Archangel 2099UG #8

She crieth at the gates, at the entry of the city, at the coming in at the doors.

Proverbs 8:3

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It's me again, Sister Avangel. Believe it or not I actually infiltrated the depths of ASKAR depravity and lived to tell the tale. In an attempt, I suspect, to get me killed, I was assigned as a guide to an Angel (Ha!). I must admit that the creature is impressive and in fact is a combatant whose skill exceeds any I have ever seen. That is saying a lot since I am one of the best in the world. I just have a lot of trouble accepting an angel without a clue as to who he is, as is the case with this particular specimen.

Mother Superior managed to plant a quest in the mind of this angel and we went marching into the headquarters of the ASKAR, a race of Mutant desert dwellers that have nearly destroyed my order and the holy city of New Vatican a hundred times over. To be truthful, I was ready for a fight as the leader of the ASKAR is rumored to have murdered my sister. But the angel, who I have begun to call Archie (short for Archangel), was here for only one reason... the fabled Book of Angels. After he single-handedly defeated the ASKAR champion in mortal combat, we were given the book, and we in turn returned it here to New Vatican. Now in a secret meeting place Mother Superior holds the Book for the first time in decades.

We all just stand there looking at each other like a bunch of green neophytes. You can hear a pin drop as each of us seem to be waiting on the others. Those present include the ASKAR traitor Nemisis, the head of our order, Mother Superior, the alleged Archangel, and myself. The tension becomes nearly unbearable. It is believed that within the Book of Angels we will find a clue as to Archie's true identity.

Finally, we all allow our attention to be drawn to the book. Mother Superior's hands tremble as she caresses the ancient cover. The tanned leather has raised characters, both angelic and demonic, and she traces the designs with her index finger. Slowly and deliberately her hand moves to the clasp and under a little pressure it comes loose and she lays the book on a specially prepared podium as it opens. After several minutes of silent study she sighs. "I was afraid of this."

"What?" I ask before thinking.

"I cannot quickly find the answers our guest seeks. The reference system of this work is very complex and of several dialects of a language that has changed drastically over the last 5000 years. It would take me months or even years to decipher."

I can't help myself. "So what you are saying is that you asked us to risk our lives for nothing?"

Archie lays a calming hand on my shoulder. "Patience, brave Sister. Surely our way will be made clear. Wait and trust that the efforts of the just never go unrewarded." She smiles smugly at me before turning to Archie with newfound respect.

"Indeed I believe the Lord may have already supplied. I personally may not be able to help you immediately, but I know who may."

I can feel the proverbial noose slipping around my neck and my position here at New Vatican slipping away even as her mind formulated the words. "We have an abbey in the former United States of America within the mutant city-state of Halo City. Sister Nicholas runs the Abbey there and I believe she was an associate of yours, Avangel, before you joined the order. She has a powerful collection of talent living there and one in particular has a unique relationship to the evolution of languages. I therefore suggest you take the Book of Angels to be interpreted by Sister Whisper."

"The half breed Atlantean?!?" I burst.

Mother Superior smiles that phony smile I have seen so often before. "Yes Sister... the half-breed Atlantean."

The angel stands straight, making a decision without a moment's doubt about his mission, or that he would be taking along comrades in arms.

"We shall have need of transportation."

I feel somehow that this mission is different from the others. Before, I always knew that I would be coming back here when I accomplished the impossible. This time, however, I feel no such assurance. In fact I fear I may never see New Vatican again.

I decide to go to my small one-room sleeping chamber and collect my few personal items so I might take them with me. As I enter, I unsuccessfully attempt to hold back a sigh. I have purposely kept myself too busy to absorb all that had happened in the last week, but now, with over an hour until we depart, I find I cannot avoid it.

My chambers are modest and contain only a bed, and a small dresser. On the dresser I keep very few pictures and an aged Bible. In the year of 2099 it seems that everything is stored on disk or re-mastered into holo-novels. My great grandmother gave me the old Bible when I was five years old, and as I pick it up I remember all the times being able to hold the book gave me a more personal revelation about the words. I can't help but smile and think of Grandmama as I put the holy book in a place of honor, alone in a pouch of my bag.

Next, I pick up one of the pictures. It is quite old too and is of me and my best friends on the day we successfully completed the Howler's basic training. I see myself, so young and ambitious, with my arms around the two women who helped me nearly every day of my life for over a decade. None of us have spoken to each other much in the last five years and I find myself sad that I let our friendship grow cold. Sister Nicholas Bridge was a childhood friend that entered the Order with me and she has since taken over the abbey in Halo City, where we are going. It will be good to see her again.

The other woman we met while in basic training and she was always just a tad radical... even for the Howlers. Her name was Sophie, and when I proved too hard on my sister Neboim, she became my sister's confidant and mentor. Five years ago, I approved her appointment as commander of the Nueva York Order of the Sisterhood of the Howling Commandments. Most of the Sisterhood is made up of normal human women with extraordinary skill and devotion to a philosophy. However our order in Nueva York is unique in that it has within its ranks a large number of mutants that felt the Sisterhood could give them sanctuary from a world that fears and hates them. I hope they are right, but if anyone could ensure their safety, it would be Sophie. I put the picture in the bag and reach for the other, and as soon as my hand touches it, my eyes fill with tears and my heartaches. It is a picture of my sister who followed me into the Order, and died only a few short days ago in the line of duty. I was her older sister and it was my responsibility to keep her safe. I failed. Neboim was ruthlessly murdered in cold blood by the leader of the ASKAR. She was one of the best we had, but I never should have allowed her to go in alone. I guess more than anything else, even more so than second guessing myself, it bothers me that when confronted with my sister's killer yesterday I did not kill him. My faith and my duty prevented me from taking my revenge and I find myself resenting both. The fact that I am now the baby-sitter to an angel only makes it worse. I look closely at her eyes, and her smile, and I begin to sob. "I'm sorry," I try to choke back all the hurt and self-loathing I have suppressed for days but once allowed to flow, the dams of my intellect are swept away and I slide to the floor. "Why God?" I cry aloud, "Why did you take her?!? Why did you let that Son of a Glitch hurt her that way!?! How can I have faith in a God that would allow that? She trusted you and you failed her!!! We failed her!"

I am lost in agony and the tears fall to puddle on my floor as I sob uncontrollably. I have faced death a thousand times, but never like this. Then I hear the softest of sounds and my warrior instincts take over. I spin and from my boot take the energy pistol to bring to bear on the intruder, and see Archie there. He stands like a statue, and I suddenly hate him for seeing me this way. I wipe the tears from my eyes with my free hand and nearly pull the trigger. I instead throw the weapon at him and charge. He does not move and the gun bounces off his armor without effect. I reach him and begin pounding on his chest. "I hate you! I hate Him for taking her! You could have saved her you glitch, if you were any type of angel! Why did she have to die?" Through it all he does not move or speak and I find my face buried in his chest crying again. "I should have been able to save her." I whisper. Then a gentle hand caresses my hair and lets me cry without judgment. I don't know how long we stand there but after a time he finally speaks.

"We must go."

Within a few moments, we are all strapped into a grav-jet, owned by the Order. I had thought them all destroyed by our war with the ASKAR, but apparently Mother Superior has a few secrets even I haven't uncovered. What surprises me the most however is that once we boarded, it was Archie that took the pilot seat.

Still ashamed of my earlier lack of strength, I do not make eye contact with him but I do speak. "Are you sure you can fly this thing? I wasn't aware that avionics was a standard class in angel school."

He turns to me and softly speaks. "Have faith, brave Sister. Of a certainty I can operate this primitive flight device."

"Primitive? This ship is cutting edge 2099 technology! Where have you seen better?"

He pauses... "I... know not."

"And what is with all the "the's" and "thou's" you are constantly spouting? This is the 21st century, not the 1st. Loosen up a bit."

"I shall endeavor to comply."

I sigh and give up for now. I yell back to the communications pit as I am in the co-pilot seat. The traitorous ASKAR Nemisis is there and I have trouble repressing a sneer. "Tell them we are ready to depart."

He does so and soon gives me the OK. I nod to Archie and pat the Book of Angels that I decided to keep nearby the entire flight. "Take us out, Archie. Destination coordinates are in the computer."

He nods. "Aye."

With that he engages the engine and we are off. As we clear New Vatican the ASKAR in the mountains take a few pot shots at the plane but within seconds we are clear of hostile airspace, and headed for Halo City.

The flight has taken over an hour, and with so little conversation to say the least, I am a little bored. We are still about 15 minutes from Halo City and have just entered American Air space. "So tell me, Archie, what do you plan to do when we find out who you really are?"

He is a long time in answering, as if thinking his response through. "I doth not know. I hath no doubt that I hath been sent here for a deeper purpose, but my memory doth not serve me. I hope finding who I am wilt reveal why I art here."

I nod not knowing what else to do. In a nutshell he has just told me he has no idea what he will do. I turn to see Nemisis behind me. "What about you, ASKAR? There aren't many job opportunities in the real world for murdering terrorist. What does an ASKAR do when he is no longer ASKAR?"

He infuriates me with his calm response. "Do I detect bitterness in a woman of the cloth, Sister? Surely you know we are not given a choice in our life's path, we merely walk it. I will do what I was destined to do. For now I will follow the angel of the Creator. But since we are on the subject, what about you? What does a bitter nun with no faith plan to do now that she has been relieved of her haughty position at New Vatican?"

"Well, I won't be walking any predestined path, I can tell you that! We Howlers believe that the Lord helps those who have the biggest gun. We make our own path."

He smiles and I am about to say more when a light begins to flash on my board. "Archie! I have multiple bogies on radar headed right for us. They are too fast to be ships! I think they are land-to-air missiles!"

Without a word he expertly begins several evasive maneuvers and I am amazed at the ease that he controls a plane he has never flown before. The nearest I could tell we were targeted by three missiles. Thanks to Archie's flying, we were missed by two that he maneuvered into striking each other, but the third strikes our wing and we begin to go down.

I unbuckle and see the other two doing the same as our plane begins to spiral out of control toward the earth 10,000 feet below. I stuff the Book of Angels in my personal bag while trying not to be bounced along the plane's bulkheads. Nemisis pulls open a lever to the emergency response kit which falls out and begins to ricochet around the interior of the plane. Acrobatically he retrieves it and in mid flip also dons a grav-belt and fastens the kit to it.

Now a tad bit bruised up I complete securing the book and put on my own grav belt. We make our way back to the ship's hatch but it won't open, a situation which is quickly resolved by Archie's great strength. As he tears the sealed door off it's hinges we are all three sucked out of the plane. The only thought I have is that Mother Superior is gonna be awfully upset that her secret plane was destroyed.

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We Sisters of the Howling Commandments are a resourceful bunch, and although we had over a day's travel on foot through the desert, I soon reached a point where the range on my portable radio had a good chance of reaching Halo City. We could have made it a lot faster if I had sent Archie ahead, but Sister Nick and Mother Superior had decided that for the time being it would be best to keep the presence of an angel in the mutant city-state a secret. This limited our options but with a little pre-planning I saved us from an extra two days in the desert. I get through to the sisters on a secured channel and they assure me they will soon be out to retrieve us, and like all good nuns, they are true to their word. A Battle-Station Wagon named 'The Goodshepherd' and operated by Sister Samson arrives in short order and we are all taken aboard and brought into Halo City, bypassing the typical mutant registration procedures at the gates. This subterfuge seems to bother Archie a lot, but we explain that we will comply with the law in other ways. Soon we are in the compound and escorted into the main hall of the Xavier School for Indignant Children. We are not kept waiting to long. Although the hall is amazingly empty, it fills quickly as so many of my friends, many previously assigned to New Vatican before their post here, come to greet me. And at the front of the crowd is Sister Nicholas who runs up and grabs me in an embrace that nearly breaks my fractured ribs. "Avangel! How long has it been?"

"Five years, Nick. I have missed you."

"Me too. I was sorry to hear about Neboim. I loved her too." Then she turns to the most dominant entity in the room (which is saying a lot), the seven foot winged proxy of our Lord. I have never seen Sister Nicholas choked up until today. "It was true. I had feared this some hoax frankly, but here you are... a real angel. I would ask your name but I hear tell that is why you are here."

"Yes, fair Sister. Thou art correct."

She turns back to me. "Do you have the Book of Angels?"

I pat my bag. "Right in here."

Nick nods and turns to the crowd. "Sister Whisper." The sisters part to admit a small feminine form in the robes of our order, but the greenish skin of one born to the sea. I must admit, that as the only inhuman member of the sisterhood, Sister Whisper has given me the creeps, but Nick sees her as invaluable here in Halo City. The Atlantean sister walks up with an easy grace that belies her deadly strength.

"Yes, Sister Nicholas." She nearly hisses.

"Quickly, the children and Sister Debbi will be back soon. Please escort our angelic visitor to the sister's private sanctuary and keep him hidden. Make sure he is comfortable and begin the translation of the Book of Angels."

"Yes, Sister Nick." As Sister Whisper leads Archie away, she turns to me. "I also have someone I need to talk to about this now that you are actually here. I would appreciate you going with me." I smile and she turns to Nemisis. My smile fades. "I am honored to meet a member of the ASKAR partially responsible for our retrieval of the Book of Angels."

"I am no longer one of the ASKAR, Sister Nicholas."

"I am sure that is part of His plan also. If you would follow Sister Avangel and myself I will show you to your quarters for your stay here so you may rest and refresh yourself."

"Thank you, yes."

The person that Sister Nicholas Bridge wanted me to meet was one of the movers and shakers of the city government, a woman named Shakti Haddad. We make our way through the city to the seat of the city government, called the Tower. We are admitted without question and I begin to suspect that the Howlers have a more dominant presence here that I had originally suspected.

We make our way to the main conference room where a strong looking woman with dark hair, and a green and black union suit stands alone staring out the large windows along the far wall.

On the way over Sister Nick explained a lot to me. About how the mutant revolutionary Xi'an, called the Desert Ghost, assembled a band of mutants he called the X-Men. Shakti, who goes by the name Cerebra, was one of these mutants and helped change the face of the city when Doom fell. She is also the one who surrendered her active status as leader of the team to become the shepherd of the untrained children of Xavier's Shelter. Sister Nick and the local sisterhood accepted the primary responsibility of protecting and training the X-Nation to come. Of all the X-Men, Cerebra is the only one that Nick would trust with our current secret. In fact, she would feel as if she had betrayed Shakti's trust if we did not tell her.

"Hello, Sister Nicholas." The woman says without turning, her dark skin a bronze in the sunlight.

"Hello. I have someone I would like you to meet. Sister Avangel of New Vatican, our order's heart."

She turns and I suspect her ancestry to be middle Eastern, although in 2099 it is hard to tell. I am impressed with her, as she is obviously a strong woman, and sure of herself. I have known few mutants in my life except for the murderous ASKAR, but I find I harbor no prejudice toward this woman.

"It is good to meet you, Sister Avangel. Will you be joining the order here?"

Sister Nicholas lets a chuckle escape her lips. "I am sorry I was not clearer on the introduction, Shakti. She is my superior. If she joined our order I would be out of a job. Hehe."

Shakti looks a little embarrassed but recovers well. "We wouldn't want that. But it is nice to meet you regardless. Now can I help you sisters with something?"

Now, Sister Nick looks a little hard. "Yes, I hope so. I have information that may affect the safety of the children, but I am afraid I have a personal stake in it being kept secret. I want to tell you as the representative of the city government, but I need you to promise me that you will not reveal the information to anyone."

"You know you can trust me, Sis..."

"No, I want you to understand. I think this is something you need to know, but I will not reveal it unless you swear yourself to secrecy. That would include your fellow X-Men."

That catches her up short. She apparently is torn as Sister Nick surmised she would be.

"You are putting me in a rather difficult situation, Sister."

"I am aware of that."

She sighs, but to her credit she makes a firm decision. "Alright. What is this secret I can't tell anyone?"

"Follow us." Nick replies.

Once we return to the shelter, we make our way to the forbidden wing where only the senior Sisters are permitted. There is a place of worship, our sanctuary where we can pray, and hear the readings of the sacred books of our order, like the Bible, Logan's Commandments of Combat, or the memoirs of Nick Fury. We know that it was the individuals that made the First Heroic Age, and through faith and training we will be there to usher in the Second Heroic Age. We enter the room and Sister Whisper has the Book of Angels open with several scrolls on the podium. Behind her is Archie with his head held high and his wings folded around to shelter his chest. The Atlantean Half-Breed looks up and smiles before her eerie voice fills the room with echo. "Ah! Sister Nick, Sister Avangel. You have returned, we have made remarkable progress. You would not believe the things in this book! The Grigori, Samhain, the All Saint's War. And we found a full page entry on our guest! He is a full fledged Archangel! Has been since the death of the Messiah and..."

It took until then for Shakti Haddad to walk fully into the room, and Whisper stops short. She throws a look of apology toward Nick, who just gives her a nod as if to say 'It's OK.' The one called Cerebra is obviously awestruck, for like the ASKAR she shares many of the basic beliefs at the core of all our religions. She had never thought she would ever see an angel, and her eyes get just a tad moist as she approaches him. Knowing that she was not out of line earlier.

Sister Whisper speaks again. "Shakti, I would like you to meet Omen, the Archangel."
Personally, I like Archie better.

NEXT ISSUE!!!! It is all out action next issue as Omen has his first night out on the town! It is part two of the Fall of Archangel story line building up to issue 10 where everything changes! Next issue you will see guest characters galore including the Wild Boys! And Lachryma! Be here as Angel battles Vampire!



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