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| X-men 2099UG Issue #17(B), Volume 2 Written by Chris Lough |
| The 2099 Underground is a project whereby a group of fans are putting together a series of stories continuing from Marvel's fantastic futuristic 2099! Ignoring the ignoble and inaccurate "2099: World of Tomorrow", we're exploring what we feel is the true spirit of 2099 as envisioned by then Editor-in-Chief Joey Cavalieri. Participation is open to all. Comments about this issue should be sent to the author. Or you can visit our message board and post your thoughts on the issue. Anyone wishing to join the mailing list should do so by signing up at Yahoo! Groups. It's free and easy! Simply type in the keyword "Ghostworks" and you're good to go. |
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| A well-thrown grenade found its mark in the snow ahead of the snowmobile. The explosion tossed quick-thawed water and shockwaves up against the swerving snowmobile. The vehicle flipped over twice, throwing its occupant off like a bucking bronco. Bloodhawk swooped in and landed a precise blow on the fellow’s head as he struggled to climb out of a snowbank. The escapee, whoever he was, was out cold in more ways than one. Landing briefly, Bloodhawk scooped up his prone body and took back to flight. The added weight made it much more difficult to set back into the air, but Bloodhawk was no novice. He revelled in his abilty to fly. This one would go back to the craft that Lt. Markson was piloting, to be kept under lock and key and tried and questioned back in Halo City. So far the snowmobiler had only been the third escapee. Bloodhawk had taken them all down quickly and hauled them back to the ship. He wondered when more massive exodus’ would begin. So far this had been entirely too easy. Suddenly a rumble of several, ten at least, to Bloodhawk’s vision, snowmobile’s – and one large ground vehicle – shot out of the ground garage. So they had been testing him, it seemed, to gauge his reaction time and weaponry. If every vehicle started to spread out, he would have a hell of a time taking them all down. Especially if another wave followed the first out. Bloodhawk cursed aloud. He had to get this body to the ship before he could start pursuit. That tied both him and Lt. Markson up and gave the escapees much-needed time. A loud screech shifted Bloodhawk’s attention. An entire aircraft was tumbling from the Complex’s hangar! His eyes followed it down…down…down. The wave of escapees didn’t see the falling aircraft until it was too late. It impacted against the snow with a tremendous explosion, sending the snowmobilers flying, every single one of them. The larger vehicle was flipped onto its side by the shockwave from the burning hulk. Well, Bloodhawk smiled, that took care of that. * * * Aloria Craven, the Black Queen, shadowed the guards as they dragged Morphine to an interrogation cell. Another cell was directly across from that one, and already had two guards stationed outside it. Curious... She waited until the two guards had him installed within the room before making her presence known. With her usual haughty air, she walked down the hallway towards them. The air was always bitingly cold and damp down here, musty and somewhat dusty. She puzzled at the presence of guards at the interrogation room directly across from the one Morphine was now in. It her suddenly that his aide must be in the other one. Idly, she wondered who had snatched Christopher from the view of the Inner Circle. The list of candidates was short, and topped with the White King's name. The quartet of guards watched Aloria as she neared them, giving respectful nods and salutes. "My queen," they muttered, almost in unison. "Did he put up any struggle on the way down?", Aloria asked of the pair situated in front of Morphine's chamber. "No, my queen," one of them answered. "He regained consciousness shortly after we installed him into the chamber, but that is the only sign of activity from him." She nodded thoughtfully, or at least appeared thoughtful. "And you pumped him full of inhibitor?" "The cuffs he's wearing are inhibitors, my queen. It's a more garaunteed method of keeping him powerless." Aloria had to bite her tongue to keep from smiling, "Excellent. I will see the prisoner now." The guards nodded and made way, keying open the door. Lights went up inside the cell as she entered. "Close it behind me," she ordered to the guards. The door slid shut promptly. For a moment she looked upon Morphine, hung like a caught fish between the leg and arm shackles. He glared pure hate at her, as he no doubt had the right to. Abruptly, several noises came from the walls around them. Crackly sounds, as if something was being crunched. A puzzled expression crossed Morphine's face, answered only by a knowing smile from Aloria. She was destroying all the surveillance equipment built inside the cell. The Inner Circle was busy elsewhere, no one was monitoring. This was a perfect opportunity. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for this particular moment?", she asked of Morphine. As an afterthought, she used her telekinesis to unbind Morphine from his power-inhibiting shackles. As much as she enjoyed a captive audience, he had work to do. Morphine let his surprise drain away quickly, lunging for Aloria, as she thought he would. He hung there in mid-air, a snarl on his face. "Listen to me, Morphine," she said, her face becoming urgent and eager. "The X-Men have come for you. They mean to exact punishment from us for what we've done to their city. What you've helped us do to their city," she added. "In terms of direct power, they are no match for the Inner Circle, especially not for Rentaro and Shaw." Morphine kept his snarl on, but let Aloria's comments sink in. Was she toying with him? If she was speaking the truth, though why would she be, then everything more or less was going according to plan. Except Henri was still lost, and he was Aloria's prisoner, and the X-Men would probably tear him apart if they knew half of what he did. Aloria continued, "And I have machinations of my own. Our desires are the same, Somers. Do you understand what I'm talking about?" He spoke up. "Good cop, bad cop?", he sneered. "You'll be my friend while Rentaro beats the crap out of me?" He coughed and shook his head, he wished this damned headache would go away. "You can try that tactic all you like, you won't get a peep out of me." This was going to be difficult. "Listen, Somers. I have planned and waited for far too many years to let this opportunity pass me up. The Hellfire Club is in a state of confusion. The X-Men represent the only force I've seen in a while that has a chance at bringing them down." "So? If you want to bring down your own organization, do it yourself." "I need a weapon, Somers. An unknown variable with the ability to slip past Shaw and Rentaro's formidable defenses. You can kill them both with a touch." "Boy, don't get me wrong, that sounds like a lot of fun. But right now I have a lot of work to do down here, being your prisoner and all," he smirked. "By the way, this is the weirdest, but most painless, interrogation I've ever had. I suppose that counts for something." He was not listening. He wasn't going to listen. She expected this, but was still frustrated more than she cared to admit. She dropped him to the floor, but kept a shield between them, lest he still had aspirations towards killing her. "You have a mission, Somers. You are going to kill Shaw and Rentaro for me." He struggled up onto his feet and walked towards her, immediately bumping into the telekinetic wall she had placed between them. "Of course I am, but not for you." "It doesn't matter, does it? As long as those two go down. Now come with me, your aide is in the cell across from yours." The door slid open as Morphine stood there with a bewildered look on his face. Out in the hallway, he watched as Aloria glanced at the four guards. Before they could utter anything, she dropped them without moving a muscle. "Pinch a blood vessel anywhere in the vicinity of the brain and your opponent goes down instantly. Remember that, Morphine. Now come along." Reluctantly, he stepped forward. The wall was gone and he had free movement. Up ahead of him, Aloria was opening the door to the cell across the hallway. So Aloria had plans of her own to bring down the Inner Circle, or something of that nature. Aloria tensed, but tried hard not to show it. “It appears that your aide has already escaped, Morphine,” she said coldly. This was troublesome, but it changed nothing. As long as his aide was out fomenting chaos it served her purposes. It led her to wonder, though, how he had been freed. Or had he escaped by himself? It was possible she had an unknown agent on her hands. Morphine came up behind her. “Henri Huang is resourceful, though.” “You knew Christopher was Henri?”, Morphine asked. “Of course! Who do you think kept the other members of the Inner Circle from delving too deeply into the whereabouts of the only X-Man unaccounted for?” “So why did you double-cross me if your plan all along was the same as mine?”, he asked. “You had to be removed as a threat in the minds of the Inner Circle. Only when they were certain you were out of the picture could we both move.” “So now what?”, Morphine asked. Aloria stumbled over the question. “What do you mean?” “What’s the plan?” “You know what your duties are,” she answered, more than a little impatiently. “So, are we going or not?” “I have to rejoin the Inner Circle before they notice I am not rushing to secure my aircraft. Now leave,” she ordered, turning and walking back down the corridor before Morphine had a chance to respond. That was it? A one-sentence order and she just leaves? The hell with that, he was getting out of here. Morphine started up the corridor thinking about his next step. The X-Men were in the complex. Henri had been freed. Likely the place was about to explode into chaotic fighting, if it hadn’t already. He couldn’t go to the X-Men, if they knew enough to storm the Hellfire Club’s Complex, then they might know of his role in the attacks on Halo City. Nevermind that they were simply part of his plan to bring down the Club from the inside. That HE was the only one with the despicable public image and enough cunning to be able to do such a thing. That it was all in the best interest of Halo City. He imagined the X-Men wouldn’t quite see it that way. They’d skin him alive, especially Shakti. No, he couldn’t go back to them. He needed to find some transport out. The hangar was too likely to be filled with Inner Circle and their personnel. The garage would have to do. The risk was just as high, but he doubted he would find any of the Inner Circle down there. Any of them had enough power to kill him in an instant. Well, except that little Richards pipsqueak. Boy, he’d sure like to get one, just one, Inner Circle member in his hands. * * * The cargo door blew outwards and landed on the floor with a creaking groan. Smoke poured from the edges of the doorway as its blast-marked durasteel door fell. Behind it, twenty or so Hellfire Club guards stood ready to storm. Eddie clapped his metal fist into his other hand, a wide grin stared down at the guards. The sound of metal clanging on metal rang through the air. “Hello boys,” he said. “Who wants to go first?” Laser bolts spanged off Eddie’s metallic hide as he grabbed a guard and tossed him over his head. Another two feel immediately victim to a sweeping thrust from Eddie’s other arm. Suddenly, a flash bomb clattered to the floor in front of him. Thrown by one of the guards in back, probably. A clever move. Lousy aim, though. Eddie quickly shielded his eyes from its ultraviolet discharge. The guards in front weren’t so quick. Eddie made a running go at them, his arms extended to clothesline any guard in their way. His massive body bowled them over, knocking them to the ground where they could fall prey to a few kicks here and there. More laser bolts ricocheted off his hide. This was the best the Hellfire Club could do? * * * Shell looked away from the fight as the ultraviolet flash lit up the hangar. He hoped Eddie was okay, though he couldn’t imagine anything the Hellfire Club might have that would faze that metal chassis of his. He turned back to the doorway. They were almost done cutting through. “Get ready, Shell. Sham, get somewhere safe,” Victor ordered, his voice riding the air. Shell couldn’t see where it was coming from. All three of them were invisible, or so Sham claimed. Victor was lying in ambush somewhere, his wrist cannon ready to pick off guards that came through the door. He was stationed right in front of the door. An invisible, armored force that could take out or disarm guards hand-to-hand. A force that guards wouldn’t be able to hurt even if they could find him. Sham was hidden somewhere, concentrating on keeping all three of them hidden. It seemed as solid a plan as they would get. The cutting stopped and the door fell to the ground with the same clang he had heard moments ago from elsewhere in the hangar. Guards, he couldn’t tell how many, streamed in. He grabbed the nearest one and slammed him into the floor, grabbing his laser rifle from his hand and using it to stun the confused guard. From somewhere behind him, another laser bolt struck a guard right in the neck. Ten Eagles was taking his time to aim, it seemed. He wasn’t up for such finesse right now. Setting the rifle to stun, he opened up, raining laser fire into the corridor beyond the doorway. Guards fired back, but the bolts glanced off his skin armor. Maybe this was going to work after all. * * * Shakti skidded to a halt. Breathlessly, she spoke. “He’s alive.” Krystalin’s eyes widened, her tone become even more urgent, if that was possible during a mission like this. “Where? Close by?” “Yes,” Shakti concentrated, drifting off. “Yes…,” she said again, softer. “Getting closer.” “Which way?”, Xi’an asked, reshouldering his laser rifle. “Hold on,” Shakti said, staring into the distance. “Down, but coming closer. We should go right.” She pointed at a door in the corridor. “Alex, where does this go?” “Don’t know, we’re close to the gym facilities, but it’s been a while since I used them. Not that I don’t keep fit, it’s just that…” Xi’an ungloved his left hand and dissolved the door. Another, shorter corridor stretched beyond it. “Looks good,” he said. “Let’s go.” The five of them made their way as Alex spoke. “Actually, I think this is one of the ways in. Not the most direct, but it’ll take us through the locker rooms, then into the big gym space. Or into the spa. Wherever your friend is, really. Maybe he’s getting a sonic massage.” Shakti ignored him as they entered the locker room. She stopped, glanced around, and pointed to another hallway seemingly branching off from the far end of the room. “There,” she pointed. The hallway led shortly into the gym area. Fitness apparatus’ and sparring spaces littered the floors in an evenly spaced and organized manner. The ceiling went up two stories, a nice change from the cramped hallways. Scattered around were various refresher stations and some more advanced equipment. Zero-g rings, virtual reality dueling circles, and some equipment that looked vaguely like it might be used to hone mutant powers. That was Shakti’s guess, anyway. Another doorway led into a hallway paralleling the far gym wall. “Let’s keep moving, he’s getting closer,” she ordered. Quiver stared at the fitness equipment around them. So this was what it was like to have so much money and influence you could mold even the smallest aspects of life to your whim? It was creepy in a way he couldn’t quite pin down. Still, some of the things in the gym looked like fun. As they neared the doorway, suddenly a familiar figure stalked by. The X-Men froze, as did the figure. Martin Rentaro, his father, turned to face them angrily. “Oh shit,” Quiver said. * * * The guards poured in faster than either he or Shell could handle. Their armor absorbed all but the most precisely-aimed of his shots, and Shell couldn’t incapacitate so many so fast. He was keeping on the move, which was good, but it wasn’t going to be long before he was overwhelmed, invisible or no. Victor wondered how durable Shell’s ultra hard skin really was. Whether it could last such a continued assault. Carefully, Victor repositioned himself to get a look at how Eddie was doing. Substantially better, at least. The guard’s numbers were overwhelming there, too, but Eddie’s gargantuan fists could flatten several at once. He was fighting hard. Victor admired Eddie’s resolve. Both of them shared a pacificist view on life, but never seemed to get to practice it. Suddenly, Eddie dropped the last guard by his doorway with a sudden elbow jab. Without missing a beat, he ran over to one of the disabled aircraft, his weight shaking the floor beneath them. Positioning himself behind the disabled transport, he began pushing it to block the doorway. Victor smiled. That would do nicely. Sparks flew and metal shrieked as it was forced across the floor. Victor could see the strain Eddie was putting on himself to move the hulk. But it WAS moving, and that was all that mattered at the moment. Quickly, Victor returned to his sharp-shooting. Eddie would be here to back them up as soon as he could. He hoped Sham had the sense to turn him invisible, too. Although the way Eddie could toss guards around, he supposed it didn’t really matter. * * * “No, don’t!”, Quiver screamed as the four X-Men immediately launched themselves towards his father. They had no chance, absolutely none. His father duplicated and stored mutant powers. The more mutants he fought, the more invincible he became, and the more powers he had at his disposable. Xi’an fired off several quick rounds from his laser rifle as Krystalin let a shower of tiny crystal shards thwip through the air towards Martin Rentaro. Rentaro grimaced and snarled at them. A loud crack suddenly kerranged through the air, followed by a loud tearing. Quiver’s eyes widened. His father was tearing an enormous twenty-foot chunk out of the wall behind him! And it was coming their way. The laser bolts were crushed in mid-air, and the crystal shards solidified into nothing and crushed into dust. Gavin’s gravity powers, Quiver assumed. The wall slammed down on them as Krystalin hastily erected a crystal dome over them. “Who is that?”, she asked as the wall cracked over the dome. “Martin Rentaro, the White King,” Alex answered before Quiver could. “We can’t win against him. He’s t-t-t…too powerful,” Quiver stammered. Suddenly both the remnants of the wall and the crystal dome were tossed high into the air. Rentaro faced them, his hand outstretched. “Quiver…to think I spent all these years hunting you down and you were going to end up coming to me.” He wasn’t going to let any of them back down from this fight, Quiver knew. “You’re insane,” Quiver forced out. He had to swallow his fear. If the X-Men couldn’t handle him, then he wasn’t safe anywhere. “We’ve come to stop you.” Rentaro smirked. “I am unstoppable. You know that.” Suddenly a crystal sheath surrounded Rentaro’s entire body. Quiver could not hide his startlement. Surely that couldn’t stop him, could it? Of course not. But how would he break of…Quiver’s eyes went wide. “Get down, everyone!” It was too late, the crystal prison shattered into thousand of pieces, flying out in all directions. The X-Men’s shielded themselves as best they could, but the damage was done. A large piece landed right upside Alex’s head, laying him down. Blood began to pour from the point of impact. Alex wasn’t moving. The other X-Men sported slashes and bruises on their heads and uniforms. Xi’an immediately went down on one knee with his right hand, the healer, and checked on Alex. Shakti wasted no time in pressing the advantage. Quiver steeled himself, if it was going to be anytime, it would have to be now. Quiver unleashed the most powerful seismic shock he could, directing it square at his father. With a surprised jolt, Rentaro began shaking uncontrollably. Quiver pressed it on, he couldn’t even make out his father’s facial expressions, he was shaking so rapidly and violently. Shakti reached inside Martin Rentaro’s head to switch him off, but her probe bounced back at her violently, leaving her dazed. She slumped to the ground, trying to get her bearings. The room was spinning too fast for her liking, she felt like she was going sick up right there. A violent shove knocked Quiver through the air and sent him skidding. He lost his concentration and his father immediately stopped shaking. For a moment, he wobbled before regaining his bearings. “You understand why I seek you out, of course. You may think you’re the weaker of my sons, but you’ve always shown more initiative than that poor dog-in-man’s-skin that Gavin is. You have the fire and mentality I need to carry on the Rentaro name, Quiver.” Beside him, Shakti tried to get to her feet. “Telepath in Madripoor, you brainless chit,” he derided her. “Foolish to think I’ve never encountered a psi before.” “And you two,” he turned to face Xi’an and Krystalin. “Could actually cause me irreperable harm if you knew how to use your powers.” With a sudden WHOOSH of displaced air, both of them went flying backwards as well, landing far farther than Quiver had. Rentaro turned back to Quiver, smiling, “Welcome home, Quiver.” * * * The last guard dropped to the floor. The area around the doorway was positively littered with them now. Some of them panting with exertion, they all gathered beside the corridor doorway. “We need to get everyone of these guards sealed away somewhere,” Victor said. “Before they regain consciousness. But I’m at a loss as to how to do this quickly.” “Let’s just toss them out the hangar,” Shell suggested. “We don’t kill,” Victor stated explicitly. “Not unless we absolutely have to.” Quietly, under his breath, he muttered, “Though I’m surprised it hasn’t come to that yet.” “Could we lock them all inside one of the disabled crafts?”, Eddie wondered. “I wonder if we have any left that are big enough,” Victor thought aloud. “We could shuffle them back into the corridor, Victor turned, pointing back down the corridor. That is, if you’re up to pushing another aircraft in front of the door, Eddie.” Edward’s sagged visibly. “If it must be done. Tell you the truth, I’m a little exhausted.” “I know,” Victor sympathized. “You and Shell both need a breather. I’m seriously questioning moving further into the Complex now that we’ve got the hangar taken care of.” “The other team hasn’t reported in, though,” Sham said. “And where’s the Inner Circle? I’m worried about Quiver.” “You know, she’s right,” Shell said. “We need to keep pressing on. I can do it. Eddie?” “We don’t leave without everyone,” Eddie said adamantly. “Right! That’s how the X-Men do it, right?”, Shell said. “So let’s go.” Soft footsteps coming from the corridor were all the warning Shell and the others had. “You will do no such thing,” a velvety voice ordered. Amanda Mallie, White Queen of the Inner Circle strolled casually up towards the X-Men. Dressed in extravagant flightwear and wearing a constantly icy expression, she tapped Shell’s torso as she and more guards approached them. Shell felt a sharp twinge as her fingernail brushed his skin-armor. “Agh!”, he yelled, surprised. Victor raised his wrist cannon to eye level. “Stop right there.” The guards did the same. “Really now.” She motioned half-heartedly to the guards behind her. “You have certainly made a mess of things. Summon your aircraft now and perhaps I won’t have you cut down right here.” “What the shock is going on?”, Shell yelled. He stared at the spot the White Queen had brushed. The spot was brown now, the size of a dime, and rock solid. It HURT, too. He could feel his skin tightening around the spot, stretching more and more. “Hands up, all of you,” the White Queen ordered. She glanced at Eddie. “Don’t try anything, brute. Or your friends are gone.” The four of them complied, Shell more reluctantly. “Shock this hurts. I can’t even breathe without…” “It will continue that way,” the White Queen explained calmly. “The infection will spread outward from there and before long most of you will be made of stone. Of course, you will die as soon as the petrification hits a vital organ. They all do.” “WHAT?” “Cure him,” Sham ordered, her face suddenly a sheath of steel. Amanda smiled, nothing but sadistic cruelty visible on her face. “There is no cure. Believe me, people have tried. From the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor.” “I’m not going to tell you again,” Sham continued. Amanda’s face suddenly snapped back to her usual glare. She had had enough of this prattle. “Be silent, waif,” she said sharply. “You will bring your aircraft in now,” she told Victor. “Or the little mutant fashion victim will die. Honestly, she can’t be more than fifteen years old. Are the X-Men enlisting babies now?” “Alright,” Victor answered, trying not to curse. He couldn’t think of a way out of this. Not one that he could enable, anyhow. And Shell needed medical attention immediately now. “I need my comlink. It’s on my wrist. I’m not making any sudden moves.” Indeed he wasn’t. Cooperation was the only tactic he could think of. “See that you do…,” with a sudden shrill squeak, the White Queen and every one of her guards fell unconscious to the floor. “What…,” Victor wondered. “Ever get a certain sound in your head? They did,” Sham said, smoldering. “I doubt they’ll be waking up soon, or be able to hear anything once they do.” Victor looked down to find blood pouring out of the White Queen’s ears. He swallowed his objection. It was the only way to go. He still didn’t have to like it though. For a moment, he thought of the man he was years ago. A man who wouldn’t have had that thought for a moment. Suddenly, though, he was glad time changed a man. “Can you move, Dex?”, Eddie asked immediately. Dexter winced. “Yeah…shock, I’m sorry, guys. I wasn’t paying attention.” He looked down at the brown spot and shook his head. “It’s alright, Dexter, it happens to all of us eventually,” Victor said. “I’m sure Xi’an can heal you, but we need to get you to the transport. You’ll do no one any good this way.” “Guys,” Eddie interrupted. “The other doorway…” Victor swiveled his head to look at the aircraft Eddie had blocked the other doorway with. It was glowing bright orange. “Shock.” * * * “The X-Men,” Rentaro said in a disgusted tone as he manipulated the forces of gravity to force Quiver back on his feet. “A weak lot to throw in with, both in ideals and power. Still,” he paused. “Some of them could be quite formidable. Especially that Xi’an. Perhaps you’re finally beginning to get the right idea.” “You’re a fool to underestimate them,” Quiver said, straining his voice against his father’s grip. “Am I? Why should I fear the forces of those who sacrifice their lives to coddle the weak and needless? Lowlifes who fritter their lives away, not smart enough to attain what they truly want, superiority…power!”, Rentaro’s conviction was unflinching. “Look at them, they’ve spent so long helping jackals who would jump at the first chance to bite the hand that fed them…so long that they’ve never reached their full potential as mutants. We have existed for hundreds of years, Quiver, while humans have done all they could to catch up. To artificially elevate themselves to our evolved status. To keep mutants under heel through any means possible. Do you think the X-Men are helping at all? All they’ve done is given the world an easy target.” Quiver didn’t respond, he didn’t have the words. What was the use in talking when he knew his words would fall on deaf ears? Rentaro continued, growing visibly more agitated, “I know what you’re thinking, son. But it’s over now. If I have to, I’ll destroy these X-Men where they lay to prove it. Your running is over. You’ve come home, whether you know it or not. I will not see my bloodline be caught on the losing side of true mutant ascendancy.” “I’ve heard your argument before,” Shakti said, standing upright. Rentaro turned to face her, surprised. “I wouldn’t bother,” she cut in quickly before he could make a move. “You know as well as I do that I pose no threat to you.” “I remember dealing with your father a few times in my younger years,” Rentaro said wistfully. “If only he hadn’t been so sloppy with you…you could have become so much greater than you are. I would wager you’d even be a member of the Inner Circle by now.” Shakti ignored his personal attack. “What do you possibly believe a war against humans would win? Do you honestly believe you could put them to heel? You’re not dealing with errant animals. Do you really believe there would be an inch of life left on this planet if both races were to truly take up arms against each other?” Rentaro’s grip on Quiver loosened as he turned to face Shakti. He supposed his father didn’t consider him a threat either. Quiver wasn’t entirely sure he was wrong. Rentaro snorted. “A war. Pfeh. You are so near-sighted it disgusts me. As if actual battle was the only way to wrest this planet from humanity.” A familiar voice echoed through Quiver’s mind. “Quiver,” it spoke. Shakti? “Yes. We have one chance. How defined can you make your vibratory shocks?” He didn’t know. What was Shakti getting at? He noticed she didn’t divert her attention away from his father one bit as he continued his rhetoric. “What about inside his body, Quiver? Could you lock onto his very skull, his brain, and shake it?” He didn’t know, but he would try, of course. He had no intention of joining his father. “Concentrate, Quiver. I will help guide you. You must form your attack in your mind before you unleash it. It must be quick and brutal, done and over with in less than a second.” Out of habit, Quiver nodded. He was glad no was looking to see what he was nodding at. “Concentrate,” Shakti’s voice whispered in his mind as he felt her guide him along. “…you would think that telling you once before would warn you. I suppose it hasn’t,” Rentaro said suddenly, switching tracks in conversation. “I may not be able to use telepathy as offensively as you, Haddad. But I am no fool.” With gritted teeth, he grabbed both Shakti and Quiver in his gravitational grip. They rocketed fast into the air above him, spinning around and around in circles, as if they were caught in a tornado. “Gravity is an amazing tool of the universe. It can bend the very fabric of space, loop it back in on itself, churn out massive amounts of energy, or suck up a thousand stars,” he said, his arms raised in the air as he looked upwards at them. “Imagine what it can do with human bodies, if they get caught where gravity knows they don’t belong. Mastery over this power was the only useful talent your worthless brother has given me. It’s unfortunate you never inherited such might.” The room spun faster than Quiver could make out. The air whistled past his ears, he had given up on screaming, little good it would do. His father meant to kill them, or just Shakti. With the way he was talking about Gavin, he guessed his father had future plans for him. Still, what might his father forget if he was enraged enough? “I am tired of you, Haddad,” Rentaro said with a grim finality. “You don’t deserve this planet. I will send you hurtling into space. You will feel the sensation of being thrown from existence itself. Your body will be stripped away as it streaks through the air, flash-heated to nothing. Your screams will be lost to the cosmos.” The makeshift tornado slowed as Rentaro took a firm grip on Shakti. Her head lolled around limply, her limbs hanging slack in the air. Quiver’s eyes widened in horror, he was really going to do it! He had to try to absorb this gravity, somehow, like he had done with his brother. Subvert his father’s control over it, he had to concentrate. It was more important than ever. “Goodbye, Haddad,” Rentaro said, a clenched fist raised in the air. With a visible flinch, it opened. Nothing happened. “What is…?”, anger and puzzlement painted Rentaro’s face at the same time. His head swiveled frantically around, as if searching out some unseen assailant. Quiver saw, though. Gavin, standing defiantly in the hallway his father had just torn the wall from. Wasn’t anything going to go right today? * * * The aircraft was an incandescent, blinding orange color. As if it was growing hotter and hotter by the second, and would explode outward any moment. “Take cover!”, Victor yelled at the three X-Men. Instinctively, Eddie covered them all with his metallic hide. You could not see the aircraft under the glow anymore, the glare filled the entire hangar. Victor gritted his teeth, this was going to be very bad. Suddenly the entire aircraft winked out of existence. The glare left the hangar in a blink. All four X-Men raised their heads and looked over with puzzlement to the cargo bay door. A single stocky man with a wily look on his tanned face. Twin nimbus’ of crackling orange energy surrounded his clenched fists. “That has to be one of the Inner Circle,” Victor claimed. “Scatter! Don’t let that energy touch you, whatever it is.” Sir Domingo De Solas, the White Rook, sneered widely. Their unwitting barring of the door had given him enough time and space to convert the aircraft’s mass to personal energy. He was filled to the brim, and he knew just the people to unload on. The four X-Men spread out as quickly as they could, with Eddie daring to step towards the Inner Circle member to cover their retreat. Domingo ignored the brute. He spied a soft, young target. These X-Men must have strange enlistment requirements. With a SHRIP, the beam of orange energy coruscated wildly through the air. Burning a lightning-fast path straight towards the little X-Woman, or whoever she was. Sham yelped sharply as the beam caught her right in the side, dropping her to the floor. Smoke rose from her charred uniform. Sham didn’t stir. “No!”, Shell yelled. Sham had saved his life, all their lives. He couldn’t let this stand! He charged towards the man, whoever he was, he was going down. Or that was his intention at least. With the first stride, the solidness in his side ripped and tore at his skin. It wouldn’t let him stretch fully out. He stumbled in his attempted run, almost tripping himself to the floor. The stocky man laughed aloud and raised his fist to rain more energy down on the stumbling, bumbling X-Man. Suddenly a laser bolt flew in from behind another downed aircraft, lancing the very same hand Domingo had raised against Shell. Domingo cried out in sudden pain, clutching his right hand with the left. For a moment, the energy nimbus’ faded from him. Victor gritted his teeth and quickly aimed for a follow-up shot, he had to get to Sham. With a quick sideways glance he got a look at her sprawled on the floor, he thought he could see her breathing, but he wasn’t sure. Shallow breaths, perhaps? As he turned his attention back to their mysterious assailant, the hair on the back of his neck bristled and went up. What was… Pain. So much of it and all at once. Every centimeter of him was on fire. A numbing buzz stung him inside and out. His body shuddered and jerked uncontrollably as blue ripples of electricity sparked on his skin. It seemed to last forever, but before he knew it his knees were buckling under him and he slid to the floor. His skin burned bright red and he couldn’t control his jerking. Thoughts scrambled by in his mind, and he unable to keep a grip on them. Who…what had… The White Bishop and vibranium monopolist, Nathaniel Dumakas, stepped over Victor. His almost-too-skinny muscled frame strolled over to Domingo. “You’ll survive,” he said in a deep tone to Domingo. “Or you better.” Domingo sucked his teeth in pain. “Nice words of comfort. Which greeting card did you steal that one from?” Domingo looked around the hangar quickly. “They have destroyed all our air transports. We should make our way to the garages.” “Not before I get this taken care of,” Domingo nodded at his hand. “And not before I melt every one of those bastards where they stand.” “Get over to Sham. Now,” Eddie ordered Shell. Hesitantly, Dexter obeyed, moving as fast as he could. It wasn’t so much Sham’s condition that made Eddie shoo him away, but the fact that he was the only one who had a chance at getting at the two Inner Circle members standing in front of him. One threw energy, and the other threw lightning. Eddie wondered what kind of an effect electricity would have on a man made of metal. Would it grab him the same way it did Victor, or would he be able to breeze right through it? Before Eddie even had a chance to move, another player entered the field. “She did not deserve this,” Alexander Shaw said calmly, preening over Amanda Mallie’s unconscious body. “She had the demeanor of a stuffed couch, but she was still one of us.” Shaw cocked his head up to stare daggers at Eddie. “And one does not spill the blood of a member of the Inner Circle.” “I want a shot at them,” Domingo protested as Shaw strolled over to Edward. “Just so long as you leave me with this fellow,” Shaw ordered sternly, calmly removing his gloves and unbuttoning his knee-length traveling overcoat. He shrugged it off to reveal a supremely muscled frame undeneath, covered by a formal dress shirt lined with lace and silk. “Tell me, X-Man. How long do you think you will last against me?” Eddie was puzzled. What was this guy up to? “I have never lost a confrontation. Ever. Especially not a physical one. But I have never had the pleasure of going up against so…immovable an opponent like yourself. I will strike you a bargain. Best me and your friends here get to live.” He paused. “Well, besides anyone Mallie might have infected. Fall to me and, well, you will not have to worry about anything anymore.” Eddie was incredulous. “I do not have time for this,” he stated quickly, and broke into a dead run for the other two members of the Inner Circle. Surprise painted both of their faces as Edward bounded towards them. Dumakas let fly a web of lightning. Edward did not flinch as it arced and popped around his metal frame. He felt a slight tingle, not unpleasant. He smiled as he barreled toward Dumakas. The man was useless against him. Domingo ran frantically out of the way as Edward came on, plowing into Dumakas. Eddie landed a blow right in Dumakas’s torso, the current between them snapping a small bolt of electrictiy into the air. The White Bishop crumpled immediately, slumping to the floor. From afar, Shell watched the three battle it out. He knew, probably as much as Eddie did, that he was their only hope of escaping this alive. Gritting his teeth and trying to ignore the pain, he dragged Sham behind one of the aircraft. Victor was already slumped behind another. He couldn’t help him. At least Sham was breathing, although he didn’t dare peel back her uniform to see how much damage the energy beam had caused. He had a feeling there was a nasty patch of boiled skin under that charred shirt. A shaft of luminscent orange energy drove itself into Eddie’s back, pinning him to the ground. “That wasn’t too fair now, was it? I can’t absorb organic matter, it seems, but I wonder if you count?” Another bolt of energy came rushing toward Eddie as he tried to stand, spinning him around and sending him slamming to the ground with a clang that echoed throughout the chamber. “Fry the others,” Shaw ordered as he stalked up to Eddie, rolling up his sleeves. “I will take the brute.” Domingo hesitated as Shaw continued towards Metalhead. He spared a glance towards Domingo. “Now!”, he yelled. Eddie crawled to his feet, he had to stop Domingo… “No,” Shaw growled. “Your fate lies with me.” Without another word Shaw coupled his fists together as one and slammed them into Eddie’s midsection. Eddie fell back down to the ground again, winded. He actually felt that! Desperately, he kicked at Shaw, sending the Black King sliding down onto the floor. The man was smiling! This was insanity. “Excellent, X-Man…excellent.” And Shaw came at him again. * * * “Strike. Now!”, Gavin said, his eyes searching desperately for any X-Men in the demolished gym that could stand. “I can hold you, father. You’ve known this all along, haven’t you? But I never could raise a hand to you, not as long as I was devoted to being your heir.” Rentaro growled, “You are a mistake that has lasted twenty three wasteful years. I will tear you limb from limb with my bare hands myself.” “You won’t make a single move,” Gavin said, trying to add a suitably defiant tone to his voice. It was still the most frightening thing in the world to face him. A part of him – no, most all of him - still wanted to inherit the Rentaro name. He would never be allowed his family’s legacy, though, he had to keep that in mind. His father was a monster. That was the only way he could face him without faltering. He was no longer human, just a monster, just a monster… The air in front of both Rentaro’s began to blacken mysteriously. Quiver and Shakti glided gently to the floor, courtesy of Gavin. Quiver watched as the black spots in the air grew larger and larger. They had to be pitting their gravity against each other. They were both at the same level of power, Quiver assumed. They had to be, didn’t they? Their father had stolen the power from Gavin himself. He understood what Gavin was saying. Gavin would keep their father pinned. Now if only one of the X-Men could keep deliver a finishing blow. Quiver got up and scrambled over to Shakti. “Shakti…Shakti…are you going to be alright?” Shakti groaned as Quiver helped her up. “Yes, I’m just dizzy. Give me a moment…” “Alright,” Quiver looked around at the other X-Men. Alex Moss was just getting up from the healing Xi’an had given him. The gashes and bruises on him were gone. Alex had no other powers but precognition, though. He could fight, but it was an iffy shot. Krystalin and Xi’an were still out on the floor farther away. “I’m going to try to rouse Krys and Xi’an,” Quiver told Shakti. “I think Xi’an is the only one who can finish this.” While Gavin was holding their father at bay. He wondered how recent a development this way, Gavin’s complete reversal. He wondered what might have happened that could have changed a devotion that Gavin had clung to his entire life. “Can your brother,” Shakti said, she remembered him from his attack on Halo City months ago.*** “Really hold him?” ***X-Men 2099UG: Gravity “He should be able to,” Quiver said. “Check up on Alex there, I’m going to see to the other two.” Quiver got up and started to make his way over to Krystalin and Shakti. Wait. Had he just given an order to Shakti? He shook his head. This day was insane. Just plain insane. The blackness between Gavin and Rentaro continued to grow in immensity and scale. They both were shouting at each other, but the words were lost to the wind that the black voids seemed to be generating. This had to end quickly, even though their powers were evenly matched, one of them had to give eventually. Abruptly a thought struck Quiver, his father now had access to his own power. Their attack earlier had given their father his vibratory quakes, along with Krystalin’s crystal-generating abilities…and holy shock…even Shakti’s telepathy! Quiver broke into a run towards Xi’an. He had to wake him up before his father remembered his recently gained abilities. The wind grew even fiercer as Quiver knelt by Xi’an’s unconscious body. “XI’an! Xi’an! Wake up! Wake up PLEASE. Oh shock, you gotta get up.” Xi’an groaned and twisted his body. Quiver sighed relief. They couldn’t have hitten their heads too hard. As Quiver was shaking Xi’an awake, suddenly a rail-thin man strolled calmly into the gym. Quiver looked up as he passed quickly by. What in the name of Thor was he doing there? He saw Shakti quickly spot him, too. A murderous look seemed to appear on her face and she stood to face him. Quiver couldn’t hear what either of them were saying over the wind now. He seemed to be shooing her away as quickly as he could. A moment’s notice was all Gavin got as his eyes went wide with surprise. Abruptly, he cut off the gravitational forces he was pitting against his father. Immediately, Gavin was jerked off his feet and towards Rentaro. Towards the black void… In a blink, the void vanished. Gavin fell hard to the ground. The wind died as if it had never been created. “The thing I hate about you, besides everything…,” Morphine Somers said to the pile of ash at his feet. “Is that you were SUCH a dangerous kook that I didn’t even get to say something snappy before I offed ya.” Gavin, Quiver, Shakti, everyone really, stared in open-mouthed surprise at Morphine. Morphine put his hands up and tried to smile at them. “Hey, hey, guys…I’ve got a good excuse for EVERYTHING.” * * * Eddie reeled as Shaw landed one, two, three successive kicks at his stomach. He backed off as quick as he could, trying to catch his breath. A quick forearm blocked an incoming thrust from Shaw. The man was an animal. He could barely keep up a defense against Shaw’s savagery. How strong was this guy? How could he keep pounding like this? He didn’t seem to have any bruises whatsoever, if anything, he seemed to be getting stronger. “Wherrrre are you?”, Domingo teased as he stalked around the hangar. He would find those others and finish them off. They couldn’t hide forever in here. Or he hoped they couldn’t, as…playful…as he was acting at the moment, his hand needed some immediate medical attention. “Can’t hide forever!”, he taunted, raising his uninjured hand. The energy nimbus grew brighter and brighter around it, until suddenly four quick, successful bolts of power shot out at an aircraft in front of him. Each slammed hard into the transport, sending charred metal and bits and pieces of debris flying everywhere. One of them caught a power source and an explosion flared from the craft, leveling it and sending blinding light and a voracious boom throughout the entire hangar. As the smoke and rubble cleared, Domingo frowned. No one behind that one either. He hated to waste energy that way, even if it could be easily recharged. There! Eddie snuck in a forceful blow straight to Shaw’s head. That punch would have flattened a train car. To Eddie’s satisfaction, a pained look swept across Shaw’s face as he staggered back. The two of them paused briefly, staring at each other. Shaw worked his jaw, as if testing to see if it was broken or not. He nodded at Edward, “I felt that one, X-Man,” he said. “But I doubt you will be able to land another blow quite like that.” Without further warning, Shaw launched himself at Edward again. The crack of their blows echoed through the hangar. Another aircraft exploded nearby. He was going to find them, Shell knew, he couldn’t very well drag Sham from hiding spot to spot. Maybe if he could get to Victor, or one of the downed guards…their rifles could come in handy. He had to try, there wasn’t any other choice. As he looped his arms under Sham’s, he heard a clattering nearby, nearly lost in the din that Eddie and the other man were making. He peered around, looking for the source, and found it. Sham’s comlink was on the floor under her, it must have fallen out of her uniform. Abruptly, Shell had an idea. Gingerly, he put Sham down, and scooped up the comlink. He hoped this worked in time… A large piece of debris flew straight at Shaw. Instinctively, Shaw ducked into a protective ball, he couldn’t escape the object in time. The chunk of metal tore the shirt from his back as it bounced directly off the Hellfire Club king. Eddie wasted no time in pressing his advantage, stomping towards Shaw, fists raised in the air. Shaw sprang from his crouch with a surprising quickness, launching himself through the air directly at Eddie. He drove his shoulder into Eddie, rebounding off the metal goliath and back down onto the floor. The blow caught Eddie directly below his rib cage. He clutched at his chest…his heart felt like it was about to burst. The orange glow once again filled the hangar as Domingo absorbed more mass to supplement the energy already raging through his body. This was going to end now, if he simply cut a swath of energy in front of him, it had to hit them. He didn’t have time anymore to play hide’n’-seek. An aura of the rippling orange energy began to surround Domingo…Shell had a perfect vantage point from their hiding spot. Unfortunately, that hiding spot was directly in his way. He squeezed the comlink tightly in his hand. C’mon, dammit, where was he… The orange aura grew increasingly brighter, it practically crackled around him now. Shell picked up Sham, he couldn’t wait anymore, he had to get her out of there. As Domingo raised his hands to unleash the terrifying wave of energy, a red blur streaked into the hangar. Bobbing and weaving through the scattered docking apparatus’ and downed aircraft. With uncanny accuracy, a bolero flew from Bloodhawk’s hands, wrapping around Domingo’s legs. Domingo fell to the floor of the hangar, his legs wrapped up tightly in the bolero. The aura faded from around him as the energy escaped from his control, billowing upwards before ceasing. Shell sighed with visible relief. With a perfect and deadly grace, Bloodhawk touched down right next to Domingo. Without a word, he cracked his red reptilian fist up against Domingo’s head. The White Rook did not get up again. “…hurts…,” Sham croaked as she came to. “What’s going on?” “Sham! Don’t move, geez, you took an energy blast from that Inner Circle fella. Luckily, Bloodhawk showed up.” Shell watched as Sham tried to sit up. He stared at the burn on her side, all too aware of the pain his own injury was causing. “Where’re the others?”, Sham groaned. “Eddie? Victor?” Eddie backed off as Shaw made a show of stalking towards him. Feinting a blow here, then drawing back and smiling. He had to know Eddie was struggling to stay up. The tightness in his chest wasn’t going away. “This has been a fantastic test, X-Man,” Shaw taunted, grinning. “I will have to devise a way to artificially recreate it. I have not been this strong in quite a while." Eddie was no longer listening, just backing away, almost running. He couldn’t face this man anymore. Another blow like the other one and…he didn’t want to think about not seeing Rosa or Joaquim again. He needed some sort of miracle. “Perhaps after I kill you,” Shaw continued. “I’ll keep you as a trophy. You’re in remarkably pristine condition considering the beating I’ve been giving you.” It was time to end this, Shaw thought. He had had enough sport with this X-Man. Suddenly, a red form entered Shaw’s line of vision. “Edward! Take cover!”, Bloodhawk shouted as a miniature omni grenade streaked toward Shaw. Shaw smiled, and wondered…Bloodhawk flapped off in the opposite direction as Shaw picked up the grenade and enclosed his fist around it. Shafts of light burst from between his fingers, the explosion shook his arm, but Shaw held tight. A muffled BOOM came and just as quickly went. Carefully, he opened his fist. Some singed skin, but otherwise nothing else amiss. It was enough kinetic energy, though, more than enough, to finish off his armored opponent. “Refreshing,” Shaw said as he approached Metalhead, ready to deliver the killing blow. Bloodhawk circled back, determined to intervene. He flew as hard and fast as he could in the enclosed space. Eddie put up an arm to ward off the blow, but even that minor movement exacerbated the pain in his ribcage. Shaw’s grin was positively morbid. “YEARGHHHH!!!”, Shaw screamed as a faint chiming sounded. He staggered, clutching the sides of his head. The chiming grew louder and louder. Shaw pounded the floor in frustration, in his head, the chiming was more intense and louder than anything. He couldn’t hear his own thoughts in the clamor. It had to stop. He had to make it stop. Suddenly, the noise seemed to reach a crescendo and Shaw’s eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed. A distant female voice echoed from somewhere in the hangar. “Did it work?”, Sham asked. Eddie rested on the floor, breathing hard. “Yeah,” he croaked back, staring wide-eyed at Shaw’s prone body. It was all he could think of to say. * * * “Henri?”, Shakti said as she stared at the white-haired man who crept out from the remains of the hallway in front of them. His psychic presence was unmistakeable to her, the rest of him though… “I have spent just about the most worthless month of my life here,” he replied, limping towards them through the debris. “It’s great to see you all again.” “Henri!”, “Morphine yelled out. “What happened to you? You just…vanished.” “Nice of you to care, Somers,” Henri said acidly as he continued towards Shakti. “You go about creating a vendetta against that,” he nodded smugly towards the pile of ash on the floor. “And I’m the one who gets the stun blast to the face. And unforgettable solitude with the other Rentaro here.” Gavin blushed fiercely from embarassment. “I’m…sorry. “ Gavin’s mouth struggled for other words, but no other sound came out. Henri felt a sudden twinge of sympathy, Gavin had led a hard life, and yet he was still mostly a kid. It was amazing he could even tell right from wrong after years of growing up in the Hellfire Club. He was sorry? That was not like Gavin at ALL, Quiver thought. What was going on? “Henri!”, Krystalin yelled as she rushed to him, on the verge of sudden tears. Henri limped back suddenly, “Whoa whoa, Krys! One of your bear hugs and I’m gonna fall to pieces, okay? Li’l Rentaro there wasn’t too nice to me.” Henri spared a glance at Gavin, with a mixed face. He wasn’t too sure what he was supposed to be feeling towards Gavin. Anger and resentment tried to well up in him but kept subsiding before reaching that critical point. Xi’an pushed his way forward from the X-Men. “Let me see you, Henri. I can help.” “Xian? Who else is here?”, Henri said as Xi’an neared. Morphine eyed them doubtfully. “Please don’t tell me you’re it.” He paused, before forcing a nicer tone and adding. “No offense, but the Inner Circle are stacked in terms of personal mutant power.” Shakti spared him no amount of her withering gaze. “The other five of us are elsewhere in the complex, Morphine. Not that you need to know.” “You don’t understand, “ Morphine began before anyone else could get another word in, he had to square things with the X-Men. “I haven’t joined the Hellfire Club at ALL. Well, of course I did. But only as a hindrance to them.” “You planned the attack on Halo City!”, Henri said, grabbing the attention of the room. Xi’an’s head snapped from Morphine back to Henri. Xi’an suddenly seemed to realize he was in the midst of healing Henri. “Henri, calm down,” Xi’an said as he ungloved his left hand. “Sit back and try not to move.” “I did, but not like you think!”, Morphine continued onward. He had to explain this to them quick. It was a moment he had been dreading. There was not much actual evidence to back his actions. They could very well leave him to his fate here. His anger rose. They better not. After all he had gone through to save their…his…stupid city. “I was onto the Hellfire Club’s plan long before any of you had an inkling of them! Someone had to infiltrate them, to throw them off the rails. Who else could have fit in so well other than me?” Nearby, both Henri and Xi’an gritted their teeth as Xi’an’s golden hand glowed fiercely on Henri’s chest. “I purposely threw Shaw and Rentaro at targets that would wound but not kill the city. I lobbied for them to send assassins and killers and soldiers you could easily detect and defeat. Hell, that army wouldn’t even had gotten near the city if Fitzgerald was still with the team. The last thing I ever expected that nutball to do was leave and look for the Lost City of Mutants. Or whatever it is.” Xi’an sat back with sweat beading on his forehead. “How do you feel, Henri?” Henri stood up gingerly, stretching and waving his limbs. “I feel…geez, it’s been a while since I haven’t been aching somewhere. I feel great.” Smiling, Xi’an quietly muttered, “Well I’m glad someone is finally.” Suddenly Krystalin tackled Henri. “There! Now don’t you ever follow along with one of Morphine’s hairbrained plans again.” “Indeed,” Shakti said coldly. “So far all you’ve told is unprovable and highly suspect, considering the source. I am not entirely uncertain we shouldn’t leave you here.” Quiver watched in silence, glancing over at his brother conspicuously. Every part of him still told him to run from Gavin. His limbs were on edge, ready to move and strike at a moment’s notice. He could not resist sneaking glances at the prone Gavin. This was unbearably wrong. Gavin and father had ruined any chance he ever had at a life. He should shake Gavin until there was nothing left. Instead, he stood there behind the others and let everything play out as it would. It still felt wrong. What exactly was wrong, though, he couldn’t say. Morphine was reeling. He had reached the end of his goodwill with the X-Men. Any of them. But he needed them more then he could admit to himself. What more, he needed to be with them when they left. Drastic moments called for drastic measures…”Please!”, he got down on his knees. He had gotten down on his knees? He had! Nothing doing now, he had to keep on. The words came out before he could think of them. “You can’t leave me here. I want to go with you. I don’t have anything else. Don’t you understand? My home is also Halo City. I had to protect it the only way I knew how. Just like you did.” The eyes of everyone in the room besides Alex and Gavin were wide with shock. Silence filled the room before Krystalin finally spoke up. “Well…this is new.” “We have to take him anyway,” Henri spoke up. “We have to get out of here. Now that I’m up to speed again.” Henri paused, smiling, but no one laughed. “Yes, well. You evacuate the Complex while I hit the computer core. We need their files and we need to take this place down to rubble and we need to do it all in 4.5 seconds.” He paused again, looking askance. “Unless you guys have already taken care of that.” “Something of that nature,” Shakti answered. “Our main concern was rescuing you and then crippling them second.” “I can help you with the access codes, Henri,” Gavin offered. “Not to be judgemental, Gavin, but we need to move fast. Once I get to the computer bank I’m going to initiate a feedback loop on the Complex’s generators. We need to get out of here before the Inner Circle closes in on us. What you can do, Gavin, is get to a terminal and sound an evacuation.” Henri turned to Shakti. “Unless we haven’t brought the proper vehicles to hold everyone in the Complex?” Krystalin answered before Shakti could. “We couldn’t spare, or gather, that many Guardsmen and holding vehicles. Once we found out you were here, we had no time to waste.” “So Bloodhawk made it down there alright?” Shakti nodded. “He did. We must hurry, Henri. I will apprise the other team of our success.” “Other team? Nevermind. Right. I’m off. See you outside.” In a streak of motion, Henri sped from the battered room and around a corner. At once, Gavin made for the hallway, searching for a terminal. Shakti turned to Morphine, still on his knees on the floor. Her anger seemed barely contained. “It seems you will at least leave the Complex alive, Morphine.” With a thought, she grabbed his motor cortex and he jerked up onto his feet. “We’re leaving now.” * * * Fools. All of them, Aloria thought as the entrance to the computer core made way for her. Whether or not Morphine or the X-Men succeeded, it was a moot point, the key was here. A destroyed Complex would destabilize the Club, if it didn’t take a few of the Inner Circle with it. And the X-Men took the fall. Fools. All of them. The entranceway opened to a blue metal catwalk circling the dimly-lit room. offering a full view of the two-story circular chamber. Below, a ring of computer terminals encircled a holo-display that could call up any piece of information in the Complex’s vast banks. And if it was desired and you knew how, any information in cyberspace and beyond. It was a perfect place to find Jonathan Richards. She surmised if he could have his way, he’d enter this chamber and never leave. Her fingers curled against the railing as she leaned and smiled down at him. “Aloria!”, he smiled with a welcoming tone. “Come to add some muscle to my pitiful defense of the core?” The chamber was mostly empty save for guards stationed two at every entranceway. A handful more joined Richards on the ground floor, and undoubtedly the room defenses were armed. She arched an eyebrow wryly at him and then turned to walk towards the stairs. “Indeed,” she said absently as she passed behind thick metal pylons that supported the room’s domed shape. Her boots clanged soundly on the metal. “How fares the Complex? Are the X-Men pacified yet?” “That remains to be seen,” he answered a deal more seriously, his eyes following Aloria. “They’ve killed Rentaro.” She paused on the stairway, genuine surprise on her face. “How in the world did they manage that?” This was an incredibly intriguing development. If they took Rentaro from the field, perhaps they could do the same to Shaw. “Gavin grew a spine somewhere. I always thought Rentaro mishandled him severely. Gavin could have been an incredible weapon.” Aloria continued towards the computer ring, glibly noting the location of the guards. “Rentaro WAS an incredible weapon, why would he need another? And why let anyone have control of the only force that had a chance at stopping him?” “He was still a fool…” Richards paused as Aloria neared him. “Why are you here, Aloria? Have you not chosen to defend the Inner Circle as they confront the X-Men? Your telekinesis gives you a formidable edge. Do you seek a quiet retreat? They have completely destroyed the hangar and most of our guards have already fled by ground.” Aloria bent over one of the terminals and began to punch in commands. As she did, a camera-still of a dark garage came up, showing a small aircraft nestled at rest inside. Her stomach fluttered, they had not yet found that. She did not face Richards as she spoke. “That is the plan, Richards. I would suggest you do the same.” A flash of light suddenly blared next to her right eye. The ripping sound of a ricochet kerranged past her right ear. Immediately afterward she heard the impact of a laser bolt against the far wall. Swiveling to her right calmly, she regarded a surprised Richards through her telekinetic shield. He lowered his gun in degrees. “I…I thought for certain your…” She interrupted him flatly. “Trying to climb up the Inner Circle ladder? Or maybe you saw me free Morphine? Whatever, it doesn’t matter. You should have gotten me on the catwalk, my shield wasn’t up then.” Turning back to the computer terminal, she didn’t even look at his face as her telekinesis reached inside his chest. Richards’ hand clawed at his chest as he fell to the floor with a hoarse cry. His face froze in a rictus of pain. With a patient face, Aloria looked up and repeated the procedure with the guards in the room. A few managed to get off laser bolts as they fell. One of the more intelligent guards threw a concussion grenade into the holo-display in the middle of the ring of computers. Eyes wide, Aloria encased the grenade in a bubble of telekinesis as it went off. The shockwaves rattled against her shield as the burst lit up before her. Breathless, she slumped against the computer bank. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, but the headache probably wouldn’t go away for a while. A sudden barrage of particle weapons reminded her of the presence of the automated defenses. The beams refracted off her personal shield and helped her pinpoint the source of each disruptor. With a squeeze, she crushed each outlet until finally nothing was left to endanger her. Bending back over the terminal, she keyed in her personal codes and accessed the Complex’s power generation system. A person of her rank had little trouble overriding safety protocols. Within minutes, the dim light in the computer room was replaced with flashing red. “Four minutes until feedback failure,” a voice rang from the walls. Aloria smiled and prepared to leave. The same entranceway she had come in opened once more. Aloria froze and readied an attack. Quickly, she smirked. She needn’t bother. Morphine’s aide stood on the catwalk, watching her puzzlingly. “You did it?” He seemed almost disappointed. “Why?” “Because the Hellfire Club belongs to me, not two dull-witted would-be generals and their handful of criminals,” Aloria said, strong conviction underriding her voice. “In fact…” she turned back to the terminal and punched in a quick succession of codes and commands. Twenty seconds later, a small blue chip exited the terminal. She turned back to Meanstreak and tossed the chip up to him, bouyed along by her telekinesis. “…that should be all you need to tear the club down and pull their empire out from under them.” Henri wasn’t exactly sure what to say. “Er…thanks.” The countdown force him to regain his composure. “You need to come with me.” Henri felt himself stiffen, he couldn’t move… “Unlikely”, Aloria said as she paced quckly up the stairs and towards him. From one pocket she produced a small remote and began clicking a few buttons. One of the screens below showed a door opening slowly. She paused briefly next to him, a stern look on her face. “Make good use of that,” she siad, nodding to the chip. With a predatory smile she floated quickly down the hallway. It wasn’t until ten seconds later that he felt her telekinetic hold on him fade. He grimaced, with the pace she was going, she was probably well away from him. Sparing a moment to gaze at the blue data chip, he frowned. It was just all too weird. “Three twenty-three,” the countdown continued. With the speed of thought, Henri became a blur streaking down the hallway. * * * The rush of air threw a blanket over Shaw’s head as he groggily raised his head from the hanger floor. The pain dizzied him and made understanding elusive. Far ahead of him a large aircraft was lifting off from the hanger floor, its underjets scorching black furrows in the ferrocrete and clearing the area of small debris. Shaw stared through foggy eyes as the heat from the jets rolled over him. The noise was a dim and dull rumble. Abruptly it came to him that the person who had left him in this state was leaving in that aircraft. And again it came to him that if they were leaving, then they had done what they come for. And surely that objective wasn’t to wound him and run. The computer core, the generators. Shaw tried to rise and found a stumble was the best he could manage. Pushing through his fatigue and pain, he slipped out of the hanger and back into the Complex. The dull roar in his head continued unabated…drowning out the countdown booming from the walls. * * * The stone crumpled to nothing as Gavin and the X-Men sped out of the Complex and into open air, leaving the countdown behind. As they rose up in the grip of gravity, their aircraft lowered down to meet them. Slowly, the outer hatch opened and the seven of them floated gently into the cabin. Below them the hovering jets roared. As their feet touched the deck, Alex Moss turned towards the pilot’s cabin. “We need to get out of here!” “No!”, Morphine and Shakti both rang out at once, earning a fresh look of scorn and annoyance from Shakti to Morphine. “We have to wait for Henri,” Morphine finished quietly. Shakti’s gaze drilled into him, unmoving, until finally she nodded. Suddenly, Krystalin’s communicator squawked. “Henri?”, she spoke into it. “Krys!”, his voice sounded tiny and breathless. “Do you have an aircraft?” “Yes. Henri where…” “Good! Open the hatch and spread wide those arms of yours. I’ll meet you in the hangar in about five seconds!” “Henri!”, Krystalin yelled as the line went dead. An enormous look of annoyance passed through her face as she turned to the cabin. “Lt. Markson! Go back up to the hangar. No questions, just do it. Now!” * * * Shaw was managing a broken run down the hallway when a human-sized blur whipped around the corner and flew past him. Shaw stumbled against the wall as he tried to avoid it, the wind blowing down a nearby floral arrangement in a wall creche. What the shock was that? He had to know what was going on with the Complex and the Inner Circle. He continued towards the computer core. * * * The hatch slid open again as the aircraft drew itself level to the hangar. As the door pulled away, Krys’ eyes widened in horror. There was a blur coming straight for them. They weren’t yet back in the hangar, he was going to run straight into open air! “Markson!”, she screamed. She tried wracking her brain for some way to get him to the ship safely. A crystal ramp maybe? A bridge of some sort? Could she make it stable enough? The aircraft veered violently into the hangar, listing everyone at a 45 degree angle and sending some sliding down onto the floor. The blur was…the blur was gone. Waiting patiently near the edge of the hangar was Henri, smoke pouring off him, a small smile on his face. The aircraft maneuvered gently onto the floor and with a small hop, Henri was inside. Krystalin was giving him an incredulous look. “What?”, Henri said. “Did you think I was going to jump into the aircraft? It’s like hundreds of feet up. Honestly.” The hatch door slid shut as Krystalin continued to stare gape-mouthed at him. As it closed with a hiss, she punched him – hard – in the stomach and immediately wrapped him a fierce bear hug. Henri winced as he patted Krystalin on the back. “I think…I think I need Xi’an…” * * * Aloria Craven whooped as the small one-person carrier shot gracefully into the sky, leaving the small private hangar on the other side of the Complex. She allowed herself the brazen show of emotion in the solitude. It had WORKED. Far far better than she had hoped. The Hellfire Club, hers by force, hers by RIGHT, was finally back in the hands of the Craven Hold. Her manipulations had bore far more fruit than she had expected. She would build the Inner Circle into a proper hierarchy. And the centuries of Kings holding the power would come to a sharp and final end. Setting the small craft to auto-pilot, she switched the view of the cockpit window to rear. The Complex grew smaller and smaller, and beyond it a small black dot sped away from it. Smiling, she imagined every member of the Inner Circle still inside. She was going to enjoy watching this. * * * Shaw’s face contorted in puzzlement as he spotted Richards’ body prone on the floor. A thick patch of blood stained the front of his chest and his face was frozen in some grotesque mask of agony. Making his way carefully down the stairs, he moved as fast as he dared. White noise rushed through his head, the shoulders of his garment were stained with his own blood. He paid it no mind. As he made his way towards the computer ring, a flashing screen drew his attention. Ignoring Richards’, he stumbled closer to get a good look. The rage in his face gave way to complete puzzlement. That appeared to be a diagram of the power feed into the generator’s core. But… Shaw’s eyes caught the dwindling number at the top corner of the screen. As it dailed down below five, the blood drained from his face. Four, three, two, one. * * * Gavin’s face was as impassive as stone as the burst lit the sky to white. The aircraft sped away quickly, already far enough for the explosion to be nothing but a dwindle on the horizon. That was it. His entire life had just disappeared into atoms. And he still wasn’t sure whether or not he should have gone with it. A small pressure on his shoulder startled him. He turned around to find Quiver’s apprehensive face staring up at him. “Listen, um, Gavin…” Quiver looked away or a moment, seeming to steel himself. Beyond, sitting against the wall, Sham turned and gazed resolutely at Gavin, her face set with a maternal determination. Quiver turned his head back to Gavin, a small, curious smile on his face. “Um…do you want to talk about it?” * * * “You have to believe me! Read my mind,” Morphine pleaded with Shakti. “I will not,” Shakti said, obviously disgusted. “In fact, I do not want to see you for the rest of this voyage. When we arrive in Halo City I will convene with the City Council to best decide how to deal with your baffling treachery. I hope you enjoyed your freedom, Morphine Somers.” As Shakti left, Morphine mulled over his situation. He felt resigned to his fate. Could he have truly found a better way to help the X-Men against the Hellfire Club? His past ran through his head as he stared listlessly at the floor. He had changed irrevocably somewhere along the way. Doom had begun it, Halo City had nurtered it, and the X-Men had given it something to believe in. It was all so confusing. What was waiting for him back in Halo City? And perhaps, considering the selfishness that stained his whole life, perhaps he deserved whatever it was? He just didn’t know. Not anymore. * * * Xi’an grimaced briefly as he rose on his feet, his golden hand shimmering. Nearly everyone had taken an injury during the mission, ranging from minor to serious. Still, he thought, it could have been much worse. Everyone had come back alive, and they were going home. His spirit was glad to simply be a part of that. “That should take care of you, Victor.” Victor nodded and rose to his feet. Pausing, Victor studied Xi’an’s face. “You’re alright?” “Yes. It simply takes a little bit for the pain to pass through. I have gone through worse than this, I will be fine.” Victor nodded, but didn’t take his eyes off his longtime companion. “Let me know if you need any help.” He paused. “Or someone to talk to, someone who understands,” he added. The two of them had lived through fire their entire lives, it seemed. They were lucky enough to walk through unburned, but Xi’an had a hard time learning the lessons of that, Victor knew. He didn’t want his friend, his teammate, to fall again. Especially when Xi’an had a family he could rely on now. “Thank you, Victor,” Xi’an sighed. Perhaps he needed to sit and rest for a while. Lowering his voice to a whisper, Victor continued. “How’s Dexter?” Xi’an sighed again, glancing at Shell across the cabin. “I was able to arrest the infection, or whatever it is. But I can’t restore him.” Xi’an looked meaningfully at Eddie, sitting next to Dexter. “He is taking after Edward in the worst way.” Victor stared at Dexter and Eddie. “I shouldn’t have let him on the mission.” “None of us should have been ‘let’ on this mission, Victor,” Xi’an stated. “But he chose to stand with us, and we can’t spend our regrets lamenting his actions. Was there truly anything you could have done to prevent what happened to him?” Victor didn’t reply immediately, nodding absently at Xi’an’s words, never taking his gaze from Dexter and Eddie. After a while, he spoke up again, “I suppose we’ll have to see what the Halo City doctors can do for him.” “I suppose so.” * * * “How are you feeling, Dex?”, Eddie asked. Dexter winced, clutching his hand over the brown spot in his armor. “It hurts. It doesn’t stop.” “Just hang on tight, buddy. We’re almost home. I’m sure the meds can fix you up.” Dexter just nodded and stared off into the distance. Home? Was that even Halo City? Why was he with the X-Men? He just got in the way, it seemed. He had thought he could help them make a difference. It would be a trip, him and Eddie, tossing the bad guys aside like bad garbage and coming up with last-minute saves. But now, the area around the brown spot ached so fiercely. He had tried to change back to human form, but as he did, he could feel the wound growing. Home. It wasn’t Halo City. Maybe it wasn’t even the Freakshow. And what if they couldn’t fix him? Not even Xi’an could save him. But then, he couldn’t save Eddie. Where was he going to go? What was he going to do? He was useless this way. Maybe he had always been useless. Solemnly he looked around at the cabin full of X-Men. They were weathered and experienced and believed in their dream completely. They had purpose. They defended and sheltered those who couldn’t fend for themselves. Those were real heroes, he thought. He was just an imposter. * * * The desert rolled before them as Halo City came upon the horizon. Henri smiled as he peered out the cabin window. How long had it been since he had seen it in for real? It looked horrible, but in the red-orange gaze of the setting sun made it seem incredibly comfortable. Incredibly familiar. It was home. His home. And it was still standing. He wondered how dirty his apartment was. Krystalin leaned up against his shoulder, her arm propped up on it, and stared at the city with him. “We tried to keep it clean for you. But it’s taken a few tumbles.” He smiled. “It’s still there, isn’t it?” Krystalin smiled too. “Yeah.” She paused, absorbing the view, before she continued. "Sorry I punched you.” “S’okay.” “It’s just that sometimes you’re an idiot.” “I know.” “But you’re my favorite idiot.” “I know.” He crooked his head towards Krystalin, the setting sun lit up the cabin. He wasn’t sure how to broach this subject. “So…you and Victor…” Her face became very serious and earnest, she met his gaze and nodded a bit. “It’s serious, yeah.” Henri took a moment to absorb the information before he smiled a broad grin and squeezed her hand. “That’s great, Krys. Just annoy him as much as you do me.” Krys’ face went open-mouthed in astonishment. Her face screwed into a mischevious determination as she popped him one in the shoulder. “Static for brains!” “Hey! I was kidding!”, Henri said as he tried to fend off her blows. At the pilot controls, Lt. Markson smiled and shook his head. He flipped on the aircraft’s loudspeaker and cleared his throat. “Hey everyone, we’re on our final approach to Halo City. We’ll be landing at the port in a few minutes. Everyone should probably wrap up whatever they’re doing and take a seat. And might I add, it’s a real pleasure to be able to bring each and every one of you back home.” His head turned back to the viewscreen as he flipped off the comm switch. Immediately his eyes went wide. In front of the city gates an enormous flurry of colors spun through the air. Seemingly at random, bars of light shot through them. The light seemed to stream up from the sand in front of the gates, staking out a large circle of space on the land. “What the shock…” He flipped on the comm switch again. “Guys, you should come up and take a look at this.” “What is going on…,” Henri wondered aloud as people packed into the pilot cabin. Before them, the light seemed to be streaming faster and faster, and the aircraft rushed to meet it. Before Lt. Markson could alter course, the light coalesced into an enormous flash that dimmed the viewscreen. “That wasn’t an explosion,” Victor exclaimed quietly. Her mouth hanging open, Shakti touched her forehead wonderingly. “No, Victor…” she rubbed her brow slowly. “No it wasn’t.” * * * The newly-exposed tundra was hard-packed and cold against his skin. He didn’t care. His skin burned, but he couldn’t tell where. It stretched and strained against the energy that packed his muscles, that charged his body. Slowly, he tensed his body and gripped the ground with his fingers. With a loud, hoarse cry, he threw himself upright, sending the piece of debris pinned on top of him flying. With a grim face, he scanned the carnage around him. It was gone, nearly completely gone, with but a quarter of one side of the Complex jutting out from the ground. For a long radius around the ruin, the ground was black and wet with the vaporized snow. With uncontrolled rage, Shaw slammed the ground with his fists, screaming. Sending chunks of ground flying away, his scream echoing throughout the empty landscape. His fit seemed to last forever, but finally his rage quelled and he took a deep breath. His shoulders set, he began walking. He probably needed medical attention, but it didn’t matter. It was a long way towards any sort of civilization, but that was alright. It would give him more time to plan his revenge. NEXT ISSUE: Ohhhhh shit! Are you still alive after all that? The troubles at home may have been solved, but the fight for Avalon continues. Stay aboard, X-fans, we have two more issues to go. And an ending that brings closure to the X-Men in a big way. |
