Episode VIII: Interludes
The X-Men fought bravely. Security trolls, infinites, mutants, the hords of Apocalypse were endless, yet the X-Men didn't surrender. Onward and forward they fought for their dream, in epic battle, the last one they'd ever fight. And as the bombs began to fall upon them, one X-Man fought for salvation. Teleporting himself out of harm's way, the mutant known as Nightcrawler tried to stay a step ahead of the bombs, but wherever he appeared he found only death and carnage. And the bombs didn't stop. Suddenly he saw the young Jubilee, running amidst a crowd of Apocalypse's servants, the fight forgotten, tryuing desperately to save their lives in the few instants they had before the impact. Without thinking, Nightcrawler teleported next to her "Grab my hand, fraļ¾lein!" and as she did he teleported again. As he kept teleporting blindly, trying to stay ahead of the bombs' wake, a voice sounded clearly in his head. The voice said just one word. "Below." Nightcrawler did not think. He grabbed Jubilee tightly and
teleported downwards, following the voice's commands. As they appeared with a loud bamf and a stench of sulfur and brimstone, Nightcrawler fell to the ground, on the brink of exhaustation.
"Are you ok?" asked Jubilee, sitting up next to her savior
"Been better... ach me bones..." replied the mutant. Slowly sitting up next to her.
"It's dark here blue elf... where did you take us to?"
"I don't know..." he replied, breathing heavily. As they spoke they could hear their words echoed.
"This is the Alley." said the same old withered voiced that commanded Nightcrawler.
Out of instinc, Jubilee fired a display of fireworks towards the unknown voice. The sudden light allowed them to see a robed woman, floating in the air, wearing a crimson cape and hood, who easily stopped Jubilee's attack with a mere wave of her hand. "The Alley..." said the woman, as if she hadn't been interrumpted at all "... is a bomb shelter. We are safe here from the destruction above."
"Mein gott..." said Nightcrawler standing up. "... we have to go back. Magneto and the others..."
"They are dead." said a young quivering voice from the dark. "I'm sorry... but everyone is dead. The bombs destroyed everything. Even him."
"Him who?" replied Jubille, creating more fireworks to illuminate the place. They were inside a vast chamber that seemed to go on forever due to its darkness.
"Apocalypse." said the young woman moving towards the light. She wore a black cape and hood, but her face was not obscured as the woman in red's face was.
"Who are you people?" asked Nightcrawler moving slowly forward.
"My name is Crimsong." said the woman in red. Again her voice sounded old and withered, but with great and terrible power behind it. "This is Tarot. She is one of my children. Mutants I've rescued from Apocalypse and his minions. And you two X-Men... I've chosen to save the two of you so you can join us."
Nightcrawler and Jubilee looked at each other surprised.
"Come now, let me introduce you to the rest of my morlocks." said Crimson, descending at last and as she flickered her fingers the lights turned on, several torches all around the Alley.
"Wait a moment. We cannot go. We need to see if anyone survived the bombs up. We have to go back." said Nightcrawler
"And how do you plan to do that, when you can barely stand on your feet?" said Crimson. "All that teleporting wearied you Kurt Darkholme. You cannot return. And even if you did... Tarot?"
The young mutant removed her hood, revealing a long mane of red hair. Slowly she raised one card in her right hand. They could clearly see the word present written in it. Tarot's eyes flashed and an image flowed from the card and appeared on the wall. There was nothing but destroyed buildings and corpses, and a thick greenish cloud of dust.
"That is what above looks like now. Nothing but radioactive dust. You cannot go back... You can either come with us, or come with us. You are alone now, the X-Men are no more." said Crimson walking towards a tunnel.
Nightcrawler and Jubilee hesitated but they followed the strange women in the end. After a shor walk they arrived on a dining room of some sort, where old rags served as curtains and walls, and the putrid stench of the sewers filled the ambient. There they found six mutants, all of them quite young, all of them discarded by Apocalypse's regime due to what he labeled 'useless mutations'. Tarot made the introudctions as Crimson sat in a big chair that resembled a throne at the head of the table, her face forever hidden in shadow.
"Everyone, this is Nightcrawler and Jubilee, they are X-Men." said Tarot, without waiting for a response, she began introducing her peers. "This is Marrow. Her power allows her to grow bones, sometimes it's uncontrollable." she said, gently poiting with her hand at the girl across the table, with strange bones formations on her forehead and all over her body.
"I can speak for myself card witch. And if you look at me like that again I'll be the last thing you'll every see girl." Marrow sad threatingly, poiting a sharp bone she had been using as a knife at Jubilee, who was obviously grossed out by the young girl. Crimson cleared her throat and Marrow lowered her bone.
"I think it best if we introduce ourselves." said a young indian man with long black hair sitting next to Marrow. "My name is Proudstar, James Proudstar. I have superior strength and heightened senses."
Nightcrawler nodded, he knew James'older brother, and their first and only meeting hadn't been all that nice.
"Catseye I am. Turn into a feline I can, see?" said the youngest girl, sitting next to Jubilee, as she morphed into a rather large pink cat. She jumped down her chair and crossed, moving closer to Proudstar, who began petting her.
"I am Forearm. I'm stronger than Proudstar." said a young man with four arms, helping himself to a turkey leg, or what it seemed like a turkey leg to be more accurate, biting it hard.
"Obviously not the smartest of this bunch." murmured Jubilee to Nightcraler.
"Hairbag rarely talks." said Tarot, pointing at a boy whose body was exactly like a gorilla's, yet his head was still human. He was playing with a piece of bone. "And Meggan doesn't talk at all. We know their names thanks to my cards... I can see the past, present and future, using my tarot cards."
However Kurt Darkholme's attention was directed at the girl called Meggan. She was the ugliest kid he had ever seen. She reminded him of a water demon from a childhood book. She had hair on her shoulders and long blond hair, green skin and webbed hands. While Jubilee was clearly repulsed, Kurt felt something he had not felt in a long time. He felt pity for the young mute girl. For a second she looked up at him, but immediately she lowered her head again, concetrating on her food.
Tarot served a plate to Jubilee and another to Kurt as Crimson spoke again "I rescued all of them from Apocalypse pens... from the Dark Beast's laboratories." Catseye's hair stood up as she head Beast's name, and Hairbag covered his ears. "We have grown into a family." said Crimson, her voice attempting to be warm, but it felt even colder and stranger than before.
"And why did you have to bring them? I don't them." Marrow's eyes were fixed on Jubilee.
"I wish I could have saved all the X-Men..." Crimson ignored Marrow, keeping her eyes fixed on Nightcrawler "... but you were the only one alive with the power to save yourself."
"I thank you for your timely warning. And though I regret my fellow X-Men's deaths I feel they are content, for Apocalypse is dead, and the world will at last be safe." Nightcrawler spoke, though he was uneasy by the situation he had decided to charm the Morlocks until he could truly ascertain what was going on with them.
"Yeah, we're safe, Apocalypse is dead... everyone is dead... what's next?" said Jubilee
"Now you shut your mouth... or better yet, I'll shut it for you." hissed Marrow.
"What's your problem, besides a serious case of b.o.?" replied Jubilee
"I hate pretty mutants... blue is ok, but you... you can't be a mutant if you don't show it...it's even worse than being a human."
"Wonder why Apocalypse thought you were useless." Jubilee said calmly crossing her arms.
Marrow stood up, but Crimson said "We will not fight among ourselves." and her eyes flashed red for a second, and Marrow sat back again.
Nightcrawler cleared his throat loudly and when he had everyone's attention he spoke again. "We are much thankful for your help, but would you mind telling us why your close to remain underground? If you knew the X-Men, our cause... why didn't you join us?" he looked directly
"Cause knowin'don't mean agreein'!" said Marrow
Crimson chose her words carefuly. It was impossible to see her face, but Kurt thought he caught a glimpse of her grinning. "I've had... difficulties with Magneto in the past. It was better to just remain here and survive and begin preparations."
"Preparations?" asked Jubilee
"Yes. I which I could've save the X-Men, because we're going to need all their might in order to stop the future Tarot has seen." said Crimson
As one they turned to see the young french mutant. She lowered her head, placing one more card on the table, as she had been doing for the last minutes. The card had the image of a small baby, with strange energy patterns all around him. In a hushed tone she spoke, as if she was afraid to speak those words for if she did they would come true. "The rebirth of Apocalypse."
Three days later, several thousand miles away...
"I miss Nate..." said the young mutant known as Sonique as she and Soaron, her newly-appointed mentor and sole survivor of Forge's troupe, continued their march. Their small carriage moved forward slowly, and Soaron sighed and replied. "Look kid, he ain't coming back... we have to cut our loses and move forward."
"I know... but I miss him still..." she said, looking at the skies.
For minutes they continued forward without talking, hearing the chirping of birds and the sounds of the wind. The mid-morning sun shining heavily upon them. And then, suddenly, darkness enveloped them and their horse became uneasy. Soaron tightened his grip on the ropes, calming the horse. Immediately he moved his only remaining wing to move the young girl closer to him, protecting her. They could see nothing but dark.
"We will make this offer once..." said a powerful male voice in the dark "...join us or die."
"I... I can't fight... my powers are not reliable." whispered Theresa.
"I count six of them, I can feel their heat... we are clearly outnumbered and outpowered." replied Soaron in the same hushed tone. "Very well, you don't leave us much choice mutant. Now lift this darkness so we can see who you are."
The darkness dissapeared as swiftly as it came. Soaron's assesment was true. A man stood before their carriage, standing next to a blonde girl dressed in white, they could see her absorbing the darkness that had enveloped them. A duo of cat-like girls hissed at them and two men stood at each sides of their carriage. One of them dressed in a black suit, and the other with large goose-like wings and red goggles.
"Who are you? What do you want with us?" asked Soaron
"My name is Sebastian Shaw, and this, my dear professor Lykos, are my Hellions." the man in front of them spoke. "We are recruiting mutants for our little goal."
"And that is...?" asked Sonique almost rolling her eyes.
"Why, dear girl, isn't obvious? We want to take Apocalypse's place as this world's leaders!"
"Apocalypse?" asked Soaron.
"Dead as a doornail." said the man known as Pete Wisdom as he lit a cigarette.
"That means Nate did it..." smiled Sonique
"You have us at a disadvantage." said Soaron. "You clearly outnumber us and we cannot fight. We agree to go with you quietly."
"I so love it when the day starts so good..." said Shaw smiling. "Get down from that contramption and move closer to my dear Ms Darkstar..." he said touching the blonde girl's chin. "She'll take us home... she'll take us back to Hellfire."
And as the team came closer, Darkstar lifted her hands and enveloped them in a darkforce bubble, and it gently rose to the skies and soon they were gone.
Though nestled in the deep congealed continent known as Antartica, a large region possessed warm, tropical weather. Most of the people who lived there had no idea why this ocurred nor they cared. Hidden on the fringes of the Savage Land, a small village of humans and mutants began its reconstruction, for it suffered a devastating blow, orchestrated by the forces of Apocalypse.
"Lift that girder!" shouted Damask, overseeing the reconstruction.
"You are good at giving orders." said a young puerto-rican woman walking towards her.
"I was born to do Dr. Reyes." smiled the former Pale Rider.
"Switchback sent me. She says they're ready to start burying them."
"And?" Damask asked.
"She thought you might wanted to attend the funeral." said the young doctor.
"Why would I want to do that?" replied Damask. She turned her back to Cecilia Reyes and returned to her duties. "There's work to do here. Move that girder to the left!"
Sighing, Dr Cecilia Reyes left Damask alone, who kept shouting orders. A few minutes later she arrived at the recently built cemetery. There, Switchback was ready to give final rest to those fallen in the Pale Riders'attack.
"She didn't want to come."
"I told you." said the young albino girl sighing. "Let's begin shall we?" She looked at the few mutants and humans who had stopped working to bury their fallen friends. She gathered strength and began talking. "We are gathered here today to honor those who departed before us..." but soon she found herself unable to continue. Her eyes focused on the deep red energy coalescing above Cain Marko's casket. Several people gasped surprised as a red gemstone phased from the closed casket upwads. The gemstone hovered above it, glowing brigthly. Without thinking, Switchback raised her hand and touched it slightly. As she did she felt ancient power coursing through her, and her eyes turned red, and she heard a faint voice, resounding in her mind. "Whosoever touches this gem shall possess the power of the Crimson Bands of Cyttorakk! Henceforth, you who hear these words shall become forevermore... a human Juggernaut!"
Not far from Avalon, secure in Antartica's cold embrace, there was a solitaire castle, base of operations of Mystique. The blue skinned woman sat on a throne, impatiently waiting. Her mind was with her son, wondering if the news she had of his and the X-Men's deaths were true. It had been a week since Apocalypse fell. A week since Mystique had abandoned Avalon and begun her plans. An eerie mist entered through an open window. Slowly, the mist coalesced into a visible shape, the shape of a woman. And as she regained corporeal form, Amelia Voght spoke. She wore a blue and red robe, with a small silver D engraved near her heart. "Everything is ready. The sisters await your arrival."
Mystique smiled and stood up. She slowlt walked towards Amelia and touched her shoulder. "Then le us begone child." she spoke with a borrowed voice, sounding much more maternal than usual. Amelia Voght lifted her hands and both women turned to smoke, dissapearing with the wind.
The wind howled around the small island. For generations, Muir Island had been home to the Kinross clan, until their last descendant, Moira Trask, turned it into a sentinel manufacturing plant. Even though Moira, and her husband Bolivar, had died recently, operations continued at Muir. The head of the complex was a retired US Colonel, who had little love for the people who worked below him. He answered the communication and Robert Kelly's face appeared on the monitor.
"Fury here. What do you want?" said the Colonel in a rather angry tone.
"Just the usual Nicholas old friend." said Kelly. "The newly-appointed Council needs a status report."
"Everything's fine here. Campbell and Lang say they have the prime unit ready for you, they're dubbing it Bastion for now." explained Fury, taking a pause to smoke his cigar. "Eberssol is a bit restless, says he can't gain access to a series of subterranean vaults. I told him to drop it, he keeps saying Trask had secrets buried deep in Muir and we might benefit from them. Stupid arrogant s.o.b... I keep telling him Trask's secrets died with him."
"I will speak with Norbert and tell him to chase other goals. There are plenty of things he could use that fixing ability of him." replied Kelly
"And that's pretty much it in this godforsaken place." Said Fury smoking again.
"Good." said Kelly. "Maitain the patrol routes and send an extra dozen sentinels to protect the people in Africa."
"You're the boss now." Fury turned off the communication, just as a green clad woman entered the room.
"Orders from the council?" asked Viper, placing her hands on Fury's shoulders, massaging them.
"The usual crap." he said, putting out his cigar. "Now c'mere..." he said turning around and kissing her roughly, the acrid smell of his cigar bathing her lips.
The cold had left the water. Since the atomic bombs fell all over Manhattan, its waters had never been cold again. In a perpetual state of heat, the irradiated waters bathed the former empire of Apocalypse. Two beings swam through the toxic, irradiated waters. The first was the Queen of Atlan, long cursed with radiation in her body. Namorita was one of the few Atlanteans to survive Apocalypse's attacks. She led her mate, her husband and King of Atlantis, in search for survivors. He had felt a live presence in the water, entering when Apocalypse's world died. He could still feel the radiation as it emanated from this new being.
"Are you sure beloved? Are you sure there is someone from the surface alive down here?" Namorita asked.
"Yes. Radiation is me and I am radiation. I feel a body ravaged by her. I will save him as I've saved your people, dear Namorita" said the tall green-skinned King of Atlan.
They swam in silence for a couple of minutes, looking in every direction, until Namorita spotted their quarry.
"There he is! By Neptune's trident!" she exclaimed. "It's a man! A man made of ice!"
"Ice you say? Perhaps the gods are providing us with the means for our revenge... come my beloved... let's rescue this man of ice..." And the Radioactive Man swam closer to Iceman, grabbing him in his arms and returning to Atlantis.
The smoldering ruins of what once was New York City found relief when a sudden rain erupted above them. The radiation within the city's remains was the highest this planet had ever felt. It would take almost a hundred years for this part of Earth to heal. It was impossible for anything to live here. Yet, a lone figure walked through the remnants of Apocalypse's stronghold. Neal Sharra's mutation protected him from the radiation, and, as he walked, he wondered once more if the prophecy had been correct. "I should have found him already... Ozymandias claimed the Chosen One would be here." he said to himself. The young mutant kept searching through the rubble and debris, until his eyes met his quarry. Among the ruins, among the twisted and broken bones, he saw a small child, sleeping next to a set of skeletons. The child was inside a bubble of some sort, telekinetic energy most likely. Neal walked slowly, trying not to awake him. He crouched and lifted the boy, smiling. "Come with me Chosen One, the time for
your ascension is near." And Neal Sharra resumed his walk, steadily moving towards the East, carrying the sleeping body of Charles Lensherr.