Part 1: Generation X
Paige laid peacefully on the roof of the main building, gazing up at the stars. She'd read all about the X-Men's adventures with the Shi'ar Imperium, and the other races that inhabited the galaxy. For some, knowing for sure that aliens existed would take some of the wonder and luster from the stars. But not from Paige Guthrie.
Born a mutant, with the power to shed her skin for a new form underneath, she knew that there would always be mysteries to solve, new wonders to uncover. It never crossed her mind that outer space might have creatures born of nightmares inhabiting it. But that would soon change.
Th' stars look so peaceful from here. she thought. Hard to believe that somewhere out there, wars are being waged.
"Hey Hayseed!" Jubilee called from the window. "C'mon! MST3K is starting! They're gonna watch Invasion of the Body Snatchers!"
Paige sighed. Leave it to Jubilee to spoil the mood. She took one last look at the sky, and blinked. She thought at first that it might be her imagination, but it was still there when her eyes opened.
"Jubilee look!" she said. "A shooting star!" Sure enough something streaked across the sky.
"Oh goody!" Jubilee said sarcastically. "Let's make a wish."
Paige glared at her but didn't answer. The object continued to descend, and she noticed that it didn't disappear as most shooting stars did. Instead it seemed to grow.
"Uh Hayseed, I don't think this is any shooting star."
"Really Jubilee? What was your first clue?" Monet said behind them. Jubilee started.
"Don't you ever sneak up on me like that again!" Jubilee snapped.
"Oh don't be juvenile. It's quite obvious that it's not a shooting star. It's quite simply a ship making a crash landing."
"Oh really," Jubilee said, "Why do you make that assumption?"
"It's painfully simple Jubilation. All one has to do stop and think for once. Oh I'm sorry, thinking is a foreign concept for you isn't it?"
"Look you-"
"Oh would you two knock it off?" Paige said impatiently. "I swear, anyone would think you two were sisters the way you carry on." The rest of the conversation was brought to an abrupt end by a bright flash of light, followed almost immediately by thunder.
"Looks like while you two were fighting the ship crashed." Paige said.
"We weren't fighting!" Jubilee said indignantly.
"We were having a heated debate." Monet agreed.
"Well whatever. I have a feeling Mr. Cassidy is going to want to see us real soon."
Sean tracked the course of the downed Shi'ar ship. He could not tell where it had come from, or what kind of damage had caused it to crash, but he was able to fix on it's position.
"Emma," he said into his communicator. "Would ye gather the students please?"
"Would this have anything to do with that little light show we just had?" Emma asked.
"Aye. It might."
Everett laughed hysterically at the comments being made on the TV.
"These guys are loco." Angelo said, mildly amused. He was used to this kind of movie watching. He and his friends had been thrown out of many a theater for just what these guys on TV were doing. Which didn't particularly bother them since more often than not, they'd snuck in anyway.
Suddenly the reception on the television flickered for a split second, and they heard thunder. Angelo looked out the window and did a double take. The sky was perfectly clear. He could see all the stars and the moon.
"Now that's weird." he said.
"What is?" Everett asked. He got up and joined him at the window. He saw nothing unusual. It was a very nice night.
"Didn't you just hear thunder a second ago?" Angelo asked him.
"Yeah."
"Well don't you think it's just a little strange that we hear thunder but there's not a cloud in the sky?"
"Not really, maybe you're just looking in the wrong direction."
I'm afraid it's not thunder children. Emma's voice echoed in their heads. Come to the computer center quickly. Angelo and Everett looked at each other. The same thought rang in both their minds.
Uh oh, what now?
Penance sat silently in the computer room, next to Jonathan. No one knew why she had come. Emma had not called her, the last time she'd tried to get into Penance's head, it had left her helpless. Penance had merely instinctively known to come. Jonathan took it as a good sign. She'd come when they needed her.
Who knows, he thought. Maybe soon she'll be ready to lower her mental defenses. And then maybe we can get a clue as to who she is.
Penance started as the wall beside her began to bulge outward. She tensed ready to attack this new perceived threat. But then, a familiar face formed in the center of the bulge. She relaxed, it was only Mondo. She assumed that if her friends were relaxed around this new boy, then she should consider him a friend.
"Hello Jonathan, Penance." Mondo greeted them. "Where are the others?"
"Hello Mondo." Sean said behind him. He smiled. He hadn't said anything when Mondo had entered the room. The boy had obviously failed to notice him.
"Oh I'm terribly sorry Sean." Mondo apologized calmly. "I didn't see you."
"Not to worry lad." Sean said. Soon after, Emma, Monet, Jubilee and Paige entered the room.
"We were coming to tell ya," Jubilee said, "That we saw a ship crash out in the woods. But as Frosty just told us, you already know."
"Is that what explosion was?" Mondo asked. "Maybe we should go check for survivors."
"We will lad." Sean said. "Just as soon as the others get here." He had a sudden thought. "Emma, did ye contact Artie and Leech as well?"
"I told them what was going on, but I told them to stay where they were. They're not capable of defending themselves yet."
"Good. Now where are Everett and Angelo?" As if on cue, the two boys entered the room.
"What's up Professora?" Angelo asked.
"A Shi'ar ship has crash landed about five miles north of here. We're going to go check out the ship for survivors, and try to find out why the ship crashed."
"What are the Shi'ar?" Everett asked.
"They're an..." Paige and Jubilee said at the same time.
"They're an alien race that the X-Men have had several encounters with." Monet said. She ignored the glares that Paige and Jubilee directed at her.
"Have you contacted Professor Xavier about this?" Jubilee asked.
"Aye I have lass, he said he had complete faith in us."
"Well that's very nice," Emma said, "But perhaps we should get going. While we waste time here, people could be dying."
The wreckage burned. Nothing moved in the fiery light at first. Then, impossibly, something stirred. Metal scraped metal, as the side of the ship was ripped open from within. A strange, hideous creature emerged from the inferno with it's two burdens. Drops of it's blood hit the ground, and hissed as they dissolved the topsoil. The creature was dying, and in some primitive way, it knew this. But it would not allow that fact to deter it from it's purpose.
In one arm, it carried an ovoid shape. An egg. In the other, it carried a man. The man was burned badly, but he would live. But not for long. On his face was another strange creature. It resembled a large hand, with a tail and too many fingers. The tail was wrapped around his neck, and the fingers clutched his head.
Behind it, another creature, and another emerged from the wreckage, their nightmarish forms glistening in the light from the fire.
The first creature dropped the man, and continued into the forest with the egg. The other two also entered the forest, but in another direction, both of these creatures were unharmed.
Angelo stopped the jeep a yard away from the burning wreckage of the ship. The crash site had not been hard to find, they just followed the glow on the horizon.
"Nice little bonfire we've got here." he remarked. He did not go too near the crater, the heat, even from here, was oppressive. Dimly, he heard a high pitched squeal signaling the arrival of Sean. Monet landed beside him.
"I saw someone on the other side of the clearing as I was landing." she said. "He looked unconscious."
"Oh well," Jubilee said. "It's a good thing you came to tell us instead of helping him!"
"It's quite obvious that if the heat is uncomfortable from here, it would dangerous to get closer."
"I'll get him." Mondo volunteered. He melted into the ground.
"Well that was easy." Jubilee said.
Let's try to get this fire out shall we? Jonathan suggested.
"Oh you brought a fire hose?" Jubilee snapped.
"I don't think the fire will spread Jonathan." Monet said. "This spot is just too isolated. Look, the fire is already starting to burn itself out." Sure enough, the flames, which had been leaping into the sky, were now merely hopping a foot in the air, and getting lower all the time.
Soon they were able to approach closer to the ship. "There's something strange about it." Jubilee said. "It's too small."
"It could merely be a scout ship of some kind." Monet offered. "Perhaps when the fire has gone completely out and the metal has cooled, we can salvage the computer."
Mondo flowed through the dirt that he had made a part of himself. He couldn't help but feel sorry for anyone who couldn't experience this. He was now not only made of dirt, but he was one with the earth itself. Above him, he could feel the pressure exerted on the ground by his friends, the ship, and the unconscious man that Monet had seen. He began to flow upward, absorbing stones on the way to protect himself from the heat of the fire. He burst from the ground and noticed that the fire was already dying. He picked up the man, and looked interestedly at the thing on his face.
It could be a breathing mask. he thought. But it looks like it's alive. He shrugged and emerged completely from the earth. There was no further danger from the fire.
Jubilee gasped in horror when she saw the thing on the man's face. "What the hell is that thing?" she asked.
"So it's not a breath mask?" Mondo asked interested.
"I don't think so." Jubilee said. She touched the thing and recoiled, shivering. "I don't know what it is, but it gives me the creeps." The thing's tail tightened around the man's neck.
"I think it's safe to say that that thing isn't supposed to be on his face." Paige said. "I suggest that we get this man to the infirmary and get it off him."
"I agree lass." Sean said. "Angelo, you and the others take the jeep. Me 'n Monet'll check out the ship."
"Okay Senor Cassidy."
"Ugh, I'm not sitting next to him."
Sean smiled at Jubilee's comment. He didn't blame her in the least. Truth be told, the thing made him uneasy as well. Shrugging off a slight shudder, he turned to Monet. "Well then Lass, shall we?"
"Of course." Monet walked calmly around the ship, looking for a way in.
Sean marveled at how seemingly unperturbed she was at this. Does nothing affect the girl? he thought.
"Mr. Cassidy, I believe I've found an entrance." Sean came around the wreck to where she stood.
"So ye have girl." he said. She stood before a man-sized, ragged looking hole in the hull of the ship.
"Curious," Monet said as she entered. "This hole appears to have been ripped open, rather than blown open."
This struck a chord in Banshee's mind. The creature on the Shi'ar's face had not been in any account of the X-Men's encounters with them, and how had the man even gotten out of the ship? The Shi'ar were strong true, but not that strong.
Sean followed Monet into the ship. The darkness closed around him so swiftly and completely it was as if he'd been suddenly and completely been struck blind.
"Lass I canna see a bloody thing. Where are we?"
"We appear to be in the engine room Mr. Cassidy." She was silent a moment. "I think we should leave. Now!"
Sean felt her body strike his, and he was propelled out of the ship. Just before it was ripped apart by an explosion that propelled them faster still. When they had finally come to a stop, Sean caught his breath.
"What in bloody hell was that?" he gasped.
"There was some kind of jury rigged bomb on the engine." Monet answered. "Whatever was on that ship, they didn't want it to get out."
"Then we're probably in trouble lass." Banshee told her. "Because judging by that hole, I think it did."
"What do you suppose that thing is?" Paige asked on the ride home.
"It looks to me like it's some sort of parasite." Emma said. "In any case, we'll know more once we get it off him and can safely study it."
"Yo skins!" Jubilee said. "Going a little fast aren't you?"
Angelo didn't look at her. "I figure that the sooner we get back, the better, si?"
"Oh well when you put it that way..."
Monet looked at the man who was now lying on an examining table. The thing had not responded to her, or Sean's presence, everyone else having long since left the room. Not that she'd expected it to. She could see why the parasite had disturbed Jubilee, though she herself was too mature to worry.
She checked the monitor next to the man. His vital signs were stable, but there was no way of telling how long that would last. She glanced towards the door, Sean was still on the phone with Professor Xavier. He'd given her free reign with the removal of the parasite.
She'd already tried to pull it of, but even with her supernatural strength, she was unable to even budge it. She'd stopped trying when the man's scalp started to bleed. She'd begun to worry what the parasite would do if she tried to remove it, but she was more worried about what it would do if she didn't remove it soon. The Shi'ar on the ship had obviously thought it dangerous, why else go to such lengths to destroy it?
She opened a drawer in a nearby cabinet. It held a large variety of medical tools, including several surgical ones. She carefully removed a small scalpel, and turned once again to her patient. She bent over the parasite and chose one of it's legs at random. Choosing anything at random was not something she did often, but in this case she decided to make an exception.
Slowly, carefully, she pressed the scalpel against the leg. The skin gave slightly, but she sensed that a person with normal strength would not be able to penetrate it. Therefore, she exerted all her strength on the scalpel when she tried to break the skin. As the scalpel pierced the skin, there was an explosive hiss from the creature's leg. Reflexively, she jerked her head up, and was immediately glad that she did. A yellow fluid burst from the wound and fell to the floor. The wound closed up almost immediately, but she failed to notice that as her attention was riveted on the floor where the fluid had landed. The liquid hissed and bubbled. It seemed to recede into the floor, when in fact, it was melting through the floor. She stared at the hole in the floor, and the scalpel. The blade was melted beyond all recognition.
Jubilee ran towards the infirmary, ignoring the fact that everyone else had opted for bed. She'd gotten over her aversion to the sight of the parasite, and now she wanted to know what was going on. She skidded to a stop, and looked in surprise at the sight that greeted her.
Monet stood like a statue on the other side of the examining table, looking strait ahead, her eye's glazed over, as if she were in a trance. Oh no, Jubilee thought, Not again. What set her off this time? She walked over to Monet, and examined the immediate area. The man and the parasite were unchanged, but next to the table, a deep hole had appeared. She knelt next to it, and realized that the hole had been burned into the floor. Glancing up at Monet, she noticed something in her hand. She looked at the misshapen sliver of metal. She knew she would have no chance of removing it from Monet's hand. When she went into these trances, she was as immovable as a mountain. Upon close inspection, Jubilee decided that there was only one way of finding out what it was.
She opened the drawer under the monitor, and looked at the array of tools. There was a scalpel missing. Jubilee was so proud of her detective work, that at first she failed to notice, that the parasite, that had been so immobile that it seemed to be part of the man it had attached itself to, was moving.
Jubilee heard a sucking sound from the man, and jerked her head around so fast that her neck hurt. The creature had detached itself from the man and turned towards her.
Jubilee screamed and scrambled backwards, blasting the parasite with fireworks. The parasite crawled slowly to the edge of the table, and fell to the floor. There it lay, unmoving. She stared at it for a moment, then slowly walked over to it, and kicked it. When it failed to respond, she smiled triumphantly.
"I killed it!" she shouted. Monet blinked.
"Killed what Jubilee?" then she looked at the man. "It came off! What happened?" She ignored the smug look that Jubilee gave her.
"What's this? The Unflappable Monet is surprised and in the dark? Does this mean that Hell has frozen over?" Before Monet could respond, Sean entered the room.
"All right kids, time for bed." He stopped short when he saw the dead parasite on the floor. "Saints preserve us! What happened here?"
"I was just asking Jubilee the same question." Monet said, glaring at Jubilee.
"Never mind." Sean sighed. "Just get up to bed. We'll deal with it in the morning." He slipped restraints on the man, sedated him, and placed the dead parasite on the desk.
Matt silently cursed Jameson for sending him up to Massachusetts to cover some F.O.H. rally in Boston.
"Man if I wanted to hear some fascist bullshit, I'd go visit my hick cousin in West Virginia. At least then I'd hear shit about Blacks, Jews, Foreigners, City Folk and Mutants. A wide variety of Bigotry. Not limited to a single ethnic group. Damnit Jameson! Who want's to read about that shit any way?" On top of all that, Matt hated to travel. He hated sitting behind the wheel of a car for hours on end. "It wouldn't have been so bad if he'd let me fly. But nooo! He's too cheap to pay for plane tickets. Man that Parker got all the cushy assignments. All he had to do was chase around the city after Spider-Man. And now that new guy Ben Reilly managed to clinch that job. Some guys get all the luck."
Matt's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden pressure from his bladder. He cursed again and pulled over to the side of the road. He opened the door and hurried a few feet into the woods to relieve himself. After doing so, he started back to the car, but stopped. He thought he saw something in the bushes to his right. He pushed them aside and stared in amazement at his find.
A dead creature lay next to some sort of egg. At least he thought it was an egg. The creature was jet black, it seemed to be bipedal. It's head was elongated, like a banana, and it seemed to have two mouths. A second protruded from the primary one. He crept closer to the egg to make sure it was what he thought it was. As he approached, the egg slowly began to open.
He stopped, hovering between his intense curiosity, and his urge to run screaming in terror and leave the country. In the end, curiosity won. He crept closer to the egg, peering in. The creature inside was like nothing he'd ever seen. It was moving slowly, like it was still weak from the birthing process. Matt smiled.
"How could anyone be scared of a little thing like-" The creature sprung.
To be continued...