The New Exiles

Issue #2 – Time Quake – Part One

For eternity it seemed like there was nothing. In all reality, it was only a few minutes with something all around them. The fuzzy white went into focus and the seven members of the new Exiles found that they could see again. BattleStar looked around quickly. He realized that they were all standing in a pure white square room. There was nothing else in the room except seven white chairs facing a white screen. BattleStar jumped as Blink touched his shoulder to calm the new comer.

"Where are we? What is going on?"

"I don't know. It doesn't make any sense. One minute we are taken on a ride by WizKid's device, the next we find ourselves in some place being attacked by giant robots. Then some guy shows up and we find ourselves in this room," Beak replied.

"Speaking of which, who was that guy and where is he?" Dr. Gamma asked aloud.

"Well if you would all take a seat I will explain everything. For once, time is something we don't have," The man in white said as everyone jumped at his mysterious appearance.

"We are not doing anything until you tell us what is going on," BattleStar proclaimed.

The man in white looked at the seven heroes and then tipped his white hat. As he turned around to face the screen he snapped his fingers. In a white flash, all seven heroes found themselves sitting in the white chairs. The man in white turned back around to face them.

"If you would calm down, you would realize that is what I am trying to do," the man in white told them. "We don't have a lot of time. For now, I have frozen time, and placed all of you in a spot, temporarily outside of time. I won't be able to hold this for long. You seven have caused some serious trouble."

"Trouble... What kind of trouble? We didn't do anything," Dr. Gamma asked.

"The Tallus is gone. Where is the Time Broker?" Blink asked.

"Oh you guys caused all kinds of trouble. This time I have been forced to take charge of you over your usual time sending ward. Not only did you go back in time, you disrupted the whole time continuum. Now sit back and listen. I will explain everything so pay attention, for you seven are the only ones who can fix this," The man in white said as he snapped his fingers and the screen began to play as he told his tale. "As some of you may not be aware, there are all kinds of realities, universes, parallel worlds, etc., all flowing together in the time continuum. At all times there are branches and breaks creating more realities and such. There's never really that much to fear. That is because people like me, a time broker, watch over this and make sure everything stays in check. Sometimes ripples occur minor and even major, where we have to step in and fix it fast. Overall there has never been a major threat, until now. Thanks to you seven. You see, when you went back in time, you set up a chain of events that created ripples in time. Cosmic rays were altered; rainbow bridges were broken, so on and so forth. Normally, if something like this happens, it causes the main time line to branch off into a possible or alternate reality. But, with you seven, something happened that set you outside the timeline. So when you changed history, it actually altered the main time line and continuum. You set in motion ripples in time, ripples and individuals that were somehow also set outside the time line. So as the main reality kept pushing forward to correct itself, these ripples kept working outside the timeline creating more ripples. For example, even though the original founders of the Avengers were different now, all the same events happened along with the same people joining through all the years, just with minor changes. But with each new ripple or outsider being created, it was getting harder and harder for the main timeline to correct itself."

"As you seven traveled back to what you thought was your present, the same time you left, you reached a world suffering the effects of the twelfth ripple. The timeline is on a crash course. Never has a reality or a timeline reached a twelfth ripple," The man in white reported.

"So can there be a thirteenth ripple and if so what would happen?" WizKid stuttered realizing what he had created and done.

"There can't be a thirteenth ripple!" The man in white screamed. "You see when the twelfth ripple was created; it set in motion a bad course. Senator Kelly, the main man wanting to eliminate the mutants of the world, decided to run for president. He already tested out his sentinel program with Trask, the sentinel creator. The timeline tried one last attempt to right the time line. It sent in an operative to kill Senator Kelly. For with him dead, the sentinel reign would end and all would be as normal, if it wasn't for the twelfth ripple stepping into the picture."

"The twelfth ripple, or Outsider, as we call them, went to kill the Senator too. The twelfth Outsider killed the wrong person. By killing the wrong person, it set in motion for Senator Kelly, to become President. The President and vice-president Grynch took control and with newly appointed Secretary of Defense Trask and Head of the Judiciary William Stryker, they unleashed the Sentinels and the Earth is as you saw it now," The man in white explained with fear.

"So how do we fit into this picture? Will we recognize the people we once knew?" WizKid asked.

"I was just getting to that. Since you seven did this you seven must fix it. You see, somehow with you seven being set outside the timeline, it's as if you never existed. No one will know you, for you, to this world, never existed. That is why you have the power to interact and set things right. You must correct it and do it fast for time is running out," The man in white said.

"What is it we have to do?" Morph asked as he took the form of a detective.

"You must stop the thirteenth ripple from occurring. You see, at some given time, something will happen that will cause President Kelly to mentally fuse with Master Mold, the advanced computer system used to create and control the Sentinels. You must find the twelve Outsiders, convince them to abandon this world, join your cause and destroy Master Mold and President Kelly. If you do that, all will revert back to the way it should be, and all of time will be saved," The man in white smiled.

"What happens if we refuse to do this or we fail to stop Master Mold and President Kelly from merging into the thirteenth ripple?" Blink asked.

"Well, the thirteenth Outsider will take control of all machines. It will make all machines turn against all human life, mutant, and normal or super powered. Machines will wage war against human life on Earth. One year after this, there will be a huge war and the thirteenth ripple will cause the Earth to explode creating a Time Quake. This Time Quake will be so massive that it will set a chain reaction causing all realities, universes, etc., to no longer exist. This Time Quake will cause all time itself to cease to exist. None of you, or even me and the time brokers will exist. Everyone, everything; all time will be gone. All will be no more," the man in white shivered.

"So basically, we have to right what we have wronged or all will cease to exist?" BattleStar asked.

"Welcome to the Exiles," Nocturne laughed through the voice of IceyLink.

"Yes, and I am not ready to be without a life let alone a job," the man in white snickered.

"So how much time do we have, and how do we find these Outsiders without a Tallus?" Blink asked.

"We don't know when the thirteenth ripple will occur but it will be soon. As to how to find them, you can use this," the man in white said snapping his fingers and wristbands appeared on all their wrists.

"What is this?" BattleStar asked.

"It is a Tallut, a small branch of a Tallus. What this Tallut will do is tell you the names and descriptions of all twelve Outsiders. Only thing is, it can't tell you where they are. Because of the nature of the Outsiders being ripples placed outside the time continuum we can't track them," the man in white said.

"Wait a minute! How are we going to succeed in time if we have no clue where they are at?" BattleStar shouted.

"Well, when you return to time, you will be near at least one. I suggest you first find the one named Sable," the man in white said as he tipped his hat.

"Where do we find this Sable?" BattleStar started to ask a series of questions and then stopped.

Things had gone white again and now they found themselves standing in the middle of an alley. The man in white and the white room were gone. BattleStar looked down and saw that the Tallut was on his wrist. He turned to the others.

"Well looks like we are all on our own. Only question is how do we find this Sable, and how in the hell are we going to fix all this in time?" BattleStar asked as he shook his head.

"I still think this seems all too unbelievable," WizKid mumbled.

"Well I can. Trust me I have done time traveling. It is just part of being an Exile. No matter what we believe, we have to fix this. Whether we like it or not, we caused this and we have to fix this," Blink sighed.

"I agree with Blink. I think we need to see what the Tallut can tell us about this Sable and then go from there," Dr. Gamma agreed.

BattleStar nodded and then looked at the Tallut. Without saying a word the thing ignited like it knew what he wanted. A holographic image came out of the Tallut displaying a picture and a name Sable. The image was of a beautiful long dark haired woman. She wore a red and brown costume with a red facemask. She also wore golden wristbands and had a huge, silver "S" on her chest.

"Well that's all it says. I think before we decide what to do we should probably get out of this alley and into a safe building. We don't want to be detected. Especially since all of you being mutants could get us detected by those giant robots," BattleStar pointed out.

"You're not going anywhere you super freak. According to the cyber-bands, you are harboring five unregistered mutants and an alien life form. We are taking you all in for a reward," came a voice.

The seven members of the Exiles turned at the voice and saw that they were trapped on both ends of the alley by a group of people wearing helmets of some kind. They also wore a sort of backpack with cords attached to gauntlets on their hands and boots on their feet. They didn't know who these people were but they knew they had to get out of there.

"Okay team, let's take them out fast and quick and get out of here," BattleStar said as he assumed command with ease.

Before they knew what hit them, two guys shot out electrical blasts from their gauntlets at the team. While they worked to deflect and avoid the blasts they didn't notice four guys flying up and sticking to the walls with their boots, two on each wall. They also didn't see the other four run to the same spots on the ground. Suddenly the eight figures hit their gauntlets and slapped something on their point and an energy field came up trapping the Exiles in a force containment field. They were trapped in an energy cube.

"BattleStar, I can't seem to break through the energy field," Dr. Gamma shouted as he pounded his fists at the field.

"That's because you can't. This is a containment cube designed to absorb any force thrusted at it. I can't believe it. You guys mustn't be much of anything to have been caught so easily. I mean, catching seven of you in such a short amount of time. Needless to say the authorities will be here shortly and we can collect our reward," one of the men laughed.

The members of the Exiles looked at each other. They hadn't even started their mission and they had already been caught. Just as BattleStar began to assess the situation they heard a commotion and watched in shock. On the right side of the cube they saw the figure recognized as Sable land in front of the group. With fast reflexes she was using her ninja skills and glowing yellow sias to take down the group of people. She quickly flipped in the air and waved her arms. Suddenly dozens of yellow ninja stars flew hitting the eight corners of the energy cube. Suddenly the energy field flickered and vanished. They stood there in awe.

"Don't just stand there. Help me take them down so we can get out of here. I'm sure the authorities will be here soon," Sable shouted as she kept in action.

BattleStar quickly shouted his team into action. Beak swung his hammer and managed to send many flying backwards. Blink shot out blast after blast teleporting the men away. Soon in a matter of moments all the members of their captures were down and out. Sable then motioned for them to follow her and she took off. They quickly followed. Soon they found themselves in underground living quarters.

"Who were those guys back there?" Blink asked.

"Those were Cyber-Hunters. They are a gang of people who hunt mutants and super powered or normal outlaws. They do it to try and get a reward. Technically what they are doing is illegal, but if who they catch is worth anything, the government tends to look the other way.

"Okay, now who are you people? Don't waist my time either. The only reason I saved you was because my quantum bands compelled me to that alley and through them I couldn't feel your existence," the lady named Sable said as she faced them.

"Well, we are the Exiles," BattleStar started to say but was then cut off.

"Exiles... Where are you from? I don't recognize any of you and my bands can't read you," Sable questioned.

"Weather you believe us or not, we are all from alternate realities. I am Blink, this is BattleStar, Dr. Gamma, Morph, Beak, WizKid and our friend Nocturne is currently trapped in the artificial form of the advanced holographic being IceyLink." Blink introduced them all and then told Sable their tale of going back in time, the man in white and their mission and of her being one of the twelve Outsiders.

Sable sat there in silence. She closed her eyes and the bands around her wrist began to glow. She then opened her eyes and stared at them. She then approached BattleStar.

"As you are aware from your Tallut, I am Sable. These around my wrist are some kind of power bands. I accidentally came across these and they were fused to my wrists. I can't remove them nor do I know the full potential of their power. What I know is by just thinking they create energy weapons for me. Another thing they do and I can't explain it, but they provide some kind of awareness for me. They tell me that your words are true and that they make me feel that I must help you for there is some kind of grave peril. Plus, I have always felt that my destiny took a different turn than destined. For these reasons, I vow to help you, plus, I agree the president and his cabinet must be stopped."

At that moment, the Tallut flared and her image came up and then disappeared. BattleStar noticed that the Tallut had twelve circles going around it and one of them lit up. BattleStar then looked at the Tallut and before he could even say what he was thinking it was running through the other eleven images for Sable. After a brief scan Sable approached him.

"I think our best bet is Silver Stranger. Out of the eleven, he will offer the best assistance and he also lives here in New York. That is if he will help us," Sable said as she looked at everyone.

"What do you mean if he will help us?" Blink asked.

"Well, he disappeared around the time the Sentinels waged their war. When he finally reappeared, he and his living quarters sealed themselves away from the world. No one has seen or heard form him since."

"Well that doesn't make sense. How can he be here in New York and help us if he is gone?" Beak asked.

"Well, the world thinks he is gone, but thanks to my power bands here, I can feel that he is still here. I can't explain it, but with these bands, I can lead you to him," Sable said. "The fact that he is one of the Outsiders makes a lot of sense."

"What do you mean by that?" BattleStar asked.

"Well, not much is known about this person. Many years ago there was this great battle off Earth against this being called Galactus. In the final moments when all was lost, this Silver Stranger appeared out of nowhere. He single-handedly defeated Galactus. He then took over the late Dr. Strange's house. No one knows who he is or where he came from, but he had proved himself time and time again," Sable explained.

"Well I say we get going and pay this Silver Stranger a visit," Blink insisted.

"Yes, but we will have to move quickly. We may not be safe with most of you being mutants. Being mutants you will set off any Sentinel devices within radar unlike my layer here, which is protected and no detection can penetrate my home. My power bands can only shield so many of us out there," Sable said.

"Well, then we should be safe to split up. Why don't just a few of us head out with Sable while the others stay here. Then that way we won't stick out so much. After we get Silver Stranger's help we can return here and get the others and head out from there," BattleStar suggested.

"I agree, but who should go and who should stay?" Blink asked.

"Blink and Dr. Gamma will come with me and Sable. The rest of you will stay behind."

"Good idea BattleStar. I think I can use IceyLink's abilities with the Tallut to act as a communication link between the two groups," Nocturne suggested.

With agreement, BattleStar and his team followed Sable quickly out of the hidden hideout. Sable moved fast, letting her power bands guide them. They didn't know how long it would take them to reach their destination but they hoped it would be soon.

---

In a secret room of the White House, a man entered the room. He looked at the small room filled with only a small rectangular table with seven chairs, three on each side and one chair at the head of the table. The man took a seat at the head of the table. He could do so because he was the President after all. President Kelly awaited his Cabinet to arrive.

As he had made his bid for presidency, Senator Kelly had made sure he had all the right people in the right spots. Once he had gained the role as President, he appointed his men to certain positions and formed his great Cabinet. With their help he had taken over the world and ruled whether the people realized they liked it or not. He had manipulated the people, and as long as his platform was to eliminate all mutants, he would always win their votes.

President Kelly looked up as the first person arrived, his Vice President, Peter Henry Grynch. Thanks to his involvement within the government, he made a great asset. His control over all government operations, programs and sponsored teams, allowed him to take complete control over all non-mutant super powered beings and teams, including the Avengers. Those who refused became outlaws and were subject to prison, punishment or worse. Vice President Grynch took his seat to the right of the president.

Next through the door came Secretary of Defense Trask. Trask was the creator, inventor and brilliant mind of the Sentinel program and robots. Thanks to Trask he was able to send out a legion of mutant hunters. With Trask's Sentinels, Kelly could hunt, police, control and eliminate the mutants of the world. Trask spent his days in the hidden Sentinel base. He watched over Master Mold and the central production and controlling of the Sentinels, he was the President's eye on the country. He took his seat to the left of Kelly.

Next walked in Head of Judiciary and Law was Judge William Stryker. His philosophy on God and mutant elimination made him the best man in charge of all law and courts. Any person's final fate was not decided on in the courts but by Judge Stryker. He oversaw the Country Prison, Vampire Isle and all law enforcement. His main office was in New-Canada. There he ran and oversaw all operations of the Mutant Concentration Camp. Those mutants allowed to live were brought to him there. Their fate was then in his hands, not Gods. Judge Stryker sat next to Grynch.

Next walked in Master Fury. Nick Fury was the best at what he did. He was on of the best secret agents and enforcement operatives. Master Fury was Grynch's right hand man. Master Fury not only helps control and lead the Avengers but also heads a secret division called S.H.I.E.L.D. Their job was to go in and execute missions that no one was to know about or tie back to the United States Government. If it wasn't for Master Fury, President Kelly may have had more non-supporters. Master Fury took his seat next to Trask.

The next person to walk in was a beautiful woman. Lady Deathstrike was Judge Striker's right hand person. She controlled, trained and led the Hounds. The Hounds were an underground secret police. Those given an immediate death sentence, with no chance of appeal, became hunted by the Hounds. The Hound's job was to hunt find and slaughter all mutants or sometimes non-mutants that tried to escape and hide judgement. Lady Deathstrike sat next to Striker.

The last person to come in was Treasurer Norman Osborne. After the elimination of the Kingpin and all other criminal threats, Kelly had appointed Norman as head of organized crime. His job was to keep an eye on the criminal world and report back to the President. Those that lived past their use or posed a real threat were taken care of. Plus, there had to be a secure way of supplying the Government with the necessary money they needed. Norman took the last chair. The Cabinet was ready to meet.

"Thank you all for coming so quickly. Some things have happened that requires our immediate attention. Trask if you could be so kind as to start," President Kelly instructed.

"Thank you Mr. President. I had reports come in from my Sentinel mainframe. Seven beings appeared in the middle of Manhattan. A squad of Sentinels was patrolling the area and detected five mutants and investigated. The mutants were in the company of an alien-like artificial being, and a Super Human. All seven are not registered. They took out the Sentinels with ease and escaped," Trask reported

"Yes, and I took their images and scans and used my resources to do a background check. I came up with nothing, it's like these seven never existed and came from no where," Master Fury added.

"How odd. My contact within the Cyber-Hunters reported to me that he and a group of his men encountered seven beings, matching those descriptions. They had them captured until Sable stepped in and freed them," Norman reported.

"Osborne, what of this group of Cyber-Hunters that failed to capture them?" President Kelly asked.

"Don't worry they were taken care of immediately after they reported to me. One of them was able to follow and for the first time we have an idea were Sable's hideout may be," Osborne reported.

"Blast that Sable. She's been on my list for ages," Fury swore.

"I've got a feeling that this group could hold problems for us. I've come too far to have my country taken away from me. Norman, I want you to send a group into Sable's location and bring them in, preferably alive, but dead if no other means. I want you to send in a group, that if anything goes wrong, can be pinned as criminal activity and we can clean up quickly with no ties to us," Kelly commanded. "It will be done."

"Once they are brought in we can take matters from there. Meeting adjourned," Kelly said as they all left the room.

"Hi, Liz... Can I speak to Harry?" Osborne said as he walked out activating his cell phone.

---

"Here we are. We've reached the sanctuary of the Silver Stranger."

"Are you sure? This is nothing but a vacant lot," Blink asked looking at BattleStar and Dr. Gamma.

"It's here. Now let me try something," Sable said.

Sable held out her hands and her bands began to glow. Yellow goggles appeared and were placed on each of their faces. Suddenly they realized that they no longer saw the vacant lot but a huge mansion. Sable then waved for them to follow.

"How's this possible?" BattleStar asked.

"The bands make your eyes aware of the illusion. We must get inside quickly before someone sees us," Sable said as she knocked on the front door of the large mansion.

The door quickly opened and an old ancient man answered the door.

"Go away. You are not welcomed here," said the old man.

"Wong, you have to let us in. It's very important that we speak to Silver Stranger. We are in dire need of his help," Sable pleaded.

"He's not here. Now go away before I call security," Wong yelled as he slammed the door in her face.

Sable turned to the others making the goggles disappear. She shook her head. "I'm sorry. We'll have to come up with another plan."

As Sable lead the others away from the lot they stopped in their tracks. Standing in front of them was a green creature. The creature pointed both hands at the group of heroes and whispered a few words. Before any of them could react, a blast of bright light flew at them and engulfed them. When the light faded, the group of heroes was gone. The only thing that remained was an empty lot.

---

"So, IceyLink, how are the others fairing?" Beak asked.

"Beak, please call me by my real name. I will," Nocturne started to say and then she blinked out.

"What happened? Where did she go?" WizKid asked.

"I don't know, I can't get a signal from her. She isn't responding, Captain," Morph asked taking the form of Captain Kirk and tapping his Tallut.

"Maybe we should go out and look for them. Maybe something happened to them," WizKid said shifting in his wheel chair.

"I agree. Let's hurry," Beak said raising his hammer.

The three headed for the door that led out of the hideout. Suddenly there was a loud rumble. Without warning the entire room exploded and engulfed itself in flames. Soon the whole hideout came crashing down, in on itself engulfing the three in smoke and fire.

Next: Issue #3 – Time Quake – Part Two