Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:38:12 +1030 From: Ben Harvey Subject: X-Force Chapter four (Celebrity) Disclaimer: All of the standard disclaimers apply. The X-men are the property of Marvel, and I take no credit for the creation of their characters, only my own. This is a fanfiction, therefore anything dicontinuous to the normal X-men universe, including sexuality of the characters, is the product of my imagination. Any similarities to real people or events is completely coincidental. This story contains male/male sex and romance. If you find either theme offensive, what are you doing reading nifty stories? And if you are underage or this story is illegal where you are reading, please leave. But if you chose to ignore this warning, it's your own fault! Sorry for the wait but it's a longer chapter and I wanted to do it justice without making it too long a read. Chapter Four - Reckoning Remiel sat patiently at the briefing table, waiting for the meeting to begin. Every X-man involved in the recent skirmish was present, excluding Josh, who was still recovering from the mental attack he had sustained during the conflict. The door to the War Room hissed open and the Professor entered, rolling smoothly in his mechanical wheelchair. "Good afternoon, X-men," he said, coming to a halt at the head of the briefing table. "I don't see what's particularly good about it," Scott snapped. "Scott!" Jean warned. "I understand your frustration Scott," the Professor said, "but that attitude is not going to help the situation". "Professor," Scott said in a flat tone that was still filled with annoyance. "That kid made us look like complete fools. There were eleven of us and he just brushed us all aside like we were nothing more than a mild annoyance". "And it is for that reason I've called this meeting," the Professor stated. "No offense Professor, but how is a meeting going to help us beat this guy?" John asked. "I imagine we're here for a group debriefing in which we are going to discuss the way our new friend fights, and theoretically, identify any flaws in his technique," Remiel answered. The Professor smiled, "You are going to make an excellent stregist in the future Remiel. You are quite right. Firstly, I've gone over all of your reports, and I must say I'm somewhat confused as to the powers this stranger demonstrated. According to all of the reports, he used no temporal powers at all". "That's correct. He demontrated no temporal abilities, but a host of others," Remiel confirmed. "Right. He used what I'm guessing was telekinesis, telepathy on both Remmy and Josh, speed against Nori, electricity against David, and he hit both Scott and I with optic blasts," John said. "And that was in addition to the regeneration and teleportation he employed against us," Betsy finished, "Not to mention the fact that he was completely immune to a combined telepathic assualt from Jean, Remmy and I". "I see. He wields multiple mutant abilities, all of which are very powerful," the Professor concluded. "He obviously had the means to do serious and permanent damage to all of you, but the fact that he chose not to, even going so far as to leave Jean unharmed, shows that he has a level of restraint. Temporal abilities employed against an individual can kill, so the fact that we didn't see him use them could simple be an example of this restraint". "Well reasoned," Kurt said, swishing his tail from side to side. "I did notice one thing though," Remiel said. "With all of the power at his disposal, he could have easily defeated us as a group, but he chose instead to engage us as individuals". "An interesting conundrum," Ororo said. "I really wish you guys would speak in 'normal-people' english," John complained. "All these 'engagements' and 'conundrums'. Can't you just say that he kicked the hell out of us and he could have done it a lot easier than he did?" David gave him a bored look. "You really need to update your vocabulary". "Anyway," John continued, ignoring David entirely, "I think that next time we meet him, we should worry less about talking, and more about not getting our arses handed to us". "How do you do it?" Jean asked Remiel. "Huh?" John looked between the two psychics. Remiel smiled and ran his hand along John's cheek. "What can I say? I'm a sucker for a pretty face". Everyone laughed, and for the first time in the three days since their defeat, the tension broke. ****** John led Remiel along the long corridor by the hand. The moon shone in through the high windows, testiment to the lateness of the hour. The meeting had lasted much longer than any of them had anticipated, but even so, they had still managed to identify nothing anout the stranger they could use. Remiel had been tired when the meeting had begun, but now, several hours later, he was completely exhausted. The pair finally made it to their room, and John unlock the electronic latch and pushed open the door. Remiel stepped over the the bed he and John shared, and collapsed onto the covers. His lover smiled at him before heading off to the bathroom. When John returned he lied down on top of Remiel and playfully nipped at his ear. Remiel giggled slightly without closing his eyes. "Come on babe, I'm too tired". "Even for a little bit of fun?" John teased. "Even for a little bit of fun," he answered. "I'm exhausted". "Okay," John relented, "but I'm still going to have to get you out of these clothes". Remiel smiled again, "Be my guest". John stood back up and pulled Remiel back towards the edge of the bed. "First, I'm going to get rid of these jeans". John leant forward and kissed his way over Remiel's denim covered crotch before pushing up his lover's shirt and trailing more along the firm ridges of his stomach. Bringing his mouth back down to the fly of Remiel's jeans, John began meticulously pulling aside the denim flaps. Once his lovers naked crotch was exposed, he pulled the jeans away and cast them aside next to the boots Remiel had discarded earlier. John ran his tongue along the inside of Remiel's thigh, right up to the beautiful cock that was slowly growing to its full size. Very lightly, John suckled on the head, drawing a soft moan from Remiel. Once his lover's member had swollen to its full seven inches, John engulfed the entire stiff shaft with his mouth. Remiel let out a muffled cry and thrust his hips, driving his engorged member deep into John's throat. Suppressing his gag reflex, John continued to suck and lick. After ten minutes of continued service, John's persistance was rewarded with a warm load of the best tasting cum he'd ever had. Remiel's breathing became labourous as he fought to regain his breath. "You really are a high maintenance boyfriend". "No I'm not," John smiled, sliding up Remiel's body and kissing him deeply. "You don't even have to pay me back until you've had some sleep". "Love you". "Love you too". ****** Xavier sat behind his large oak desk staring down at the pad of notepaper before him. His neat handwriting covered the lined paper, forming a large mind map. At the top of the page was the word "Stranger" followed by three question marks. Connected to it were the words "Powers" and "Tactics", each with a dozen or so more words connected to them. The names of each X-man was writen on the page, with lines linking them to other words on the page. At the bottom of the page, each connected to dozens of other words, where the phrases "Impossible to trace", "Immune to psychic powers", "Fourth Dimentional", and finally, the word "Mirror". A sudden knock at the door caught his attention and he looked up to see Jean enter the office. She looked like she was having as much trouble sleeping as he was having himself. Dark rings circled her eyes and her flaming red hair that was normal vibrant and full hung drearilly over her shoulders. "I thought that you might be awake," she said as she took a seat across from him. "Yes. I'm afraid that the current situation has my mind rather preoccupied". "What are you working on?" Jean asked. "I'm just putting my thoughts onto paper," Xavier said, then continued when he saw the puzzled expression on Jean's face. "I sometimes find that it helps to write down my thoughts. It makes it easier to see connections between events when you're dealing with something solid and tangible". "Has it helped?" "See for yourself," Xavier said, handing her the pad. "The observation that young Remiel made started me thinking". "About our new friend's choice to engage us as individuals?" "Precisely. Why would someone with this order of power, who claims to lack time, waste prescious moments facing against each of you seperately. The only answer I have reached is that he had no choice but to engage you individually". "Interesting," Jean commented. "Indeed. Fortunately however, I believe I have identified how our friend was able to defeat your team with such relative ease". "Really?" Jean said, glaring at nothing in particular. "We failed to realise that your opponent exists in four dimentions; time as well as space. From what you've all said, I have to believe that this time travellor arrived from the future, which means that there is no telling what sort of information that he could have had access to. It is possible that your first encounter with him, was not his first encounter with you. There is just no way to know". "I see," Jean said. She looked down at the page for a moment, then asked, "Professor, what do you mean by 'Mirror'?" "Tell me, did you notice that every one of the powers he displayed were each possessed by someone on your team in one form or another? Optic blasts are Scott's power. Advanced healing belongs to Logan. Telekinesis from both Remiel and yourself. Speed and Electricity from Noriko". "I hadn't actually noticed that, but what about his immunity from Telepathy and Empathy?" Jean argued. "Not to mention the fact that the level of power required for the Molecular Telekinesis he used is completely beyond both Remiel and I". "That's true," Xavier agreed, "but we shouldn't rule out the possibility that he mirrored your powers". "I suppose you're right. After all, if he is from the future, there's no telling what is considered normal for him," Jean conceeded. "I think that I'm ready for some sleep. Goodnight Professor". "Good night Jean". Xavier waited until Jean had closed the door behind her before adding, "And sweet dreams to us all". ****** For the second time in as many days, Remiel sat at the War Room's breifing table, waiting for the meeting to begin. "What do you think this is all about," Nori yawned from across the large table. "I don't know," John answered without opening his eyes. "But it had better be good. No one wakes me up at 5:00 AM unless there's a damn good reason". "How's Josh," Remiel asked Ororo, who was sitting next to Nori. She yawned before answering him, "He's resting in his room. That young man did quite a number on him. I don't think Josh will be ready to fight for a few more days". "But can't Josh just heal himself?" John asked. "Josh suffered a severe telepathic attack. If it had been a physical attack, he'd have been able to fix himself without any real effort, but his mind is another matter entirely," Remiel explained. "Whatever," John said. "Just as long as he's okay". Remiel looked around the room. The table was long and round, seating over a dozen people easily. It's current occupants included Betsy, who, alone among the group, was wide awake. Next to her sat Logan and David, both of whom were snoozing in their seats. Opposite them sat Kurt, with the remaining X-men, excluding Scott and Jean who were still with the Professor, huddled at the other end of the table. The door hissed open and five people entered. The Professor, flanked by Jean and Scott, and two new faces. The first was about the same age as Remiel and John. He had short blond hair and icy blue eyes. The clothes he was wearing were simple; jeans, sneakers and a t-shirt bearing some non-descript logo. Next to him walked an older woman, about the same age as Jean and Ororo. She was Native American, with flowing black hair and a beautiful smile that she still managed to maintain despite the early hour. "Good morning everyone," the Professor announced. "Please don't make me quote Scott," Remiel complained. "I don't want to be accused of being unoriginal". John snorted back a laugh. The Professor, however, shared the confused look that passed over everyone's faces, save Nori who had also understood the joke. "Never mind," Remiel rolled his eyes. "Too early for humour anyway". "I thought it was clever," Nori tried to console him. "Thanks Nori," Remiel smiled. "How come she gets a thank-you, I laughed," John complained. "You have to laugh at my jokes because you're my boyfriend, so it doesn't count". "Well, all jokes aside, we called you here for a very important reason," Jean said. "Yes, pray tell. Why did you get us all up at 5:14 AM and leave us sitting here for almost an hour?" David asked rather pointedly. "I apologise for the early hour, but this matter couldn't wait," The Professor chimed in. Scott stepped forward and tapped a few buttons on the console while everyone that was standing took a seat. The lights dimmed and a large holographic image shimmered into life above the table. It depicted a large stretch of land covered in crators. "This is all that's left of Fort Islington, Ohio. Special research and training division. Average personal; Twelve thousand. At 2:13 this moring, military command in Washington recieved a transmission from the base, claiming that they were under attack from a lone individual". "Are you saying that a single mutant did all of that!?" Remiel gasped. "From all reports, it appears so," Scott answered. "How is that even possible?" Ororo asked. "There was no residual radiation of any kind," The newest woman said. "From my initial readings, it appears like total molecular diffusion". "Is that even possible?" David asked. "Apparently so," the Professor concluded. "I'm sorry for not realising Remiel, but you haven't met Danielle Moonstar, also known as Mirage, and Bobby Drake, also known as Iceman. They are also X-men, but they have both been working out of a reasonable new facility in the mid-west. Danielle, Bobby, this is Remiel St.Cloud, also known as Seraph". "Nice to meet you," Danielle said. "Hi," Bobby waved. "A pleasure to meet you both," Remiel greeted them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw John roll his eyes before glaring at Bobby. Remiel reached out with his mind on a lower telepathic band, so as not to be noticed by either Jean or the Professor. Remiel heard David laugh mentally. Remiel's attention refocussed on the conversation at hand. "I used Cerebro to back-track all mutant signatures that were present at the time of the attack and I came across one that appeared before the attack commenced. This signature remained present through the entire attack and remained after, before moving on west". "Professor, you said that you couldn't track our new friend with Cerebro. So does this mean that it wasn't him; that we have another mutant with semi-god-like powers," Remiel stated. "I am afraid so," the Professor confirmed. "Based on the movements of this mutant, I believe that he or she is headed for the military base outside of Indianopolis. If I'm right, and judging from the devistation of the last attack, civilian casualties would be catastrophic". "So we're headed for Indiana," Nori said. "Some of you, yes. Some of you will remain here and continue the search for our time-travelling friend," Scott answered. "Remiel, John, Noriko, Bobby. You four will be headed to Indiana under the joint command of Scott and Danielle. The rest of you will remain here," the Professor ordered. "X-men, move out". ****** Josh snapped awake, a cry escaping his lips. His golden body was covered in a cold sweat and his sheets were drenched. Breathing heavily, his mind processed the information that his senses were feeding it. He was in his room. The windows were open and the early morning sun had only just appeared over the horizon. The door to his bedroom swung open and two people rushed in; Jean, and following close behind, Robyn. "Josh! Are you alright?" Jean asked as she darted over to him and touched his forehead and pulse. His head hurt, but he managed a garbled reply, "I'm fine". "Like hell you are!" Jean argued. "We all heard you cry out from down the hall. I'm sure you scared half the floor". Josh sat up and waved Jean's hand away. "I'm fine," he said with conviction. "Just a bad dream is all". Jean frowned and said more softly, "I bet it was. Having your worst nightmares rolled up and thrown at you all at once is an ordeal for a trained psychic. And you're not. It'll take time for them to sink back into your subconscious". "How is everyone?" Josh dropped his patent tough-guy routine. "Ororo didn't give me any real details when she moved me here last night". "Everyone else is fine. Nori, John, Scott and Remmy left to go to Indiana with Bobby and Dani about an hour ago. The rest of us are either helping the Professor or training in the Danger Room". "Why are they going to Indiana?" Josh asked. "They're going to intercept a mutant terrorist before he hits a military base outside of Indianopolis". "What!?" Josh yelled. "Calm down," Jean said sternly. "I need to talk to the Professor," Josh demanded. "If you're planning on asking him to put you back on active duty before you're sadly mistaken," Jean informed him with a humourless smile. "Just face it; you're not going anywhere until your mind has fully recovered from the shock. Besides, you have a visitor, and it would be rude of you to give her the brush off". Jean turned and said to Robyn as she walked out, "Don't let him get out of bed!" Once Jean had left, Robyn moved towards the door and shut it. Turning back to Josh she smiled and said; "Don't worry, I wont tie you down or anything. I just wanted to see how you were". Josh only realised that he was naked save for a pair of boxer briefs when he caught Robyn's eyes roaming his exposed flesh. He silently thanked the universe that his mutation prevented him from visibly blushing. "I guess you heard about the incident," Josh said, pulling the wet blankets back up to cover his chest. "You mean about you all having your arses handed to you?" Robyn said, a grin creeping across her features. "Yeah, I heard about that". "How did Remmy and John do? I don't remember much of the fight," he said. "I'm not really sure," she said, "I only saw them when they were up and about and they didn't want to talk about it". "Wait, you didn't go and see them when they were in MedLab, but you come and see me when I'm in my room". "What can I say," she shrugged. "You're more interesting". ****** Robyn suppressed another bought of giggles as Josh told yet another story of his clumsy misadventures. Initially she'd been reluctant to let him leave is room, but she had soon relented when he had climbed out of bed and slid into a pair of low-riding jeans. The sight of his tight chest and stomach melted any arguement she had tried to form, and after pulling on a sweat-shirt, Josh had led her down to the cafeteria. "Um, I'm not sure if I should be asking this," Josh said, eating his ice-cream sundae, "but what was it like for you, on the streets I mean? Was it hard? I've heard some really bad stories about people who were thrown out but I've never met someone whose had to live on the streets". Robyn looked down at her bowl, pushing the green jelly around with her spoon. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked," Josh said. "No. No, it's okay. It's just a little hard to talk about," she said. "At first it was hard, but I think that it was only that way because I made it hard for myself. My parents said some very...unpleasant things, and when I was on my own, I guess that I started to believe them myself. I honestly thought that I was a danger to everyone else, so I avoided people as much as possible. As you can probably imagine that didn't do anything to help my power control issues. I was on the streets for about a year before I ran into Remmy and the other run-aways. After that, life was actually pretty good. Well, maybe not good, but better. We didn't have much, but we were a family, and we were happy. Not everyone was a mutant, mind you, but that didn't matter to any of us. Those that had powers used them to help out everyone else whenever they could". Robyn looked down at the table. "But that's all gone now. I don't even know if any of the others are even alive". The look of rapt attention on Josh's face shifted to one of sympathy. "I'm sorry Robyn. Remmy doesn't talk about what happened the night you were brought to the mansion. Just that the place you were staying was attacked by mutant haters". Robyn looked up at Josh with fiery anger burning in her eyes. "Don't feel sorry for my Josh; feel sorry for those sons of bitches if Remmy or I get our hands on them. They took something from me, something that nobody should have to lose, let alone lose twice. If I ever find them, Josh, I swear, I am going to make them pay for what they did to me and my family". ****** Remiel was bored. He sat behind the pilot's chair, listening to Scott and Dani talk about the new facility in the midwest. John had been silent the entire trip, and stubbornly refused to engage in an conversation that his comrades tried to start with him. A quick delve into his emotions had told Remiel it was due to the presense of Bobby Drake. Maybe if I just took a peek into his head, Remiel thought to himself, just to find out what's between the two of them. No, his conscience whispered. That would be violating John's trust, something that Remiel would never do. "So Seraph. The Professor didn't give me the chance to read your file, so I'm a little in the dark about you. What are your abilities?" Roused from his internal conversation, Remiel turned to answer Dani's question. "I'm a Psi. Class four in Telekinesis, Telepathy, and Empathy". "Great!" Bobby snorted, "Another telepath". "Bobby!" Dani warned from her place at the cockpit. "You'll have to forgive him, Seraph. He has trust issues when it comes to telepaths". "I can understand that to an extent," Remiel said, then turned to Bobby. "You have nothing to worry about with me. I give you my word. I would never enter someone's mind without their express permission". "Really?" Bobby asked, "So you wouldn't claw your way into the mind of an opponent in a fight?" Remiel frowned, "Yes, I've had to strike out at an opponent's mind before but..." "But nothing," Bobby cut in. "You decided that the circumstances required you to disregard that directive. How do I know that sometime in the future you wont decide to disregard it again? Don't give me your word telepath; it doesn't mean anything to me". "And yet you choose to follow Professor Xavier," Remiel replied harshly. "No. I choose to follow Dani, she chooses to follow the Professor". "Enough!" John snapped. "Lay off him Bobby! If you want someone to take your insecurities out on, try me". "That's enough from everyone!" Scott bellowed from next to Dani. Everybody started at the older mutant's outburst. Once he was sure he had everyone's undivided attention, Scott continued. "We are about to go up against an extremely powerful mutant and I, for one, plan on living to see tomorrow, so you can all either put aside whatever trivial differences you all have, or I can throw you all out of the damn jet!" No-one muttered a word for the rest of the flight. ****** Josh and Robyn were headed back to his room when the alarm sounded, followed by the sounds of explosions and gunfire. "What the hell..." is all that Robyn was able to say before the entire mansion shook violently. Rushing to the nearest window, Josh looked out to see half-a-dozen black vans skidding to a halt on the mansion's front lawn. Dozens of white clad figures poured out of the doors and began firing on anyone they saw. Lucky for those few students that were milling around the front lawn, a talented telekinetic was able to pull together a telekinetic shield in time to prevent any serious injuries. Nightcrawler appeared in a plume of black sulphuric smoke and gabbed the students huddled behind the translucent blue barrier. With another flume of smoke, they were all gone. "Robyn, you have to get down to the sub-basement shelters right now,'' Josh ordered. "Like hell! I am not going to run and hide!" she argued. "I don't want you to get hurt!" "Trust me! I'm not the one who's going to get hurt". Before he could say another word, a mortar hit the mansion and the window they were looking out of was shattered as plaster and brick fell to the ground, revealing a large hole in the wall. Robyn was out of his arms and through the opening before he had time to stop her. "Robyn!" he shouted, rushing through after her. The front lawn had quickly become a battle ground. Students who had defensive or offensive powers were lashing out at their attackers. The fire and lightning elementals were striking out with fireballs and lightning bolts, while the earth and air elementals were using their powers to shield the fallen or whisk them out of harm's way. Running to a large wall that had been erected by an earth elemental, Josh caught up with Robyn who was standing next to Wolverine. "What the hell is going on here!?" he shouted above the sounds of battle. "What the hell does it look like Elixir!" Logan shouted back. "We're under attack and they've got some sort of machine switched on that's stopping the telepaths from doing their thing!" "What!?" "It doesn't matter what they're doing or how they're doing it. What matters is that we're under attack and we're only just holding our own!" "What about Jean and Ororo, why aren't they here!?" Josh demanded. "They're trapped in the sub-basement, and Kurt took a hit". With his last words, Logan nodded his head towards the blue mutant, lying on the ground beneath the protective curtain of a nearby telekinetic's shield. "I'll deal with Kurt," Josh said. "But I'll need some cover, or some sort of distraction". Robyn's eyes blazed with fury, "Then let's see if I can't help with that". Slapping her hands together, Robyn summoned her mutant power, focussing the ambient light of the battle into a sphere the size of a baseball. "Get ready," she said. "GO!" Josh sprinted across the expanse of lawn between him and the wounded mutants who were still being protected by a small group of psychics. Looking over his shoulder he saw Robyn throw the ball into the air, but was forced to cover his eyes when it exploded in a monumental flare of brilliant white light. He imagined that everyone facing the mansion was experiencing a bought of temporary blindness. Thankful for the time her distraction broughthim, Josh dropped to his knees next to the wounded X-man. The bullet had passed straight through his shoulder, but it looked like it had shattered a few bones on its way through his blue flesh. Applying his own mutation, Josh reached into the wound with his mind, feeling the dozens of bodily fluids trying to repair the damage. Under his careful touch, Kurt's flesh began knitting together and the shattered bone began to fuse back together. From the look on his patient's face, the process was not without pain, but, given the situation, Josh could not afford to be gentle. A shout caught his attention and he lifted his head just in time to see a grenade explode a few feet away. The concussive force was enough to collapse the telekinetic shield, exposing both Josh and his patient. Three of the white clad attackers broke through the front line of mutants and made a mad dash towards the front of the mansion. They raised their weapons and prepared to fire on the few telekinetics that were still standing. Their faces were etched in horror as the assassins pulled the trigger. What happened next was breathtaking. The air in front of the psychics shimmered and was suddenly flooded with a rippling wave of water that intantly froze in place, creating a massive barrier of ice between them and harm. The bullets embedded themselves in the barrier harmlessly. Josh watched as the same hydrokinetic that had summoned the wall pulled water molecules from the air and began raining frigid blasts of ice down on the three figures. "Are you alright?" Robyn called, rushing over to him. "I'm fine," he answered her. "What about you Kurt?" "Ja. I am well enough to continue to fight I think". "Trust me," Robyn declared, "after I'm done, there wont be any fight left in the whole lot of them". Everything dimmed as she pulled as much of the light towards her as she could. Shadows lengthened and the entire battlefield was blanketed in an unnatural gloom. Josh fell back from the young mutant in front of him. The air surrounding her was pitch dark, obscuring everything behind her, but her own body was the same as if she were standing in a brightly lit room. The contrast between her aura of darkness and her own body was frightening. But her eyes were amazing. All of the light she'd gathered seemed to have condensed in those beautiful orbs, giving them an unearthly glow. The battle grew silent as she stepped out from behind the icy barrier. Every eye was on her, both human and mutant alike, captivated by the contrasting horror and beauty of her powers. An angel could look no more beautiful, Josh thought to himself, and a devil no more frightening. Realising the power this mutant possessed, both sides renued their battle again with fury; the humans trying everything they could to stop her, and the mutants doing everything they could to protect her. Finally reaching her goal, Robyn stood at the centre between the two forces. Lifting her head to the heavens, she let out a cry and let her powers take over. A blast of pure light that would have made Scott envious burst from her eyes and roared up into the heavens. The clouds glowed a bright white as the beam faded. For a few moments, nothing happened. Both sides were confused as to what she had just done. Then it happened. A clap like thunder echoes across the lawn as hundreds of smaller beams of light fell from the heavens, showering their attackers. The devistating lasers burnt holes through the armoured vans and scortched the earth where they fell. Screams and howls filled the air as the attackers were incinerated by the focussed light. When the beams had ceased, only a handfull of men were left alive. With expressions of abject horror, they fled on foot, their vehicles having been totally destroyed. As the survivng mutants rused to capture their enemies, Robyn fell to her knees, blood streaming from her nose. Josh ran to her and caught her as she slumped backwards. "Are you okay?" he asked, wiping the blood away from her face. "I'm okay. I'm just a little tired," she smiled weakly. "Did I do good?" "Kid," Logan said gruffly, stepping beside them, "you did more than good. Remind me never to piss you off". "Then I'd better be getting an A in gym," she said, snuggling against Josh's chest and falling to sleep. "She going to be alright?" Logan asked Josh. A faint glow radiated from his hands and he lightly his fingers along her cheek. "She'll be just fine". ****** Remiel was thankful when the Black Bird finally reached its destination. He found the strained silence after Scott's outburst unconfortable. Not simple because of his own sense of anxiety, but because of everyone elses pressing in on him from all sides. None of them knew what it was like to be an empath in a room with everyone broadcasting their emotional turmoil like a friday night football game. He could barely stand it. At one point in the flight, Remiel had been on the verge of standing up and shouting at everyone else; "For Christ's sake! Why don't you keep your damn feelings to yourselves! Don't you realise what you're doing to me!" It was only the soothing touch of John's hand that kept him in his seat. "You know what? I never had this much trouble with my empathy before the Professor started teaching me to use it," he said to John when the loud sounds of the Black Bird's landing had faded. "That's because you never really used it before. You'll get used to it eventually," John said, squeezing his hand. "I hope so". "Okay everyone," Scott said. "We're approximately ten miles outside of the military base. From the Professor's calculations, our target should be passing through this area within the next hour. Standard interception protocols apply. We will only engage if this mutant threatens hostile action". "How will we know when the target is here? After all, we don't know what he or she looks like," John asked. "That's where Remmy comes in," Scott answered. Tapping a few buttons on a nearby storage locker, Scott retrieved a futuristic head-set that reminded Remiel of a medieval cirlet. Scott handed it to him and then explained; "It's a remote Cerebro unit. It should amplify your telepathic and empathic abilities enough for you to detect our target well before he actually arrives". Remiel examined the device in his hand. It was a large metallic ring that would wrap around his head. At the back of the device, two curved spokes arched over the top, ending in two diamond-shaped silver modules that would sit just above Remiel's forehead. "I've never used a Cerebro unit before. Are you sure I'll be able to handle it?" "The Professor wouldn't have sent you if he didn't believe you could," Scott answered. "Okay," Remiel said. "Here goes nothing". Placing the device on his head and activating it, Remiel closed his eyes and reached out with his powers. At first there was nothing, just the black void of his own thoughts. Then he felt his mind expand. In his minds eye a flat disk representing his immediate area flared into life with crystal clarity. Six clusters of light sat at its center, representing the X-men. Their individual signals were each unique in their own way, a one of a kind flurry of colour. He oushed out and slowly, the disk expanded, encompassing ten square miles. Thousands of light-clusters shimmered in and out of his psychic perception, representing the civilians and military personel on the nearby military base. Scott thought before opening his mouth to say the same. "I'm alright Scott," Remiel said, not giving Scott the chance to voice his thoughts out loud. "You don't need to talk. Just think clearly and I'll hear you". As soon as the words had left his lips, he sensed Bobby's light dim, as he tried to block himself of from the telepath. "Stay out of my head," Bobby warned. "I gave you my word I wouldn't enter your mind without permission Bobby and I meant it. You can trust..." Remiel's words were cut off by a gasp as he felt a powerful presense enter the field of his psychic perception. A violent tapestry of anger, pain, loneliness and power appeared at the edge of the disk, casting a long red shadow across the rest of the bright lights around it. "He's here!" ****** All six X-men stood as still as stautes, watching the horizen. The minutes dragged by as they waited, until finally, striding out of the twilight, a figure appeared. At a glance he appeared to be nothing more than a young man out for an evening walk, but they all knew better. He had red-brown hair cut in a military fashion and his amber eyes glowed faintly in the failing light. His leather jacket hung around his broad shoulders and bare chest casually, complimenting his snug black jeans and boots. Stopping ten meters in front of their line, he smiled. "X-men? Damn. I thought you'd be busy elsewhere". "Identify yourself!" Scott ordered. "No," the man retained his smile, "I don't think I will". "If you do not identify yourself, you will be detained for questioning in regards to the attack on a military base". "Oh, will I now?" "What did you mean?" Remiel asked, unable to hold his curiosity back, "When you said that you thought we'd be too busy". The young man idly scratched his stomach. "Well, I did order an attack on the mansion, so I thought you'd still be there, fighting the good fight and all that jazz". "What!" "Oh, don't go getting your panties in a twist. I wouldn't have organised an attack on the mansion if I honestly thought you couldn't handle it. Some of you are too important to kill just yet". "Enough!" A voice boomed from behind the X-men's line. Remiel looked over his shoulder at the voices owner and found himself caught in the gaze of cobalt eyes. "Bailey," the first young man said. "Tyler," Bailey greeted, stepping through the X-men's line. "What the hell is going on here!?" Bobby yelled, seeing the fearful faces of Scott, John, Nori and Remiel. "He's the one that kicked our arses," John said. "Really?" Tyler asked. "Really Bailey, I'm surprised. I never would have thought you'd risk damaging the timeline". At that Tyler cast a long look at both John and Remiel. "I'm not the one here trying to change the timeline," Bailey snapped. "I see you still haven't gotten rid of that snippy streak of yours," Tyler smiled. "If you're not here to change the timeline, the I guess you're here to preserve it, or at least stop me from changing it the way my side wants it". "I'm afraid so". "That's too bad". "Not for me," Bailey smiled. "I've been waiting for this day for a very long time". "Then let's finish this". Neither one moved for what seemed like an eternity. Then all hell broke loose. Tyler clapped his hands together with Bailey mirroring his action. Two violent bursts of energy let against one another, red from Tyler, blue from Bailey. The explosion produced from the impact of the two opposing blasts rocked the very earth on which the combatants stood. The X-men were hurtled mercilessly through the air, coming crashing to the ground dozens of meters away. Remiel pushed himself up from the dirt, ignoring the viscious pain that shot through his limbs. The titanic battle being waged before him was both horrifying and beautiful. Pulses of scarlet light ricocheted off of blue ones directed back at them. The earth surrounding the two fighters was vapourised as the molecular bonds were pulled apart by indescribable radiation. Around him, the X-men bagan pulling themselves up from where they'd been so unceremoniously thrown moments before. John's hand found his as his lover crawled across the dirt next to him. "What do we do? It's like the freaking clash of the titans out there!" John shouted over the sounds of battle. "I don't know! Who the hell's side are we on anyway!" "I don't know about you, but I'm thinking that our time traveller is the good guy in this situation". "Okay. On three?" "On three!" "One," Remiel counted. "Two. THREE!" Remiel unleashed every ounce of power he could muster towards Tyler while John simaltaniously added his own fiery power to the mix. The result was a spiraling whirl of blue telekinetic energy and golden flame surging across the field. Tyler only noticed it a moment before it was about to strike him. Raising his hand, he summoned a rippling disk of scarlet energy that hung in the air before him. The combined assault of Remiel and John slammed into the shield where, to their surprise, it was joined by a scarlet beam, arcs of electricity and a stream of icy particles. To the horror of the X-men, all five streams of energy diffused upon striking Tyler's shield, melting the earth surrounding him, but leaving him otherwise unharmed. A wide smile crossed Tyler's features. It was a short lived smile however, because, taking advantage of his opponents momentary lapse in concentration, Bailey send a blast of azure energy carreering into Tyler's side. The mutant was sent skidding across the dirt where he rolled into a crouch and glared at his enemy. "You can't beat me Tyler!" Bailey breathed hoarsly, "Not by yourself, and certainly not when they're helping me". Tyler let out what can only be described as a growl. He stood up and cast aside his leather jacket which had been decimated by the conflict. "Savour this victory," Tyler spat. "Because you wont get another one". With that he fell back into the earth, which liquified beneath him. The earth solidified a moment later and the X-men were left alone with their mysterious time traveller. Bailey swayed on his feet and then collapsed onto the ground. Unable to stop himself, Remiel lept to his feet and ran to the fallen mutant. His clothes were ruined, leaving wide expanses of his flesh exposed and several cuts and gashes bled profusally. "Come on," Remiel shouted. "We have to get him back to the mansion!" To be continued... Thank-you to everyone who has read the X-Force series so far. I'm sorry for the lack in sexual content, but I promise that now most of the characters have been introduced, there will be a lot more. If you like the story, or would like to give some constructive feedback, please feel free to email me at; scifi_fanboy@hotmail.com