SUPERNOVA

Part V: Against All Odds

By Ryan Krupienski and Dino Pollard

Somewhere In Africa

The silence among these African plains is nothing new. In fact, it has actually become quite the norm for the animals who inhabit this area. And they prefer it like that. Untouched by western civilization, untouched by industrialization, almost untouched by humanity as a whole. But a small explosion of smoke accompanied by the scent of brimstone changes that, at least for now.

When the smoke clears, three people stand among the plains. One of them looks like a demon, with fine, indigo fur covering his entire body, a stark contrast to his bright yellow eyes. By his side is a woman with markings on her face and mechanical wings attached to her back, and a man covered from head to toe in white with a trenchcoat to match.

Nightcrawler stumbles slightly, and almost collapses. The man known as Fantomex quickly catches him and allows Nightcrawler to lean against him for support.

“You okay?” asks Fantomex.

“I… I’ll be fine…” replies Nightcrawler between gasps of breath. “We have to keep moving… throw Cassandra off…”

“You’re pushing yourself too far,” says Fantomex. “While I respect your determination, it’s not good for any of us to keep teleporting like this.”

“Then we rest… for a few moments,” says Nightcrawler. “But just a few moments, and then… then we keep moving.”

“I could fly ahead, see if I can locate some sign of civilization,” says Deathbird.

“No,” says Nightcrawler. “I don’t want us to seperate, not for a moment. We have to stay together. We’re the only ones who know the truth about Cassandra, and we’re the only X-Men she doesn’t have under her control.”

“So what do we do then?” asks Deathbird.

“Once I get my strength back up, we just keep moving,” replies Nightcrawler. “Hopefully we’ll reach a village, and although we won’t be able to communicate with anyone, maybe we could at least get some food. We have to reach a city or a base… anywhere we have access to some form of communication.”

“And then what?” asks Fantomex.

“I… I’m not entirely sure yet,” replies Nightcrawler. “Best course of action will probably be to contact Forge and X-Factor, but beyond that, I’m not sure who we can trust. SHIELD is another option, but I’m a bit weary of contacting government officials. The political climate concerning mutants doesn’t seem particularly healthy at this time. Ideally, X-Force seems best suited to operations like this, but we lost contact with them not long ago, and given what’s been happening lately, I’m afraid it’s because of Cassandra… excuse me… I need to sit down…”

Nightcrawler practically falls over, but Fantomex catches him once more and helps him to the ground. Nightcrawler rubs his head with his hands and then looks at his teammates.

“You’ve been teleporting for hours, you need rest,” says Fantomex.

“We’ve taken breaks,” says Nightcrawler.

“Obviously fifteen minutes here and there isn’t enough,” says Fantomex.

“He’s right, you’re pushing yourself too much,” says Deathbird. “Your intentions are noble, but I refuse to let you serve as a liability in the field.”

“Then we camp here for now,” says Fantomex.

“In case you two forgot, I’m still acting field leader,” says Nightcrawler. “That means I make the decisions.”

“Exactly, and we can’t have the field leader collapsing in the middle of a fight,” says Deathbird. “We stay here for some time so we can build up our strength.”

“Fine,” says Nightcrawler. “But no splitting up, we stick together.”

“How are we supposed to hunt for food then?” asks Deathbird.

“It’s not my decision, it was forced on us,” says Nightcrawler. “Once we escaped the others, we destroyed our comm-links so Cassandra couldn’t track them. And none of us have telepathy, so we have no way of contacting each other if we split up.”

“Very well,” says Deathbird. “In that case, we stay within eyesight. That, at least, should give us some mobility to find food.”

“Fine,” says Nightcrawler.

“Do you know where we are?” asks Fantomex.

“No, I just kept teleporting,” replies Nightcrawler. “All I know is that we’re somewhere in Africa.”

“You’re not sure if we’re north or south?” asks Fantomex.

“No, why?” asks Nightcrawler.

“Because Genosha is off the coast of South Africa,” replies Fantomex.

Not far from Nightcrawler, Fantomex, and Deathbird – but by no means very close, either – a unique energy signature appears. The signature expands, until the outline of three people can barely be made out, and in the span of a second if not less, there is a flash of light, and the outlines become actual people. One of them is a fairly large man, with white hair and a left eye that glows brightly. By his side are a young man with short brown hair and a young Asian woman with black hair.

“Where are we?” asks Peter Valentino, the young man also known as Proteus.

“Africa,” replies Cable, the older man. Cable reaches down to his belt, which is lined with various pouches and other futuristic devices, and removes a small device resembling a Palm Pilot from one of the pouches. Sidearms are strapped to both his legs, and a rifle of some sort is strapped to his back. Although Cable’s most powerful weapon is the small baton-like object which hangs from his belt, that can be extended into the Psimitar to channel his psionic powers, he is, first and foremost, a soldier. And he likes to be prepared.

“What’s that?” asks Jubilee.

“Tracking device,” replies Cable.

“I thought you were teleporting us right to their location,” says Jubilee.

“That was when we left the Z’noxx Chamber,” says Cable. “The bodysliding tech we’ve been using hasn’t been perfected. Plus, it wasn’t easy to get a lock on Nightcrawler’s signature. And in the time it took us to calibrate the tech and then bodyslide in, Nightcrawler could have easily teleported at least nine to twelve miles.”

“So if we can’t get a definite lock on them, how’s that device gonna do a better job?” asks Jubilee. “And if you’re able to track Kurt and the others, what’s to stop Cassie from doing the same?”

“Two reasons,” replies Cable. “First, Cassandra is most likely just using Cerebro, which is only tracking Nightcrawler by his X-gene. This device does that, in addition to tracking the energy released whenever Nightcrawler teleports. Second, while we may not know exactly where the others are, Cassandra doesn’t know, either. But since we’re closer in range, the signal’s stronger, and it’s easier to pinpoint.”

“This is nuts,” says Proteus. “How come we’re going after just three guys instead of putting in some calls to the Avengers? I mean, I saw them at Wolverine’s funeral, so I assume that means they’ve got a pretty good relationship with the X-Men. Or what about some of the other mutants who were there, too? I mean, isn’t there more than one X-team?”

“You’re new to this, kid, so I’ll cut you some slack this time,” begins Cable. “After the Onslaught incident, Cyclops and I put contingency plans into place just in case a threat surfaced from inside the X-Men at some point in the future. Do you really think Scott is stupid enough to not prepare for something like this?”

“Well… no, that’s not what I meant…” says Proteus. “But why aren’t we using those contingency plans?”

“What do you think this whole rescue operation is all about?” asks Cable. “The fate of the world isn’t relying on just the three of us. Blaquesmith and I have already contacted the proper operatives, and the second front is being prepared as we speak. We all have our roles to play – ours is to find the missing X-Men.”

“Give ‘im a break, dude,” says Jubilee. “He’s not even an official X-Man yet, how was he supposed to know about any of this stuff? Hell, I didn’t know about it!”

“There’s a reason for that, Jubilee,” says Cable. “No one knew about it save for a few key people. Scott had reservations about Cassandra, and we discussed them, as well as plans for developing a countermeasure should something go wrong. We kept the plans very vague, though. We didn’t put too much detail in them, and we kept it from many people because we knew that Cassandra could easily take the information from even my head.”

“Huh, I always knew Scott was a bit uptight, but I never knew he was so…”

“Prepared?” finishes Proteus.

“Who do you think I learned it from?” asks Cable. “Either way, we gotta keep moving, soldiers. Especially if we want to find the-”

“Whoa, waitasec,” interrupts Proteus. “What’s all this talk about soldiers? You make it sound like we’re fighting some kind of war or somethi-”

“This is the first and last time I’m going to tell you this,” says Cable. “Don’t. Question. Me. Cassandra’s declared war on us, and like it or not, that makes all of us soldiers. So if you plan on living through this, you’ll do as I say. Understood?”

“Yeah… sure,” says Proteus.

“This way,” says Cable. “The signal’s a bit erratic, but it’s pointing us in this direction. In the meantime, I’ll try to contact Nightcrawler telepathically.”

“Is he always like this?” whispers Proteus.

“Nah,” replies Jubilee. “Actually, he’s lightened up since I first met him.”

“Oh…” says Proteus.

Hammer Bay, Genosha

On an island off the coast of southern Africa, Erik Magnus Lehnsherr watches the water of Hammer Bay as he stands on the docks. He is expecting a visitor to arrive via sea very shortly. And judging from the massive waves that are suddenly coming, that visitor has now arrived.

A massive hand reaches out from the water and grips the dock. A huge behemoth of a man, clad in crimson armor, emerges from the water. He takes a breath and looks around the immediate area, before he spots Lehnsherr standing nearby. Erik is clad in his familiar cape, but his uniform seems to be less body armor, and more like that of a dignitary. Also missing is the crimson helmet he is frequently seen with.

“Magneto,” says Juggernaut as he slowly begins to approach the man.

“Hello, Marko,” says Erik. “It’s good t-”

The Juggernaut’s massive hand swiftly snatches Magneto from the ground, and Cain Marko holds him in a vice-like grip to his face.

“I’m only gonna ask ya once,” he says. “What’ve ya done with Chuck?”

Magneto’s eyes begin to glow brightly, and Juggernaut watches as various metal in the area begins to levitate off the ground and circle them.

“The magical properties of your armor leave me unable to affect it,” says Magneto. “But I can easily control the metal surrounding this area.”

“The Juggernaut versus Magneto, huh?” mutters Cain. “That’s a fight I’d pay t’ see.”

“I am not your enemy, Marko,” says Magneto. “Let go before you do something you’ll regret.”

“Not until y’ tell me where Chuck is,” says Juggernaut.

“Cain, please – I’m right here,” comes the voice of Charles Xavier. Seated in his hoverchair, he approaches the two men.

“Satisfied?” asks Magneto.

“Shaddup,” replies Juggernaut.

“Put him down, Cain,” says Xavier. “And Erik, could you please return the metal to where you found it?”

As Juggernaut sets Magneto on the ground, Erik’s eyes glow and the metal that was circling the two men slows before returning to its point of origin.

“What’s goin’ on here?” asks Juggernaut. “Y’ sounded pretty urgent when I talked to you, so what’s the scoop? And why Genosha?”

“Erik and I have been here in Genosha ever since I was cured of the Legacy Virus,” says Xavier. “We’ve been working towards rebuilding Genosha.”

“So why didn’t ya tell me that?” asks Juggernaut.

“If I could, I would have, Cain,” replies Xavier. “But the matter was far too sensitive to discuss. No one knows where I’ve been.”

“I got here as quick as I could,” says Juggernaut.

“Yes, and you didn’t seem to be very discreet,” says Magneto.

“Hey, I wuz short on cash, an’ I kinda stand out,” says Juggernaut. “Quickest way I could think of gettin’ here was by jumpin’.”

“It’s fine, Cain, that is the least of my worries at this point,” says Xavier.

“Spill it, Chuck, I know ya didn’t ask me here t’ just gimme a tour of the new Genosha,” says Juggernaut.

“I wish that was the reason, but you’re right – we have a problem,” says Xavier. “This Cassandra Nova woman has not only told the world that she is me, but now she has taken over the minds of my X-Men.”

“Yeah, I saw that on TV,” says Juggernaut. “Didn’t buy it fer a sec. I knew you before yer powers emerged, so no way was she telling the truth. Was plannin’ on headin’ over to the mansion before ya called me.”

“In that case I’m glad I caught you when I did,” says Xavier.

“Surprised yer students got taken in so easily, ‘specially the redhead,” says Juggernaut.

“To be honest, so am I,” says Xavier. “But obviously, Cassandra is a telepath of considerable power.”

“Ya know her?” asks Juggernaut.

“No,” replies Xavier. “I’ve never heard of her before.”

“So what’s the game plan?” asks Juggernaut. And then, with a slight grin, he adds, “And who do ya want me t’ hit?”

The Z’noxx Chamber

This is one area that cannot be found in the schematics of the Xavier Institute. It is a part of the institute that is kept even more secret than the mansion’s sub-basements. No one in the student body is even aware of its existence. The chamber is also psi-shielded, to prevent any psychic activity from leaving or entering the chamber’s walls.

Seated at a monitor in the chamber is the small, gnome-like creature called Blaquesmith. On the monitor before him is a map of Africa. The red dots represent Cable, Jubilee, and Proteus. The yellow one represents Nightcrawler. Since Blaquesmith is unable to pinpoint either Deathbird or Fantomex, Nightcrawler is the only signal that appears.

Blaquesmith looks away from that monitor and looks at the one to the left of him. For the past hour, he has been trying to tap into the institute’s surveillance cameras in some hope that he could get an idea of what is happening above him in the mansion. Blaquesmith finds it frustrating that the enemy is so close, yet he is forced to hide from her. Still, he is far from a young man, and he knows better than anyone the importance of biding your time. After all, he is a time traveller from the far future.

Blaquesmith hears a strange noise coming from one of his machines. He turns to see the machine shut down, and is curious as to why. Before he can move over, he hears a beeping coming from his computer. He looks back at the monitor and finds an image of the X-Men seated in the War Room.

“Better than nothing,” he says. He activates the speakers, but no audio comes forth.

“Blast.”

The image suddenly freezes on his monitor.

“What?” he says. He hits several keys, but nothing happens. He looks back to the monitor that displays the image of Africa and finds that it has mysteriously shut off. Blaquesmith touches the keyboard, and instantly receives a small electric charge. He backs away from the computer as electricity begins to run throughout it. The machine begins to malfunction, before exploding. Blaquesmith leaps away and tucks his body into a roll as he dodges the explosion. He sits up and stares at the flames for a few brief moments. He gets to his feet, but before he can move to grab the fire extinguisher, he glances up.

“Oath…” he mutters.

Before Blaquesmith is Cassandra Nova Xavier, floating in the center of a giant creature. The creature is composed entirely of psionic energy, with what seems to be a hundred or so arms.

“I do not believe we’ve been properly introduced,” she says. “My name is Cassandra Nova Xavier, but you may call me Professor X.”

“Not in this lifetime…” mutters Blaquesmith. He grabs his metal walking stick and holds it up in a defensive stance. A spear emerges from the end of it.

“Oh, how quaint,” says Cassandra with a chuckle. “A little toy for a little man. What do you plan to do with that, stab me?”

“Not quite,” says Blaquesmith as he cracks a grin. Psionic energy begins to crackle around the end of the spear and then it fires forth from the blade and slams into Cassandra. “It’s called a Psimitar, beast.”

“Now that is definitely cute, I’ll have to put one of those on my Christmas wish list,” says Cassandra. “And I just love how you people have this tendency to name everything you use. A ‘Psimitar’, that’s just darling.”

Psionic tentacles swarm out from Cassandra’s head and move towards Blaquesmith at an alarming speed. Despite his age and size, however, Blaquesmith moves with the reflexes of a man three times his height and a quarter of his age. For the tentacles he is not able to avoid, he fires at them with the Psimitar. Although Cassandra’s psionic arms cannot be affected by physical force, the psionic energy emitted from the Psimitar seems to cut through them. The effect is not painless for her.

“You think me easily taken, eh?” says Blaquesmith. “You’ve underestimated your opponent, Nova.”

Blaquesmith leaps from his spot. He moves around Cassandra, dodging past her tentacles and arms before arriving behind her and firing another blast from the Psimitar, this one directly at her head.

“That will be your downfall,” he says. He channels his psionic powers through the Psimitar for another strike as he sees Cassandra stagger and the creature begin to grow faint. He unleashes the blast, but a large suit of psionic armor quickly encases Cassandra and the blast seems to have no affect.

“By the Phoenix…”

“Not quite,” says Cassandra as she turns. She lunges forward at him, and the arms of her armor grab him. Blaquesmith doesn’t give Cassandra the satisfaction of hearing him scream as she channels a massive amount of psionic energy into his body. The last thing Blaquesmith sees before he passes out is Cassandra’s smile.

She turns away from Blaquesmith and approaches one of the computers, where she sees the dots representing Cable, Proteus, and Jubilee.

“My, my, my,” says Cassandra, the psionic armor around her dissipating into nothingness. “Thank you ever so much, Blaquesmith. You’ve led me right to the rest of my X-Men.”

CONTINUED IN AVENGERS ASSEMBLE #2!