RAISING HELL

Part III

By Wesley Overhults

The Hellfire Club, New York City, Earth-167

Trevor Fitzroy watched and waited, a consummate predator on the hunt for fresh meat. His prey was slow and weak but he did possess some good qualities. Harry Leland was a large, portly man who was full of life. This meant by extension that he was full of life force for Fitzroy to drain from his slovenly body. Trevor likened his impending consummation of Harry Leland’s life force to squeezing an orange in a juicer. Leland was certainly round enough to resemble some piece of fruit so Fitzroy thought it an apt comparison. He wasn’t ready to take on Shaw just yet. He wanted the leader of the Inner Circle to think about it, to sweat about it in that garish suit he always wore. Fitzroy had learned a lot about his captors in the time he had been their prisoner. The Hellfire Club sought to use him to further their agenda but they would soon learn that Fitzroy had his own agenda to follow.

“Come into the parlor,” whispered Fitzroy to himself as he watched from behind the slightly ajar door and saw Leland come into view.

In a silent flash of light, Fitzroy was on Leland in the span of half of a second. Leland had little time to employ his mutant abilities before Fitzroy locked him in a chokehold. He lashed out instinctively with his mutant power even as Fitzroy tried to suck the life straight out of his body. Fitzroy’s body began to get heavier but there was a problem. He had wrapped himself around Leland’s back, locking his legs as much as he could around the larger man’s waist while his arms were employing a chokehold. When Leland used his mutant power, it turned Fitzroy into a burden the portly Black Bishop couldn’t shoulder. Fitzroy became so heavy that it caused Leland to fall forward, effectively turning himself into a beached whale with a giant boulder on his back. All the while, Fitzroy continued to feed on Leland.

“Not tonight, monster,” promised Thunderbird before ramming into Fitzroy and sending him flying down the hallway.

Fitzroy bounced and skidded down the carpeted hallway before coming to a stop on his back looking up at the ceiling. He wearily picked himself back up to his feet and looked at the three Hellions who stood to oppose him. He leered at them before disappearing in a flash of light. He appeared behind the Hellions in the span of a second, trying to latch onto Thunderbird next. Tarot dealt the Death card from her tarot cards and the image of the Grim Reaper with his scythe appeared to do battle with Fitzroy. Fitzroy teleported backwards a few moments in time, reappearing behind Tarot instead of Thunderbird. Before the two powerhouses of the Hellions had time to realize what was happening, Fitzroy was draining the life force straight out of their teammate’s body.

“I tried this five seconds ago but it was on the wrong person,” explained Fitzroy. “I don’t think Mr. Leland will be getting up any time soon so that means I can finish him off any time I want. You two are the problems for me right now. I can drop this girl no problem and you two can’t do a damn thing about it as long as I keep her in front of me. So the only thing you can really do is watch the life just drain out of her nice, little body.”

“I’m gonna rip your head off for that,” promised Sunspot.

“I don’t think you’re really going to do anything,” replied Fitzroy casually as he continued to kill Tarot. “I think I’m going to finish my work with her and then I’m going to do the same thing to you, your friend, and that fat tub of scum lying on the floor there. Then I’m going to go after Shaw and make him pay for locking me up. I think that’s my schedule for the evening. Lucky for me, I’m running right on time.”

Fitzroy kicked the lifeless corpse of Tarot towards the two remaining Hellions before teleporting away. Sunspot and Thunderbird looked to one another for what to do next. Fitzroy had killed their teacher and at least one of their classmates. For all the two boys knew, they were the last remaining Hellions alive. They had to finish their assignment, if only for revenge on their fallen friends.

“We need to find him,” ordered Sunspot.

The two Hellions left the hallway to search for Fitzroy. A few seconds later, Fitzroy reappeared right in the same spot he had disappeared. He knew that all he had to do was teleport ahead a few minutes in time and the two Hellions would leave the unconscious Harry Leland to his mercy.

“They seemed to have left you all alone,” commented Fitzroy, grabbing Leland by the back of the head and finishing his job. “Very bad for you and very fortunate for me.”

“You were never in my league, Osborn,” stated Shaw, his chest heaving in and out as his breath came quick and heavy.

“No, I’m above it,” shot back Devil-Goblin as he tried to catch his breath.

With the extra energy absorption Shaw gained from killing Chamber, he was well within Devil-Goblin’s strength class. However, that energy would eventually run out since Shaw was burning through more energy than he was gaining by punching Devil-Goblin out and the toxic energy Shaw would absorb from the hellfire wouldn’t give him much strength. Osborn knew all he had to do was burn Shaw out and then it would be his turn to gain the upper hand. Of course, Osborn realized he had to get to that point with his skin intact before he could get ahead of his foe.

“You’re above it?” inquired Shaw with a smirk before kicking Devil-Goblin in the ribs.

Not to be outdone, Devil-Goblin retaliated with an uppercut that rocked Shaw and sent him reeling backwards. The two of them traded blows again, their enhanced strengths and durability letting them survive blows that no ordinary human being could withstand. Devil-Goblin took another swing that Shaw caught. Shaw returned with a vicious right cross but Devil-Goblin fired back with a knee to Shaw’s ribs to slow the Black King down. He tried for a second knee but Shaw grabbed his leg and flung him over the balcony and onto the floor of the main hallway below. He turned and saw that Wasp was still using her sting bolts to disorient the younger goblin. He hadn’t counted on the Exiles giving him a helping hand but at this point he wasn’t going to turn it down. He dove off the balcony and buried his fist into Devil-Goblin’s chest. The blow would’ve killed an ordinary human being. It only succeeded in punching both combatants through the floor.

“Don’t make me hurt you any more than I already have, Harry,” warned Wasp.

“Hurt me?” snarled Goblin in return before launching a volley of fireballs at his former teammate. “You’ve barely even scratched me. You’re the only one that’s going to get hurt if you keep up this foolishness.”

Wasp shrunk herself to weave through the fireballs before returning to normal size and punching Goblin in the face. The blow barely even broke Harry’s stride as he clapped both his hands against Wasp’s skull and rattled her before blasting her into a wall with a bolt of hellfire. Wasp barely had time to dodge the blast that followed the first one. She flew out of the way but Goblin moved at inhuman speed to meet her with a punch that sent her to the floor.

“You always told me the last thing you wanted to be was your father,” reminded Wasp, weakly struggling to get back to her feet.

“That was before my eyes were clear,” replied Goblin, stamping down on her back and grinding his foot against her spine. “You are nothing but an insect, Kate. Nothing you do matters. I will never love you and your silly, schoolgirl crush is quite pathetic.”

“You don’t even remember Liz?” asked Wasp. “I don’t care if you love me but I know you love her.”

Goblin stared at Wasp hard as he felt things in his head start to warp and change. Something was wrong. Everything was wrong. This wasn’t him . . . was it? Wasn’t he supposed to be better than his father? So why was he wearing the same face all these years if he didn’t want to be his father? That didn’t make any sense. Nothing made any sense anymore.

“Kate . . . help me,” pleaded Goblin. His momentary lapse in judgment subsided as he buried his former self and all the thoughts and emotions attached to it.

“Most people just get a therapist to deal with their Daddy issues,” cracked Daredevil as he tackled Goblin off of Wasp while the other Exiles moved to find Shaw and Devil-Goblin. “All things considered, this is probably way cheaper.”

“You think you’re going to win like last time?” asked Goblin. “I’m not the same man anymore. I’m not even a man at all.”

“Then I don’t have to feel bad about beating the shit out of you,” retorted Daredevil before raining blows down on Harry, his fists and arms moving like pistons over and over again.

Goblin laughed, the same maniacal cackle as his father escaping from his throat, even as Johnny continued to pound on him. With one backhand, Goblin sent Daredevil through a wall before calmly getting back to his feet. Sandman clubbed him over the head with a hammer made out of hardened sand and hit him again. Goblin took a swing at Sandman but couldn’t put a dent in his hardened sand form. He tried a few more shots before realizing it was pointless. Sandman turned into a puddle of sand and slunk behind him, reforming himself before giving Goblin a couple hard shots in the kidneys.

“This fighting is making everything worse,” warned Wasp. “I was getting through to him before you guys showed up.”

“So we’re just supposed to let him kick our asses?” questioned Sandman, dancing and weaving to avoid Goblin’s attacks. “Not the best plan in a fight, Kate.”

“Where are the others?” asked Wasp.

“Trying to figure out what the hell else is going on,” replied Sandman. “Hopefully we can put all these jokers down and figure out how to get out of here.”

Sandman was distracted by the conversation long enough for Goblin to land a good shot on him and knock him backwards. Harry turned and caught both of Daredevil’s feet in his face. Wasp blasted him with sting bolts while he was off balance. Goblin spun on his heel, trying to keep his balance amidst the assault from all directions. A giant claw made out of sand came at him from above courtesy of Sandman and pinned him to the floor.

“Harry, remember Liz,” urged Wasp as she watched him struggle against Sandman’s grip. “She loves you and she’s waiting for you, the real you. Remember what you told me before. This is your father, not you.”

Goblin snarled something unintelligible. He could feel Harry Osborn the man trying to fight off the monster he had become. He tried to remember Liz, remember what it was like to lose himself in her eyes. He tried to remember the way her hair smelled after she got out of the shower in the morning, tried to remember what her favorite song was. He remembered what it was like to kiss her and to feel that . . . that rightness in his life for the first time ever.

“Kate,” sobbed Goblin as he ceased his struggles. “Kate, I’m trying. I remember.”

“I know you do,” whispered Wasp softly as Sandman let Goblin up and she hugged Harry harder than she had ever hugged anyone before.

“Get away from me, Kate,” ordered Goblin, his eyes growing dark and cold. “You don’t want to be around me when I get my hands on my father.”

“Which one of ’em should we help?” wondered Husk aloud as she and Pixie watched Shaw and Devil-Goblin trade blows. “I kinda wanna help Mr. Shaw.”

“The green guy ate my dagger,” reminded Pixie. “He seems like a big meanie so I say we help the other guy.”

“I think you two will have problems of your own,” suggested Fitzroy, his eyes lingering on Husk and the Hellions uniform she still wore. “You with the wings, you’re free to run screaming if you like. Your friend, however, she will have to suffer the same fate as her friends.”

“Oh my God, I’m totally frightened,” said Pixie with a slightly evil grin before pulling two of her soul daggers out of thin air. “Seriously, you’re gonna scare me?”

“What did ya do ta tha others?” demanded Husk.

“Killed them,” replied Fitzroy cruelly. “You see, I need lots of energy if I’m going to take on Shaw but I’m very close. I bet you’ll be the last snack I need before I hit the main course.”

“Ah got somethin’ fer ya ta choke on,” retorted Husk, ripping her skin off to reveal concrete underneath even as she ran towards Fitzroy.

Pixie realized what Fitzroy was capable of and teleported in between them before Husk could get within arm’s length of the sadistic time-traveler. She slashed at him with her soul daggers, forcing him backwards and landing a glancing blow across the side of the face with one of them.

“You can’t kill what you can’t touch,” reminded Pixie, teleporting in a cloud of pixie dust to avoid Fitzroy. “That’s what’s really sucky about your power, Mr. Fitzroy. You have to go all vampire on someone if you wanna teleport. I can do this all day.”

“How do you know who I am when I’ve never met you before?” asked Fitzroy.

“Liar, liar,” warned Pixie, slashing him across the throat with her soul dagger. “We have too met but you just don’t remember. Maybe it hasn’t happened yet. You weren’t very nice to Miss Frost, by the way. Mr. Summers almost killed you but you got away.”

“Forget about me?” asked Husk as she tagged Fitzroy in the jaw while he tried to avoid Pixie. “If ya killed mah friends and tha others then Ah’m gonna kill ya.”

“Dad!” shouted Goblin as he came crashing downward through the ceiling and slammed into Devil-Goblin. “It’s time for a father-son talk, Dad. I’m afraid I’ve had a change of heart and this whole demon thing just isn’t me. I hope you understand.”

Goblin plowed his father through the basement floor and down into the sewer tunnels that ran underneath the Hellfire Club. The two of them began pummeling one another until they separated. Neither of them could tire, neither of them needed to breathe. Like father like son, both of them weren’t human anymore but only one of them hated that fact. Harry stared at this ungodly horror that was once a man. Was Norman Osborn ever human in this or any other world? His very existence seemed to infect and poison everyone around him, tainting them beyond all measure. Harry had waited forever for this chance, this one opportunity to beat the living hell out of this man he hated calling a father. In all the Exiles’ reality-hopping, Goblin secretly hoped he would get the chance to confront Norman Osborn just so he could gain a measure of retribution for all the pain and suffering he had caused.

“You were always weak,” snapped Devil-Goblin flying towards his son with hellfire pouring forth from his hands and murder in his eyes. “You died because you were always weak!”

“I was never weak!” shouted Goblin in return, meeting his father in a head-on collision.

The father and son grappled with one another, trading blows that would shatter the bones of normal men. Each punch was returned in kind. No quarter was asked for and it would’ve been denied anyway. The air smelled of fire and brimstone as otherworldly fire leapt from their hands, the bolts crashing against one another and sending shockwaves through the entire tunnel.

“I made you in my image and you repay me with insolence,” snarled Devil-Goblin, pounding his son into the floor of the tunnel. “You would rather associate yourself with those weaklings because that’s what you are at heart. You are no son of mine.”

“I never wanted to be,” replied Goblin, blowing his father off of him with a bolt of hellfire. “Do you know what you did, Dad? When you cast that spell, you put part of yourself in me. That means you’re the one who’s weak now, not me.”

“I’m still strong enough to kill you,” stated Devil-Goblin as he surged towards Harry.

“Thanks to you, I can’t be killed because I’m not even alive,” reminded Goblin bitterly, stopping his father’s charge with one punch. “Face facts, ‘Dad’. I’m a better man than you ever were.”

Devil-Goblin shook his head to clear the cobwebs and looked at his son. It couldn’t be possible but perhaps Harry was telling the truth. He had no soul left, only darkness remaining in that space. He used a part of that darkness to transform his son into his image but he didn’t have as much power as Mephisto had. Harry still possessed a soul and perhaps that was what fueled him, what made him possibly stronger. It didn’t matter in the end. If Harry’s soul was what made him stronger then Devil-Goblin would cut it out of his broken and bleeding corpse.

“You don’t deserve to wear my face,” stated Devil-Goblin.

“Anything you can do, I can do better,” replied Goblin. “I’ll show you.”

Harry summoned up the unholy fire he now wielded thanks to this monstrous creature. He let it coalesce in his palm before holding his hand out towards Devil-Goblin. Instead of a blast of hellfire, something else exploded from his hand. A cloud of fiery bats flew towards Devil-Goblin, engulfing him. They bit and clawed at his scaly skin, trying to scratch out his eyes and any other vital body part they could get at. Devil-Goblin swatted the cloud of hellfire bats away.

“You think cheap tricks make you better than me?” he questioned as he broke free from the swarm and tackled his son.

Devil-Goblin began beating Goblin down, mercilessly hitting him repeatedly until he was satisfied that his opponent couldn’t get up again. Harry laughed in his father’s face because the punches didn’t have any effect. Moment by moment, Devil-Goblin was weakening. The energy he used during his incantation had drained him and all this fighting didn’t help him regain his strength. Harry had something more powerful than his father. He had a soul and a heart. He had people who loved him, who would die for him if it came to that. Norman didn’t have any of that and because of that he was a hollow, empty shell.

“I don’t call being human a cheap trick, Dad,” assured Goblin, kicking Devil-Goblin into the wall of the tunnel. He quickly moved to slam his father’s head back into the brick as Norman tried to pick himself back up.

“Are you going to kill me?” inquired Devil-Goblin, leering at his son.

“Get this through your head,” ordered Harry. “I want you to understand something and I want you to realize it for the rest of your life. I’m not like you and I never will be. You continue to go around sucking up oxygen or whatever the hell you breathe now because of one fact and one fact only. I’m the better man, Dad. Not you!”

Goblin rammed his father’s head through the tunnel wall one final time and watched his grotesque form lie motionless. Harry knew this creature wasn’t dead because hardly anything could kill either of them. At the moment, he didn’t care. He choked the anger back down into the pit of his stomach because there was still work to do. Though the Tallus hadn’t given them a mission yet, he had to help the other Exiles. Kate was willing to sacrifice her life to pull him back from the abyss. He was going to show her and the others the same courtesy.

Husk and Pixie could both tell Fitzroy was running low on fuel. The teleportation duel with Pixie was taxing his energy reserves. Without more life force, he would soon be powerless to stand against the Exiles.

“Step aside, girls,” ordered Shaw, barreling past the two Exiles to give Fitzroy a massive shoulder block that sent him crashing against a stack of crates.

Fitzroy cursed as he tried to pick himself up again. He attempted a teleportation but realized that he was almost out of juice. He needed more life force and he needed it quickly. Shaw wasn’t going to give him the opportunity though. The Black King of the Hellfire Club was too smart and crafty for Fitzroy to catch off his guard. Shaw knew what Fitzroy was capable of and he wasn’t going to give the time-traveler the opportunity he so desperately needed.

“Who the hell are we fighting now?” asked Sandman as he showed up with Daredevil and Wasp in tow.

“Fitzroy,” explained Pixie even as Shaw charged towards Fitzroy. “He’s like a vampire time-traveler.”

“Really?” mused Sandman. “That’s interesting.”

Husk watched as Sandman studied the fight between Fitzroy and Shaw. She could see the wheels turning in his brain and she didn’t like it one bit. She knew he wanted to strike some sort of deal with Fitzroy because Fitzroy could be their shot at the getting at the Timebroker. She couldn’t condone that. It wasn’t just that Fitzroy had murdered her friends and that she wanted personal revenge on him. It was more than that. Fitzroy was pure evil and the Exiles were through with sinking to that level in order to get the job done.

“We’re not takin’ his side,” said Husk before Sandman could even open his mouth. “If anythin’, we should just let ’em kill each other.”

“Maybe but it’s not our call,” decided Sandman. “Get in between them and take them both down. We’ll figure out everything later.”

“I get Fitzroy,” declared Husk.

No one disagreed with Paige as the Exiles moved to interject themselves into the duel between Fitzroy and Shaw. Calling it a duel at that point would have been a kind euphemism. Shaw was beating the tar out of Fitzroy and without any more life force, the time-traveling mutant wasn’t putting up much of a fight. That meant he was easy prey for Husk to pounce on. She felt the rage well up in her as she smashed her fist into Fitzroy’s face and knocked him away from Shaw. The rest of the Exiles could have Shaw. She had seen his mutant power in action before and knew he could take on all of them if he needed to. That was fine by her because she wanted Fitzroy to herself.

“The two large ones went out fighting,” commented Fitzroy through bloody lips. “The girl, not so much. A shame though. I wanted to take my time with her.”

“See if you wanna take yer time with me, ya sick bastard,” retorted Husk, taking another swing at him.

Fitzroy grabbed her wrist and began draining her life force on contact. When he had enough for a jump, he teleported both of them in a flash to the main lobby of the Hellfire Club. He needed some time alone with his prey so he could fully devour her. He wasn’t going to risk any interference when he needed every last drop of her life that he could get.

“I think I’d enjoy that very much,” replied Fitzroy, still keeping his grip on Husk as they reappeared in their new location. “You’re putting up more of a fight than the rest of them combined though. I’ll fix that soon enough.”

Husk weakly struggled against Fitzroy and managed to throw him off of her. She tried to get back to her feet and succeeded though not without a great deal of effort. She tried to throw another haymaker as Fitzroy came at her but it was sluggish and without any real power behind it. She was too weak to fight and that meant she was a dead girl. Like a jackal or vulture looking to pick apart a fresh carcass, Fitzroy was just going to keep coming at her no matter how many times she fought him off. Each time she would be weaker and weaker until there was no more energy left in her to fight. She remembered what Pixie had said to her a few missions ago. Paige was a Hellion and Hellions always died.

“Stop,” ordered Pixie as she appeared in a puff of pixie dust.

“My mother always warned me about playing with my food but you’re not her,” retorted Fitzroy, looking from the half-dead Husk lying on the floor to fresher prey. “What’re you going to do to stop me from killing your friend?”

“My friends are pumping up Mr. Shaw faster than steroids down there,” reminded Pixie. “He’s just a big, tasty snack waiting for you to sink your teeth into. In return, you do me a favor.”

“You’re hardly in a position to bargain,” reminded Fitzroy.

In a lightning-fast motion, Pixie teleported behind Fitzroy and stuck one of her soul daggers into his spine. Fitzroy’s eyes widened and he began to convulse even as Pixie leaned in close to whisper in his ear.

“I can kill people too,” she hissed in his ear. “You can ask plenty of people what I can do. Oh wait, I sucked their souls out so you can’t talk to them. My bad.”

“I’m listening,” rasped Fitzroy.

“After you’re done with Mr. Shaw, you create a portal that’ll take us somewhere,” explained Pixie. “Have you ever tried to stop halfway through your teleportation, Mr. Fitzroy? You see, we need to go to the center, the middle of time. Can you make us a portal to get there?”

“I can try,” replied Fitzroy.

“Awesome,” cooed Pixie with a grin, removing her dagger and sparing Fitzroy’s life. “I’m glad we could work something out.”

With that, she and Fitzroy were both gone. They reappeared in the basement where the Exiles were busy fighting Shaw. Fitzroy watched the fight and realized that what Pixie said was true. No matter how hard the Exiles hit him, Shaw just became stronger. That meant he had plenty of life force for Fitzroy to drain when the time was right.

“You get me close when I think the time is right and I’ll do it,” assured Fitzroy.

“You people think you can come into my house, my place of business, and prove yourselves worthy of my time?” questioned Shaw as he swatted Daredevil away. “You fools don’t know the first thing about my power. The more you fight, the stronger I get. You’re only sealing your own fates.”

“Maybe it’ll at least shut you up,” retorted Sandman, driving his fist of hardened sand into Shaw’s face.

Shaw took a step back to regain his balance and then drove his knee into Sandman’s chest, cracking the sandstone exterior of the Exiles’ leader. He hit Sandman in the face twice and then kicked him and sent him to the floor. Shaw turned and shrugged off Wasp’s sting bolts. He caught Daredevil in mid-air before Johnny could strike with his batons. Shaw threw Daredevil into Sandman as Baker tried to get back to his feet. He turned and swatted Wasp out of the air like the insect she was to him. A bolt of hellfire suddenly struck him and he felt the familiar illness that accompanied the absorption of such energy.

“Your father couldn’t stand against me and neither can you,” jeered Shaw, running at Goblin and tackling him into a wall.

Goblin clubbed Shaw over the head, sheathing his hands in hellfire before he did it. He fought Shaw off and tossed some pumpkin-shaped balls of hellfire at him. The demonic pumpkin bombs sank into Shaw’s skin and though they reenergized him they also made him even more ill.

“I’m not my father,” stated Goblin. “For one thing, I’m a hell of a lot smarter than he is or ever could be.”

“That’s still not going to save you,” promised Shaw as he lunged at Goblin. He clamped his hand around Goblin’s throat and slammed him against the wall again. Goblin continued pouring on the hellfire but it only made Shaw laugh. “Don’t you get it, you simpleton? You’re only making me stronger the more you do that.”

“I know,” replied Goblin with a cruel grin. “That was my plan.”

Pixie teleported herself and Fitzroy onto Shaw’s back. Fitzroy began his lethal work even as he hung on for dear life. Shaw tried furiously to shake him off but Fitzroy hung on like a bloodthirsty tick. Shaw roared and flailed but it didn’t help. He felt himself weakening second by second. He staggered helplessly and finally sank to his knees.

“Funny, I thought you were supposed to be better than us,” mentioned Sandman as he casually kicked Shaw backwards, putting both him and Fitzroy on their backs.

It only took a matter of minutes for Sebastian Shaw, the mighty Black King of the Hellfire Club to die. When he was finished with his meal, Fitzroy unhooked himself from the lifeless corpse and stood up. He looked to Pixie and then summoned up all the energy he had accumulated. He had never tried to create a time portal that took him to a specific time. He didn’t even know if he had a choice of stopping in the middle like Pixie wanted him to do.

“It’s no good,” he told the Exiles. “It’s still not enough and Shaw’s dead. I need more life force if I’m going to take all of you with me.”

“We had a deal,” reminded Pixie. “You said you’d get us to where we need to be.”

“What’re you talking about?” asked Sandman. “You made a deal with this psycho?”

“He’ll get us to the Timebroker,” promised Pixie.

“Not unless I get some more life force,” corrected Fitzroy.

“Take me then,” ordered Husk as she staggered forward having made her way through the hole in the floor above when everyone was preoccupied with the fight. “Ah got nothin’ left ta live fer anyway. Ah’m half dead as it stands already.”

“Who am I to argue with the lady,” said Fitzroy.

“We’re not leaving anyone behind,” promised Sandman, moving to stop Fitzroy. “We all go home or nobody goes home.”

“Ah’m already home,” reminded Husk wearily. “Ah’m a Hellion and all we do is die. At least let me do somethin’ good on tha way out.”

“You could go home to your mother and your family,” reminded Sandman.

“Not if it means leavin’ ya’ll at tha Timebroker’s mercy,” replied Husk, turning to Fitzroy. “Just be quick ’bout it and ya better not hurt ’em.”

Husk shoved Sandman away and then let Fitzroy wrap his arms around her. She held back the tears and tried to think happy thoughts. She was finally doing something good, finally showing that she was indeed better than most people. She would get to see her father and her brother again, get to know that they were proud of her.

“Why let this happen?” asked Daredevil as the Exiles watched one of their own die.

“Because the Tallus finally told me the mission,” explained Sandman. “It said that when he opens that portal, we’re going through it. It told me we’ll get to where we need to be.”

“Well now I’m curious,” said Fitzroy after discarding Husk once he was finished. “Let’s see what’s at the other end of the rainbow, shall we?”

He opened a glowing portal of energy and was the first one to step through it. The Exiles looked at Sandman and received only a wordless nod of approval from their leader. All five of them leapt through the portal. They flew across space and time and felt themselves rematerialize in a very familiar place. It was the conference room where they first became a team, where they lost Sister Grimm to the cruelties of a universe they didn’t understand.

“Voght?” questioned Sandman as he saw Amelia Voght and two other members of her X-Men enter the same room. “What the hell’s going on?”

“I’m sorry,” explained John, the X-Men’s Timebroker. “I tried to get you here sooner but I had enough troubles of my own. This place is the Axis, the center of time and space. Jules is planning something and I need your help to stop it.”

Next Issue: How did the X-Men make it to the Axis and why do only three of them remain? Find out as they take “The Low Road Home.”