MARVEL MILLENNIUM PART I

I wrote this 15 years ago as part of a multi-writer fan fiction universe. This prologue was to springboard into an alternate reality dubbed "MARVEL MILLENNIUM". Then life (more precisely 5 years of college ) got in the way. It seems appropriate to anchor this here as I return to publishing my scribbles.

Disclaimer: Robert Kelly and Cable are copyright © Marvel Entertainment and are used without
permission for non-profit, fan-fiction entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.
This original story is copyright ©2001 by Robert Redway. 


THE DREAM'S END
{N.B. The following contains excerpts from X-Men #108 written by Chris Claremont}

Senator Robert Kelly, Presidential candidate, looked at the crowd standing before him. Their faces conveying hope in him and his campaign.
Hope that their faith in him was justified. 
Hope that he would provide the solution to the "MUTANT THREAT" they had so long feared.
Hope that by becoming President, Kelly would ensure their safety.
It was time he fulfilled that trust. 
"My fellow Americans, during this campaign I've talked a lot about fear."
He noticed a reporter furrow her brow.
"Fear of the unknown," he continued, "of the future, of our neighbours, of
ourselves."
"That fear -- and the unreasoning hatred that grows from it -- is our
enemy." He noticed the young lady's interest pique.
Then he noticed Nathan become fidgety. His most loyal bodyguard, a member of the mutant team the X-Men appeared to be in deep thought.
"Nathan?" he questioned.
"A crisis, Senator. I'm needed elsewhere," was Cable's reply.
Kelly had known Cable for a short time, but he knew anything Cable classified as a crisis was unequivocally dire.
"Go then, don't worry about me. I'll be fine," he replied telepathically.
"I'll be quick," Nathan said, as he hurried to the back of the podium.
The Senator took a deep breath and continued his speech.
"That's why I asked you college volunteers to sit down for this talk. You're the reason I'm here, why it's so important to take this stand. We hold this world in trust for our posterity, yet we see around us so many - too
many - instances of one generation passing on the torch of violence to its children." Images of the West Bank massacres flowed unbidden through his mind, then, he thought of Genosha.
"Those days - those ways - must end!"
" A great man once said, ' until the philosophies, which hold one race superior than another, are finally, and permanently, discredited, and abandoned, everywhere is war', let the war end now!" 
He surveyed the gathering for reactions.
" African, Asian, Hispanic, Caucasian, Jew, Catholic, Protestant, Heterosexual, Homosexual, Mutant, Non-mutant."
" So many classifications, so many ways to segregate. One thing remains the same." He paused.
" We are all human."
" My friends, differences will always occur, ranging from the philosophical to the physical. The mark of a truly superior species is overcoming those differences. Whether you dislike their views, or hate their shoes,
acceptance of your neighbours' rights to life is what makes us HUMAN."
" It is with that knowledge that I say to you."
Suddenly Cable rushed forward shouting, "Gun!"
" Race traitor, you lied to us!"
The young man's words pained Kelly more than the four bullets that sped from the gun into his body.
Would this be how he was remembered? Did his words fall on deaf ears? Was this child the face of the future? 

The boy.

"Don't hurt him! Please.He's just a kid! My fault, for not understanding.sooner" He gasped for air.
All these years spent hating mutants, blaming them for Sharon's death. To now be cradled in Nathan's arms.
Cable's eyes watered. "Stop trying to talk, conserve your strength!"
"Where are the medics? We need an ambulance here!"
"Don't give up Nathan. On your dream...or on..humanity." Kelly's consciousness began to fade.
"We're a young species. We make mistakes, but give us a chance to grow.we may.surprise you. yet."
The last thing Kelly heard as he slipped into the light were Cable's murmurs, "No, no, no."

"No!"

The doors opened suddenly, as four Secret Service agents raced in with guns unholstered.
" Mr. President? Are you alright sir?" questioned one of the agents.
The President of the United States, sweat streaming down his face, looked around bewildered.
When he regained his composure he replied, "Yes Bradley, I'm fine. Simply suffering the end of a dream, that's all."
And as the men returned to their posts, each questioning what just happened, President Robert Kelly returned to sleep.