The New Exiles
Issue #28 – Blink Quest – Part Four
Earth-15731b
The Clinic for Paranormal Research
"Welcome everyone. I'm glad everyone made it here on time today. We have a few new members to our group so let's go around and introduce ourselves. We'll start from might right and go around. I'm Dr. Jane Semple," the older lady in a white coat said as she nodded at the group.
"Hi, I'm Lenore Fenzl. I've been here at the clinic for a few years. I first came here after I discovered spots spreading on my body and when people looked at them they passed out," a woman wearing purple clothes that covered her entire body except her face which was covered by a white, faceless mask.
"Hi, I'm Stephanie Harrington. My husband brought me here a month ago after I started sparkling a little and displaying strange bouts of energy and heal with a touch," a beautiful woman in her early thirties with long blond hair said bashfully.
"Hi, my name is Calvin Rankin. I don't remember much of my past and most of my life is a blur. Ever since the clinic found me wondering the woods they have done wonders in making me feel at home. Unlike you Stephanie, my touch doesn't heal, it actually kills," a nice looking man with blond hair and wearing gloves said as Stephanie seemed to move back a little.
"Hi, I'm Chrystal Lynn. I'm not from the United States. Like Mr. Rankin, I don't recall much of my past or homeland. I just know that from a young age I was on the run from people wanting to hurt me because of my facial deformities and I ended up in the States. After the White Event, I developed the ability to create crystals from my hands and found my self a stranger in a strange land. Luckily, the clinic here found me and have cared for me ever since. I owe them everything," a dark skinned woman with a strange jaw and pointy eats said with tears.
"Hey don't feel bad. Just look at me, I'm a living blur. Name's Jeff Walters. One day I started to run and haven't stopped yet. I came here in hopes of finding a way to be normal again," a young African American man said. It was hard to make out his features since he seemed to be moving at a high speed that caused his body to look like a giant blur.
"Hi, this is my first day here. My name's Randy O'Brien. I was a surgeon until I discovered a weird shadow coming out of me. I saw an ad in the paper so me and a couple other friends came here to find help. Not sure how my other friends are doing, but I was told they were placed in other therapy groups," the great looking man of about thirty with short brown hair said with a smile.
"You can just call me Scuzz. Only reason I'm here is it's better than living with my father. Who of course signed me over to the clinic so I'm kept here against my will, until I turn eighteen," a young man in his teens said as his clothes appeared to be smoking.
"Dennis, that will be enough. You need to calm down. You know how the more emotional you get the more your body secretes the acid based sweat that eats through your cloths," Dr. Semple said with a glare and then turned to the last member of the group and nodded.
"Hi, my name is Mary Jane Parker. Today is my first day here too. I came here after I got into an altercation with my husband and suddenly displayed powers. Electricity shot from my hands and electrocuted him. An officer suggested this place and I decided to come here before I ended up hurting or even killing someone," a young woman with flaming red hair and a killer smile said.
"Great, now let's start our session for today," Dr. Semple said as she began her group's session.
An Hour Later – Cafeteria
"This place seems very nice," Mary Jane said as she sat down with her therapy group to eat.
"Yes, I like it. I've never had a complaint in all the time I've been here," Lenore said as sat across from them without a tray.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Mary Jane asked the woman in purple.
"I will later," Lenore said.
"She never eats with us. She just hangs with us and then they let her eat privately later in her quarters," Jeff said as he had finished the last of his food before any of them had started on their own.
"Can't you take your mask off or get a mask with a mouth piece?" Calvin Asked.
"No, even just a glimpse of my skin will cause harm to anyone looking. Don't worry, I love the company and the privacy of eating alone," Lenore said with a smile in her voice.
"So, are we always kept in our groups?" Randy asked as he looked around and other groups sitting together but spaced so no one was really near the other groups.
"Yes, they feel it helps more if you keep a small group together. Sometimes people leave or move on, but as long as I've been here they try to keep the same people together," Lenore said.
"Why do you ask? Worried about your friends?" Stephanie asked.
"A little. I've looked around but I haven't seen them and when I've asked about them I'm just told they are in other groups or special therapy and nothing more and my mind gets fuzzy," Randy said.
"You know, now that you say that. Every time I try and think about my past my mind gets fuzzy too. Sometimes, when I'm in a group like this, I feel like I was with another group but then the thoughts just get dismissed," Calvin said eyeing the place a little.
"Are you going to eat that?" Jeff asked Chrystal Lynn.
"No, go ahead. I'm not too hungry tonight," Chrystal said as in a matter of seconds her tray was empty.
"If you ask me, I think this place is a prison and up to no good," Scuzz said as he grabbed the wrapper from his burger and held it tight in his hand till it smoked and began to dissolve.
"We better finish up, it's almost lights out," Lenore said as she thanked them for the company and retired to her room.
Later Calvin Rankin found himself in his room ready to lie down and sleep. Even though the thoughts were starting to fade, it was troubling him how familiar being with a group was. The more he thought about it the more it didn't seem right that he had been here as long as he thought he had. Something wasn't feeling right to him. Before he could think any further, a strange sleeping sensation began to hit him and he closed his eyes figuring he would deal with it in the morning. Just as he was about to drift into sleep he felt a strange presence.
"What the?" Calvin asked as he jumped up to see a floating black shadow figure hovering over him.
The shadow creature just looked at him and motioned for him to get up. Calvin wasn't sure what the thing was trying to say or do.
"Are you Randy's shadow man?" Calvin asked as the thing nodded and started motioning by the door.
Calvin just sat there shaking his head in frustration. What did this thing want? Did Randy know it was in here? Calvin was about to give up when the shadow man began to freak out. It starting moving real fast and zipping around the room and diving towards the door and back. Calvin chuckled and waved his hand when the shadow man stopped and then dived right at him. Calvin tried to move but was too slow. The creature had gone right into him.
He suddenly saw Randy sleeping on his bed. It was obvious to Cal that he was now seeing everything that had happened to the shadow thing through its eyes. Calvin then saw the shadow man go out of the room and into another room filled with monitors. There were two men and a woman watching the monitors and doing something strange. He couldn't make out what they were doing but he could see that the monitors had every patient here at the clinic in their bedrooms sleeping. Calvin got the immediate impression that these three were doing something to them while they slept.
Calvin's mind began to clear as he wondered if this had something to do with their fuzzy memories. Before he could get a closer look the shadow thing bolted out of the room. The next place Calvin was taken was a large area that looked like a laboratory. There seemed to be several people strapped down on cots in locked cells. Cal couldn't believe what he was seeing. Were they conducting experiments on the patients here? Cal didn't have to ponder long because the shadow man suddenly was looking at what appeared to be a hairy beast looking creature doing something to a person strapped to a table. The shadow man tried to get closer when something stepped up to the side of the beast.
The man became a giant shadow creature and turned towards them. The beast jerked around and motioned with his hand at the giant shadow man. Before the giant shadow man could move, Randy's shadow man bolted with great speed. Cal was almost feeling dizzy as he zipped form room to room until he dashed back into Randy's room. The shadow man came to a halt when several security looking guards were already there standing over a sedated Randy waiting to trap the shadow creature. With a quick zig, the shadow creature made a dive through the floor and suddenly appeared in his room looking down at Cal. Cal gave a huge gasp as the shadow man left his body.
"That's what you were trying to tell me. There are bad men here and they're coming for you," Calvin said wondering what he should do.
"You'll find your door is locked," a voice said from behind Cal as he tried the handle and found it to be true.
"Who are you?" Cal asked as he saw a very battered woman with pinkish purple skin and a diamond shape in the middle of her forehead. He didn't know who she was but there was something familiar about her.
"Cal, I know you don't remember who I am but trust me, were friends and that creature is right. We are in danger here. We have to get out before they get here," the woman said with staggering breaths.
"Wait, how do you know my name?" Calvin asked.
"Cal, I only have enough strength to teleport both of us out of here. We have to go. Look deep within yourself and trust me," the woman said as she held out a hand with an arm full of scratches and bruises surrounding a strange looking devise.
"I," Cal began to say when he heard a loud commotion outside his door and the locks clicking.
The woman looked like she'd been through a lot but there was something in her eyes that told him to trust her and that he knew her from somewhere. Just as the door opened Cal reached out his gloved hand and she took it. The men glanced at the pink woman as she winked at them. Then, in an instant, the shadow man dove into Calvin's body as the woman called on her power and she and Calvin vanished from sight.
"Curse that woman, she's escaped me again," Dark Beast growled as he stepped into the room and then left slamming the door behind him.
Outsiders Beginnings
Altered Destinies – Part Three
Earth-Time Quake – New York
"This is boring. I'd rather go see how the She-Rock is doing," Black Axe said as he hovered in the air looking around for what ever was to come next.
"Her story is done for now. By now she has settled into her new home and cared by a mountain family that cares for her while the isolation allows her mind to digress in intelligence. Now pay attention as some major destinies are altered," Phoenix said with his mind.
In a flash the Exile's time ship appeared out of thin air. It seemed they were going down in a crash landing. As the ship skipped ahead Black Axe thought he saw something break off from the ship and go flying in another direction. Just as Black Axe was about to follow the ship full of Exiles, he sees the ship piece slam into another object that had just come racing into the sky. The object seems to be pushed off course and then explodes into two pieces. One being propelled at great speed out of sight and the other coming straight down and exploding again when it hits the ground below.
"What was that?" Black Axe asked.
"That would be the Blackbird carrying the newly formed X-Men on their first mission. Unfortunately, the five young mutants never make it and are presumed dead and leaving one lone man, Charles Xavier to know of and mourn their deaths," Phoenix said.
"Wait a minute. You were on that jet, Jean. What happened to you and the X-Men?" Black Axe asks.
"That story will come later. First we have to finish watching the Exiles landing and departure," Phoenix said as they vanish and reappear in the middle of the city.
"Watch out!" Black Axe hears people scream as the Exile's time ship roars out of the heavens and crash lands in the middle of the street.
Black Axe sees people scrambling from all over as a school bus comes to a screeching halt inches from the time ship. Black Axe can almost make out activity in the ship but by the time all the high school students are out of the bus, it seems to be up and running and vanishes in a flash of light. Two teachers finally get all the students calmed down and back on the bus. It didn't take long before the bus was turned around and on its way back to school. Black Axe chuckled as the odd scene left people puzzled.
"So, that wasn't destiny altering. Just a plain waste of time," Black Axe said.
"That's where you are wrong. You see, on that bus was Peter Parker. Because that crash caused his field trip to come to a stop and return back to school, he will never go into that building and get bitten by a radioactive spider. What you witnessed was the un-creation of Spider-Man," Phoenix said with great boldness.
"Well, that's cool. He was always a pain back on my world. So now where?" Black Ax asked looking around.
"Follow that man into the building," Phoenix said pointing to a man in blue jeans and a leather jacket.
"Why, what's so important about him?" Black Axe asked as he heading towards a building.
"That man is Johnny Blaze. He was destined to become the Ghost Rider. Instead, because of that crash, his bike was messed up and he will have to make a phone call. He won't make that call or become Ghost Rider. Watch," Phoenix said as they see Johnny step into the building.
Black Axe quickly follows as the man called Johnny Blaze makes his way to the front desk and instantly directed to a pay phone off to the side. Black Axe yawns and rolls his eyes as he watches the man on the phone. Suddenly the man calls out and slaps his hand. Black Axe can hear him swear about being bit by something. The man runs out of the building and off down the street. It doesn't take long before he is out of sight.
"So he gets hit by the spider and becomes Spider-Man?" Black Axe asked.
"Not quite. There never is a Spider-Man. Jonny Blaze becomes something else," Phoenix's voice answered back in his head.
"What are you referring to?" Black Axe asked, intrigued.
"The bite from the spider has an interesting effect on Johnny when it mixes with the hellfire power lying dormant in his body. The two powers merge and alter. He will have enhanced strength, agility and wall crawling but then he will have a spider sense that detects demons and will shoot webs and blasts made of hellfire. He will don a costume of red with a blue over shirt that has a spider on it and call himself the Scarlet Spider and become the second Outsider," Phoenix told him.
"Wow, so this world gets the Scarlet Spider and never get Spider Man or Ghost Rider," Black Axe nods.
"Well, there will be a Ghost Rider, just not the Blaze version," Phoenix corrects.
"Well, I guess that's all fun and games. So what happens to Blaze? He vanishes off like She-Rock?" Black Axe asked.
"No, his story isn't done yet. Before we get to that, we have one last thing to look at before jumping ahead in time," Phoenix responds as they began to move away from New York and off into another direction at an alarming speed.
"Where are we going?" Black Axe asked as he felt his body pulled.
"Two important things, there's number one," Phoenix said as she points to a spot in a grassy field.
Black Axe looks and sees a largely built man in a torn up blue and yellow costume with an "X" on the belt. He can tell the man is seriously injured with blood on him and the ground. After a few moments, a car comes up the road and a woman with red hair and glasses gets out and run over to him. She quickly checks for vitals and then runs back to her car. Moments later she is driving across the grass and pulls up to the injured man, gets him in it and drives off.
"So I take it one of the X-Men survived the plane crash?" Black Axe asked already knowing the answer.
"Yes, the one called Beast is alive but barely. That woman in the car is Moira MacTaggert, a friend and college of Professor X. She was on her way to the airport after she had had a fight with Charles Xavier. Charles had called her about his X-Men dying in a plane crash.
"Moira was not only mortified by the news but also by what Charles did next. He said that it had been Magneto that had killed his student and that he wanted her to help him gather another batch and train for war against the evil mutant. Moira refused to help or give up the couple of students she had been working with. Charles then threatened her and began to use his powers on her.
"In a weak moment, Charles stopped at what he was doing. Moira quickly grabbed a rock and knocked him out and took off. She vowed at that moment she would sever all ties with the man and never help him again. She would also get to work on the devise she had been working on with Eric to shield a person's mind from psi powers. As she contemplated all this she had seen a body in the fields.
"As she recognized the body of Beast she realized that a miracle had spared one of the students. At that moment she made two decisions. She would never tell Charles of Beast surviving and that she would start a school for new mutants and train them and keep them protected from Charles and the rest of the world," Phoenix said as she urged Black Axe onward.
"And the rest of the X-Men?" Black Axe asked as they found themselves suddenly in a different spot where a portion of the X-Men jet laid in ruins.
"You could say that we did die that day," Black Axe heard a sigh in his mind as he was mentally urged to watch.
As he watched the smoking wreckage he saw a figure suddenly appear from nowhere. The man, if you could call it a man, whore a blue armor with a giant "A" on the front. With great strength the man starts pulling bodies out of the wreckage, four of them. A man made of ice missing an arm and a leg, a man covered in blood and what appeared to be stumps on his back where wings used to be, another man with half his face missing and legs obviously broken and finally a woman with red hair who appeared to be out cold but looked as if there wasn't a scratch on her. The man pressed a button and then they all vanished from sight.
"My powers had protected me, but at the time I wasn't strong enough to do anything for my fellow teammates. The creature you saw taking us was an evil mad man named Apocalypse. He would do things to us and recreate all four of us. When next we woke we wouldn't be the same, but that will be a tale for another time," Phoenix said with sadness and anger in her voice.
"So the world thought you dead while he made you his soldiers of war. Sweet," Black Axe smiled as he picked up a snippet of her tale from her memories.
"Think what you want, but this changed the path and destinies of many mutants, X-Men and X-Teams to come. Including mine. Enough of that, we must push onward," Phoenix said quickly.
"Where to now, my wonderful guide?" Black Axe joked.
"We jump a year in time. Two great teams are about to form. The Avengers and an all new all different X-Men," Jean said as Black Axe finds himself propelled forward in time.
Next: Issue #29 – Blink Quest – Part Five & Outsiders Beginnings: Altered Destinies – Part Four
