The further adventures of Kurtlasco...

I recently read a preview of Paradise X in an old Wizard and one of the pics sparked my imagination. That, combined with Earth X 10, which revealed Belasco as a brainwashed Kurt, made me wonder how the team would react to him, and he to them. It's AU even for Earth X, since I know very little of that continuity. I'm assuming Earth X is the future of an Earth similar to 616 continuity, so I gave the characters the pasts of their 616 counterparts. If that's not right, someone let me know please. I'll try to scan the pic to post it, but it was of the X-Men gathered at the wedding of Brian Braddock and the ruler of the Inhumans. All the various X-Men are happily talking away, even the Wookie one (who the hell is that?). Over in one corner stands Belasco with his back turned to the team. He's kind of watching them over his shoulder and exchanging glares with the balding Cyclops. The caption says "Kurt Wagner must face the team with the knowledge that as long as he was their ally, he was also their enemy..." Beware: Angst ahead.

"I don't understand why that butcher is here," Katherine Pryde said, turning her back to the shadowy red figure. Her voice was louder than necessary, meant to carry, as she spoke to Lorna Dane. "I don't care what they say, that monster is not Kurt. Kurt is dead."

"More dead than you know, my little wayward kitten," the ruddy man said. "Do you miss Limbo? Perhaps we could return there now. We could find one of the Kurt's who sold his soul to play with ... or perhaps an Illyana?"

Katherine whirled. "How dare you," she breathed, her face contorted with rage and grief. "Damn you, Belasco!"

Lorna reached for her old friend. "Kitty, please..."

"I already am damned, my dear, along with your friends," his smile was an oil slick, showing pointed teeth.

Her fist balled, preparing to hit the smug demon with all her might. His grin broadened, his head tipping back to expose his jaw to her. "Go ahead."

Kitty calmed herself, casting a quick glance at Scott Summers disapproving glare. She had no idea why he thought this creature should be here, but she would do her best to avoid the demon for the rest of the reception.

"I'll not give you the satisfaction," she said, uncurling her fists. She took Lorna's arm and walked away.

Belasco watched her exit, the glimmer of an unfamiliar emotion boiling in his chest. Regret. Shoving the unwelcome feeling aside, the ruler of Limbo studied the assembled X-Men.

Kitty and the green-haired Lorna had joined the two Wolverines and Peter Rasputin. Behind him, Ororo Monroe spoke to Sean Cassidy. The vampiric windrider laughed, a musical sound he had not heard in millennia. Across the room, he watched Kitty watch him, whispering in Lorna's ear. Cyclops still stared at him, along with his brother, Alex Summers. He curled a lip in their direction.

He knew full well that Scott was the man who had insisted he attend this gathering. He probably hoped the presence of the X-Men would stir feelings in him that didn't exist. The thought that he shared anything with the pathetic imp Wagner was enough to curdle his stomach.

Then why do you know 'Ro's laugh? The unwarrented thought came from nowhere. No. Her name is Ororo, not 'Ro.

Gathering his cape with his one hand, he transported himself to the balcony. The cold salt air bit into his face as he stared at the water. Britain had always been just another place to him, then why did he know the smell in the air meant rain?

Hearing the footstep behind him he smirked into the twilight. "What did you hope to prove with this, Summers?"

"I hoped to find some indication that it was true, or not," he said, leaning against the balcony rail. He positioned himself a bit too close to the demon lord, who took a step back, a scowl on his face.

"I hope you have sated your curiosity. Despite the ravings of the Mar-Vell child, I am as I ever was. Your imp died long ago, many, many times."

"Yes," he said, his mouth a thin line. "I believe he did."

"What do you cling to, Summers?" Belasco skewered him with a flat crimson eye. "The world is in chaos, Xavier is cold in his grave, yet you still look for a teammate lost years ago."

"We X-Men are family. No matter what. The Dream did not die with Charles, and neither did our family."

"Ah, I tire of this prattle of our loving family. I have no desire for family-" Belasco's eyes widened as he realized what he said.

The patriarch of the X-Men smiled enigmatically. "I will leave you alone now, since that is what you claim to want."

Belasco stared at Scott Summers back, resisting the urge to follow him back inside. He closed his eyes, jerking at the unwanted flash of memory as he stood by Scott's side over the grave of Jean Grey. No. I was not there.

Yes you were...

"Belasco." The deep voice gonged inside his head. Opening his eyes, he blinked away moisture. A giant filled the doorway. No. Not him.

"Yes, tin man, what do you want?" He turned his back to the man to hide his untrustworthy face and wet eyes, knowing his magicks would protect him from an attack.

"We have business, you and I."

Belasco noted Peter Rasputin's accent was almost gone. His own had disappeared eons ago. He shook his head to clear it.

"Do we? Will you tell me of family like Summers? I suppose we practically are kin ... considering my relationship with your sister." He heard the huge man's growl.

"I have been told that you are Kurt. If you are, I pity you. And I wonder if there is any justice left in this mad world."

Belasco felt his breath hitch. "I assure you, I am not that weakling."

"Good. Someday I will kill you for what you did to my little snowflake." Peter turned to go, not noticing Belasco's look and reaching hand.

"Peter, I..." he trailed off, fighting the tears welling in his eyes. I never wanted to hurt Illyana. "I..."

Peter looked back over his shoulder at the smaller man. For an instant, that voice had sounded so familiar. "Yes?"

Straightening, the man composed his features into his usual cruel smirk. "I will make room for you to join me in hell."

The Russian shook his head, disgust coloring his amiable features as he reentered the party.

"I saw that, you know," the voice came from the wall beside the door as Katherine phased onto the balcony. "I'm on to you."

Belasco jumped. "Not you again. What is this endless parade of X-Men!" The demon lord was visibly shaken now. Head lowered, he supported himself against the balcony railing, his arm trembling.

Kitty airwalked to him. "I saw it all. You watch them as if they could hang the moon and stars. Scott almost got you, but you were never that close to Scott. You were close to Peter though. What will you do with me here? What would you do if Amanda was here?"

He looked at Kitty for the first time, cold eyes almost hopeful. "The hedge witch?" His voice cracked, attempting to sound nonchalant. "...Does she still live?"

"No. She died in the war. I'm sorry-"

"Why should you be sorry, she was nothing to me!" He sank to his knees, his cape puddling like blood in the floor.

"I know that's not true." She kneeled in front of him. In the dying light, she could imagine his dark red skin as blue. He looked up at her, his eyes on hers. She studied his familiar high cheekbones and thin features. She sucked in a breath. It was true.

"Leave me alone," he growled, shaking his head violently. "I don't want this." His dark hair, usually slicked back against his skull, fell across his forehead to obscure his short horns. The ends curled in the damp air.

"My God, It's true," she whispered. "I can see him in your face."

"No. No, no you can't," his eerie red eyes were wide now, fear burning in them.

She felt tears fill her eyes. "Kurt, you're alive. Don't you want to remember?"

"No, I'm Belasco, ruler of Limbo. I am not a mutant. I am not him. I don't want to remember him!"

Shallowing her fear, she took his all-to-human hand. It was cold. "Kurt, it's not too late. You can have your life back. Please. I can't stand to lose any more friends, any more family."

He stared at his hand in hers, then at her face. Tired of the fight, the demon lord's eyes slid shut, tears spilling down his cheeks.

Kitty stared at his trembling face. He was her brother, in all but blood, and time had not erased her memory of him. It was all so obvious now. Why didn't we save him from this?

He felt himself fly through the air of the circus hightop, thrilling at the power and skill in his limbs as the crowd watched.

He was trapped by a crowd of angry humans, too scared to fight the stake that was set against his chest. A bald man in a wheelchair, weak in body but powerful in spirit, gave his life new meaning.

He saw Kitty's face as it looked years ago. She was young, and so afraid of him no matter what kindness he extended to her. The rejection had stabbed him like a knife.

In the woods outside the mansion, he stalked his best friend Logan with shared beer and laughter as the reward. The Phoenix burned for the last time against the black sky of the moon, and was reborn in the eyes of a young redhead under his command.

Amanda's green eyes looked into his with love.

Stripped of his powers, trapped by a crowd of angry mutants and wounded unto death, he was too weak to fight the man with fiery eyes when he offered him life for service. Mephisto took him, remaking him in his image.

He had forsaken all he stood for, literally selling his soul to the devil.

He felt himself rip inside and opened his eyes.

"Kaetzchen?" The voice was soft, with all of Belasco's malice drained away.

Tears burst from Kitty's eyes. She threw her arms around him, squeezing him hard. "Oh, Kurt, I knew you were in there!"

He was stiff for a moment, she felt his breath rasping in his chest. After the hesitation, he wrapped his arm around her. "My God, Kitty, I'm so sorry. I've done so many horrible things..." He began to sob, his face buried in her hair.

Kitty almost heard him breaking, his soul cracking into pieces. Trying to comfort him, she stroked his hair, rocking them back and forth on the balcony. "It's okay. We can deal with that later. What matters is that you're alive. You've come back to us."

Night had fallen and Kitty looked up at the new moon. She held him there for a timeless stretch. No one came outside to search for her and she treasured the time alone with him. She was happy he was alive, but appalled at what he had become.

His tears ended and as he looked into her face, her last doubt dissolved into dust. His red eyes were no longer cold and distant, his mouth not set in a cruel sneer. This was Kurt now, trapped in Belasco's body. But what help could they give him? She raised her hand to his cheek, wiping away the tears. "You're really back."

He caught her hand. "I want to die, Kaetzchen. There can be no forgiveness for what I've done. I'm damned."

Kitty felt her throat tighten. "Please don't say that. Promise me you won't try to hurt yourself."

He continued, his eyes fixed on the sky. "I know no one can die, but ... Belasco knows ... I know how to will myself to not exist."

Her blood chilled. "No, Kurt. We'll find a way to help you."

"I've no place among you anymore. I am your enemy. I've been your enemy for so long now. I hurt you. I hurt 'Yana!" Fresh tears spilled from his eyes.

"I wasn't you. You were changed against your will."

"No. I accepted Mephisto's offer. I sold myself. I did those things... I did them... My God." His voice cracked.

"Mephisto tricked you."

"It doesn't matter." He looked at her, his accent strengthening as he spoke. "I'm not Kurt Wagner, but I'm not Belasco anymore. Who am I, Kaetzchen? What am I?"

"You are Kurt now, no matter what happened."

He shook his head in denial, his eyes wandering to the sky again, his lips moved in what she took to be a spell. Panicked, she grabbed his head, forcing him to look at her. "Stop it!" Short horns dug into her fingers.

His eyes broke her heart. "Please, Kitty, let me pay for my sins," he whispered, his lips curling into a sad smile. "At least I learned the truth. At least ... I saw you all one last time."

"No..." This time her voice was weak as she watched his lips move again. The chanted words tingled in her hands where she held him.

He shuddered, his breath catching as he forced out the final words of the spell. His eyes locked with hers. "I'm so sorry, mein Kaetzchen. I loved you all so much..."

Kitty watched him take his last breath, and watched the light disappear from his eyes. "I love you too, fuzzy elf," she whispered, his head lolling against her shoulder. She held him for a moment, beyond tears, their two souls reunited.

"Peter!" she cried, holding him to her chest. Her childhood love was on the balcony in a flash of glinting steel, closely followed by Scott.

"What's wrong, Katerina..." He stopped cold at the sight of Kitty holding Belasco's limp body. "What is the meaning of this?"

Kitty laid him on the marble floor with reverence, placing his hand on his chest. "He 'died' as himself. He willed himself to oblivion, to atone for his sins."

"Kurt..." Peter stared at the man on the floor. His brow furrowed, he gazed into the still face of the man who kidnapped his sister. A man he had sworn to kill. His best friend and brother.

Scott frowned. "What happened?"

"He remembered who he was. Kurt came back to us, and then he killed himself," Kitty's voice was flat and numb. "He said he had no place with us because of the things he had done as Belasco."

The silence on the balcony was broken only by the clang of Peter's knees as he dropped to the floor beside his friend. He sat back on his heels, gently holding the small hand in his own.

Kitty was the first to notice the faint glow around the body. It spread across the exposed skin of his face, then the rich red clothes, increasing in intensity as it licked along.

"What is this sorcery?" Peter asked as he stood, backing away as the light blinded them all.

"Rise, my son," the voice was female, old and filled with power.

He looked up into the light, his eyes smarting. A soft mist filled the air, white and gray light seemed to come from everywhere, even below him. "Who..."

"You do not know me?" A figure emerged from the light, descending a path that curled up into the mist. "You do not know your own mother?"

"M... Margali?" He rose to shaky knees. "But this shouldn't be, I should not be here."

"We have been enemies too long, son," She smiled down at him, her luminous eyes full of love. "So many times, I wanted to save you from fate. I lacked the power, until now."

"You cannot do this. I can't stand knowing what I was. What I still am."

"You are as you were. I could not abandon you when I had the ability to make things otherwise, my other child would not let me."

Another figure emerged behind Margali. Young and slim, she stopped just in front of him, holding her hands out. Green eyes glinted in the soft light.

He felt the tears run down his face. "'Manda."

"Greet me properly, Kurt. Don't you love me as I do you? I've come a long way for you."

He turned away from her light. "Of course I love you. But I can't.... You mustn't see me this way. How can you love this monster I've become?"

"I see no monster. I see the man I love, and his pain is tearing me apart. Take my hands, Kurt."

Against his will but dying to touch her, he reached out. Two dark-skinned arms with three-fingered hands gripped hers. She pulled him to his feet. He swayed for a moment, feeling his tail lash to restore his balance.

"Mein Gott, how is this possible?" Yellow eyes searched Amanda's face as she stroked his fuzzy cheek, a joyful smile on her lips. "Am I dead?"

Margali answered. "You know there is no death now. You are as you were. We have restored the form your God gave you. The restoration of your soul is between you and that God."

"But how ..."

"You are strong in spirit, you always find a way, my love," Amanda said. "Earth needs its heroes, more so now than ever before. Who better to defy the fate of this world than one who has already beaten it once."

"Why? Why can I not stay here with you?"

"In time, I will see you again in this place. Until then, I will walk beside you on the Winding Way." His world filled with light as her lips touched his. "Now, your other family needs you, and you need them."

Fin?

I wrote an ending to the story, but it seemed to go better without it. If anybody wants this turkey, feel free to continue it. I just couldn't stand to think of Kurt as Belasco, but I didn't want to just restore him without scars from his experience as a villian. I figured his sorcerous family would be his best hope for a second chance. I have no idea if magic still works in Earth X since I have yet to see Doc Strange or any other magicians other than the demonic ones like Belasco and Mephisto. I'm not sure Kitty is around either, but I wanted her in the story.

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