PROPHECY

By David Stewart

Sentinels were all around. Everywhere you looked they were there – from north to south, east to west, Sentinels filled the sky.

They were swamping all who stood before them, all except two men. Not just men, but brothers. Scott and Alex Summers, as they have done for the greater part of their lives, fighting for what is right. Using the mutant powers they were blessed, and some may say cursed, with, they repel sentinel after sentinel.

It could not last forever though, the sentinels were in too great a number. As Scott Summers, often known as Cyclops, released another beam of intense power aimed at an attacking Sentinel, he was unaware of what was behind him. After disposing of another Sentinel he turned, only to see his death. Always a proud man he let out no sound as he crumpled to the ground.

“Scott!” cried out Alex, but there was no reply. He knew there would be none, he felt it in his heart. Even though he and his brother hadn’t always seen eye to eye, the pain of losing a brother, his only brother, words could not describe. Maybe it was this pain that caused it, or the feeling that he had to live up to his brother’s high standards, but whatever it was, it was the reason Havok was in the history books.

Using power he didn’t think he had, he released a plasma burst, so concentrated but yet wide-spread, that meant that where a minute ago only Sentinels could be seen, now there was nothing. These Sentinels weren’t following their prime directive, the eradication of mutants, anymore though. That’s because they had been destroyed, Sentinel after Sentinel, with one display of the kind of power that was the reasoning behind their creation.

On this day one man took on the Sentinels, and won.

X-Factor headquarters on the banks of the Hudson River.

“Fixx,” shouted Shard. “Wake up, it’s eleven am already!” Fixx woke with a start, responding to Shard’s call.

“That dream again,” Fixx thought to herself. “That’s the second night running I’ve had the same dream of the video we used to be shown in X.S.E. training. But why am I having it? Havok was Greystone’s hero, not mine.”

As she brought up Greystone’s name, she remembered her old team-mate and his apparent death when he blew up himself and Havok. After a brief moment of sadness she brought her attention back to the dream.

“This dream I’ve been having, this event was one of the reasons that Xavier’s dream of peaceful coexistance between humans and mutants continued. This event though, the day Havok’s name was forged into the history book as another hero of the Summers’ family tree, it couldn’t have happened anymore. Although Archer, Greystone, and myself came back from the future and changed history for the better, Greystone changed it for the worse when he killed himself and Havok. That means that there will have been no event like this as Havok is dead. So why am I having this dream, unless… I’m going to have to talk to Shard about this…”

Elsewhere in the mansion, someone else was having trouble. That is, if trouble is just another name for Trevor Tyler Chase. Much to his dismay, after X-Factor and Mystique had teamed up to rescue Mystique’s only care in the world, Trevor Chase, Mystique had run off for some unknown reason leaving Forge to care for Trevor. Neither party involved was happy with this, and while Forge being the adult had to put up with this turn in events, Trevor didn’t. Without provocation he was a mischievous boy, with it… this was something that Forge was finding out. Already this morning he had found a frog in his bed, stood on nails in bare feet and had his latest invention reduced to a pile of junk.

“I don’t like it either, Trevor, but we’re going to have to live with it,” Forge said. Trevor just sat watching his television, ignoring Forge. “Oh well, you just sit there then.” Forge sighed, when the phone rang, and he headed over to it picked up the receiver.

“Hello,” he said into the phone, “who is it?”

“Hello Forge, how are you coping?” The voice on the other end of the phone was unfortunately, very recognisable for Forge.

“Mystique!” he exclaimed. “What do you think you are doing?” Hearing Forge cry Mystique’s name Trevor ran to the phone and snatched it from Forge.

“Mystique, I hate it here! Why can’t you look after me?” Trevor pleaded down the phone.

“I’m sorry Trevor. You’re very special to me and you know that but there’s something I have to do. It’s dangerous and I don’t want you involved in it, I want you to be safe. That’s why you’re with Forge, he’ll look after you…”

“But I don’t like him Mystique,” Trevor interrupted.

“Give him a chance Trevor, he’s a good man.” Listening to the conversation, courtesy of a speaker on the phone, Forge noticed that there was none of the usual arrogance in Mystique when she spoke to Trevor. She actually did truly care for the boy, and care deeply. There was a special bond between Trevor and Mystique, he knew that now. The reasoning behind the bond only known by the two themselves. This was a side of Mystique not seen often though, and a side he found startlingly attractive. His thoughts were interrupted though as Trevor, having finished speaking to Mystique, thrust the phone into Forge’s hand.

“She wants to speak to you now,” he mumbled, then ambled off, looking most of all just plain lonely.

“Mystique, what’s so important that means I’m stuck with looking after someone who hates me?” Forge asked.

“He doesn’t hate you Forge.” She paused a moment in reply, “or at least I don’t think he does.” Now this was the arrogant, annoying Mystique most people knew.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Forge said with a touch of steel in his voice. He was not amused my Mystique’s comment.

“I’m sorry Forge, I’ve got to go. I’ll call again soon…” Mystique clearly didn’t want to answer the question.

“Mystique, don’t hang up,” Forge shouted down the phone.

“Sorry Forge, tell Trevor I love him…”

“Don’t hang…” Forge cut short his sentence as Mystique did exactly what he hadn’t wanted, she hung up on him.

In another part of the house, Jamie Madrox was having fun… on his own?

“Left foot, green,” Jamie Madrox said. And in response four other Jamie Madrox’s put their left foot on green. This was why Jamie Madrox was called the Multiple Man.

“Hey, you’re cheating,” one of the Jamie’s accused. “You’re sitting on the floor!”

“No I’m not! You’re just trying to get me disqualified from the Twister World Championships!”, the accused Jamie replied.

“Quit it you two,” another one joined in. “And watch where you’re putting your hands!”

Just then, on the television that no one had been watching, appeared Trish Tilby.

“Last week,” she started, “the mutant team known as X-Factor captured the mutant criminal called Sabretooth.”

“Guys, be quiet!” the original Jamie Madrox ordered. The Jamie Madrox duplicates stopped their arguing to look at the screen, as Trish Tilby continued her broadcast.

“They handed him over to government custody to show to the public their desire to help improve mutant/human relations. More on the story after this commercial break.”

“Look at that then,” one of the Jamie’s started, “soon I’ll be on the front of ‘Hello’ magazine, in a new video game and maybe even a movie!”

“Maybe not a movie,” the original Jamie answered. “I mean, they take a long time to make don’t they?! Especially movies to do with mutants… you’re always told that there’s going to be one but I’m still waiting!”

“Forget that, just think who could play the role of us!”

“Arnie,” one suggested.

“No, lacks a sense of humour…”

“A brain…”

“And don’t forget a vocabulary!”

“Why, I have to agree with you – when there are a myriad of words available for use it is a shame when all he can say is, ‘I’ll be back’!”

“Where you going?”

“Nowhere, I was doing an impression…”

“Oh, I get you. What about Jennifer Anniston?”

“For what?”

“To play us in the film!”

“But she’s a woman!”

“So? It would make the film good!”

“Have you been drinking?”

“Only…” As Jamie Madrox and company continued their wonderful debate, Polaris was finishing a phone call to Val Cooper, the person responsible for the television coverage X-Factor had just received.

“Once again, thanks a lot for the coverage, Val. Call us if you get any leads on Wildchild. I haven’t decided what I want us to do next, so if you hear anything at all don’t hesitate. Talk to you later, bye.” As the conversation ended she placed the receiver back down.

“Everything’s gone right so far,” she thought to herself. “Everything isn’t resolved yet, though… Kyle is still missing, and Forge has got to look after Trevor so that means there’s only four of us to go on missions. Maybe it’s time I spoke to Guido again…”

After getting herself out of bed, Fixx decided to go and find Shard to try and sort out the dream she had been having. Finding Shard wasn’t too difficult though; she was just in her room. Lying next to her was a photo of herself and her brother Bishop, taken the last time they were together.

“Any news on him?” Fixx asked, as she entered Shard’s room.

“Thanks for the concern and all that, but I’ve never really liked you and that’s the way it should stay…” Shard paused for a second, “and no, the X-men haven’t heard anything about him.”

“I’ve always loved your upfront style Shard,” Fixx joked, although the joke wasn’t appreciated by Shard.

“Did you want something Fixx?” Shard asked, somewhat coldly.

“I came to discuss something with you, and no I didn’t decide upon you ’cause I thought we could have a nice girlie chat afterwards. I came to you because you’re the only other person who can relate to the dream I keep having.”

“Go on,” Shard said, sensing that Fixx had something quite important to say.

“It’s this dream I’ve had of the video tape we used to watch in the X.S.E., the one of Havok…”

As Fixx mentioned Havok, Shard seemed to recognise what Fixx was talking about.

“I’ve had this dream two nights in a row and I don’t know what it means. I thought to myself that this event couldn’t happen anymore due to the accident, so why would I be having the dream?”

“I get where you’re going Fixx,” Shard said, “and I think that at this stage no one else can know about this. Otherwise, if these dreams are only just dreams, then you’re not going to be that popular…”

“I thought you wouldn’t mind that,” Fixx interrupted Shard.

“But at this stage,” Shard continued despite Fixx’s comment, “it’s up to us to find out whether or not Havok is alive!”

NEXT: Polaris takes charge and lays down a game plan for the team! Plus: a special mystery guest-star returns from the recent past – and it’s the last person you’d expect to see!