'Breaking news: the self-proclaimed prophet of the messiah, Bolivar Trask, destroyed Tokyo yesterday. Casualties are believed to be in the thousands. Japanese emergency services rushed there last night, but they have found very few survivors.'
All over the world, news reports like this were coming in; CNN, BBC News 24 and almost every other news service in the world were reporting on it. In London, Pietro Maximoff however, hadn't turned a television on since yesterday. Instead he'd merely sat in his flat, staring listlessly at the wall.
It was likely that he would have continued like this if it weren't for his pager beeping. Xavier had given him the call he knew was coming. It only took him minutes to get to Excalibur headquarters, and he saw with a pang that a union jack was flying outside the building at half-mast - an act of respect for Hank McCoy, who'd been in Tokyo when the attack had occurred.
Pietro went straight to Xavier's office and stood stiffly to attention. "Pietro, sit down won't you." When he had done so Xavier looked directly at Pietro. "I know what you're thinking, and what happened last night was not your fault." Pietro remained silent. "You did what you had been ordered to, nothing you could have done would have changed what happened.
"However, I believe it would be helpful for you if you took a leave of absence for a couple of days at least."
"What!"
"You are obviously blaming yourself for what happened yesterday and you need to take some time to re-focus and to get over what happened. No one else blames you for what happened and you shouldn't either."
"I told Hank to go to Tokyo," Pietro said quietly. "I encouraged him to, and then I couldn't kill Trask. It's my fault that Hank is dead, and it's my fault that everyone else is dead as well!"
"Pietro your leave of absence begins today. You are not required to report for duty for two weeks."
Pietro steeped out into the street feeling angry. How could Xavier have given him a leave of absence, now? He should be going after Trask, and how was he supposed to relax with what had occurred in Japan on his mind? He went straight back to his flat and was almost about to throw something very hard at the wall when he remembered something. Xavier had said Trask had last been heard of in Malaysia…
He quickly filled a suitcase with the necessary equipment and pulled out a piece of paper. He paused before writing a brief note, then left the flat, hailed a cab on the street and it took him about ten minutes to get to Heathrow airport.
Trask wondered what people were making of the attack on Tokyo. Fear, he imagined was chief in their minds, along with horror that someone could do something like that, and of course shock. Still, now that they had an example of his power perhaps people would be slightly more interested in listening to what he had to say.
Trask was now standing in his room back in Genoa, he'd left the Temple after he had ordered the attack on Tokyo and returned home - he could order another attack with the simple push of a button. He was however, surprised at the lack of interference from Excalibur, from what he'd heard he had imagined the Charles Xavier's agents would have located Genoa and come storming in here trying to kill him. Instead all that had happened was that pathetic assassination attempt back in Italy.
Trask left his quarters went outside. The night was cool without being cold and the sky was full of stars. Studying the constellations always helped Trask to think logically. Trask wondered how many other stars up there could support life, just as the Sun did. On how many other planets were there people like him, people who had realised that power was easily reachable if you let nothing stand in your way.
"Sir?" A voice broke Trask's contemplation.
"What is it?"
"Cain Marko sir, he should be recovered enough to return to Genoa soon."
"Excellent. Inform me when he departs from the Temple."
"Yes sir."
A flight to Malaysia took the best part of a day and Pietro spent most of the time on the plane asleep. He woke up just as the plane touched down and when he stepped off the plane an intense wave of heat hit him. Malaysia was a lot nicer than England he had to admit.
It took him about an hour to locate the US nuclear physics facility and when he showed them his Excalibur identification they could tell him little. Trask had been quite a minor scientist while he had been here and he had left after less than a year here anyway. Disappointed, Pietro left and returned to the cheap hotel he had booked into, unsure where he could go now. He had been so sure that coming to Malaysia would provide some kind of clue as to Trask's whereabouts, but so far there was nothing.
Pietro was so worn out with jet lag that he fell asleep for a few hours. When he woke up he felt a lot more refreshed and ready to go. He had only taken a short walk outside when he heard someone mutter the name 'Trask'. His companion hushed him up quickly and looked around suspiciously. Pietro kept on walking but after a couple of seconds turned and followed them. They hurried down the street until they came to a small non-descript building, which they entered.
Pietro watched the building for several minutes before crossing the street. He circled round the back of the building until he found a back door, which he opened slowly. He entered a dingy room and looked about him. The walls were covered in strange symbols that looked like crosses except that the crosspiece was curved upwards. Could this be some kind of strange cult connected with Trask?
Pietro didn't have time for any more deliberation because at that moment a man in a white robe entered. The two stared at each other for a matter of seconds before Pietro leapt into action and tackled him to the floor. One nerve pinch later and the man was unconscious. Pietro quickly pulled the robe off him and looked at it, it was a little big but it would do for him. He pulled it on and dragged the unconscious man outside and hid him behind some garbage cans.
Going back inside, Pietro moved through the dingy room and into a hallway. There was a long staircase that he climbed and as he got to the top two more people in robes walked past him and into a room opposite the staircase. Intrigued, Pietro followed them and walked into a room filled with people all dressed in white robes. At the front of the room was a tall man in a silver robe, who raised his hands for silence as Pietro entered.
"Brothers, welcome. Tonight we have gathered together to celebrate the beginning of the new world. It began last night when the heathen scum turned down the messiah's offer of salvation, instead choosing damnation. Soon the rest of the world will either repent of their sins or follow in their footsteps. The prophet has spoken. Bolivar Trask will save the world, one way or another."
Thank you very much for your kind reviews DaemonRogue 13 and oceanbang, I'm glad you liked chapter 6 :)