Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, Star Wars, or any of their original characters. Nor do I have any type of claim to those characters. However, the characters of my creation belong to me, and cannot be used without my permission.

Secrets of the Past

(Star Wars: Evolution IV ~ A New Hero Part III)

By

Moonchampion

Pietro, Roberto and Lance cruised along the hot sand dunes of Mutoone in a land speeder that belonged to Pietro's uncle. The speeder hovered above the ground, and moved at incredibly fast speeds. Eventually, the boys found themselves coasting through mountainous terrain. After a going a few miles, Pietro stopped he land speeder, and the boys stepped out of the craft and began looking around.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Lance asked Pietro as he observed the desolate surroundings.

"Yeah," began Pietro, "but no one has seen her for years. She generally likes to keep to herself." Lance scoffed at Pietro's explanation and began to move forward. Pietro started walking after Lance.

Roberto began to follow the other two when he suddenly found himself pushed to the ground. Roberto looked up to see a pair of paws on his chest. His eyes followed the paws to the wolf that now rested on his chest growling down at him, a bit of saliva beginning to drip from its mouth. "G-guys… help me," squeaked Roberto.

"That is enough, Rahne," said a soft voice. However, the wolf only leaned closer towards Roberto, who was now trembling with fear. "Rahne!" said the voice again, but the wolf didn't stop. Now, only mere centimeters away from Roberto's face the wolf opened its mouth and licked Roberto.

The wolf began to pant as it hopped off of Roberto's chest and walked over to her master. Its master was a tall dark-skinned woman with long white hair and blue eyes. The woman wore a black outfit, which was trimmed in gold along her waist and just below her elbows. She also wore white boots and a black cape that was lined with white on the inside. At her waist was a small thin cylinder. However, she quickly pulled her cloak close as she began to address the boys.

"Well, it seems Rahne likes you," said the woman to Roberto who was getting to his feet.

"Excuse me, are you Ororo Munroe, the Weather Goddess?" asked Pietro.

"Well, the Weather Goddess," said Ororo. A smile began to spread across her face. "What if I am?"

"Then we need your help," interrupted Lance. "Please! Princess Wanda is in grave danger! She's been captured by the Empire."

Ororo watched Lance and turned her attention back to Pietro and then to Roberto. "Come inside," said Ororo. "And please, I would prefer if you were to call me Storm. After all, I am no goddess." The boys nodded and began to follow Storm as she led them on their way.

Roberto kept his eye on the wolf as he walked by. "Uh, nice dog," said Roberto.

Storm stopped and looked back at Rahne and Roberto as he watched her. "Yes, I think she likes you."

"Really?" asked Roberto.

Suddenly, the hair on the wolf began to shrink up, and the wolf began to stand upright on its two hind legs. Roberto and the others watched in awe, as the wolf became a girl with short red hair on top of her head. She smiled at the others, and then took a step towards Roberto. "Yeah, really. You're kinda cute," she said.

Storm chuckled a bit as she Rahne step up close to Roberto. "Come along you two," she said as she continued on their way towards her home. After a few minutes, Storm led Pietro and the others to her home. Once inside, Storm turned to Rahne. "Prepare some tea for our guests." Rahne nodded and headed towards the kitchen, glancing once again at Roberto as she left. Storm took a seat and looked at her guests.

"Now," she began, "tell me about Princess Wanda."

Lance stepped forward and activated the holographic projector in his helmet. A few seconds later, a miniature holographic representation of Princess Wanda stood on the floor looking in Ororo's direction.

"Weather Goddess," began the holographic Wanda, "years ago you aided my father in the Genetic Wars. Now, he desperately needs your help again. The Empire has created a new weapon called Asteroid M. It has unimaginable power that will allow the Empire to destroy and enslave all mutants. The plans for Asteroid M are within Lance's helmet along with this recording. It is imperative that these plans reach the Rebels on Albutgon, so that Asteroid M can be destroyed. You must help us Weather Goddess. You're our only hope."

The holographic image faded and Storm turned to face Lance. "Well, it seems that there is little choice in the matter. I will aid you in your quest." Storm turned to face Pietro. "Hmm, I can see you are very much like your father."

Pietro turned to face Storm. "You knew my father?!" he asked.

"Of course," answered Storm. "We fought side by side during the Genetic Wars." Storm rose from her seat, walked to the corner and came back with a small wooden case. She opened it up and Pietro saw a small silver cylinder, like the one around her waist. "He wanted you to have this. It is a lightsaber, the weapon of an Alpha Mutant, those mutants that are highly attuned with the X-Factor gene."

"You mean my father was an Alphi Knight?" asked Pietro. "But my uncle said that he was only a pilot."

Storm chuckled softly. "Your uncle always thought that your father should have stayed here on Mutoone."

"How did my father die?" asked Pietro.

"A young Alphi Knight, called Magneto who was a dear friend of mine turned evil, and helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the other Alphi Knights. He betrayed and killed your father. The Alphis are now almost extinct because of Magneto's seduction by the dark side of the X-Factor." Storm looked at Pietro as he took the lightsaber into his hands and began to study it. "You are going to have to learn how to use that if you're going to accompany me to Albutgon."

"What?! I can't go to Albutgon with you!" said Pietro. "Uncle Cain would kill me! In fact, he'll kill me anyway for skipping my chores for the day." Storm sighed as Pietro explained. "I can take you to the city so that you can find a pilot, but that's it." Storm nodded. "And thank you… for telling me about my father.

Storm smiled and rose to her feet. "Rahne, mind the home until I return. I shouldn't be more than a few days." The young girl nodded and smiled at Roberto once again as he exited the home along with Storm, Pietro and Lance.

Pietro piloted the land speeder over the dunes of the Planet Mutoone towards his own home. As they got closer, Pietro noticed a large cloud of smoke in the air in the distance. "I wonder where all that smoke is coming from," said Pietro.

Lance looked off into the distance. He pressed a few of the control panels on his helmet. He was able to zoom in on the source of the smoke. He swallowed, and then turned towards Pietro. "It's coming from your home," said Lance softly. "It's been… destroyed."

Pietro's eyes widened in shock. He looked back at Lance to make sure that he had heard him correctly. The expression on Lance's face showed him that he wasn't mistaken. Pietro increased the speed of the land speeder until they approached the ruins of his old home. He brought the speeder to a stop and hopped out. He dashed over to the charred remains of his home, the building he had grown up in with the only parents he'd ever known.

"Aunt Irene! Uncle Cain!" called Pietro. Pietro and the others searched for some time. However, all they managed to find was broken equipment and farm vehicles. Storm stepped forward, and raised her hands into the air. Dark clouds rolled into view, flashing with lightning with in. A strong gale of rain poured onto the burning house dousing the flames. Once the flames had diminished, Pietro could see that his search was over. Inside the remains of his home, he saw a pair of charred skeletons, one large and the other much smaller. Both intertwined together, as if they had been holding each other until the very end.

Pietro felt a hand grasp his shoulder sympathetically. "Come Pietro," said Storm softly. "There is nothing you could have done. If you had been here, they would have killed you too." Pietro turned to face Storm. He could tell from the look in her eyes that she was telling truth. The tears began to cloud his vision as he turned and headed back towards the land speeder.

A few hours later, Pietro piloted the land speeder into the city. The city was now crawling with Imperial storm troopers. Pietro frowned at the sight of the troopers. One of them flagged down Pietro's land speeder and approached them with weapons drawn.

"I need to see your credentials," said the storm trooper.

Storm looked at the soldier and offered a gentle smile. "You don't really need to see his credentials do you? The boy isn't worth your time… is he?"

The soldier slowly nodded his head in agreement. "I don't need to see the boy's credentials. He isn't worth my time. Go ahead," said the soldier as he waved them through. Pietro smiled and turned towards Storm when they were out of earshot.

"Was that an Alphi mind trick?" he asked.

"No, only telepaths can do that," said Storm. "That was simply feminine charm." Storm winked at Pietro as the land speeder moved on through the streets of the city.

A few minutes later Storm led Pietro, Lance and Roberto into a bar. The bartender behind the bar quickly took notice of them. "I apologize gentlemen, and fair lady," he began, "but we do honor a dress code in this establishment." Pietro and the others exchanged looks. "I'm afraid that your friend, the one with the helmet, will have to wait outside."

Lance shook his head. "I don't believe this! I'm catching grief about a dress code from a guy with blue fur in his underwear!"

"Just wait outside. Okay Lance?" said Pietro.

"Yeah, whatever," grumbled Lance. "Come on, match stick. You're with me!" Roberto was about to protest, but Lance quickly pulled him outside before he could manage to say a word.

Storm and Pietro walked up to the bar. Storm turned to Pietro. "Wait here," said Storm. She walked over to the other side of the bar and sat down next to a smaller young man. He appeared to have blue fur as well. However, unlike the bartender, this one also had a tail. He appeared more demonic, where the bartender looked monstrous… if there was a difference.

Pietro turned to the bartender. "Hello, welcome to Beasty McCoy's. What type of beverage can I get you?" said McCoy, the bartender, with a toothy smile.

"Uh, I'll just have water," said Pietro.

"The smile disappeared from McCoy's face as he heard the order. "Oh, one of those, eh? Are you sure I couldn't interest you in something more… exotic?" Pietro shook his head. Annoyed with the order, McCoy went off to fetch Pietro's drink. He came back shortly and placed a glass down in front of Pietro.

The glass was filled with water; however it was anything but clear. The water was brown and had small chunks of mud and small bits of grass floating in it. Pietro raised his hand to catch McCoy's attention before walking off. "Uh, excuse me, but… I think there's something in my water."

McCoy arched his eyebrow and examined the glass. "I don't see anything," he replied.

Pietro's eyes widened. "Uh, the water is brown," said Pietro.

"Of course it is. It's mineral water," answered McCoy. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have paying customers to attend to." With that, McCoy left Pietro with his glass of "mineral water."

"You're in my seat kid," said a tall young man with blonde hair. Pietro looked up. The man wasn't alone; he had two others with him. "I said you're in my seat."

"I'm sorry," said Pietro.

"Hey Duncan, how bout we teach this loser not to take other people's seats," said one of the men with him.

Suddenly, Ororo stepped back into view. "Please, gentlemen, this boy isn't worth your trouble. Please, allow us to buy you some drinks, for your trouble." Ororo turned to face the bartender. As she did so, Duncan picked up Pietro and tossed him onto a table. The table broke under his weight and crashed to the floor.

Storm instantly raised her hand. A bolt of lightning hit one of the men accompanying Duncan in the chest. The man went flying back, crashing to the floor. Storm swiped her hand through the air blowing the other man across the room, and against the wall by the door with a gust of wind. Duncan had drawn a laser pistol and was about to fire at Pietro. "So long, loser," said Duncan.

In less than a second a streak of blue crosses over the nozzle of the pistol. The end of it falls to the floor, and the blue light immediately appears below Duncan's chin. His eyes slowly turn to Storm, her lightsaber resting very close to the young man's chin. The sweat dripped from his chin, on to the lightsaber. Having tortured the boy enough, Storm raised her hand, and a gust of wind blew Duncan out the door and onto the street.

Storm hit a button on the lightsaber, and the blue blade of light disappeared back into the cylinder. Storm turned around and helped Pietro up. "Are you all right?" Pietro nodded. "Good." Storm turned towards the short man with the blue fur and tail. He was wearing a jumpsuit with a red V pattern on his chest, as well as a belt with many pouches across his chest. "This is Kurt Wagner. He's the first-mate and chief mechanic of the ship that may suit our needs. Come on."

TO BE CONTINUED…