A/N: This is my first piece of fan fiction. It tells the story of five
heroes who find themselves in the Marvel universe and their adventures when
they arrive. I'm not as up on the X-Men's history as I should be, so
please forgive any inconsistencies.
A/N: I've taken this opportunity to fix a few minor errors that were brought to my attention. Hope this improves things a bit.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the X-Men or am making any money off of this. Blah.
The snow drifted gently to the ground, the white-coated pine trees swaying gracefully in the gentle breeze. A stillness seemed to hang in the air, a natural stillness broken only by the occasional bird swooping from tree to tree or a squirrel scuttling across the ground. A lone wolf, its lithe form dim in the shadows, slipped between the trees unnoticed. At places like this, nature seems to have stopped to admire itself in the dim moonlight.
A crack ten times louder than thunder echoed across the forest, breaking the stillness and sending birds and beasts fleeing. Snow tumbled from the treetops to the ground, the trees shaking as though in fear. Accompanying this great noise was a bright flash of light that split through the gentle night like a knife in an instant, and then was gone as swiftly as it came. The only sign that anything had happened was the disturbed snow and the absence of the animals, long since fled. Well, not quite the only sign.
"Damn it," the woman sputtered, shaking the snow off as she picked herself up off the forest floor. She wiped her long, raven blue-black hair from her face. Her tanned skin seemed to reflect the light back at the moon. Her bright green eyes were narrowed in annoyance. Her tight, form- fitting black leather outfit accented her perfect, lithely muscular figure; a red silk scarf tied around her neck her only acknowledgment to colour. A few years over twenty, she seemed a strange merger of Spanish beauty and biker.
She grunted indelicately as she brushed the last few flakes of snow from her shoulders. "What the hell happened?"
"My sentiments precisely, my dear." Sitting in a tree above her, the middle-aged man, with a fairly strong British accent, had a some-what strange smile on his face. He had a neatly trimmed, short brown beard and hair, and wore a simple brown robe and carried an oak staff. He seemed to be a hermit from a fairly cleaned-up movie about ancient England. Despite being ungainly perched in the branches of a tree, he seemed to have an air of majesty and power about him. "My sentiments precisely."
"What are you doing up there, Druid?" the woman asked, exasperatedly.
"It seems our friend has a bit of a sense of humour," Druid chuckled softly. The tree bent over, allowing Druid to step gently from its branches to the ground. He bowed politely to it. "Thank you." As if in response, the branches of the tree shook slightly, then the tree straightened up again.
"Where do you think the others are?"
Druid was about to respond when a cascade of swearing echoing from a snowdrift not far away cut him off. "I would surmise that Berzerker is not far off," he stated.
"No kidding?" Just as the woman responded, the snowdrift exploded outwards in a flurry of snow and swearing. Out burst a young man, not yet twenty, stripped to the waist and wearing a simple pair of blue jeans. His short blond hair contrasted a face red with anger. His chest held the tattoo of a large, intricate hammer and a two headed serpent was tattooed with one head on each hand, the body winding up each arm and around his shoulders and the back of his neck. His powerful muscles rippled and flexed as if of their own volition. His features belayed Nordic ancestry. Despite the great cold, he was dripping sweat.
"What the hell happened?" he yelled at his companions.
"I just said that," the woman stated calmly.
"Its worth saying twice, Rebel," came a soft voice from the shadow of the trees. A wealth of jet-black hair framed a smooth, perfect ebony face set with a bright pair of almond-coloured eyes. Younger than Druid but significantly older than the others, she bore herself with an unmistakable air of command and self-assurance. Subtly and attractively muscular, she wore what at best could be described as a sudo-commando outfit. Her eyes clearly showed her puzzlement and worry. "Is everyone all right?"
"We're fine, Ebony" Rebel assured her a bit impatiently. "But where are we?"
"Good question." The slightly older woman turned to Druid. "Well?"
The strange man closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment. "Hmm. north west, large continent. probably North American. cold climate. high elevation. no dense human population for some distance." His eyes snapped open and he nodded.
The others waited for a moment, expectantly. Druid stood calmly, returning their gazes impassively. "Well," Ebony asked after a moment. "Where are we?"
"I just told you," Druid replied seriously.
Rebel gave an exasperated shout, throwing her hands to the air and storming off. Berzerker rolled his eyes and lay down in the snow, leaning against a tree. Ebony sighed and closed her eyes, her patience strained. "You do it deliberately, don't you?" she asked him.
Druid merely shrugged, his face impassive. There might have been a glint of amusement hovering around his face somewhere, but it disappeared swiftly. "Canada," he stated simply. "The wilds of Canada."
"Are you sure?" Druid raised his eyebrows slightly and stared at her for a moment. Ebony shook her head. "Silly question, I know. So how did we get here?"
"That, my dear, I know not."
Rebel paced up and down, rubbing her shoulders. "I'm freezing," she said absently.
"Actually, I think it's a bit warm," Berzerker stated.
Ebony looked at the half-naked man lounging in the snow. "You always think it's too warm," she said.
"I have no complaint," Druid stated simply.
"You wouldn't."
"Where's Shadow?" Rebel asked suddenly, her face creased with worry. "Did anyone see him?"
"Does anyone ever?" Berzerker asked pointedly.
"I'm serious," she said, hitting the younger man on the back of the head. "Things don't affect him the same way as everyone else. What if when we got sent here."
"He didn't," Ebony finished for her, now frowning.
"Exactly."
"We shouldn't give up hope quite yet, ladies," Druid assured them. "Let us search before we give him up for lost."
"Good idea," Ebony said, nodding. She turned. "Berzerker, you stay here. We'll go out and have a look for Shadow. Be back here in a quarter of an hour." With that she began to walk off. She paused, then turned back and grinned at Druid. "You know, I think your slipping. I actually understood what you said."
"It has been a long day," Druid admitted, shrugging slightly.
Rebel walked away from the others, yelling into the night. "Shadow!" Her sweet voice echoed through the trees. "Shadow!"
"Yes?" The hollow, hissing voice was just at her shoulder. She jumped into the air, spinning around and landing in a fighting position, a pair of glowing golden discs in her hands. Standing there was a solemn figure, dressed in a flowing black cloak with hood and cowl covering his whole face in shadows. A pair of red eyes glinted through the darkness. He wore a lose, black ninja outfit, and a black-hilted dagger was at his waist, its hilt designed to look like the head of a dragon eating the blade of the dagger, with the wings of the dragon pointing outwards and up the blade.
"Don't do that," Rebel yelled at him, the discs disappearing.
"Sorry."
"Don't lie." Rebel grabbed him by his shoulder. "You do it on purpose. We all know you do."
A faint, ghostly chuckle escaped Shadow as he allowed himself to be dragged back towards the others. Suddenly he stopped chuckling and grabbed Rebel, throwing her into the bushes and jumping after her.
"What the." she began when he clamped his hand over her mouth, silencing her. Just then the roar of a jet burst overhead, setting all the forest trembling. Shadow removed his hand from Rebel's mouth, drawing his blade from its sheath with a steely hiss. "The others!" Rebel whispered.
Shadow shook his head, then, motioning for Rebel to follow him, slipped off silently into the darkness. His feet left no tracks on the fresh snow, and his passing made no sound. Rebel followed after him, only moderately less unobtrusive. A bellow of rage echoed through the forest.
They returned to where Rebel had left the others. Berzerker was there, floating in mid air, growling and swearing, appearing to be attacking the air. Five figures stood on the ground staring up at him. One was a fairly beautiful woman with a wealth of red hair dressed in blue and gold and seemed to be concentrating on something. One was a tall, serious-looking man in blue with a red visor covering his eyes. He was talking to two of the others, one a great, blue gorilla-like man, the other an African beauty with flowing white hair. The three of them where looking at a device that the gorilla-man was carrying. It was the last of the five that caught Shadow's attention, however. Dressed in a yellow costume with blue stripes, he was talking to Berzerker. Three long, sharp claws protruded from each fist.
"Now look, bub," he said. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." He grinned. "Please say ye want ta do it the hard way." He flexed his hands meaningfully.
Berzerker bellowed incoherently, white froth dripping from his lips as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Sweat poured off his body as he pounded harmlessly at the air, twisting this way and that.
"Wild Man," Shadow hissed angrily.
"He ain't talkin', Cyke," Wolverine said. "But there are more. Three more by my guess. And they ain't far."
"All right," Cyclops nodded. "Stay alert, everyone. Jean, how are you doing?"
"I can't hold him for much longer, Scott," she said through clenched teeth. "He's too strong, and he seems to be getting stronger."
"They're here," Wolverine growled, sniffing the air, his claws popping from his fist. As he spoke an arc of black crystal shards burst from the overgrowth, hurtling towards the X-Men. Storm launched herself up into the air, the crystals falling harmlessly bellow her. Beast leapt into the branches of a tree, and Cyclops blasted the crystals from the air, protecting himself and Jean. Wolverine dashed towards the area where the crystals had appeared, but a globe of darkness appeared around him, halting him in his tracks.
The tree branches wrapped around Beast, entwining him in a deadly embrace. A female figure of black crystal, the same type as the shards, jumped from the bushes, rolling on the ground bellow an optic blast from Cyclops and firing off another volley of shards from her arms at him. Rebel jumped from the cover, throwing half a dozen golden discs in the air at Storm. They exploded around the weather goddess, but a gust of wind kept them harmlessly away. Storm summoned a bolt of lightning down at the black-clad Spanish woman, but she moved almost before the lightning appeared, dodging out of the way.
Beast had broken free of the tree, landing on the ground, but a wolf jumped out at him. He jumped away, grabbing it and hurling it at the tree. The wolf yelped, but jumped back at him instantly.
Cyclops and Ebony (encased in an armour of black crystal) circled each other warily. Ebony feigned to the left, spun to the right and fired off another round of shards. Cyclops blasted them from the air then blasted Ebony, hurling her into a tree.
Wolverine was surrounded by the darkness. He couldn't see anything, and though he could hear and smell the battle outside, he couldn't sense anyone else. He stormed forward, trying to escape the darkness. He gasped in surprise when a sharp, cold pain lanced through his side as a blade stabbed through him. He spun, slashing out at his assailant, but missed. He turned nervously, trying to sense his opponent. Suddenly he saw a pair of red eyes glinting in the darkness. He lashed at them, but his claws passed through the space as though nothing were there, only a faint chill surrounding his fist as it passed through where the face should be. A blade glinted briefly, from what light he knew not, and then stabbed him again, as he tried to twist away. His shoulder went numb with cold and he stumbled backwards, holding his arm in pain.
Beast had knocked the wolf unconscious, and was dodging tree branches and roots as they tried to entangle him. As he dodged and weaved, he caught sight of a brown-robed figure standing at the side, seeming to direct the attacking plants. Dodging the foliage, Beast leapt for him, clearing a wall of brambles that tried to close around him, and landing on the figure. He knocked Druid reeling to the ground, sending his staff clattering to the floor.
Druid leapt up immediately and attacked Beast, grabbing at him. Beast attempted to leap over his head, but Druid reacted uncommonly quickly and grabbed Beast's feet, spinning him into a tree. Beast grabbed the trunk of the tree, using it to spin round and kick Druid in the chest. As Druid fell, Beast jumped over to him. "There is no need for violence, my friend," Beast said, pinning Druid to the ground.
"That's what you say," Rebel shouted as she burst in. A golden disc exploded on Beast's chest, hurling the surprised X-Man away. "Switch," she called to Druid, leaping over his head.
Storm saw Cyclops blast Ebony, and she took the opportunity to hit the fallen woman with a bolt of lightning. The black crystal glowed bright red for a moment, and the snow around Ebony melted and the evaporated instantly. When the steam cleared, the armoured woman stood unharmed in the middle of a small circle of snow-less ground.
Druid rolled to his feet, spotting Storm gathering the clouds about her. He caulked his head as if listening to something then widened his eyes his shock. A tree branch swooped him up, propelling him into then air. He landed on the tree nearest Storm, which grew to an immense height, putting him face to face with the startled African goddess.
"My dear," he yelled over the buffeting winds. "I believe we should talk."
Rebel landed, and a brief vision passed before her mind's eye. She ducked just in time for Beast to pass above her, his kick easily dodge. He rolled to a stop, turning to face the Spanish beauty.
She hurled a pair of black discs at him, which he barely dodged. They disappeared into the woods, cutting through everything in their path. Beast leapt forward, but once again Rebel acted the quicker, and struck him full in the chest. The blow sent Beast flying away, knocking him into a tree. Another disc landed just bellow him and exploded into a huge net of black energy that enveloped him, pulling him to the ground and trapping him.
Jean clutched at her temples. "Can't. hold him. any longer." She sighed and collapsed to the floor. Berzerker fell to the ground with a resounding thud, but he was up immediately and charging at her. Just as he reached her, Wolverine, who had escaped the darkness covered in deep wounds, hurled himself at the frothing madman, his claws digging deep into Berzerker's chest. "Run, Jeanie," he growled.
Berzerker didn't seem to notice Wolverine for a second. When he did he grabbed the small man and lifted him effortlessly from the ground. Wolverine swung, his claws opening a wide gash in Berzerker's face. The blond teen didn't seem to care. He hurled Wolverine away like a child's toy and ran pounding after him.
"Logan," Jean gasped, struggling to her feet. She sent out a telekinetic punch that should have knocked Berzerker from his feet, but the charging barbarian didn't even flinch. A blade pressed firmly against the back of her neck.
"Don't try anything," a dark voice hissed from behind her.
She lashed out instantly with a mental attack, trying to probe her assailant's mind. What she found was cold, dark emptiness. It seemed to surround her, pulling her in. She tired to pull away, but couldn't. She cried in pain, falling to the ground as the cold stabbed through her mind. Shadow stood above her, dagger poised for the killing stroke.
A burst of red energy knocked him away. "Leave my wife alone," Cyclops yelled, charging to her side. "Jean," he said softly. "Are you OK?"
"Dark," she muttered. "So dark and cold." She sobbed, like a beaten child, till she collapsed into unconsciousness in his arms.
Only a gust of wind prevented the crystal shards from ending both their lives. Storm, with Druid beside her, landed between Ebony and Cyclops. "Stop," she said to the X-Men. "We must talk to these people."
"Enough fighting," Druid said calmly to Ebony. "It is time for the knight to show his skills at the king's court."
Ebony caulked her head slightly. The armour around her seemed to melt then retreat back into her body, leaving her standing there, and irritated expression on her face. "This is no time for riddles, Druid," she said.
"Call everyone in," he said patiently. "I will explain."
"Rebel, Shadow, enough fighting," she called out to the distance. "And Shadow, stop Berzerker before he kills someone."
Berzerker, still frothing at the mouth, was currently trying to land a punch on Wolverine. Covered in cuts that would have killed a lesser man, the towering Nordic man wasn't even slowed. Wolverine was panting for breath, but easily avoiding Berzerker's powerful blows. He danced behind a tree, which Berzerker shattered with a single punch, the splinters of wood showering everywhere.
Shadow stepped forward, his dagger sheathed. He placed a hand on Berzerker's chest, but rather than restrain his companion the hand sunk through. Berzerker lashed out at his friend, the cold stabbing through even his clouded mind, but his blows passed harmlessly through Shadow, as though Berzerker were punching a wisp of smoke. The blows slowed, then stopped, as Berzerker collapsed slowly to the floor. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his breathing stopped.
"How is he?" Ebony asked, as Rebel returned, dragging a netted Beast behind her.
Shadow knelt down, putting his hand to Berzerker's neck. After a full minute went buy, Shadow rose. "Bad," he said. "But he's been worse. Two beats."
"Two heart beats in a minute?" the captured Beast wondered allowed, guessing at Shadow's meaning.
"What the hell is goin' on, Cycke," Wolverine growled, eyeing the strangers wearily.
"Ask Storm," Cyclops replied, still cradling Phoenix in his arms. His tone suggested that he wasn't any more pleased than Logan.
"Why did we stop?" Rebel demanded of Ebony. "We were winning!" Ebony merely shrugged and pointed to Druid. Rebel sighed and dropped the net holding Beast. It disintegrated into nothing, leaving Beast free to rise and dust himself off.
Druid and Storm found themselves the centre of everyone's attention. Storm turned to the rest of the X-Men. "This man and I have a kinship. I do not know how I know this, but he and I are not enemies. I do not think that his friends are our enemies either."
"She speaks truly," Druid assures his friends. "The connection that binds me to all that lives is within her, too, though to a much lesser degree. She says her powers are a gift from 'the Goddess,' but they stem from Nature just as mine do. Though the voice of the world does not ring in her ears as clearly as in mine, it does murmur most violently at times."
"Are you trying to imply that these are allies?" Ebony asked incredulously.
Druid thought for a while, then nodded. "Yes."
Cyclops shook his head, and then looked at Storm. "Are you sure about this, Storm?"
"Trust me, Cyclops," she said gently. "We should not fight these people."
"What about Wild Man?" Rebel yelled, waving a hand at Wolverine.
"Who the hell ye talkin' about, kid?" Logan asked her.
"I don't know where you got the change of costume," she said, walking threateningly forward. "Or how you learned to speak so well, but its you all right. The same mutant healing factor, the same claws."
"The same blood," Shadow added, half drawing his blade pointedly.
"Exactly." She jabbed a finger pointedly at Wolverine's chest. "So don't try to tell me you're not one of the Hunters."
"I ain't heard of the Hunters," Wolverine growled, his face inches from hers. "But if ye don't back away, I'll rip yer throat out."
"He's telling the truth," Ebony said in wonder. "He can't be Wild Man." She shook her head. She paused for a moment, as if she thought of something, and then turned to Cyclops. "Just tell me one thing. Have any of you heard of Lord Sumner?"
"No," Cyclops said suspiciously. The others all agreed.
"It worked." Ebony smiled broadly. "It actually worked!"
"I think you should explain," Cyclops demanded.
"It's a long story," Ebony warned him. She seemed much more relaxed now, and much happier. "Don't you have anywhere else we could all talk?"
Cyclops considered this for a moment then nodded. "We'll go back to the Mansion. You can tell your story to everyone." He was still holding Jean closely, when she groaned slightly and shifted. "And you can tell us exactly who you are."
The infirmary back at the mansion was their first stop on arriving. Both Berzerker and Jean were taken care of. At Ebony's advice, Beast let Berzerker alone. His friends claimed that the Nordic teen would recover on his own just fine. Jean, however, was a different matter. Her pulse was high but her brain was nearly inactive. She was sweating profusely and occasionally moaned as if in pain. Despite his best efforts, Beast could do little to improve her condition.
"What did you do to her?" Cyclops demanded of Shadow.
"Nothing," came the simple reply. After noticing Cyclops' expression, Shadow shook his head and glanced at Ebony. She nodded imperceptibly. "She did it to herself," he continued. "She tried to attack my mind. My. powers give me an automatic defence towards mental attacks, even a simple mind read. The only chance she has of surviving is her own strength. If she hasn't gotten better in an hour, give up hope." With that, Shadow turned and walked away. Cyclops got up to grab him, but his hands passed harmlessly through his shoulder and the strange man walked right through a wall and out again. Cyclops rubbed his hand as a great chill shot through it.
"There was nothing he could do about it," Ebony assured Cyclops, placing a friendly hand on his shoulder. Rebel exited just behind Shadow, chasing after him. "The power is innate. If it helps, he does feel bad about what happened."
"It doesn't," Cyclops growled, pulling away from her to go over to Jean's side. He grabbed her hand and held it gently.
Jean's voice inside his head was distant and weak.
He replied mentally, hope springing inside of him.
Her voice seemed to be growing weaker and further away.
Beast turned to Ebony, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "What exactly happened?"
"I don't relay know," she replied.
Druid spoke calmly from the chair where he lounged. "There is nothing so devastating as finding utter silence where a torrent of sound should pour. Especially if the silence follows you."
Ebony shook her head. "I'm sorry. He always talks like that. We often struggle to get a strait answer from him."
"Actually, I think I understand what he said." Beast rushed over to Cyclops. "Keep speaking to her using your psychic link. Try to keep her talking. I have an idea." Before Cyclops could respond, Beast had rushed off. "'Unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles... more needs she the divine then the physician' - Shakespeare. However, since we lack the divine, the mutant must suffice." Beast checked the read outs of the devices hooked to Jean. He grinned. "As I thought." He turned to the companions. "Scott and Jean's unique telepathic bond is strengthening Jean's mind. The longer they remain in contact, the easier it will become for Jean to throw off the 'silence' that attacked her mind." He checked his read outs again. "By my guess, Jean should be conscious shortly, though her full powers may not return for at most a day." He laid a comforting hand on Scott's shoulder. "She will be fine."
Scott nodded, but remained concentrating on Jean. Jean was visibly getting better, but she still seemed to be in bad condition.
"I think it best if we leave them now," Storm said softly. The others nodded and followed her to the rec room.
"How is she?" Storm asked worriedly when Scott entered the rec room.
"Better," he said grimly. "She'll be with us in a moment." He turned to Ebony. "And when she arrives, I expect some answers."
"Of course," Ebony assured him.
"This place is a maze," Rebel declared, entering the room. She shook her head. "I lost Shadow. Probably off sulking somewhere. You know how he is. He'll show up when he wants to."
"I'm not sure I'm completely happy with that," Cyclops said suspiciously. "Wolverine, you go find him."
"Can't," the gruff man replied shortly. The other X-Men turned to him curiously. "He ain't got no smell. Doesn't make a sound either, or leave tracks." Logan shook his head ruefully. "Doubt anyone could track that man unless he wants them to."
"You'd be surprised how many people have tried." Though the voice was defiantly Shadow's, it lacked the hollow, hissing quality it normally had. He was standing in the doorway, his hood and cowl pulled down to reveal his face. His eyes, rather than the glowing red they were before, were normal and grey. His short black hair was neatly combed, and a slight stubble was forming on his face. He wasn't particularly handsome, but he had a rugged, outdoorsy look that some people find attractive. There seemed to be a great sadness and pain in his face, and no joy in him at all.
"Where have you been?" Ebony demanded of him.
"Around and about," he replied evasively. He sat down in a chair, stretching out languidly and drinking a bottle of beer he had appropriated from the kitchen. "This is some installation you have here. Quite impressive."
"Thanks," Scott replied sarcastically.
"I am pleased to say," Beast stated as he entered. "That both our patients have made a complete recovery." He stood aside to allow Jean and Berzerker to enter. Jean went strait to Scott, hugging him closely. Berzerker stomped over to Ebony.
"So what," he said. "We're friends with these guys now?"
Ebony nodded. "Just sit down and relax. Everything will make sense in a bit."
Berzerker growled but did as he was told, throwing himself into the only empty chair. He eyed Wolverine suspiciously. Now that the battle was over and she had recovered, Jean realized that she was feeling highly attracted to this strange young man. She wondered why she felt so attracted to him, before she realised that all the other women in the room felt similarly. It was hard to miss with her telepathy, though she doubted anyone else would have noticed. It must be part of his mutant powers.
"I think it time for the telling of tails to begin," Druid stated calmly from where he sat cross-legged on the floor by the open window. The cool winter air didn't seem to bother him the slightest.
"Are these all of your people?" Ebony asked. "I wouldn't want to repeat the story needlessly."
"No," Scott replied tersely. "But the others are all away on missions. They won't be back for a while. And we don't have time to wait."
"Understandable. I think it best if we start with introductions. I am Captain Elena Valmont, also known as Ebony. These are my companions: James Holdenworth, or Shadow, Janet Walsh, also known as Rebel, Kyle Jorgenson, who is called Berzerker, and Druid." She pointed to each companion in turn. "We are, or rather were, called the Knights of Justice, or more simply, the Knights. We come from what I believe to be an alternate reality."
Scott nodded, and when she did not continue he realised that she was expect him to introduce is companions. "My name is Scott Summers, or Cyclops. This is my wife, Jean, called Phoenix, and my friends doctor Henry McCoy, the Beast; Ororo Munro, Storm; and Logan, Wolverine. We are the X-Men."
At this last proclamation Rebel sat bolt upright. Berzerker had already half-stood up when Cyclops had named Beast, and literally dropped back into his chair. Ebony's face betrayed her shock, and even Shadow raised an eyebrow. Only Druid didn't respond, his eyes closed as if in meditation and a slight smile creeping on his face.
"I suppose, then," Ebony said after a moment. "That you know one Charles Xavier?"
"Of course," Scott replied, looking a bit bemused. "He is our founder."
"And he lives?"
"Yes, of course. But if you're from an alternate reality, how do you know about him?"
"Because it is Charles Xavier, and his friend Erick Lehnsherr, that are the difference between our two worlds." The X-Men all looked blank. "I think it best if I start at the beginning." Ebony shook her head. "Or rather, in this case, at the end.
"You see, uncountable years in the future, two brothers, beings of immense powers, apparently the prime example of human evolution and the result of couplings of the highest genetic potential, ruled the world peacefully. However, after generations of ruler-ship, one of the brothers was, for some unknown reason, driven insane. He decided that the only way he could end his suffering was to commit temporal suicide.
"You see, these brothers could travel through time and space at will. Therefore, he could never commit conventional suicide; instead he had to change the past so that he never was born, nor ever could be born. Unfortunately, this would destroy the utopian society he and his brother ruled, along with his brother.
"Ignoring the consequences of his actions (or perhaps simply not caring about them, for his madness had twisted his mind into a strange form of evil), he set back in time. He arrived in Israel shortly after the meeting of two people that would become inordinately important in both our worlds: Charles Xavier and Erick Lehnsherr.
"Using his powers, the being from the future captured both Charles and Erick, taking them to a palace he created in Australia. There, he contacted the leaders of the world, calling himself Lord Sumner, and revealed to them the presence of mutants, and the threat they would prove to the world's stability. Then, he slaughtered them both before the stunned eyes of the world leaders.
"Using Australia and New Zealand, which he had conquered, as his base of operations, he created an army of robots and cyborgs using technology far in advance to any discovered even in our time. He used these robots to hunt down mutants everywhere, slaughtering them mercilessly.
"At first people supported his actions. When the armies of mutants flocked under the banner of a powerful mutant called Apocalypse in Egypt, there was talk of the armies of the west joining Sumner in his war. But it didn't take long for the tales of atrocities to reach the shores of Europe and America. Sumner was taking unwilling humans and turning them into cyborgs forced to serve him. It didn't take long for people to realise that Sumner was not a man anyone wanted in power. Still, there was no question of aiding Apocalypse; he also had access to strange technology, and was using it to genetically engineer the mutants who served him to make a better fighting force, to 'cleanse the world of weakness.'
"So the world was divided into three. South America and Africa belonged to Apocalypse. Australia and most of Asia belonged to Sumner. The Middle East and Central America were constant battlegrounds. Everything else was the 'free world,' united to defeat both Sumner and Apocalypse.
"I was a captain in her Majesty's Army of Great Britain and the Empire. Not that we actually had an Empire left. Still, we were a force to be considered. Despite the small size of our island, we had the largest air force out side of the US, and the larges navy of all. Still, I was army. And I was in charge of one of the most important missions yet.
"Apocalypse was on the defensive. The Americans had basically subdued South America and he was hiding out in a pyramid in Egypt. Lord Sumner's armies were closing in, and it looked like victory was certain. Then we got the intelligence - Lord Sumner and all his personal guards were leaving Australia so he could face Apocalypse personally. That was our chance.
"I was one of many who were given the task of infiltrating Lord Sumner's castle, stealing what we could and destroying the rest. All over the world others were given similar tasks, designed to cripple Sumner's armies outside of Africa and prevent him from sending re-enforcements. That was the rest of the armies could swoop in after the big battle between him and Apocalypse and take out any of the survivors.
"My team was made up of the best Britain had to offer. I was given the task because I had been in charge in a few of the critical defences of Britain, managing to hold off a couple of waves from both Sumner and Apocalypse at various times. I was working with a team from America, led by some hotshot young new captain Devon Blanch who had made a name for himself in the South Africa slaughter, where he and his men killed well over a hundred mutants. I didn't approve of his methods - he didn't differentiate between civilians and military, especially not where mutants were concerned - but you couldn't argue with results. There were similar teams from everywhere - Canada, France, Spain, Germany - all the free countries.
"We made it in without too much trouble. Sumner hadn't been expecting an attack - we had been beaten fairly badly on the last couple of attempts - so defences were a bit weak. My team managed to make it the farthest. The Americans had made it in before us, but Blanch had decided to take a bit of time to kill the mutant captive's Sumner had and loot for technology. I was more interested in setting the charges and getting out of there.
"We set the charges, and were about to escape when Lord Sumner appeared. Even after all this time we still didn't know everything he could do, so we didn't realise he was a mutant. Still, we should have guessed he would have something up his sleeve. We couldn't let him get to the charges, but we couldn't stop him and get out, so we did the only thing we could. We fought. And damn, he was good! He had powers I just cant describe. He could change reality itself to bend to his will. The things he threw at us! I never understood how we managed to keep him busy for those five minutes, but we did. And then everything exploded. All the charges set detonated, destroying the entire palace. The other teams got out fine, but mine was still stuck right next to those explosives, fighting Sumner himself.
"The Dutch found me while they looking for survivors. Most everyone else had gone home. No one knew how I had survived the blast - I think some of them had assumed I had run - but they found me, gasping for breath and babbling about crystals in the middle of the detonation area. There wasn't a brick standing anywhere near me.
"I knew how I survived though. My mutant power kicked in. When people persecuted mutants, I always felt sorry for them, but I didn't realise I was one until then. My body can release a liquid that solidifies into a hard, black crystal once it touches the air. Latter in life I learned how to control it so that I could create a suit of armour, rather than simply a coating. I also learned that I could create blade-like protrusions from my forearms, which I could use to slash at people or to even fire off.
"Of course, there were other aspects to my mutant power which I had been using all my life without realising it. I always knew I was stronger, faster and more agile than everyone else, but I thought that that was just because I exercised a lot. I also can instantly tell when anyone is lying.
"Still, that was latter. At the time I didn't even realise I had a mutant power. That was why, when the crystal coated me, there were no air holes. I could see, though everything was tinted a kind of blue-black, and everything I heard was muted, though I guess that was a boon at the time, for the explosion probably would have deafened me otherwise. The crystal also insulated me, preventing the heat from harming me, though the force of the blast knocked the breath from me and broke a fair few of my ribs. It only lasted for a brief moment, and was gone as quickly as it came, but it had been enough. I knew I was a mutant.
"Considering the circumstances, I wasn't too upset about it. I thought that now that Sumner was dead and Apocalypse defeated mutants would be free. I guess I am a bit naïve at times.
"Mutancy was declared illegal, except in Africa, where the remains of Apocalypse forces still held sway, and Australia and New Zealand, where the remnants of Lord Sumner's government ruled. The discovery that Lord Sumner had been a mutant didn't help things.
"The governments of the free world set up two organisations to deal with 'the mutant threat.' The first was the public face; because of the atrocities of Lord Sumner's rule the government had to be careful and legal about how they handled mutants. This 'nicer' public face, called the Special Mutant Analysis and Response Team, or SMART, tracked mutant movements and arrested mutants, killing only when necessary. The second team was a secret one. Called the Hunters, they were sent out to kill mutants wherever they existed, without mercy. And I was offered their leadership.
"Knowing that I was a mutant made the decision even more difficult. I knew plenty of ways that I could back out without casting suspicion on myself. However, I decided that I should accept the offer. There were two main reasons I decided to do this; the first was that I would be given complete control, so I could chose the targets. I was no fool; I knew there would be mutants who would use their powers to hurt others. I hoped to turn the resources of the Hunters against them. If questioned I would simply say that I was 'designating resources to deal with the most pertinent threat towards our stability' or something like that and I would be fine. The second reason was that if I didn't take control, they'd give it to Devon Blanch, and there was no way I was going to let that man be in charge of such a powerful operation. As it was, I had to accept him as my second in command.
"Things didn't go too badly at first. I was protecting people, mutants and humans alike, from the mutants who wanted to use their powers for harm. I was also making inroads, however small, towards acceptance of mutants within our society. It all fell to peaces, though, when Blanch discovered I was a mutant.
"We were hunting a particularly dangerous mutant who could cause intense heat, enough to melt steel, with a thought. He turned his powers on me, but I used my powers at the last minute to protect myself. There was no hiding it; the entire group had seen. Devon was the first to react. He attacked me, calling for everyone to help him. The group was split. I was good friends with some of them, and others respected me for both my military and political achievements. Most of them hated mutants, however.
"There was a pitched battle, and in the end I was forced to run, though I managed to take Devon's favourite gun away from him, an energy weapon 'liberated' from Lord Sumner's palace. Devon and his old friend Robert South, another American who had been in the attack on Lord Sumner, were the only others who survived. Devon swore to hunt me down and kill me, along with every other mutant in the world.
"My life as a fugitive had begun. I couldn't live with mutants, because I was known as a mutant hunter, but I couldn't stay with humans, as I was a known mutant. I couldn't hide who I was - I had been on TV about ten times too often during the celebrations after my victory in Australia. After all, I was heralded as an international hero.
"I was hunted, of course, but I knew all the tricks the government agencies used, so they never got near me. That was when the Canadians let the secret out. For years they had been working on a project, code named the Weapon X project, in an attempt to create the perfect killer. They used technology stolen from both Apocalypse and Sumner to create these assassins. Only one of the mutants they used survived. He was a mutant named Logan, code-named Wild Man."
Ebony stopped her story and stared at Wolverine, who had by now removed his mask. The gruff man shook his head sadly. "Yep, that's me," he answered her unspoken question. "They did it here too, only they didn't call me Wild Man. They laced my bones with adamantium and messed up my memories. What happened in your world?"
"It was fairly similar." She paused. "They laced his, or rather, your bones with adamantium, but their attempts at memory alteration drove you completely insane. They had to insert a behaviour modification chip into your brain in order to keep you from killing everyone in sight. The controls were given to one of your team mates."
"I gotta say, I never really thought of Wild Man having hair," Berzerker interrupted. Most of the X-Men and the Knights chuckled at Wolverine's startled look.
"They shaved your head bald for the procedure," Rebel said, leaning forward. "And the chip in your brain somehow stopped it from growing back. They also tattooed a number onto your skull so you could be easily identified."
Wolverine snorted in disbelief. "N759-K735-96L2," Druid stated calmly. Everyone looked at him a bit surprised. He shrugged; still not bothering to open his eyes, but didn't elaborate any further.
"Any way," Ebony said, continuing her story. "Wild Man was a complete madman, a wild beast driven beyond the bounds of reason. Add that to the fact that the experiments resembled the ones conducted by Sumner and Apocalypse that had caused such outrage and the governments decided that they had to step carefully once again. They asked for volunteers to join the new Hunters, a select few who would undergo similar 're-designing' so they could more effectively hunt mutants. Devon was the first to volunteer. They enhanced his body with cybernetic implants that increased his strength and agility and also could absorb energy and pump it into his body, making him stronger. They enhanced his senses, giving him the ability to sense mutants with a highly sophisticated psychic radar plugged directly into his brain which allowed him to sense the powers of any mutants he could see. Finally, they tooled him up with some high-tech weapons stolen from Sumner. Taking the name Hunter, he was the group's leader.
"Robert South also underwent the process. He became Drake; his skin was replaced with a layer of metallic 'scales' designed to ward off most attacks, especially fire. A miniature device much like a flame-thrower was inserted into the roof of his mouth, allowing him to breath fire, and he had cybernetic implants to increase his strength and endurance.
"The other volunteers had similar stories. Thug, or Cory Thane as he was christened, was given a mixture of cybernetic implants and advance steroids, as well as genetic engineering, to become inhumanly strong and tough. Unfortunately for the German body-builder, his mind was put under pressure by the drugs and his intelligence all but disappeared, turning him into a simpleton.
"Hunter was obsessed, Drake a bit on the strange side after the process, having a tendency to think of himself as an actual half-dragon, Thug an idiot and Wild Man insane, so they needed someone really smart. I don't know where they found the man who called himself Prime Suspect; I never could find out much about him. "Apparently he had been badly hurt when a kid, and was surviving on hospital beds most of the time. Still, he was conscious and a real genius. They had to replace his arms and legs, half his chest and most of his face, including his eyes, with robotic parts. They managed to enhance his already considerable intelligence with cybernetics and stuck a bunch of weapons in his robotic parts, including powerful energy guns in his hands. They also put the controls to Wild Man's behavioural control chip in his arm. Hunter may have been their leader, but Prime Suspect was the most dangerous of them.
"Still, I managed to avoid them for a while. It got so desperate that the governments started hiring out assassins to kill me. The mercenary trade had grown since Sumner's fall, now that Asia had descended into uncountable warring states, and there were plenty to choose from. Still, there was one who was head and shoulders above the rest - a man who called himself Death.
"The first I knew about him was when he attacked. A globe of pure darkness surrounded me without warning. I surrounded myself in my armour as an automatic defence, and I guess I was lucky that my reactions were so good, for the next thing I knew was a dagger piercing through my side. It cut through my armour as if it wasn't even there, but I managed to dodge away enough so the blow missed any vital organs. Still, it was deep and oddly cold, and I gasped in pain. I swung wildly as I fell back, but I didn't connect with anything. Another slash across my chest, and I stumbled and fell, crashing to the floor, blood seeping from me freely.
"I guess I was lucky that my attacker had a flair for the dramatic. The darkness disappeared, and there he was standing before me; decked out in all black, with a cowl covering his face, a pair of piercing red eyes glared at me from beneath his hood.
"'Who are you?' I managed to whisper as he raised his blade above his head for the killing blow.
"His reply was dark, and seemed to reverberate as if from a different world. It sent shivers of fear up my spine. 'I am DEATH!'
"That little pause was all I needed. Whipping my arm around, I shot a hail of shards at him. The shards passed harmlessly through him, as though he wasn't there, but one of them hit his blade and sent it spinning from his hand. He growled in shock, reaching forward for me, his hands aiming at my throat.
"I brought up my foot to kick him in the chin, but my boot passed right through his head, and my foot went numb with cold. I tried to twist away, but he sunk his hands through my chest. I felt his fist close around my heart, the dark cold pain threatening to drown me in unconsciousness.
"I felt at my side, and pulled forth the small energy gun stolen from Devon. I blasted Death, and, to my surprise, the force of the bolt not only ripped through him, spilling his blood on me, but hurled him away to slam into the far wall.
"Then I saw something that, no matter how often I see it, never ceases to awe me. He reached out with his right hand and seemed to grab the wall. His body passed through it and he spun inside the wall, only his knuckles showing, then swung back out, landing gracefully on his feet, his left hand clutched over his wound.
"I stood up shakily, struggling for breath. Death grabbed his dagger from the floor, holding it out in front of him. With the energy gun pointed strait at him, I knew we were at an impasse. If he did anything, I would shoot him, maybe even killing him, but if I shot and he dodged out of the way, I knew I stood a snowballs chance in hell.
"So we faced each other for a moment, until a ghostly chuckle escaped the figure. 'You fight well.'
"'Then why are you laughing?'
"'I think that we could come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.'
"'What, you promise not to try and kill me in my sleep and I promise not to blast your head in where you stand? Doesn't sound like a good deal to me.' I was bluffing, though, and I think he knew it. My arms were shaking and I was getting weak from the loss of blood. I don't think I could have stopped him from killing me with a feather pillow at the time.
"'I was thinking of the two of us working together.'
"I snorted in disbelief, but after a moment I realised he was serious. 'How do I know this isn't a trick?'
"He pulled down his hood and cowl, revealing a fairly normal, if slightly unkempt, face. 'I'm in no mood for tricks,' he said dryly, holding out his hand for proof. His voice was now normal, though there was the hint of the darkness behind it, like an echo. He carefully cleaned off his blade then sheathed it.
"Still nervous I holstered my gun, being careful to place it where I could draw it quickly. 'Just who are you?' I asked again.
"'Just a man with a gift,' he replied evasively.
"'A mutant?' I asked, realising it would explain his strange powers.
"'Nothing so simple. My powers come from an outside source. It's that which I think you can help me with.'
"'Wait a minute,' I said, remembering a conversation I had with a mercenary back in my army days. 'Aren't you morally obligated to kill me if you have accepted a contract?'
"He actually laughed, though it was a short, cruel laugh. 'I have no morals,' he answered. 'Besides, I happen to know my employer will never pay me.'
"'How?'
"'He died last week.'
"I rocked back in shock. 'Then why are you still trying to kill me?' "He shrugged, and didn't reply. His face was an unreadable mask, but I felt there was a lot he wasn't telling me. Eventually I gave in. 'All right, what deal do you want to make?'
"'My. boss is coming to town soon. I want to escape from him, but it will be difficult. You see, he comes from the same place my power,' here he tapped the hilt of his dagger meaningfully, 'and is quite a tough customer. That gun of yours should be more than able to handle him, though, in the right hands.'
"'I'm assuming you want me to sell you the gun, then. I must assure you, I don't think you can pay me enough.'
"'I thought you would feel that way. So I plan to offer you this: you fight with me against my boss and I help you with your quest.'
"'Quest? What quest?'
"'You're on the run from just about every government in the world, you fight like a demon (and believe me, I've fought a few), and you are, or rather were, considered an international war hero. You probably have some task, weather you call it a quest, a mission or merely a goal.
"I thought about this for a moment. 'I guess I do.' I shook my head. 'So how do I know I can trust you?'
"'You don't,' he grinned mirthlessly. 'But I promise I wont kill you without proper warning.' He was telling the truth, that much I knew, but that still didn't fill me with confidence.
"I thought about it. I thought long and hard. But eventually it seemed to me that there was only one option available. 'Deal.' I stuck out my hand, and he grasped it firmly, shaking it. 'Now, what do I call you?'
"'Death,' he replied simply.
"'Hardly the name of someone working for world peace and the freedom of mutants.' He stared at me in disbelief, realising, I think, what he had gotten himself into. 'A bit to dark.'
"He snorted. 'I can hardly go around calling myself Sunshine or Hope.'
"'I agree, but you don't want anything to dark either.' I grinned at him. 'Despite what you may want me to believe, I get the opinion that you aren't as dark as you want people to think you are.'
"He looked for a moment like he might argue, but instead just chuckled. 'But I'm not particularly light either.'
"'Right. Your somewhere in between.'
"'I'm shadow.' He paused then grinned. 'I'm Shadow.' He turned to me. 'Now what do I call you?'
"'Captain.'
"'No chance. Try again.'
"I thought, then I remembered a nick-name my friends had given me in the army. 'Ebony.' My new ally nodded. 'Now lets talk about this "boss" of yours.'
The X-Men glanced at Shadow as though for confirmation of what Ebony had said. He shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. "It's close enough to the truth."
"Don't tell me that you became friends after he tried to kill you," Scott demanded.
"What, you mean you've never befriended an enemy before?" Ebony asked him.
Cyclops paused, and thought. He thought about Rogue, and Magneto, and . "Well, yes," he admitted grudgingly.
"But never quite so swiftly," Beast added.
"Well, I guess our world is just faster paced than yours," Rebel interjected, obviously anxious to get on with the tale.
Ebony smiled slightly. "I helped Shadow fight his 'boss,' a dragon- like creature from another dimension." She paused slightly, as though waiting for Shadow to chime in, but he remained silent. "What was really going on I still don't know, though I'm sure there's more than he's telling me." She looked pointedly at Shadow, but he ignored her.
"Anyway," she continued. "After a while I learned that he was James Holdenworth, an Archaeology student from New England who came across his powers by accident, though he wont tell me the full story. We worked together for a while, avoiding the Hunters and helping mutants whenever we could. Shadow was a bit dangerous at first, but after a while he calmed down and stopped killing everyone. Still, we had to kill far more often than I would have liked, but that's war for you.
"Not long after Druid approached us, offering his services. I know less about him than I do about Shadow, but I sometimes get the opinion that he knows about as much of his past as I do. Shadow, on the other hand, seems to delight in keeping secrets. We found Rebel in Australia, living with a band of bikers and hunting down her parents' killer. We helped her with that, and she agreed to join us. Eventually we found Berzerker, who was working as a singer in LA when the Hunter's uncovered him as a mutant. At first we thought we would have to rescue him, but in the end we had to stop him.
"I don't know when the newspapers found out about us, or how, but soon the articles were being printed about a 'strange vigilante group fighting for the common man and mutant rights' which they dubbed the Knights of Justice. Soon everywhere you went you heard stories about the Knights, and things they had done. I'll tell you honestly, if we had done half the things that we were have supposed to I would have retired and bought my own island.
"So we survived, running from the authorities and dodging both mutants and humans who wanted us dead. We didn't necessarily make the world a better place, but we tried, and that's what counts. It didn't take long for us to figure out a pattern, though. The 'villains' only showed up when we were around, or near enough so we could catch up with them before they did any serious damage. It was as though someone was behind it all, controlling everything.
"We got a lead on this mysterious figure eventually, and spent several months chasing him down, facing just about everything possible that was thrown in front of us. When we met him, though, rather than the showdown we expected, we got given a chance to make a real difference.
"At first I thought we were facing Lord Sumner. He certainly looked very similar. But he called himself the Traveller, and he claimed to be Lord Sumner's brother. That's when he explained everything too us; about the future, about temporal suicide, and, most importantly, about Charles Xavier and the X-Men."
Ebony turned to the X-Men, a bit of wonder in her eyes. "You see, it was, or rather, will be, your actions that led, will lead." she paused, struggling with the tenses of time-travel.
"Because of you," Shadow broke in. "A utopian society will eventually come into existence. When Xavier died before founding the X- Men, all of that disappeared. So as long as our world existed, his couldn't."
"Exactly," Ebony agreed. "The Traveller showed us an image of what the world would be with Xavier, and what our world would become in a few generations without him. He then gave us a choice: go back in time and rescue Xavier and Magnus, or go on in the world as it was."
"It seems like a simple choice," Jean said.
"Things are never simple." Ebony sighed. "There was a catch. None of us would exist in your world. We never would have been born. So in order to save the world, we had to commit temporal suicide."
"A difficult decision to make," Beast stated.
"Well, you can guess the answer," Rebel drawled.
"We went back, and fought Sumner. We never would have succeeded, though, if Xavier and Magnus hadn't helped us. I guess you owe this whole world to them."
Wolverine snorted. "Fancy Magneto savin' the world."
Ebony looked a bit confused, but continued. "The Traveller explained everything to Xavier and Magnus, even telling them things he hadn't told us. Like the fact that he and his brother are direct decedents of members of the X-Men."
"But if Charles knew of this," Storm said. "Why had he never told us?"
"The Traveller swore them to secrecy. I don't know why, but I'm sure he had a good reason."
"And so that's when we found you," Cyclops surmised. "Fresh out of your battle with Lord Sumner, and fully expecting to be dead."
"To never have existed," Druid corrected.
"Add to that that Berzerker obviously recognised Wolverine as Wild Man," Beast stated. "And it is no wonder your greeting was less than cordial."
"Well, all we saw was Kyle suspended in mid-air and you threatening him," Rebel replied, glaring and Wolverine.
"He did attack us, actually," Jean pointed out.
"He's rash like that," Ebony said, casting a dark look at Kyle, who shrugged.
Cyclops got up and began pacing around. "So you suddenly find yourself in our world? What do you do now?"
"From what the Traveller told us, this world is infinitely better than our own, but it is still not perfect. Mutants are still feared and hated by non-mutants. Some mutants seek to use their powers for their own gain. The Traveller told us of your mission, to rid the world of injustice and make it safe for mutants and humans both." She paused. "I guess that, if my friends agree, we'd like to help you." She looked at her companions. Druid and Rebel nodded and Berzerker grinned and gave her the thumbs up. Only Shadow looked dubious.
The X-Men studied them for a moment. After a short pause, Cyclops nodded. "We'd welcome the help." Ebony stood and took his hand, shaking it fiercely. Druid smiled broadly, stood, and bowed to the X-Men. Rebel and Berzerker both grinned rather inanely, laughing and slapping each other and the X-Men on the back. Still Shadow sat still, his brow creased in worry.
"What's wrong, Shad?" Rebel asked him.
"I'm not so sure of this," he said. "The utopian society we heard of existed without us. How do we know that what we do here won't ruin it?"
"We don't," Druid replied after a short silence. "But we never know what effect our actions will have on the future. We must act in the present, doing what we think is the best."
"Besides," Rebel said, punching Shadow playfully. "The Traveller's looking out for the future. If something goes wrong, he'll get us to fix it. Again."
Shadow shook his head. "Very well, then. I seem to be out numbered. We shall fight along side you, though it may prove to be a mistake." He turned to the X-Men and stared at each in turn. "And you may well regret the day you decided to call us friends." With that grim proclamation he stood and stiffly bowed. "But until that time, my blade is at your service."
Wolverine chortled and slapped the grim man on the back. "Lighten up, bub. The Knights o' Justice and the X-Men are workin' together now, and ain't nothin' gonna stop us."
"No," Ebony said. "The Knights of Justice died when their world died. I think its time for a change." She smiled rather slyly and glanced at everyone else. "Now is the time of the X-Knights."
A/N: I've taken this opportunity to fix a few minor errors that were brought to my attention. Hope this improves things a bit.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the X-Men or am making any money off of this. Blah.
The snow drifted gently to the ground, the white-coated pine trees swaying gracefully in the gentle breeze. A stillness seemed to hang in the air, a natural stillness broken only by the occasional bird swooping from tree to tree or a squirrel scuttling across the ground. A lone wolf, its lithe form dim in the shadows, slipped between the trees unnoticed. At places like this, nature seems to have stopped to admire itself in the dim moonlight.
A crack ten times louder than thunder echoed across the forest, breaking the stillness and sending birds and beasts fleeing. Snow tumbled from the treetops to the ground, the trees shaking as though in fear. Accompanying this great noise was a bright flash of light that split through the gentle night like a knife in an instant, and then was gone as swiftly as it came. The only sign that anything had happened was the disturbed snow and the absence of the animals, long since fled. Well, not quite the only sign.
"Damn it," the woman sputtered, shaking the snow off as she picked herself up off the forest floor. She wiped her long, raven blue-black hair from her face. Her tanned skin seemed to reflect the light back at the moon. Her bright green eyes were narrowed in annoyance. Her tight, form- fitting black leather outfit accented her perfect, lithely muscular figure; a red silk scarf tied around her neck her only acknowledgment to colour. A few years over twenty, she seemed a strange merger of Spanish beauty and biker.
She grunted indelicately as she brushed the last few flakes of snow from her shoulders. "What the hell happened?"
"My sentiments precisely, my dear." Sitting in a tree above her, the middle-aged man, with a fairly strong British accent, had a some-what strange smile on his face. He had a neatly trimmed, short brown beard and hair, and wore a simple brown robe and carried an oak staff. He seemed to be a hermit from a fairly cleaned-up movie about ancient England. Despite being ungainly perched in the branches of a tree, he seemed to have an air of majesty and power about him. "My sentiments precisely."
"What are you doing up there, Druid?" the woman asked, exasperatedly.
"It seems our friend has a bit of a sense of humour," Druid chuckled softly. The tree bent over, allowing Druid to step gently from its branches to the ground. He bowed politely to it. "Thank you." As if in response, the branches of the tree shook slightly, then the tree straightened up again.
"Where do you think the others are?"
Druid was about to respond when a cascade of swearing echoing from a snowdrift not far away cut him off. "I would surmise that Berzerker is not far off," he stated.
"No kidding?" Just as the woman responded, the snowdrift exploded outwards in a flurry of snow and swearing. Out burst a young man, not yet twenty, stripped to the waist and wearing a simple pair of blue jeans. His short blond hair contrasted a face red with anger. His chest held the tattoo of a large, intricate hammer and a two headed serpent was tattooed with one head on each hand, the body winding up each arm and around his shoulders and the back of his neck. His powerful muscles rippled and flexed as if of their own volition. His features belayed Nordic ancestry. Despite the great cold, he was dripping sweat.
"What the hell happened?" he yelled at his companions.
"I just said that," the woman stated calmly.
"Its worth saying twice, Rebel," came a soft voice from the shadow of the trees. A wealth of jet-black hair framed a smooth, perfect ebony face set with a bright pair of almond-coloured eyes. Younger than Druid but significantly older than the others, she bore herself with an unmistakable air of command and self-assurance. Subtly and attractively muscular, she wore what at best could be described as a sudo-commando outfit. Her eyes clearly showed her puzzlement and worry. "Is everyone all right?"
"We're fine, Ebony" Rebel assured her a bit impatiently. "But where are we?"
"Good question." The slightly older woman turned to Druid. "Well?"
The strange man closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment. "Hmm. north west, large continent. probably North American. cold climate. high elevation. no dense human population for some distance." His eyes snapped open and he nodded.
The others waited for a moment, expectantly. Druid stood calmly, returning their gazes impassively. "Well," Ebony asked after a moment. "Where are we?"
"I just told you," Druid replied seriously.
Rebel gave an exasperated shout, throwing her hands to the air and storming off. Berzerker rolled his eyes and lay down in the snow, leaning against a tree. Ebony sighed and closed her eyes, her patience strained. "You do it deliberately, don't you?" she asked him.
Druid merely shrugged, his face impassive. There might have been a glint of amusement hovering around his face somewhere, but it disappeared swiftly. "Canada," he stated simply. "The wilds of Canada."
"Are you sure?" Druid raised his eyebrows slightly and stared at her for a moment. Ebony shook her head. "Silly question, I know. So how did we get here?"
"That, my dear, I know not."
Rebel paced up and down, rubbing her shoulders. "I'm freezing," she said absently.
"Actually, I think it's a bit warm," Berzerker stated.
Ebony looked at the half-naked man lounging in the snow. "You always think it's too warm," she said.
"I have no complaint," Druid stated simply.
"You wouldn't."
"Where's Shadow?" Rebel asked suddenly, her face creased with worry. "Did anyone see him?"
"Does anyone ever?" Berzerker asked pointedly.
"I'm serious," she said, hitting the younger man on the back of the head. "Things don't affect him the same way as everyone else. What if when we got sent here."
"He didn't," Ebony finished for her, now frowning.
"Exactly."
"We shouldn't give up hope quite yet, ladies," Druid assured them. "Let us search before we give him up for lost."
"Good idea," Ebony said, nodding. She turned. "Berzerker, you stay here. We'll go out and have a look for Shadow. Be back here in a quarter of an hour." With that she began to walk off. She paused, then turned back and grinned at Druid. "You know, I think your slipping. I actually understood what you said."
"It has been a long day," Druid admitted, shrugging slightly.
Rebel walked away from the others, yelling into the night. "Shadow!" Her sweet voice echoed through the trees. "Shadow!"
"Yes?" The hollow, hissing voice was just at her shoulder. She jumped into the air, spinning around and landing in a fighting position, a pair of glowing golden discs in her hands. Standing there was a solemn figure, dressed in a flowing black cloak with hood and cowl covering his whole face in shadows. A pair of red eyes glinted through the darkness. He wore a lose, black ninja outfit, and a black-hilted dagger was at his waist, its hilt designed to look like the head of a dragon eating the blade of the dagger, with the wings of the dragon pointing outwards and up the blade.
"Don't do that," Rebel yelled at him, the discs disappearing.
"Sorry."
"Don't lie." Rebel grabbed him by his shoulder. "You do it on purpose. We all know you do."
A faint, ghostly chuckle escaped Shadow as he allowed himself to be dragged back towards the others. Suddenly he stopped chuckling and grabbed Rebel, throwing her into the bushes and jumping after her.
"What the." she began when he clamped his hand over her mouth, silencing her. Just then the roar of a jet burst overhead, setting all the forest trembling. Shadow removed his hand from Rebel's mouth, drawing his blade from its sheath with a steely hiss. "The others!" Rebel whispered.
Shadow shook his head, then, motioning for Rebel to follow him, slipped off silently into the darkness. His feet left no tracks on the fresh snow, and his passing made no sound. Rebel followed after him, only moderately less unobtrusive. A bellow of rage echoed through the forest.
They returned to where Rebel had left the others. Berzerker was there, floating in mid air, growling and swearing, appearing to be attacking the air. Five figures stood on the ground staring up at him. One was a fairly beautiful woman with a wealth of red hair dressed in blue and gold and seemed to be concentrating on something. One was a tall, serious-looking man in blue with a red visor covering his eyes. He was talking to two of the others, one a great, blue gorilla-like man, the other an African beauty with flowing white hair. The three of them where looking at a device that the gorilla-man was carrying. It was the last of the five that caught Shadow's attention, however. Dressed in a yellow costume with blue stripes, he was talking to Berzerker. Three long, sharp claws protruded from each fist.
"Now look, bub," he said. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way." He grinned. "Please say ye want ta do it the hard way." He flexed his hands meaningfully.
Berzerker bellowed incoherently, white froth dripping from his lips as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Sweat poured off his body as he pounded harmlessly at the air, twisting this way and that.
"Wild Man," Shadow hissed angrily.
"He ain't talkin', Cyke," Wolverine said. "But there are more. Three more by my guess. And they ain't far."
"All right," Cyclops nodded. "Stay alert, everyone. Jean, how are you doing?"
"I can't hold him for much longer, Scott," she said through clenched teeth. "He's too strong, and he seems to be getting stronger."
"They're here," Wolverine growled, sniffing the air, his claws popping from his fist. As he spoke an arc of black crystal shards burst from the overgrowth, hurtling towards the X-Men. Storm launched herself up into the air, the crystals falling harmlessly bellow her. Beast leapt into the branches of a tree, and Cyclops blasted the crystals from the air, protecting himself and Jean. Wolverine dashed towards the area where the crystals had appeared, but a globe of darkness appeared around him, halting him in his tracks.
The tree branches wrapped around Beast, entwining him in a deadly embrace. A female figure of black crystal, the same type as the shards, jumped from the bushes, rolling on the ground bellow an optic blast from Cyclops and firing off another volley of shards from her arms at him. Rebel jumped from the cover, throwing half a dozen golden discs in the air at Storm. They exploded around the weather goddess, but a gust of wind kept them harmlessly away. Storm summoned a bolt of lightning down at the black-clad Spanish woman, but she moved almost before the lightning appeared, dodging out of the way.
Beast had broken free of the tree, landing on the ground, but a wolf jumped out at him. He jumped away, grabbing it and hurling it at the tree. The wolf yelped, but jumped back at him instantly.
Cyclops and Ebony (encased in an armour of black crystal) circled each other warily. Ebony feigned to the left, spun to the right and fired off another round of shards. Cyclops blasted them from the air then blasted Ebony, hurling her into a tree.
Wolverine was surrounded by the darkness. He couldn't see anything, and though he could hear and smell the battle outside, he couldn't sense anyone else. He stormed forward, trying to escape the darkness. He gasped in surprise when a sharp, cold pain lanced through his side as a blade stabbed through him. He spun, slashing out at his assailant, but missed. He turned nervously, trying to sense his opponent. Suddenly he saw a pair of red eyes glinting in the darkness. He lashed at them, but his claws passed through the space as though nothing were there, only a faint chill surrounding his fist as it passed through where the face should be. A blade glinted briefly, from what light he knew not, and then stabbed him again, as he tried to twist away. His shoulder went numb with cold and he stumbled backwards, holding his arm in pain.
Beast had knocked the wolf unconscious, and was dodging tree branches and roots as they tried to entangle him. As he dodged and weaved, he caught sight of a brown-robed figure standing at the side, seeming to direct the attacking plants. Dodging the foliage, Beast leapt for him, clearing a wall of brambles that tried to close around him, and landing on the figure. He knocked Druid reeling to the ground, sending his staff clattering to the floor.
Druid leapt up immediately and attacked Beast, grabbing at him. Beast attempted to leap over his head, but Druid reacted uncommonly quickly and grabbed Beast's feet, spinning him into a tree. Beast grabbed the trunk of the tree, using it to spin round and kick Druid in the chest. As Druid fell, Beast jumped over to him. "There is no need for violence, my friend," Beast said, pinning Druid to the ground.
"That's what you say," Rebel shouted as she burst in. A golden disc exploded on Beast's chest, hurling the surprised X-Man away. "Switch," she called to Druid, leaping over his head.
Storm saw Cyclops blast Ebony, and she took the opportunity to hit the fallen woman with a bolt of lightning. The black crystal glowed bright red for a moment, and the snow around Ebony melted and the evaporated instantly. When the steam cleared, the armoured woman stood unharmed in the middle of a small circle of snow-less ground.
Druid rolled to his feet, spotting Storm gathering the clouds about her. He caulked his head as if listening to something then widened his eyes his shock. A tree branch swooped him up, propelling him into then air. He landed on the tree nearest Storm, which grew to an immense height, putting him face to face with the startled African goddess.
"My dear," he yelled over the buffeting winds. "I believe we should talk."
Rebel landed, and a brief vision passed before her mind's eye. She ducked just in time for Beast to pass above her, his kick easily dodge. He rolled to a stop, turning to face the Spanish beauty.
She hurled a pair of black discs at him, which he barely dodged. They disappeared into the woods, cutting through everything in their path. Beast leapt forward, but once again Rebel acted the quicker, and struck him full in the chest. The blow sent Beast flying away, knocking him into a tree. Another disc landed just bellow him and exploded into a huge net of black energy that enveloped him, pulling him to the ground and trapping him.
Jean clutched at her temples. "Can't. hold him. any longer." She sighed and collapsed to the floor. Berzerker fell to the ground with a resounding thud, but he was up immediately and charging at her. Just as he reached her, Wolverine, who had escaped the darkness covered in deep wounds, hurled himself at the frothing madman, his claws digging deep into Berzerker's chest. "Run, Jeanie," he growled.
Berzerker didn't seem to notice Wolverine for a second. When he did he grabbed the small man and lifted him effortlessly from the ground. Wolverine swung, his claws opening a wide gash in Berzerker's face. The blond teen didn't seem to care. He hurled Wolverine away like a child's toy and ran pounding after him.
"Logan," Jean gasped, struggling to her feet. She sent out a telekinetic punch that should have knocked Berzerker from his feet, but the charging barbarian didn't even flinch. A blade pressed firmly against the back of her neck.
"Don't try anything," a dark voice hissed from behind her.
She lashed out instantly with a mental attack, trying to probe her assailant's mind. What she found was cold, dark emptiness. It seemed to surround her, pulling her in. She tired to pull away, but couldn't. She cried in pain, falling to the ground as the cold stabbed through her mind. Shadow stood above her, dagger poised for the killing stroke.
A burst of red energy knocked him away. "Leave my wife alone," Cyclops yelled, charging to her side. "Jean," he said softly. "Are you OK?"
"Dark," she muttered. "So dark and cold." She sobbed, like a beaten child, till she collapsed into unconsciousness in his arms.
Only a gust of wind prevented the crystal shards from ending both their lives. Storm, with Druid beside her, landed between Ebony and Cyclops. "Stop," she said to the X-Men. "We must talk to these people."
"Enough fighting," Druid said calmly to Ebony. "It is time for the knight to show his skills at the king's court."
Ebony caulked her head slightly. The armour around her seemed to melt then retreat back into her body, leaving her standing there, and irritated expression on her face. "This is no time for riddles, Druid," she said.
"Call everyone in," he said patiently. "I will explain."
"Rebel, Shadow, enough fighting," she called out to the distance. "And Shadow, stop Berzerker before he kills someone."
Berzerker, still frothing at the mouth, was currently trying to land a punch on Wolverine. Covered in cuts that would have killed a lesser man, the towering Nordic man wasn't even slowed. Wolverine was panting for breath, but easily avoiding Berzerker's powerful blows. He danced behind a tree, which Berzerker shattered with a single punch, the splinters of wood showering everywhere.
Shadow stepped forward, his dagger sheathed. He placed a hand on Berzerker's chest, but rather than restrain his companion the hand sunk through. Berzerker lashed out at his friend, the cold stabbing through even his clouded mind, but his blows passed harmlessly through Shadow, as though Berzerker were punching a wisp of smoke. The blows slowed, then stopped, as Berzerker collapsed slowly to the floor. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his breathing stopped.
"How is he?" Ebony asked, as Rebel returned, dragging a netted Beast behind her.
Shadow knelt down, putting his hand to Berzerker's neck. After a full minute went buy, Shadow rose. "Bad," he said. "But he's been worse. Two beats."
"Two heart beats in a minute?" the captured Beast wondered allowed, guessing at Shadow's meaning.
"What the hell is goin' on, Cycke," Wolverine growled, eyeing the strangers wearily.
"Ask Storm," Cyclops replied, still cradling Phoenix in his arms. His tone suggested that he wasn't any more pleased than Logan.
"Why did we stop?" Rebel demanded of Ebony. "We were winning!" Ebony merely shrugged and pointed to Druid. Rebel sighed and dropped the net holding Beast. It disintegrated into nothing, leaving Beast free to rise and dust himself off.
Druid and Storm found themselves the centre of everyone's attention. Storm turned to the rest of the X-Men. "This man and I have a kinship. I do not know how I know this, but he and I are not enemies. I do not think that his friends are our enemies either."
"She speaks truly," Druid assures his friends. "The connection that binds me to all that lives is within her, too, though to a much lesser degree. She says her powers are a gift from 'the Goddess,' but they stem from Nature just as mine do. Though the voice of the world does not ring in her ears as clearly as in mine, it does murmur most violently at times."
"Are you trying to imply that these are allies?" Ebony asked incredulously.
Druid thought for a while, then nodded. "Yes."
Cyclops shook his head, and then looked at Storm. "Are you sure about this, Storm?"
"Trust me, Cyclops," she said gently. "We should not fight these people."
"What about Wild Man?" Rebel yelled, waving a hand at Wolverine.
"Who the hell ye talkin' about, kid?" Logan asked her.
"I don't know where you got the change of costume," she said, walking threateningly forward. "Or how you learned to speak so well, but its you all right. The same mutant healing factor, the same claws."
"The same blood," Shadow added, half drawing his blade pointedly.
"Exactly." She jabbed a finger pointedly at Wolverine's chest. "So don't try to tell me you're not one of the Hunters."
"I ain't heard of the Hunters," Wolverine growled, his face inches from hers. "But if ye don't back away, I'll rip yer throat out."
"He's telling the truth," Ebony said in wonder. "He can't be Wild Man." She shook her head. She paused for a moment, as if she thought of something, and then turned to Cyclops. "Just tell me one thing. Have any of you heard of Lord Sumner?"
"No," Cyclops said suspiciously. The others all agreed.
"It worked." Ebony smiled broadly. "It actually worked!"
"I think you should explain," Cyclops demanded.
"It's a long story," Ebony warned him. She seemed much more relaxed now, and much happier. "Don't you have anywhere else we could all talk?"
Cyclops considered this for a moment then nodded. "We'll go back to the Mansion. You can tell your story to everyone." He was still holding Jean closely, when she groaned slightly and shifted. "And you can tell us exactly who you are."
The infirmary back at the mansion was their first stop on arriving. Both Berzerker and Jean were taken care of. At Ebony's advice, Beast let Berzerker alone. His friends claimed that the Nordic teen would recover on his own just fine. Jean, however, was a different matter. Her pulse was high but her brain was nearly inactive. She was sweating profusely and occasionally moaned as if in pain. Despite his best efforts, Beast could do little to improve her condition.
"What did you do to her?" Cyclops demanded of Shadow.
"Nothing," came the simple reply. After noticing Cyclops' expression, Shadow shook his head and glanced at Ebony. She nodded imperceptibly. "She did it to herself," he continued. "She tried to attack my mind. My. powers give me an automatic defence towards mental attacks, even a simple mind read. The only chance she has of surviving is her own strength. If she hasn't gotten better in an hour, give up hope." With that, Shadow turned and walked away. Cyclops got up to grab him, but his hands passed harmlessly through his shoulder and the strange man walked right through a wall and out again. Cyclops rubbed his hand as a great chill shot through it.
"There was nothing he could do about it," Ebony assured Cyclops, placing a friendly hand on his shoulder. Rebel exited just behind Shadow, chasing after him. "The power is innate. If it helps, he does feel bad about what happened."
"It doesn't," Cyclops growled, pulling away from her to go over to Jean's side. He grabbed her hand and held it gently.
Jean's voice inside his head was distant and weak.
He replied mentally, hope springing inside of him.
Her voice seemed to be growing weaker and further away.
Beast turned to Ebony, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "What exactly happened?"
"I don't relay know," she replied.
Druid spoke calmly from the chair where he lounged. "There is nothing so devastating as finding utter silence where a torrent of sound should pour. Especially if the silence follows you."
Ebony shook her head. "I'm sorry. He always talks like that. We often struggle to get a strait answer from him."
"Actually, I think I understand what he said." Beast rushed over to Cyclops. "Keep speaking to her using your psychic link. Try to keep her talking. I have an idea." Before Cyclops could respond, Beast had rushed off. "'Unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles... more needs she the divine then the physician' - Shakespeare. However, since we lack the divine, the mutant must suffice." Beast checked the read outs of the devices hooked to Jean. He grinned. "As I thought." He turned to the companions. "Scott and Jean's unique telepathic bond is strengthening Jean's mind. The longer they remain in contact, the easier it will become for Jean to throw off the 'silence' that attacked her mind." He checked his read outs again. "By my guess, Jean should be conscious shortly, though her full powers may not return for at most a day." He laid a comforting hand on Scott's shoulder. "She will be fine."
Scott nodded, but remained concentrating on Jean. Jean was visibly getting better, but she still seemed to be in bad condition.
"I think it best if we leave them now," Storm said softly. The others nodded and followed her to the rec room.
"How is she?" Storm asked worriedly when Scott entered the rec room.
"Better," he said grimly. "She'll be with us in a moment." He turned to Ebony. "And when she arrives, I expect some answers."
"Of course," Ebony assured him.
"This place is a maze," Rebel declared, entering the room. She shook her head. "I lost Shadow. Probably off sulking somewhere. You know how he is. He'll show up when he wants to."
"I'm not sure I'm completely happy with that," Cyclops said suspiciously. "Wolverine, you go find him."
"Can't," the gruff man replied shortly. The other X-Men turned to him curiously. "He ain't got no smell. Doesn't make a sound either, or leave tracks." Logan shook his head ruefully. "Doubt anyone could track that man unless he wants them to."
"You'd be surprised how many people have tried." Though the voice was defiantly Shadow's, it lacked the hollow, hissing quality it normally had. He was standing in the doorway, his hood and cowl pulled down to reveal his face. His eyes, rather than the glowing red they were before, were normal and grey. His short black hair was neatly combed, and a slight stubble was forming on his face. He wasn't particularly handsome, but he had a rugged, outdoorsy look that some people find attractive. There seemed to be a great sadness and pain in his face, and no joy in him at all.
"Where have you been?" Ebony demanded of him.
"Around and about," he replied evasively. He sat down in a chair, stretching out languidly and drinking a bottle of beer he had appropriated from the kitchen. "This is some installation you have here. Quite impressive."
"Thanks," Scott replied sarcastically.
"I am pleased to say," Beast stated as he entered. "That both our patients have made a complete recovery." He stood aside to allow Jean and Berzerker to enter. Jean went strait to Scott, hugging him closely. Berzerker stomped over to Ebony.
"So what," he said. "We're friends with these guys now?"
Ebony nodded. "Just sit down and relax. Everything will make sense in a bit."
Berzerker growled but did as he was told, throwing himself into the only empty chair. He eyed Wolverine suspiciously. Now that the battle was over and she had recovered, Jean realized that she was feeling highly attracted to this strange young man. She wondered why she felt so attracted to him, before she realised that all the other women in the room felt similarly. It was hard to miss with her telepathy, though she doubted anyone else would have noticed. It must be part of his mutant powers.
"I think it time for the telling of tails to begin," Druid stated calmly from where he sat cross-legged on the floor by the open window. The cool winter air didn't seem to bother him the slightest.
"Are these all of your people?" Ebony asked. "I wouldn't want to repeat the story needlessly."
"No," Scott replied tersely. "But the others are all away on missions. They won't be back for a while. And we don't have time to wait."
"Understandable. I think it best if we start with introductions. I am Captain Elena Valmont, also known as Ebony. These are my companions: James Holdenworth, or Shadow, Janet Walsh, also known as Rebel, Kyle Jorgenson, who is called Berzerker, and Druid." She pointed to each companion in turn. "We are, or rather were, called the Knights of Justice, or more simply, the Knights. We come from what I believe to be an alternate reality."
Scott nodded, and when she did not continue he realised that she was expect him to introduce is companions. "My name is Scott Summers, or Cyclops. This is my wife, Jean, called Phoenix, and my friends doctor Henry McCoy, the Beast; Ororo Munro, Storm; and Logan, Wolverine. We are the X-Men."
At this last proclamation Rebel sat bolt upright. Berzerker had already half-stood up when Cyclops had named Beast, and literally dropped back into his chair. Ebony's face betrayed her shock, and even Shadow raised an eyebrow. Only Druid didn't respond, his eyes closed as if in meditation and a slight smile creeping on his face.
"I suppose, then," Ebony said after a moment. "That you know one Charles Xavier?"
"Of course," Scott replied, looking a bit bemused. "He is our founder."
"And he lives?"
"Yes, of course. But if you're from an alternate reality, how do you know about him?"
"Because it is Charles Xavier, and his friend Erick Lehnsherr, that are the difference between our two worlds." The X-Men all looked blank. "I think it best if I start at the beginning." Ebony shook her head. "Or rather, in this case, at the end.
"You see, uncountable years in the future, two brothers, beings of immense powers, apparently the prime example of human evolution and the result of couplings of the highest genetic potential, ruled the world peacefully. However, after generations of ruler-ship, one of the brothers was, for some unknown reason, driven insane. He decided that the only way he could end his suffering was to commit temporal suicide.
"You see, these brothers could travel through time and space at will. Therefore, he could never commit conventional suicide; instead he had to change the past so that he never was born, nor ever could be born. Unfortunately, this would destroy the utopian society he and his brother ruled, along with his brother.
"Ignoring the consequences of his actions (or perhaps simply not caring about them, for his madness had twisted his mind into a strange form of evil), he set back in time. He arrived in Israel shortly after the meeting of two people that would become inordinately important in both our worlds: Charles Xavier and Erick Lehnsherr.
"Using his powers, the being from the future captured both Charles and Erick, taking them to a palace he created in Australia. There, he contacted the leaders of the world, calling himself Lord Sumner, and revealed to them the presence of mutants, and the threat they would prove to the world's stability. Then, he slaughtered them both before the stunned eyes of the world leaders.
"Using Australia and New Zealand, which he had conquered, as his base of operations, he created an army of robots and cyborgs using technology far in advance to any discovered even in our time. He used these robots to hunt down mutants everywhere, slaughtering them mercilessly.
"At first people supported his actions. When the armies of mutants flocked under the banner of a powerful mutant called Apocalypse in Egypt, there was talk of the armies of the west joining Sumner in his war. But it didn't take long for the tales of atrocities to reach the shores of Europe and America. Sumner was taking unwilling humans and turning them into cyborgs forced to serve him. It didn't take long for people to realise that Sumner was not a man anyone wanted in power. Still, there was no question of aiding Apocalypse; he also had access to strange technology, and was using it to genetically engineer the mutants who served him to make a better fighting force, to 'cleanse the world of weakness.'
"So the world was divided into three. South America and Africa belonged to Apocalypse. Australia and most of Asia belonged to Sumner. The Middle East and Central America were constant battlegrounds. Everything else was the 'free world,' united to defeat both Sumner and Apocalypse.
"I was a captain in her Majesty's Army of Great Britain and the Empire. Not that we actually had an Empire left. Still, we were a force to be considered. Despite the small size of our island, we had the largest air force out side of the US, and the larges navy of all. Still, I was army. And I was in charge of one of the most important missions yet.
"Apocalypse was on the defensive. The Americans had basically subdued South America and he was hiding out in a pyramid in Egypt. Lord Sumner's armies were closing in, and it looked like victory was certain. Then we got the intelligence - Lord Sumner and all his personal guards were leaving Australia so he could face Apocalypse personally. That was our chance.
"I was one of many who were given the task of infiltrating Lord Sumner's castle, stealing what we could and destroying the rest. All over the world others were given similar tasks, designed to cripple Sumner's armies outside of Africa and prevent him from sending re-enforcements. That was the rest of the armies could swoop in after the big battle between him and Apocalypse and take out any of the survivors.
"My team was made up of the best Britain had to offer. I was given the task because I had been in charge in a few of the critical defences of Britain, managing to hold off a couple of waves from both Sumner and Apocalypse at various times. I was working with a team from America, led by some hotshot young new captain Devon Blanch who had made a name for himself in the South Africa slaughter, where he and his men killed well over a hundred mutants. I didn't approve of his methods - he didn't differentiate between civilians and military, especially not where mutants were concerned - but you couldn't argue with results. There were similar teams from everywhere - Canada, France, Spain, Germany - all the free countries.
"We made it in without too much trouble. Sumner hadn't been expecting an attack - we had been beaten fairly badly on the last couple of attempts - so defences were a bit weak. My team managed to make it the farthest. The Americans had made it in before us, but Blanch had decided to take a bit of time to kill the mutant captive's Sumner had and loot for technology. I was more interested in setting the charges and getting out of there.
"We set the charges, and were about to escape when Lord Sumner appeared. Even after all this time we still didn't know everything he could do, so we didn't realise he was a mutant. Still, we should have guessed he would have something up his sleeve. We couldn't let him get to the charges, but we couldn't stop him and get out, so we did the only thing we could. We fought. And damn, he was good! He had powers I just cant describe. He could change reality itself to bend to his will. The things he threw at us! I never understood how we managed to keep him busy for those five minutes, but we did. And then everything exploded. All the charges set detonated, destroying the entire palace. The other teams got out fine, but mine was still stuck right next to those explosives, fighting Sumner himself.
"The Dutch found me while they looking for survivors. Most everyone else had gone home. No one knew how I had survived the blast - I think some of them had assumed I had run - but they found me, gasping for breath and babbling about crystals in the middle of the detonation area. There wasn't a brick standing anywhere near me.
"I knew how I survived though. My mutant power kicked in. When people persecuted mutants, I always felt sorry for them, but I didn't realise I was one until then. My body can release a liquid that solidifies into a hard, black crystal once it touches the air. Latter in life I learned how to control it so that I could create a suit of armour, rather than simply a coating. I also learned that I could create blade-like protrusions from my forearms, which I could use to slash at people or to even fire off.
"Of course, there were other aspects to my mutant power which I had been using all my life without realising it. I always knew I was stronger, faster and more agile than everyone else, but I thought that that was just because I exercised a lot. I also can instantly tell when anyone is lying.
"Still, that was latter. At the time I didn't even realise I had a mutant power. That was why, when the crystal coated me, there were no air holes. I could see, though everything was tinted a kind of blue-black, and everything I heard was muted, though I guess that was a boon at the time, for the explosion probably would have deafened me otherwise. The crystal also insulated me, preventing the heat from harming me, though the force of the blast knocked the breath from me and broke a fair few of my ribs. It only lasted for a brief moment, and was gone as quickly as it came, but it had been enough. I knew I was a mutant.
"Considering the circumstances, I wasn't too upset about it. I thought that now that Sumner was dead and Apocalypse defeated mutants would be free. I guess I am a bit naïve at times.
"Mutancy was declared illegal, except in Africa, where the remains of Apocalypse forces still held sway, and Australia and New Zealand, where the remnants of Lord Sumner's government ruled. The discovery that Lord Sumner had been a mutant didn't help things.
"The governments of the free world set up two organisations to deal with 'the mutant threat.' The first was the public face; because of the atrocities of Lord Sumner's rule the government had to be careful and legal about how they handled mutants. This 'nicer' public face, called the Special Mutant Analysis and Response Team, or SMART, tracked mutant movements and arrested mutants, killing only when necessary. The second team was a secret one. Called the Hunters, they were sent out to kill mutants wherever they existed, without mercy. And I was offered their leadership.
"Knowing that I was a mutant made the decision even more difficult. I knew plenty of ways that I could back out without casting suspicion on myself. However, I decided that I should accept the offer. There were two main reasons I decided to do this; the first was that I would be given complete control, so I could chose the targets. I was no fool; I knew there would be mutants who would use their powers to hurt others. I hoped to turn the resources of the Hunters against them. If questioned I would simply say that I was 'designating resources to deal with the most pertinent threat towards our stability' or something like that and I would be fine. The second reason was that if I didn't take control, they'd give it to Devon Blanch, and there was no way I was going to let that man be in charge of such a powerful operation. As it was, I had to accept him as my second in command.
"Things didn't go too badly at first. I was protecting people, mutants and humans alike, from the mutants who wanted to use their powers for harm. I was also making inroads, however small, towards acceptance of mutants within our society. It all fell to peaces, though, when Blanch discovered I was a mutant.
"We were hunting a particularly dangerous mutant who could cause intense heat, enough to melt steel, with a thought. He turned his powers on me, but I used my powers at the last minute to protect myself. There was no hiding it; the entire group had seen. Devon was the first to react. He attacked me, calling for everyone to help him. The group was split. I was good friends with some of them, and others respected me for both my military and political achievements. Most of them hated mutants, however.
"There was a pitched battle, and in the end I was forced to run, though I managed to take Devon's favourite gun away from him, an energy weapon 'liberated' from Lord Sumner's palace. Devon and his old friend Robert South, another American who had been in the attack on Lord Sumner, were the only others who survived. Devon swore to hunt me down and kill me, along with every other mutant in the world.
"My life as a fugitive had begun. I couldn't live with mutants, because I was known as a mutant hunter, but I couldn't stay with humans, as I was a known mutant. I couldn't hide who I was - I had been on TV about ten times too often during the celebrations after my victory in Australia. After all, I was heralded as an international hero.
"I was hunted, of course, but I knew all the tricks the government agencies used, so they never got near me. That was when the Canadians let the secret out. For years they had been working on a project, code named the Weapon X project, in an attempt to create the perfect killer. They used technology stolen from both Apocalypse and Sumner to create these assassins. Only one of the mutants they used survived. He was a mutant named Logan, code-named Wild Man."
Ebony stopped her story and stared at Wolverine, who had by now removed his mask. The gruff man shook his head sadly. "Yep, that's me," he answered her unspoken question. "They did it here too, only they didn't call me Wild Man. They laced my bones with adamantium and messed up my memories. What happened in your world?"
"It was fairly similar." She paused. "They laced his, or rather, your bones with adamantium, but their attempts at memory alteration drove you completely insane. They had to insert a behaviour modification chip into your brain in order to keep you from killing everyone in sight. The controls were given to one of your team mates."
"I gotta say, I never really thought of Wild Man having hair," Berzerker interrupted. Most of the X-Men and the Knights chuckled at Wolverine's startled look.
"They shaved your head bald for the procedure," Rebel said, leaning forward. "And the chip in your brain somehow stopped it from growing back. They also tattooed a number onto your skull so you could be easily identified."
Wolverine snorted in disbelief. "N759-K735-96L2," Druid stated calmly. Everyone looked at him a bit surprised. He shrugged; still not bothering to open his eyes, but didn't elaborate any further.
"Any way," Ebony said, continuing her story. "Wild Man was a complete madman, a wild beast driven beyond the bounds of reason. Add that to the fact that the experiments resembled the ones conducted by Sumner and Apocalypse that had caused such outrage and the governments decided that they had to step carefully once again. They asked for volunteers to join the new Hunters, a select few who would undergo similar 're-designing' so they could more effectively hunt mutants. Devon was the first to volunteer. They enhanced his body with cybernetic implants that increased his strength and agility and also could absorb energy and pump it into his body, making him stronger. They enhanced his senses, giving him the ability to sense mutants with a highly sophisticated psychic radar plugged directly into his brain which allowed him to sense the powers of any mutants he could see. Finally, they tooled him up with some high-tech weapons stolen from Sumner. Taking the name Hunter, he was the group's leader.
"Robert South also underwent the process. He became Drake; his skin was replaced with a layer of metallic 'scales' designed to ward off most attacks, especially fire. A miniature device much like a flame-thrower was inserted into the roof of his mouth, allowing him to breath fire, and he had cybernetic implants to increase his strength and endurance.
"The other volunteers had similar stories. Thug, or Cory Thane as he was christened, was given a mixture of cybernetic implants and advance steroids, as well as genetic engineering, to become inhumanly strong and tough. Unfortunately for the German body-builder, his mind was put under pressure by the drugs and his intelligence all but disappeared, turning him into a simpleton.
"Hunter was obsessed, Drake a bit on the strange side after the process, having a tendency to think of himself as an actual half-dragon, Thug an idiot and Wild Man insane, so they needed someone really smart. I don't know where they found the man who called himself Prime Suspect; I never could find out much about him. "Apparently he had been badly hurt when a kid, and was surviving on hospital beds most of the time. Still, he was conscious and a real genius. They had to replace his arms and legs, half his chest and most of his face, including his eyes, with robotic parts. They managed to enhance his already considerable intelligence with cybernetics and stuck a bunch of weapons in his robotic parts, including powerful energy guns in his hands. They also put the controls to Wild Man's behavioural control chip in his arm. Hunter may have been their leader, but Prime Suspect was the most dangerous of them.
"Still, I managed to avoid them for a while. It got so desperate that the governments started hiring out assassins to kill me. The mercenary trade had grown since Sumner's fall, now that Asia had descended into uncountable warring states, and there were plenty to choose from. Still, there was one who was head and shoulders above the rest - a man who called himself Death.
"The first I knew about him was when he attacked. A globe of pure darkness surrounded me without warning. I surrounded myself in my armour as an automatic defence, and I guess I was lucky that my reactions were so good, for the next thing I knew was a dagger piercing through my side. It cut through my armour as if it wasn't even there, but I managed to dodge away enough so the blow missed any vital organs. Still, it was deep and oddly cold, and I gasped in pain. I swung wildly as I fell back, but I didn't connect with anything. Another slash across my chest, and I stumbled and fell, crashing to the floor, blood seeping from me freely.
"I guess I was lucky that my attacker had a flair for the dramatic. The darkness disappeared, and there he was standing before me; decked out in all black, with a cowl covering his face, a pair of piercing red eyes glared at me from beneath his hood.
"'Who are you?' I managed to whisper as he raised his blade above his head for the killing blow.
"His reply was dark, and seemed to reverberate as if from a different world. It sent shivers of fear up my spine. 'I am DEATH!'
"That little pause was all I needed. Whipping my arm around, I shot a hail of shards at him. The shards passed harmlessly through him, as though he wasn't there, but one of them hit his blade and sent it spinning from his hand. He growled in shock, reaching forward for me, his hands aiming at my throat.
"I brought up my foot to kick him in the chin, but my boot passed right through his head, and my foot went numb with cold. I tried to twist away, but he sunk his hands through my chest. I felt his fist close around my heart, the dark cold pain threatening to drown me in unconsciousness.
"I felt at my side, and pulled forth the small energy gun stolen from Devon. I blasted Death, and, to my surprise, the force of the bolt not only ripped through him, spilling his blood on me, but hurled him away to slam into the far wall.
"Then I saw something that, no matter how often I see it, never ceases to awe me. He reached out with his right hand and seemed to grab the wall. His body passed through it and he spun inside the wall, only his knuckles showing, then swung back out, landing gracefully on his feet, his left hand clutched over his wound.
"I stood up shakily, struggling for breath. Death grabbed his dagger from the floor, holding it out in front of him. With the energy gun pointed strait at him, I knew we were at an impasse. If he did anything, I would shoot him, maybe even killing him, but if I shot and he dodged out of the way, I knew I stood a snowballs chance in hell.
"So we faced each other for a moment, until a ghostly chuckle escaped the figure. 'You fight well.'
"'Then why are you laughing?'
"'I think that we could come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.'
"'What, you promise not to try and kill me in my sleep and I promise not to blast your head in where you stand? Doesn't sound like a good deal to me.' I was bluffing, though, and I think he knew it. My arms were shaking and I was getting weak from the loss of blood. I don't think I could have stopped him from killing me with a feather pillow at the time.
"'I was thinking of the two of us working together.'
"I snorted in disbelief, but after a moment I realised he was serious. 'How do I know this isn't a trick?'
"He pulled down his hood and cowl, revealing a fairly normal, if slightly unkempt, face. 'I'm in no mood for tricks,' he said dryly, holding out his hand for proof. His voice was now normal, though there was the hint of the darkness behind it, like an echo. He carefully cleaned off his blade then sheathed it.
"Still nervous I holstered my gun, being careful to place it where I could draw it quickly. 'Just who are you?' I asked again.
"'Just a man with a gift,' he replied evasively.
"'A mutant?' I asked, realising it would explain his strange powers.
"'Nothing so simple. My powers come from an outside source. It's that which I think you can help me with.'
"'Wait a minute,' I said, remembering a conversation I had with a mercenary back in my army days. 'Aren't you morally obligated to kill me if you have accepted a contract?'
"He actually laughed, though it was a short, cruel laugh. 'I have no morals,' he answered. 'Besides, I happen to know my employer will never pay me.'
"'How?'
"'He died last week.'
"I rocked back in shock. 'Then why are you still trying to kill me?' "He shrugged, and didn't reply. His face was an unreadable mask, but I felt there was a lot he wasn't telling me. Eventually I gave in. 'All right, what deal do you want to make?'
"'My. boss is coming to town soon. I want to escape from him, but it will be difficult. You see, he comes from the same place my power,' here he tapped the hilt of his dagger meaningfully, 'and is quite a tough customer. That gun of yours should be more than able to handle him, though, in the right hands.'
"'I'm assuming you want me to sell you the gun, then. I must assure you, I don't think you can pay me enough.'
"'I thought you would feel that way. So I plan to offer you this: you fight with me against my boss and I help you with your quest.'
"'Quest? What quest?'
"'You're on the run from just about every government in the world, you fight like a demon (and believe me, I've fought a few), and you are, or rather were, considered an international war hero. You probably have some task, weather you call it a quest, a mission or merely a goal.
"I thought about this for a moment. 'I guess I do.' I shook my head. 'So how do I know I can trust you?'
"'You don't,' he grinned mirthlessly. 'But I promise I wont kill you without proper warning.' He was telling the truth, that much I knew, but that still didn't fill me with confidence.
"I thought about it. I thought long and hard. But eventually it seemed to me that there was only one option available. 'Deal.' I stuck out my hand, and he grasped it firmly, shaking it. 'Now, what do I call you?'
"'Death,' he replied simply.
"'Hardly the name of someone working for world peace and the freedom of mutants.' He stared at me in disbelief, realising, I think, what he had gotten himself into. 'A bit to dark.'
"He snorted. 'I can hardly go around calling myself Sunshine or Hope.'
"'I agree, but you don't want anything to dark either.' I grinned at him. 'Despite what you may want me to believe, I get the opinion that you aren't as dark as you want people to think you are.'
"He looked for a moment like he might argue, but instead just chuckled. 'But I'm not particularly light either.'
"'Right. Your somewhere in between.'
"'I'm shadow.' He paused then grinned. 'I'm Shadow.' He turned to me. 'Now what do I call you?'
"'Captain.'
"'No chance. Try again.'
"I thought, then I remembered a nick-name my friends had given me in the army. 'Ebony.' My new ally nodded. 'Now lets talk about this "boss" of yours.'
The X-Men glanced at Shadow as though for confirmation of what Ebony had said. He shrugged his shoulders noncommittally. "It's close enough to the truth."
"Don't tell me that you became friends after he tried to kill you," Scott demanded.
"What, you mean you've never befriended an enemy before?" Ebony asked him.
Cyclops paused, and thought. He thought about Rogue, and Magneto, and . "Well, yes," he admitted grudgingly.
"But never quite so swiftly," Beast added.
"Well, I guess our world is just faster paced than yours," Rebel interjected, obviously anxious to get on with the tale.
Ebony smiled slightly. "I helped Shadow fight his 'boss,' a dragon- like creature from another dimension." She paused slightly, as though waiting for Shadow to chime in, but he remained silent. "What was really going on I still don't know, though I'm sure there's more than he's telling me." She looked pointedly at Shadow, but he ignored her.
"Anyway," she continued. "After a while I learned that he was James Holdenworth, an Archaeology student from New England who came across his powers by accident, though he wont tell me the full story. We worked together for a while, avoiding the Hunters and helping mutants whenever we could. Shadow was a bit dangerous at first, but after a while he calmed down and stopped killing everyone. Still, we had to kill far more often than I would have liked, but that's war for you.
"Not long after Druid approached us, offering his services. I know less about him than I do about Shadow, but I sometimes get the opinion that he knows about as much of his past as I do. Shadow, on the other hand, seems to delight in keeping secrets. We found Rebel in Australia, living with a band of bikers and hunting down her parents' killer. We helped her with that, and she agreed to join us. Eventually we found Berzerker, who was working as a singer in LA when the Hunter's uncovered him as a mutant. At first we thought we would have to rescue him, but in the end we had to stop him.
"I don't know when the newspapers found out about us, or how, but soon the articles were being printed about a 'strange vigilante group fighting for the common man and mutant rights' which they dubbed the Knights of Justice. Soon everywhere you went you heard stories about the Knights, and things they had done. I'll tell you honestly, if we had done half the things that we were have supposed to I would have retired and bought my own island.
"So we survived, running from the authorities and dodging both mutants and humans who wanted us dead. We didn't necessarily make the world a better place, but we tried, and that's what counts. It didn't take long for us to figure out a pattern, though. The 'villains' only showed up when we were around, or near enough so we could catch up with them before they did any serious damage. It was as though someone was behind it all, controlling everything.
"We got a lead on this mysterious figure eventually, and spent several months chasing him down, facing just about everything possible that was thrown in front of us. When we met him, though, rather than the showdown we expected, we got given a chance to make a real difference.
"At first I thought we were facing Lord Sumner. He certainly looked very similar. But he called himself the Traveller, and he claimed to be Lord Sumner's brother. That's when he explained everything too us; about the future, about temporal suicide, and, most importantly, about Charles Xavier and the X-Men."
Ebony turned to the X-Men, a bit of wonder in her eyes. "You see, it was, or rather, will be, your actions that led, will lead." she paused, struggling with the tenses of time-travel.
"Because of you," Shadow broke in. "A utopian society will eventually come into existence. When Xavier died before founding the X- Men, all of that disappeared. So as long as our world existed, his couldn't."
"Exactly," Ebony agreed. "The Traveller showed us an image of what the world would be with Xavier, and what our world would become in a few generations without him. He then gave us a choice: go back in time and rescue Xavier and Magnus, or go on in the world as it was."
"It seems like a simple choice," Jean said.
"Things are never simple." Ebony sighed. "There was a catch. None of us would exist in your world. We never would have been born. So in order to save the world, we had to commit temporal suicide."
"A difficult decision to make," Beast stated.
"Well, you can guess the answer," Rebel drawled.
"We went back, and fought Sumner. We never would have succeeded, though, if Xavier and Magnus hadn't helped us. I guess you owe this whole world to them."
Wolverine snorted. "Fancy Magneto savin' the world."
Ebony looked a bit confused, but continued. "The Traveller explained everything to Xavier and Magnus, even telling them things he hadn't told us. Like the fact that he and his brother are direct decedents of members of the X-Men."
"But if Charles knew of this," Storm said. "Why had he never told us?"
"The Traveller swore them to secrecy. I don't know why, but I'm sure he had a good reason."
"And so that's when we found you," Cyclops surmised. "Fresh out of your battle with Lord Sumner, and fully expecting to be dead."
"To never have existed," Druid corrected.
"Add to that that Berzerker obviously recognised Wolverine as Wild Man," Beast stated. "And it is no wonder your greeting was less than cordial."
"Well, all we saw was Kyle suspended in mid-air and you threatening him," Rebel replied, glaring and Wolverine.
"He did attack us, actually," Jean pointed out.
"He's rash like that," Ebony said, casting a dark look at Kyle, who shrugged.
Cyclops got up and began pacing around. "So you suddenly find yourself in our world? What do you do now?"
"From what the Traveller told us, this world is infinitely better than our own, but it is still not perfect. Mutants are still feared and hated by non-mutants. Some mutants seek to use their powers for their own gain. The Traveller told us of your mission, to rid the world of injustice and make it safe for mutants and humans both." She paused. "I guess that, if my friends agree, we'd like to help you." She looked at her companions. Druid and Rebel nodded and Berzerker grinned and gave her the thumbs up. Only Shadow looked dubious.
The X-Men studied them for a moment. After a short pause, Cyclops nodded. "We'd welcome the help." Ebony stood and took his hand, shaking it fiercely. Druid smiled broadly, stood, and bowed to the X-Men. Rebel and Berzerker both grinned rather inanely, laughing and slapping each other and the X-Men on the back. Still Shadow sat still, his brow creased in worry.
"What's wrong, Shad?" Rebel asked him.
"I'm not so sure of this," he said. "The utopian society we heard of existed without us. How do we know that what we do here won't ruin it?"
"We don't," Druid replied after a short silence. "But we never know what effect our actions will have on the future. We must act in the present, doing what we think is the best."
"Besides," Rebel said, punching Shadow playfully. "The Traveller's looking out for the future. If something goes wrong, he'll get us to fix it. Again."
Shadow shook his head. "Very well, then. I seem to be out numbered. We shall fight along side you, though it may prove to be a mistake." He turned to the X-Men and stared at each in turn. "And you may well regret the day you decided to call us friends." With that grim proclamation he stood and stiffly bowed. "But until that time, my blade is at your service."
Wolverine chortled and slapped the grim man on the back. "Lighten up, bub. The Knights o' Justice and the X-Men are workin' together now, and ain't nothin' gonna stop us."
"No," Ebony said. "The Knights of Justice died when their world died. I think its time for a change." She smiled rather slyly and glanced at everyone else. "Now is the time of the X-Knights."