Victor Creed towered over Cassandra Nova in every way. He had nearly eighteen inches in height and one-hundred fifty pounds in weight on the petite woman standing before him. And yet, he still cowered in front of her. Three others stood around the room, trying to remain as apathetic as possible, but it pleased each of them to see the mighty Sabretooth knocked down a peg, each for their own reasons. Omega Red detested Creed as the continuation of a years-long grudge over the loss of the Carbonadium Synthesizer. Lady Deathstrike detested being considered equal to a creature like Creed. Domino knew the less power Creed had, the better for her. That made this meeting particularly enjoyable.
“I sent you and your team for a simple mission, Victor,” Nova continued. “Two children; that’s all you needed to retrieve. TWO. CHILDREN. You get there, you retrieve them, and then you lose them to WOLVERINE and two soft X-Women. Your team is in shambles, and you return to me empty-handed.”
“I didn’t know the kids were Logan’s,” he growled.
“That shouldn’t matter, you swine,” Nova growled, her tone remaining even. “It shouldn’t matter a WHIT. You had a simple mission and a team that was more powerful than ninety-nine percent of all possible three man X-Men teams, and yet you get beaten by Banshee-lite and Logan. What explanation do you have, Victor?”
“I have none Madame Director.”
“Well, your honesty and your formality astonish me. You’ll get your next chance but not for some time.” She turned to Omega Red. “Arkady, I want him bleeding profusely. Beatrice, we have an important matter to attend to. Come with me.”
|
#4
OCT 09 |
 |
“Coming Home”
Nathan Summers smiled as he led Tommy Shepherd out of his office. He placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. Tommy was already one of the Academy’s best and brightest, and Nathan saw a lot of himself in the young man. That scared him but, in the same breath, gave him hope.
“Be careful,” Cable said, “and I hope not to see you in my office again soon. Tommy, you’re a good kid and I have some high hopes for you. I need you to focus though. Work and work hard, you got it?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I got it. Thanks.”
“Any time; my door is always open if you need to talk.” He gave Shepherd a hearty pat on the shoulder and waved him down the hall. Cable then turned to the young man sitting perfectly still on the bench outside his office. He smiled and beckoned Indra into the office.
“Come on,” he said, “I can tell that your anxiety is killing you.” The young Indian mutant stood and followed him into the office. He sat down quickly and then began glancing around the room. Relics of wars long past littered shelves and bookcases. Cable grinned. As a time traveler, his entire life revolved around history. It fascinated him.
His collection included an ancient African spear, an Egyptian whip, a Roman bow and several Revolutionary War era firearms. To a mutant as young as Indra, it was probably incredibly intimidating.
“What can I help you with today?” he asked, taking a seat and leaning forward onto his desk.
“Well, Mister Summers… it’s about a girl.”
Cable’s grin grew wide and he held back a laugh. That would only make it worse. “I’m afraid I’m the wrong person to be coming to,” he began. “I’m an old soldier, son. I’ve never had much experience with women.”
“Well… I’m really nervous about this,” he said. “I need someone to talk to, and I’m afraid--”
“That your classmates would tease you horribly?” Cable interrupted. “Tell you what- Sam Guthrie and Jono Starsmore, you know them both, I hope.” The boy nodded. “Good. Go talk to Sam and Jono, they’ll be able to help much mo--” Cable’s phone began buzzing on the desk. “Excuse me.” He picked up the small flip phone and glanced at the caller ID. International. Russia. That probably meant trouble.
“I need to take this,” he said, looking up at Indra. “Go spend some time with those two, okay?” Indra nodded, then slid out of his chair and slunk away. Cable felt bad that he couldn’t be of help, but it happened. He flipped the phone open and held it to his ear.
Psi class was Rachel Summers’ favorite part of the day. She and Dani taught the class, the only class that Moonstar came to campus for, tearing her away from the Boston XCI office. Today was Rachel’s day for lecture and she had decided to spend some time on telekinesis. That left out a handful of students, but it was definitely worthwhile.
“I want you all to concentrate,” she said. “Don’t think too hard, but this is all about focus.”
One of the young psychics, Jillian Metzberg, raised her hand. “Miss Summers,” she said. “I don’t get it. What good will lifting pennies do?”
Rachel smiled and walked over to Jillian. She leaned over and picked up a penny, holding it up between her thumb and forefinger. “Anyone can clobber something with TK,” she said. “That’s easy stuff. I was tearing down walls within an hour of my powers manifesting.” Rachel opened her fingers, holding the penny in place with her powers. The penny began to spin.
“However, we’re not talking about clobbering things,” she continued. “The important part of your telekinesis is control. Fine control.” The other pennies around the room rose into the air, each spinning. The faint form of a bird formed over Rachel’s eye as the pennies gathered together in a cloud and began to form a diamond-shaped vortex.
“And sometimes, when you’re in the middle of a situation,” a new voice said, “control is everything.” Cable stepped into the room. His scarred eye flashed and a single penny flew out of the vortex and he snatched it out of the air.
“Thank you, Nate,” Rachel said. “Excuse me.” The vortex seemed to explode, and the pennies each settled in front of the students they had been assigned to. She walked over to her brother.
“What’s up?” she asked quietly.
Cable held up a photo with his TO-virus covered hand. “Just got this from Colonel Vazhin, Russian military,” he said. “This picture was taken in the Siberian wilderness.” Rachel’s eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hands.
“Is that?”
“Yeah,” Nathan said, “it is. Where’s Kurt right now?”
“Hand to hand class,” she said. “The two of us?”
“And I’ve given Forge a call,” he said. “The three of you will leave within the hour, if possible.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I think it’ll be very possible. Let me talk to Kurt though. Will you finish up my lecture?”
“Yeah,” he replied with a nod. “I thought it would come better from you.”
Logan stood on the edge of the Academy grounds with a silver can in his hand, leaning against the property’s fence. He raised the can to his lips and swallowed the last of his beer, crushing the can and setting it on the nearest fencepost. He took several deep breaths before he couldn’t stand the sound of his own thoughts any more.
“Son of a bitch!” He popped his claws and swung at the can, shredding it. He swung again at the fence post, taking a chunk with his claws.
“I see now where we get that from,” said a soft female voice behind him. Logan turned to see Laura, the young woman that was supposedly his daughter, standing behind him.
“How long you been there kid?”
“You know how long,” she said. She walked up to him and leaned against the fence. “We didn’t know about you either, you know. Mom always told us you were killed in some senseless military conflict. She had pictures though. You used to be handsome.”
“Used to be?” he asked. “Thanks.”
“Any time, old man,” she said with a chuckle. She tossed another can at him. He caught it and grinned.
“Fake ID?”
“Gave the Cuckoos twenty bucks,” she said. “I think I looked like a forty year-old trucker with a pot belly to the clerk. Or like you.”
“Your mother raise you to be a smart-ass?” Logan asked.
“It’s genetic,” she said. She took a sip of her beer. “Hunh, I forgot the American stuff is weak.”
“You should try a good Canadian brew,” he replied. He took a sip. “What do you guys think of this?”
“Dax is thrilled,” she said.
“You’re skeptical,” he concluded. She nodded. “Well, I know I’ve been a pretty bad father so far, but I can try to do my best from here on out. It’s all I got.”
Laura was silent for a few moments before she responded. “Works for me,” she said simply.
Moscow, Russia
“Nightcrawler?” Kurt startled slightly and looked up from the horizon at Colonel Vazhin. He stood alone at the end of an abandoned airstrip. Rachel and Forge were nearby, working on preparing cold weather gear. The group was headed into the Siberian wilderness and the more prepared they were the better.
“Welcome to Russia, Mister Wagner.”
Kurt smiled and took the colonel’s offered hand. “Glad to be here,” he said. “Is it true?”
“Ya,” Vazhin said. “You’ll be able to see yourself very shortly. Our helicopter will be here in about seven minutes.”
“Has anyone tried to contact him?”
“We have,” Vazhin said. “The subject is remarkably unresponsive.”
“Please, Colonel,” Kurt said. “I’ve seen the pictures. His name is Piotr.”
The colonel smiled. “Of course,” he said. “And we hope you can reach that part of him.”
Domino leaned back in her seat as their helicopter rushed over the Siberian wildness. She watched Nova very carefully. The woman appeared to be incredibly frail, and usually kept a bodyguard with her at all times. It was entirely to keep up appearances. The body betrayed a powerful being, one that could have torn Creed limb from limb if she so desired it.
“You sure not bringing Gabriel was a good idea?” she finally asked.
Nova looked at Domino and smiled. “Of course Beatrice,” she said. “If the X-Men sent anyone, it would be Kurt Wagner or Kitty Pryde. Neither of them would pose much of a threat to us.”
“And what if Cable or Cyclops sent more?”
“Scott Summers wouldn’t have sent anyone, especially not Pryde,” she stated, matter-of-factly. “His son, however, would have sent the absolute minimum with Wagner. One higher-level, most likely Rachel Grey or Jonothon Starsmore, and one near flatscan, such as Madrox or Samuel Guthrie.”
“You underestimate Guthrie,” Domino replied.
“You overestimate him. It’s a situation that we will have easily in hand.”
“You insist, Madame Director,” she said.
“We’re approaching the target zone,” the pilot said, cutting through their conversation.
Cassandra stood and walked to the window. “I was correct,” she said. She glanced back at Domino. “Wagner, Grey and Forge.” She looked towards the pilot. “Set us down ahead of the X-Men. We want to be there first.”
Domino slid over to the window. She could see the jeep, but its inhabitants were completely out of view. She looked up at Cassandra, pushing down the fear growing in her gut.
“We have company,” Rachel stated. The small group - Rachel, Kurt, Forge, Vazhin and two armored soldiers - had been travelling by jeep for an hour when the helicopter zoomed overhead.
Kurt cocked his head. “Who is it?”
“They were psi-shielded,” Forge stated, “and that just screams trouble.”
“Your government, Colonel?” Kurt asked.
“I can assure you it is not,” Vazhin replied.
“Rachel, your guess?”
“The same as Forge,” she said. “Trou- Wait, stop!” The jeep came to a sudden halt and the shape of a fiery bird appeared over her eye. “He’s close. Much closer than we thought.”
Kurt teleported out of the jeep in a cloud of sulfur. “Then let’s find Piotr before trouble does.”
The sextet - Kurt, Rachel, Forge, Vazhin and two plainclothes Kremlin Defense Force agents - began pulling their gear out of the SUV and turned to the woods. The raptor over Rachel’s eye had become a constant presence now and she began walking wordlessly. Everyone followed.
Kurt found himself matching stride with Forge. The Native American man held a palm-sized device with a large viewscreen out before him. “Tracking our friend?” he asked.
Forge glanced up at him. “This device is capable of that,” he said. “However, I’ve directed it behind us.”
“At ‘trouble’,” Kurt stated.
“Exactly,” he said with a nod.
“So what do we have to worry about?”
“A pair of Beta-class mutants, a few flatscans and…” He frowned. “One Alpha or Omega class. The scanner’s unclear.”
Kurt whispered a curse in German. “Keep me posted,” he said. He broke into a jog to catch up to Rachel. She glanced at him as he matched her pace.
“Hey Elf,” she said.
“How close is he?”
“Very,” she said. “There’s something wrong though. This isn’t our Pete.”
“How so?”
“Well, it’s Piotr,” she said, “but his mind is chaotic and confused. Almost childlike.”
“Any traces of any memories of how he got here?”
“Nothing yet.” They continued on silently for several more minutes until Rachel raised her hand. “He’s right here.” She extended her hand, moving the underbrush. There sat Piotr, watching them.
Kurt walked forward, extending his hand. “Piotr?” he whispered. Piotr looked up at him, tilting his head slightly.
“He recognizes you,” Rachel said. “He’s just not sure how.”
“Can you tell him that we’re friends?”
“That won’t be necessary,” said a voice from behind them.
The group spun and saw Domino standing behind them with a group of soldiers and a diminutive older woman. The woman stepped in front of the others. “My name is Cassandra Nova, and I am the Director of Weapon X,” she said. “Peter will be coming with us.”
The KDF agents drew their weapons, facing the Weapon X soldiers. “I’m sorry Nova,” Rachel said, “but Piotr is an X-Man. We don’t leave each other behind.”
“Bravado and clichés,” she replied. “We’ll take him--”
Nightcrawler acted before she could finish her sentence. He disappeared in a cloud of sulfur and teleported in rapid succession through the Weapon X team. He was graceful, mowing through the soldiers, grabbing their weapons and incapacitating each in a different way.
Nova spun suddenly and grabbed Kurt by the throat. He struggled and tried to teleport away, but found access to his powers blocked. She was incredibly strong and he saw black spots begin to form in the sides of his vision.
“Nova, let him go,” Rachel growled. Behind her, Piotr tensed; he knew his friend was in trouble.
Nova turned her head to face her. “Or what?” she asked. “You’ll pop my head like a grape?”
“I used to be the host of an entity called the Phoenix Force,” she said. “When that relationship ended a portion remained.” Her whole body appeared to glow. “I don’t care what kind of power you have. I can kick your ass up and down the Prime Meridian without breaking a sweat. Bitch.”
Nova smiled and released Nightcrawler. “A challenge,” she said, “and actual confidence, with only a hint of ego.”
“And more than a hint of distraction,” Rachel declared. Surprised, Nova spun, but was too slow to react to the massive metal fist swinging at her head. Piotr punched her with all his strength, sending her flying.
Domino spun and grabbed her radio. “The Director is down! I repeat, the Director is down!”
The X-Men reacted quickly and broke into a sprint, while Rachel impressed on Piotr’s mind that he should follow.
Domino reached Nova and found her unharmed. She started to grab her radio again, but Nova grabbed her hand. “Let them go,” she said. “We’ll have him back in our possession soon enough.”
The Xavier Institute For Gifted Mutants, Salem Center, New York
Rachel pushed the door open to the small studio. Charles had sealed the room after Colossus had sacrificed himself to cure the Legacy Virus. None of the X-Men had ever expected to unseal it.
Except one.
Charles and Rachel followed Piotr into the room. They had worked with Emma Frost to dive into his mind. The Peter Rasputin they knew and loved was buried deep in his psyche, but they all realized that it would be more than a matter of flipping a switch. Unlocking his mind, his memories, his soul, would need to be done slowly. Step by step.
The child-like man wandered around the studio, staring at each painting, every sketch for a few seconds. Many of them were of the same person.
The young woman standing in the middle of the room.
Piotr turned and looked at her. He cocked his head slightly to the left. A slight smile appeared on his face.
“Katya?”
Kitty opened her eyes wide and hugged Piotr.
“Pete,” she whispered. They held the embrace for some time.
The End...
Previous Issue | Next Issue
“Be careful,” Cable said, “and I hope not to see you in my office again soon. Tommy, you’re a good kid and I have some high hopes for you. I need you to focus though. Work and work hard, you got it?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I got it. Thanks.”
“Any time; my door is always open if you need to talk.” He gave Shepherd a hearty pat on the shoulder and waved him down the hall. Cable then turned to the young man sitting perfectly still on the bench outside his office. He smiled and beckoned Indra into the office.
“Come on,” he said, “I can tell that your anxiety is killing you.” The young Indian mutant stood and followed him into the office. He sat down quickly and then began glancing around the room. Relics of wars long past littered shelves and bookcases. Cable grinned. As a time traveler, his entire life revolved around history. It fascinated him.
His collection included an ancient African spear, an Egyptian whip, a Roman bow and several Revolutionary War era firearms. To a mutant as young as Indra, it was probably incredibly intimidating.
“What can I help you with today?” he asked, taking a seat and leaning forward onto his desk.
“Well, Mister Summers… it’s about a girl.”
Cable’s grin grew wide and he held back a laugh. That would only make it worse. “I’m afraid I’m the wrong person to be coming to,” he began. “I’m an old soldier, son. I’ve never had much experience with women.”
“Well… I’m really nervous about this,” he said. “I need someone to talk to, and I’m afraid--”
“That your classmates would tease you horribly?” Cable interrupted. “Tell you what- Sam Guthrie and Jono Starsmore, you know them both, I hope.” The boy nodded. “Good. Go talk to Sam and Jono, they’ll be able to help much mo--” Cable’s phone began buzzing on the desk. “Excuse me.” He picked up the small flip phone and glanced at the caller ID. International. Russia. That probably meant trouble.
“I need to take this,” he said, looking up at Indra. “Go spend some time with those two, okay?” Indra nodded, then slid out of his chair and slunk away. Cable felt bad that he couldn’t be of help, but it happened. He flipped the phone open and held it to his ear.
“Summers,” he said.
“Nathan,” the voice on the other end said. “It’s Vazhin. We have an issue that requires your team.”
“Tell me more.”
Psi class was Rachel Summers’ favorite part of the day. She and Dani taught the class, the only class that Moonstar came to campus for, tearing her away from the Boston XCI office. Today was Rachel’s day for lecture and she had decided to spend some time on telekinesis. That left out a handful of students, but it was definitely worthwhile.
“I want you all to concentrate,” she said. “Don’t think too hard, but this is all about focus.”
One of the young psychics, Jillian Metzberg, raised her hand. “Miss Summers,” she said. “I don’t get it. What good will lifting pennies do?”
Rachel smiled and walked over to Jillian. She leaned over and picked up a penny, holding it up between her thumb and forefinger. “Anyone can clobber something with TK,” she said. “That’s easy stuff. I was tearing down walls within an hour of my powers manifesting.” Rachel opened her fingers, holding the penny in place with her powers. The penny began to spin.
“However, we’re not talking about clobbering things,” she continued. “The important part of your telekinesis is control. Fine control.” The other pennies around the room rose into the air, each spinning. The faint form of a bird formed over Rachel’s eye as the pennies gathered together in a cloud and began to form a diamond-shaped vortex.
“And sometimes, when you’re in the middle of a situation,” a new voice said, “control is everything.” Cable stepped into the room. His scarred eye flashed and a single penny flew out of the vortex and he snatched it out of the air.
“Thank you, Nate,” Rachel said. “Excuse me.” The vortex seemed to explode, and the pennies each settled in front of the students they had been assigned to. She walked over to her brother.
“What’s up?” she asked quietly.
Cable held up a photo with his TO-virus covered hand. “Just got this from Colonel Vazhin, Russian military,” he said. “This picture was taken in the Siberian wilderness.” Rachel’s eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hands.
“Is that?”
“Yeah,” Nathan said, “it is. Where’s Kurt right now?”
“Hand to hand class,” she said. “The two of us?”
“And I’ve given Forge a call,” he said. “The three of you will leave within the hour, if possible.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I think it’ll be very possible. Let me talk to Kurt though. Will you finish up my lecture?”
“Yeah,” he replied with a nod. “I thought it would come better from you.”
Logan stood on the edge of the Academy grounds with a silver can in his hand, leaning against the property’s fence. He raised the can to his lips and swallowed the last of his beer, crushing the can and setting it on the nearest fencepost. He took several deep breaths before he couldn’t stand the sound of his own thoughts any more.
“Son of a bitch!” He popped his claws and swung at the can, shredding it. He swung again at the fence post, taking a chunk with his claws.
“I see now where we get that from,” said a soft female voice behind him. Logan turned to see Laura, the young woman that was supposedly his daughter, standing behind him.
“How long you been there kid?”
“You know how long,” she said. She walked up to him and leaned against the fence. “We didn’t know about you either, you know. Mom always told us you were killed in some senseless military conflict. She had pictures though. You used to be handsome.”
“Used to be?” he asked. “Thanks.”
“Any time, old man,” she said with a chuckle. She tossed another can at him. He caught it and grinned.
“Fake ID?”
“Gave the Cuckoos twenty bucks,” she said. “I think I looked like a forty year-old trucker with a pot belly to the clerk. Or like you.”
“Your mother raise you to be a smart-ass?” Logan asked.
“It’s genetic,” she said. She took a sip of her beer. “Hunh, I forgot the American stuff is weak.”
“You should try a good Canadian brew,” he replied. He took a sip. “What do you guys think of this?”
“Dax is thrilled,” she said.
“You’re skeptical,” he concluded. She nodded. “Well, I know I’ve been a pretty bad father so far, but I can try to do my best from here on out. It’s all I got.”
Laura was silent for a few moments before she responded. “Works for me,” she said simply.
Moscow, Russia
“Nightcrawler?” Kurt startled slightly and looked up from the horizon at Colonel Vazhin. He stood alone at the end of an abandoned airstrip. Rachel and Forge were nearby, working on preparing cold weather gear. The group was headed into the Siberian wilderness and the more prepared they were the better.
“Welcome to Russia, Mister Wagner.”
Kurt smiled and took the colonel’s offered hand. “Glad to be here,” he said. “Is it true?”
“Ya,” Vazhin said. “You’ll be able to see yourself very shortly. Our helicopter will be here in about seven minutes.”
“Has anyone tried to contact him?”
“We have,” Vazhin said. “The subject is remarkably unresponsive.”
“Please, Colonel,” Kurt said. “I’ve seen the pictures. His name is Piotr.”
The colonel smiled. “Of course,” he said. “And we hope you can reach that part of him.”
Domino leaned back in her seat as their helicopter rushed over the Siberian wildness. She watched Nova very carefully. The woman appeared to be incredibly frail, and usually kept a bodyguard with her at all times. It was entirely to keep up appearances. The body betrayed a powerful being, one that could have torn Creed limb from limb if she so desired it.
“You sure not bringing Gabriel was a good idea?” she finally asked.
Nova looked at Domino and smiled. “Of course Beatrice,” she said. “If the X-Men sent anyone, it would be Kurt Wagner or Kitty Pryde. Neither of them would pose much of a threat to us.”
“And what if Cable or Cyclops sent more?”
“Scott Summers wouldn’t have sent anyone, especially not Pryde,” she stated, matter-of-factly. “His son, however, would have sent the absolute minimum with Wagner. One higher-level, most likely Rachel Grey or Jonothon Starsmore, and one near flatscan, such as Madrox or Samuel Guthrie.”
“You underestimate Guthrie,” Domino replied.
“You overestimate him. It’s a situation that we will have easily in hand.”
“You insist, Madame Director,” she said.
“We’re approaching the target zone,” the pilot said, cutting through their conversation.
Cassandra stood and walked to the window. “I was correct,” she said. She glanced back at Domino. “Wagner, Grey and Forge.” She looked towards the pilot. “Set us down ahead of the X-Men. We want to be there first.”
Domino slid over to the window. She could see the jeep, but its inhabitants were completely out of view. She looked up at Cassandra, pushing down the fear growing in her gut.
“We have company,” Rachel stated. The small group - Rachel, Kurt, Forge, Vazhin and two armored soldiers - had been travelling by jeep for an hour when the helicopter zoomed overhead.
Kurt cocked his head. “Who is it?”
“They were psi-shielded,” Forge stated, “and that just screams trouble.”
“Your government, Colonel?” Kurt asked.
“I can assure you it is not,” Vazhin replied.
“Rachel, your guess?”
“The same as Forge,” she said. “Trou- Wait, stop!” The jeep came to a sudden halt and the shape of a fiery bird appeared over her eye. “He’s close. Much closer than we thought.”
Kurt teleported out of the jeep in a cloud of sulfur. “Then let’s find Piotr before trouble does.”
The sextet - Kurt, Rachel, Forge, Vazhin and two plainclothes Kremlin Defense Force agents - began pulling their gear out of the SUV and turned to the woods. The raptor over Rachel’s eye had become a constant presence now and she began walking wordlessly. Everyone followed.
Kurt found himself matching stride with Forge. The Native American man held a palm-sized device with a large viewscreen out before him. “Tracking our friend?” he asked.
Forge glanced up at him. “This device is capable of that,” he said. “However, I’ve directed it behind us.”
“At ‘trouble’,” Kurt stated.
“Exactly,” he said with a nod.
“So what do we have to worry about?”
“A pair of Beta-class mutants, a few flatscans and…” He frowned. “One Alpha or Omega class. The scanner’s unclear.”
Kurt whispered a curse in German. “Keep me posted,” he said. He broke into a jog to catch up to Rachel. She glanced at him as he matched her pace.
“Hey Elf,” she said.
“How close is he?”
“Very,” she said. “There’s something wrong though. This isn’t our Pete.”
“How so?”
“Well, it’s Piotr,” she said, “but his mind is chaotic and confused. Almost childlike.”
“Any traces of any memories of how he got here?”
“Nothing yet.” They continued on silently for several more minutes until Rachel raised her hand. “He’s right here.” She extended her hand, moving the underbrush. There sat Piotr, watching them.
Kurt walked forward, extending his hand. “Piotr?” he whispered. Piotr looked up at him, tilting his head slightly.
“He recognizes you,” Rachel said. “He’s just not sure how.”
“Can you tell him that we’re friends?”
“That won’t be necessary,” said a voice from behind them.
The group spun and saw Domino standing behind them with a group of soldiers and a diminutive older woman. The woman stepped in front of the others. “My name is Cassandra Nova, and I am the Director of Weapon X,” she said. “Peter will be coming with us.”
The KDF agents drew their weapons, facing the Weapon X soldiers. “I’m sorry Nova,” Rachel said, “but Piotr is an X-Man. We don’t leave each other behind.”
“Bravado and clichés,” she replied. “We’ll take him--”
Nightcrawler acted before she could finish her sentence. He disappeared in a cloud of sulfur and teleported in rapid succession through the Weapon X team. He was graceful, mowing through the soldiers, grabbing their weapons and incapacitating each in a different way.
Nova spun suddenly and grabbed Kurt by the throat. He struggled and tried to teleport away, but found access to his powers blocked. She was incredibly strong and he saw black spots begin to form in the sides of his vision.
“Nova, let him go,” Rachel growled. Behind her, Piotr tensed; he knew his friend was in trouble.
Nova turned her head to face her. “Or what?” she asked. “You’ll pop my head like a grape?”
“I used to be the host of an entity called the Phoenix Force,” she said. “When that relationship ended a portion remained.” Her whole body appeared to glow. “I don’t care what kind of power you have. I can kick your ass up and down the Prime Meridian without breaking a sweat. Bitch.”
Nova smiled and released Nightcrawler. “A challenge,” she said, “and actual confidence, with only a hint of ego.”
“And more than a hint of distraction,” Rachel declared. Surprised, Nova spun, but was too slow to react to the massive metal fist swinging at her head. Piotr punched her with all his strength, sending her flying.
Domino spun and grabbed her radio. “The Director is down! I repeat, the Director is down!”
The X-Men reacted quickly and broke into a sprint, while Rachel impressed on Piotr’s mind that he should follow.
Domino reached Nova and found her unharmed. She started to grab her radio again, but Nova grabbed her hand. “Let them go,” she said. “We’ll have him back in our possession soon enough.”
The Xavier Institute For Gifted Mutants, Salem Center, New York
Rachel pushed the door open to the small studio. Charles had sealed the room after Colossus had sacrificed himself to cure the Legacy Virus. None of the X-Men had ever expected to unseal it.
Except one.
Charles and Rachel followed Piotr into the room. They had worked with Emma Frost to dive into his mind. The Peter Rasputin they knew and loved was buried deep in his psyche, but they all realized that it would be more than a matter of flipping a switch. Unlocking his mind, his memories, his soul, would need to be done slowly. Step by step.
The child-like man wandered around the studio, staring at each painting, every sketch for a few seconds. Many of them were of the same person.
The young woman standing in the middle of the room.
Piotr turned and looked at her. He cocked his head slightly to the left. A slight smile appeared on his face.
“Katya?”
Kitty opened her eyes wide and hugged Piotr.
“Pete,” she whispered. They held the embrace for some time.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The End...
Previous Issue | Next Issue