All of these characters belong to Marvel and are borrowed without permission with no profit made.

August 1998

Vision Comics presents:

    The land of dreams.  A world between two worlds.  Where the real and the unreal meet.  It is here that he used to rule supreme.  His name is Nightmare.  A demon of the worst kind, for souls is what he hunts.  But tonight, something different is happening.

"You can't do this!  This is my domain!" the demon shouted at the giant looking down at him.

He lay on the floor, his body battered senselessly.  But physical damage meant nothing to Nightmare.  He was being taken from his throne.

"I can and have already done so, lesser demon." the voice of the giant boomed in Nightmare's throne room.

Shadow like beings appeared all around Nightmare, and he knew his time was over.  He was being removed.

"NO!" he shouted, his powers flashing around him.

A flash blinded everyone in the room, and a few seconds later the shadow creatures were gone.  But so was Nightmare.

"Interesting trick.  Well then, run, Nightmare.  Next time you show up here, I will deal with you permanently." the giant called out.

Laughter erupted from everywhere in the throne room.

***

Nightmare sat in the middle of nowhere.  Banished from his world.  Alone.  He roamed silently, already planning his revenge.

"I need help.  I know I can't face him on my own." the demon admitted to himself.

He started roaming the dreamscape, looking for the necessary help.  Images of various heroes appeared, and of many groups of them, but all were too old, to experienced...  Until he found them.  He smiled.

"Perfect."

***

Jubilee didn't know where she was.  Some kind of forest, somewhere.  It was weird, but somehow familiar.  She wandered silently around, looking for something she'd recognize.  Not with much luck.  For some reason a strange creepiness was getting over her, and she started running.

"Hello?  Is anyone here?" she shouted while running.

A strange yet familiar growl answered her.  She stopped dead in her tracks, and turned slowly around at the sound.  She didn't like it.  What could be making that noise?  She slowly approached a tree from which the noise seemed to be coming from.  As she neared it the growling intensified, and at the same time so did her fear.  But unexplainably, she continued her advance.

"Hello?  Is there someone up there?" she called once again at the darkened and silent tree.

A louder growl and a flash of yellow and blue was her answer.  Whatever was up there jumped from the tree to land behind her.  She quickly turned around, extending her arms to let out her powers.  Flashes of energy came out of her hands, strengthened by her fear, and struck something, sending the creature flying into another tree nearby.

"Leave me alone!  Who are you?" she called out defiantly.  She would not let her fear get the best of her.  She had seen much worse with the X-men.

And then she froze at the thought of her friends in the mutant group.  As she thought of Wolverine.  As she recognized the deadly growl that erupted in the silent night.

"Wolvie?" she called out.

The creature approached silently from the shadows.  It was small, but fearsome.  Its face was vaguely human, with eyes that seemed to have lost all pretense of humanity.  And on its forehand two sets of three shiny claws erupted with a noise she had heard so many times.

SNIKT!

The young mutant girl took a step back, taken totally by surprise by the look the creature gave her.

"Wolvie, it's me, Jubes..." she tried, extending an arm of friendship.

The feral monster launched itself forward, claws ready to tear asunder.  Jubilee released an energy blast, but it had close to no effect on the monster, who kept it's advance.  Jubilee tried to run, tears rapidly filling her eyes.  She knew, deep down, that she had no chance.  None whatsoever.  And she screamed in fear and pain as the three claws tore through her back.

***

Paige was in shock at the revelation she had just heard.

"What do you mean, mah powers are gone?" she said, unbelieving, her emotions showing by letting her accent through.

Sean straightened himself to repeat the announcement.

"They're just gone, lassie, the X-factor in you has completely disappeared.  We no longer need you here." he stated again as he had barely a minute ago.

Paige fell to her knees, tears threatening to erupt from her eyes.

"It can't be...It's impossible..." she started blurting out, completely in shock.

She touched her cheek then pinched it, pulling harder and harder, trying to rip her skin off and to change into something... anything.

"No..", she said again.

"And because of that, me lass, ye understand that we can't keep ye here, it's too dangerous for a normal human 'round these parts.  That's why we're sending you home, Paige, to your family..." Sean continued, seemingly uncaring of how this was affecting her.

But at that comment, about sending her home, Paige looked fiercely up.

"No, you can't send me back, I'm a mutant!  I have a power.  It took me so long to find it, I'm not giving up on it now!" she said, determined.

"Ye're mistaken, lass, 'tis your power that gave up on you..." the man known as Banshee continued, opening the door to his office to let her out.

Paige slowly rose from the floor; suddenly realizing her fate was inescapable.

"So, what will ah do now?" she wondered out loud, afraid to hear the answer.

"'Tis simple, lass, we're sending ye back to the farm...  Your home." Banshee said, looking her in the eyes.

Paige's already watery eyes widened, and she looked down.

"No, yah can't send me back, ah worked too hard on this...  Ah won't go back!"

 "Ye don't have a choice, your family is waiting for ye back home, lass." Banshee assured her, rising her from the floor and directing her towards the door.

He opened it and there waited a yellow cab; with her stuff already all packed and ready to go.

"No...", she repeated again, unbelieving.

Sean led her to the cab and put her things in it, then indicated to her that she had to get inside.  Reluctantly, Paige stepped in the cab.

***

Elizabeth felt something was wrong.  She was sitting in her living room and everyone was looking at her strange, even her teammates in Gen.X.

"Guys, what's wrong?", she asked them.

Jubilee stared at her and smiled weirdly, before saying : "Nothing, 'liz, absolutely nothing."

Elizabeth looked at them all, and they kept talking together, completely ignoring her except for small looks in her direction.  She stood from where she was sitting to face all of them.

"LISTEN all of YOU!  I want to know what's going on here!  NOW!", she yelled at them, letting her anger run free.

They all looked at her, and Jubilee stood up.

"I'm really sorry for what I'm about to do.", she simply said.

Elizabeth took a step back, and all the others began to laugh.  Then Jubilee snapped her fingers, and a door opened beside Elizabeth.  And through the opened door stepped a man.  A man she recognized from the TV.

"Graydon Creed?", she gasped out.

Following him were dozens of soldiers, all pointing their weapons on her.  Elizabeth turned to the others, who all looked away.

"You betrayed me?", she asked, staring at them in shock.

"There she is!", Graydon shouted.

A few seconds later, it was all over.  But nothing could remove the look of shock and sadness from her eyes.

***

Jonothon Starmore didn't feel really well.  The world seemed to be spinning around him as he struggled to walk back to the school so very near.  He really had no idea as to what was happening.  He couldn't remember much of anything right now.  His mind was nothing but pain.  His body pretty much felt the same way.  Energy was beginning to pierce through his skin a bit everywhere on his body, and he was scared of it.  He didn't know if he could hold it all together anymore.

"HELP ME!!", he screamed out, trying to pierce through the silence around him.

His telepathic voice didn't reach far.  He was too weak even to scream.  He slipped and fell to the ground, where he remained, unmoving.  He could feel the force within him building and building.  Stronger than ever.  And suddenly with certainty he knew he wouldn't be able to hold them back.

"NO!", he tried to scream again.

To his surprise a small energy burst occurred on his shoulder, and his arm suddenly didn't have any feeling.  He was losing it.

"SOMEONE HELP ME!!", he yelled, panicked, while weakly limping to the school.

A few seconds later, a burst of light and energy occurred on the way to the school, and then complete silence.  The silence of death.

***

Everett Thomas couldn't move.  Or at least he felt he couldn't move.  When he tried to lift his hand, or finger, or even move his eyes, he failed to do so.  And yet, through his unmoving eyes, he could see the scenery around him move as he walked.  This wasn't good.  He had felt this way once before, when he was controlled by Emplate, but not like this.  Here, now, he had no control whatsoever.  He was only allowed to think.  And to see.  Which was the worst.  The dead bodies of his friends from Gen. X all remained on the floor, unmoving.  He walked coldly among them, heading for the place they died protecting.  His home.  His family.  He crashed through the door using M's fading strength.

"I'M HOME!", he heard himself say in a dark voice.

His father came out with a shotgun.

"Please, don't force me to do this!", the old man said.

^Please, dad, leave!^, he ordered his mouth to shout, hoping for a miracle.

Nothing came out.  His father fired.  M's invulnerability took care of it.  Everett continued forward and snapped his father's neck.

^NO!^

Everett's body entered the room his father was protecting.  Everett tried to close his eyes, to do something, anything, to no avail.  His mother was protecting his small-adopted family in a corner of the room.

"Everett, please, listen to me.  You have to take control, you have to fight this...", she started calling out to him.

^I'M TRYING^, he screamed as loud as he can.

"I don't want to, mom", his body said.

His hand tightened around his mother's throat.  This he didn't want to see.  He'd rather die then see this.  Everett's mind shut down.  But the body did the deed anyway.

***

Angelo Espinosa ran through the streets of Los Angeles.  He knew who was after him.  Them.  Her gang.  Torres.  He didn't look back.  He knew no one was there to help him, so it didn't matter who was there.  He had to run.  His friends were all gone, and as it always had been the case in the past, it all came down to him.  He turned the corner of an alley.  He had no idea how they had finally caught up with him.  Everything had been going so well.  He had found a new life.  A shot was heard behind him, and he ducked into a small street to avoid another shot.  He heard the bullet whistle through the air behind him.

, he thought, running faster that he had ever run before.

The bastards had most probably killed the rest of Gen.X.  He wouldn't let Torres have it.  It was too dangerous for it to fall under her hands.  The street he was following opened up on an large area between buildings.  With no other exits.

"What the hell does this mean?  It wasn't this way before!", he swore.

"End of the line, amigo.", he heard a female voice say behind him.

He turned to see Torres and her men.

"Well, chica, it's been a while."

"Where is it, Angelo?  Where did you hide it?", she asked with a loud voice.

"I'm never telling, chica.  Never.", he answered in a stern voice.

He didn't receive an answer to that one.  Only heard the gunshot.  And felt the pain.

***

Nightmare was pleased.  Things were going well.  Very well.  He was almost done.  He entered the next room.  To find a sleeping man in his forties.

"Hmm, this guy's pretty old.  Too much for my plans.  I don't need him."

He flew over Sean as if he wasn't there, to find the White Queen's room.

"Ah, Emma.  I'm afraid I can't use you here.  You'd be able to see through my illusions too easily.  But not to worry, I have other plans for you later on, my dear.", the night demon said, disappearing from the room as Emma began to stir at the psychic presence.

He arrived in a simple room, decorated by various Hawaiian artifacts.  Mondo slept here calmly.  Nightmare stared at him for a few seconds.

"What manner of creature are you?  I don't need you!", he said in disgust, before leaving.

Other young minds were calling him.

***

Young Franklin Richards was not sleeping easily in the small treehouse constructed in the school's Biosphere.  Nightmares invaded his mind, but not of him.  Others were in his nightmares.  And for him they made no sense.  So he just willed himself awake.  He sat in his sleeping bag, and his eyes slowly adjusted to his surroundings.  And the small boy gasped.  He wasn't in the TreeHouse anymore.

"Hello, young children.  I knew I shouldn't have tried my tricks on you.", a voice boomed in front of him.

Franklin noticed Leech and Artie also waking up beside him.  Artie's power showed an image of a terrified Artie hiding, while Leech crawled a few steps back.  Franklin had seen worse.  He stood up before the Dream Lord.

"I'm not scared of you.  I saw much worse with mom and dad!", the young Richards shouted.

Nightmare looked down at him and laughed.

"I have no need of you, kids, and thus will send you back to your sleep.", the demon said, waving his hand, dismissing them.

Franklin took a step forward.  Behind Nightmare, he could see images of his newly found friends fighting for their lives and dying.  Each of them alone.

"What are you doing to them?", the brave boy asked.

Nightmare looked backwards at the images, and then back at Franklin again.

"I'm showing them the hardships of life!", Nightmare declared.

"No!", Franklin called out, awakening at the same time in the darkened Treehouse.

He looked around, as Artie and Leech both woke up beside him.  He had to do something, but what?

Franklin closed his eyes, trying to think.

***

Jubilee fell to the ground, feeling herself die.  She knew she was dying.  She could feel the pain where Wolvie's claws had ripped through her.  And as she lay there, her blood spilling all over, she closed her eyes.  She was tired.  Wolvie would be sad when he would realize what he had done.  She had tried to help.  Help...  She needed help.  But she was alone.  Without the X-men.  Without her parents.  Alone.  Tired...

*Open your eyes, Jubes!  Please!*, said a child's voice.

Jubilee knew the voice, but didn't care.  She was alone and dying.  She could already see the light.

*You're not alone, you have friends!*, persisted the voice.

"Friends... are... gone", she managed to say.

*No!  They need your help too, Jubes.  Please, help them!  This is not real, Jubes*, the voice said.

Not real?  Was it really not real?

Jubilee opened her eyes.  Franklin was watching her, surrounded by some weird yellow light.  Psychic projection, she decided.

"How?", she struggled to ask.

*Help your friend, Jubes.  You're not really hurt.  It's not real.  You need your friends!*, Franklin insisted.

In her mind, images of Everett, of Jono, of Elizabeth, of Paige, of Angelo...  All of them in trouble.

"They need me.", Jubilee said, trying to rise despite the pain in her back.

Franklin nodded.

*Go help them!*

***

Paige was sitting in the cab, watching the scenery pass by.  She was going away.  Back home.  She looked back at the road to the school.  It was so far away now.  She wondered what Sam would say at this.  He was lucky.  He was still back there, fighting with the X-men...  The cab suddenly stopped and she nearly smashed her head into the seat.

"What the...", she began, looking at the front of the cab.

Jubilee was standing in front of the cab, with a glowing Franklin beside her.  Paige got out of the cab.

"Jubilee, what are you doing here?  With Franklin no less.", she asked her.

"Paige, it's not true!  You don't have to leave!  You still have your powers!  It's only a... a... a dream!", Jubilee shouted.

"It is?", Paige said, dumbstruck.

*Yeah, it is, Paige, the others need your help.  Your friends need you.*, the young boy said.

Paige nodded, but still seemed uncertain.

"But my powers?", she asked still.

Jubilee only nodded.  Paige took a bit of her skin and started ripping it.

***

Elizabeth was laying down on the floor, her body broken and battered.  She felt dead.  Maybe she was.  Why would she go on living anyway, she was alone too.  All her friends, old and new, had betrayed her.  Even those she loved.  All of them.  She was laying there, a look of shock on her face as she stared at the ceiling, unable to move a finger.  Abandoned to her death.  Betrayed by everyone.

*That wasn't real.*, said a child's voice.

She didn't move, she didn't speak.

"Elizabeth?", came Jubilee's voice.

Not a movement.  Jubilee's face appeared in her vision.

"Are you all right, 'liz?"

Elizabeth blinked.  Paige walked in beside Jubilee.

"Elizabeth, whatever happened to you, it wasn't true.", the blond girl said.

"You betrayed me.", Elizabeth whispered.

"No we didn't!", Jubilee said, kneeling down beside the fallen teenager.  "If you believe that it's not true, that we didn't do anything, that nothing happened, then everything will disappear and be normal again."

*You have to believe us!  Please?*, Franklin asked.

With great effort, Elizabeth nodded.

"I believe you."

***

Jonothon felt strange, light-headed.  Somehow he was aware of everything around him.  Every source of heat, source of light, everything.  And he felt light.  With no weight at all.  His eyes and hears and nose were quickly overwhelmed.  He had never felt like this...  Except when his powers first appeared. What was happening?  Where were the others to help him out?

*They are here, Jono!*, came Franklin's voice.

Jono looked around himself, and saw them... or their heat signatures and various energy emissions.

"Guys?  Were where you when this was happening to me?", he asked them, showing them his new body.

He was now made wholly of energy, his body sparkling and shining in the dark.

"Jono?", Paige asked, stupefied.

She stepped closer, trying to touch him.  He stepped back a few steps.

"Don't Paige, I don't know what I could do...", he said, looking away.

"But it's not true, Jono!  This is not happening to you!", Jubilee said, stepping beside Paige.

Jono looked at them again.  They seemed all right.

"I...  I wish it was false.", he told them.

*It is!*, Franklin shouted, trying to get through.

And somehow, deep within himself, Jono could feel it.  He could feel that this was not the truth.  That it was some kind of dream.  And with that, he knew.

***

Everett sat in the kitchen of his family home.  His eyes were empty.  His mind, dead.  His body, controlled by some exterior force, had done the most horrible thing in his life.  And was now letting him live through it.  But he was smarter.  He had enclosed his mind where it wouldn't see or hear the outside.  Someplace safe, and alone.

*Ev?  Earth to Ev!*

A child?  In his safe haven?  Franklin no less?

"Ev?  It's me, Jubilee!  Are you there?  Please, answer me!", said a girl's voice now.

Jubilee?  Here?  No, she's dead.  I'm going mad.

*She's not dead!  None of them are!*

No.  Body killed them.  They're DEAD!

"It's Jono here, chap.  I know this seems real.  But it's not.  Someone's tricking us.  Franklin knows."

Jono?  No, he's dead too.  I killed him.  I killed them all!

*You didn't!  It's some kind of monster!  Tricking you!  Your friends need your help!*

Persistent kid.  Must take that from his father.  The leader of the Fantastic Four must be pretty persistent.

"Please, Everett, you have to help us!"

Elizabeth.  The new one.  Another he killed...

"Please, Ev!  I... We need you!", Jubilee insisted.

Jubilee?  Maybe she's not dead?

Everett's eyes blinked.

"Ev?", Jubilee asked.

"So someone's playing with us?", Everett said.

***

Angelo remained bleeding in the alley.  His mind set on one thought.

*And you're right, Angelo, it isn't true!*

"Angelo, are you feeling all right?", Elizabeth asked him.

"Yeah, chica, I'm no so bad...", Angelo said, raising his battered body.  "So what's going on?"

And then the alleyway shattered.  The sky, the ground, the buildings, everything shattered like a broken mirror, and suddenly Angelo wasn't wounded anymore.  They were standing in the middle of some strange red cavern, and right before them stood the Demon.  Nightmare.

***

"You did relatively well, kids!", the demon said, staring at them all one after the other.  "If you could live through this, I'm sure you can make ideal allies in the up..."

"WAIT a second here, we're not going to help anyone do anything!", Paige said, stepping before the others.

"Yeah!  You put us through hell and expect us to follow you along willingly?", Everett added, clenching his fist.

"Not at all, not yet.  Your training has just begun.  I need you more experienced.  You still needed outside help to make it through this.", Nightmare replied, staring at one of his screens showing the three child residing in the school.

"You're not getting away from this!", Elizabeth shouted at him.  "You took my worst fear and put it to my face!"

"Oh, but I'm afraid I am.   And with a snap of my fingers no less.", the demon said, rising his hand.  "But I will see all of you again.  Maybe sooner than you'd expect!"

The team barely had time to move.  And they were gone.

***

Morning in Massachusetts.  A normal, sunny morning.  Everett woke up in his bed, a bit startled but all right.  Jono woke up to find his body still there.  Jubilee woke with sweaty pajamas, but otherwise all right.  Elizabeth woke up a bit like she felt every morning, but a bit tenser.  Paige got up strangely refreshed.  Angelo woke up fine, but had to check all around the school to make sure no one was spying on them.  Franklin, Leech and Artie woke up energetic as always.  Emma and Sean never had a clue as to what happened.  Neither did Mondo.  And the day went on.

***

The St-Croix residence.  France.  The front door.  A small child is crying, pleading to be led inside, while the other beside her is silent and laying down.  She doesn't know where they come from, not really.  Her mind is a mess.  She just wants in. Shelter.  And the door opens.

"(My GOD!  What are you two doing here)?", the elder man asked.  (translated from French)

"(Please, sir, let us in!)", the young girl asked.

The man nodded and opened up his door wider, picking up the fallen twin and shaking his head sadly.  The other twin ran inside.  The door closed behind them.

***

She still didn't know where she was.  Disoriented.  Completely lost.  She knew she had been called Penance in the past.  But she had another name too.  One she couldn't remember.  And ran and ran, as if scared.  She was scared.  Of being lost forever.  Of not finding her way.  She never saw the branch coming and fell down, crashing on her stomach, losing her breath.  A flash of light appeared before her, one she knew.  She looked up, and saw him.  Someone she knew too.  Someone who could help.  A black man.  A native of some kind.  He offered his hand.  She looked at him, uncertain, then reached out and took it.  And with another flash of light, they were gone.

End

NEXT:  The kids relax at a local fair, only to find familiar faces they never expected to see there.  Two surprises "villains" and some wakening romance, all in the next issue of Gen.X!