Charles assigned Sabra Dust and I to work together to deal with this Hand threat. It wouldn't be easy...but we had given our word to each other. That I would honor.

Dust, as her mutant name implied, had the ability to turn into a sand form, or sand storm for that matter. Sabra was essentially the Israeli mutant version of Cap/Black Widow with the added ability of conscious life energy transfer to enhance others. We were an interesting troika to say the least. Dust wore her traditional Muslim regalia; Sabra wore the colors of the Israeli flag; and of course I still did of the US. None of us had to change who we were or who we would be for anyone else.

"I've spoken to my contacts in Tel Aviv," said Sabra. "They say the Hand's presence has been growing larger in recent years." Mossad was one of the best intel services in any reality; thus I trusted Sabra's sources. "They also say they too want Wakanda's vibranium for vibranium sentinel construction." I nodded. "If sentinels were made of vibranium they'd be nearly indestructible." "Precisely."

I took a few steps away in thought. "What is it Diana?" said Dust. "I was thinking that Magneto might take advantage of this even more so than anticipated. Surely he could detect the vibranium even from afar..." "Didn't Storm make a deal with Wakanda about that very issue?" said Sabra. "It's still pending; and it mostly deals with Atlantis' side of the matter. For surface mutants it's still more complicated." Dust said, "It then sounds like Magneto might very well try to go for it, given what I know about him." Sabra nodded. "An alliance between the Hand and the Brotherhood isn't out of the question."

"Agreed. The top threat is still the Hand due to its mystical leanings. The Beast is the real evil driving this; that is where we must take our fight," I said. Sabra brought up some US locations on the holos we were using. "Mossad indicates these are known Hand locations. They've only managed to observe some from afar." I pointed at the one in New York; northern Manhattan borough. "We should start there."

"Good idea; it's centralized," said Sabra; she then looked at us. "But for the sake of the mission we'll need to go plain. As is we stand out pretty good." "Agreed," said Dust; and to my surprise removed her veil. She was actually a beautiful young woman about our age. Dust looked down at her veil in her hands. "I don't like it...but I am an X man now." She then looked up at me. "And I gave my word." I nodded. "As did I."

XXX

Charles green lit our nocturnal spy mission; even the other X men didn't know about it for now. We appeared as three young chicks doing our thing in NYC. I wanted a high vantage point so I opened a portal for us on a rooftop adjacent to the suspected Hand target. Sabra had her spy tech with her and that would help a lot too. Dust stayed vigilant along with me.

Sabra was prone at the rooftop edge as she continued her surveillance. "They're definitely in there; I'm reading twenty thermals; heavily armed." It was an old factory that had been long abandoned due to job outsourcing years ago. It was the perfect hideout for a mystical ninja clan bent on world domination.

I swept over the target with Honor's mystical scanning capabilities to detect the supernatural... "They're magically enhanced." "Meaning?" said Sabra. "They'll give us one hell of a fight." Dust said, "Our goal is to avoid a fight though right?" "Yeah," said Sabra. "This is recon only." I then said, "But if I can find the Beast - no offense to our Beast - then I can put his ass down." "Somehow I don't think it will be that easy," said Sabra. Agreed.

Honor detected a sharp power spike; a magical one. "What is it?" said Sabra at my concern. "Something big is coming." A car pulled up to the target. Red clad ninjas got out...followed by a young woman garbed similarly... "That's Elektra Natchios..." "Head of the Hand? No way," said Sabra. Dust rejoined us at the rooftop edge. Sabra zoomed in with her camera/binos. "It is her..." Dust said, "What do we do now?"

"Die."

We spun to see another young woman ninja leading a group of red ninjas from behind us. "Psylocke," I said. Indeed Psylocke smiled. "Wonder woman... And her new mutant pals. Where's your bug husband? Didn't want to show up to a woman's only affair?"

Honor was in my hand an instant later; Sabra and Dust were beside me. "This ends now," I said. The ninjas pulled out their swords; Psylocke enabled her psychic blades. "Bring it on then," she said. They came at us. Sabra fired off her double pistols like Widow; Dust turned into a sandstorm and pelted the ninjas with a furious onslaught of sand particles; I lunged at the first set of ninjas and bashed them away with hammer/fist. The war between the X men/Hand had officially begun.