Postapocalyptic

Almost as compelling for me as Cable's long personal war against Apocalypse is the prospect of what happens afterwards, when the battle's over, for better or worse. Does he live through it? What path does his life take afterwards? Does he have any idea what to do with himself, or does he spend the next few years wandering around in a daze, trying to absorb what happened? ;) When you have a character like Cable, whose psychological make-up is crafted around that single, overwhelming the purpose, the question of what happens when that purpose is completed is a very fascinating one.

I've explored it in a number of ways. Some of the stories here are based on the aftermath of Marvel's own Twelve Saga (which is a magnet for fan fiction, especially for Cable writers like me), while others are based around different ideas I've had of how the final battle might turn out. I should point out that my major 'postapocalyptic' series can't be found here; go check out the Pantheon page, if you haven't already.

Read something you like? Or maybe you just want to smack me for letting Cable wallow in self-pity... either way, I'd love to  hear about it .--Alicia

 


The Edge

As much as I may have disliked Marvel's way of bringing him back, I am intrigued by Scott after his experience sharing a mind and body with Apocalypse. After all, it wasn't the idea I really objected to, it was the execution! You can find me dealing with Scott's resurrection in a few different fics, but this is the only one so far that's turned into a series.--Alicia 

Letters From The Edge
(PG-13)
Carrying on an email conversation with his son, Scott starts to realize that something is very wrong. I started this fic on a lark, not knowing where it was going, just wanting to try my hand at an e-mail fic. Lo and behold, it goes and develops a plot on me, and then insists on ending on a cliffhanger. Yes, the inevitable has happened, folks. Another one of my one-shots has spawned a series, and the sun just keeps on rising in the east...;)


Clarity

Long before Marvel's Twelve Saga, I'd decided that any of my stories which would deal with Cable defeating Apocalypse and succeeding in his mission would also include a price he would have to pay for victory. I suppose it stems from a deep-rooted belief on my part that dramatic changes in history are never the work of a single person; so if one person manages to bring about dramatic change, there's some sort of cosmic balance that requires something in return. That's what the Clarity series is about; changing the world, and dealing with the aftermath.--Alicia

This is another of my favorites. It is a remarkable series that truly gets to the heart of the man known as Cable. More than that, it also reminds you of the fragility of humanity and the power of love. :) ~ JenMorrioghan

Clarity
(PG)
Cable defeats Apocalypse, but is injured badly in the process and left blind. Written for Kaylee's 'Disability' challenge, it spawned - you guessed it - a series. Something of a sappiness warning on this first story, folks.

Tangible Light
(PG-13)
Nathan realizes that there are some things that don't take eyes to see. The sequel to 'Clarity' and even sappier, if you can believe that. The product of a completely sleepless night; turned out all right, I suppose, but I had work to do that morning, darn it.

Ephemeral
(PG)
Unseen, Maddie contemplates her son and the price he's paid. A great deal more sad than I'd expected it to be; it winds up saying as much or more about Maddie that it does about Nathan. Sneaky little fic, this one...


Sinatra Cycle

I'd initially conceived these as a series of loosely connected scenes, all joined together by Sinatra lyrics--Sinatra being Cable's favorite singer, canonically. Lo and behold, it turned into yet another post-Apocalyptic series (completely uncanonical in reference to the actual Twelve saga), but I think I'll be keeping to the very-short form of the original concept. It should be interesting to see what kind of timeline I can create sticking to that format. I do so love experimenting. ;)--Alicia

This is another of Alicia's series that she hasn't visited in a while. She may need to be reminded of it. :) ~JenMorrioghan

Goodbye
(PG)
When Cable comes to say goodbye to X-Force in CABLE #73, he and Domino share a moment before they go to talk to the team. Oh, like anyone didn't know there was more to that conversation than Liefeld showed on panel... ;)

All My Tomorrows
(PG)
After Cable defeats Apocalypse, he and Domino face an uncertain future--together? Aaah... the mush, the mush. I think I'm dying of saccharine shock here. I get so unbelievably sentimental in my fic at times... ;)


Bleed
(PG-13)
After the battle between Apocalypse and the Twelve, and the loss of Scott, Nathan and Jean confront each other, and their guilt and grief explode in the most dangerous way imaginable...A story that demanded to be written, after I read the final X-MEN issue of the Twelve Saga. One of my favorites of my fics of 2001, simply because of how it poured out onto the page. I wish all my stories would do that.

Caer Sidi
1 in progress...
(PG-13)
As the X-Men relax in New Orleans after their battle with the Slavers in Russia, Jean starts to suspect that there's something very wrong with Nathan... What possessed Cable during the Slaver storyline? Marvel dropped the storyline with unusual speed, even for them, but I had a suspicion. So I started to write about what seemed perfectly obvious to me... ;)

Clear As Midnight
(PG)
The Christmas after losing Scott, Nathan gets a particularly meaningful gift from a very special someone. Written for the CFAN Holiday Project 2000. Very short, very sweet, and very enjoyable to write.
This story is truly beautiful. ~JenMorrioghan

The Dark Age
(PG)
Not long after the beginning of his association with X-Force, Pete Wisdom is summoned to Paris by his 'predecessor' for a talk. This isn't my usual take on Wisdom and Cable, of course; I decided to experiment a little, see if I couldn't look at them through different eyes, in the wake of the Counter-X 'reboot' of X-Force.
This one is simply fantastic. It takes you into the minds and motivations of both men with incredible candor and style. Whether or not you like X-Force's "new" direction, this is a story you must read. ~JenMorrioghan

Mindful Of Each Ghost
(PG-13)
Cable isn't coping well in the wake of Scott's death, and Gambit, as his team leader, finds himself forced to step in. In a way, this story spawned the Reconstruction series. I was very taken aback by the idea of Gambit and Rogue as team leaders, particularly with the idea of Cable taking orders from either of them. So I did this one to try and illustrate Gambit in a leadership role, and then tried the same with Rogue in 'My Own Prison'. I guess the rest is history--but it also means that this one can be read along with the Reconstruction series, as a sort of companion piece.

Not Alone
(PG)
Cable is rescued from Apocalypse's fortress by the Twelve. Just a little vignette, an alternate ending to Cable #75, written because Lynxie needed a happy ending.

Over The Hills And Far Away
(PG-13)
In the aftermath of the battle with Apocalypse, when his own body turns against him, Cable flees the mansion. I can never decide whether or not this fic would have been more effective if I'd just left it after the first half (Nathan's diary entry). I was on a bit of a depressing kick, fic-wise, when I wrote this, but fortunately this got it out of my system. ;)

Paint It Black
(PG-13)
Sometime after the battle at Akkaba, Nate Grey happens across Cable in New York and discovers that his 'big brother' isn't dealing with Scott's 'death' and other recent events very well at all. One of my few real songfics, I guess. Then again, the song is only playing in the background...

Precipice
(PG)
His reason for being completed and his powers out of control, a distraught Nathan finds out that the only way out is to go forward. A coda-piece, of sorts, to the last CABLE issue, where Nathan is left floating in the ocean after a very dramatic suicide attempt. SOLDIER X, at the time I'm writing this, is slated for cancellation as of issue #8. As interesting as I was finding it, I don't truthfully care. I have more than enough fic-ideas to last me, whether or not they kill Nate off or toss him into limbo. ;)

Sagarmatha
(PG-13)
After Scott's death, Nathan takes a break in his wandering to visit a particular place in Nepal... I've always thought Nate needed a hobby. Starting around Christmas 2000, I found myself becoming very interested in mountain climbing, and reading a lot of the literature on it. The psychology of elite climbers is uncannily similar to Cable's, and I found my imagination running away with me....;) As a result, this is probably merely the first of a loose, non-linear series about Cable and his new hobby...I already have several more ideas in the works. ;)
I was fortunate enough to witness the development of this story from early drafts to the almost lyrical end result. This one is not to be missed. ~JenMorrioghan

Shekinah
(PG-13)
Sometime during the six-month gap, Cable returns to Akkaba, and Jean comes looking for him. I needed to write something like this, after 'Bleed', and it turned out lovely, between the imagery and the angel mythology. It all functioned together perfectly.
This is a beautiful examination of Cable's relationship with Jean, his grief over Scott's death, and the nature of healing. A must read! ~JenMorrioghan

Strange Things Done In The Midnight Sun
1 2 3
(PG)
Havok and Cable, running amuck in Greenland... I started this around New Year's 2002 and finished it a year and a half later. By then, Alex had already returned to his home dimension in canon, but there's nothing wrong with a good AU. This fic was intended to be very much a buddy movie in prose; the one-liners alone made it a lot of fun to write. ;)

Talisman
(PG)
After the battle at Akkaba, Cable adds something to his uniform. I was obsessed by the fact that Cable was wearing his father's visor around his neck in his post-Revolution uniform. Nothing like wearing a big sign saying 'I Have Issues!'.
This one takes you to the heart of Cable's grief over the loss of his father. ~JenMorrioghan

Through The Looking Glass
1 2 3 in progress...
(PG)
Cable falls through some rotted floorboards and wakes up in a very strange place...Cable-In-Wonderland by way of the 'Tenth Kingdom' (which was what I was watching when I started this story). I'm slow to write this, mostly because I have yet to develop a facility for spontaneously and quickly generating the neccessary doggerel--::cough:: 'poetry'... ;)

Transfiguration
1 2 3
(PG-13)
Two months after the battle at Akkaba, Psylocke finally has to deal with the Shadow King for once and for all, and Cable becomes a pawn in their struggle. A birthday fic for queenB. Marvel apparently decided never to explain the post-Revolution alterations in Jean and Betsy's powers, so it's been left up to fan fiction writers to devise solutions of their own. This is my attempt, which wound up more than a little metaphysical in nature.

(See also the Pantheon series, on its own page.)


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