Sensational X-Men

Issue #37 – Lost and Found – Part Four

Unknown Planet

"How are you feeling, Ororo?" Henry McCoy, the X-Man known as Beast asked.

"Better, still nauseous though," Storm answered.

"I would guess that would be what you call morning sickness," Beast chuckled a little.

"Do we know that for sure?" Colossus asked as he looked at the only other two in the room.

"Not without sufficient medical equipment, no, but based on her symptoms, my medical knowledge and the impression from Krakoa, I would have to say all signs point to yes," Beast said.

"How could you let this happen? I knew it was crazy to let your fling with Magneto carry on," Colossus ranted.

"Excuse me, but who ever said you or anyone had a say on what I do with my life? Erik is not a bad man and he's changed a lot. He's nothing like the man he used to be when you were a member of his Acolytes," Storm spat back with a look of all looks.

"What are your plans?" Beast asked as he glanced down at his hand when he took hers. He was still not used to the fact that he was now human and no longer covered in fur.

"I don't know. I don't even know what his intentions are or what he thinks about all this," Storm responded.

"Then maybe it's time you let him see you and you ask him," Beast suggested as he patted her hand.

"Despite everything, he's old enough to be her father," Colossus declared.

"Well, I don't recall age being a factor when you were chasing after Kitty or saying anything when Warren had his brief fling with Paige Guthrie. The only factor here is that he is Magneto, but Piotr, he is also Erik and a kind man," Storm said as she thought to her self, when he wants to be.

"I better go check on the others," Colossus said as he raised her arms and stormed out.

"I'll tell him to come in," Beast said as Storm nodded and he left the room.

"Ororo?" Erik the mutant menace known as Magneto inquired as he stepped in shortly after.

"Yes, I'm pregnant. Now what?" Storm asked looking up at the man.

"You know I've grown very fond of you and," Erik began to say when Ororo jumped up and advanced on him.

"You've grown fond? Fond?" Storm asked with anger as she brushed past him.

"Ororo, wait," Erik pleaded as he grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him.

"What?" Storm asked crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"No matter how I say this, it's not going to come out right. I have only truly loved one woman in my life and that was my precious Magda. My wife meant everything to me," Erik said as he moved closer to her.

"I'm not asking you to marry me. Even I know we are not ready for that kind of commitment. Am I just another woman in your life? Where do I stand or the ba… I… I don't know," Ororo said as she relaxed her arms and turned away slightly.

"Ororo, throughout I have caught the eye of a few women. Some I truly cared about while others where strategic ploys, but no matter what I felt or was between us, I may have felt love but I was never in love. With you, there is something there.

"No, listen. The time we have spent together here has been wonderful. I'm trying to be a changed man and I feel I can be a better man with you. I don't know where this will lead but I would really like to find out and if down the road it leads to true love then we can take the next step.

"Until then, I would like continue this journey with you and as for the baby. I may have not been the greatest of fathers, but this time will be different. I want to be there for the child and I swear to you, that no matter what happens between us or in this life, I will always be there to support and protect our baby," Erik said as he took Storm into his arms.

"Erik," Storm began to say and lean into him when a loud roar shook the building.

"What was that?" Erik asked as he moved apart from Storm.

"Ororo, Erik, come quick. A golden ship just flew by and it looks to be landing by the beach," Beast said as he almost collided with the two mutants rushing in.

Between Storm and Magneto's powers they had made it down to the beach in no time. As they got there they saw a golden shuttlecraft landing while a larger ship could be seen higher up in the air. Storm and Magneto exchanged glances and knew if they meant trouble she could take out the ship in the sky while he tore apart the shuttlecraft. As the shuttlecraft settled and powered down the rest of their Brotherhood had gathered behind them. Krakoa stood there silently next to Mammomax while Gambit took a defensive stance. Beast and Colossus stood ready as Juggernaut stepped up next to them. Out of the corner of Storm's eye she could see Sabretooth stepping out of the trees while Wingblade stood back to keep him calm and at bay.

"You think they are hostile?" Juggernaut asked.

"Krakoa senses four minds inside and doesn't feel anything threatening from them," Mammomax interpreted.

"Either way, they will be no match for us," Erik said as he told them to stand ready.

"No killing and try not to damage our new means off this planet," Beast added as Storm nodded.

The shuttlecraft sat there for a moment and then a door opened on the side as a ramp extended out and down. A few seconds after that, four figures began to walk slowly out of the craft. They could immediately tell that it was three men and one woman. Storm didn't recognize the woman even if she did look familiar with her red hair or the man with red hair walking behind her. The two men walking in the lead she would know anywhere and she almost fainted with pure excitement and joy. They had been found and they would be going home.

"Alex, Warren!" Storm screamed as she flew at them and gave the X-Man known as Havok a huge hug.

"Thought I would never see you again my old friend," Beast said as he leapt at Warren and shook his hand.

"And I you, but looks like you've been shedding, a lot," Warren laughed.

"How did you find us?" Colossus asked as he joined his reunited teammates.

"We were actually stranded on a ship and were picked up by some old friends of yours," Havok said as he briefly explained how they had run into Ta and Ve, outsmarted them and stole their ship.

"So Heather is alive and is now apart of the ship?" Colossus asked as he felt happy that Lifeguard had survived.

"Yes, but we can catch up more once we get you back up on the ship," Havok said as they agreed that they could swap stories later.

"Who are these two?" Storm asked as she glanced at the two red heads.

"This is Sway," Havok said as she stepped forward and she gasped in fright as did Krakoa when their eyes met.

"Krakoa says it's her and she's not dead," Mammomax translated.

"Krakoa?" Havok asked in panic at the mini version of that dangerous island.

"Alex, she's no threat," Gambit said as he mentioned as they gave a quick run down of what they had learned from Krakoa about the hidden mutants of Charles.

"Yes, it's true what Charles did. Sway here and her other companions all survived and they are related to the original X-Men. This here is Jean's sister, Suzanne but we can talk more once aboard the ship.

"It appears we will have a lot to talk about," Erik said as he eyed the girl and then rested his eyes upon the boy, sensing something familiar about him.

"Yes we do. Erik, I would like to introduce you to Magnus," Havok began to say when Magnus stepped past him and stepped right up to Magneto.

"Pleasure to finally meet you, grandpa," Magnus said trying to hold his excitement in.

"Grandpa?" Erik asked turning to Havok.

"Yes, may I introduce you to Wanda's son, Wade Harkus," Havok said with a smile as the great Magneto almost feinted.

"We better go, Heather picked up a reading on an Other ship on a nearby planet. We'll want to check it out before heading back after the rest of the X-Men," Warren said as they agreed there would be time to swap stories on their trip.

It took a few trips with the shuttle but soon everyone from the planet had been transported up to the main ship and reunited with the others. Despite the protests, they brought Sabretooth on board as well as Wingblade who promised to keep him under control the best she could. Even Magneto agreed at this time it was better to keep him caged as to not have any accidents. As the last shuttle headed for the ship, they didn't see another figure leap from the jungles and slip secretly onto the side of the shuttlecraft and sneak into their ship. Animala didn't know why she did it, but instinct told her she needed to go with them and follow after the one she wanted.

Alpha Flight

Return of Beasts – Part Three

Canada – Tavern

"Logan, as much as I'd like to blow these guys to nothing, we can't kill then when there is a chance our friends are still alive in there," Bucky said as he quickly remembered his secret dual identity and extracted his Captain Canada shield from his left arm instead of his gun.

"Well then we better figure something out fast because if he finish his chanting then our friends are dead for sure as well as the rest of this world," Wolverine said as he looked form his friends to his foes.

Wolverine had his claws out as he saw his friends had quickly switched to their costume identities. Guardian and Groundhog here battle suit ready while Bucky was wearing his Captain Canada attire. Madison Jeffries had created him a Box costume out of surrounding material while Northstar tried to tend to a weak and shocked Manikin who was recovered from having his other half ripped out of him. Wolverine hated his new costume and wasn't used to the ability to have your costume appear at will but that's what happens when you have two members that are keen in magic and technology. With a glare from their leader, he tapped his buckle and donned his outfit.

In front of them were six Great Beasts, five standing protectively in front of a sixth who was chanting some incantation. Logan wanted to gut these foul smelling monsters but they were also the host bodies of his friends and teammates. The groom-to-be, Walter had become Tanaraq, Shiver has become Kolomaq, Feedback has become Tolomaq, Earthmover had become Tundra and Mystic had become Ranaq. Manikin's other self, Hightech had turned into the leader of the Great Beasts, Somon. Now Somon was using some ritual to grant them unstoppable power while the others kept them busy. Wolverine smile, their one flaw was that the spell hadn't been completed yet and that made them mortal and if he can't kill them he can sure have fun hurting them.

"I will crush you," Tanaraq said as he leapt to meet Wolverine's attack.

"You can sure try," Wolverine said as he leapt on the fury beast but was just as quickly grabbed and hurled across the room.

"Time for a cold front to move in," Kolomaq said as the ape-like beast raised its arms and suddenly it was blizzarding inside the tavern.

"We need to shut her down before my suit freezes," Guardian said as he tried to stay warm with internal heaters kicking on.

"There has got to be a way to stop them without killing our friends," Groundhog said as he and Box poured out some heat and energy to keep the others from freezing instantly.

"Any smart ideas genius?" Northstar asked Manikin.

"I'm thinking," Manikin said through chattering teeth.

"Quit your yappin' and fight," Captain Canada said as he flung his shield with the strength of his cybernetic arm nailing the great snow beast in the head causing her to drop back and turn off the snowstorm.

"Time to heat things up," Tolomaq said as all the snow instantly melted as the room began to burst into flames.

"I thought this bachelor party was supposed to be low key?" A woman's voice asked as a blast hit the flaming head causing it to waver as another series of blasts put out enough of the fire to allow Northstar to speed up a vacuum to snuff it out.

"This is tame, darlin'" Wolverine said as he rejoined the group in time to greet their party crashers.

"I knew this was bad new when I heard you were planning things, Logan. All I know is I want my husband back," Diamond Lil said as she stepped up in her old Alpha costume and landed a punch on the creature using her man's body and sending him crashing backwards.

Guardian laughed as he looked at the women who had just arrived. Besides Diamond Lil and Warbird who had blasted Tolomaq, Switchblade, Nemesis and Heather Hudson in her own Vindicator suit joined the battle. With their fire power they teamed up with the men to even the field against the Great Beasts. Nemesis leapt and swung her sword at Ranaq, but Tundra stepped up and created a magical vortex that sent her magic back at her causing her to scream and fly backwards. Manikin finally got to his feet and saw that everyone was so distracted that they didn't realize his other half was about to complete the spell to grant them life and power on Earth. He made his way next to Switchblade.

"I need you to switch powers with the old elf creature there. That way he can't do the spell," Manikin whispered.

"I can't. Since my father is her I am restricted from using my powers so not to give myself away," Switchblade said as she drew her swords.

"He won't know, trust me. Just take his powers and I'll do the rest," Manikin said as Switchblade took one look and did as he said.

Switchblade made eye contact with Somon and before he could react she activated her powers. One minute she was staring at the old elf creature and the next she felt a strange energy within herself. It was more than she could handle and she dropped to her knee trying to hold in her screams. Whitman knew he only had moments but knew exactly what he had to do to save them all and the Earth. He ran to Somon and drew out his laser gun.

"You fool. You think killing me will save the day? Your blast may kill your alter ego, but my magic is in another and I will simply leap there and still finish the deed," Somon laughed as he could feel the power slipping from Switchblade.

"That's not what I had in mind," Whitman Knapp said with a smile as he called on his power with all his might.

Somon began to rant as he realized what the man was doing. With is power switched and gone, Somon was completely mortal and one with Hightech's body, which meant that Manikin not only could pull Hightech back into him but Somon as well. Just as Somon and Hightech were almost merged back into Manikin, Whitman yelled for Switchblade to switch back immediately. A large mystical ball of energy soared away from her body as hit headed back to Somon. Just as the power touched them all, but before it returned completely to Somon, Manikin used some knowledge freshly obtained from Hichtech's once shared mind with Somon and invoked a spell. The instant the spell was released and a flash went off, Whitman turned his gun on himself and pulled the trigger.

"No!" Heather screamed as every Alphan and Great Beast turned to see Whitman's lifeless body fell forward as the ghostly image of Somon rose up and then exploded into smoke and ash.

"The great one is dead," Kolomaq declared in a roar of anger.

"Kill them all!" Tanaraq screamed as the remaining five beasts turned to attack and avenger their leader.

Just as the beast began to step forward they all stopped and began to roar in agony. Not only had Whitman killed their leader but had also used Somon's magic against them all. They could feel themselves separating from their hosts but without the spell to allow them physical form on this plane they were dissipating into nothing. In a matter of seconds the Great Beasts were no more as they vanished into nothing and Mystic, Earthmover, Feedback, Shiver and Sasquatch to return to and regain back their own forms. Lillian quickly ran over and hugged Walter tightly as the others assisted the other newly converted back.

"He gave his life to save us all," Heather said with tears.

"How are we going to handle this with the public?" Guardian asked as he put a hand on her shoulder to have it quickly brushed off with an appalled look.

"I think maybe we should postpone the wedding," Lillian said as Walter nodded.

"Actually, you all don't have to do any of that," a voice said causing them to all turn around.

Standing behind them was Whitman Knapp. They all shook their heads as they glanced at him and then back over to the body on the ground that now looked like a melted wax figure than Knapp. Wolverine leapt up and moved right up to the new Whitman Knapp and started to sniff.

"It smells like him but a little faint distinct difference," Wolverine said as he circled the man.

"Explain yourself, who are you?" Captain Canada asked as he eyed the man.

"For all purposes, I am Whitman Knapp. Before he died and killed Somon to save you all, he cast a last minute spell that would not only get rid of the remaining Beasts but grant me my own body and a chance at something I've wanted, my own body to live," the man said.

"What do you mean?" Heather asked.

"What you see there is the ecto and bio remains of Whitman, Ape and Proto. Whitman released and gave me full and sole control of our body. Whitman Knap is now truly only one person, one body. I, Hightech, am now Whitman Knapp," Hightech said as he shifted into his costume of Hightech.

"Looks like Whitman is still alive and on the team, just the future version of our friend," Groundhog said.

"I'll just have to move Hightech up from secret member and announce that Manikin decided to change his codename," Heather said.

"As for the wedding. Whitman would be upset if you postponed your wedding. He would insist that you carryon as normal for Whitman is not truly dead. He still lives on through me," Hightech said as he attempted a smile.

"Then we have a wedding to finalize and a bachelor party to finish," Wolverine said as he put his arms around both Walter and Lillian and moved them back towards the front bar as the other began clean up.

Epilogue One

"What a nice little secret service they held for you," a woman in an all black outfit said as she stood above the small grave they had placed the cremated remains of the remaining forms of Whitman Knapp.

"Even in this state you can't keep what is mine from me. Aquarius, Taurus and Libra, come to me," the woman said as she held out her hand and three glowing orbs formed and left the burial site and absorbed into the woman's body.

"Only four more to go and then the world will bow down to Madam Zodiac," the woman laughed as she faded back into the darkness and was gone.

Epilogue Two

"I don't understand?" a large and muscular man with red hair said as he looked down from the mountain side.

"The fool should have known better to mess with magic he shouldn't mess with. When casting a spell like he did there has to be a cosmic balance. Thanks to that and my quick magical backlash I managed to save us from death as well," a pale looking man with white dreadlocks said stepping up to the other man.

"Yes, but now we are forever stuck in the form of mortal man and powerless," the muscular man said.

"We may be mortal but we now have rights to be on this Earth and as for being powerless, some things are only temporary," the pale man said with a smile as he leaned on his walking cane that he inherited as leader and gathered together the muscular man and the other three newly turned humans to him.

Next: Issue #38 – The Others – Part One & Alpha Flight: When Weapons Collide – Part One