Template:Featured Articles/47-2024

Moment of Awesome - Monica Rambeau/Spectrum: Following the mission in Troy, Monica seeks out Scott Summers with a difficult decision. Nica stood in front of the door to Scott's suite, trembling slightly. Not from fear, but from the tumult of emotions that had finally led her here and to a decision she thought she'd never make and which every part of her wanted to deny. One hand curled into a first by her side, the other raised to knock, she paused a moment more before setting her teeth and forcing herself to move. The ensuing knock was overly loud, driven by sudden movement and an inability to control anything right now. There was something relaxing about the stars, about watching those little pinpricks of light wheeling across the velvet background of the heavens, it was how he liked to relax at night, dimming the lights in his apartment and just watch the sky, a warm drink in his hand and a tablet resting in his lap. It was a moment of peace, of silence to recuperate. It had been a rough few weeks, or longer, a bad few months, it was hard to remember. Dark eyes closed for a moment, head leaning back against the back of the sofa as an abrupt knocking interrupted his meditation. "Come on in, it's open." Nica opened the door, pausing for a moment at the dimmed lights. "Oh, this can wait, if you're busy," she said lamely, hoping that he'd say otherwise because she didn't know if she could get the courage up to do this again. "Just star-gazing," Scott's eyes glanced over to the door for a moment, gesturing for Nica to come in before he turned back to the window. "When I was younger I thought about flying up there, into the depths of space, applying to be an astronaut before well everything. I still like to remember that kid sometimes." His voice trailed off as dark eyes shifted back to the girl for a moment, brow furrowing in concern. "Pull up a couch, what's wrong?" Nica shook her head at the offer of a seat. "I... I came here because..." She gulped and tried again. "I k-killed someone. I didn't mean to, but I did. X-Men don't kill. So I came to give you these." She thrust out the hand that had been curled in a fist, opening her hand to reveal her X-Men tags. "Please. Take them. I'm sorry." There were a host of reason's Scott had thought Nica might have stopped by to visit but this certainly wasn't one of them, for a moment he thought that she was joking, but the distraught look on her face killed any quip that might have come to life on his lips. Slowly the man leaned forward, hands coming together to lay his drink and tablet on a table as he gestured her in. "What happened?" She came in, but only because she didn't want to do this in the hall. It was hard enough, without witnesses. "The m-mission in A-alabama. The Marauders came. Prism, he... I was only trying to stop him! Nothing was working, so I... i thought I could drain enough of his bio-electricity to make him pass out. But he... he..." The words stuck in her throat and she tried again. "He exploded. I killed him." "And you think you need to quit the team because of that?" There was no judgement in Scott's voice, not even a hint of curiosity...just compassion. "You weren't trying to kill him you know, you weren't even trying to hurt him, just stop him from hurting other people." "X-Men don't kill." She said it like a mantra. "It doesn't matter what I was trying to do, I took a life." "X-men don't kill?" Scott's voice didn't rise, didn't change as he tilted his head to the side to watch her carefully, his fingers tapping his leg for a moment before stilling. "I see..." Scott's voice didn't change as he stood, nodding towards the door, "Meet me in the lobby in 10 minutes, if you still want to hand those in when we're done I won't stop you."