SUPERNOVA

Part I: The Great Escape

By Ryan Krupienski

The Xavier Institute

Bobby Drake is pissed off. He doesn’t understand his supposed best friends sometimes… especially Scott Summers. Even though he’s lightened up considerably in recent times, the man’s still a hard-ass, stubborn as hell. He doesn’t understand why Scott’s so determined to get Cassandra – it has to be the fact that she’s Charles’ sister, that she reminds Scott of the man who betrayed him in so many ways. To Bobby, it’s not fair… no, he’s not Cassandra’s biggest fan, but he happens to think the woman isn’t all that bad.

He stormed out of the meeting because he couldn’t stand to be around that negativity. Too many bad and weird things have been happening, too much drama, and the last thing Bobby wants is more of it. If his teammates want to bitch out Cassandra for whatever reasons, that’s fine with him… he, however, wants no part of it.

Bobby walks into the mansion’s living room, finding it empty. He’s not surprised, as it’s past the mandatory bedtime for the underage students, and most of them are in fact minors. As he walks down the couple steps leading into the room, he starts to wonder what’s on TV that could be worth watching. Has the third season of Anna Nicole started yet?

Bobby takes a seat on the spacious leather couch that lies opposite the enormous widescreen television. Just as he takes the remote in his hand, he hears a familiar voice in his mind.

{Bobby, it’s Jean,} comes the female voice. {I need you to do me a favor, if you wouldn’t mind.}

Bobby cocks an eyebrow and responds, “Uh… sure?” He grins a little as he continues, “You want me to smack Scott upside his thick head?”

Normally, Jean might laugh at the idea, but this time she has no response. Instead, Bobby suddenly feels Jean enter his mind further, and his eyes glaze over. He’s… different now.

{Peter and Jubilee will be back shortly, I want you to greet them,} ‘Jean’ says. {Once they arrive, I want you to tell them that Cassandra wants to see them in the War Room. On the double.}

Bobby nods his head ever so slightly and responds, “Yes, ma’am…”

After tipping the taxi driver and waving goodbye, Jubilation Lee turns her attention back to Peter Valentino, who’s standing near the mansion’s front porch. She holds a slew of bags in her hands, as does Peter, and she also has a wide smile on her face. It’s late and they’ve been shopping all day, but they’ve both got more than enough energy still left to burn.

“Damn! What a day!” Jubilee says. “How about that? I am so stocked up on Coach stuff… I might sell some on eBay just to see how much I could get for it.”

“I’ll say,” Peter says, looking at all her bags and shaking his head in disbelief. “What was with the lady at the Coach store, though?”

“Who knows?” Jubilee says with a shrug of her shoulders. “She was kinda scary. She looked like Kathy Bates in Misery…”

Peter laughs at the comment. “She really did!” he agrees. “And her eyes were so dark… did she do her make-up with a Sharpie?”

Jubilee laughs this time, almost dropping one of her bags. “Oh, that was good,” she tells her companion. She walks up to the door and motions for Peter to follow her. “Come on, let’s get inside, and we can go to one of our rooms and take inventory…”

Just as Jubilee is about to set her items down and reach for her keys, the mansion’s front doors open, and standing on the other side is Bobby Drake himself. Jubilee is a bit startled, but happy nonetheless to see her boyfriend. She holds her bags up for Bobby to see, and says, “Surprise!”

“Good God, what did you buy?” Bobby asks as Jubilee and Peter come inside.

“Oh, just… stuff,” Peter answers, exchanging a knowing look with Jubilee, who grins a little.

“So are you psychic now? How’d you know we were back?” Jubilee asks Bobby.

“Oh, I was just in the living room and heard the taxi outside,” Bobby explains.

Jubilee gives her boyfriend a curious look; something seems different about him. She can’t put her finger on it, and it’s nothing drastic… it’s subtle, but it’s there. She decides to write it off, and a smile returns to her face. “Well, I bought you some gifts too, Mister Drake. If you’re a good boy, I might let you see what they are…”

Bobby smiles but it fades as quickly as it came, and he becomes serious as he says, “There’s a meeting going on downstairs, in the War Room. Cassandra wants you two there. Make it fast.”

Without another word, Bobby turns away and walks off, around the corner and out of sight. Jubilee is taken aback at his behavior, and turns to Peter. “What the hell was that?”

Peter shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s just on edge because Cassandra’s back… she can do that to people.”

“I don’t like that scraggly old broad,” Jubilee declares. “I was hoping she wouldn’t be coming back for a while… she just brings the mood around here down so low.”

Jubilee sighs and then starts on her way up the grand staircase, with Peter following close behind. “Well, I guess we’d better get these bags in our rooms and get our butts downstairs… can’t imagine what’s so important that Cassandra’s calling a meeting so late, though.”

“Well she better make it quick,” Jubilee says as the two young X-Men reach the top of the stairs, “because I got shit to do…”

Hundreds of feet below, on a level of the mansion beneath the second sub-basement, there is a special chamber. Built over ten years ago by Charles Xavier, it is nestled just above the institute’s entrance to the Morlock Tunnels. It’s called the Z’noxx Chamber; built as a means of protection against an alien invasion, it is nigh impenetrable. It has proven especially effective in keeping out hostile telepaths.

At this point in time, the chamber is serving as the homebase for a very sensitive operation. Only three people currently have access to this place – Jean Grey is one of them. She’s nowhere to be found at the moment, but her accomplices are present and hard at work. There are others in the room with them as well, several individuals who have been placed in stasis pods for the time being. They are not needed… not yet.

The first man in the chamber is Nathan Dayspring Summers. Also called Cable, he hails from two thousand years in the future, from a world where the mad tyrant Apocalypse ruled supreme – a world that no longer exists, thanks to that same tyrant’s death in this time period. The son of Scott Summers and Madelyne Pryor – though he prefers to acknowledge Jean Grey as his mother – he was placed in the care of the religious cult called the Askani, and it was them who took him to the future. To fulfill his destiny, to destroy Apocalypse, he came back to his era of birth. That mission is complete. However, he now finds himself part of another important endeavor, working with Jean and the other man currently occupying the room.

He is called Blaquesmith. He hails from the same future that Cable was raised in, and even had a hand in the Chosen One’s upbringing. Being a powerful telepath and telekinetic himself, Blaquesmith mentored Cable in the use of his powers, and is the only man to ever fully learn and grasp the ways of the Askani. He came back in time as well to help guide Cable, set him firmly on his path; he knew how important the Askani propechy was, and he’s still dedicated to their ways today. Though Apocalypse is gone, Blaquesmith believes the prophecized event that will bring about the ‘End Times’ has not yet occurred… and has brought Cable, as well as Jean, into the fold to help him prevent it from happening.

However, Blaquesmith and Cable’s operation has been put to the side for the time being. There is a more pressing matter to attend to, something that could ultimately compromise all the work they’ve been doing here in secret.

“I’ve still got them, but for some reason, Cassandra hasn’t even attempted to take their minds,” Cable says. The man with the metal arm is seated in front of a large machine, wearing a helmet resembling that of the Cerebro unit. Since the chamber is psi-proof, it’s Cable’s only method of using his telepathy in the outside world.

“Stay with them, Nathan,” Blaquesmith says, as he works vigorously at the machines before him, not too far from his former student. “I’m still working on getting a fix on Jean, as soon as I do that, we can attempt to free her…”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop Cassandra’s power if she attempts to grab the kids,” Cable says with a sigh. “She took down my mother, for crying out loud… she snuffed out the Phoenix like it was nothing.”

“No, she subdued Jean before the Phoenix broke out again,” Blaquesmith retorts. “And if Nate Grey is any indication, your potential far outweighs that of your mother. I believe Cassandra senses your presence, Nathan, and has made the wise choice not to confront you. It could compromise her hold over the rest of the X-Men.”

“Do we know how she’s doing this yet?” Cable asks. “How did this happen? How did she get her claws into Jean, how did she manage such a mass and sudden telepathic takeover?”

Blaquesmith shakes his head and his large, bug-like eyes blink. “I can’t be certain,” he replies. “Likely at a time of heightened emotional stress, a time where Jean was careless with her powers. For a psi as powerful as Cassandra, that would be the perfect time to enter her target’s mind and plant her seeds.”

“Wonderful,” Cable says. He slouches a bit in his seat, but his concentration on the task at hand does not wane. He’s just eager to do something more, to confront this woman face-to-face.

“I don’t know what Cassandra’s done, but Jean is invisible to our sensors,” Blaquesmith says. “It also seems that she’s now deploying a small team to go after the X-Men who are stranded in the Sahara Desert.”

“How do you know all this?” Cable asks.

“The computer is picking up thought residue from the War Room area and translating it into text,” Blaquesmith answers. “The glories of technology…”

“Oh, no,” Cable says, sitting up straight in his chair. “It’s happening…”

“What?” Blaquesmith asks. He hops out of his seat and moves quickly to Cable’s side. “She’s trying to take them from you… Nathan, you must concentrate!”

“I am!” Cable retorts. “Just… give me space…”

Through his link with Jubilee and Peter – who still don’t know what’s going on – Cable can feel Cassandra trying to worm her way inside their minds. It’s reminiscent of a snake trying to slither its way underground. Jubilee is proving a challenge due to her natural defenses against telepathic attacks, but Peter is still succeptable, and Cassandra means to snare them both. The more mind-controlled X-Men in her grasp… the merrier.

“That’s it, I’m bodysliding in,” Cable says as he moves his hands up to take the helmet off. “I can’t…”

“Not yet!” Blaquesmith says, stopping Cable from removing the helmet. “I see all that is happening in your mind, Nathan… and you must wait, until they’re closer. You know bodysliding out of this chamber is much more difficult when we have the enhanced shielding systems online.”

Cable sighs, and reluctantly agrees with the smaller man. “All right, I’ll wait. But not for much longer…”

Jubilee and Peter walk through the sterile metal corridors of the mansion’s second sub-basement, headed towards the War Room. It’s late, and they’re both getting tired now, so they hope this doesn’t take too long. Especially Jubilee, as Cassandra gets on her nerves; the less time spent in the woman’s presence, the better.

“I don’t know why I have this headache all of a sudden,” Peter says, grimacing as he brings a hand to the side of his head. “It’s really killing me…”

“All the more reason to make this quick. Come on,” Jubilee says as the two of them arrive at the door to their destination. It slides open, they walk in, and sure enough Cassandra is there waiting for them. Also present are several of their teammates, namely Warren Worthington III, Danielle Moonstar, Sean Cassidy, Anna Hong, Angelo Espinosa, Alison Blaire, Chris Bradley, and Cameron Dalin. They’re all very quiet and unresponsive, and Jubilee suddenly wonders what’s going on.

“Ah, I’m glad you’re finally here,” Cassandra says, greeting the two younger X-Men with a smile. “Please, sit down.”

“I’ll stand, thanks,” Jubilee says, crossing her arms defiantly. Peter gives Cassandra a look that tells the woman he’ll be doing the same.

“Very well then…”

“Hey, where’s Bobby?” Jubilee says, interrupting Cassandra. “Scott? Jean? I thought this was important…”

“Oh, it is,” Cassandra says with a firm nod. “Jean is… out of commission for the time being. And as for Scott and Robert, I sent them and a couple others to fetch the team who went after the Black Womb. Their Blackbird crash-landed in the Sahara Desert.”

“Well then why not just wait until everyone gets back to have the meeting?” Jubilee questions. This is making less and less sense, and it’s starting to feel more like something’s not right.

“Because, Jubilee,” Cassandra says as she moves closer to the young Chinese woman, “the future cannot wait.”

Jubilee gives the bald woman a look that screams with confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“I actually gotta sit down, my head’s just pounding really bad…” Peter moves towards the table and one of its chairs, and is stunned by the fact that none of his teammates make an effort to help him or even ask if he’s all right. Something is definitely going on, and he realizes Cassandra must be the reason.

“What did Bishop once say to you, my dear?” Cassandra says, taking one of Jubilee’s hands in her own. “That you’d be the last X-Man? The last champion of the dream. It’s quite a destiny… one that I intend for you to fulfill.”

“What the hell is this?” Jubilee yells, slapping Cassandra’s hand out of hers and backing away. “You’ve lost your marbles, you old bag!”

Cassandra furrows her brow in frusteration. “Now, now, Jubilation, no need to be rude…”

“AAAAHH!” Peter cries out in pain as he stumbles to the ground, the ache in his head growing at an alarming rate. Little does he know that the pain is the result of Cassandra’s struggle to control his mind reaching its climax.

Suddenly, the sound of static electricity is heard, and the form of a large, older man fades into view. Having materialized near Peter, Cable picks the young man up, then moves quickly to grab ahold of Jubilee.

“You,” is all Cassandra says.

“They’re under my protection now,” Cable tells her. “I suggest you release the rest of the X-Men and stop this before it escalates into something beyond your control.”

“You’ve struggled just to stop me from taking two minds,” Cassandra says, cocking an eyebrow. “I myself have over a dozen X-Men at my disposal. Who has the upper hand here?”

Cable scowls at the woman, knowing she’s right – he’s too unprepared, and with a snap of her fingers, Cassandra could sic every X-Man in this room on him. On the flip side, she dares not attempt to telepathically attack him any further, for she’d run the risk of losing the hold she has over ‘her’ X-Men.

“I will stop you,” Cable says as he, Peter, and Jubilee dematerialize and fade out of sight. “That’s a promise.”

Cassandra simply scoffs at the man’s last words, and turns to look at the group of mutants in her presence. “We shall see, Nathan Summers,” she mutters under her breath, “we shall see…”

CONTINUED IN X-MEN #27!