Eclipse
Disclaimer: see previous chapters for details.
Chapter 6
A void beyond darkness or color everything and nothing all at the same time. Eclipse was drowning in it as she was ripped from existence and put back together. The universe spat her out on the other side. She slammed into the middle of a forest clearing face first. The pain leaked from her in excruciating waves and every animal within 100 feet died instantly from the overload to their pain receptors.
Eclipse rolled over onto her back. She lay there for an eternity trying to get her breathing under control. Finally, she pooled enough strength to crawl from the charred pit of molten glass she'd created. She'd made it a few more feet before heaving the contents of her stomach across the forest floor. Her eyes flew from side to side. Her brain still hadn't caught up with her current situation. 'Ow that's gonna leave a mark. Where the hell am I?'
The Gamesmaster's voice came to her like the voice of God to Moses in the wilderness and he wasn't happy. You cheated. Nowhere in the terms of the game are you allowed to enter the time portal.
'Nowhere in the terms does it say I can't. You lost so get over it already. Now tell me where I am?'
You are in the middle of the Northern Canadian wilderness.
'Okay but how did I end up here though?' The Gamesmaster's answer came not in words but a flash of psionics that shifted through her memories.
Flashback
'Nicole, Claudia, Jono you're up.' Nicole and Claudia began to glow. They reached out to Jono their powers connecting their body coalescing into one being. It was a solid mass of psionic energy. Monet placed the interface on its head. Eclipse poured her energies into the being maxing out the psi-multipliers on her night cloak. There was a great roar or maybe it was two. A great black boiling orb like a lake of raw psionic energy appeared. The energy pouring out of it felt like an open wound or a bone grinding into a raw nerve. Veins of black energy slammed into the walls sending scorch marks along in its wake. The door behind her blew open as Gambit, Iceman, and Sabretooth came barreling into the room. Several highly charged cards and ice shards flew towards Jubilee and Sabretooth. If Gambit had taken a good look at the cards he'd chosen he'd have been struck dumb by the irony. It was the death's hand. Most of the ice spears embedded in Sabretooth's chest although one struck Jubilee in the shoulder. The cards caused even more damage as their resulting explosion caused the orb to implode. Then there was nothing but pain and darkness.
You barely made it out alive.
"You don't sound happy I did."
You're awfully smug. Well here's something to take that smirk off your face. Because you broke the rules of the game you've forfeited any help you would have gotten from me. And with that last statement he took his leave.
"Sore loser." 'Now what do I do now that I'm here? Well I better start moving before company shows up.'
The sensors at the X-mansion were going crazy as they picked up a large burst of energy in the vicinity of Canada. Then two redundant mutant signatures appeared. Xavier and Beast looked the readings over carefully and could find no cause for the anomalies.
Cyclops, I need for you to assemble a team to go to Canada. We've picked up some anomalous readings. We could have new visitors from the Age of Apocalypse.
"Damn it!" Jubilee cursed as she tapped her gauntlets. 'My nightcloak hasn't had the opportunity to recharge and I can't port out because it hasn't adjusted to the time period. I'm a sitting duck.' She was sure to be picked up by folks in Westchester any minute. There was probably a strike team on the way.
Xavier's crew wasn't the only one on their way. Her interesting biologics hadn't gotten passed Sinister's eye and the Marauder's were due to arrive in the area any minute. Jubilee was trudging through the foliage with the grace of a predator. The unknown was making her paranoid. Her senses were stretched taunt like piano wire. The occasional mind touch making her jumpy.
She could tell she was being stalked and she hated it especially when she didn't know who it was. She could have killed whoever it was but the trip had scrambled her senses. She didn't want to kill any friendlies. It looks like she didn't have to worry about that.
She caught sight of Vertigo first and let loose a continuous blast scorching a concentric ring of ebony fire around her forcing the attackers back. The Marauders attacked from all sides. "You want me well come and get me." She screamed as she extended her arm blades. She slammed one blade into the gut of her attacker and fired a searing blast into his face. Sinister hit her from behind. The pain erupted as the skin of shoulder began to twinge muscle and bone exposed to the air.
She was beginning to see spots and barely had enough time to activate the timer on her night cloak before she passed out from the pain. The whine of engines filled her ears or was it a dream.
TBC
