North Korea

Cyclops and Jubilee ran as fast as they could through the dark, dank corridors of the weapons factory, their target becoming more and more of a blur in the distance as the two of them continued to fall farther behind. They knew Mystique was fast, but not this fast.

“Damn it, she’s getting away!” Jubilee yelled out in frustration, gruntly slightly in the process.

“We’ll catch up to her, don’t worry,” was Cyclops’ response, which was surprisingly calm given the situation. He’d always had a knack for keeping his cool, but Jubilee had very much taken after Logan.

Mystique suddenly disappeared around a corner, and the two X-Men made a mad dash to keep up and keep her in their sights, but just as they turned into the next hallway, they caught sight of Mystique standing on the other side of a large mechanical doorway that was slowly but surely sealing itself. Mystique grinned at them and waved, then vanished as the door slammed completely shut.

Cyclops wasted no time in opening his visor just a crack and released a thin optic blast that took the door out in one hit. As the freshly-made scrap metal flew through the air and crashed against a far wall, Cyclops and Jubilee moved forward and passed through the doorway, only to find that the hallway fanned out into a wide, open area with four other exits. They could see no trace of Mystique, no indication as to which way she’d gone; they’d had a feeling something like this would happen.

Cyclops let out a sigh and turned to Jubilee, telling her, “Okay, I don’t want to do this, but she won’t register on Cerebro, so we need to split…”

Cyclops was cut short as a blur of blue and black dived down from a small opening in the ceiling and struck him in the back of his head. For good measure, Mystique fired off a couple rounds from her gun, the bullets tearing through the man’s left shoulder and his abdomen.

“SCOTT!” Jubilee exclaimed, gaping in horror at the scene but then almost immediately contorting her facial expression into a scowl and turning all attention to Mystique. Jubilee wasted no time and fired off a few ’rounds’ of her own, sending a small flurry of multi-colored explosions in Mystique’s direction. “You’re goin’ down, you bitch!”

Mystique dodged the attack in a timely fashion and also managed to shield her eyes from the intense brightness of the light show. Jubilee followed the woman with her eyes and prepared another helping of her mutant powers, her hands glowing furiously as globules of explosive energy swirled around them. She knew this was going to be a tough fight, one she very possibly would lose, but it wouldn’t be for lack of trying. And if she could manage to bring down Mystique, the tide would certainly turn drastically in the X-Men’s favor.

Jubilee utilized her own acrobatic abilities to dodge several physical strikes Mystique threw at her, gracefully performing backflip after backflip. More bursts of energy errupted from Jubilee’s hands, but Mystique still proved to be too fast and it was mere seconds before the Brotherhood’s leader ended up behind the X-Man. Mystique proceeded to grab Jubilee’s neck and squeezed it tightly, then moved the barrel of her gun to back of the younger woman’s head.

“Let’s get one thing clear – none of the X-Men, especially you, will ever be a match for me. The only reason you’re still alive is because I want you that way.” Just as Jubilee was about to respond with the most innappropriate insult she could conjur up, and boy did she have some good ones at the moment, Mystique raised the butt of her gun and brought it down hard on the X-Man’s head. Before she even knew what hit her, Jubilee was lying on the ground, out cold.

“Too easy,” Mystique said, looking down at the two unconscious X-Men and shaking her head. “Much too easy.”

Colossus slammed his massive fist directly into Sabretooth’s face, sending the feral mutant soaring through the air and crashing into one of the twenty-foot tall generators that were spread about the room. “Adamantium skeleton indeed.”

Sabretooth grinned widely, showing off his razor-sharp adamantium fangs, as he jumped to his feet and stared back at the X-Man. “Two coats, motherfucker…” he whispered as the last of the disorientation from Colossus’ blow wore off.

Not far from the stand-off, Kwannon was doing her best not to panic as she held the torn-off sleeves of her uniform against the side of Cameron’s shoulder – where he previously had a left arm. Sabretooth maliciously severed it after getting the jump on them, and obviously Cameron had lost a lot of blood; he was barely conscious now. Kwannon found herself wishing fervently that Henry or Cecilia were there – for all her years living and all the things she’d been through, she’d never been in a situation where she was tasked with trying to prevent someone from bleeding to death.

“Cameron, please open your eyes!” Kwannon pleaded, using one hand to gently tap the side of the young man’s face while keeping the utmost pressure on his wound. “CAMERON! Come on, wake up!”

Cameron’s eyes fluttered for a few seconds, and he looked at Kwannon with tired, defeated eyes. He’d never felt pain like this before… he’d never been afraid like this before.

“I AIN’T NO PUSSY LIKE YER PAL LOGAN, RUSSKIE!” came the crude, shrill voice of Sabretooth. Kwannon turned her head sharply and watched as Sabretooth’s claws tore through Colossus’ steel skin, something she never thought possible. Colossus backed away and stared at the wound, which was bleeding profusely, in shock. Sabretooth finished the job with a hard shove that sent Colossus down to the ground, and kicked him once in the mid-section for good measure.

Sabretooth turned his head and saw Kwannon watching, and that evil grin of his returned to his face. “Sorry, babe, I musta forgotten about you,” he said, snickering as he moved towards her.

Kwannon placed Cameron’s hand – the one he still had – over his wound, telling him to hold it as tight as he could, then stood to face her nemesis. She’d never fought the man, but knew all about him thanks to the X-Men’s files. She’d never backed down from a fight in her life; nothing had ever scared her, but this was different… this man was different. She was frightened, but stubborn as she could be, she refused to let it show.

“Do your worst, monster,” Kwannon said coldly, retrieving a small object from her belt which, with the press of a button, grew to a long, double-bladed lance.

Sabretooth moved in for the kill and growled, “My pleasure…”

The young man known only as Ever could feel an intense heat coursing through his body as he spent every last iota of energy he had on the telekinetic field he’d erected around himself. He knew he could do much more than this and take out his opponent in an instant, but he also knew that if he were to really cut loose and unleash the full power of his psionic abilities, there was a strong possibility that his telepathy could run amok. As volatile as his telepathic abilities had become lately, it was a risk he wasn’t willing to take.

The woman known as Unuscione stood a couple dozen feet away from the X-Man, grimacing as she continued to expand and strengthen the neon green exoskeleton she was wielding. Ever’s telekinesis was strong, but she could feel her powers starting to impose on him; it wouldn’t be long, she was quite sure of it.

{You’re… not going to win… I hope you know,} Ever spoke into his opponent’s mind.

“I’ll never understand why a Morlock would join the X-Men,” Unscione said, ignoring the telepathic message. “But I guess you have the right to dig your own grave.”

Ever swallowed back a lump in his throat as the temptation to shut Unscione’s mind came at him full force, but again he denied himself that luxury; especially with the containment suit that Beast had created for him almost torn to shreds, he didn’t dare. As he struggled to keep his guard up and refocus his mind on the task at hand, Ever started to feel his field slipping, and it was at that moment that he knew something bad was going to happen.

Breaking through Ever’s telekinetic barrier, Unuscione molded her exoskeleton into two giant fists and pummeled the X-Man into the ground. Ever protected himself from the attack at first with a telekinetic shield directly around his body, but even that gave way as Unuscione’s attacks came faster and with greater ferocity. The X-Man was out cold before he even knew it.

“You poor thing, you’re afraid to really use your powers,” Unscione said as her exoskeleton faded away and she walked towards Ever. She kneeled down beside him and took his head into her hands, looking at him sadly. In her mind, he’d been tainted by the X-Men’s idealogy; he was the one among their ranks who truly didn’t belong. “You should be one of us,” she whispered to him. “I’m going to do my best to make sure that happens.”

Proteus threw his fist at the green-skinned mutant called Mesmero, but mentally kicked himself for once again falling for the illusions that the man was projecting. Mesmero was at six different spots inside the half-destroyed recreational area, and everytime Proteus had a feeling he knew which one was real, that feeling turned out to be wrong.

The one thing the young X-Man did know for sure was that Mastermind was doing her best to deconstruct the mirages with her own psionic abilties. Proteus knew Martinique’s powers weren’t necessarily all that strong, but she at least could see through Mesmero’s smoke and mirrors. That gave them a bit of an edge, or so he thought.

“Peter!” came the angry voice of a woman who Proteus was all too familiar with. Startled, he turned his head to see his mother staring right back at him. “Enough of this!”

What happened next was enough to make Proteus throw up, regardless of the fact that he knew it was an illusion. His ‘mother’ reached her hand out to him, whimpering as blood began to seep from her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. Her skin was flushed of all its color and her body began to decompose rapidly. The woman then burst into flames, all the while screaming in complete and utter terror.

Even though he would never want to see such a thing befall his own mother, Mesmero snickered, pleased with his handywork. And while the young X-Man froze in a state of shock, the master illusionist turned his attention to the woman whose powers were almost a mirror image of his own, though as they both were well aware, not quite as strong.

“A very dirty trick,” Mastermind said through her thick English accent, keeping her eyes locked in a cold gaze on Mesmero from across the room. “That sort of thing won’t work on me, though.”

“Well you’re on your own now, hot stuff… just look at Drake over there, thinkin’ he’s on fire!” Mesmero replied with a hearty laugh, glancing over Mastermind’s shoulder to see Iceman running about wildly, flailing his arms in the arm.

“You’re disgusting,” Mastermind spat, though her words were transposed into an image of one of the few people Mesmero was truly afraid of, Magneto. “I can play tricks as well, though.”

“Martinique, there you are!”

The man’s voice stunned Mastermind, who turned to see both of her parents, dressed for the roles they played in the Hellfire Club, walking towards her. She rolled her eyes at Mesmero’s pathetic attempt; was this the best he could do?

“My dear, let’s stop this all right now… your father and I have decided to get married. We want to be one big happy family!” Emma Frost said happily, smiling and clutching the arm of Jason Wyngarde.

“Ha!” Mastermind laughed, throwing her head back slightly. “Not in a million years… especially considering my father is dead…”

Without warning, Mastermind felt a slight prick in her arm, and before she could even react, the would-be X-Man was on the ground, fast asleep. Mesmero grinned and shook his head, then turned his attention back to Iceman. “Okay, enough of that.”

‘Iceman’ stopped in an instant, and looked Mesmero directly in the eye. Before the frosty mutant could even begin to ask how his performance was, Mesmero raised the tranquilizer gun in his hand and aimed it right at the imposter X-Man, subsequently firing off another shot. ‘Iceman’ was down in a split-second, and Mesmero finished the job with a shot at Proteus as well.

Mesmero laughed to himself and said, “Don’t mess with the best, morons.”

Domino dodged fist and foot as the young man called Nocturne threw attack after attack at her. Though it was relatively dark in the room and Nocturne was covered from head to toe in what could best be described as a liquid shadow, Domino managed to keep her bearings and block or dodge every one of his attacks. Of course she’d spent most of her life as a mercenary and was trained in nearly every form of hand-to-hand combat known to man, but she also knew that a lot of her success was just pure luck.

“You’re a great fighter,” Nocturne said, his sarcasm incredibly apparent even through the somewhat metallic echo that overlapped his voice.

“I’m old enough to be your mother, kid,” Domino retorted disdainfully. She managed to grab hold of one of Nocturne’s wrists, much to the young man’s surprise, and twisted his arm around and behind his back. “I’ve been doing this sort of thing since you were in diapers – I better be a lot more than ‘great’.”

Nocturne laughed quietly, saying nothing in response but instead easily slipping out of Domino’s sturdy grasp and disappearing into the darkness of the shadows. Domino stayed on point and kept her eyes moving around the large, dimly-lit weapons laboratory. She wondered for a moment how the rest of her teammates were fairing, and mentally kicked herself for suggesting that they all split up. Even with all the luck in the world on her side, Domino knew she could use a little help with this one.

“You’re too slow,” came Nocturne’s voice all of sudden, and Domino whipped around only to receive a stiff kick in the abdomen. “I can be anywhere in this room in a split second, you know.”

Domino fell to the ground on her back, but quickly jumped onto her feet and charged at Nocturne. “And I can break your jaw you prissy little shit!”

Domino delivered a roundhouse kick that grazed Nocturne’s forehead, and in an instant he was gone, absorbed into the shadows once again. He reappeared at Domino’s side and punched her, then immediately disappeared and rematerialized in front of her and struck her in the abdomen again. For his ‘big finish’ he teleported behind her and kicked her legs out with incredible force, producing an audible crunch as several of her bones were broken.

“We’ve been training for this for a long time,” Nocturne told her, standing over the downed X-Man. “None of you stood a chance. This isn’t Magneto’s Brotherhood anymore.”

A gun was suddenly fired off in the distance, and a stunned looked crossed Domino’s face as she felt the pain of a bullet tear through her back. As her world went black, all she could think about was how unreliable unstable molecules could be sometimes.

“I could have done it myself,” Nocturne said with a pout, watching as his leader, Mystique, came into view in the dim light. “What about the rest of them?”

“They’ve all been taken care of,” Mystique answered, holding up her gun and blowing softly on the still-smoking barrel. “It looks like we may have a view casualities on our hands, you know how Creed can be, but the X-Men have been defeated nonetheless.”

Nocturne grinned gleefully at the announcement. “Now the real fun begins.”

“Fun indeed,” Mystique concurred, smiling coyly. “An arsenal of nuclear and biological weapons all to ourselves… who should we blow up first?”

PAST TENSE

Part I: Flashback

By Ryan Krupienski

Chicago, Illinois; Six Months Ago

Dozens of stories above the ground, on the top floor of the gleaming metal skyscraper resting at the intersection of Monroe and Wabash, Warren Worthington III stood with a cup of tea cradled in his hands, dressed handsomely in a black pinstripe suit that greatly complimented his indigo complexion. He stared out at the Chicago skyline through the wall of glass before him, admiring the view of the city that had become not only his permanent residence, but the location of the home office for the X-Corporation as well. New York City was much too crowded, and he’d needed a change of scenery anyway.

“It’s still strange to look at that thing,” Warren said, taking a sip of his tea as he gazed at the tall, crystalline blue building that had not long ago taken the place of the Sears Tower. “It doesn’t quite seem like it fits in.”

“I suppose many people would say the same about this building,” came the voice of Ororo Monroe. Warren didn’t turn around as the white-haired woman stood from her seat in front of Warren’s desk and walked over to his side. “But they’ll get used to it.”

Warren turned his head and looked at Ororo, whose own eyes were now drifting over the city. “Did I mention I liked your hair? It’s very Angela Bassett.”

“Thank you. No complaints so far,” Ororo said with a smile, running a hand through her shortly-cropped hair. Cutting her hair off had, in some strange way, made her feel more uninhibited; not quite as extreme as her mohawk days, but she loved it nonetheless.

“Thanks again for coming on such short notice. It’s nice to see my friends every once in a while.” Warren turned from the window and moved towards the large metal desk that had an ‘X’ embedded at its center.

As Warren sat down in his chair, Ororo spun on her heels to face him and leaned gently against the window. “And it’s nice to get away from the mansion every now and then as well. But somehow, I don’t think this is entirely a social call.”

Warren shook his head and let out a small chuckle. “Yeah, I guess I can’t fool you, Ororo. But you still came anyway… why?”

“I’m… wanting to keep all my options open,” Ororo said, being careful to choose her words wisely. She didn’t want to give in to what she already knew Warren was going to ask of her; she was going to make him work for it.

“So you’ve been thinking about my offer, then,” Warren inferred, folding his hands neatly in his nap. “It still stands, and I’m still as adamant about it as before – I think you’re the best person to run the X-Corp office in Cairo. I think you know it too.”

“I’m no businesswoman, Warren,” Ororo replied matter-of-factly, brushing off the admonishment.

“You’re a proven leader, though.”

“A proven leader of a vigilante combat operation, not a multi-billion dollar corporation.”

“That’s my job, actually,” Warren quipped, and Ororo grinned while flashing him a knowing look. “I’m not just talking about your time leading the X-Men… I’m talking about the fact that you’re a natural born leader, someone people look up to, someone people gravitate towards. That’s what I’m looking for… that’s what the board needs.”

“I can’t say that the offer is not tempting,” Ororo admitted, sighing softly as she slowly made her way back to her seat. “I dismissed it at first, but now…”

“Now you see how great an opportunity this is,” Warren told her, becoming more hopeful with each word he spoke. “Honestly, Ororo, the business side of things is all a formality, you’ll acclimate to it in no time. That region, though… it needs a strong leader…”

“A heterosexual, non-mutant man would probably be the way to go if you wanted to play it safe.” A slight smile crept onto Ororo’s face as she added, “And I’ve never known you to be such a man.”

Warren gave his former teammate an almost mischevious look and said, “What would be the fun in that?” After taking a moment to clear his throat he continued, “Of course, as you know, the situation in the Middle East and the surrounding area is pretty volatile right now. There’s a lot of change happening… a lot of foreign concepts being introduced into traditionally conservative and restrictive societies. T’Challa is doing his part, as is the director of the New Dehli branch, Sooraya Khatami, but your position in Cairo would be pivotal. You’d be overseeing the immediate area, including places like…”

“Iraq, Iran, Syria,” Ororo said, finishing the man’s sentence for him. “I know. I’ve taken that into consideration, trust me. And I know that if I do decide to do this, it’s going to be very difficult. People over there aren’t going to be very open to the idea of a woman in my position. This isn’t a small village, I won’t be a ‘goddess’…”

“There’s a lot of progress to be made, and I think you’re the one who can get things going in the right direction,” Warren stated. He went silent and just looked at Ororo for a moment, studying the thoughtful look on her face. This could be her finally saying yes, he thought to himself.

“So what do you say? Are you in?” Warren asked suddenly, trying not to sound too impatient.

“I’ll think about it, and I promise not to take long at all,” Ororo said, smiling playfully but sincerely at Warren. “How are you doing, though, Warren? Let’s shelve the business talk for a moment… I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.”

“I’m fine,” Warren said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Things have been going pretty smoothly… the company’s doing great, expanding rapidly… over a dozen offices worldwide now. And…”

“How are you, Warren?”

Warren sighed and couldn’t help but laugh at himself; it seemed as if he truly had nothing but business on his mind lately. He took a minute to relish in how nice it felt to, for once, have someone ask him how he, and not the company, was doing.

“I’m doing okay. I’m a bit stressed here and there. I don’t have much time to myself, and I barely get to see Dani all that often…”

Ororo cocked an eyebrow at the mention of Danielle Moonstar’s name. “Oh? The sparks are reigniting, then?”

“I suppose you could say that,” Warren agreed. “We’re going slow, seeing how things develop… it’s kind of hard with us being so far apart, though.”

“If it’s meant to be, eight hundred miles aren’t going to get in your way,” Ororo assured him.

“And how about your love life? How’s Domino?” Warren asked.

“Ah… Beatrice is fine. Just fine,” Ororo answered, averting her eyes from Warren and hoping the subject would be forgotten. She wasn’t quite used to discussing her latest relationship – if it could even be called that – with anyone, and considering how things had been going, she didn’t exactly have the desire to talk about it anyway.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” Warren said apologetically, signaling his move away from the topic. He glanced at the digital clock sitting on his desk and when he saw the time, he practically jumped from his chair. “Damn it, I didn’t realize how late it was. Sorry to bolt like this, but I have a meeting in just a few minutes.”

“No problem. It was wonderful seeing you,” Ororo said, standing from her seat and meeting Warren for a hug.

“Hey, don’t even think about leaving just yet,” Warren said in a commanding yet sarcastic tone. He grabbed a portfolio off his desk and started on his way out the door, telling Ororo, “Make yourself at home. Ask Talia to give you a tour of the building if you’d like… we have more catching up to do still.”

“And perhaps I’ll have even come to a decision regarding your offer,” Ororo said, shrugging her shoulders in a playful manner. “I’ll be here.”

Warren nodded and smiled. “Excellent. See you in a bit.”

The Xavier Institute

Piotr Rasputin looked with admiration around the bedroom that once, and now again, belonged to him. Even with the influx of new students at the mansion, his room had been left vacant since his departure for Genosha little over a month ago. It felt like it’d been much longer than that, though, but returning to his domicile as he left it helped that feeling fade away.

He was home. The man otherwise known as Colossus felt a wave of calm, a sense of peace come over him as he looked around at the various pictures he’d left on the walls and at the various momentos he had left behind. It was as if he knew he wouldn’t stay away for long; when he returned to the X-Men a year earlier at Jean’s request, he knew it was going to be for the long haul.

Piotr set his suitcases down on the floor next to the oak desk and let out a soft sigh. He smiled as he picked up a picture of him with two of his closest friends, Kurt Wagner and the man known simply as Logan. He missed them both dearly, and while he wondered every once in a while where Kurt had run off to, Piotr still felt a deep sorrow over Logan’s death. The man had been like a brother to him and had taught him more about life than just about anyone else he’d ever known.

Anyone besides Charles Xavier. Piotr shifted his eyes to an image hanging from the wall showing the man who had, in many ways, saved his life in a pose with two more of his close friends, Ororo Munroe and Kitty Pryde. For a still inexplicable reason, Charles had committed suicide… he had left a note supposedly explaining his reasons, but everyone who knew the man was tentative to accept it. Piotr had still not come to terms with Xavier’s passing, and he realized almost immediately after arriving in Genosha that accepting Magneto’s job offer was nothing more than a knee-jerk reaction to his inability to deal with the tragedy.

Piotr turned away from the pictures and took a seat on his bed. A folder was lying over the pillows, and he opened it to find a letter welcoming him home, as well as an overview of the classes he would resume teaching next week. He knew the school had grown not only with the addition of two new wings and third level, but the dozens of new students had been brought in as well. Piotr loved teaching; art was his passion, and sharing that passion with others made him feel fulfilled.

“IT’S ABOUT DAMN TIME!”

Piotr looked up from the contents of the folder to find a slender, young Asian woman standing in his doorway, wearing a large grin on her face. Jubilation Lee made her way inside, and walked towards Piotr with her arms open wide.

“Jubilee,” Piotr said as he stood from the bed and embraced the young woman. “It’s good to see you.”

“Likewise,” Jubilee responded, squeezing the large man tight. “I’m glad you finally came to your senses! I was starting to get worried.”

“My opportunity in Genosha was a fantastic one… for the right person,” Piotr told her, as they each took a seat at the foot of the bed. “It just wasn’t what I wanted.”

“What made you decide to come back?” Jubilee asked. No one had heard any word from Genosha, neither Jean nor Chris had been in contact, and she was eager to know what was going on behind the scenes.

“It wasn’t home,” Piotr told her, shrugging his shoulders. “And Jean… she’s not the same woman I used to know. There were times when I couldn’t even tolerate being in her presence.”

Jubilee looked at Piotr, puzzled by what he’d said. Jean had shocked them all by packing up and leaving – abandoning her husband and daughter no less – and aligning herself with Magneto. For Piotr to make such a comment, though, perhaps Jean’s ‘change’ meant more than any of them realized.

“How’s she doing?” Jubilee finally asked, her mood noticeably more somber.

“She’s doing fine. She’s just… living in a very different world.”

“Yeah, well, I guess I would be too if I was the president of a country full of mutants.”

Deciding a change of topic was in order, Piotr asked his teammate, “How have you been? How are things with Bobby?”

“I’m fine, and Bobby’s fine, I guess,” Jubilee answered with a slight shrug. “He’s been acting kinda weird here and there… he’s been getting these really major mood swings once in a while. I think he’s still really torn up about the Professor.”

“I don’t think any of us have truly accepted it yet,” Piotr told her, letting out a sigh. “We’ll heal with time, though.”

Of course Piotr was right, and she knew if Logan were here, he’d have said pretty much the same. Though he’d probably be a extremely grumpy and be making lots of holes in the walls.

Jubilee suddenly perked up a bit and her eyes widened with excitement as she announced, “Well some good news for a change… I’m a teacher now. Hank gave me my own class!”

Piotr smiled in amazement and gently placed a hand on Jubilee’s shoulder. “Congratulations! Now I’ll truly have to make sure I don’t refer to you as a ‘kid’,” he quipped. “What’s your class?”

“Get ready for this – gymnastics,” Jubilee said gleefully. “Perfect match, right? I practically lived for being a gymnast when I was little. And the kids are a lot easier to deal with than I thought. It’s kinda strange having the responsibility, but I really like it.”

“There’s nothing quite like sharing your knowledge and being an example for others,” Piotr said with a nod of his head. “I’m very proud of you. You’ve grown into a very admirable person… Logan and Charles would be proud as well.”

Jubilee smiled timidly at the remark. “Thanks. I like to think so, too.”

“So what do you say you help me get reacquainted with this place? It seems like it’s twice the size it was when I left.”

“Oh yeah, Angela just went wild with her add-ons. Wait until you see the new classrooms and the atrium and… yeah, definitely a perfect excuse for a tour.”

The two X-Men stood from the bed and made their way to the door. Piotr stepped to the side and motioned for Jubilee to go ahead, and told her, “Lead the way, Miss Lee.”

The War Room

Scott Summers, Sean Cassidy, and the woman known as Beatrice sat at the round metal table resting at the center of the large, spacious room. All around them various machines were bursting with activity, tracking mutant bio-signatures, keeping a watchful eye on the mansion’s different areas, and monitoring virtually every television station in the world for broadcasts pertaining to mutants and mutant activity.

Things had become deadly serious inside the X-Men’s innermost sanctum in recent times; they’d suffered a massive security breach when Cassandra Nova successfully infiltrated their ranks and took control of the team, and everything she’d done had put more attention than ever on their operations. While her actions did indeed open the door for greater tolerance of mutantkind and the recognization of Genosha as the world’s first official mutant nation, she’d also opened up a few cans of worms that the X-Men were now doing their best to contain.

Cassandra had done more than mind control the X-Men and tell the world she was Charles Xavier; she’d done more than attack Magneto and try to paint him as a terrorist; she’d done more than try to kill the Avengers, and her own brother to boot. Though her list of crimes seemed obvious, the message of peace she spread not only opened an honest discussion about the place of super-powered beings in the world, it also inspired a rejuvination of both anti-human and anti-mutant activism. Some things would never change, but they could always get better… or worse.

Cyclops, Banshee, and Domino were at the forefront of it all; they’d assigned themselves the task of cleaning up the mess Cassandra had left behind. Though much progress was being made through the efforts of the X-Corporation, there were still very clear and present dangers running loose in the world that had to be dealt with in a very specific manner that the X-Men in particular were more than accustomed to.

“Twelve hours ago, Cerebro gathered information on a group of mutants in Berlin that very possibly have ties to Mystique’s Brotherhood,” Scott announced, while a map of the precise location was projected in holographic form from the center of the table. “Cerebro shows that they’ve been there for a while, they don’t seem to be moving, so it’s not urgent that we move in right away.”

“Anyone we know?” Sean asked through his always-present Irish accent as he clasped his hands together on the table.

“No, and from what Cerebro’s gathered they all seem to be pretty young to boot. I think Mystique may be building up a movement here… different cells around the world, ready to act on a moment’s notice,” Scott said.

“Or maybe they’re just a pack of dumb kids who think they can emulate the Brotherhood and make a name for themselves?” Beatrice suggested. “I’m not necessarily saying we should ignore this, but what information exactly did Cerebro collect that tells us they’re connected to Mystique?”

“Cerebro attempted to hack into an encrypted network that’s operating in this group’s location,” Scott explained, as the hologram changed to an image of an ordinary-looking warehouse. “It didn’t get far, but it was able to obtain some data that seemed to imply that this group is part of a larger organization. There were also some coordinates retrieved that pointed to locations in countries that are or were suspected of having weapons of mass destruction – Iraq, Iran, North Korea…”

“It seems fitting that Mystique would go after such things,” Sean chimed in, nodding his head. “Is that all the evidence, though? I don’t think we can afford to assume anything. We need concrete proof.”

“And if we can get to these people, take them down and access their systems, we’ll find out for sure,” Scott retorted, not backing down an inch from his position. “And if they are connected like I suspect, we may very well gain some new leads on Mystique and her core team.”

“Or it could be a trap, or something totally unrelated,” Beatrice commented, remaining firm in her own stance.

Scott didn’t show it, but he was becoming a bit frustrated with his teammates; he expected opposition from Sean, but he took Beatrice for someone who would embrace the more aggressive mission statement he’d re-adopted for the team. It literally split the X-Men in half a few years ago, and while it had been tumultuous and a lukewarm success at best, he knew that this time it would not only be different, but it was very necessary. He could hardly sit back and let any opportunity to bring Mystique and her clan to justice slip by – there would be a heavy price to pay if they simply sat back and waited for the Brotherhood to make their move.

“Considering that there is at least a possibility that these people are connected, and the fact that Cerebro has confirmed they have biological weapons in their possession, I’m making the decision to send in the team to deal with the situation,” Scott said finally, slowly rising from his chair while trading glances with his teammates. “Any questions?”

“Well, biological weapons make a big difference, boss man,” Beatrice quipped, a small grin forming on her face. “I’m still iffy on the whole thing, but it’s your call.”

“Likewise,” Sean concurred. “I trust your judgement.”

“Good to hear. I’m going to have Cerebro keep a close eye on these guys, and like I said they don’t seem to be moving, so we have some time to formulate a plan of attack. I know you’ve got a class, Bea, so we can delay this until a little later.”

“Yeah, I’m taking my kids on a field trip into Shi’ar space, compliments of the Danger Room,” Beatrice said as she stood from her seat and began to make her way towards the room’s exit. “Keep me posted.”

Beatrice left the room and the door slid shut behind her, leaving Scott and Sean alone. Neither had anywhere in particular to be, though Scott wanted nothing more than to do what he’d been doing since Jean left – bury himself in work, work, and more work.

So much for that, as Sean had something different in mind. “How are you doing, boyo?” the red-haired man asked of his teammate.

“Just anxious,” Scott replied. “I’ve been stressing over finding the Brotherhood, and if this is it…”

“We’ll find out soon enough, I suppose,” Sean said. “Don’t get yourself worked up, though, Scott. It’s not good for you, or for Rachel.”

“I’m not worked up, Sean, I’m just trying to do my job,” Scott said, his tone somewhat defensive. Sean could see the famous Summers emotional wall had been rebuilt, and far be it from him to try and break it down. Scott had been almost all business in recent times, and no one had been able to get through to him. The only person who stood a chance was Rachel, but at the moment her vocabulary consisted solely of ‘da-da’ and a whole bunch of gurgling noises.

“Any word on Alex and the others?” Sean asked, deciding to change the subject for the time being.

Scott shook his head. “No,” he responded. “Alex, Nathan, Kurt… everyone who left… they seem to have just vanished off the face of the planet. Cerebro can’t find any of them. Honestly, though, I’m not worried… wherever they are, whatever they’re doing, I know they can take care of themselves. I’d know it if anything had happened to them.”

“The power of positive thinking is a wonderful gift.” Sean rose from his seat and made his way over to where Scott stood, in front of a large monitor built into one of the walls. “I think I’m going to go grab a bite. Care to join me?”

“No thanks,” Scott answered.

“Suit yourself,” Sean said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. As he walked towards the War Room’s exit he added, “Keep me posted.”

“Absolutely,” Scott said, turning to look at Sean. “Just be ready to leave on a moment’s notice.”

Location Undisclosed

Her eyes shot open as the sound of violent thunder emanated through her head. However, instead of finding herself inside her bedroom, in her king size bed, floating in a sea of two thousand thread count sheets, she found herself in a place quite familiar to herself and those who also possessed super-human powers of a telepathic nature.

It wasn’t exactly the version of the Astral Plane that Emma Frost had created for herself, though; in fact, it was nothing like it. The usual brilliant diamond landscape was replaced with pitch black darkness, with a purple fog covering a good portion of the area. Emma lifted her astral form off the glowing platform that served as a ground and looked around, confused. She’d sometimes slip into this realm when sleeping, but this time felt different.

She could swear she was being watched.

“Hello?” Emma called out, her voice echoing through the vast expanse. “Who’s there? And what have you done with my garden?”

No reply, instead there were just a few crashes of lightning in the distance. Emma took a deep breath and continued to look around, while at the same time using her telepathy to try and locate anyone who might have been shielding their presence from her. She scowled as she found not a single trace of another entity, and clenched her fists in frustration.

“I am not amused,” Emma declared in a huff, pouting her lips and crossing her arms. The indignant look on her face was quickly washed away, however, as she felt a cold chill run down her spine and she turned around to see… something… coming into view before her.

A pair of eyes hovered above her, large and imposing. They were ablaze with red-hot fire, and their gaze was fixed solely on Emma. She let out a small gasp and took a couple of steps back, as her heart began to race and a couple of beads of sweat formed on her forehead. She didn’t know whose eyes they were, if they belonged to a man or a woman, if they even belonged to a human being at all. She could feel incredible power coming from the entity, though, and the way the eyes stared at her made the former White Queen feel as if she were the being’s prey.

“What do you want?” Emma demanded of the being, but no response came. The eyes narrowed and seemed to grow larger, then a deep grumbling sound followed, supposedly an attempt by the entity to verbally communicate.

“My patience is spent,” Emma said as she swallowed back a lump in her throat. “How dare you invade my mind! This is my domain!”

Emma could suddenly feel a pair of cold, invisible hands wrap around her neck, and in an instant she was lifted off the ground. As she struggled to break free, unable to even speak, the eyes multiplied and surrounded her. A single word echoed throughout the Astral Plane in a deep bellow, and it was enough to kick Emma’s adrenaline levels through the roof.

{DIE…}

“AAAAAHHHHH!” Emma screamed in defiance, and in a split second, a layer of brilliant, flawless diamonds started to form over her skin. The newfound strength at her disposal not even registering in her mind quite yet, Emma managed to tear the invisible hands away and break the entity’s hold on her. “STAY AWAY FROM ME!” she yelled, scowling as she looked around at the various sets of eyes.

Suddenly, after blinking her eyes just once, Emma found herself in the world of flesh and blood, sitting up and panting in her bed. She looked around frantically for any sign of her attacker and could see none. As her heart continued to beat at an incredible pace, she brought a hand to cover her face and she let out several soft sobs. Never in her life had she felt so helpless, so bullied… so terrified.

“What…?” Emma pulled her hand away from her face and noticed that it had changed; it was shining brilliantly in the moonlight being let in through her window. Just as she did in the Astral Plane, she’d somehow managed to transform her skin into organic diamond.

In any other situation she’d be thrilled yet perplexed by this new mutation, but she couldn’t stray her thoughts from the encounter she’d just had. As she pulled the covers away and climbed out of bed, Emma began to wonder who could be after her… and what she was going to do about it.

NEXT ISSUE: Past Tense continues as the X-Men bid farewell to one of their own, and a startling revelation is made regarding another member of the team! And while the X-Men in the past plan a raid on a possible Brotherhood splinter cell, Mystique plots in the present to bring down the rest of the X-Men once and for all!

It’s been quite a while since my last issue of this series, and while it shouldn’t have taken me this long to get my act together, I can certainly say that the time off gave me a chance to recharge my proverbial batteries (I was pooped after SuperNova) and gave me ample time to construct some much better plots (I think we can all agree that this issue turned out better than the old #45).

As you all can tell, there are some changes that have been made, and more that will unravel as the flashbacks progress and eventually catch up to the present. I decided to tell the opening arc this way because basically too much time had passed since the last issue and I wanted things to have changed since then. I didn’t just want to have a gap with no explanations, however, so… voila. Things will mostly be focused on the past for the next couple issues, but expect #5 to bring us fully back into the present.

Hopefully this issue was an enjoyable read for you all. There is much, much more to come… lots of action, intrigue, suspense, and of course some new additions to the team. I think this is going to be fun, so just hang on tight… I have some exciting things in store!

And don’t worry, no more X-Men are going to die…

~Ryan
3/9/05