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Issue #2 by Dino Pollard
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Renee Majcomb was forced to watch in horror as swarms of insect Phalanx-Sentinels invaded the headquarters of the Mutant Underground Support Engine. She had little time to react before the unholy creatures took their first victim—Nina. A young mannite who was entrusted into Renee’s care.
Majcomb cried out as she watched them decimate her small body. One of the MUSE agents was not about to take it lying down. Nils Styger, also called Abyss. The tendrils that comprised his body unwrapped and shot forth, snagging as many of the Sentinels as possible and pulling them into the void he had become. Once they were trapped in there, however, there was an unexpected side effect.
Abyss’ body began to convulse in pain. He fell to the ground and blood leaked from a corner of his mouth, his tendrils still and lifeless, splayed out on the ground. His blank eyes stared directly at Renee and he mouthed something, but she couldn’t make it out.
Another of the MUSE agents, Hazard, unleashed his plasma blasts at the Sentinels, and a few were caught in the wave. Once they adapted to the attack, Carter Ryking was the next to fall. Following Hazard’s death, Renee ran for a control panel, hoping to send out some sort of distress signal before it was too late. She reached it, but wasn’t sure where it would be sent to or if any other MUSE safehouses would be alerted in time.
That was when the Sentinels surrounded her. She closed her eyes and accepted her fate and the Sentinels granted her the same mercy they granted the other mutants, caring not even a bit that she was in fact a human.
Wicked shot up from her slumber. Her head was throbbing with pain and now she had just witnessed the Hecatomb through the eyes of Renee Majcomb. All these voices were echoing inside her head, and the only time she had a respite from them was when she passed out. But in those moments of unconsciousness, what she experienced—the Hecatomb from the body of one of its victims—was far, far worse.
She was not quite sure exactly where she was going. All she knew was that something compelled her to come to this location. Here, to the site of another massacre. But this one was caused by mutants themselves.
Majcomb cried out as she watched them decimate her small body. One of the MUSE agents was not about to take it lying down. Nils Styger, also called Abyss. The tendrils that comprised his body unwrapped and shot forth, snagging as many of the Sentinels as possible and pulling them into the void he had become. Once they were trapped in there, however, there was an unexpected side effect.
Abyss’ body began to convulse in pain. He fell to the ground and blood leaked from a corner of his mouth, his tendrils still and lifeless, splayed out on the ground. His blank eyes stared directly at Renee and he mouthed something, but she couldn’t make it out.
Another of the MUSE agents, Hazard, unleashed his plasma blasts at the Sentinels, and a few were caught in the wave. Once they adapted to the attack, Carter Ryking was the next to fall. Following Hazard’s death, Renee ran for a control panel, hoping to send out some sort of distress signal before it was too late. She reached it, but wasn’t sure where it would be sent to or if any other MUSE safehouses would be alerted in time.
That was when the Sentinels surrounded her. She closed her eyes and accepted her fate and the Sentinels granted her the same mercy they granted the other mutants, caring not even a bit that she was in fact a human.
Wicked shot up from her slumber. Her head was throbbing with pain and now she had just witnessed the Hecatomb through the eyes of Renee Majcomb. All these voices were echoing inside her head, and the only time she had a respite from them was when she passed out. But in those moments of unconsciousness, what she experienced—the Hecatomb from the body of one of its victims—was far, far worse.
She was not quite sure exactly where she was going. All she knew was that something compelled her to come to this location. Here, to the site of another massacre. But this one was caused by mutants themselves.
REUNIONS
Rosemarie Charleston stalked through the jungles of the Savage Land, armed with nothing but a dagger. Her senses were operating on every level, keeping her informed of her environment. She was careful where she stepped, for even the slightest noise could alert a possible enemy to her presence.
She heard a rustling in the bushes up ahead. The woman also called Rogue slowly approached and the second she got too close, a saber-tooth tiger leapt from its hiding spot. Rogue fell back with the beast, rolled with it and then kicked it off her. She jumped back to her feet in time to dodge another strike from the tiger.
The animal grew angry now but kept its distance. Rogue brandished her knife, watching the creature carefully. The two circled each other, each one waiting for the other to move. Their eyes were locked and Rogue began to grow impatient. Still, she had to wait for the right moment and it had yet to reveal itself to her.
Finally, the tiger pounced. Rogue dodged the strike and drove her dagger into its back, right between the shoulder blades. The tiger roared in pain and slashed at Rogue with its paw. She jumped back, but not in time to prevent the beast from slashing into her top.
Rogue leapt back, goading the beast to attack her again. Even with the dagger in its back, the animal wanted blood. It crouched low and sprung into the air, growling as it approached its prey.
Without warning, there was a flash of steel and the animal’s head rolled to Rogue’s feet. She looked down at it and sighed, then said, “end simulation.”
The jungles of the Savage Land began to lose their color, the grids which comprised the landscape suddenly becoming visible as the image faded and then fading away themselves. The tiger did just as the rest, effectively ending the simulation and revealing the cold, metal workings of the Danger Room, nestled safely far beneath the Xavier Institute.
The only thing that did not vanish with the simulation aside from Rogue was her unexpected guest. A woman dressed in red ninja garb, but without the hood, revealing her long, purple hair. She held a katana blade in her hand.
“Yer not exactly the first person I expected t’ see,” said Rogue.
“And why is that?” asked Psylocke.
“Not every day the mistress of the Hand pays a visit t’ the X-Men.”
“True, I have cut ties, but I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t important,” said Psylocke.
“So what’s goin’ on?” asked Rogue.
“There’s a massive disturbance on the Astral Plane and through Moira’s Cerebro unit, I’ve discovered that several mutagenic signatures have recently popped up.”
“What’s so strange about that?” asked Rogue.
“The signatures belong to mutants who were killed in the Hecatomb,” said Psylocke. Rogue just looked at her former teammate with wide eyes.
“Y’ can’t be serious,” she said.
“I am, and whatever’s causing these signatures to appear is also the source of this massive disturbance,” said Psylocke. “I have Moira working to try and lock down on the source but so far she’s had little luck. In the mean time, whatever this is, it’s big and I’m going to need help.”
“Let’s go upstairs, we’ll talk it over with Scott an’—”
“I’d rather we not involve the rest of Scott’s team,” said Psylocke.
Rogue raised an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”
“If this thing is as dangerous as I think, then there’s a very good chance we won’t come back,” said Psylocke. “That means we’ll need a second front.”
“Who else ya got in mind?” asked Rogue.
Psylocke offered a little smile.
# # # # #
SHIELD Helicarrier
The man known only as Bishop stood on the deck of the Helicarrier, watching as the sun set off in the distance. Behind him, a figure slinked out from the shadows and approached him soundlessly. Bishop stood his ground, seemingly unaware he was being watched. Bishop spun around, his gun drawn and aimed. Once he saw who the person was, he lowered his weapon.
“Psylocke,” he said. “You do realize that you’re trespassing on SHIELD property, which is a violation of international law, correct?”
“Nice to see you, too,” she said.
Bishop holstered his weapon and crossed his arms over his massive chest. “As the leader of the Hand, I hope you’re aware that you’re on SHIELD’s list of potential terrorist threats.”
“Really, potential terrorist threat list? Not exactly the most-wanted list, but I’m flattered nonetheless, love.”
Bishop was not amused by her comment.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important, Bishop. And we both know I’m not the threat SHIELD may think I am.”
“Didn’t you recently go insane and try to kill your teammates?” asked Bishop.
“I was manipulated by the Crimson Dawn. If you’re an X-Man, it pretty much goes without saying that you’ll be used as a puppet against your teammates,” said Psylocke. “The reason I’m here is because there’s a threat on the horizon. And I need a team of X-Men prepared to combat it. I want you on that team.”
“There are plenty of X-Men currently active, I work for SHIELD now,” said Bishop.
“Right, you’re a mutant cop policing your own,” said Psylocke.
“It’s what I was trained to do,” said Bishop.
“I need people I can trust, people who I know can get the job done,” said Psylocke. “And you’re on a very short list. So what do you say?”
# # # # #
Louisiana
Remy LeBeau moved silently through the ventilation shaft in an office high-rise. The security system was a joke to the Patriarch of the Thieves Guild and he thought to himself that he could have gotten through more difficult systems than this when he was twelve.
He found the room he needed and carefully removed the grating. The man called Gambit slid out and dropped to the floor without making a sound. He removed a small flashlight from his pouch-belt and shined it around the office. There was a large painting on one of the walls. It was the CEO of the company, the one whom Gambit came to rob.
Remy held the light in his mouth and took the painting off from the wall, carefully setting it down on the floor. The beam fell on the spot where the painting had been which, to the naked eye, seemed completely bare. Gambit however knew better. There was a small area that was slightly discolored compared to the rest of the wall. Gambit lightly tapped twice with his knuckle in each of the four corners of this small, discolored rectangle and then once in the center.
The compartment moved into the wall slowly, then slid to the side. Gambit smiled as the safe came into view with a keypad on it. The lock was digital and he would have to input the correct code to access the safe. He removed something from another pouch, an electronic device of some sort, and set it over the keypad. Within moments, it had calculated through all the possible number combinations before it fell on the correct one. Gambit removed his little lock-picking device and opened the safe.
Inside the safe were documents proving that the CEO had been embezzling money from the company retirement plans, with designs on taking the money himself and leaving his employees in the dust without a cent to their name. With these, the CEO would go away for a very long time and Gambit’s job was done.
He closed the safe and the cover slid back into place before he replaced the painting. But before Gambit could climb back into the ventilation shaft, an alarm went off, piercing his ears with its loud screech.
Metal doors clanged down all around the office, trapping Gambit inside. Not even the window was accessible and the former X-Man had no more options. Until a shadow in the corner of the room grew larger and came into the shape of a woman he never expected to see again.
“Looks like you ran into some trouble,” said Psylocke.
“Nothin’ I can’t handle, chere,” said Gambit.
“Then I suppose you don’t want me to get you out.”
Gambit grinned slyly. “Let’s not be too hasty, non?” He ran towards the shadows with her and Psylocke sent a mental command to Vargas, who transported the two of them through a portal that opened several blocks away.
“That’s never happened before,” said Gambit.
“It was my fault,” said Psylocke.
Gambit eyed her suspiciously with his bright red pupils, a sharp contrast to his black eyeballs. “You? Co faire?”
“Why? Because I felt it was the best way to get your attention.”
“Belle like you never have no problem gettin’ Gambit’s attention,” he said with that familiar grin on his face.
“It was also fun,” said Psylocke.
“Par en sous,” said Gambit. “You always been a crafty one, Bets.”
“Comes with the job, Remy,” said Psylocke. “I need your help. I’m assembling a team to stand up to a threat that’s looming on the horizon.”
“Who?”
“I’m not sure, Moira is trying to pinpoint—”
“Nah, I mean who else y’ got so far,” said Gambit.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Rogue is one of the first people I spoke with, she’s on the team,” said Psylocke.
“…dunno why you brought her up, Gambit just curi—”
“I don’t have to be a psychic to know what you’re thinking, Lebeau.”
Gambit lit a cigarette and allowed himself a pause to take a drag on it. “This thing, it’s big?”
“Yes.”
“An’ you need Gambit?”
Psylocke sighed. “Your help would be appreciated, yes.”
“Just lemme get these documents back to Zoe an’ then we can hit the road,” said Gambit.
# # # # #
Metro City
A shadow portal opened in the middle of the skyscraper that served as the headquarters of Metro City’s own personal team of superheroes, Force Works. It was here that Psylocke hoped to find her next recruit.
Her telepathy served as a means to locate where exactly the mutant she sought was located in the building and Psylocke preceded to the location. She detected another presence behind her and kept her hand on her katana as she turned around.
Mirage and X-Treme stood before the ninja, and not one of them seemed happy to see her. “Guess not even one of the Hand can get past our security,” said Mirage. “What are you doing here, Psylocke?”
“I’m not here to cause trouble, I just want to speak to Clarice,” said Psylocke.
“Maybe the X-Men let a potential enemy freely walk around their home, but we’re not about to let that fly,” said X-Treme.
A portal appeared between the three mutants and closed almost as quickly as it opened. Except now there was a fourth mutant in the corridor, this one with lavender skin, dark pink hair and green eyes.
“Dani, Adam, let me handle this,” said the young woman.
“You sure about that, Blink?” asked X-Treme.
“I am,” said Blink.
“I’d prefer if we went somewhere a tad more private,” said Psylocke.
Blink raised her hand and a portal rose up from the ground, taking both her and Psylocke with it. When they reappeared, they were on the roof of the building and Blink crossed her arms.
“This work?”
“I need your help, Clarice. The team needs your help.”
Blink almost laughed. “X-Men Omega, X-Corp—they’re both gone. And I have no interest in working with the Hand.”
“There’s been a massive disturbance on the Astral Plane, the signatures of dead mutants are suddenly being detected by Cerebro, and it’s all tied into something I’m sure we wish we could forget.”
“What’s that?” asked Blink.
“The Hecatomb.”
A slight shiver went down Blink’s spine at the mention of that event. She had experienced the memories of her counterpart in a reality where Apocalypse ruled and humans were viciously slaughtered en masse. With all those horrors she had seen there, Blink was certain she would never have to see something like that in this reality.
That was until Bastion and Harvest merged together and unleashed an army of Phalanx-Sentinels upon mutantkind a year ago.
“I’m in,” she said. “When do we leave?”
# # # # #
Avengers Mansion
“No,” said Quicksilver.
“But Pietro—”
“I said no,” he repeated. “Because of the X-Men, I lost my wife and nearly lost my daughter. And then I was basically told my services as leader weren’t good enough and were no longer required. So if you think I have even the slightest inkling of returning to the team, then you—”
Psylocke signaled to Vargas and a shadow portal sucked her away from the X-Men’s former leader.
# # # # #
Milwaukee
Victor Creed sat in a bar knocking back beers when the lithe form of Elisabeth Braddock walked in and slid onto the stool next to him. The man called Sabretooth didn’t even bother looking at her.
“Knew I smelt trash,” he said.
“One could say the same of you, Victor,” said Psylocke.
“An’ even though everyone was worried about me, look who turned out t’ be the bigger threat,” said Sabretooth. “Y’ can sleep around on yer boyfriend, run a Japanese crime syndicate, an’ force me t’ kill or maim anyone you don’t like. But that don’t matter, ‘cause yer an X-Man. You can do whatever y’ want, so long as y’ say yer sorry when yer done. But me, I don’t get that option, do I? Then again, I never banged a founder.”
“I’m sorry, Victor,” she said. “I… wasn’t myself.”
Creed leaned in close to her, placing his face scant inches from her own. “Me neither.”
Psylocke wouldn’t allow herself to flinch in Sabretooth’s presence. She knew he wanted nothing more than to slice her to ribbons after the way she violated her mind.
“I suppose you’ve forgotten about how you nearly killed me,” she said. She turned her own eyes onto him now, gazing directly into his own. “Twice.”
Sabretooth grunted and turned away.
“I need your help,” she said. “I need to—”
“Blow me,” he said.
“This is important, don’t you at least want to hear what I have to say?”
“Don’t know, don’t care,” said Sabretooth. He picked up his beer and took a swig from it. “Find another attack dog, bitch.”
# # # # #
Muir Isle
“Sabretooth refused?” asked Vargas.
“Yes,” said Psylocke. “Can’t say I’m surprised. He has no reason to trust me. Not after…”
Vargas nodded. “We still have an effective team. Proteus, Bishop, Rogue, Blink, Gambit.”
“No, we’re not done,” said Psylocke. “There’s one more.”
Vargas was at a loss. “Who?”
Psylocke sighed. She was not looking forward to talking to the last recruit.
She heard a rustling in the bushes up ahead. The woman also called Rogue slowly approached and the second she got too close, a saber-tooth tiger leapt from its hiding spot. Rogue fell back with the beast, rolled with it and then kicked it off her. She jumped back to her feet in time to dodge another strike from the tiger.
The animal grew angry now but kept its distance. Rogue brandished her knife, watching the creature carefully. The two circled each other, each one waiting for the other to move. Their eyes were locked and Rogue began to grow impatient. Still, she had to wait for the right moment and it had yet to reveal itself to her.
Finally, the tiger pounced. Rogue dodged the strike and drove her dagger into its back, right between the shoulder blades. The tiger roared in pain and slashed at Rogue with its paw. She jumped back, but not in time to prevent the beast from slashing into her top.
Rogue leapt back, goading the beast to attack her again. Even with the dagger in its back, the animal wanted blood. It crouched low and sprung into the air, growling as it approached its prey.
Without warning, there was a flash of steel and the animal’s head rolled to Rogue’s feet. She looked down at it and sighed, then said, “end simulation.”
The jungles of the Savage Land began to lose their color, the grids which comprised the landscape suddenly becoming visible as the image faded and then fading away themselves. The tiger did just as the rest, effectively ending the simulation and revealing the cold, metal workings of the Danger Room, nestled safely far beneath the Xavier Institute.
The only thing that did not vanish with the simulation aside from Rogue was her unexpected guest. A woman dressed in red ninja garb, but without the hood, revealing her long, purple hair. She held a katana blade in her hand.
“Yer not exactly the first person I expected t’ see,” said Rogue.
“And why is that?” asked Psylocke.
“Not every day the mistress of the Hand pays a visit t’ the X-Men.”
“True, I have cut ties, but I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t important,” said Psylocke.
“So what’s goin’ on?” asked Rogue.
“There’s a massive disturbance on the Astral Plane and through Moira’s Cerebro unit, I’ve discovered that several mutagenic signatures have recently popped up.”
“What’s so strange about that?” asked Rogue.
“The signatures belong to mutants who were killed in the Hecatomb,” said Psylocke. Rogue just looked at her former teammate with wide eyes.
“Y’ can’t be serious,” she said.
“I am, and whatever’s causing these signatures to appear is also the source of this massive disturbance,” said Psylocke. “I have Moira working to try and lock down on the source but so far she’s had little luck. In the mean time, whatever this is, it’s big and I’m going to need help.”
“Let’s go upstairs, we’ll talk it over with Scott an’—”
“I’d rather we not involve the rest of Scott’s team,” said Psylocke.
Rogue raised an eyebrow. “Why’s that?”
“If this thing is as dangerous as I think, then there’s a very good chance we won’t come back,” said Psylocke. “That means we’ll need a second front.”
“Who else ya got in mind?” asked Rogue.
Psylocke offered a little smile.
# # # # #
SHIELD Helicarrier
The man known only as Bishop stood on the deck of the Helicarrier, watching as the sun set off in the distance. Behind him, a figure slinked out from the shadows and approached him soundlessly. Bishop stood his ground, seemingly unaware he was being watched. Bishop spun around, his gun drawn and aimed. Once he saw who the person was, he lowered his weapon.
“Psylocke,” he said. “You do realize that you’re trespassing on SHIELD property, which is a violation of international law, correct?”
“Nice to see you, too,” she said.
Bishop holstered his weapon and crossed his arms over his massive chest. “As the leader of the Hand, I hope you’re aware that you’re on SHIELD’s list of potential terrorist threats.”
“Really, potential terrorist threat list? Not exactly the most-wanted list, but I’m flattered nonetheless, love.”
Bishop was not amused by her comment.
“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important, Bishop. And we both know I’m not the threat SHIELD may think I am.”
“Didn’t you recently go insane and try to kill your teammates?” asked Bishop.
“I was manipulated by the Crimson Dawn. If you’re an X-Man, it pretty much goes without saying that you’ll be used as a puppet against your teammates,” said Psylocke. “The reason I’m here is because there’s a threat on the horizon. And I need a team of X-Men prepared to combat it. I want you on that team.”
“There are plenty of X-Men currently active, I work for SHIELD now,” said Bishop.
“Right, you’re a mutant cop policing your own,” said Psylocke.
“It’s what I was trained to do,” said Bishop.
“I need people I can trust, people who I know can get the job done,” said Psylocke. “And you’re on a very short list. So what do you say?”
# # # # #
Louisiana
Remy LeBeau moved silently through the ventilation shaft in an office high-rise. The security system was a joke to the Patriarch of the Thieves Guild and he thought to himself that he could have gotten through more difficult systems than this when he was twelve.
He found the room he needed and carefully removed the grating. The man called Gambit slid out and dropped to the floor without making a sound. He removed a small flashlight from his pouch-belt and shined it around the office. There was a large painting on one of the walls. It was the CEO of the company, the one whom Gambit came to rob.
Remy held the light in his mouth and took the painting off from the wall, carefully setting it down on the floor. The beam fell on the spot where the painting had been which, to the naked eye, seemed completely bare. Gambit however knew better. There was a small area that was slightly discolored compared to the rest of the wall. Gambit lightly tapped twice with his knuckle in each of the four corners of this small, discolored rectangle and then once in the center.
The compartment moved into the wall slowly, then slid to the side. Gambit smiled as the safe came into view with a keypad on it. The lock was digital and he would have to input the correct code to access the safe. He removed something from another pouch, an electronic device of some sort, and set it over the keypad. Within moments, it had calculated through all the possible number combinations before it fell on the correct one. Gambit removed his little lock-picking device and opened the safe.
Inside the safe were documents proving that the CEO had been embezzling money from the company retirement plans, with designs on taking the money himself and leaving his employees in the dust without a cent to their name. With these, the CEO would go away for a very long time and Gambit’s job was done.
He closed the safe and the cover slid back into place before he replaced the painting. But before Gambit could climb back into the ventilation shaft, an alarm went off, piercing his ears with its loud screech.
Metal doors clanged down all around the office, trapping Gambit inside. Not even the window was accessible and the former X-Man had no more options. Until a shadow in the corner of the room grew larger and came into the shape of a woman he never expected to see again.
“Looks like you ran into some trouble,” said Psylocke.
“Nothin’ I can’t handle, chere,” said Gambit.
“Then I suppose you don’t want me to get you out.”
Gambit grinned slyly. “Let’s not be too hasty, non?” He ran towards the shadows with her and Psylocke sent a mental command to Vargas, who transported the two of them through a portal that opened several blocks away.
“That’s never happened before,” said Gambit.
“It was my fault,” said Psylocke.
Gambit eyed her suspiciously with his bright red pupils, a sharp contrast to his black eyeballs. “You? Co faire?”
“Why? Because I felt it was the best way to get your attention.”
“Belle like you never have no problem gettin’ Gambit’s attention,” he said with that familiar grin on his face.
“It was also fun,” said Psylocke.
“Par en sous,” said Gambit. “You always been a crafty one, Bets.”
“Comes with the job, Remy,” said Psylocke. “I need your help. I’m assembling a team to stand up to a threat that’s looming on the horizon.”
“Who?”
“I’m not sure, Moira is trying to pinpoint—”
“Nah, I mean who else y’ got so far,” said Gambit.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Rogue is one of the first people I spoke with, she’s on the team,” said Psylocke.
“…dunno why you brought her up, Gambit just curi—”
“I don’t have to be a psychic to know what you’re thinking, Lebeau.”
Gambit lit a cigarette and allowed himself a pause to take a drag on it. “This thing, it’s big?”
“Yes.”
“An’ you need Gambit?”
Psylocke sighed. “Your help would be appreciated, yes.”
“Just lemme get these documents back to Zoe an’ then we can hit the road,” said Gambit.
# # # # #
Metro City
A shadow portal opened in the middle of the skyscraper that served as the headquarters of Metro City’s own personal team of superheroes, Force Works. It was here that Psylocke hoped to find her next recruit.
Her telepathy served as a means to locate where exactly the mutant she sought was located in the building and Psylocke preceded to the location. She detected another presence behind her and kept her hand on her katana as she turned around.
Mirage and X-Treme stood before the ninja, and not one of them seemed happy to see her. “Guess not even one of the Hand can get past our security,” said Mirage. “What are you doing here, Psylocke?”
“I’m not here to cause trouble, I just want to speak to Clarice,” said Psylocke.
“Maybe the X-Men let a potential enemy freely walk around their home, but we’re not about to let that fly,” said X-Treme.
A portal appeared between the three mutants and closed almost as quickly as it opened. Except now there was a fourth mutant in the corridor, this one with lavender skin, dark pink hair and green eyes.
“Dani, Adam, let me handle this,” said the young woman.
“You sure about that, Blink?” asked X-Treme.
“I am,” said Blink.
“I’d prefer if we went somewhere a tad more private,” said Psylocke.
Blink raised her hand and a portal rose up from the ground, taking both her and Psylocke with it. When they reappeared, they were on the roof of the building and Blink crossed her arms.
“This work?”
“I need your help, Clarice. The team needs your help.”
Blink almost laughed. “X-Men Omega, X-Corp—they’re both gone. And I have no interest in working with the Hand.”
“There’s been a massive disturbance on the Astral Plane, the signatures of dead mutants are suddenly being detected by Cerebro, and it’s all tied into something I’m sure we wish we could forget.”
“What’s that?” asked Blink.
“The Hecatomb.”
A slight shiver went down Blink’s spine at the mention of that event. She had experienced the memories of her counterpart in a reality where Apocalypse ruled and humans were viciously slaughtered en masse. With all those horrors she had seen there, Blink was certain she would never have to see something like that in this reality.
That was until Bastion and Harvest merged together and unleashed an army of Phalanx-Sentinels upon mutantkind a year ago.
“I’m in,” she said. “When do we leave?”
# # # # #
Avengers Mansion
“No,” said Quicksilver.
“But Pietro—”
“I said no,” he repeated. “Because of the X-Men, I lost my wife and nearly lost my daughter. And then I was basically told my services as leader weren’t good enough and were no longer required. So if you think I have even the slightest inkling of returning to the team, then you—”
Psylocke signaled to Vargas and a shadow portal sucked her away from the X-Men’s former leader.
# # # # #
Milwaukee
Victor Creed sat in a bar knocking back beers when the lithe form of Elisabeth Braddock walked in and slid onto the stool next to him. The man called Sabretooth didn’t even bother looking at her.
“Knew I smelt trash,” he said.
“One could say the same of you, Victor,” said Psylocke.
“An’ even though everyone was worried about me, look who turned out t’ be the bigger threat,” said Sabretooth. “Y’ can sleep around on yer boyfriend, run a Japanese crime syndicate, an’ force me t’ kill or maim anyone you don’t like. But that don’t matter, ‘cause yer an X-Man. You can do whatever y’ want, so long as y’ say yer sorry when yer done. But me, I don’t get that option, do I? Then again, I never banged a founder.”
“I’m sorry, Victor,” she said. “I… wasn’t myself.”
Creed leaned in close to her, placing his face scant inches from her own. “Me neither.”
Psylocke wouldn’t allow herself to flinch in Sabretooth’s presence. She knew he wanted nothing more than to slice her to ribbons after the way she violated her mind.
“I suppose you’ve forgotten about how you nearly killed me,” she said. She turned her own eyes onto him now, gazing directly into his own. “Twice.”
Sabretooth grunted and turned away.
“I need your help,” she said. “I need to—”
“Blow me,” he said.
“This is important, don’t you at least want to hear what I have to say?”
“Don’t know, don’t care,” said Sabretooth. He picked up his beer and took a swig from it. “Find another attack dog, bitch.”
# # # # #
Muir Isle
“Sabretooth refused?” asked Vargas.
“Yes,” said Psylocke. “Can’t say I’m surprised. He has no reason to trust me. Not after…”
Vargas nodded. “We still have an effective team. Proteus, Bishop, Rogue, Blink, Gambit.”
“No, we’re not done,” said Psylocke. “There’s one more.”
Vargas was at a loss. “Who?”
Psylocke sighed. She was not looking forward to talking to the last recruit.