POV: Scott
"Say that again."
Standing in front of me, calm as ever, is the Ancient One.
"I said you most likely will not survive."
"And the reason for that is?"
"Let's take this step by step. You worked in IT where you came from, didn't you?"
"Why am I not surprised you know that? Now what does my supposed imminent death have to do with that?"
She doesn't answer. Just calmly takes a sip of her damn tea.
And I swear, I'm not a vindictive guy… but she's officially on the list of people I'd Screw with if I ever got the chance.
"Let's make a comparison. What happens when you put an AMD processor into an Intel motherboard?"
"First, that's rookie stuff. Second, how the hell do you even manage to do that? Third, assuming you somehow succeed, the computer won't work."
"Good. Now replace the motherboard with the body you are currently inhabiting… and the processor with you."
Oh.
Shit.
"In theory, you should not even be alive. And that is precisely why you are here. There is no reason for you to still be alive. And yet, you continue walking."
"Okay… and how do I fix it?"
"You don't."
Yeah. No. That's a lie.
"Can we stop with the games? There has to be a way. Otherwise we wouldn't even be having this conversation."
"You—or rather, Scott Summers—had a destiny already written. He was not meant to die before a certain point. Unfortunately for you… that point is very soon."
This is getting too complicated for me.
"I will simplify it. Scott was not supposed to die before a specific event. However, since your arrival, he technically has."
"And you, technically, should die. As you are interfering with the timeline. Yet you remain alive… inside the body of someone who still has to live."
"You are a paradox. In one moment you are technically 'alive.' In another, 'dead.' That contradiction allows the incompatible soul and body to continue functioning."
"The true reason you still live is that, in the eyes of the timeline, you are—whether you like it or not—Scott Summers of this reality. Until the moment of his destined death arrives, and provided you do not alter anything too significant… your life is guaranteed."
Wait.
What do you mean "not alter anything too significant"?! Has she never heard of the butterfly effect??!? One wrong word and history spirals out of control!
And look at the shit I have already done!
How the hell I was supposed to not alter anything?!!
"You believe you have already changed much? The harsh truth, Mr. Summers, is that you have changed nothing."
How?
"The Scott of this timeline would also have ended things with Miss Grey. He would also have taken a Vacation. He would also have gone to that same hotel. It is almost… amusing."
No.
There's no way the original Scott would have say exactly what I said, the same way I said...
"Let me be clear. You are, whether you wish to accept it or not, Scott Summers. Not Jake, the technician. Scott—the Cyclops."
Bullshit, This is completely Bullshit.
"It is that strange, bugged interaction between identities that sustains you."
"And you understand this how?"
"I do not fully understand it. That is precisely why I am intervening—and preventing the timeline from shifting while we speak."
Fantastic. I'm a cosmic anomaly even she doesn't fully get, and now I am two steps away from dying.
"The original Scott possessed immense potential. For good… and for ill. He was destined to die soon. That fact remains. But I assume you do not wish to share his fate."
Here we go again.
"What do you want in exchange for helping me?"
She smiles gently.
"I require that you fight for this world. As the others do. As Scott would have."
So instead of dying pointlessly… I die heroically?
"In exchange for what? A delayed death?"
Her expression turns serious.
Ancient One: "In exchange for a chance. I have seen potential in you, as I have with many others, but even then, the result is the same. Our world.... dies."
Now that's comforting. As this situation isn't fucked up already.
"You want me to fight cosmic entities?! I'm not suicidal! I'm just a guy! One guy! Who wants a normal life!! Don't sell me you jack shit heroism when the price is my life!"
"Even knowing that, I hoped you would choose differently."
Yeah, Shit.
"Mr. Summers, if you refuse… I will cease stabilizing the timeline. In the best scenario, the Time Variance Authority will retrieve you. In the worst… you will die instantly."
…
"You just made it to the top of my Kill list. Congratulations."
She smiles.
"You are not the first to say that."
"So you really expect a guy who can't throw a proper punch, to fight beings who destroy galaxies, and people who could just erase me from the face of earth with just a word? "
"Yes."
She's crazy. Completely crazy.
"At least you're going to help me not die?"
"Yes… and no."
I hate her.
Deeply.
Very, Very deeply.
"Come, Mr. Summers. We have much to do."
One day.
One day I'll get revenge. And it's gonna be sweet, very sweet.
I swear.