KILLING TIME

Part I

By Wesley Overhults

The Axis

Sandman looked at the pudgy Timebroker then to the three surviving members of the X-Men.  He had been around long enough to know that in his line of work, things could go bad very quickly, sometimes in a matter of seconds.  They had just lost Paige, the young mutant sacrificing herself so they could get to where they were now.  She gave their life so they could get a shot at ending this madness but there was more going on than Sandman could ever know.

John had screwed up.  He had let his friendship with Jules cloud his judgment once again and this time it was going to get all of them killed.  He should’ve gone to The Council much sooner than he did.  Sometimes he wondered if Jules was right about them.  They were pacifists while Jules was anything but a pacifist.  He would take them all down in his madness unless someone did something about it.  Maybe John was the person to do that.  Pacifism never set completely well with him because he originally came from such a war-like culture where he had to fight to survive.  He hadn’t been that person in so long though, not since he discovered a better life here in the Axis as a Timebroker.  These people, his X-Men and the Exiles that Jules was supposed to be handling, knew about fighting more than he did.  That was why he needed their help.

“You need to do a hell of a lot of explaining in a very short time,” stated Sandman.

“I managed to hijack the Tallus you’re wearing,” explained John.  “That’s why it wasn’t giving you any mission directives.  Whatever Jules told you about your home realities being different if you returned to them wasn’t true, a fact you’ve already seen.  The only thing that was true about that was the part where you couldn’t go home.  You would still be unhinged from time and remaining in your current reality would’ve damaged it irrevocably.”

“You’re not helping,” noted Voght.  “Was there any point when you didn’t lie to us, John?”

“I’m not lying to you now,” said John.  “Jules is planning something big, something that’s going to threaten all of reality as we know it.  He and I have a history as friends but in no way do I condone what he’s doing.  That’s why I took control of his Tallus and helped send the Exiles here.  I needed help from anyone and everyone I could.”

“What about Fitzroy?” questioned Sandman.

“He’s somewhere else and now he’s somebody else’s problem,” answered John.  “We have enough of our own right now if you haven’t noticed.”

“You people are so damn powerful, why can’t you stop him on your own?” asked Daredevil.

“Because for starters, John has always been spineless,” answered Jules, walking into the room without any sort of anger or concern in his expression.  “It’s one of the reasons our friendship has been so beneficial to me over the decades.  Congratulations, John.  I’m glad to see you finally standing up for yourself.  It’s just too bad that now it no longer matters.”

“I’ve been waiting all this time for a second shot at you,” said Daredevil.  “I’m not going to waste it talking.”

He leapt towards Jules and the image of his last moments with Nico flashed through his mind.  He didn’t care if he ended up a million dimensions away before he got his hands on Jules.  He would spend his entire life trying to get back to the Axis just so he could take another shot at the Timebroker.  Jules attempted to engage the Tallus on Sandman’s wrist, intent on using it to teleport the Exiles away before Daredevil had a chance to strike him.  A look of annoyance crossed his face just before Johnny’s fist struck his jaw and sent him to the floor.

“I disconnected your Tallus, Jules,” warned John.  “After I told the Exiles to get into Fitzroy’s portal, I made sure that thing won’t work for anyone anymore.  You’re not going to go through with whatever you’re planning.”

“Very good, John,” applauded Jules, a cruel grin splitting his face as he got up and dusted himself off.  “You know as well as I do that whatever powers we have won’t work on those of our kind because we’re too in tune with the energies of the Axis.  Now you’ve made sure that I can’t whisk away my Exiles and end your sad attempt at stopping me.  However, did you honestly think I hadn’t planned on such moves?  I give you credit for surprising me but I’m already five steps ahead of your pitiful strategy.”

“What do you mean?” inquired John.

“He means us,” stated Scarlet Spider as he, Bruiser, Xavier, and Yellowjacket materialized in the room.  “So nice to see you again.  I hope you won’t be too heartbroken that this is the last time it happens.”

“I’m afraid you Exiles have been replaced,” said Jules.  “I’d like you to meet my new team: the Revengers.”

The Revengers wasted little time in going straight at the Exiles.  All of them had scores to settle with the time-tossed heroes and those accounts would be paid for in blood.  Scarlet Spider struck first by virtue of his speed but he didn’t hit his intended target.  Daredevil intercepted him before he could reach Goblin and the two blurs of red crashed into the floor, trading punches even as Sandman shielded the rest of the Exiles from a barrage of Yellowjacket’s stinger bolts.  His sandstone barricade shattered from one of Molly’s punches and he slipped behind her before she connected with another.  The young girl turned around as fast as she could and hit him with a backhand that sprayed sand in all directions.  The blow cut Sandman down to her size and she followed it with an uppercut that literally took his head off his body.

“We need to help them,” realized Voght.

“I’m sorry to inform you but you have problems of your own,” said Sunfire.

Both Voght and Sean Madrox felt the air behind them heat up and they instantly knew how screwed they were.  Jules had outthought them at every turn it seemed because from almost the very beginning there had been a mole in their group and now he stood revealed.

“For the record, I never liked you,” noted Voght, grabbing Sean by the arm and teleporting them away before Sunfire unleashed his blast of fire that would’ve surely turned them into nothing more than piles of blackened bone.

Sean stamped his foot on the floor the second they both reappeared, creating a squad of duplicates that were instantly cut down by another blast of heat from their traitorous teammate.  Sunfire inwardly grinned with delight as he continued pouring out his fiery wrath on the two surviving X-Men.  Jules wanted all of the X-Men dead before they even reached the Axis and had contracted Sunfire to do the job, promising Shiro a reality where his native land was the most dominant nation in the world instead of being reduced to a smoking crater by Apocalypse.  Sunfire would have made good on his promise if John hadn’t have pulled his X-Men out of their mission in time.  Now Shiro sought to correct his previous error by eliminating the only two members of the team still left alive.

“I’ve got him,” promised Goblin, taking the fire blast just as Voght teleported herself and her teammate out of its way.

Harry knew the fire wouldn’t hurt him now.  It didn’t even slow him down as he barreled towards Sunfire.  He hit the Revenger with brutal shots to the head that Sunfire didn’t even feel.  Shiro hit him with a fire blast meant to push Goblin backwards but the blast didn’t accomplish that task in the slightest.  Scarlet Spider jumped and tackled Goblin to the floor, leaving Sunfire with a clear path to blast Sandman in the back and cause him to falter.

“You couldn’t beat me last time and you can’t beat me now, Harry,” jeered Scarlet Spider as he hit Goblin with every ounce of force he could.  “You can change the look of your costume all you want but you’ll never win.”

“I’m not the same man I once was,” retorted Goblin, clutching Scarlet Spider by the throat and shrugging off the kick in the head that came from Peter.  “You really should’ve cut your losses and stayed away.  I’m not such a nice guy anymore.”

Goblin hit the insidious arachnid with a bolt of hellfire that threw him across the room, slamming him through the door and into the hallway.  He swatted at his eyes as Yellowjacket peppered him with sting blasts and it was enough of a distraction for Bruiser to punch him through a wall.  Yellowjacket, meanwhile, had her own problems.  Wasp zipped towards her and the two of them dueled in the air, both of them at microscopic size.

“I thought you were dead,” admitted Wasp as she zipped around a sting bolt from Yellowjacket and came at her.

“You know us, Kate,” jeered Yellowjacket as she darted up and over Wasp, hitting her in the back with a sting.  “We’re too stubborn to die.”

Yellowjacket enlarged herself just enough to catch Wasp in her grip and try to crush her like an insect.  Wasp realized what her demented doppelganger was trying to do and went big as well, breaking Yellowjacket’s grip.  Wasp gasped in shock as she felt her body lock up thanks to Xavier’s telepathy.  She hovered helplessly in the air and then flew backwards as Sunfire hit her with a fire bolt.  Kate tumbled into the hallway and felt a ball of impact webbing stick her to the wall.

“I never get tired of fighting insect people,” noted Scarlet Spider, grinning under his mask and deciding to take his time with his captive prey.  “I guess I could talk about how some spiders eat wasps for dinner but why bother?  Honestly, most of my good bug jokes already got used up on Gargan so I guess I’ll just have to rip you apart without any clever quips.  It’s a shame, really it is, but I’ll try to get on with my life.”

“It’s a shame that we have to listen to you talk,” retorted Daredevil, attempting to hit Scarlet Spider in the back of the head with a d-disc.

Peter felt his spider-sense go off and flipped backwards to avoid the projectile.  He tried to hit Daredevil in the back of the head but Johnny’s reaction time was just as good as his.  He wrapped his grappling cable around Scarlet Spider’s hand and then yanked Peter towards him as the Revenger landed.  Scarlet Spider tried to hit Daredevil with his other fist even as he sped towards his opponent.  Daredevil used his grappling cable to tie both of Peter’s wrists together and then wrapped the remaining cable around his throat from behind in an attempt to choke him.

“You’re good,” admitted Scarlet Spider, his voice hoarse as the cable pressed against his throat and he struggled to get free.  “Never as good as me though.  I bet that really bothers you, doesn’t it?”

“I can’t believe I ever wanted to be,” retorted Daredevil, throwing Scarlet Spider over his shoulders and watching as Peter landed almost on his head since he couldn’t get his hands under him to protect his fall.

“I was never very good role model material anyway,” decided Scarlet Spider, using his strength to break the cable around his wrists.  “I mean honestly, who would want to be me?  Even I don’t want to be me.”

He slid underneath Daredevil as Johnny came flying towards him, hitting him in the chest with a ball of impact webbing and sticking him to the ceiling.  Peter turned back to his original victim but Wasp had already used her stingers to cut her way out of his webbing.  He was about to attack her when Yellowjacket zipped past him and blasted at Wasp.

“She’s mine,” stated the villainous version of Kate Bishop.  “I don’t care about the rest of them but she’s mine.”

“Fair enough,” decided Scarlet Spider, web-zipping up to the ceiling and kicking Daredevil so hard that he punched the Exile through the ceiling and into the room above.  “I’ve got my own little copycat to kill.”

“We’re getting outnumbered,” realized Sandman as he kept taking swipes at the telepathic illusions that Xavier was creating to confuse them.  “Pixie, find the real one.”

“I’m really sorry, Mr. Sandman,” apologized Pixie as she stuck Will in the back with one of her soul daggers.  “I just wanted you to know that all of you have been really nice to me and I feel crappy about this.”

Sandman slipped away from Pixie but Megan teleported in a cloud of pixie dust to stay on him.  She felt sick to her stomach about what she was doing, what she had agreed to do ever since Jules told her she was unhinged from time and the only thing she could do to get back was exactly what he said.  He wanted her to stab the rest of the Exiles in the back when the time was right because he knew she could be ruthless enough to do it.  When Megan saw Fitzroy, she knew that she could just deliver the Exiles straight to Jules and let him do the dirty work so she didn’t have to.  Truthfully, Pixie cared for the others but self-preservation outweighed any love she had for them.

“Why bring it to this, Jules?” asked John as he finally caught up with his former friend.  “Why get these innocent people involved in our business?”

“The Council chose to use them,” reminded Jules, hitting John in the face.  “They chose to place the fate of reality in the hands of these savages, these mortals.  They are a disease, John.  They poison every world they inhabit with their greed, their wars, their arrogance.  They took away the best thing in my life so I decided to prove a point.  These people aren’t worth our time, John.  If you weren’t originally one of them, you would feel the same way I do.”

“I will never agree with you,” stated John, retaliating with a punch of his own.

The two Timebrokers continued to slug it out but it was clear that Jules had the upper hand.  All that time wandering around in the desert had hardened his body while John’s cushy life had left him the physically weaker of the two.  Jules hit John once more and then kicked him in the ribs while he pudgy Timebroker was down.

“They took Eterna from me,” he hissed as he clubbed John over the back of the head.  “I loved her and one of them took her from me.  Do you remember the day we met her, John?  You never saw what was inside that crack.  You never saw the truth that I saw.  That’s why you and The Council were always trying to hold me down, always trying to undermine me at every turn.  You were scared of me, scared of what I knew.  Well now I’m the one that’s going to have all the power, John, and once I do then I can get back everything I’ve lost.”

“I loved her too,” admitted John, trying to get back to his feet even as Jules kept beating him down.  “I don’t know why she left and I don’t know what she ever saw in you.  You were never my friend.  You don’t even know how to be a friend to anyone.”

John kicked Jules in his legs, taking him off his feet and buying himself the seconds he needed to get up without any retaliation.  Jules flipped back to his feet and kicked John in the stomach, causing him to stagger backwards as he tried to catch his breath again.  Jules had other problems though.  Voght and a group of Madrox clones were on him.  He scoffed inwardly at John’s pet mortals as they came to defend their master.  Like everything else concerning mortals, it was pitiful.

“Like the dogs you are, you coming running when your owner calls,” he spat as he dispensed with the Madrox clones in an effort to get to John again.  “I’m too important to deal with this.  Miss Hayes, please be kind enough to take care of these fools for me.”

Bruiser nodded and inserted herself into the gaggle of Madrox clones, clubbing them and swatting them away with blows that killed them instantly.  She wasn’t going to let anything happen to Jules, not when he had promised to give her everything that the Exiles had taken away.  She would die before she let anyone harm Jules and prevent her from getting what she wanted.  That wasn’t her only concern though.  She wanted to face Nico again, the Nico that had ruined her life when she and the rest of the Exiles came to her world and destroyed her friends.

“Where is she?” asked Bruiser as only Voght stood in her way.  “Where’s Nico?”

“She’s gone, kid,” said Goblin, sending a swarm of fiery bats at Bruiser to buy Voght the seconds she needed to teleport herself and John out of the line of fire.  “Your new buddy took her away.”

“Then I’ll settle for killing you,” snarled Bruiser, rushing through the opening she had created when she sent Goblin through the wall and slamming him to the ground.  “You and your friends took away my family.  It’s only fair I take away yours.”

“You’re a sick kid and you’re being manipulated,” replied Goblin, grappling with the young mutant girl.  “I know what that feels like.”

“I don’t need a sermon,” said Molly, clutching Goblin’s head in her hands and then snapping his neck in one motion.  She gave Goblin’s body a smile of satisfaction before getting back to her feet and moving to deal out more punishment to the Exiles.

She really hated doing this.  It didn’t stop her though.  Pixie flew through the open doorway and saw Yellowjacket and Wasp still fighting one another.  Megan always liked Kate even though they didn’t get the chance to really bond the way Megan and Paige had.  Kate was the first one who was nice to her when she joined the team and Megan never forgot that.  Jules gave her an order though.  He wanted all the Exiles dead and that included Wasp.  Pixie didn’t think she could do that though.  Kate was always nice to everyone, especially her.  Megan couldn’t repay that kindness by killing her.  She just couldn’t do that.

“You need to pick a side,” said Sandman, noticing that Pixie wasn’t moving to help or hinder the fight between Yellowjacket and Wasp.  “I thought you were one of us, kiddo.  Was that really an act?”

“I’m sorry,” said Pixie tearfully.  “He threatened me and said I had to help him.  I didn’t want it to come to this.”

Sandman didn’t have time to form a response.  Sunfire hit him in the back with a blast of heat and it washed over him like a tidal wave.  The fire enveloped him and turned his body into a glass statue, the look of betrayal and pain frozen forever on his face.  Pixie closed her eyes and shook her head ferociously but that look on his face wouldn’t get out of her mind.  Was this what it had come to, betraying her friends just so she could stay alive?  Was she even still alive in the first place?

“You were taking too long,” said Sunfire as he smashed through Sandman and then shot towards Wasp and Yellowjacket.

“You didn’t have to do it that way,” said Pixie as she flew after him.  “I was going to do it until you messed it up.”

“You were hesitating,” retorted Sunfire.  “The Timebroker wants all of them dead.”

“So you’re working for him now?” questioned Wasp as she looked at Pixie and realized that she didn’t have any friends to back her up.  “You were family to us, Megan.  Is this how you treat your family?”

“I told the arachnid that she’s mine,” said Yellowjacket, glaring at Sunfire hatefully.  “You’ve got enough to take care of.”

“Both of you need to leave her alone,” said Pixie before slashed Yellowjacket across the face with one of her soul daggers.  “I’m not letting you do this.”

Yellowjacket flew to attack Pixie but Scarlet Spider fell from the hole in the ceiling and collided with her, knocking both of them into the floor.  Daredevil waved to Sunfire from above before launching himself through the hole and onto Shiro’s back.  His costume was, thankfully, fireproof but he knew it wasn’t going to give him much protection if Sunfire decided to really turn up the heat.  He landed a few shots to his head before Sunfire threw him to the floor and then blasted both Wasp and Pixie out of the air.  He landed on the floor and stalked the two girls as Pixie was the first of them to get to her feet.

“He should’ve never bothered with a sniveling brat like you,” stated Sunfire before launching a bolt of fire at Pixie, intent on burning her to a crisp like he had with Sandman.

Pixie closed her eyes and thought for a second that it was going to feel good to die.  Then she felt something shove her out of the way.  The air came alive with a scream of pain from Kate Bishop’s throat.  She tried to get out of the way of the blast but the damage was already done.  Her body writhed in pain as she collapsed on the floor, wisps of smoke curling from the burnt flesh.

“No!” cried out Pixie but it was too late.  She flew towards Wasp to do something for her even as Daredevil flung himself at Sunfire.

“Megan,” croaked Wasp, trying to get back to her feet and failing miserably.

“Kate, please don’t move,” begged Pixie.  “I’m sorry, Kate.  The scary Doctor Who man said if I didn’t help him then he would send me to a bad place or even kill me.  I never wanted to hurt you.  I never wanted it to be like this.”

“I think I’m gonna die,” rasped Wasp.

“No you’re not,” assured Pixie as she tried desperately to think of something to do for her friend.  “Please just hang on, okay?  I’ll figure something out.  We’ll get Harry or somebody to help.”

Pixie knew that Kate was going to die.  Her body was too badly burnt to do anything but give out on her.  Kate was going to die and there was nothing Pixie could do but watch.  She was powerless to do anything and it scared the hell out of her because she had caused this.  She had gotten Wasp killed and she would never live with herself because of that.

“You take people’s souls with those things?” asked Wasp, looking at the soul dagger that Pixie held in one of her hands.  Pixie nodded wordlessly and blinked away a few tears.  “What happens to the souls?”

“They stay in me,” answered Pixie.  “Kate, please don’t ask me to do that.”

“I don’t wanna die,” begged Wasp.  “Please, Megan.  I’m scared.”

Pixie knew it was the only way to keep Wasp alive though it wasn’t any kind of life that she wanted for anyone.  She had to do this for Kate though.  She had to keep her alive to try and make up for all the trouble she had caused.  Pixie nodded and tearfully held the soul dagger above Wasp’s chest.  She closed her eyes and whispered a prayer to a God she had stopped believing in long ago before she plunged the dagger downward and held it there.  Kate’s soul was the most beautiful one she had ever seen.  It was young, fresh, and still innocent despite the hardships it had already endured.  It was the soul Megan used to have before Magik had corrupted her beyond hope and redemption.  Now Wasp’s soul was just another one for Pixie to add to her collection.

“I’m sorry,” whispered Pixie tearfully as she finished her work.  “Please forgive me, Kate.  Please.”

‘I do,’ said Wasp’s voice in Pixie’s mind.  ‘You have to make this right though, Megan.  You have to make this right.’

“You’ve lost again, John,” informed Jules as he watched his Revengers continue their sordid work.

Sandman, Wasp, and Goblin were already down for good and the rest of the Exiles and the X-Men weren’t long for the world of the living.  John saw that he was fighting a losing battle and knew that he had to do what he could to stop any further bloodshed.  He knew what Jules wanted.  John had risen through the ranks of the Timebroker hierarchy while Jules was wandering in the desert.  Though he wasn’t a member of The Council, John knew perhaps one of their most treasured secrets.  Through their advanced technology, the Timebrokers were able to harness the power of the Axis.  That power was what fueled their entire operation, what powered every single piece of equipment they used.  John knew the code that granted a Timebroker access to the power battery that was hidden in the bowels of the Axis.  The Council had entrusted him to guard the power battery in case they were otherwise incapacitated.  Jules knew that too and he was banking on John’s soft heart to be everyone’s undoing.

“Leave them alone and I’ll give you what you want,” conceded John.  He knew it was suicide but he couldn’t take seeing Jules and his band of psychotics torture and possibly murder anyone else when he could put an end to it.  “You want the access code to the power battery, don’t you?  Just stop all this and I’ll give it to you.”

“That’s all I wanted to hear,” said Jules before nodding to Charles Xavier.  “Please be kind enough to inform the rest of the Revengers to pull back and make sure my dear friend doesn’t try anything.”

“You promised that we could kill them,” reminded Xavier.

“In due time,” replied Jules.  “Do not forget that I control your destiny.  If you don’t do what I say then you’ll never get what I promised you.”

Xavier nodded and sent out a telepathic message that brought the rest of the Revengers to him.  The group of villains gathered around Jules, leaving their prey to enjoy a brief respite.  With most of the heroes down, Jules decided they could wait a few moments before finishing them off for good.  His needs were always more important than theirs.  After all, they were just mortals while he was so much more.

“John has kindly decided to give me what I want,” said Jules.  “I see that The Council is as spineless as I thought they were and haven’t lifted a finger to stop this.  How does it feel to be betrayed by your leaders, old friend?”

“Just shut up and I’ll take you and these people to the power battery,” said John.  “You leave them out of it though even after you get what you want.  This was always between you and me, Jules.  No one else has to get dragged into our past.”

“You said our reward was dependent upon killing them,” reminded Sunfire.  “If you take his deal then you’re forcing us to break ours.”

“Seems like a win-win either way,” said Scarlet Spider, crouching into a fighting stance.  “Either we kill them and get what we want or maybe we just kill you and take what we want.”

“Don’t question me,” ordered Jules, his eyes glowing with a power that wasn’t of any world Sunfire had seen before.  “I’m the one making the deals around here and I’m the one calling the shots.  The only thing you have to do is exactly what I tell you.  If I tell you to back off then you will back off.  Do I make myself clear?”

Sunfire didn’t respond but the flames that made up his body flared in a slight fit of anger.  The rest of the Revengers weren’t too happy about the news either, particularly the more homicidal among them.  All of them wanted the Exiles for one reason or another and the thing standing in their way now was the person who had brought them together.  However, it would be suicide to go against Jules and all of them knew it so they chose not to voice such displeasure.

“Do we have a deal?” inquired John.

“Take us to the power battery,” ordered Jules.  “After I become a true god, we’ll see how forgiving I feel towards your pet mortals.”

John knew he didn’t have a choice.  He had to stall Jules and the Revengers until he could think up a way to get out of this mess without any more of the Exiles or X-Men dying.

Next Issue: The Exiles and the X-Men are barely alive and things are about to get worse for them!