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It's a beautiful Spring Day in Paris, France. The old building, the bright plants, it is the perfect day in Paris. Hank sits at a table for two at an outside café. The Eiffel Tower is visible in the distance. People mill about on the street and there are no mimes to be scene. Mixed into the crowd a famous writer, artist, musician, or scientist can be seen. Hank McCoy looking like he did before he turned blue sips a cup of coffee and reading a book about string theory. A book on art sits on the table, along with another book of Shell Silverstein poems. There's an entrance to the subway nearby. Hank seems to be waiting for somebody.
From behind Hank, a girl's voice says, "You know, there was once this French post-impressionist painter, and he was always busy with either his painting or with drinking. Quite the lush, actually. Anyway, one day after a particularly raunchy weekend, he lapsed into an unconscious stupor when he was just a few months shy of 37 years old."
The girl's voice continues. "What he didn't realize was that he actually had died and when he woke up, or rather when his spirit detached from his body, he found himself in his studio with this furious need to paint. So anyway, Death was there and the painter said to Death, "I just need one more day for my spirit to paint." And Death asked "Why should you get an extra day when no one else does?" The painter said, "Because my next piece will be my masterpiece!" And Death responded with, "Well, then you have no time Toulouse."
The girl listens to see if her joke fell flat or not as she walks around to Hank. "Well sometimes I'm funny, anyway. Hi there." she says, extending her hand to shake. She looks maybe 18, gothic look to her but pretty. Heavy eyeliner, black hair, and she wears some sort of ankh on a chain around her neck.
Beast laughs, "Well then he would been immortal. The next invention or the next work is always the Opus in the creator's eyes. There's never enough time and always one more invention." He says putting down the book. He frowns at the girl for a moment. "I take it though the clock has hit zero and the game is over. Nothing left to do but look at the scoreboard?" He smiles, "You're prettier than I have imagined."
Death smiles. "Well at least you got the joke. You know. Because the painter was Toulouse Lautrec. You have no time, Toulouse. You have no time -to lose-. Double play on words. True story - he didnt get the joke though." She sits down next to Hank. "So I guess you figured out who I am. Lots of people don't remember that their bodies are dying when they meet me in Limbo." She looks off in the distance. "Really nice memory you're reliving by the way." She looks back at Hank. "Yeah, as far as living embodiments of a cosmological constant are concerned, I guess I'm not too bad." She peers at the book, then back at Hank again. "So... how do you feel about -this-?"
Beast takes a drink, "Lady, I've met Thanos. I got certain impressions" He raises a hand. "That may have came off wrong I'm sorry." He looks around. "Cup of coffee? This is more of a memory of what I would have liked for it to be." He takes a drink. "Well to be fair, I would challenge you to a game of chess. I'm good but I'm no Bobby Fischer. Kicking and Screaming is no good." He shrugs, "While far from a classic, "Death is the last great adventure I have left to live."
Death rolls her eyes. "No need to apologize. Thanos is a creep. Got to be honest, it's a bit of a relief when two of the universes I'm in merged together. An excuse not to have to have him and his - never mind." She shakes her head a bit. "You're getting a bit ahead of yourself though, kiddo. For one thing, you're not dead, technically speaking yet. More like a coma. You could call this a 'Near Death' experience. I was going to see if you felt you've done all you have wanted to do or not. You know, to tip the scales one way or another, but you're giving some contradictory statements. You're being pretty okay with dying, but at the same time wanting to challenge me to a game."
She leans over and taps his nose. "You're really quite an enigma, you know that? And call me Dee-Dee, please."
Beast grins, "I've been dying, well more actively dying for a bit. I've had time to make peace and then decide to hell with peace. I'm sorry Dee-Dee. I want to live and I want to chase after my opus." He grins, "But I'm an enigma? I will take that as a complement. Thank you."
Death gets up and walks around, "Well that's pretty much the case for everyone. From the second you're born, you're dying." She leans against the table by Hank. "Well that's good about wanting to live. Most people don't realize I'm also the representation of Life. You know - two sides of the same coin. And besides, I can tell with some people that they're meant to do more before they shuffle off this mortal coil. Now all we need to do is for you to have a grand epiphany to wake up from this coma of yours and shove that cute unfurry soul of yours back in your fuzzy body."
She peers at Hank. "Any soul-enlightening thoughts coming to mind?""
Beast grins, "That's one is easy. Talk Sweeter, love deeper, and to give forgiveness that you were denying. Live like your dying and your next breath is your last. Oh and never be afraid..." He reaches over to tweak Death's nose, "Boop. To steal the nose of a living embodiment of a cosmological constant. Specially if she's cute."
Death quirks an eyebrow. "Hon, if it's easy, then it's not an epiphany. Plus fear is a good thing actually. People who have no fear - I think there's something wrong with them. Plus they're not able to be brave then. You can only be brave when you do something -despite- being afraid, not because you have no fear. Lets try an easier question first..." She puts her hand on Hank's shoulder, then they're both in the Xavier's Mansion's infirmary where Beast is hooked up to monitoring machines in a coma. "Any idea why this happened to you?"
Beast looks at the body laying there, his body, "It's a defect in my X-gene. Perhaps it laid dormant or my monkeying my DNA when I worked at the Brand corporation. But I'm going through what they called a secondary mutation. It's rare but becoming more common these days. Emma Frost has one." He says with a smile but being quite clinical about it. "Something isn't quite right about mine. It's too agressive, it's re-writting too much and it's causing well organ failure including my brain." He frowns, " ran the equations and experiments multiple times. I can't found a cure." He shrugs, "Your upset over the nose thing."
Death tilts her head. "Well you did steal my nose." She leans against Hank. "On the other hand you keep calling me cute so I probably should let that slide." She then says, "Good answer, but I sort of meant a more ... metaphysical answer. More like... WHY did this happen to you? Lets face it, aside from the nose stealing, you're a pretty good person. You've helped saved your world a few times.... even had a hand in saving a portion of the universe. Well... your universe anyway. You seem pretty chipper about this though - it's unnatural. You don't find it at all unfair that this is happening to you? Do you blame yourself for this happening to you? The fact that you're slowly dying thing. Not the being a mutant thing."
Beast shrugs, "I had a friend tell me once with Great Power Comes Great Responsibility. It seemed true." He looks at Death, "I am a Renaissance man. I am as much about the arts, music, and lit as much as I love science. There is one constant among it all. All of it. Everything dies. There's a time for all things. Sure, I wonder why your not taking Magneto's cranky wrinkly old ass first. But hey Charles says he cheats at Chess and whines if he doesn't win. So I figured you don't wnat to put up with him or rather my time was up. I can get mad about it, but what good is it going to do? Still the universal constant."
Death shrugs a little. "Peter does get angry about things though." She walks over to the unconscious Beast. She touches his distinctly un-human nose as a kid might touch a dog's nose to see if it's wet or not. "Well, getting mad.... yes, getting mad wouldnt do any good in the big picture. That's true. But getting mad would at least be a human reaction. It wouldn't make you a bad person to be mad at how something bad happened to you because of something you did to yourself. It's like the whole 'fear' thing. You can't truly be brave if you have no fear to overcome. You can't rise above your anger if you don't acknowledge at all that you're angry about it happening in the first place."
Beast shrugs, "I was pissed off months ago. To be honest I am still there. I *didn't** ask for this. I got things to do. I got people to save. Kids to educate. I want to laugh with my friends. There's a cute red head I wouldn't mind getting to know. I was suppose to take Emma Frost to the opera. Hell I wanted a wife and kids. Then there's my parents. I tried to make them so proud and don't get to tell them bye." He frowns, "But you know what the part that just makes me fucking angry? The fact... The fact, I'm dying in that bed like I'm an old man. I didn't go out saving the world if I had to die young. I died like an old man before I was an old man. I still had shit to do and find that damn opus. There's the truth laid bare."
Death walks back over to Hank and smiles. "Well... that's that's a good start. Being honest with yourself. Not lying to yourself that you have thoughts that aren't 'so enlightened.' Finally admitting to yourself what you actually want... and what you don't want... with your life. And I'll tell you this because... frankly... you won't remember this or me when you get up, but you'll still have a vague idea of the lesson learned from the realization you just finally said out loud. There's nothing stopping you from having a wife and kids. You're a mutant - not a eunuch. And you -do- have a lot more to do before you die, so if you remember anything, remember that you want to do some of those things that you're angry about not being able to do."
She puts her hands on Hank's shoulders. "And definitely try to get that cute redhead's number." She then pushes Hank into Beast's body with a suddenness. Then the blackness. Because Beast's eyes are closed and he's lying in the infirmary bed.