What happens to your life when, in a blink of an eye, another timeline can crash into yours and carry you away with it? How do you live, when every step leads you into another world, farther and farther away from the places you knew and the people you loved? When the living give way to the dead, when the dead give way to emptiness, what sort of existence is left?
Do you give up?
Do you fight back?
Welcome to the Shadowlands archive. There's a growing range of stories here, all exploring the limits of the Shadowlands genre, both plot-wise and emotionally. Series are grouped together; stand-alones are listed in alphabetical order. I've linked the authors' e-mail addresses to the stories, so if you read something you like, be sure to send feedback. Submissions are welcome, but do read the guidelines on the Concept page carefully.
A bit of a misnomer, as a number of these stories do or will tie in to the over-arching plot, and many of them have the potential to become series. Still, this is where you'll find the bulk of the short stories about life in the Shadowlands, including a remarkable variety of characters from the Marvel universe and beyond. These are listed in alphabetical order.
Otherwise known as the 'over-arching plot', the Oasis series is the backbone of the Shadowlands series, a remarkable collaborative project I feel privileged to be involved in. Stories are grouped in chronological order.
20,000 Miles To An Oasis [SHADOWLANDS] (WGSarah)
[PG] Angelo finds himself pushed to the edge of endurance by the strains of surviving
in the shifts.
All Men Are Liars [SHADOWLANDS] (Diamonde)
[PG-13] Stryfe runs into Cable in the shifts, and the two of them become unlikely traveling
companions for a time.
Arid Night [SHADOWLANDS] (Jaya
Mitai)
[PG-13] Serving as witness to the disintegration of the multiverse, Uatu reflects.
Aspect [SHADOWLANDS] (Alicia
McKenzie)
[R] The first Shadowlands story. Years after the battle that tore reality
apart, Cable and Logan encounter each other amid the ruins. Both have lost everything
they ever loved; neither is willing to give up quite yet.
The Chosen Few [SHADOWLANDS] (Lyssie)
[PG-13] Cable discovers that the shifts reach very far indeed when he lands, early on,
in Sunnydale, California, and meets a young woman with whom he shares a last
name and 'issues' with destiny.
Circuit Sight [SHADOWLANDS] (Persephone)
[PG] Finding himself in a strange situation, in stranger company, Scott tries to
put together the pieces of a very personal mystery.
Dust [SHADOWLANDS; DAYSPRING] (DuAnn
Cowart)
[PG-13] At the end of the world, Domino remains as a witness.
Eclipse [SHADOWLANDS] (queenB)
[PG] Daredevil and Elektra cling to the only thing that remains to them -- the chase.
Elsewhere [SHADOWLANDS] (River)
[PG-13] Synch holds onto what family he has left, and discovers that where love survives,
so does hope, even in the shifts.
Finding North [SHADOWLANDS] (Heatherly)
[PG-13] Kate Pryde has to decide whether or not to continue with her current traveling
companion, and making the decision brings with it some painful contemplation.
Four Changes Ago [SHADOWLANDS; MISCELLANEOUS] (DuAnn
Cowart)
[PG-13] Lauren Pennington, formerly Fahrenheit of Stormwatch, tries to survive in the
madness that she calls the 'Changes'.
The Hard Way [1] [2] (in progress...) [SHADOWLANDS] (Sascha)
[PG-13] Everything familiar has become strange, but Monet St. Croix is determined to
keep her promises.
Headaches In The Morning [SHADOWLANDS] (Ana
Lyssie Cotton)
[PG-13] Another unusual group of people make common cause in the shifts...
Highway Summer [SHADOWLANDS] (Paradoqz)
[1] [2]
[3] [4]
[5] [6]
[PG-13] New forms of society spring up among the shifts, drawing inhabitants of vastly
different worlds together and into adventure.
Hop, Skip, Jump [SHADOWLANDS] (Kielle)
[PG-13] For a very fortunate few like Spiral, the shifts are a place of wonder.
I Am Ichabod [SHADOWLANDS] (Paradoqz)
[PG-13] Spike wanders and remembers as time and space break down around him.
Impasse [SHADOWLANDS] (Kaylee)
[R] Lost in the shifts, with nothing left to do except survive, Kai contemplates
old ghosts and new realities.
Jumping Waves [SHADOWLANDS] (Layla
Voll)
[PG-13] Kurt Wagner holds to his faith, and finds wonder in the shifts.
Like Any Other [SHADOWLANDS] (Pandora)
[PG-13] Lara Croft goes about the business of surviving in the shifts.
The Man of the Mountain Sitting With
Himself [SHADOWLANDS] (Dex)
[PG] If you had the power, and the understanding, how would you use it to help those
lost in the shifts? Nate Grey finds his answer--and changes everything.
Mercy Flight [SHADOWLANDS] (Alicia
McKenzie)
[PG-13] Christopher Summers and Lilandra arrive in Earth orbit for a conference with
the Shi'ar scientists studying the shifts from just 'outside', and discover
that the shifts will soon no longer be merely Earth's problem...
Naming The Stars [SHADOWLANDS] (Morrioghan)
[PG-13] Tara discovers that seeking stability is futile when even the stars don't stay
the same from shift to shift.
Ordinary World [SHADOWLANDS] (Cascade)
[PG-13] Dana Hawkes and Roberto DaCosta discover that sometimes, finding what you've
lost isn't the blessing it might appear to be, and what you really need may
be right in front of you.
Parallels [SHADOWLANDS] (Kielle)
[PG] Refugees from different universes intersect, and the question of where to lay
blame for the shifts becomes ambiguous.
Penance [SHADOWLANDS] (Indiana_J)
[R] Jean discovers a Jubilee who has taken on a terrible burden.
Planetary [SHADOWLANDS] (Lise)
[PG] The five original X-men, in the shifts.
Rex Omnia, Rex Nihil [SHADOWLANDS] (Matt
Nute)
[PG-13] Captain Britain lives his own legend in the shift, and meets a fitting end.
The Rising Of The Sun [SHADOWLANDS] (Heatherly)
[PG] A mixed group of travellers celebrate the Solstice amid the shifts.
Shatter'd And Sunder'd [SHADOWLANDS] (Melvin
Bankhead III)
[PG-13] The end of the world, seen first-hand...
Showtime [SHADOWLANDS] (Matt
Nute)
[PG-13] Wandering the shifts, Longshot meets someone else who's lost the woman he loved.
The Silence Gets Us Nowhere [SHADOWLANDS] (Ana
Lyssie Cotton)
[R] Kitty Pryde and Pete Wisdom--an image refracted by the shifts.
Sketches of Life [SHADOWLANDS] (Redhawk)
[PG] One of the Hellions finds out that foreknowledge is a curse when you're lost
in the shifts.
Succession [SHADOWLANDS] (Persephone)
[PG] At a point in the shifts where time itself has begun to break down, one particular
Nathan Dayspring takes part in a vigil designed to maintain his Clan's safety.
Survivor [SHADOWLANDS] (Mel)
[PG-13] Callisto does what she does best...
Unexpected Companions [1] [2] [3] [SHADOWLANDS] (Persephone)
[PG] Cable runs into two very familiar people, only they're nothing like their counterparts
from his world--and in the case of one of them, this is definitely a good thing!
Despite some awkwardness, the three of them decide to travel together, and a
remarkable journey begins...
The Warriors [SHADOWLANDS] (Toby
Kernan)
[PG] Another group of heroes, lost in the shifts, decides that the only thing to
do is to keep going.
We Three Blonds [SHADOWLANDS] (Ana
Lyssie Cotton)
[G] A Shadowlands filk...
Wish You Were Here [SHADOWLANDS; btvs] (Lise and River)
How To Disappear Completely
[R] Tara finds her thoughts wandering into strange places as she waits at the end of the world.
Living In A Glass House
[R] Gathering together, for protection and other reasons, is one way to survive in the shifts, but Anya is having trouble coping.
Ripcord
[R] Riley deals with the changes in the world around him as things start to go wrong.
Anyone Can Play Guitar
[R] Oz discovers that a philosophical perspective on life can be a blessing in disguise in the Shadowlands...
Rattlesnake
[PG-13] Even the shifts can't change someone's fundamental nature, but it's Faith's strength that helps her to survive.
Fake Plastic Trees
[PG-13] A rougher-edged Giles finds out that lack of change can be as terrifying as too much nostalgia.
Worlds Between Us [SHADOWLANDS] (Alicia
McKenzie)
[PG-13] Cast into the shifting zones from a timeline where the battle with Apocalypse
never happened, Scott Summers finds himself the prisoner of a mad stranger who
intends to hold him to account for 'crimes' he never committed.
World's End: Skyline [SHADOWLANDS; X-MEN] (Lise)
Somewhere Over The Rainbows
(PG-13) Blinded by a shift, Remy clings to the last of his family, and his memories.
Under A Blood Red Sky
(PG-13) Betsy tries to give what comfort she can and stay strong for her new family.
Clouds On The Horizon
(PG-13) Longing and desperation leads one man to try and make a connection with one version of the love he's lost -- but his disappointment results in tragedy.
Dancing To The Thunder
(PG-13) Scott Summers discovers the hard way that even if you find those you've lost - or versions of them - togetherness, like everything else, is often illusory, and often transitory.
The Withering Of Butterflies
(PG-13) The shifts change Betsy, and she finds her personal metamorphosis a blow almost too heavy to bear.
Wyld Hunt [SHADOWLANDS] (Paradoqz)
[PG] Hunted across the shifting zones, a familiar figure discovers that pride is
cheap, dreams of dominion are passing things, and that sometimes, there's nothing
left to do but run.
Oasis [SHADOWLANDS] (Alicia
McKenzie)
[R] Amid the chaos of the shifting zones, in a place of sanctuary created by an
unexpected benefactor, a band of heroes from across the multiverse work to reassemble
the Twelve and end the shifts.
Come The Apocalypse [SHADOWLANDS] (Persephone)
[PG-13] A very different Nur begins his journey as the shifts hit his world.
Scheherazade [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [SHADOWLANDS] (Alicia McKenzie)
[R] After Cable is injured in a bar fight, Domino finds herself remembering how
she lost her own world, met him, and came to the Oasis.
In The East [SHADOWLANDS] (Andraste)
[G] A glimpse into Nathan and Domino's wanderings before coming to the Oasis, and
the telling of a particularly apt story. Note: Set 'between the panels' of
Scheherazade.
Viriditas [SHADOWLANDS] (Alicia
McKenzie)
[PG-13] Lorna witnesses an intimate moment and a painful discussion between Nathan and
Domino, and it gives her some uncomfortable food for thought.
Hive Mind [SHADOWLANDS] (Persephone)
[PG] Franklin decides the Oasis needs some pollinators, but things wind up getting
more complex than anyone imagined.
A Walk Through Niflheim [1] [2] (in progress...) [SHADOWLANDS] (Alicia McKenzie)
[R] Out in the shifts, Cable and Domino have a horrific encounter with a Magneto
lost to the shift-madness. When they return to the Oasis, Nathan responds to
a strange summons and goes back out, only to find himself in a bizarre, surreal
shift where the dangers are almost as great as the potential for revelation.
Sinatra Night At The World's End
[SHADOWLANDS] (Alicia McKenzie)
[PG-13] Nathan brings back some interesting 'salvaged goods' from the shifts, and the
people of the Oasis find themselves relaxing, and remembering...
Following A Star [SHADOWLANDS] (Lise)
[PG] Domino and Patrick encounter some vaguely familiar travelers in the shifts,
and share a campfire.
Finding Yourself [SHADOWLANDS] (Mel)
[PG-15] Bobby Drake discovers that self-doubt can be a fatal handicap, even in the safety
of the Oasis.
Evadere [SHADOWLANDS] (Lise)
[PG-13] Kitty Pryde remembers some of her experiences in the shifts before she came
to the Oasis.
You Can Count On Me [SHADOWLANDS] (Alicia
McKenzie)
[PG] When Nathan is overdue in returning to the Oasis, Domino keeps his 'histories'
updated with an account of the first Christmas at the Oasis.
Renere [SHADOWLANDS] (Lise)
[Prologue] [1]
[2] [3]
[4] [5]
[6] [7]
[R] Long before Kitty Pryde wound up at the Oasis, before the shifts began, she
found herself drawn into a quest for the prophecies Irene Adler left behind.
Years later, she discovers that Destiny isn't finished with her yet.
Appellere [SHADOWLANDS] (Lise)
[Prologue] [1]
[2] [3]
[4] [5]
[6] [7]
[R] Kitty encourages Irene to explore her gift, but as the new prophecies take shape,
they bring with them new challenges and painful sacrifices for the people who
are the heart of the Oasis.
Orare [SHADOWLANDS] (Lise)
[PG-13] Not long after Irene's departure, Cable has a curious and unsettling encounter
with a Stryfe in the shifts.
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner? [SHADOWLANDS] (Persephone)
[1] [2]
[3] [4]
(in progress...)
[PG] A very surprising newcomer joins the community at the Oasis, and lends his not-inconsiderable
gifts to the effort to halt the shifts.
Diluere [SHADOWLANDS] (Lise)
Prologue [1]
[2] [3]
[4] [5]
[6] [7]
[Epilogue]
[R] Disaster strikes the Oasis and its people struggle to survive.
Maerere [SHADOWLANDS] (Lise)
[PG-13] Lorna mourns as the Oasis begins to rebuild.
Breezes [SHADOWLANDS] (Lise)
[PG] Franklin begins to have strange visions...
Akashic Gospels [SHADOWLANDS] (Alicia McKenzie)
[1] [2]
(in progress...)
[PG-13] Cable keeps a diary about life at the Oasis, knowing that some stories need
to be told, despite the odds against them surviving to become history. Note:
The 'entries' in Cable's diary are not necessarily in strict chronological
order, and take place at various times along the Oasis timeline.