X-men 2099UG #39

Halo City--

Book's Information Bank--

He stands at seven feet tall, but he never stands for he cannot. His immense size and rock hide makes it near impossible from him to stand by himself in normal gravitational conditions. Book made a request to stay in Halo City after Timothy, Henri, and Luna rescued him. In exchange he would be the X-Men's information resource archivist. There is very little that happens that Book is not aware of. He is an acute observer, and he can see the "connection" between events and predict the outcome with almost infallible certainty.

So, day after day, Book floats in his zero gravity facility gathering and contemplating information. He smiles to himself knowing the answers and the secrets of his fellow X-Men. He doesn't smile with evil tendencies, but he smiles knowing he belongs to a family now. He smiles realizing he could give the answers to questions they have always pondered.

Today Luna, the once Theatre of Pain member, and the love interest of Timothy Fitzgerald, a.k.a. Skullfire-- X-Men team leader, has come to ask a question of Book. He had told her once that there was more to connect her to her former employer, Brimstone Love, than a paycheck. Luna looked as if she had seen a ghost, and ran from Book's facility in horror that there would be anything to connect her to Brimstone Love.

The door to the zero gravity room opens with a hissing sound and the chalk white figure steps into the room and begins to float upwards toward Book, who is near the ceiling of the room. Book continues to read numerous monitors as he welcomes his visitor, "Good afternoon, Luna. What brings you to see me in my tower today?"

"Stop being so nice to me, you shocking know-it-all. You know why I'm here," scolds Luna.

Book smiles again to himself, "Oh, yes, I know why. You want to know why I told you of your 'other' connection to Brimstone Love, don't you?"

Luna crosses her arms and looks sternly at Book, "See, I knew you could figure it out. You seem to figure everything out. Now what is this connection you think I have to the shockin' slave driving psychopath."

"Now, now, my dear. It's not a good idea to be so negative toward your dear brother."

Luna just stands there for a second staring into space, "What did you say?"

"I said you shouldn't be so negative toward your own brother like that," he replies as he continues to watch the monitors.

"There is no shocking way in Hell that I am related to Brimstone." Luna starts to laugh, "Looks like your keen sense of observation has finally failed you, hasn't it?"

Book finally looks at Luna with his stone cut face and reaches out to her with a datapad, "This is a very detailed history of Brimstone Love and you that I have been compiling in the last two days. You will find everything you need to know about the connection. I even highlighted the good parts for you. My dear, Luna, I am never wrong, and I never reveal such painful information unless I am certain. I do apologize for this, but you wanted to know, and I gave you that information. What you do with it is up to you."

Luna's mouth opens to say something to deny what Book is telling her, but she cannot. She takes the datapad and begins to read it, but stops and throws it against the rock hide of Book. "Damn you. Why did you have to do this to me? What have I ever done to you? I was done with the Theater, and now you tell me I can't ever be fully free from it because their leader is my brother! What do you think I'm 'suppose' to do?"

Book shakes his head, "I don't know. That's your decision to make, but you need to make it wisely. You are one of the few people I have encountered that can sway one side or the other, but you are never predictable. I've run the numbers and look at the scenarios to see what you reaction would be even before you walked in, and I don't know what will happen. I do know this, this can have one of two endings."

"I thought you said you didn't know what will happen. Why are you speaking in so many riddles? Just tell me what will happen now that I know this."

"You don't understand, Luna. I can predict and observe till I die, but I cannot predict what will come from a human reaction. I can only observe what has already happened."

"Why did you say there would be one of two endings to this? What else do you know?"

Book turns around and turns off a monitor. "That is one ending. Nothing. You will simply turn your mind off from it, and go on with your life, or you can take the other route and do something with this information. You can use it to make a difference. Whether you understand it now or not, the Theater is part of you and you have the ability to change it. You are the only X-Man that can destroy Brimstone."

"What? How? Because I'm his sister?"

"Yes, you have the key to his only weakness. . .his heart."

Luna laughs at Book, "Brimstone doesn't have a heart."

"True, but he does have a sense of nobility, and I'm sure he would welcome his sister to help lead the Theater into their next evolution. And what would happen if someone was there to steer the Theater away from their destructive way long enough for the X-Men to strike the final blow?"

"Are you suggesting I infiltrate the Theater using this information in order for Tim to lead a strike against Brimstone? What if it doesn't work?"

"True, but what if it does?"

Luna shakes her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you are planning a way to destroy the Theater. Why? What pleasure do you get from this?"

Book looks away from Luna, and then back. His stare pierces through her very soul, "I am all that is left of my family thanks to the Theater, and now is the time to end their reign of terror. I will not sit and watch thousands of people suffer a similar fate just because I didn't have the means. The reason I wanted the X-Men to "rescue" me was to give me that chance to make a difference, and it starts with the Theater. I am not asking you to help me seek revenge, but I am asking you to help spare so many thousands if not millions of people so much pain and death. You've been one of them, you know what they do. That is why I searched you out, you are the key to ending Brimstone's madness. Will you help me?"

Without warning a tear runs down Luna's cheek. She remembers all too well the pain she inflicted on so many helpless victims when she was part of the Theater. She looks at Book with the first tender look she has ever given someone as if she is apologizing. But without speaking., she turns and lowers herself to the door below. Book simply watches her as she grabs onto the railing on the sides of the door. The door hisses open and she pulls herself out of the zero gravity room without even looking back at Book. All he can do is watch, for this is the first time he doesn't know what will become of the situation. He turns back to his monitors and whispers to himself.

"Forgive me for what I am about to do, Luna. But you are not the only one who holds such strong ties to Brimstone Love, and I know your other brother will help me."

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Halo Tower--

For lack of a better name, the inhabitants of Halo City have given the tallest building in the city the name "Halo Tower". This "Tower" is also the base of operations for the X-Men, or those who are still called X-Men. The city now calls them the "Protectorate", and the X-Men have become accustomed to it although, lately there has been nothing to "protect" the city from.

Timothy Fitzgerald is the appointed leader of the X-Men by default since Xi'an lost his edge and went out alone. So, from day to day, Timothy sits in the observatory watching for possible trouble. There have been a few isolated incidents lately, and Tim feels that the X-Men are going to waste. The team has never been together for anything since their dealing with Brimstone Love and the Theater of Pain. He remembers the battle well, feeling one with his teammates, and feeling the love of the adventure. He knew even when he was enjoying thrashing out at the Theater, he was doing good, that he was helping people. He also remembers another time he and some of the others helped someone, a young man named Robert.

Robert stayed with them for a few weeks, but Tim counted Robert as one of his closest friends. They both loved the thrill of adventure. Now Robert is gone, probably to find more adventure, but Tim remains here in Halo. The question of why he always remains when his friends leave never leaves his mind. The answer is always close behind. Timothy knows he makes a difference being an X-Man, but it was time that the X-Men made a difference in the world around them.

"Why do we just sit around? Henri's too busy working in the lab that Doom built him. Shakti is too busy with the kids. Bloodhawk still doesn't like us. Krys wants to return to the Panthers since her father died. Xi'an left. Tina's dead. We're nothing like we use to be, and we've been through so much together. But then Doom came along and built Halo." Timothy stands and walks over to the window and looks over the crowds walking through the streets. "So many of you out there, and none of you realize we're all wasting away here. Halo was supposed to be a haven away from mutant persecution, but its becoming a tomb. Maybe Doom wanted us here to be out of the way."

The door from the hallway slides open with a hush sound and December and Willow walk in. "Sorry to bother you, Mr. Fitzgerald." December says apologetically. He smiles, "No worries, girls. What can I do for you?"

"Well," December starts out, "we're leaving the city for a while."

Tim's mouth drops open, "Why?"

Willow speaks up for December, "We're going to find a friend of ours."

Tim nods, "And this friend wouldn't have disappeared a few nights ago, would he?"

"Come on, Tim. I can't believe…"

"December, calm down. I can't keep you here. You're a grown woman, and you can make your decisions on your own. I've always felt that way." Tim walks over to his comm station and presses a few buttons. He removes a small box from underneath the desktop and hands it to December. "If you ever need me or anyone else here, just call us using this. Henri said the range could reach several hundred miles. If you get beyond that, then please let me know before you do."

December and Willow nod. As they start walking toward the door to leave,

Timothy stops them. "Girls, do me a favor."

"What's that?" Willow wonders.

Timothy walks back to the window, "When you find your friend, tell him he is missed here in Halo. Tell him he is always welcomed here, and he is always family to us."

Willow smiles, "We will." The girls turn back to the door as it hisses open, and they walk out beginning their new journey.

Timothy stares out into the vast desert, "Goodbye, my friends. And I hope you do find Robert. Then one day we all will be back together as a family."

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Alaska--

Somewhere inside the Alaskan Complex, Alexander Shaw thinks to himself. He thinks and plans of the right time to make himself known to the world, and to claim his birthright as the great-grandson of Sebastian Shaw-- the Black King of the Hellfire Club. When would the world be ready to witness the re-emergence of the once powerful Hellfire Club? Alexander laughs to himself, and knows his own answer. "The world will never be ready for the Hellfire Club. This world is too caught up in its own misguided lives to understand the significance of the Shaw regime of the Hellfire Club." Alexander walks across his large and elaborate office to his desk. He sits down and brings up a file on holo-terminal. As the file begins to open, seven faces appear from the holo-terminal.

"Ah, my new friends, the Hellfire Club is coming soon, and I want all of you to be a part of it. Each of you possesses something that will benefit the greater agenda of the Hellfire Club. I, the Black King, will bring all of you together, and we will not rule this retched earth, but control every aspect of this pitiful globe, and then reach further."

A knock at the door brings Alexander back to the present day. He closes the holo-terminal file, and walks over to the door to open it for his visitor. The door slides slowly disappears and on the other side stands Alexander's only confidant in this entire complex-- a man only known as the Mediator.

"I thought I asked you to go to Halo City to contact our mole?" Alexander asks sternly.

The Mediator nods, "I know, sir. I did not feel it was appropriate to been seen in the city with him so soon after our meeting. I am not sure of the ramifications of such an early appearance in the same city as Mr. Somers would pose to your plans."

Alexander places his hand on the Mediator's shoulder, "It may not have mattered, but I do appreciate the concern. I understand your worry, and don't let it bother you. What was Morphine's demeanor when he you left him?"

"Disturbed, sir. I'm not sure he fully understands the situation. Excuse me for questioning your decisions, sir, but is it wise to seek his cooperation in your plans?"

"Morphine has something I need, and I have someone he wants. I'm surprised you doubt my capabilities in controlling a situation. Don't worry about Mr. Somers. If he wishes to keep his lovely wife alive he will do as we tell him."

"I see, sir. Please forgive my doubting you. Is Mr. Somers aware of his wife's present location?"

"Oh, no. He still thinks she is in the safe house of his former employer, Doom, had her placed in. And he will continue to think that until he crosses us. He will gain us control of Halo City, and the Hellfire Club will raise the Mutant Messiah as our own heir to power."

"But, sir, do you trust him? Do you think Mr. Somers will accept your proposition as the Black Rook?"

Alexander strides across his office, "Oh, yes. What more could a mutant want with his ambition and his arrogance. He will do the unthinkable to be one of us because we offer him power and wealth." Alexander turns around and faces the Mediator, "And if Morphine is not the man I feel he is, then we will show him his wife, and he will have no choice but to bring me the messiah."

Alexander walks over to his desk and presses a button underneath the edge of his desk. The wall across the office from his desk opens, and a woman stands looking out, what she thinks is a window overlooking the mountains of the Appalachian. She thinks she is safe and protected from anyone her husband may call an enemy. She does not realize she has been an unknowing prisoner of the Alaskan Complex since Doom's regime as President ended.

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the Desert--

There is very little out here in the vast stretches of sand. A few scattered shrubs offer little shade for the small rodents and reptiles that roam here. The only noises to be heard are the squawks of the circling scavengers in the hot sky above. Yes, very little goes on here in the desert, until today.

The sound of a mechanized beast travels rapidly over the stretching sands. A cloud of dust and debris scatter in the wake of this wailing machine. Suddenly, the creature slows its speed and comes to a screeching halt. When the dust settles and the air is clearer the appearance of a figure riding this mechanical beast can be seen. The figure unwraps a veiled cloth that is keeping the dust from choking the life from his being, and slight grin emerges. The rider removes his helmet to reveal the face of a man lost in his own mind. A man named Xi'an, an X-Man.

Xi'an surveys his surroundings, taking in all that he can see as he squints through the blaring desert sunlight. He climbs off his desert cycle that his teammate Henri had designed for the X-Men, and walks around stretching his legs. "What are you hoping on finding out here, Xi'an?" he says to himself. He walks around a bit more just to clear his mind, and to prepare himself for a long ride ahead. He wanders back over to his cycle, and gets back on top of it. He hits the button that fires up his cycle. "Well, I hope I can find what I need where I'm going. I haven't laid eyes on Saba'Ur in years. I hope its still standing." And with that said, Xi'an races off away from the desert and north to a destiny he is not aware of.

NEXT ISSUE: Whoa! Luna and Brimstone Love are siblings?! And who is their other brother? Morphine has a wife? Yikes! And Alexander Shaw has her prisoner. Double yikes!! And what is Saba'Ur, and why is Xi'an heading there? Be back here for issue #40, and the beginning of the end for Halo City and the X-Men. I call #40 "T-Minus 10 to the Messiah"