can you hear me?" Xavier severed his link to the astral plane. "What is it Hank?" Ignoring the pain best he could, the blue-furred Beast thought, "I apologize for disturbing you when you specifically requested privacy, but I thought this would concern you. I was just attacked by a mutant girl."
Xavier raised his eyebrow. "A mutant girl?" he thought, " Hank, what did she look like?" Regaining some movement, Hank attempted to raise himself. "I'd love to discuss the details with you, Professor, but I'm afraid she's somewhere in the mansion. She thought I was my doppelganger, so I can't help but hypothesize that she's from that dreaded 'age of Apocalypse' reality Bishop told us about." Xavier grew concerned. "If this is the case, my friend, then we must find her. She's obviously confused, and is not aware of how different things are here. Are you all right, Hank?"
Regaining his balance, the Beast stood up. "I'll survive, Charles. She ran down Corridor E, to the sleeping chambers." Hank swiftly pounced down the hall. "I'll have the other X-Men meet you at Ororo's room. Keep in contact," Xavier said mentally before ending their telepathic link. Increasing his speed, Hank recalled the words of his Canadian friend. "'I'm not askin' ya to stay, just pop in for a visit. Have a beer or two, you know? Just relax around the mansion.' I swear, Logan, you owe me for this!" Halting at his former teammate's room, Hank was less than surprised to find Wolverine there. "You certainly don't waste time, do you, my friend?" Hank said with a smile.
Logan relit his cigar and replied, "Someone wants to break into my home, fine by me. But they sure as hell better be tough enough to beat me, cause I'm the best there is at what I do. I don't take kindly to intruders." The Beast looked at his friend inquisitively. "Didn't the Professor tell you that the intruder was a child?" Logan looked up between puffs. "He must've left that part out. That's news to me." Hank looked around, and then turned to his friend and said, "We should wait for the others, but there's no telling what kind of damage the girl could do. We have to find her."
Logan calmly inhaled on his cigar and replied, "No need, furball. She's in there." He nodded towards Storm's room. "You... you knew she was in there?" Hank asked. "Hell yeah, Hank, you know my nose can track anything. 'Sides, I've got a special interest in this girl now." Curious, Hank asked his friend what caught his attention. Popping out his claws, Logan snarled, "She has the stink 'o Sabretooth all over her. I think that warrants some interrogatin', don't you?" Hank thought about the situation for a moment and came to a quick conclusion. "Peculiar. In that case, it would be wise to wait for the others. If she has been in contact with Creed, we don't know how she'd react to us."
Logan reached for the door knob. "Wait all you want, fuzzball, but I've got questions that only she can answer. And considerin' everything that has happened lately, I ain't in the mood to play around." The Beast put his hand on Logan's shoulder, trying his best to talk some sense into his friend. "Logan, do not jump into a situation unprepared. You have no idea what this girl is like or what she has been through!" Wolverine pushed away his friend, and as he began entering the room, he looked over his shoulder and said, "Bub, I jump into every situation unprepared. That's what makes life worth livin'. The thrill 'o not knowing what comes next." Staring at his friend, Hank followed him into the room. "I swear, Logan, you'll be the death of me yet!"
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"Someone's coming! Maybe McCoy recovered!" Clarice did not know what to do. She knew this to be the room of her mentor. She was positive this was its location. Yet this was different. This was nothing like Mr. Creed's dwelling. For one thing, he didn't wear pink nightgowns, she thought as she picked up the garment from the bed. And the teddy bear in the corner of the room was not his style. She knew something was wrong. "Maybe I did enter Bishop's world... But how?!" She quickly ducked into the bathroom, silently closing the door. The footsteps grew louder as they approached her hiding place. "They must be searching the room. It'll only be a matter of time before they discover me." Drawing one of her darts, Clarice charged it to full capacity. "I could easily 'blink' my way out of here, but that would be pointless. I have to face these gene traitors some time. Better now than later!"
Sweat dripped down the young girl's face. She could feel the warm blood trickling down her leg and into her boot. The wound was bleeding again. Her eyes widened as she watched the door handle turn slowly in the dark. "It's now or never, girl," she said to herself quietly. As the door flung open, she closed her eyes and lunged forward with the dart.
"Nice try, girlie." She meekly looked up to see a scruffy looking man grasping her wrist. "It'll take more'n that to stop the 'ol Canucklehead." She could barely speak. She knew this man. Mr. Creed had spoke of him often, although the two were less than friends in recent years. "Weapon X?! It IS you!" Clarice dropped her dart and wrapped her arms around the man. She didn't care who he was or what kind of bad blood there was between him and Mr. Creed. All she cared about was knowing he was an ally, and he was there to help her. Everything was going to be all right now, she thought. An honest to goodness X-Man was there, and everything was going to be fine.
She found her heart skip a beat when she looked behind the beserker. "No," she whispered. "Mr. Logan, it's McCoy! Behind you!" Logan looked over his shoulder calmly, then looked back at the girl. "So it is. Your point?" Clarice was flabbergasted. "Wha...what?! He's Apocalypse's butcher! He's killed countless innocents in the name of science! What's wrong with you?" Clarice backed away, still confused. "Listen, child, I am not this harbinger of death that you seem to know. Now if you'll come with us, I'm sure we can clear up this unfortunate misunderstanding," the Beast said as he reached out to her.
She couldn't trust anyone. That was the only conclusion she could come up with. After all, if Apocalypse's men could sway the infamous Weapon X to their side, who could she trust? "Ba... back off, both of you! Do it, or I swear I'll...I'll...." Clarice fell to the floor in a heap. Hank rushed to her side, looking her over. "Logan, she's wounded badly. She's lost a lot of blood. We have to get her to the med lab immediately!" Carefully lifting the child into his arms, Hank and Logan rushed to the medical facilities.
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"Do we know any more about the child?" Xavier asked. He was in the briefing room, surrounded by his X-Men. Shadows fell across his face, hiding his unchanging facial expression. Hank stood up and passed around some papers. "I did a computer search and came up with this. It might help explain why she appears so familiar to some of us.
"The child in the picture is Clarice Ferguson, dubbed 'Blink' by the children of Generation X shortly before her demise during the Phalanx attacks. She sacrificed her life to save the other children, yet there was no trace of her body." Storm looked up from the paper and commented, "This girl looks different. True, their facial markings are the same, as is the unique skin color they share, but the girl is definitely different."
Hank cleared his throat. "Yes, Ororo, she certainly is. Cerebro and I have come up with two likely explanations. The first is that Blink somehow survived her spatial sheering which she used against Harvest, and during the course of the year that she has been 'missing' has been radically changed. Very little was known about her powers, so as far as we know she could have teleported herself to another reality or planet. Who knows what kind of experiences she might have had! And since no body was recovered, it is a very likely possibility."
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Hank looked around the room. "The other possibility is not exactly an optimistic one, my friends. Based on her accusations against myself and Logan, I believe she might be from the 'Age of Apocalypse' reality that produced the X-Man and my alter ego. If this is the case, then the possibility stands that that reality might still exist. If that is true, then we have a serious problem. So called 'Infiinites' from that reality have already crossed over recently, according to Scott and Jean. I fear more of these 'reality hoppers' might cross over, causing the world countless problems." Xavier glanced up and quietly said, "What kind of problems?" Hank pulled out another set of papers and flipped through them. Finding what he was looking for, he pulled one sheet out and plainly stated, "These are the statistics Cerebro calculated. Every time someone from that reality crosses over, the structure in-between our two worlds grows weaker. It's as if someone were chipping away at the side of a building. A few chips won't hurt the structure, but if you continuiously work at it..." Xavier looked pale, and said, "... then the building collapses."
Logan's impatience grew. "So what are you saying, Hank? That girl might be from a world that ain't supposed to exist? And if we don't find a way to shut it down, more of 'em might come over to our side?" Hank gave his friend a serious look. "It's much worse than that, my friend. If we do not stop this, then eventually the 'structure' of our world will be 'chipped away' until it collapses in on itself." Xavier cleared his throat, causing everyone in the room to grow silent. "Before we accept that possibility, lets find out the child's story. As real as that scenario appears to be, there might be an ulterior explanation for her appearance in our reality. Hank, how long until she will be awake again?"
The Beast pulled out a medical chart and flipped through the pages. "She had a crystal shard embedded into her stomach when she passed out. And since she just had surgery only a few hours ago, I'd give her at least a day, sir. I'm sure she'll be awake before then, but she needs her rest."
Colossus, who had been silent during the meeting, stood up. "You said she could teleport, correct? What if she attempts to escape when she awakens?" Hank smiled at his Russian comrade and replied, "No worries, Peter. I designed a dampening field and placed it around her. Even if she were strong enough to use her powers when she awakens, the field will negate any of her mutagenic abilities. She's stuck here."
Xavier looked at his band of X-Men. "Fine. We will meet here again as soon as Hank has more information on the child." As the others filed out of the room, the Beast turned his attention toward Xavier. "Professor, may I speak with you privately. It concerns the child." Xavier cupped his hands together, the fingertips of his index fingers just below his mouth. "Go on, Hank."
Hank sat down next to his teacher. "Professor, I took the liberty of doing some genetic tests on the girl. She is indeed Clarice Ferguson, there's no doubt about that." Xavier's eyes trailed off to the picture laying on the table. "But...?" Xavier asked. Hank took a breath, preparing to say what came next. "But psychologically, she is completely different. I never met Clarice, but based on the field reports and files Cerebro had on her, I could tell she was different. The offensive stance she took, the way she moved. The Clarice that died saving Generation X was timid. This one is a fighter, and can definitely hold her own. I honestly don't know how we are going to reach her once she wakes up. To her, half of us appear as enemies, loyal soldiers of Apocalypse. And without Bishop to clue us in on who exactly were allies, we have no way of reaching her."
Xavier's eyes turned back to his friend. "What are you trying to say, Hank?" Hank picked up one of the photos of Clarice, staring intently at it. "What I'm saying is that if we do not find a proper way to approach her, we could do irreversible damage to her psyche. This is a new world for her, Charles, and she's confused enough as it is. We would only be doing her more harm than good."
Xavier remained silent. The last thing he wanted was to further diminish any kind of connection they might have had with the girl. After all, it was his fault for her death, he thought. Because of the list he had written of potential students, the Phalanx attacked and ultimately caused her death. But now he had a second chance, and he didn't want to waste it. "Keep me informed, Hank. We'll find a way through to her..."
As the Beast left the room, Xavier recalled the students he had lost over the years. "....Even if I have to enter her mind, we'll find a way."
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"I don't like this. It's dark again. And cold. I don't like the dark and cold. Where's Mr. Creed?! Answer me, damn it!" Clarice struggled to her feet, stumbling as she attempted to move to the door. "I'm still so out of it. What happened?"
"Hey, pup. Them wounds ain't gonna heal if you keep movin' around like that." She knew the figure in the doorway instantly. "What do you want, traitor?!" she asked fiercely. Logan tossed his cigar onto the floor and smothered it with his boot heel. Clarice couldn't help but notice the 'No Smoking Sign' posted inside the medical room. "Them's some mighty brave words, kid. I'm here to talk. Ya see, things ain't the same as they were from where ever you came from. I won't hold it against you that you attacked me. Hell, you were scared. I don't blame ya. But before you go off accusin' me or anyone else of being a traitor or butcher, hear me out."
Clarice stared at him coldly. Why should she believe him? After all, he sided with the genetic butcher. But she knew that in her current condition, she wouldn't stand a chance in a fight. Besides, something was blocking her powers. She was stuck. "Speak your piece, old man." She sat down on the bed. "Who knows? she thought, "maybe this will buy me enough time to figure a way out of here."
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"Professor, I have some news that might explain how the girl arrived here," Hank exclaimed as he bounced into Xavier's study. "And surprisingly enough, the answer came from the crystal that was imbedded into her stomach." Xavier was staring out the window, unmoving. "Sir, the crystal was a shard of the M'Kraan Crystal!"
Xavier whipped around in his wheelchair, facing Hank. "What?!" Hank placed the piece onto his desk. "Yes, Charles. Based on what Bishop previously told us about the other reality, I believe that once the bombs had hit, the M'Kraan crystal was destroyed. And in the force of the explosion, I believe that one such shard entered Miss Ferguson's body, teleporting her to our reality."
"But Hank, she's so young! If she was transported due to the crystal, she should be well into her late 30s by now!"
"Yes sir, you're right, but I have reason to believe that somehow the crystal shard reacted to Clarice's unique powers. Instead of teleporting her through time, as it should have done, it instead pushed her across realities into ours. Her powers created a rift, opening a temporary portal between our two worlds. I know this is all a bit hard to swallow, but we've dealt with stranger situations."
Xavier hovered toward the door. "We must inform the others. Perhaps together, we can find a way to rea..." The two suddenly heard a yell from down the hall. 'Damn you!' could be heard throughout the building. Hank looked down the corridor and said, "Sir, that came from Clarice's room!" As the two made their way down the hall, they saw Logan pulling some operating tools out of his chest.
"Damn girl! Damn it, Hank, why did you leave these things sitting on the counter?!" he growled. Looking over his friend's wounds, the Beast replied, "I am sorry, Logan. It was a careless mistake. But may I be so bold as to ask what you were doing in the young one's room? We left the door locked for a reason, you know." Logan glared at him intently, then glanced at Xavier. "Yes, Logan, please tell us. What were you doing in there, even after we specifically decided to wait until tomorrow before questioning her?" the professor asked in a demanding tone.
"I... I thought I could talk to her. She seemed to think I was one of the 'good guys' around here, so I was hopin' I could connect with her. Damn healin' factor, hurry up!" Logan growled. The professor looked inside of the room, but found it empty. "Logan, where is Clarice?"
The wounds on Wolverine's chest began to close up, healing within a matter of seconds. "Hell if I know. The moment she set foot outside of the room, she opened one 'o them blasted portals and vanished." Hank picked up the device he had hidden inside of the room. It should have prevented her from using her powers, but it was set for a limited range. He underestimated her resourcefulness, a mistake he knew he'd have to correct later. Turning to his friends, he said, "She couldn't have gotten far. She's still weak, which means she will be forced to reappear somewhere close by. She will be forced to be on foot the rest of the way."
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The city was beautiful. It was amazing that Apocalypse hadn't conquered it by now. The towering buildings reminded Clarice of the dark lord's citadels, which rose higher than the clouds themselves. But these towers were not symbols of death, nor were they tributes to En Sabah Nur. They were built by human hands, hands that would have been forced to work in the gene farms of her world.
But this was not her world. That was obvious. But in any world she knew who she could trust. "Mr. Creed, I'm coming! And nothing is going to keep me from you!"
--END OF PART ONE
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This was a new experience for me. For years I had glanced at a fan fic here and there, but never really immersing myself into it. I found some good ones, true, but I never became a frequent reader. Recently, however, I discovered the unique and original stories that could be found in these works. Stories that came from the minds of fans who, for the most part, just wanted to have fun and to give others a bit of entertainment. Many of these stories reminded me of the Generation X I originally fell in love with, and they brought me back to a time that I doubt the book will ever see again.
And these 'fanficers' inspired me to try my hand at it myself. Thank you to all of the fanficers out there for inspiring me to write this. I hope you find it up to your standards, and your honest critiques and comments would be greatly appreciated.
And special thanks go out to Z and The Masked Disaster for beta-reading the story for me. Thanks for your opinions, guys.
As for part two, here's what you can expect to find:
"Blink, traveling the streets of New York in hope of finding her mentor, discovers that things are definitely not like they were back home, as she is persecuted by the very humans she has sworn to protect! Also, feeling responsible for allowing a vulnerable Clarice to escape, Wolverine goes on the hunt for everyone's favorite 'porter. But will he reach her in time?"
