The X-Tremes #1 by Ben Church b_church@yahoo.com (feedback! please!) You guys know the deal by now. I don't own em. Will wasn't sure what it would be like, travelling through the portal. Would be like last time (1), like stepping into a room? Or would they tumble down some tunnel and be thrown into the new world? It wasn't like either. He suddenly found himself half sitting, propped up against something. It was dark, and raining. He heard mud squelch as someone stepped in front of him. He looked up, expecting to see one of his friends. Instead he looked into the grinning, half rotted face of what had once been a human being. Worms and flesh fell from the walking corpse as it stretched a skeletal hand towards him as if to offer assistance. "Yeaaarrgh!" Will screamed, instinctively lashing out with a wave of heat that blasted his attacker apart. Leaping to his feet, he saw that he'd been sitting propped up against a headstone. "Oh Jesus," he thought. "This could be bad." He looked around quickly, seeing his friends scattered around the cemetery. "Hey guys!" he called. "Over here!" Then the ground before him erupted. Seemed the body in the grave he was standing on had gotten restless as well. Screaming, he jumped back, running in the general direction of the others. "Christ!" Becky screamed, as a zombie lunged out of the dark at her. Her nails extended to many times their normal length and she slashed the thing in half. But it kept coming. "Is this what you call a better world?" Clarice gasped, reaching Will's side. Just minute's ago, she'd been taken from her home, in a world ruled by Apocalypse, and thrust into this one.(2) "Jumping to a drastic conclusion aren't you?" Zach asked. Beside him, Jasmine zapped an approaching Zombie with electricity. "I mean, this is only one small part of this world." "Um," Will pointed at Clarice. "Uh, your name escapes me." Clarice only looked mildly offended. "Ferguson," she said. "Clarice Ferguson." "All right Ferguson," Will said. "Can you get us out of here?" "I need a more specific destination. I don't know this world." "All right." Will said quickly. "That way." he pointed to the gates of the cemetery beyond the surrounding army of the undead. "With the greatest of pleasure." Clarice smiled. Soon they were away, and behind the Zombies. "All right." Clarice said. "Now where are we?" "I don't know," Will admitted. He took off the shades and put them into his pocket. "This isn't our world. The shades told me that much. That and we're stuck here until they can re-charge." "How long will that take?" Carrie asked. "About two days." "In that case," Rebecca said. "We should find shelter." "Um," Zach said. "The Zombies are coming." "Uh oh." Will said. "I wouldn't think they'd have the brains left in their bodies to think to look behind them. Okay, um, run." And they did. No sooner had Marcus barred the door, than the banging started. "Good lord!" he exclaimed. "Not a moment too soon!" "I didn't even see them coming!" Sarah, his daughter said. "And their usually a lot slower than that!" "Let us in quick!" a young man's voice came from without. "And they don't talk." the Innkeeper said. "Unbar the door Marcus, quickly!" "But sir-" "I'll not abandon anyone to such a fate! Let them in!" The door was quickly opened, and the refugees let in. Behind them, Marcus could hear the Zombies on their way. He quickly barred the door behind them. "What were you doing out at such an hour?" Jonathan, the Innkeeper asked. "Didn't you know about the walking dead?" "As a matter of fact," Will said. "No. We're from, out of town." "I figured as much." he smiled. "No one around here would dress like that." "Uh," Will stammered. He didn't know what to say. These people were dressed like early 1800's. Had they gone back in time too? Ah well. "This happen every night?" Zach asked, coming to his friend's rescue. "Now it does." Sarah told them. "Now?" Clarice spoke up. She tried to ignore how the others stared at her. "Ever since Essex came." Marcus said. "Sit." the Innkeeper insisted. "No one's leaving this place till sun up, so you might as well make yourselves comfortable." "Thank you." they said and did so. They jumped as a banging started on the door. "Don't worry," Sarah assured them. "They can't get in. They're persistent, but they aren't very strong." "Oh," Carrie said. "That's a relief." Sarah caught herself staring at the girl with purple skin. She'd heard stories all her life about the Faery Folk, but she'd thought they were just that, stories. But here stood what could only be a Faery, her hair and skin was purple, her eyes all blue, with no pupils, and her ears were pointed. "It's okay," Clarice said to her. "I know I look unusual." Will was still talking to the Innkeeper. "Tell me about this Essex." "The strangers are there." the lead Vampire said. Her short black hair framing coldly beautiful Asian features. "We will take them tonight. Behind her, the others nodded. There was a splintering noise from the front door. "My God," Jonathan said. "One night too many for the wood!" The door gave way. "Jonathan!" Will shouted. "Get Sarah and Marcus behind us! Ferguson, you got a code-name?" "Yes, it's Blink." "All right then Blink, keep the zombies from our gracious hosts." "Sure thing Hotshot." Clarice smiled. He was acting more like the Hotshot she'd grown to love. Will barely managed not to wince. He hadn't wanted to pick up that title again, but it seemed that once an X-Man, trouble would forever plague him. "Do we get code-names?" Zach grinned. "Let's worry about that later." Will told him. The walking dead began to enter, the stench nearly gagging everyone in the room. Will and Blink made short work of them at first, Will vaporized them on the spot, while the purple skinned mutant teleported them far, far away. But they just kept coming. And coming. "Okay um," Will said. "This isn't working. Jonathan, since they've never gotten in before, I'm guessing the wood upstairs is still strong?" "Yes!" the Innkeeper realized. "Everybody upstairs!" The banging had died down, it seemed the dead did give up after a while, and had to return to their graves before sunrise. Will had sent his friends to bed hours earlier. Clarice had wanted to stay up and stand guard with him, but he'd insisted. He thought it best to keep a certain distance from Clarice, emotionally anyway. He suspected that she and his counterpart had been involved. Will shook his head sadly. She was not ugly by any stretch of the word, but he still loved Jubilee. Didn't he? A voice told him that if he had, he would not have left like he did, without telling her that he was alive. He told the voice to mind it's own business. A beeping shook him out of his reverie. He took the glasses out of his pocket and slipped them on. The display on the left lens told him that it was done recharging. They could leave. He sighed. He hated leaving these people like this. But he and his friends had their own problems. He knocked on his friends' room door before entering. "Hey guys!" he said happily. "We can...leave?" The room was empty. Next Issue: Hotshot: The Vampire Hunter! (1) In The Hotshot Limited Series #4 (2) It happened in X-Tremes #0