X-men 2099UG #48

--Halo City
--Halo Square

Have you ever stopped to listen to silence? To hear all the things that you don't normally hear in your day-to-day tasks? Have you ever looked into nothing and seen everything? Dust has, and his entire world is flooding back on him like a tsunami, and there's nothing he can do.

"AUGH! Stop this madness! Stop this NOW!", he screams. Images flood through his mind of the last century. Things that could not be his past, things that should not be his past, but they are.

"Dear, boy. Have you forgotten you are they last child of the atom? Xavier's last little lapdog. Oh, no, you never were one of them were you? You looked at Xavier and turned away. How delicious."

"Damn you, Exodus. I remember you now. Because of you, all my life that I have tried so hard to forget has returned to me. I know who you are and who I am. Damn you. A lifetime has past since we last fought each other, and now you come to destroy what I have sworn to protect."

Timothy and the tattered band of mutants, known as the X-Men and members of X-Nation, stand huddled together in amazement. There have been stories of one as evil as the one called Exodus, but they figured him for dead. But the stories did say he was one of centuries of life. Could he truly be the one he claims?

What of Dust now? These two have a past dating a century ago. Who is Dust, and why has he been hiding his past from them and himself?

"Tim. We need to do something here. Sitting around isn't going to get this 'Exodus' out of here any faster."

Tim looked behind him, "Luna, there's something between these two, and I'm not wanting to get in the middle of it right now. The power Exodus has shown so far dwarfs our abilities. We need to fall back and regroup. We need a plan."

"I'll give you a plan." The beast child Wulff speaks up with a growl, " I'll just tear out his throat. We can't run while this guy stands laughing at us. Look what he did to Uproar? Doesn't that mean anything?"

"Hold back, child." Luna raises her hand to his chest. "Tim's right. We can't go half cocked against him. There's not enough of us left to deal with him directly."

Metalsmith looks around, "Well, there's not much cover here. We're going to need to fall back to the Orphanage. Hopefully Dust will keep him preoccupied while we're gone."

"Luna, take the kids back and check on Uproar. I'm leaving it up to you to come up with a battle plan. I'm staying here to help Dust. He's going to need some."

"Tim, no. I'll stay behind. The kids…"

Wulff interrupts, "I'm not a shockin' kid! Let's kill this freak now!"

Exodus smiles, "You're flock is in turmoil, Dust. They don't know what to do with me and you're connection has made them doubt you even more than they already do. What are you going to do? Are you going to continue to stand there as if you can talk your way out of your destiny, or are you going to face me for the last time? You're not going to have that Cable to help you out this time. He's long since gone, as are the rest of the precious X-Men. It's just you alone, as it should be."

"Cable? Who is Cable?", Memories continue to flood the mind of Dust each time Exodus speaks. Images pouring back. Feelings and emotions continue coming back and reeling Dust's mind back and forth making concentration harder each moment he stands there.

He looks back at Timothy and the others. The messiah is with him. Timothy must take the mantle as mentor if he is to fall in battle. Someone must take on the care of the messiah. He is too young and unsure how to use his powers and destiny to help his true people.

Dust shakes his head in disgust. He knows it is not his time yet, and there is needed time to prepare against Exodus. He is too weak from psychic overload from his returning memories to do much now. Then he thinks of the children. For them he must endure. Exodus must not realize who the messiah is. Not now, and not ever.

"We'll finish this, Exodus. We'll finish this NOW!" With a scream, Dust lifts himself into the air above Exodus and projects a mental blast directly to Exodus's mind. Exodus drops to one knee, and smiles.

"Is that your best shot, boy. You were much stronger back the last time we fought. Has time hurt you? Has it made you forget your true potential?" Exodus reaches out with his hand and the building behind Dust begins to shake, and structural beams fly out from it slamming Dust in his back. He falls to the ground clutching his back.

"Damn you, Exodus." Dust can feel the energy slipping from him. He knows two of his ribs broke on impact from the beam, and two more snapped when he hit the ground. Exodus is right, he has been stronger. When he and Cable fought Exodus all those years ago in the snow. The connection between Cable and himself made the both stronger, but Cable is not here.

He slowly picks himself off the ground. For these children he must not fail. His eyes begin to glow and the beams that had been used against him, lift and fly toward Exodus now. They bend and wrap around Exodus with lightning speed. With his outreached hand, Dust begins to slowly bend the beams tighter around Exodus. "This ends now, Evil One."

Exodus shows expressions of pain as he strains to push against Dust's powers. He smiles slightly when he feels Dust loosing his grip. The twisted metal explodes into hundreds of shards as they fly away from Exodus. Dust extends a telekinetic field blocking the shards from his body, and then he looks behind him to see if the others are all right.

Metalsmith raises and smiles to Dust as the metal shards stop inches away from them. The shards hang in mid-air for a brief moment and drop to the ground.

"We've been here too long. Luna, get everyone back to the Orphanage. Dust and I will meet you there soon."

"Tim…"

"Luna! GO!", and with that yell, Timothy spins back toward Exodus as the crackling green energy leaps from his hands striking the exhausted Exodus. "Shock it! Go down you bastard!"

Exodus stretches his hand out and seems to push Timothy's energy beams away from himself. "Fool, you have no idea what I am capable of doing to you. I could crush you all with a stray thought."

"Then let's get this over with. I'm tired of this shockin' crap!", Wulff exclaims as he jumps from a window overtop Exodus. His teeth gnawing and claws bearing, Wulff falls on top of Exodus cutting him as he tries to avoid Exodus's reach. "What's the matter, freak, can't catch a little kid?"

"Wulff, get away from him!" Timothy screams. "Damn, kid. Dust! I need you to telekinetically get that shockin' kid off of Exodus so I can blast him!"

Exodus smiles to himself. He latches on to Wulff, and tosses him against a nearby building. Wulff hits the wall so hard the air from his lungs pours out in one loud 'gasp!' "I can go at this all day, Dust, but I will not. I want the messiah and I want him now. He's death will usher in my reign as mutantkind's true messiah and leader as my lord- Magneto once was." Exodus turns and walks away from Dust. "You bore me. You all do. I will find the messiah and I will kill him."

Dust rises off the group. Although no one can see it with their eyes, they can feel the air around Dust crackle and swirl around his floating body. "EXODUS!" Dust raised one hand and pointed at Exodus. Without another motion from Dust, Exodus's body flies through the air and slams against a building near by. "We're not through, Evil One. It ends here and now, all of these years of hiding and trying to escape from my destiny. Today our conflict ends with your death."

Exodus raised himself into the air and floated three feet from Dust's face. "You, pup. You have no idea how long I have waited for this moment. I hope you know that only one of us will walk away." Dust just stared into Exodus' face. "Say something, boy. Don't you have anything to say before you face your maker?"

Dust stared and the friction of energy around his body began to intensify. Timothy could feel the heat and energy almost push him away from the two enemies. Timothy began to walk backwards toward the Orphanage, still keeping his eye on Exodus and Dust, and then he heard Dust speak.

"I am no longer a man lost to himself, Exodus. There is nothing you can do that will keep me from protecting the Messiah. If I am to die today, then you will die with me. I will not die as the man I am today, but I will die as the man I once was. Today and from here forward I am Nate Grey.

Timothy falls backwards and lands on his back. "You're who?!"

Exodus just smiles.

Next issue: Dust is who?! Be back here in X-Men #49 and get the rest of the answers that have been haunting you. Still waiting to see whom the Mutant Messiah is? Well, be here next issue and see who it is.