THE ALMIGHTY DISCLAIMER [for it would have to be almighty to keep me out of trouble]: The X-Men and affiliated people belong to Marvel. I am using them without permission, but I am doing this for fun. (In an odd sadistic way.) No money is being made from this. If I were, I would be in New York working for Marvel. Since I am nowhere near that general vicinity, please don't sue. By the way, Dakota is mine and anyone who steals him better go back to Ethics class. (Besides, I'm running out of places to stash the bodies.)

NOTE: This story takes place in my continuity a few days after "Waitin' For The Deal To Go Down". This takes place just prior to the Psi-War. (Which I will let into my continuity relatively soon.)

CAPS = just plain old yelling.
bold = snazzy sound effects
italics = the deepest, darkest thread of humanity (I usually just call them thoughts.)

Climb That Mountain High - Prologue
Beverly McIntyre

Mount Olympus, Greece.

Snow crunched under her boots as a cold zephyr wrapped itself around her. Yet she paid no heed. She trudged up the small, winding path that only she could see. The way was fraught with danger, one wrong step and she could plummet right off the mountain face. Of course, she could always teleport to the end of the path and make it easier for her. But where was the fun in that? Besides, she didn't know if teleporting to the spot would disrupt what she was looking for. Mystical energies were not predictable things. She could endure this trek if what she felt throbbing in the pit of her stomach was real.

Her thoughts were disrupted by her hand slipping of one of her handholds. She teetered backwards as one hand shot to grasp something on the rocky face to keep her on the mountain. Another hand grasped wildly as she felt her equilibrium slip. And another.

Spiral, Mistress of the Wildways, teetered just a breath longer before four of her six hands had latched onto something, and she managed to pull herself back onto the path.. She stood there, hugging the mountain face for a minute. With her cheek pressed against cold rock, she collected her thoughts. Mind set back on the task at hand, she carefully pulled away and carefully picked her way back up the path. The clearing couldn't be too far ahead now.

She continued forward. Mountain breeze sometimes blowing her ivory-colored hair into her eyes. She'd reach up with one of her six hands and brush the strand of hair out of her eyes. Squinting against the light reflecting off of the snow, she spied a dark blotch ahead that had to be her destination. Treading with a slightly quickened pace, the snow scurled away as she kicked it up with her boots.

She made it to a small cave and ducked inside. She stopped a few steps inside of the mouth of the cave, halted by the magnitude of mystical energy she felt radiating further in. The energy was so live she could feel it dancing up and down her spine. Oh, if that bloated bag could see me now. . . . The energy was so palpable that she could feel it eddy and flow around her with every breath she took. She paused and took a few deep breaths, relishing the sheer power that was soon to be hers.

Power-hunger slightly whetted, she continued forward, following a thread of magical energy that throbbed with power. No one could stop her now. She was too close to be stopped. The X-Men wouldn't pop out to stop her. Rot their eyes. Dr. Strange was already too late. Rot his eyes. Not even the damnably lucky Longshot could do anything. Rip out his spine and dance on it.

She had felt this mystical energy only recently. It emerged shortly after those creatures called the N'Gari started an ill-fated invasion of this dimension. Spiral had been minorly aware of what was going on for she liked to keep herself apprised of any mass dimensional transportations. The X-Men had stopped the N'Gari's plan before it came to full effect. As always, they ruin a good thing. Spiral's only interest in the invasion was the junction point located on the grounds of Xavier's estate. The one Longshot and Dakota had been trying to stem the tides from. She hung near there, watching and hoping that the little blond superstar would have been gutted by the N'Gari. But as luck would have it, Longshot came out of the engagement without a scratch. Didn't see his little harlot with him. Wonder if he left her high and dry too?

Something welled up far inside Spiral, where traces of the human she had been still lingered. She stifled whatever it was and kept moving. She had no time for it. She was Spiral, not some stuntwoman who had fallen hoplessly in love with Longshot. Ricochet Rita was dead and gone, and Spiral had killed her.

Spiral continued on. There was no need to fight an inner battle that had already been won. Her senses homed her toward the far wall. She stopped right in front of it, feeling the mystical energies that were so thick they stuck to her like a second skin. She placed a four-fingered hand on the wall of the cave and felt the wall throb at her touch. One little dance and this little pocket of energy would be hers to play with. She wondered who would be the lucky one she would experiment on with this new cash of mystical energy. Hmm. The possibilities.

She begun her dance without quite realizing it. Her six arms weaving in archaic patterns, coaxing the energy toward her. One arm, without breaking its pattern, drew out a multi-faceted gem out of thin air. Spiral moved around the cave. Every move was wrought with an alien grace. Sweat sheened on her forehead. It felt like energy was being drawn from her own body into the gem held clenched in her fist. Panic set in as Spiral tried to stop casting but her body would not stop. What is happening? I can't stop!

A small fissure appeared in the cave wall opposite her. Tendrils of energy snaked out toward the gem that had begun to glow in her hand. With her mouth now totally dry from fear, Spiral watched as a small tendril of mystical energy touch the gem. Her eyes traced up the tendril to its source. When she looked right at the fissure, it pulsed brightly. Spiral fought to break the spell, to make her body hers once more. She had achieved a modicum of success when the world blew up around her.