Issue 2: Fight or Flight?
Scene 1: (Professor Xavier's mansion. Wanchester, NY.)
"Father, the sensors detect four unknown mutant lifeforms within the confounds of the mansion," Scorpio said, kneeling in front of his father, DarkMoon, who just moments earlier had changed from Professor Xavier into his true form.
"It seems, Timespan, that your sister has found some friends to help her. No matter, as soon as they enter this room their will be no escaping me," DarkMoon said, standing up and looking at the chained mutant.
"She will defeat you," Timespan said, his voice strong, but his body obviously beaten almost beyond recognition. "Even if I don't make it out of here alive she will keep the resistance alive and Vertigo will fail."
"NO!" DarkMoon yelled, hitting Timespan hardly across the face. "Vertigo will never fail! He will never be destroyed. The Dark Lord will rise up and be ruler of all!"
::Clap,clap,clap:: Vertigo looked behind him in the shadows.
"Nice speech mon amie, but I t'ink dat be enough of da chit chat. You wanna play wit da Gambit?" A glowing light shown out of the darkness as Gambit charged one of his cards and flung it deftly across the room, breaking the glass that held his fellow X-Men Wolverine.
"Never thought I'd say glad to see you cajun," Wolverine said, stretching his muscles that had tensed up while held in the alien prison.
"Well, I don t'ink dat dis be a good time fo' a family reunion cause we got company," Gambit said watching as the back doors opened and an army of human fighters marched in.
"Good. These claws haven't had a good workout in quite some time. It's shredding time boys," he said quickly running to the nearest fighter.
"Chere, you go free de others," Gambit yelled to Traveller. She quickly ran over to the other glass prisons.
"You get Timespan. I'll free them," Aqua said, putting a hand on her shoulder. Traveller nodded her head in agreement and ran over to where her brother was hanging on the wall in chains.
"Not so fast," Scorpio said, blocking the path between her and her brother. She lifted her face so she looked Scorpio dead in the eyes.
"Nadia?" he said, his voice filled with confusion.
"Yes Scorpio. I've come for my brother and no one is going to get in my way. Not even you," she said, her eyes glowing a fierce red.
"Nadia, you must understand. We mean you and your brother no harm. Vertigo is willing to spare you if you agree to join us," he said, his eyes filled with excitement.
"Traitor. My family trusted you and you sold them out. Now they're dead. How can you stand here, asking me to join the man who murdered my family?"
"Nadia, Vertigo will never be stopped. You must understand this. If you don't join him you are sentencing you and your brother to death."
"Then so be it."
"I don't want to hurt you Nadia," Scorpio said, his eyes filled with
sorrow, "Please join Vertigo. Then we can be married like was planned by
your parents."
"Don't speak of my parents. You betrayed them. You sentenced them to death. If you truly don't want to hurt me then step out of my way. If you don't then I have no choice but to fight you. And I won't be so generous as to let you live," she said, crouching low to the ground.
"Then so be it," Scorpio said. Traveller dove to the side as Scorpio's poisonous tail swung out from behind, missing her barely. Soon he had completely transformed into a giant scorpion. They battled, turn for turn, hit for hit, when finally Scorpio got her cornered.
"I am sorry my love," he said, his tail raised high for the killing blow.
"No, I'm sorry," she said. She quickly disappeared into a flash of white light. Then, reappeared behind him. Taking the sword in her hand, she plunged it deep into his back. Slowly his body returned to normal and he lay there, the sword covered in his blood laying at his side.
Traveller kneeled beside his head and laid it on her lap, brushing his hair out of his face.
"You went on the timestream," Scorpio said, blood spilling over his lips.
"Yes. I'm sorry," she said holding his hand.
"I'm sorry things couldn't have been different," he said looking up at her, "I love you." She felt his hand loosen up as he died. She would not shed a tear for him, not after his betrayal. All of a sudden Traveller heard an inhuman scream.
"Scorpio, my son, you will not die today," DarkMoon yelled running up and placing him in his arms.
"You will pay for this Traveller. You will pay." With that he disappeared back into his present time. Taking his son to Vertigo's machine to be healed.
Meanwhile, back at the mansion, the X-men where having a most unusual family reunion fighting Darkmoon's army.
"Nice to see you alive Gambit," Storm said, sending a lighting bolt crashing into the men in front of her.
"You too mon amie," he said, sending out a few charged cards. He took the few moments after the blast to look around for Traveller. He finally saw her unchaining her brother and he also saw a group of fighters crawling up to greet her.
"Traveller watch out!" he yelled as loud as he could, but his voice just floated across the noise in the small room. Nadia was bending down unchaining her brother when she felt the cold pressure of a gun against her neck.
"Stand up," the man said. She heard the cocking of the gun and slowly stood up.
"Now mutant, die like the scum you are," he said pressing the gun hard against her head. Suddenly Traveller felt a slight breeze come over her.
"Now that ain't the way to treat a lady," she heard a familiar voice say. She turned around and saw the fighter crumpled on the floor. As she looked up into her hero's face, she saw his eyes widen with recognition.
"Nadia?" Logan said, not believing his eyes. He blinked a few times, thinking that maybe she was just an illusion in his head again.
"Hi Logan," she said, her voice filling his head, so soothing.
"What? How..I mean.." he stuttered, trying to find the right words to say.
"Maybe another time Logan," she said and flew up grabbing one of the fighters that had been about to jump on Wolverine. He watched as she carried him across the room and dropped him on a few of his comrades. She was really alive, he felt his heart skip a beat. It had been so many years...