Author's Notes: I'm back with the next exciting adventure in my Crisis on Earth 929 series; in this chapter we will deal with the aftermath of the climax from the last adventure, however the explanations will still have to wait.

The usual disclaimer applies, I claim no ownership of any of the Marvel characters, however Alain Desrochers AKA Allan Rutherford is mine; feel free to R&R and I highly suggest that if you haven't read it yet, you should go check out Of Spiders and Mutants, the first in my series...

Prologue

The source stood before his chosen warrior; the new evil or rather the old evil reawakened and given a second chance. His strange yet imposing features meant nothing to the source; he was even more powerful then this puny human who had been drafted by his love.

"You are clear on what you must do?" The Source demanded glaring evenly at the sunken eyes of this new warrior.

"Crystal clear mein fuehrer." He intoned offering a snap salute.

"Excellent; then go forth and sow the seeds of Chaos further for you shall be amply rewarded for all your years of loyal service." The Source ordered in that ever so commanding tone he had mastered; with a small smile and a flick of his wrist a section of the room was bathed in pale lights revealing new toys for his newly chosen warrior. "And to ensure that you will not suffer incompetence, a little going away present." He added with a small smile; once again his warrior saluted and smartly turned on his heels barking orders to his new soldiers who instantly marched in step behind him as he left.

"Are you certain he can be controlled?" His lover asked emerging from the shadows as he allowed the illusion to disperse.

"I don't see why not; he is fanatical and has not questioned our little donation for his services." The Source intoned with a sly grin. "Besides it would be best if our adversary takes this one out of the equation anyway; he is just far too unpredictable and deadly to keep alive in our new world order." He added slipping back into his throne like seat as his lover climbed up into his lap; she cooed in his ear and began to kiss his cheek, his forehead, his lips biting after each kiss and he reveled in the pain.

Rogue shifted in her seat as she eyed the resting form of Allan Rutherford; it had been a day since his injury and his falling into this strange state of suspended animation. The Professor had insisted that they keep a watch on him at all times; she knew her time would soon be up and Hank would be relieving her, but a part of her was dieing to stay and be there for when he woke up so that she could confront him. She knew that her powers should have worked; normally they didn't work with cyborgs or people who had replaced most of their organs with machines, but Al was not a cyborg he was technorganic and so should have been affected.
So how come she could touch him; why was it that when she had grabbed his hand to prevent his fall she had felt his slightly rough though smooth skin instead of the familiar sensations of her powers kicking in? She had to know that it wasn't just a fluke; glancing back to the door to ensure that no one had arrived yet she quickly locked it to ensure that no one would walk in on this. Gently removing her glove she approached the eerily still form of the man and after taking a few quick breaths to calm her nerves and prepare herself she lightly brushed her fingers over his cheek.
Nothing; just the smooth feel of his skin it was very smooth actually there was no hint of stubble whatsoever and she remembered that after a long and drawn out examination Hank had reported that Al's unique status seemed to have rendered his follicle growth non-existent. His hair hadn't grown an inch since Hank had last examined him and he couldn't grow a beard or anything; Hank surmised that since the Nanoprobes were designed to be perfect efficient constructs they had effectively rendered all non-efficient human practices obsolete in the case of Mister Rutherford.
Why was she even thinking about this now? With a small sigh she wondered if she should test just once more; to be double sure, reaching out once again she stroked the mans cheek marveling at the sensation of touch. It wasn't truly new to her; she remembered what it was like to touch without fear of her powers acting up, most of her recent experiences however had involved mutant power inhibition collars. This was different in and of itself; she smiled as she continued to run her fingers over his strong and firm jaw line tears slowly trailing down her cheek, she shouldn't be doing this, harboring these sudden feelings. With a small curse she forced herself away from the man and replaced her glove; quickly moving back to the door and unlocking it, she needed to get out of here and get some perspective on this.
As she turned away from the door it suddenly opened and Hank entered; he moved immediately over to Al's side and pulled his covering back to check on the injury.

"Amazing it's as if nothing even happened; there's no scaring, no marks of any kind even the dried up blood seems to have been reabsorbed into his body." He remarked the twinkle of fascination in his eye.

"Ah'm goin' now Hank, tell the Professah Ah'll be back tomorrow ok" Rogue requested briefly touching her friend on the shoulder before turning to leave.

"Rogue you should talk to him about what happened." Hank gently suggested his concern for her sudden emotional state clear in his tone.

"Ah know, but Ah... Ah just need to figure this out on mah own; so Ah know what tah say when..." She trailed off looking to Al's face once more; it was so peaceful, with a quick and sudden turn she rushed from the room needing to get somewhere where the air was clear and she could think straight.

"A pity that such things must always arise to complicate matters further." Hank muttered turning back to his examination of his patient; though he really hadn't done anything. "Alas ours is not to reason why." He whispered sighing slightly as he once again readied the computers to study the nano-probes activities; he was most curious to know what they were doing now.

Crisis on Earth 929

Avenger's Assemble

The man known as Hank Pym sat before one of the many computer terminals located within the central control room of Avengers' Mansion as he carefully studied the images captured by S.H.I.E.L.D representatives who had recently witnessed a skirmish between four known members of the Brotherhood, Spider-Man, the Lizard, three members of the X-Men and two people he had personally never seen before. One appeared to possess identical powers to Spider-Man, but was obviously feminine and decidedly younger then the web-slinger.
The other was a mystery; he was obviously some form of mutant, though he couldn't possibly have gained his abilities through genetic mutation. Mainly because the S.H.I.E.L.D sensor equipment had detected obvious gravitational fluxes far too controlled or precise for any mutant to effectively control. Not to mention it was unheard of for a mutant to develop more then two powers; while this man seemed to demonstrate super-strength, advanced healing, gravitational and magnetic manipulation as well as the ability to generate electrical bursts of energy from his fingertips.
This left the Avenger to deduce that the man in question was a mutant who had been artificially created somehow; though it was impossible to get clear readings due to a strange interference the man had been generating during the fight. Hank surmised that it might involve his gravitational field; if the man had a strong enough control over the effects of gravity it was highly conceivable that he was actually a moving pole.
So far he'd failed to identify the female spider, but the man's face had actually appeared in the database as a Mister Allan Rutherford. The thing is his record was just a little too clean; Hank suspected he might be some kind of government agent who had gone rogue and was now being monitored, but he didn't like to make guesses without hard facts.

"Any luck in breaking that interference?" Janet asked entering the room and passing her husband one of the steaming mugs of coffee she'd brought with her.

"I just can't figure out why the sensor equipment was blocked just enough to keep us from figuring out how his powers manifested." Hank replied with a weary though grateful sigh as he plucked the mug from her hand and downed the contents in two gulps. "Still I'm curious to know just how he survived that wound." He admitted pausing the playback as it reached the time index where the man literally stirred and mumbled something effectively shutting off the strange computer's report on his injuries.

"No ordinary man could survive that; not even a mutant or super powered human could survive an injury like that if they weren't invulnerable." She returned shuddering slightly with disgust and pity at the sight of the wound. "And he is clearly not invulnerable."

"We just don't have enough to go on." Hank muttered. "Damn Fury for insisting we see to this personally; I hate trying to figure out mysteries for that man, more often then not it always leads to us getting involved in a big fight." He cursed rubbing his eyes to alleviate the exhaustion he was feeling even after ingesting the coffee.

"Come on you need some rest; it'll help to tackle this problem when you're refreshed." She stated knowingly; Hank shook off her iron-tight grip only to feel her tenaciously clinging on.

"How do you propose I get to sleep now that I've had that coffee?" He asked with a wry chuckle; Janet shot him a mischievous smile.

"Oh I can think of ways of tiring you out." She returned in a sultry tone; Hank smiled back at his wife and allowed her to drag him from the room.

"Have I told you I love you recently?" He wondered; she just shook her head with a warm smile and continued to pull him along.

To Be Continued