Rogue Replacement: A Marvel Story

Chapter 85 - Part 2

Arc 7 - Ch 2: Opening Day

Date: Monday, August 29, 2011.

Location: Midtown, Manhattan, New York

Jessica took in the rich wooden paneling, the plush leather booths, and the soft, ambient lighting of Keen's Steakhouse. The walls were adorned with antique photographs and vintage memorabilia, each telling a story of the restaurant's history. The air was filled with the tantalizing aroma of sizzling steaks, making Jessica's mouth water in anticipation. The tables in the main area were long, seating a dozen each, tightly packed, common in Manhattan restaurants, but they were guided to an area in the back, a room reserved for private parties.

Two young women were already seated at the table, their faces breaking into welcoming smiles as they approached. "Jessica, I'd like you to meet Jubilee and Jean Grey," Tyson said, gesturing to each of them.

Jean was a striking redhead with green eyes. She wore a simple yet elegant blouse and jeans. As Jessica approached, Jean rose gracefully from her seat, extended a hand in greeting, and smiled warmly and genuinely. Beside her sat Jubilee, a vibrant young woman with jet-black hair pulled back into a high ponytail. Her style perfectly blended punk rock and pop culture, with ripped jeans, a graphic tee, and a yellow leather jacket completing her edgy ensemble. She bounced up from her chair, engulfing Jessica in a hug that caught her off guard. Her infectious energy instantly put Jessica at ease.

As they settled into their seats, Tyson grinned and announced, "I was just explaining to Jessica that I'm special."

Jubilee facepalmed, shaking her head in exasperation. "Why do you even have a secret identity? You're so bad at it," she chided.

Tyson shrugged. "Secret identities are meant to protect those around me. But everyone around me right now is strong enough to protect themselves," he explained.

Jubilee nodded emphatically, agreeing, "Damn straight we are."

The waiter approached their table and interrupted the conversation.

Jessica scanned the list of entrees and sides. As she considered the prices, her heart sank. The cheapest steak was a staggering sixty-five dollars, far beyond what she had anticipated spending on a casual lunch.

Tyson caught the expression. He announced to the table, "I'm paying."

Jessica adamantly shook her head. "No, I can pay for myself," she insisted.

Tyson recognized the stubborn set of her jaw. He smiled knowingly. The expression and independence reminded him of Peter and how he always insisted on carrying his weight. "Not this time," he countered. "This is a House of M business meeting. It's a tax deduction. You're doing me a favor. Every dollar you spend is a dollar that doesn't go to Uncle Sam."

Jessica squinted, trying to determine whether he was sincere or just saying that to appease her. After a moment of hesitation, she finally relented and accepted his offer. The waiter took their orders and departed.

Jessica lowered her voice. "I saw the Senate hearing where Tyson said he was a mutant. Are you mutants, too?" she asked, letting her curiosity override her hesitance.

Jubilee leaned close and whispered, "Actually, I'm a vampire."

Jessica fixed her with a deadpan stare, clearly not buying the joke. Undeterred, Jubilee put on a devilish grin, flashing her fangs in a playful display. "She thinks I'm joking," she teased.

Jessica instinctively leaned away, causing Jubilee to burst into laughter. "Don't worry, I don't bite," she reassured, adding with a wink, "Except for Tyson. He's delicious."

"This is not what I was expecting," Jessica bewilderingly admitted.

Tyson couldn't help laughing. "Yeah, maybe I should tell my story. But we won't start with Jubilee being a vampire. Let me start from the beginning."

Jubilee, knowing what was coming, crossed her arms. "I hate that I can't see your illusions anymore," she said, disappointed and pouting.

"You can help with the storytelling," he offered in consolation.

Jubilee's face lit up. "Ooh, that sounds fun," she exclaimed, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. "You start, and I'll jump in."

Jean, wearing the mutation inhibitor collar around her neck, sat back in her seat, content to enjoy the show. Jessica read articles about his show at House of M, where he told Spider-Man's story for the world to see. But she couldn't afford the tickets herself. Advertisements announced he had a new show opening, telling a new story… tonight if she recalled correctly.

But Tyson only told other people's stories. He didn't tell his own. As the illusion began to take shape, the dining room faded away. Jessica found herself drawn in. She was about to see something no one else ever had.

Jessica stood outside a bar, the cold air biting her exposed skin. She looked around, taking in her unfamiliar surroundings, and noticed Tyson, Jubilee, and Jean standing beside her.

The illusion was so vivid and realistic that she forgot it wasn't real for a moment.

"This is how my story started."

Jean commented, "I never actually got to see this. Should be fun."

"This will be a step up from what everyone gets at the shows. I can do more with my power when we make eye contact, and we've been looking at each other since class." Jessica reddened, but Tyson continued, seemingly ignorant of her embarrassment.

The door to the only nearby building swung open, and the group stepped inside. They found themselves in a crowded bar with a cage in the back. They approached the cage, peering inside to see who was fighting.

"Logan," Jean's eyes widened in recognition.

A skinny teen in ragged clothes stood across from Logan.

"Is that you?" Jean asked, her voice filled with disbelief. "I never saw you before you came to the institute. This wasn't even your mental image of yourself when you arrived."

Jubilee muttered, "I'm mad I'm not seeing this."

"I'll draw you a picture," Tyson promised.

They watched as the young Tyson fought Logan until Tyson was knocked out cold.

Jessica commented, "Not how I expected that fight to end."

"Yeah, I took a lot of losses at the start. I got better, though," he admitted.

The scene fast-forwards, the illusion blurred as time passed in the blink of an eye. They see the night's end when only a few patrons remain. When it is revealed that Tyson is a mutant, he is ejected from the bar at gunpoint, and hostility and fear are palpable in the air.

Logan followed after Tyson, offering him a ride.

As the truck pulled away, Jessica asked, "Do we get a ride, too?" uncertain what would happen next.

"Nah, just run," he said.

Jean shrugged, knowing that none of this was real. She took off running, her speed far greater than any normal human could achieve. Jessica and Tyson kept pace at her shoulder, with Jubilee at his side.

Once again, Tyson fast-forwarded the illusion, and the day became night, then day again, the world around them shifting and changing in mere seconds. Suddenly, a tree fell in front of the truck, containing the illusion of Tyson and Logan. They watched as Logan was flung from the vehicle, his body twisting as he rolled across the ground, his limbs bent at awkward angles.

Jessica screamed in surprise, her hand flying to her mouth in horror.

Logan slowly stood, his wounds closing and his joints snapping back into place, healing before their eyes.

Without warning, a large man attacked, swinging a felled tree like a baseball bat, hitting Logan and setting him flying through the air, landing unconscious on the truck's hood. The attacker tossed the tree aside and approached the smoking vehicle. Just as Tyson was about to escape, the man hoisted him into the air.

Tyson reached out and grabbed the man. As they made contact, his body grew to match his attacker's size. But as Tyson grew, the man weakened as his strength drained.

The real Tyson explained, "You think my power is illusions, but my real mutant power is absorption. When I touch people, I gain their memories, powers, and everything that makes them unique. But it drains their lifeforce."

The large man fell to the ground, dead.

Tyson continued, his voice tinged with sadness. "My power is temporary unless it kills someone. Then they're with me forever. I gain their powers, memories, experiences, and a copy of their essence in my head. Sometimes, if their personality or power is great enough, they can influence me," he admitted.

Jessica had known he was special, but this was beyond anything she had ever imagined. The idea that he could absorb the very essence of a person, that he carried their memories and abilities with him forever, was hard to fathom. She looked at Tyson with new eyes, seeing him not just as a charming, mischievous young man. But as someone who carried both immense power and a terrible burden. She wondered what it must be like to have the lives of others intertwined with his own, to carry their experiences and emotions. To not be able to touch others without killing them.

She gasped, "That's why you wear gloves."

Tyson smiled, but it was a smile tinged with sadness. "It's not always easy," he admitted, "But it's a part of who I am, and I've learned to embrace it."

Jubilee said, "It's why we make such a good couple. Because I'm a vampire, he can touch me without hurting me. And because he absorbed Sabertooth, I can feed from him without risking turning him into a vampire, and he heals fast enough that his blood can sustain me. Plus, it allows me to walk in the sunlight."

Jessica nodded, her mind still trying to wrap itself around the enormity of Tyson's power. She realized there was so much more to him than she had ever imagined. She said, "So if Illusions isn't your power… You must have absorbed someone else."

Tyson joked, "No skipping ahead," as he continued the show.

A sleek black jet soared overhead, its engines roaring as it descended into a nearby clearing.

"That's when the X-Men found me. A group of mutants based out of a school upstate."

Jubilee's face lit up with excitement. "My turn!" she exclaimed eagerly.

"Go ahead. I'll move the illusion along with you."

Jubilee began recounting her story, "So I was just sitting in class when the Professor, the school's headmaster, talked in my head, asking me to come to his office. I didn't do anything wrong, so I was confused. But when I opened the door..."

The scene transformed into the elegant confines of Professor X's office. There, sitting behind a large wooden desk, was a bald man. Across from him was Tyson, whose appearance was much the same as Jessica recognized. Except his eyes were an amber brown, not the mismatched eyes she knew.

Jubilee continued, her voice dreamy. "I saw him sitting there, cute and dashingly handsome but brooding, like a lost puppy," she said. The real Tyson rolled his eyes but stayed silent. "I couldn't leave him there like that, so I took him on a tour of the school."

The group followed the two of them as they traveled through the institute's halls. Jubilee's animated gestures and bright smile raised Tyson's spirits. Eventually, they reached a door.

"I showed him to his room and returned a while later with Jean," Jubilee said. Her voice took on a mischievous tone as she added. "We caught him playing with himself."

Jean snorted and covered her mouth, trying to stifle a laugh. Tyson flushed with embarrassment, interrupting Jubilee's story. "I was not playing with myself," he said indignantly. "I was testing my powers."

Jubilee, undeterred, continued, "We took him to get some food, and in the cafeteria, we were introduced to the bad guy of the story," she held out her arms dramatically. "Illyana Rasputin."

The illusion shifted again, revealing a striking young woman with long blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.

Tyson's voice, filled with exasperation, interrupted once more. "Illyana is not the bad guy, for the record."

Jubilee raised her voice to drown out Tyson's objections and continued her tale. "She was. You're the only one who didn't think so."

Tyson turned to Jean for support, but the redhead stared off in the other direction, purposefully avoiding the topic.

Jubilee continued her story. "I love Illyana now, but then, ugh, meanest of the Mean Girls. Anyway, the next day in Gym class..."

Tyson waved his hand, adjusting the illusion to keep up with Jubilee's rapid-fire storytelling.

The scene shifted once more, transforming from the cafeteria to an outdoor basketball court.

"Tyson and Illyana were playing basketball and got into it. And she banished him to hell!"

Illyana's face contorted with rage as she opened up a portal. Tyson fell through, swallowed up by the otherworldly vortex.

"It was Limbo, not Hell," he insisted.

"Who's telling this story?" Jubilee asked challengingly.

"Let me take over," he said with a sigh.

Tyson battled demonic creatures, and Illyana appeared later. Together, they approached a figure that looked like the devil. His skin was a deep red, with a pointed tail whipping behind him as he moved.

"We found a demonic mutant invading Limbo. His name was Azazel. He used his power to charm Illyana, but I touched her. The pain broke his manipulation and allowed me to use her power to escape Limbo and return to the institute."

The scene shifted one final time, bringing the group back to the familiar surroundings of the basketball court. But this time, Jean was floating above the court, her hair whipping around her face as if caught in an invisible wind. The air around her seemed to crackle with barely contained power.

Jean asked, disbelieving, "Is that actually what I looked like?"

Jessica mumbled, "Scary."

"It is," he said to Jean before turning to agree with Jessica. "And she is. Jean is wonderful and caring. But she's secretly a badass. We fought last month, and she whooped me hard. It wasn't even close," he admitted.

"Yeah, she did. And you deserved it. But we'll get to that later." Jubilee said. "The next day, we were in the cafeteria, and Professor Ororo came and offered us tickets so we could get away after the drama the day before. But it wasn't her. It was an imposter!" she said dramatically. "Mystique, a shapeshifter. She lured us away from the institute to capture Tyson. Her boss, Magneto, was the one who'd sent Sabertooth after him in the first place."

The illusion shifted around them, showing the trio of Jean, Jubilee, and Tyson on a train. Professor Ororo then approached and stabbed Jean with a sedative.

Jessica held up a hand, and Tyson paused the illusion. "Hold on. Let me get this straight. The big guy didn't randomly attack you?"

"No, he was sent by Magneto."

"And you knew this because you absorbed his memories."

Though she wasn't wrong, he primarily knew the truth from his metaknowledge. He allowed Jessica to continue her line of thought because he had never shared his true origins with anyone. His closest friends knew he had a vision of the future, but they did not know the source of these insights.

"So if you knew someone was after you, and the institute was safe, why did you leave?"

Tyson puckered his lips. "I mean, it seemed reasonable at the time..."

Jubilee, unable to contain herself, interrupted. "Nah, he was blinded by NBA finals tickets," she teased.

Tyson dramatically pointed an accusing finger at her. "You were the one who was all like, I'm gonna get Kobe and Lebron's autographs."

Still, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment as he admitted, "Maybe it was because I was thrust into this new world and didn't have any time to adjust before everyone was trying to kill me… That aside, you're right. Pretty poor decision-making on my part."

With a wave of his hand, Tyson fast-forwarded the illusion. "So we're on the train when Jean and Jubilee get ambushed. I take Mystique hostage. Using her power, I disguise myself as Azazel, and using Jean's power, I fight him in the sky," he explained, his words tumbling out in a rush.

Jubilee chimed in. "Magneto's lucky I got taken out by the sneak attack… He's really tough, though. I don't think I could take him 1v1 even now that I'm a vampire.

Their surroundings shifted again, showing Tyson and Magneto's epic aerial battle.

"I saw this video. That was you?" Jessica asked, disbelieving.

Tyson's expression sombered as he said, "In the end, Magneto went to prison, and I almost died."

Jubilee, unable to resist teasing her boyfriend, picked up where he left off. "Then, once he was healthy, he started simping for Illyana."

Tyson groaned in embarrassment. "I can't believe you just said that."

Jubilee, undeterred by Tyson's discomfort, continued. "So Illyana needed help fighting the demons in Limbo, so she recruited Tyson. And he went along with it because she bribed him by stripping down to her lingerie."

Tyson and Illyana fought hordes of lesser demons together, their movements coordinated as they cut through them. Suddenly, the scene changed, revealing Illyana in a bedroom, slowly stripping off her clothes as Tyson watched.

Both Jean and Jessica blushed. Jubilee noticed and said in mock outrage, "I swear, you better not be showing that part!" The illusion quickly returned to the battle scene, but Jubilee wasn't fooled. "You were, weren't you?" she accused.

"No," Tyson answered, but his tone was far from convincing.

Jubilee rolled her eyes. "That was until the day of the museum trip. During the battle on the train, when Tyson had Jean's power, he had the full, unfiltered version of it. Jean's still using her power on training wheels… it's a long story," she explained.

Jean commented, "It's more like an economy car now."

Tyson said, "Normally, she's not even like a Ferrari. She's one of those rockets with wheels attached that, if you squint hard, qualify as cars."

"Anyway, Tyson saw a vision of the future and recognized that the institute would be attacked. So he touched Jean and Illyana to gain their powers, then fought the soldiers that were invading," Jubilee said, her voice growing more serious.

Their surroundings became the institute, showing the battle from Tyson's perspective. Jessica watched Tyson fight and kill to protect his friends, only to be defeated himself when the borrowed powers wore off.

"That's heavy," Jessica said sympathetically.

Tyson said, "That's only the start."

The illusion rushed through his imprisonment at Alkali Lake and the torture he endured through the adamantium bonding process that had transformed his bones.

"Now my bones are indestructible," he said somewhat sadly.

Jessica connected the dots. "Indestructible... but metal."

"Bingo."

The scene shifted to Tyson in a cell where Stryker subjects him to a mind control serum. While controlled, he was forced to attack Magneto, but the master of magnetism easily held him immobile.

"The bad guy's plan was a little convoluted. He built a machine that enhanced psionic powers, captured the Professor, and planned to use him to kill all the mutants on the planet. But Magneto interfered, capturing me and using Mystique to coerce the mutant, manipulating the Professor and convincing him to kill all the humans instead."

Jubilee interrupted, "That's the most confusing way to say that. I can't believe you make a living as a storyteller."

Jean simplified the explanation. "Bottom line is that all the humans were about to be killed," she said gravely.

Tyson continued his tale, the illusion shifting once more. "Then Illyana arrived," he said.

The scene showed Illyana conversing with Magneto. When she failed to convince him, she attacked. In a flash of light, she opened a portal to Limbo and escaped with Tyson.

Jubilee acquiesced, "I admit, this is when she stopped being the bad guy of the story."

Jessica watched, transfixed, as Tyson's illusion revealed a heartfelt scene.

Tyson, still under the influence of the mind-control serum, kept trying to attack Illyana, but she remained patient and steadfast. She stayed by his side, sharing her secrets and offering support as he struggled to regain control of his mind. Ultimately, Tyson and Illyana sat together in Limbo, holding each other close.

Jessica felt tears well up in her eyes. Their raw emotion, vulnerability, and trust were palpable.

Jean said softly, "I didn't know about this."

Jessica whispered, "This might be the saddest, sweetest thing I've ever seen."

Jubilee, usually so quick with a quip or a tease, remained uncharacteristically silent.

"Time doesn't pass in Limbo, so I recovered somewhat and devised a plan. When we returned, I attacked the mutant that was manipulating the Professor. I absorbed his power, manipulating them both. Instead of killing all the humans, I made them forget mutants existed." Tyson's expression grew somber. "But that mutant wasn't physically strong. His father had been harvesting him for the mind-control serum. I held him too long and killed him, absorbing his power permanently," he admitted.

Jessica said, "So that's why no one knew about mutants. It was you." Tyson nodded, his expression one of quiet resignation. Her brow briefly furrowed before she asked, "Why forget all mutants? Why not make people forget their prejudices or make them like mutants instead?"

"The command needed to be simple. 'Forget All Mutants' was about as complicated as it could be. Just three words and the Professor could remove everyone's memories. Consider that it was a command to every human on Earth. Billions of people. It's easier to erase memories than change them. There's no telling if we changed 'Forget' to 'Love' that it would've worked. And there's a big ethical difference between wiping someone's memory and forcing a point of view on them. Making everyone forget gave mutants a blank slate. I know it wasn't the best move, but it was the best I could come up with then."

Jessica nodded along with his explanation, "I get it… So, your body produces a mind-control serum?"

Tyson hadn't considered that possibility before. "I suppose it does," he answered hesitantly. He didn't want to dwell on that, so he pushed forward with his tale. "Since I manipulated the professor, I didn't want to return to the institute."

Unable to resist the opportunity to comment, Jubilee piped in, "Which is stupid, but whatever."

Ignoring her jibe, Tyson continued, "So Illyana and I made our way back to New York. But we soon realized Azazel had returned. He was trying to invade Limbo again. He saw my illusions, but they didn't work on him. He thought they were magic and mistook us for sorcerers. But I knew from my vision that there were actual sorcerers in the city, so I sought them out for help."

Tyson and Illyana sat at a table with a bald woman in robes.

"The head sorcerer said she wouldn't help us fight Azazel, but what she did do was cast a spell that allowed Illyana and me to touch. It seems simple, but it allowed me to absorb Illyana's power for a long period. With both of us having her ability, it gave us a fighting chance against Azazel."

Jessica watched, captivated, as Tyson and Illyana held each other without worrying about the consequences for the first time.

"I headed to the institute and recruited Illyana's brother and Logan, the guy from the cage fight, to help us beat Azazel."

Jubilee, unable to contain herself, chimed in. "And I caught on to their plan. I followed them because Tyson is terrible at being sneaky, but he wouldn't let me help. He was afraid Azazel would kill me. So I let him borrow my power."

Tyson teleported around, firing off blasts of extreme power. Demons and a castle crumbled to dust, unable to withstand the nuclear fireworks.

"In the end, I had my hands on Azazel, ready to absorb him completely, but Illyana teleported in and shot him in the head. And that was the end of that." Tyson narrated. "Afterward, Illyana joined the sorcerers. I started training martial arts in Chinatown and enrolled in Midtown High in September," he finished.

Jubilee added, "As a side note, when he took my power, he also gained all my memories and feelings. He knew I had a crush on him, but he still didn't make a move.

"I know the story from there," Jessica said.

"You do? I thought Tyson met you in class today." Jean pointed out.

Jessica sighed, exhaling quietly, realizing she had revealed more than she intended. "He did, well, sort of..." her voice trailed uncertainly. She hesitated for a long moment, uncertainty and indecision warring within her. After the internal struggle played across her face, she steeled her resolve and continued, "I guess I can tell parts of my story."

As Jessica prepared to share her tale, fear and uncertainty gripped her heart, warring with her need to connect and be understood. At that moment, staring into the open and accepting faces of her new… friends?

Jessica realized she stood at a crossroads.

The road behind her held only isolation. But the path ahead promised something more, something meaningful. It offered friendship, understanding, and the sense of belonging she craved. Maybe Peter knew his background now, but in the months they'd known each other before that fight with the Lizard, Tyson hadn't shared this with him. But he'd told her, and they'd only met for the first time today. These two women had accepted him, knowing he had previously killed with his power.

Taking a steadying breath, Jessica began to speak. Tyson had begun to share his incredible story with her, revealing his trust. She would meet his trust by sharing hers.