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Shadow-X!
Back in the day
This place was still officially known as Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and life for the X-Men was so much simpler. Humanity thought of them as outlaws, but that didn't stop them fighting as heroes, doing their best to save the world, and occasionally the Multiverse. Kurt Wagner never knew a time when he was more happy, because they weren't just teammates, they were a family, and youngest amongst them was Kitty “Shadowcat” Pryde – as brave as she was brilliant. 'Danger Room's all set, guys' Kitty calls down to Kurt a.k.a. Nightcrawler and Logan a.k.a. Wolverine down in the high-tech training facility from where she sits, busying herself at the control panel in the observation booth. Blowing some bubble gum, Kitty reports that the training sequence is ready to start. 'Press the button, kid' Wolverine waves up at Kitty. 'Let's get to work!' he adds. Logan was Kurt's best friend, and, in many ways, the bedrock that supported them all. This day with Kurt, he takes on the role of teacher.
'You go, Nightcrawler!' Kitty exclaims, as Kurt teleports into the air as five Danger Room constructs of other X-Men appear – Storm, the Beast, Iceman, Rogue and Colossus. Kitty tells her friend that he has faith he can beat these guys. 'You can try, anyway' Wolverine smirks. 'I appreciate the confidence!' Kurt calls back, balancing himself on a bright blue cable that runs through the Danger Room in various directions and shapes. Iceman moves upwards on an ice-sled, while the Beast leaps into the air, balancing himself on one of the cables. Rogue and Storm fly towards Nightcrawler, as Colossus misses his attack. Kurt knows that there wasn't much confidence in his voice, as he knows what this team can do – he figures he doesn't have a prayer. But still, he has to try, and although Beast has the raw strength, Kurt has the edge in agility, 'I've knocked him off balance!' Kurt exclaims as he flips through a hoop connected to the cable and kicks the Beast backwards. But, unfortunately, before he can press his advantage, Iceman comes to the Beast's rescue, creating an ice bob-sled, 'Ride my mutant bobsled run!' Iceman tells the Beast, adding that it will put him right back in the game. 'Much obliged' the Beast calls out as he regains his balance.
'Whatta move – you're gonna haveta up your game big-time, Elf!' Kitty grins. 'Tell me something I don't know, Katzchen!' Kurt replies as he teleports behind Storm, who asks 'Trying to take me by surprise?' Storm leads the team here and now, and gets her name because she controls the weather. 'Guess again' Storm warns Kurt, knocking him back with a surge of lightning. And then, not just lightning, but wind also. 'All yours' Storm calls out to Colossus, as Nightcrawler drifts towards the Russian mutant on the wind. 'Spaciba, Storm' Colossus responds, raising his arm, he smacks Kurt back through the air. Kurt thinks that although Colossus might literally be a man made of steel, he also moves very fast. Worse, Colossus has forced Nightcrawler into the arms of their newest member, Rogue. 'Gotcha, Sugah!' Rogue grins as she catches Kurt. Wolverine tells Kurt that they should call this a wrap. 'Could'a gone better, Bub' he points out. 'I know' Kurt responds. Wolverine tells Nightcrawler never to do what is expected, to think faster and nastier, always look for ways to turn your adversary's assets into liabilities. Kurt teleports out of the Danger Room Rogue's arms, and re-appears near Wolverine, who warns Kurt that outside the Danger Room, he won't get a second chance. If he screws up there, then he pays the ultimate price.
Present
Now, Kurt faces his friends for real. Ororo “Storm” Munroe, Betsy “Psylocke” Braddock, Bobby “Iceman” Drake, Hank McCoy a.k.a. The Beast, Rachel Grey and Piotr “Colossus” Rasputin have been possessed by the Shadow King and as the loom over him, they mean to kill him – and the woman he protects, Bloody Bess. The Shadow King hovers nearby, alongside Broadside and Killian of the Crimson Pirates, also possessed, and several of their Sea Dogs. Kurt is alone in the dessert, save for several of his trusty Bamfs. Kurt smiles and tells himself that the first move is to take out the team leader, Storm, to which Rachel and Betsy smile. 'Mutant fool! You face two telepaths!' Rachel points out. 'We can read your every thought' Psylocke adds. Kurt drops his swords and teleports right behind Rachel, 'I'm counting on that!' he tells them, and as he grabs Rachel and throws her overhead, he hopes that she will forgive him for this. 'You “heard” what I wanted you to hear' he declares. 'And Betsy as well' he thinks as he kicks Psylocke towards his Bamfs, who gather around her and teleport her away at Nightcrawler's command.
Kurt knows that the Shadow King is right – the telepaths are the paramount threat. 'You think this will hurt me, fool?' the possessed Colossus asks as Nightcrawler throws Rachel towards him. 'Not you. Her' Kurt replies as after releasing Rachel, he teleports away, for Colossus has grabbed Rachel annd slammed her into the sand. 'Now, monster, you have no telepaths, our footing is more equal' Kurt thinks, knowing the Shadow King will pick up on his thoughts. He teleports into the air, towards his next target, Storm. It is true that the Shadow King controls Storm's mind, but Kurt knows something the Shadow King does not – his friend is a proud woman with a ferocious temper. He starts to slap her repeatedly, then teleports away just as Storm shouts 'HOW DARE YOU!' and raising her arms overhead, the local weather reflects the Wind Rider's emotions, and rage gives birth to several tornados. Kurt hopes this is just the beginning, realizing that if he can make Ororo angry enough, her passion may shatter the Shadow King's chains. 'Everything's happening too fast!' Iceman calls out, while the Shadow King announces that Nightcrawler is porving more trouble than he anticipated, but that this really changes nothing – these are his friends and he doesnt want to hurt them, he wants to save them, and that is his weakness. 'As Logan would say, “Wanna bet?”' Kurt asks as he leaps towards the Beast. Kurt has played this kind of game before, with a teacher far more frightening than the Shadow King, and his mind wanders back...
Back in the day
After the Danger Room session, Wolverine and Kurt examine the Danger Room construct of the Beast, and Logan tells Kurt that he must deal with the fact that bad guys love possessing heroes. 'Don't be fazed by size of power – how you hit, where you hit, is what matters. Against 'em, use your skills' Wolverine explains. 'Use all your assets'.
Present
Kurt drops behind the Beast, and kicks his legs out, knocking the Beast backwards, while thinking that Wolverine was a great teacher, and that today he will put those lessons to good use. Kurt's foot strikes the Beast's neck, rendering him unconscious. But looking up, Kurt sees Ororo hovering towards him, two tornadoes raging at her side. He knows that she is out for his blood, and realizes he will have to time his next move just right. Kurt also understands that with the Beast unconscious, the Shadow King will not be able to see through his eyes. A tornado starts to surround Kurt, hiding him from Ororo. He tosses the Beast into the tornado, and takes his cue, teleporting away. The Beast is gathered up in the tornado, and moments later, spat out – landing right on top of Iceman, knocking him into the desert sands. 'Perfect!' Kurt tells himself.
Meanwhile, at the heart of the derelict, abandoned city below the towering dunes, 'FOOLS!' the possessed Psylocke cries out as she is deposited amongst the sprawling skyscrapers. 'Do you think separating me from the others will make the slightest difference?' she asks the Bamfs, with the Shadoow King boasting that his hold on Pcylocke is unbreakable. 'We'll see' a voice calls out. Psylocke looks up, and through her eyes the Shadow King sees Bloody Bess, and tells her that she should have kept running. 'That mistake will cost you your life' he warns her. 'Threats are easy, mate' Bess smiles. 'Come at me, then. Take your best shot' the Shadow King, through Betsy, boasts. 'With pleasure!' Bess responds as she charges towards Psylocke. 'Missed!' Psylocke exclaims as she dodges Bess's first attack. 'Missed again!' she declares, leaping out of Bess's way.
'Poor dear, you'll have to do better than that' Psylocke warns her. 'Allow me to demonstrate' she adds, as she shoves her foot into Bess's face. The Bamfs teleport towards the battling women, 'Oh, look, your little friends are trying to come to your rescue' Psylocke remarks, punching Bess in the face. 'How sweet. This is a private fight, munchkins' Psylocke grins, as she blasts the Bamfs back with a surge of psychic energy. The Bamfs fall to the ground, and look hurt – until their eyes flare up red, as Betsy announces' and now, sincce you clearly can't beat me...why don't you join me instead?' as they, too, are possessed by the Shadow King. Psylocke grabs Bess by her torn clothing and pulls her up, 'Your Bamfs are mine, Bess. And soon, you'll join them' she warns her. 'We'll see about that...' Bess replies, grinning.
Back in the day
Kurt and Kitty stand on a balcony enjoying some ice cream. 'Penny for your thoughts?' Kurt asks Kitty, who tells him that watching he and Logan reminds her of what happened in Japan. She tells him that it is funny – as heroes they get so used to winning against impossible odds – they forget what happens when they don't. Licking her ice cream, Kitty tells Kurt that the first time she face Logan's old teacher, Ogun, she lost, and Ogun remade her in his image, turned her into a weapon and sent her out to Kill Logan. 'But you didn't' Kurt reminds her. 'Nope – but I wasn't good enough, not then' Kitty replies. 'And what about next time?' Kurt asks her. Recalling the Brood and the Shi'ar Imperial Guard, Kitty tells Kurt that Logan made her better, same as he is doing with him. 'Someday, that might cost him' she points out, adding that they win the battles, save the world, even the universe – but they pay a price. Kurt puts his ice cream down and places his arm around Kitty, 'True, this isn't the future we dreamed of – but power comes with responsibility. I suppose it all comes down to faith' he tells her, adding that what they do, what they sacrifice, he prays it makes the future better. 'Isn't that why we're X-Men?' he asks. 'I pray you're right – same as I pray we're all here to enjoy it' Kitty responds.
Present
Kurt tells himself that so much has changed since those days, and yet he still holds fast to his prayer –  but then seeing Storm, he decides that there is no more time for memories now, because it looks like he has made Storm truly angry. Teeth gritted, Storm tells Nightcrawler that her lighting will burn him to ashes, and her winds will blow that dust to oblivion. Suddenly, 'Talk is cheap, Wind-Rider' Kurt responds, tapping Storm on her shoulder from behind. Storm is surprised, and once again Kurt starts to slap her over annd over. 'Put up – or shut up!' Kurt warns her. Storm roars in anger, and Kurt thinks that this should do the trick. Before a surge of lightning can strike him, he teleports away, re-appearing on the ground where he dropped his sword, only he picks up two sticks, as Bobby fires shards of ice towards him. 'He's tougher than I expected' Kurt admits, knowing that he can't let Bobby touch him, he lashes out with his sticks, but Bobby grins and tells Kurt that his sticks cannot hurt him. 'Once I freeze you solid...I'll use them to shatter your body to bits!' Bobby boasts, creating two large ice monsters, while Storm hovers overhead, rain now pouring from the sky. As Kurt bamfs away, he knows that the Shadow King is totally focussed on Bobby, and if he is right, Ororo's emotions are running the show with her, meaning the storm she is unleashing should catch Bobby by surprise. Kurt is correct, as Bobby is engulfed by the spiralling sands, 'WHAT?' he screams as he is sucked away.
Gravity does the rest, as the sand dunes collapse and Colossus is sucked downwards. And it is a long way down, as Ororor's winds and Colossus' massive form tear a huge rift in the mountain. Colossus can't get his balance, every time he tries, the avalanche of sand knocks him off his feet. Eventually, he will hit bottom – that is when he will get buried. Kurt hopes that by the time Colossus frees himself, the battle will be over – hopefully with a happy ending. But Kurt knows that now comes the hard part, as he races towards Storm, who tells him that he will pay for this. 'Embrace your winds, Ororo!' Kurt exclaims as he teleports up to his friend. 'Let them wash the contagion from your soul! You are no one's slave! You are a goddess!' Kurt shouts. But Storm responds by punching Kurt in the face, and through her, the Shadow King boasts that Nightcrawler's words are wasted, as the Wind-Witch is his. 'His words are nothing! His domain is shadow! You command lightning! Banish him with its fire!' Nightcrawler encourages Storm, gabbing onto her as she flails about, trying to toss him off of her. 'It is you who are... my friend?' Storm replies, her hands scratching at Kurt's wide-eyed face. 'Ororo?' Kurt calls out.
'What am I doing?' Storm asks, her face returning to normal, the Shadow King's possession no longer visible in her eyes. 'What am I doing? What have I done?' Storm gasps. 'Just having
 a rough day, is all' Kurt tells his friend, who asks for his forgiveness. 'I...I...' her voice trails off, as she suddenly goes limp, and starts to fall from the air. Kurt catches her and teleports to the ground. 'She's unconscious!' he exclaims, setting Storm on the ground, he tells her to rest, and assures her that he will keep her safe from here on. But at that moment, the Shadow King drops down from above, the Crimson Pirates and Sea Dogs gather nearby, and the villain tells nightcrawler that he has won nothing, boasting that he will claim Storm again and that she will stay his slave forever. Kurt smirks at the Shadow King, 'Those are but words. I have faced all your X-Men, as I faced the Crimson Pirates before them. And I'm still standing' Kurt points out, suggesting they see how the Shadow King fares.
But, suddenly, without warning, the Bamfs teleport around Kurt, and he is shocked that they are attacking him. He realizes that they are smiling, like the Shadow King's victims, and attacking him for real. He teleports in rapid succession, attempting to shake them, but no matter what he does, he cannot be free of them. 'Where is your bravado now, X-Man? You cause is lost. And soon, so too shall be your life' the Shadow King delcares, rubbing his hands together with glee, as the Bamfs hold him down – and an instant later, the Shadow King hovers in the air above, the Crimson Pirates and Sea Dogs surround Kurt, while the Bamfs hold him down, another Bamf teleports Betsy onto the scene, she stands over Kurt, grinning, and informs Nightcrawler that it is time to die – only this time, he will not be coming back!


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The Best Laid Plans!
Near the Shanshan Depression of Southwest China, where Kurt “Nightcrawler” Wagner is surrounded by the Shadow King and those he has possessed – several Bamfs, Betsy “Psylocke” Braddock, the Crimson Pirates called Broadside and Killian, as well as several of the Sea Dogs. The motionless Storm, Colossus and Rachel Grey lie nearby, as Kurt looks into the sky and is surprised as the X-Men's Blackbird jet is suddenly BAMFED overhead. He wonders what it is doing here, and whether it is carrying other X-Men. 'Whoever's aboard that aircraft, Nightcrawler -' the possessed Psylocke begins. '- they cannot save you...' the Shadow King continues. He is about to say 'Any more than you could save yourself', but doesnt' finish the sentence, as two of the possessed Bamfs suddenly teleport the motionless Bloody Bess of the Crimson Pirates onto a sand dune nearby.ing boasts 'BESS!' Kurt gasps. He tells himself that he thought Bess and the Bamfs would have a chance against Psylocke, and wonders if he was wrong. 'Watch me, fool – as I break your would-be rescuers to my will' the Shadow King boasts.
Up in the Blackbird, two young mutants, Ziggy Karst and Rico, along with a few wide-eyed Bamfs, see that Nightcrawler is in trouble, and Ziggy exclaims that they have to help him. But Rico asks what they can do, as the X-Men area already defeated. Suddenly, the Shadow King manifests in the Blackbird and and declares that, in truth, the demon defeated his friends, after he made them his slaves. Rico gasps upon seeing the terrible villain. 'Perhaps after I claim your souls...i will have you slay your teacher!' the Shadow King suggests. Rico hovers towards the villain and tells him that he is not going to do anything, that they are going to find a way to stop him. 'Rico – don't -' Ziggy calls out. 'Oh, really?' the Shadow King responds as he fires a blast of psychic energy at Rico, boasting 'I am the Shadow King – you are no match for me!' Rico is knocked backwards, while several Bamfs suddenly lunge at Ziggy. 'Hey! You're supposed to be on our side!' she exclaims, but the Shadow King tells her that they are his creatures now – as she soon will be. 'No way!' Ziggy declares, picking up a gun, she fires it at the Shadow King, but the energy blast just passes through him, though it sends several Bamfs leaping for their lives. The Shadow King tells Ziggy that he exists in the realm of the spirit, not of the flesh, so her gun cannot harm him. 'YIKES!' Ziggy gasps as the Shadow King grabs her by her neck. 'He's inside my head' Ziggy thinks to herself, while the Shadow King points out that it doesn't mean he can't harm her.
'Your resistance means nothing' the Shadow King tells Ziggy, who is doing her best to fight the Shadow King off. 'Just need a few more seconds' she tells herself, as she tinkers with the side of the laser gun. 'I will smother the light within your mind – eh?' the Shadow King exclaims, as Ziggry manages to realign the blaster, 'Surprise!' she shouts as she fires it at the Shadow King's astral form, 'YEAGH!' the villain exclaims as he is forced back. The ensuing violence causes Ziggy to fall backwards and drop the weapon, which the Bamfs leap towards.
Back amongst the sand dunes, Nightcrawler hears a scream, but there is nothing he can do – as right now he has problems of his own. 'Poor little Elf – still too weak to teleport?' Psylocke grins, holding Kurt by his collar. 'Even if you had all your powers, wretch...you'd be no match for me' Betsy exclaims, winking, as she is suddenly back to normal, the possession of the Shadow King no longer controlling her. 'Betsy?' Kurt asks, surprised, yet smiling. Tossing Nightcrawler towards the Sea Dogs, Betsy exclaims that Logan was right – sometimes Kurt is such an easy mark. 'Toldja we could goold him' Bloody Bess remarks as she sits up, the Bamfs also returned to normal. 'The Sea-Dogs are all yours, Kurt' Betsy tells her friend. 'My pleasure, ladies' Kurt replies as he drops down on the Sea-Dogs. Betsy and Bloody Bess leap into action, 'Leave the big guys to us' Betsy calls out, while Bloody Bess explains that they are sympatico psychics, and once Psylocke got inside her head, she stole her away from the Shadow King's control. Bess declares that they will do the same for her pals, and asks Psylocke to take on Killian, while a motionless Iceman is strewn across the sand dune nearby. 'My pleasure' Betsy declares, kicking the armored Killian, as Bess punches Broadside in the face, reminding Betsy not to forget their edge, as it won't last forever.
Psylocke's fist strikes Killian, and she announces that right now, the Shadow King is focussed on the plane. 'Once he realizes what we're doing...' Bess begins, her foot connects with Broadside's neck, adding '...we lose that edge'. Psylocke grabs Killian's arm and pulls him, declaring that with it they win the fight. 'Solution – we clobber them before that happens!' Bess declares as she kicks Broadside so that he lands against Killian, as Psylocke agrees 'Certainly sounds like a plan', adding that she wonders how Nightcrawler is doing.
Nearby, the Beast lies motionless, while Kurt flips onto one hand and kicks two of the Sea Dogs back, while two little Bamfs assist him. Kurt thinks to himself that the Shadow King requires a host, and he wouldn't take Killian or Broadside as their wills are too strong. Kurt decides that possessing Betsy was a mistake and the Shadow King failed to seize control of Bess, as their psi-powers protect them, which he knows leaves one of the Sea Dogs. Kurt realizes he will have to examine each of them in turn until he finds the right one. He looks one of them in the eyes but sees nothing, so kicks the Sea Dog aside. Kurt is grateful that the Bamfs are back on his side, as he can turn each of the Sea Dogs over to them. The Bamfs take on the Sea Dogs that Kurt kicks to them, before Kurt teleports over to another Sea Dog, knowing that he has no time to waste. The Sea Dog grins as Kurt grabs him by his shirt, and looking into the Sea Dog's red eyes, Kurt sees an image of the Shadow King. 'Bingo!' Kurt exclaims, slamming his fist into the Se Dog's face, knocking him back.
With all of the Sea Dogs taken down, Betsy and Bess rush over to Kurt. 'Top marks, Nightcrawler – now the fight starts for real' Betsy tells him. Kurt tells his friend that he knows, as they have to confront the Shadow King directly – before he can possess a new host. 'Not us, sweetie – you!' Bloody Bess announces, to which Kurt asks the women if they can't stop him with their psychic power. Betsy explains that it won't work, as the Shadow King is too strong. 'I'm afraid this has to be your fight' she declares. Bess informs Kurt that the Shadow King can't control his mind, that somehow he is immune. 'But with our help, you can fight him on the Astral Plane. Your will against his'. Kurt looks scared and reminds Bess that the Shadow King claims to be as old as time itself, adding that he defeated the X-Men in a heartbeat. 'He caught 'em by surprise. And you, sweetie, fought your way back from Heaven' Bess points out. Kurt drops to his knees as Betsy stands behind him and uses her psychic power to bring Kurt's astral form out of his body, telling him 'Our money's on you'.
'You realize we're all three of us crazy. Let's do this!' Kurt exclaims as his astral form rises above the women. Betsy announces that she will psi-link the three of them and channel all their psychic strength into him. 'Beautiful!' Kurt gasps. Rising up towards the Blackbird, Kurt wonders if this is the world as telepaths see it, and announces that he has never beheld such beauty. Bloody Bess psychically tells Kurt, calling him “Elf” to save the commentary, as it is time to go to work. Suddenly, Kurt's astral form bursts into the Blackbird, taking the Shadow King by surprise. Kurt notices Ziggy and Rico amongst the possessed Bamfs and wonders what they are doing here. 'Threatening children, monster?' Kurt asks. 'Not while I'm alive to stop you!' he exclaims as he forces the Shadow King out of the Blackbird, which Ziggy watches, stunned. 'A problem easily dealt with, mutant!' the Shadow King boasts, as his form increases to a monstrous size, remarking that Nightcrawler's telepaths may have given him the ability to face him on the Astral Plane, but his power, his strength, will never be his equal. 'I will crush you all!' the Shadow King booms.
'Did you make those same boasts to Charles Xavier – before he routed you, back in the day?' Nightcrawler asks defiantly, blasting the Shadow King with a surge of psychic energy. 'That was a fluke! The like will never happen again!' the Shadow King replies. 'Wanna bet?' Kurt replies as he dodges the Shadow King's attack. Wide-eyed, Ziggy stares at the battle and exclaims 'Professor Wagner's fighting the monster – this is so cool' The possessed Bamfs appear strained, while the free Bamfs look on in shock, as Rico adds 'Only if he wins, Ziggy. But the odds look impossible'. Kurt creates a psychic sword and decides that the Shadow King has no idea how to cope with his speed and agility, but that the advantage will only last for a moment, and knows that he has to finish this before the Shadow King regains balance. Kurt understands that his psi-sword focuses every scrap of power from Bess and Betsy, plus the totality of his own will. 'All or nothing – here goes!' Kurt thinks to himself as he appears over the Shadow King and shoves the psi-sword into the Shadow King's skull, causing the powerful mutant to scream.
Bess, in her astral form, flies towards Kurt, 'My hero!' she exclaims, adding that she and Betsy knew Kurt could do it. As the Shadow King returns to his regular size, Kurt explains that all he did was stun him, that the battle is not over yet. 'That's why I'm here' Bess announces, adding that Betsy is looking after their bodies. Bess explains to Kurt that before the Shadow King recovers, they must return him to his prison. They each hold onto the Shadow King and lead him back to where this all began. In a cavern, they locate the motionless Omega Black, laid out on a slab, and Kurt asks Bess if she can reintegrate the Shadow King back into Omega Black. 'I set him free. I'm the only one who can' Bess replies, but as she attempts to do so, the Shadow King rises: 'Foolish cow, you are no match for me!' he exclaims. With one hand on Omega Black, Bess calls out to Kurt, telling him that the Shadowe King is fighting back. 'I can't -' she begins, but Kurt tells Bess to relax, and to let him help. Surprised, Bess asks Kurt where he got such strength. 'NO!' the Shadow King roars as Kurt grabs him and forces his form into the motionless Omega Black. 'We fight as a team, monster. Together, we claim victory' Kurt declares. 'We...got him!' Bess exclaims. Kurt helps steady her and suggests they leave Omega Black with the X-Men, as they will make sure the Shadow King never escapes again.
'What about us?' Bess asks, as their astral forms are returned to their bodies, and they wake. The Blackbird has landed nearby, and Bess touches Kurt's face, as he tells her 'One adventure at a time, please'. 'I can't wait!' Bess replies. The Sea Dogs suddenly surround Kurt and Bess, while Psylock and the Bamfs lie motionless. 'Hero's right. Body gets greedy -' one of the Sea Dogs remarks. '- body gets careless. Things turn bad' another points out. 'Sea Dogs?' Kurt asks. 'They're awake!' Kurt turns to see Killian holding Ziggy prisoner, while Broadside has taken hold of Rico. 'A lot's happened while you were dealing with the Shadow King, X-Man. From your perspective, all of it bad!' He announces that they are leaving the X-Men the Omega, and they can have fun with that, so instead they will take Ziggy and make good on the job Kurt kept them from finishing before. 'Never!' Kurt declares, getting to his feet. 'Killian – don't! He saved us!' Bess calls out, as two Sea Dogs close in on her. 'Too late, hero!' one of the Sea Dogs exclaims. 'You're story's done!' another calls out as four of them shove their swords into Kurt's body.
'KURT!' Bess screams as she loosk over at her companion. A wide-eyed Kurt raises his blood-covered hands and reminds himself that he has been stabbed before – and he knows when a wound is mortal. The Bamfs all surround Kurt and Bess, ready to teleport, as Killian informs Bess that it is time to go. 'Never again with you, Killian – we're done!' Bess cries back. Killian tells her not to talk like a lovestruck fool. Lightning suddenly crackles in the darkening sky above, while Broadside tells Killian to be careful, as Nightcrawler's Bamfs may be late to the game, but that they look ready to fight. 'Not just them Broadside – that lightning means the Weather Witch is back in the game as well'. Killian replies, deciding that it is time for the Crimson Pirates to call it a day. With Ziggy and Rico as their prisoners, the two pirates and the Sea Dogs vanish, with Killian warning Bess not to worry, that they will be sure to meet again. 'And on that day you can either join us...or follow your sweetheart to the grave!' he declares, while Rico shouts 'Nightcrawler – no!' and Ziggy pleads for help.
'Kurt!?' Ororo “Storm” Munroe shouts as she drops down onto the dune where Bess is holding the bleeding-out Nightcrawler. Bess informs Storm that the Sea Dogs did him good and proper, and reports that she can barely feel a pulse. Kurt looks up at Storm as she leans down over her friend. 'Sorry, Ororo – didn't see this one coming' Kurt utters. Storm tells him not to speak, reminding him that his Bamfs brought him here, so they can teleport him back to the mansion. 'Too late...' Kurt gasps. Storm declares that she just lost Logan and will not lose Kurt, too. 'Not your call' Kurt points out, before telling the women not to worry, as he has walked this road before and he knows what is coming. 'I'm going to join old friends' he points out, adding that he is sorry that means leaving other friends behind. Kurt tells them that he has only one regret – that he couldn't stop the Pirates and save the children, before he stop talking, a large pool of blood formed around his body as portal opens in the air above him.
Kurt's soul is pulled towards the portal – the pain is gone, just like the last time – but back then there were no regrets. He tells himself that Rico and Ziggy were his responsibility and he failed them. Kurt gasps as dozens of other souls across the sky appear – more than he can count, from more races than he can imagine. 'It's so beautiful' Kurt smiles, when, suddenly, someone calls out his name. 'Bess? What are you doing here?' Kurt asks, surprised. 'You don't run out on me so easily, buster! Take my hand!' Bess smiles, announcing that she is taking him back. 'Are you crazy?' Kurt smiles, as he reaches out for Bess. 'Absolutely, Elf – that's why I'm gonna win!' Bess boasts. Kurt tells Bess that it is too late for that, when, suddnely, a pair of gloved hands reaches out through the whirling portal and exclaims 'Gotcha!' and Kurt is suddenly pulled deeper into the portal. 'Kurt, no! NO!' Bess screams as she falls away from Kurt, who tells Bess that he is sorry, but he can't hold on. Kurt's soul suddenly takes the form of his body, 'She's – gone. I don't know this place – where am I? Is it – Heaven?' Kurt asks as he examines the grassy surroundings, with a brilliant light overhead. 'Consider it a way station along the road' the voice of his rescuer replies. A look of astonishment falls across Kurt's face and he shouts 'AMANDA? Is it truly you?' he asks as he sees the beautiful Amanda Sefton standing before him. 'I told you our story wasn't done' Amanda smiles. They embrace, holding each other close, as Kurt calls Amanda his heart and reminds her that he said he would find her, no matter what.
Hand in hand, they walk across the grass, as Kurt reminds Amanda that she said this was a “way station” and asks her what that means. 'Why do you keep looking back over your shoulder?' Amanda enquires. Saddened, Kurt informs Amanda that he has students, children entrusted to his care, that they are in danger and need his help. He recalls having a moment before he was stabbed, and wonders if he could have teleported clear – but he didn't, and now it is too late. 'There's nothing I can do' Kurt declares. 'Oh, ye of little faith' Amanda replies. Kurt asks her why she is smiling, and Amanda tells him that he was right – this isn't Heaven. 'Consider this its borderland. Different set of rules, way more possibilities'. Amanda reveals that she is here for a reason – she has work to do – and the same applies to Kurt – back on Earth. Kurt looks up to where an impressive glow appears. 'But I failed. I was killed' Kurt points out. 'That my friend, is what we call a “technicality”' a voice announces from above. 'Unglaublich!' Kurt gasps, while Amanda smiles. 'We're X-Men, Bub. Breaking rules is what we do best' another voice adds from above. It is none other than Jean “Phoenix” Grey and Wolverine a.k.a. Logan, who both appear surrounded by the fiery Phoenix Force. They hover over Kurt and Amanda and say nothing more.
Amanda tells Kurt that if he doesnt like the way things turned out, then to go back and set them right. 'Do what the X-Men do best: Find a way to win' she smiles. 'Be for those kids what you've been for me, a knight in shining armor' Amanda adds. 'But I don't want to leave you!' Kurt replies. 'You're a hero, my love. It's who you are, it's what you do'. Amanda reminds Kurt that heroes don't always get what they want – that is the price they pay for saving the world. 'We are not done yet, Amanda, not even close! Whatever it takes, I will find you. We will have our happy ending. This I swear' Kurt announces as he and Amanda kiss. Suddenly, 'Gotcha!' a voice calls out, as Bess's astral form grabs Kurt, and pulls him along. 'I'm being pulled back! Kurt tells Amanda as he reverts to his soul-like form. 'That's the way it goes, sometimes' Amanda tells Kurt. She smiles as the glow radiates around her, 'Save your kids, Kurt. Make us all proud!' Amanda calls out. 'AMANDA!' Kurt shouts, before, an instant later, he wakes in his body, with the Bamfs smiling, Storm, Bess and a revived Betsy gather around him. 'I – I'm alive' Kurt smiles.
Bess tells Kurt that he doesn't get away from her that easily, and supposes that she has been hanging around them for way too long. 'I'm like you now, I don't quit anymore. I find a way to win'. Storm asks what happened, and Kurt announces that it was a miracle. 'You sound great' Bess declares. Kurt raises his shirt – there are no wounds in his body, and he tells the others that he feels great, his wounds are healed. 'So – what now?' Bess asks. 'You came after me, Bess. Now, we go after the children, to bring them safely home' Nightcrawler announces as he gets to his feet, pulling Bess up with him. Storm tells Kurt that whatever he needs, the X-Men stand ready to help. But Kurt informs Ororo that this is something he and Bess need to do for themselves. He instructs her to safeguard the school, while they bring the Crimson Pirates to justice. The Bamfs cheer, while Kurt and Bess look determined as Kurt adds that they will then deal once and for all with their employer, Tullamore Voge!'


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Kids on the Run!
The Blackbird streaks through a dimensional boundary, with Bloody Bess charting its course. Inside are Kurt Wagner a.k.a. Nightcrawler, Bloddy Bess of the Crimson Pirates, and several Bamfs. Their destination is the slave market run by Tullamore Voge, their purpose is to rescue two kidnapped students from the Jean Grey School, Rico and Ziggy Karst. Bess gets changed into another outfit, while Nightcrawler prepares his swords. After the children are safe, he intends to bring Voge to justice once and for all. It is to that end that Bess has chosen to stand with him, against her teammates. Kurt's heart is pledged to another...but there is something about Bess he cannot resist. He looks at a holographic display of two of his friends, now dead, Jean Grey and Wolverine, and decides that he is just like the two of them, all three of them torn between love and passion. Kurt believes that the fates must laugh at the follies of men. 'Ready, cutie?' Bess asks as she checks her gun. 'But these are thoughts for another time' Kurt thinks to himself, grinning, he tells Bess 'Absolutely. Let's go be heroes'.
Bess told Kurt what to expect, but words pale before the reality. Tullamore Voge stands and watches as Hound Slavers whip at mutant children who are chained together in rows, al wearing blue and white costumes. Ziggy Karst and Rico are brought onto a platform by Broadside and Killian, while the Sea Dogs follow them. 'They're all kids like us – and there are so many!' Rico exclaims. Broadside announces that they are all mutants, and all of them are slaves. Killian reports that Voge operates throughout the Omniverse, so many worlds, too many people – nobody misses a child here or there, even one with super powers. 'You can't get away with this!' Ziggy shouts, tugging at the collar around her neck, which connects to a chain in Killian's hands. 'And who's to stop us, girl?' Voge asks as he appears before the captives via holographic projection. 'Did you really think I'd allow you to escape me?' he asks, adding that they have been “getting away” with this for generations, and will continue doing so long after she and Rico are both dust and forgotten. 'Although, looking at you now, I begin to wonder why I bothered' he adds.
'You can talk as smug as you like, fatso – we beat you before, we'll do it again! And this time, we'll make sure you pay for your crimes!' Rico declares, lunging towards the projection of Voge, until Broadside pulls on the chain connected to Rico's collar, 'Hold your tongue, boy, or lose it' he warns Rico. Killian points out that the boy has spirit, to which Voge mutters that he hates spirit. He adds that he starts to wonder if he wouldn't make more profit selling the pirates, but Killian tells Voge to save his threats. Two “headshots” of Rico and Ziggy hover alongside Voge, while Killian announces that they should let the enhancer field reveal what these two mutants will become when they grow up. Energy whirls around the two young mutants, and Rico asks Ziggy what is happening. Ziggy declares that she feels so strange. 'You won't be disappointed' Broadside remarks. 'Is that us?' Rico asks. 'Wow!' Ziggy gasps as they stare at projections of what they will look like when they are older. Rico's future self wears a blue costume with a large gold X on it, and Ziggy wears a red and white costume, with a small X on her stomach. Impressed, Voge announces that this is something he can turn a profit on. 'Shall we start the bidding?' he asks .
Bidding commences, and the two floating headshots of Ziggy and Rico have numbers alongside them, Rico's is up to 17, while Ziggy is on 3. Ziggy decides that with everyone preoccupied with bidding, it is her chance now. She pulls her small capsules from her pocket, but one of the Sea Dogs sees her doing this, and lunges towards her, 'Girl making sneakky move? Bad girl!' the Sea Dog exclaims. 'Guess again' Ziggy replies as she lets one of the capsules explode, sending the Sea Dog careening backwards. 'Big bang nailed him. But now Killian knows something's up. Only got seconds now to use the baby-bang to set me free' Ziggy decides, as she places the other capsule against her collar, and the collar breaks. 'It worked!' Ziggy tells herself, while Killian is surprised to be holding a chain that leads to nothing. The bidding is now up to 143 for Rico and 97 for Ziggy, who throws to more of the strange capsules towards Rico, 'Heads up, Rico! It's your turn to rock-n-run!' Ziggy calls out, as one of the capsules strikes Broadside, knocking him back, and the other hits the collar around Rico's neck. 'We're not just kids, pirate – we're student X-Men!' Rico boasts as he uses his tail to trip Killian up, then he leaps onto Killian's chest and starts punching him in the face, 'We may lose – but we never quit!' Rico declares.
Rico and Ziggy start to run off the platform, with Ziggy telling Rico that he has nice moves. 'Nightcrawler's a great teacher' Rico replies, adding that he wishes Nightcrawler was here. 'Speaking of nice moves, yours were great' Rico remarks, while Ziggy holds onto one of Rico's claws, they run through the strange industrial facility, past more mutant prisoners, and Hound Slavers. The bidding is up to 27,483 for Rico, and 18,991 for Ziggy, who points out that everything happened so fast in China, the pirates never searched them, and she guesses they figured kids don't pack hardware. 'Got a radio so we can call for help?' Rico asks. 'What d'ya want from me, pal? Do I have to think of everything?' Ziggy exclaims. 'Just asking, is all – cause without a miracle... we're gonna end up just like all these other kids' Rico tells Ziggy as they pass a girl who is crying. Ziggy tells him to trust her, she is working up a plan. 'I sure hope so!' Rico gasps as a Slaver who looks like Voge appears nearby, 'Escaped slaves! Hounds – seize them!' he demands, and several Hounds rush towards the kids. 'We're busted!' Rico gasps.
The bidding is up to 429,733 for Rico and 391,207 for Ziggy, while Killian tells a projection of Voge that they have tracked and caught those two before, and they can do it again. 'So you can lose them, yet again? I'm not interested' Voge declares. Broadside tells Voge that they will go their separate ways, call it quits, and he can catch them himself. 'Sorry, I've made other arrangements' Voge replies, as a blast of energy takes out Broadside, Killian and the Sea Dogs. 'Put them on the market grid. They should bring a fair price' Voge calls out, and as several Warwolves approach his projection, he tells them that he trusts they will do better. 'We're Warwolves, Slavelord. We don't fail' one of the Warwolves boasts.
As the bidding reaches 838,719 for Rico and 838,718 for Ziggy, the two young mutants rush down an alleyway, where another Slaver who looks like Voge is tormenting a child. The Hounds leap after Rico, who crawls along a pipe running overhead, where he tells Ziggy that he is still waiting for that plan. A boy trapped in a small cage watches as Ziggy runs past him, and she calls out to Rico that she is still working on the details. 'In case you haven't noticed, there are lots of distractions' she adds. Ziggy tells herself that there is no point trying to hide, as this place is used to runaways, and the Hounds likely known every hidey-hole. 'We need something better' she thinks. Looking down at Ziggy from above, Rico tells himself that she is doing great, but that they can't keep this up forever. 'No more defiance, slave. You will submit -' one of the Slavers shouts a green-skinned girl, who cries, 'Please don't hurt me! I just want to go home!' Rico starts to cry, realizing that the girl sounds so scared, and needs help, while all he is doing is running away.
The bidding continues, with Rico fetching 1,694,159 and Ziggy on 1,718,327. 'Enough with the running – time to start fighting!' Ziggy tells herself, as she transforms her capsules into two guns, which she starts firing at the pursuing Hounds, knocking two of them backwards. But Ziggy realizes that if she starts shooting at them, they will likely start shooting back, when suddenly, she hears some screaming. She runs down another alleyway, where she comes across several aliens standing before two Slavers, each who has a prisoner in their arms. 'You can't take her away, she's my sister!' one of the slaves calls out. Ziggy realizes that the girls are terrified, but the Slavers are all laughing, to them it is just another sale. 'This is so wrong' Ziggy tells herself, before she trips on a rock and falls to the ground. As bidding reaches 2,547,031 for Rico and 3,973,228 for Ziggy, Rico swoops down and grabs Ziggy, telling her that he has got her back, and that it is a good thing he was watching. Mutant prisoners all start to turn and watch, too, and as a Hound looms over the X-Men students, Ziggy holds her guns towards the Hound, and tells Rico to run as soon as she starts shooting.
'I suspect, students, that's my cue. May I lend a hand?' Nightcrawler asks as he drops down, kicking the Hounds over, he is wearing a cape that flows behind him. 'Professor Wagner?' Ziggy gasps. 'Nightcrawler!' Rico exclaims. Rico's bidding is up to 4,719,082, Ziggy is at 4,197,829 and Nightcrawler has been added to the bidding, currently reaching 894,329. More prisoners watch the struggle, as the Hounds get up, Nightcrawler's attack was not enough to keep him down. Kurt knows the Hound won't hold back. 'But neither will I' Kurt thinks to himself as he leaps towards the Hound, readying his sword, as the Hound reaches for his own sword. Kurt remembers that before joining Excalibur, Rachel Grey was a Hound. Kurt slides under the Hound after their swords clang, he knows those memories still haunt her – yet another reason to bring Voge and his Slavers to justice. Kurt pushes up and topples the Hound. Biding has got up to 4,803,667 for Rico, 5,054,729 for Ziggy and 4,019,792 for Kurt. More mutant slaves watch the struggle, 'Bigger you are, the harder you fall – sweet dreams!' Kurt tells the Hound, adding that the Hound is very good at terrorizing children, but not so much against those who can fight back. 'With a little help from your friends' Bess calls out as one of the Bamfs teleports her in. 'As always, much appreciated. We have the children, Bess' Kurt tells her, while Rico wraps himself around one of Bess's legs. 'Time to go -' Kurt begins, before several more Hounds lunge at him. 'You're going on the block, fool – or into your grave!' the Hound shouts.
More and more slaves are watching the battle, some smiling, others looking concerned. Bidding has reached 4,917,082, 5,197,829 and 6,303,549 for Rico, Ziggy and Kurt, respectively. 'So much for our best laid plans. Looks like, yet again, we're fightin for our lives!' Bess exclaims as one of the Hounds lunges at her. 'Bet you wouldn't have it any other way' Kurt calls back, as he punches one of the Hounds in the face. 'No fair, knowing me so well' Bess replies as she smacks her gun into the Hound's face. Kurt punches another Hound, while battling a different Hound with his sword. 'What can I say? You've charmed the pirate in my soul' Kurt smiles. 'Music to my sweet ears' Bess declares as she throws a Hound over herself, slamming him into the ground. Kurt tells himself that the words are just banter, what is scary is the emotions that underlie them. Those feelings are totally real – for both of them. 'Looks like the baddies have called for help' Kurt smiles as more Hounds rush towards them.
As bidding gets up to 5,031,771 for Rico, 5,203,019 for Ziggy and 17,331,007 for Kurt, the mutant slaves are joined by even more who watch the battle. Kurt elbows one Hound in the face, while punching another. Normally he would teleport against these odds, but it seems the interdimensional travel has thrown his own ability to travel through space for a loop. In truth, he doesn't mind its absence, it makes this fight a whole lot more fun. 'Look at the Professor go!' Rico exclaims as he, Ziggy and several Bamfs watch Kurt take out the Hounds. 'When you grow up, Rico, I bet you'll be even better' Ziggy exclaims. When all the Hounds lie motionless in a pile, Kurt and Bess turn to the children, 'Oh my gosh, you beat 'em all!' Ziggy exclaims. 'Just this small contingent. By the time reinforcements arrive, we need to be long gone' Kurt points out, to which Rico tells him that they can't leave. 'We certainly can't stay, Rico. That'll be the end of us' Kurt replies, as bidding reaches 5,219,937 for Rico, 5,219,737 for Ziggy and 39,421,839 for Kurt. Motioning to the mutant slaves all around, Rico tells Kurt that all the captives here are kids, they have been stolen from their homes and are being sold. 'How can you turn you back on that?' he asks, while two Bamfs ride on Rico's tail.
Kurt tells Rico that he knows it seems harsh, but that their primary responsibility is to the two of them. 'We'll get you out of harm's way and then come back for them' Kurt declares. 'And what about the kids who get sold in the meantime?' Rico asks, angrily. 'What's the phrase – are they just collateral damage?' he asks. 'You came for us – how can we turn our backs on them? I'm sorry, Nightcrawler, he's right. I stand with Rico' Ziggy announces. Kurt tells himself that they are just kids, idealists, fools – but they are right. 'Fine, have this your way. The Bamfs will teleport you to the Blackbird. There, you'll be safe. Leave the rest to us' Kurt replies. The bidding has reached even higher numbers, which can't be seen due the mutants crowding around, while Rico waves his claws in the air and exclaims 'No way! We may be kids but we can still help. We stand together against evil. We reach out our hand to people who need it and we pull 'em to safety!' Ziggy looks concerned, while Rico continues, asking if this isn't why the X-Men were created in the first place. Kurt closes his eyes, 'Out of the mouths of babes – comes a reminder of my obligations, not simply as a hero... but as a man. Can I measure up to them?' he asks himself.
'Whatever you decide, sweetie – I've got your back' Bess tells Kurt, who reminds Rico and Ziggy that this is not a game, that they could be hurt, or die, or worse. 'What about the kids? They need all of us. If there's even a chance to help them, it's worth any risk' Ziggy exclaims. Kurt tells himself that Ziggy is a child, that she doesn't know what she is saying, but recalls that so was Kitty when she joined the X-Men, and her youth didn't slow her down – if anything, it made her try all the harder. 'These two are so much like her' Kurt decides. 'All right, then... we do this as a team. Our primary target is the head Slaver, Tullamore Voge' Kurt tells Bess, the kids and the Bamfs. Suddenly, 'Professor Wagner -' Rico shouts. '- behind you!' Ziggy exclaims, but it is too late, as there is an explosion that blasts Kurt, Bess, Rico, Ziggy and the Bamfs through the air, they land several feet away. 'Why do I have the feeling things just got a whole lot worse?' Bess asks. 'You have no idea' Kurt declares as he looks up. 'You know this crew?' Bess enquires. 'We have a history' Kurt replies. 'But we can beat 'em, right?' Rico exclaims, as several Warwolves loom over the heroes. 'You can try' one of them declares. 'We're the Warwolves, kid. We've been waiting for this moment a long time' another Warwolf announces, warning the heroes that before they are done, they will take their lives, their powers, and their very souls!


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The Heroes rise!
An alleyway in an industrial slaver zone, where Kurt “Nightcrawler” Wagner, Bloody Bess, Rico, Ziggy Karst and several Bamfs are confronted by several Warwolves, while dozens of mutant children slaves watch on from nearby. Kurt readies his swords and thinks that he hates Warwolves. He recalls that they were the first true adversaries of Excalibur, and in that battle they nearly stole the soul and body of Kitty Pryde. The Warwolves are predators who feed on the life-essence of their victims and then wear their skins like a new suit of clothes – they are right at home working for Tullamore Voge. 'And we are their latest prey' Kurt adds, while one of the Warwolves tells Nightcrawler that they have waited a long time for vengeance. 'Not here, Warwolf – and not in this lifetime!' Kurt calls back. Bess stands ready to fight, as do the Bamfs, while Rico and Ziggy look scared, and hug each other. Kurt releases his cape, which falls onto one of the Warwolves, trapping it, and he strikes another with his sword. He thinks that a lot has happened since he returned to life, and not all of it pleasant. He decides that for too long he kept his feelings under a tight hold, almost like he was afraid of the consequences should he release that grief and rage. But against the Warwolves, he can cast off all restraint. He has lost too many of those he cares for – and decides that he will lose no more.
Suddenly, Bess appears before Rico and Ziggy in her astral form, and tells the kids that it is time for  them to go, that the Bamfs will get them safely to the Blackbird. 'Leave the baddies to us!' she exclaims. 'Bess has gone astral; she's speaking to us telepathically while she fights!' Ziggy realizes. 'Let us stay. We want to help!' Rico pleads. Kurt's astral form appears and tells the children that this is no time for an argument, as the Warwolves change everything. 'I need you to trust me and do as you're told – now go!' he orders. Rico, Ziggy and the Bamfs run down the alleyway, 'No back talk, Rico?' Ziggy asks. 'Are you kidding, Ziggy? I've never seen Professor Wagner so serious!' Rico replies. The kids and the Bamfs come to a stop as they reach a balcony and look out over the industrial slaver zone, they see Slavers and Hounds tormenting more children. 'You still sound pretty steamed' Ziggy tells Rico. 'Is that really a surprise? Take a look around' Rico exclaims. 'They're just kids, Ziggy. Kids like us! Only we get to run away – to go home safe and sound – and they're all still slaves. I'm sorry, but that sucks!' Rico shouts. Rico announces that he is not going to stand for it, that he won't abandon these kids any more than the X-Men would abandon them. 'You have a plan?' Ziggy asks. Rico tells her that he does, and points out that Tullamore Voge runs this nightmare, so if they bring him down, they might just upset his whole applecart. Ziggy tells him it is crazy, but it might just work. 'Let's do it!' she exclaims.
Back in the alleyway, the Warwolves close in on Bess and Kurt. 'We got a problem' Bess calls out to Kurt, who replies that he knows, as the Bamfs just told him – the kids are hunting down Voge themselves. He remarks that it is not a bad idea, and wishes they could help. 'Unfortunately – a far more pressing...and immediate concern...is our basic survival!' Kurt exclaims as he dodges one Warwolf, flips over another, and lands on its head. He knows he hit the Warwolf hard, but all he did was make him mad. 'Stand still, curse ya!' the Warwolf shouts as it reaches out to grab Kurt. 'You want me to make this easy?' Kurt smiles. 'I don't think so' he adds as he moves away from the Warwolf's punch. Suddenly, 'I got him!' a Warwolf declares as it appears behind Kurt and wraps its arms around him. 'This is the moment I been waiting for! Trust me, mutie – now you're gonna hurt!' another Warwolf declares, but as it lunges towards Kurt to punch him, Kurt slips out of the other Warwolf's grasp, causing the second Warwolf to punch the first. He hopes the Warwolf's punch has more of an impact than his own, before a telepathic cry for help resonates around him.
'BESS!' Nightcrawler shouts as he looks over to see Bess at the mercy of one of the Warwolves, who has grabbed her, and his Ghost-Wolves hover around her. 'I'll hold ya fast – while they drain the life right outta ya!' the Warwolf exclaims, and Bess screams, while Kurt races towards her, 'Stop it! You're killing her!' he pleads, before he is tackled to the ground by three Warwolves. 'That's the idea, duh-head! Just like we're gonna kill you!' one of them exclaims.
Elsewhere, several Hounds lead Tullamore Voge down an alleyway. 'Why is this taking so long? Those cretins promised me quick results!' Voge exclaims, when, suddenly, the Bamfs teleport in around Voge, accompanied by Rico, who pushes one of the Hounds into the Slavemaster and tells him that sometimes fate has better ideas. The Bamfs latch on to two of the Hounds and teleport them away. 'My guards!' Voge exclaims as he lies on the ground. There is still one Hound left, and he raises his swords as he moves towards Rico. 'Foolish boy, there's still one left. Kill the freak!' Voge commands. 'Slice you wide, I will!' the Hound declares. 'Wanna bet?' Rico replies, as he grabs the Hound by his wrists, and falls backwards, with the Hound over him. 'I ain't the one who's on his back, brat. Ain't nothing you can do about it, neither!' the Hound declares. 'Stop blathering, wretch – just kill him!' Voge shouts. The Hound warns Rico that holding his hands won't save him, as he will just crush the life right out of him. 'Actually, I got a better idea – using my tail!' Rico exclaims as he swings his tail up and smacks the Hound with it, enabling himself to escape, and fly after Voge, who has started to run away.
'Running away, Slavemaster? I thought you weren't scared of kids. Far as you're concerned, we're all just property' Rico tells Voge, who replies that words are cheap. 'You're no killer' he declares. 'For the likes of you, Voge – there are worsr fates' Rico points out as the Bamfs return, grab Voge and teleport away – into the Blackbird, where Voge finds himself behind bars, and Ziggy on the other side, pointing a weapon at him. 'Where -?' Voge begins. 'Locked up. And you better get used to it, Voge. Your turn to be a captive' Ziggy exclaims. Voge tells her that she will never get away with this. 'Who's gonna stop us?' Ziggy asks, and Voge grins wickedly back at her.
Back in the alleyway, two of the Warwolves try to hold Kurt down. 'Will you idiots get a proper grip on the flesh bag?' the third exclaims. 'He's wriggling too hard!' one of the others replies, while the third exclaims that he is not letting them drain his life energy. 'That's the idea' Kurt tells them, before realizing that there is no more time for fooling, as Bess is fading fast. He looks over and sees Bess's astral form join the battle, while her physical body is almost beyond the point of no return. 'Once we finish these two, we go after their kids!' one of the Warwolves exclaims. 'Voge won't like that' another points out. 'Do I look like I care?' the first asks, while the third claims Nightcrawler's skin. Kurt tells the Warwolves that he would be very careful if he was them. 'Remember what happened when you tried to claim Kitty?' he asks. The Warwolves stop and remember, Nightcrawler, Rachel Summers and Captain Britain looking on as Shadowcat climbed into one of the warwolves. 'Open wide, you sludge! Like it our not – I'm coming through!' Kitty warned the Warwolf. 'You're scared!' one of the Warwolves exclaims. 'Total wimp!' the other agrees. 'Am not! It's just, with mutants – weird things happen' the third points out.
'Don’t be such an -' one of them begins, before Kurt's tail wraps around its neck, and it is yanked backwards. 'Uh-oh' one of the others mutters, before Kurt bangs the two Warwolves together. Kurt rises up over the fallen Warwolves, 'Hang on, Bess! I'm not letting you go!' Kurt calls out. Bess's astral form tells Kurt that he better have a plan, and that he better be quick, for she can't hold on much longer. 'The girl's almost done. You deal with the mutie!' the Warwolf holding Bess's limp body calls out. 'No problem!' another boasts, as it moves towards Kurt, who flips backwards, his legs poised to kick the approaching Warwolf. Kurt tells himself that there is no margin of error, no hope of any do over – his every move now has to be perfect. 'What?' the surprised Warwolf exclaims as it makes impact with Kurt's feet, sending the Warwolf careening backwards through the air, Kurt tosses a chain around the Warwolf's ankle, and smashes it into the other Warwolf, who releases Bess's body. 'This can't be happening!' the Warwolf exclaims. Bess's astral form battles the Ghost-Wolves, 'Great move, lover. But my body's right on the edge of oblivion. I can't hold out any longer' Bess calls out. Kurt pulls on the chain, and tells Bess that she won't have to.
'You wanna save the girl, mutant? You're gonna have to beat us first!' one of the Warwolves exclaims as it lunges towards Kurt, who tells it 'That's the plan', as he pulls on the chain, and wraps it around all of the Warwolves that rush towards him. 'Guess what, mutie? I'm still free – your plan's a bust!' it calls out. 'Wanna bet?' Kurt replies, as he wraps the chain around the Warwolf's hand, and it is pulled towards the others, as Kurt remarks that hhe comes from the circus, one of the first things he learned was how to lasso wild animals. 'This isn't fair!' the Warwolf complains. Kurt wraps the Warwolves up together so tight that they can't escape, and leaves them hanging above the alley. He rushes over to Bess, he can't hear her voice inside his head anymore, and the telepathic images she has been sending him are starting to fade. Her body appears little more than skin and bones. 'Hear my thoughts, Bess – hold on! As God is my witness  I will not let you die!' Kurt thinks to himself.
Kurt holds Bess in his arms, he reminds her that he isn't a telepath, so he can't reach her that way, even with his power, he can't teleport beyond the beyond. 'All I can offer is my will' he declares. He asks Bess to hear his voice, and tells her that he will be her anchor, that he will bring her home. 'Reach out to my soul and grab hold' he tells her. Suddenly, the Bamfs teleport back into the alley, along with Rico and Ziggy. 'What's happening?' Rico enquires. 'It doesn't look good' Ziggy points out. Kurt tells the kids that all they can do now is pray, for Bess's fate is truly in the hands of God. Behind them, one of the Warwolves stirs, and growls. 'I will not stand for this. I did not return from the beyond just to see my friends take my place. I will not have my heart broken again' Nightcrawler declares. 'Music to my ears, lover' Bess remarks. 'You're alive!' Kurt exclaims. 'You noticed' Bess tells him, as she kisses him on the lips. 'I'll do far more than that' Kurt replies, as he wraps his arms around Bess and they continue to kiss. 'Oh yes please' Bess utters. The Bamfs all smile, while Rico exclaims 'Way to go, Nightcrawler!' and Ziggy covers her eyes, asking them to get a room.
'You heard me' Kurt tells Bess, who touches his face and points out that the way he was yelling, it was impossible not to. 'Elf, you literally woke the – Kurt, look out!' Bess exclaims, before Kurt teleports himself and Bess out of the way, as the Warwolf who growled nearby lunges at them. 'He teleported. No matter – I can still feast on the children!' the Warwolf declares. 'Not even in your dreams, slug. Just be thankful Nightcrawler's a good influence on me' Bess tells the creature as she knocks it out with a psychic blast. 'Otherwise, I'd happily tear you apart' Bess remarks. Nightcrawler crouches over the Warwolf, 'Truth to tell, I think I'd help' he admits, before telling Bess that would not be a good example for the children. 'We won this battle, Kurt. What happens next?' Bess asks. Rico informs Kurt that they have Voge locked in a cell aboard the Blackbird, 'Does that help?' he asks. 'Sneaky kids – I like that' Bess smiles. 'I say – let's go win the war... and set these children free!' Kurt grins.
It isn't an easy struggle, and it takes time. But in the end, heroes prevail. Ziggy, Rico and Bess return home safe with Kurt, many of the stolen children are returned safely to their homes as well. For some, though, there are neither homes nor families to be found. The Slavers were ruthless. They can consider the cost of those crimes in prison – for the rest of their unnatural lives.
Inside the hangar bay at the Jean Grey School, 'That a new look, Rico?' Ororo Munro a.k.a. Storm calls out to Rico, who is wearing the costume he previously saw his future self wearing. 'Shape of things to come, Storm. Professor Wagner felt we'd earned it' he explains. Storm asks him what he is doing here, and Ziggy, wearing her red and white costume, explains that they are tagging the Blackbird. 'Slavers we busted and the kids we rescued. Anyone who messes with us is gonna know they're in trouble' she declares, standing on a platform around the outside of the Blackbird, painting faces on it. 'This is a serious choice. Are you are?' Storm asks. 'Absolutely' the kids reply in unison. Storm remarks that Kurt has taught them well, as Charles Xavier taught them. 'You should both be proud. Together, you have both made a difference'.
'Where's that?' Betsy Braddock a.k.a. Psylocke asks as she looks at a photo Kurt is holding – a photo of he and Bess. 'A very private hideaway' Kurt replies as they sit on a sofa in a living area, Rachel Grey is with them. 'Naughty lad' Betsy smiles. 'She saved my life, Betsy' Kurt replies. 'You saved hers, boyo. Doesn't that make you even?' Betsy asks. Kurt explains that there is a bond between them. 'What about Amanda?' Betsy asks. Kurt tells Betsy that it is a different bond, no less real, and that he will trust in fate that things will work out happily for them all. 'But you came back alone' Rachel points out. Kurt teleports over to the window and gazes out, revealing that Voge sold the Crimson Pirates as slaves, and Bess went looking for them. 'Once they're free, we'll see what happens next between us'. Kurt adds that Bess is, after all, a psychotic killer, and in the meantime, he has responsibilities of his own. He looks down to see Rico and Ziggy leading the rescued mutant slaves about on a tour of the Jean Grey School.
Kurt walks across a field, of course, he worries about Bess. He offered to help, but Bess refused. Her path was not his, she said, and she said she must walk it alone. Kurt's mind accepts her argument, but his heart worries. He holds a baseball in his hand, 'What can I say? I may be both mutant and X-Man... but at the bedrock, for better, for worse, I am a child of God. As such, I must follow the example of my friends...and use my abilities to try to make our world better'. Kurt smiles as he thinks of Amanda Sefton, Jean Grey and Wolverine. He looks over to see Hank McCoy a.k.a. the Beast and Rachel Grey walking behind the rescued slave children, while Rico, Ziggy and the Bamfs rush towards Kurt. 'This is who we do it for. The next generation. To give them a future worthy of their potential' Kurt tells himself. 'We're here, Professor Wagner, just like you asked!' Rico calls out. 'Us and all the newbies we rescued' Ziggy adds. Kurt smiles at them, 'Thank yo you both, Rico and Ziggy'. He tells them and Rachel to come out on the field with him, this game will be them and the Bamfs versus everyone else.
Everyone takes their positions on the field, as Kurt tells the youngsters that it is time to introduce them to an old and classic X-Men tradition. 'As super heroes, we're often called on to fight evil and save the world. But that doesn't mean we can't have fun' he smiles, before announcing that he will introduce them to what a dear old friend called “The Fastball Special”. Everyone looks excited, and Kurt grins, deciding that here is where he starts to make this world better.


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part 3: Voices of Fire
10 years later:Nighttime, the Sanctum Sanctorum in New Essex (formerly New York):Vox Ignis (the gestalt made of Banshee and the Spirit of Variance) is in the Sanctum. Banshee hears the bamfing sounds and nervously announces they are coming. The Spirit tells him to remain calm. The Mother sent them to scavenge for items of power. Banshee tells him those aren’t their regular Sinisters. They need to ask for extraction to the astral realm. The Spirit reminds him, they have been bonded for a decade. In that time, the Mother has not once given rewards for failure. He is the Spirit of Variance. They need to look at the problem from a different angle.Suddenly Banshee shouts that it’s his elite assassins, the Legion of the Night. He refers to a group of chimeras, all of whom have a Nightcrawler base combined with another mutant or superbeing. Wagnerine (a Wolverine chimera) quickly tackles him. There are also combinations with the Toad, Domino, Pyro, Sabretooth and even Spider-Man.Vox Ignis manages to shake her off, then tells his Spirit of Variance part to do the scream of change. The Spirit reports they have tried it on countless Sinisters and not freed one of them. Banshee insists they have no choice, and the Spirit complies, his scream affecting the Wolverine-chimera. Wagnerine stops her attack confused. The Emplate chimera observes that her thoughts have become alarmingly unsinister-like. In return she impales his brain. While she fights the Sabretooth chimera, she orders Vox Ignis to free as many of her kin as he can. Vox Ignis manages to free the Domino chimera and the Spider-Man chimera. The Sabretooth chimera wants to call the Quiet Council to warn them, but the Domino chimera, Auntie Fortune, shoots him first as well as the Toad and Pyro chimeras. In the end, only Vox Ignis and the three freed chimeras are left alive.Vox Ignis suggests they flee. The commander, Wagnerine, stops him. They have led short lives spent on an evil purpose. They need to know what they are for. What higher purpose do they serve?Vox Ignis takes them to the Moon to join Mother Righteous, outside the House of the Fall (formerly the Summer House). She criticizes him for being late. She interrupts them when they try to explain.She enters the building, Vox in tow, and criticizes the two men sitting there. They have started without her. Sheer bloody rudeness. The men she addresses are Dr. Stasis and Orbis Stellaris, neither of whom knows who she is. Mother Righteous chuckles, pours herself some whiskey and addresses them by their names, before calling them two tosspots with Sinister’s face, both clinging to the forlorn hope they are the original.Somewhat intrigued, Dr. Stasis interrupts that he can forgive gatecrashing but not insolence from some unknown hussy with an East London accent! Unimpressed, she tells them her name and adds they haven’t heard of her because she’s been busy. Ten years ago, a bunch of the X-genes got bewitched. However much Sinister spliced them, they kept turning into monsters. It’s taken her years to fix, spells, sacrifices… but it’s done.Stasis angrily calls her a fool. Orchis commissioned that hex! While it lasted, Sinister was unable to exploit some of the most dangerous bloodlines. Now he’s using the Nightcrawler strain to build his hit squads! She is not one of Sinister’s creations. So why work for him? Mother Righteous replies she is working for no one. And, by the way, the accent is not East London, but near enough. It reminds her where she comes from. And where is that exactly? Stasis demands Essex, she replies coolly as she takes off her domino mask and reveals the heart symbol on her forehead, a match to their club and spade symbols. She… She’s… Stasis begins to babble. Under no narcissistic illusion of being the original, she cuts him off and empties her glass. Now, since they are acquainted…She orders Vox Ignis to lay down the King of Clubs. Bored, Stasis orders his human-tiger bodyguard Broman to attack. However, the tiger protests that he is no match for the astral energies. Magic, how twee, Stasis mutters disgusted. He tosses a null charm at Vox Ignis’ feet, but Mother Righteous has another ace up her sleeve. The three freed Nightcrawler chimeras – Wagnerine, Auntie Fortune and Wallcrawler – teleport in to join the fray. Wagnerine decapitates Broman, while the other two attack Dr. Stasis, who hides behind a forcefield and deploys several weapons against them that he teleports in.When Wagnerine attacks him, he grabs her with some tentacles emerging from his back, essentially tying up her arms and legs. He muses about incorporating her claws into himself after her death and asks if she has any last words. In reply, the pointed end of her tail stabs him in the brain.Orbis Stellaris praises Mother Righteous. He feared he would actually have to listen to his talk of an alliance. He didn’t think she could do it. But to turn Sinister’s finest killers? Ingenious! Now he understands why she cured the monstrosity hex.Not interested in his praises, she reminds him of the price – answers. She knows he’s been busy and Sinister’s knickers have been in a twist. She believes it is no coincidence. So, what’s the big idea, brother dear?Some answers later, Mother Righteous summarizes that he stole Sinister’s lab because he didn’t want him resetting this reality. He couldn’t tolerate Stasis’ powerbase and he wouldn’t have allowed her to know this, if she had any chance of changing this. He agrees that he has the processing power of the World Farm. Crunching possibilities to find a path to the highest throne. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. Nobody has access to the Moira clones now. Sinister’s chaos will devour all the obstacles to Orbis’ primacy. And no fuzzy huckster magician can come close. The sword does not fear the cup. Stay out of his way, and she will have safe passage through his dominion. It is the very least he can do to thank her for her help. His globe closes and he vanishes.Vox Ignis addresses Mother Righteous who tells him she has to think. She orders them to bring her new recruits, new believers.Over the following weeks, Vox Ignis and the three Nightcrawler chimeras have several conflicts with Council of Sinisters members and manage to free a Colossus-Nightcrawler chimera. Banshee wonders if Mother Righteous will thank them for this. The Spirit of Variance is convinced they are doing this for good and that the three chimeras trust in Mother Righteous. Still, they wonder why they were the only ones Vox Ignis’s scream could set free.When they break into Sinister’s cloning facility, they find Dr. Nemesis, whose mushroom head has grown to a monstrous size. Sipping his coffee, he orders them to keep quiet. He is chained to the wall as is the original sleeping Nightcrawler, now completely monstrous. The remnants of Kenji Uedo are in a glass tube. Nemesis tells them to keep quiet. The Uedo protein doesn’t like loud noises. Just be grateful the cookie monster isn’t due to feed for another week!Mother Righteous had dissolved the monstrosity spell that changed Nightcrawler a decade ago, but the effects on him still persist. He is growing more monstrous and mindless. Only a resurrection could restore him to his prime. And these days, only Sinister has the means.Wagnerine and Wallcrawler intend to free more of their enslaved kin. The Spirit of Variance admits to Banshee he doesn’t know where good and evil lie in this broken world, but he knows this: the Nightkin are happier free than servile.They free a Nightcrawler / Pixie chimera. The Spirit continues that above all they are kind. They are him as he was in the Spark of their souls.Avengers crater, formerly Avengers Mountain, now a HQ for Mother Righteous, who orders Vox Ignis to bring them in:The Nightkin enter, humbly offering gifts and offering their service. Wallcrawler offers the Book of the Spark. Auntie Fortune stole a Limbo rifle from Shaw. Wagnerine offers the brain of Cortez. The Sinisters have them everywhere to boost their powers.Mother Righteous is satisfied. Only fair they get something in return, she figures. She offers a holy vision and tells them to look: inside is a huge black globe - the laboratory of Sinister. Stolen, protected, hidden, it is only through remote viewing she can even get a glimpse. This is the dark heart of all sin and it falls to them to cleanse it. There are others set against the devil – she refers to the Brotherhood – but they won’t help them. All they know is survival and selfishness, but the Nightkin are here to burn them out.She shows them a vision of a heart and calls it the Reliquary Perilous. A holy weapon they must build. Properly deployed, it will purge the Sinister stain from every mutant with the white-hot fire of faith. They have been granted the gift of freedom. The righteous thing is to give everyone else the same! They want that, don’t they? All they are missing is someone on the inside. Any volunteers?Vox Ignis interjects that trying to enter the World Farm would be suicide, but she hushes them. Wagnerine begins to volunteer but Wallcrawler cuts her off. He explains he feels the diamond devil whispering in his mind… the thing he wants them to do to them…. Vox Ignis explains he thinks it is the effect of the scream are wearing off on Wallcrawler. Perhaps the mutant-mutate genotype is less stable than the mutant. Whatever the cause, the Sinister strain is reasserting control.Wallcrawler announces that their patriarch, their unknown father, wrote of trying new things… of leaping into the unknown. He begs Mother to let him help purge this evil before it claims his kin. Mother Righteous grants him permission for a reconnaissance trip. The Cortez brain will boost him and his fortune- fiddling pal can help with the targeting. In the name of the Spark! he announces and teleports, only to be stopped and killed by a teleportation barrier around the World Farm.A membrane of evil, Mother Righteous announces. Only in purity, in adherence to the Spark may they overcome it. He died for the love of his kin, for love for the world, for the sacred Spark in all of them!Mother Righteous asks if he had a name. They tell him his nickname Wallcrawler. Wallcrawler! He has returned to the Spark! She utters his name several times and the others take up the chant.Vox Ignis nervously points out he doesn’t see how this lot can get inside. Simple matter of faith, she replies, and time. In the meantime, they got work to do. No use getting inside without the weapon. The devil himself made them killers, but she shall make them holy thieves.Wagnerine likes the sound of that and asks what they are to steal. The weapons of the gods, they are told as she shows them magical items such as the Eye of Agamotto, the Darkhold, the Soulsword, Mjolnir and more...


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part 5: The Apostate
100 years later:The Nightkin, a group of Nightcrawler chimeras, dressed in identical outfits with white hoods, are gathered for a ritual. Let the liturgy be spoken, one of them announces. Let the countdown credo begin! They say the words:3. Blessed be the nightgene!Wagnerine says the words like the others, but inside doubts are gnawing at her. How many have they lost? How much have they lost?2. Blessed be the Reliquary Perilous!The forces of the Council of Sinisters led by Magik are threatening Asgard. 90 years ago, Asgard was sent spinning into the void. Now in the hundredth year of the Sinister Era, Magik of the Red Diamond has decided to finish what she started. She recreates Bifrost – all in black – and leads the charge against the Aesir.1. Blessed be the Spark!While both Asgardians and Magik’s troops are busy fighting, the Nightkin secretly teleport in and out to plunder objects of magic.Wagnerine recalls how the Shi’ar fell against Xavier-in-Sin. Using hybrid brains of Somnus and Amahl Farouk, Xavier made sure an entire cavillation died in paranoia and pain. The Nightkin snuck out with the M’kraan Crystal.Present:Seeing one of the Nightkin, Loki shouts why they don’t help them.Wagnerine recalls how in Otherworld Dr. Strange, Brother Voodoo and Elsa Bloodstone asked for an alliance with the Nightkin, only to be rebuffed and told their stories were over. The Sinisters will attempt to take their magic treasure - the Nightkin will attempt to steal it before that happens.One day later, Hope-in-Sin attacked Otherworld with the first triple chimera of Meggan, Maggot and Madrox… and a plague of magic slugs undid Otherworld.The Nightkin stole the artifacts.32 of them died recording the death scream of the Xandarian worldmind for Mother Righteous.An angry Thor accuses them of being scavengers and tries to stop them from stealing Asgard’s sacred arms.He intends to throw Mjolnir at one of the Nightkin, but Wagnerine cuts off his arm. She tells him to lie still. His world is doomed, only they can purge the Diamond. Only they may build the Reliquary Perilous. A weapon to cleanse the Sinister strain made from a distillate of holy artifacts.He groans that none of them is worthy of lifting Mjolnir. However, Lost-in-Shadow (a Nightcrawler-Lost chimera) can manipulate the mallet’s gravitational pull and move it.Wagnerine orders the Nightkin to move homeward. Speak the liturgy of regret and imbibe the Cortez Sacrament. Spark be with him, she tells the groaning Thor and then disappears.The Narthex, a ship uprooted from Krakoa during its dying day. It is borne through the void by the Chamber-Nocturne (a group of Nightcrawler – Chamber-chimeras). A Nightcrawler-Iceman chimera welcomes Vox Ignis back, telling him the legate – Wagnerine – is waiting for him. Her mood is grim, she warns.It has been two years since he has freed the last of them. There are only 53 Nightkin left now, soon to be fifty-two. He walks past several Nightkin performing a ritual around a Cyclops-Nightcrawler chimera who begs them to hurry. He hears the devil’s laughter!Wagnerine greets Vox Ignis without looking at him. They have taken many treasures since his last visit, she announces. He cautiously asks about the ceremony. She explains it’s the last rite. Summernight is losing his battle against the Red Diamond. Sinister is retaking control. A great trauma can have that effect.Trauma? he asks. She tells him not to be coy. He knows what happened. She grew pregnant. The others called it a miracle, as they were created to be infertile, but her healing factor finally restored her fertility.The Cyclops-chimera was the father? Vox asks and is told yes. Wagnerine thinks to herself that he was a tender lover and would have made a fine father. And yet it wasn’t the loss alone that broke him, she continues. Mother Righteous rewrote the tragedy. “The sinless child” is now part of the faith. How can Summernight recover from a tragedy he is expected to celebrate?Summernight drinks the Cortez fluid and takes the hand of Auntie Fortune, whose luck guides him to his destination. He turns around to look at Wagnerine one last time, but they are both seeing the same thing.How, right after the birth, the baby began to glow and teleported as a birth reflex. Directionless. Wagnerine tortured herself with endless thoughts of where she might have ended up. She tells herself she is gone, and so is half her heart.Summernight jumps and somewhere her lover’s bones shatter against a barrier none of them can breach.The others chant a blessing on him.Vox asks about Sinister’s lab. Wagnerine bitterly explains none of the newer acolytes even know what it is. Only that this is what the mother calls a righteous death.Vox Ignis tries to empathize with her pain. She cuts him off. She heals. There is no pain. But rage, she thinks. Vox explains that he has found no more Nightcrawler chimeras. Sinister must have realized that some quirk of spirit makes the Wagner strain susceptible to emancipation.So they have stopped making them, she thinks loud. They are failing, she reveals. They run low on the flesh of Cortez to power their leaps, and lower still on new thieves to use it. She had hoped her dau…She stumbles over the word. She had hoped she would be the first of many born of love. As it is, they will die out long before the Reliquary Perilous is complete. The list of sacred items to build it grows ever longer. Mother Righteous says it must be carried within the devil’s lab to purge the Sinister strain. She says she knows how to gain entry, but she is vague and the younger Nightkin are content not to wonder. It is heresy to ask… but she begs him… for what great purpose has the Mother stolen Wagnerine’s loss?Vox Ignis muses he has watched her visit folk down the decades. People untouched by the diamond, rebels, survivors… She asks them all the same thing: what would they have done different? She stopped in to see an old pal not long ago.Narration / flashback:What would he have done differently? Legion in his astral form muses. He would have learned sooner that a real leader doesn’t push and pull… a real leader lifts. He’s been staying out of this all the time. Protecting the folks he could in a peaceful dream, but he’s been watching her. He wags an accusing finger in her face. A century ago, she was set on making deals, getting into folks’ heads and hearts… Now she is reduced to this: gossips and regrets. He doesn’t know her game, but he knows her type. A stated goal and then a true goal! Whatever she is up to, it is for no one but her!Present:Vox Ignis explains he believes Legion meant this judgment for his ears, not hers.Wagnerine gasps that the original Legion features in the scriptures. He could… Vox Ignis warns her not to get her hopes up. He won’t be much help.Flashback:Legion pronounces she is welcome to her sordid wee ambitions, whatever they are. The X-gene has become a cancer. He’s taking what remains of his people and leaves for the higher planes. They’ll explore. They’ll rapture. That’s all that’s left, isn’t it?Present:Wagnerine suggests she has an idea, but the Mother is so absorbed with her holy work. She fears their needs must seem quite unimportant. Might it sound better coming from him?Soon Vox Ignis joins Mother Righteous to speak on the Nighkin’s behalf. She is annoyed when he bothers her spellwork. He apologizes and asks for her leave for a pilgrimage. The number of Nightkin are dwindling. They worship her and wish to fulfil her design. She chuckles at his obvious attempt at flattery but listens. They will not last long but he has thought of an idea to reverse the trend. Color her intrigued. What’s the target?A little later:Earth, New Essex, now a place of horrors:The Nightkin make their way to the Westchester Complex. Wagnerine separates them in two groups. The first one enters the tunnels where they find Dr. Nemesis, his fungus brain all over the place. He insists they disengage him carefully to preserve his brain power. Wagnerine orders them to not be gentle and do it quickly. She warns he is not the only monster the great devil left behind.Soon Wagnerine and some other Nightkin bring Dr. Nemesis to Mother Righteous, explaining he will be able to propagate new chimeras for her, once he has recovered somewhat. Wagnerine adds he wasn’t their true goal. They have another guest. She has explained the situation to him too.The now completely monstrous original Nightcrawler teleports in, enraged at the Mother. Spark! he shouts as he grabs her. Wagnerine points out, he doesn’t seem to agree with her interpretation of his doctrine…Nightcrawler tosses Mother Righteous about as he tries to speak. Spark is change! Spark is joy! Spark is idea, not weapon! Not mission, not control… He is interrupted by a magical blast from one of her lanterns hitting him. It’s taking all of his concentration just to form words, isn’t it, she mutters. Dismal! She orders the Nightkin to look at him. To see how low the world has brought the greatest of them. Look on their shame and be grateful to the mother that guides them! She grabs the HopeSword from her chest and whispers to him, the Spark is whatever she says it is.As she kills him, Wagnerine teleports in front of her intending to kill Mother Righteous. But, with a simple snap of her fingers, she stops Wagnerine. Ninety years of canticles and hymns, she tells her. Ninety years of them thanking her with every theft and prayer… that’s all it takes to let her into their insipid little souls, to tear and rip! She orders Vox Ignis to burn the apostate.When he hesitates, a displeased Mother Righteous attacks him. Wagnerine uses that moment to flee. Furious, Mother Righteous orders the Nightkin to get out, and take care of that body!The Nightkin treat the body with reverence and Wagnerine knows that having seen all that they doubt. She wonders how many they lost but today she has gained hope, because when the lantern touched her, she heard the voice of her baby, telling her that Mother Righteous has her.She tears off the bandana with the heart symbol and vows to free her child and her people.


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part 10: The Sacred Heart
1,000 years later:Mother Righteous thinks to herself that she has been ready for centuries! When the Silver Mercator unstitched the Low Key Corps from the Omniverse – she didn’t really need the Infinity Dust they’d been snorting. She stole it anyway.When the Spineless Gamers wagered the guts of the Peregrine Child, she sent undead Auntie Fortune to get them. Even this business with the Teeming Dupedom and its crusade against the Brood, she didn’t have to go in there and find what they were fighting over. Still, it’s good to sometimes get one’s hands dirty. Together with her Nightkin, she found a Phoenix Egg. How quaint, she muttered.Fact is, the sacred weapon she’s been building had been loaded and armed for ages. And as for the oil to grease the trigger: they are up to the fiftieth generation by now. She walks through a ship of degenerated Nightkin. They are vat-grown and clumsily crossed. Stupider and more trusting and faithful with every batch. While they have removed any trace of Sinister ages ago, still some of them come admitting fears and doubts after hearing tales of the apostate, as one does now. She tells him to find redemption with the Golden Child and make the final jump. With a final ‘thank you,’ he teleports to his death against an impervious forcefield which contains the Moira Lab.Frustrated, she thinks it has been a full millennium of waiting for the rest of this timeline to get its */&/# together. A millennium of hiding her true intentions. It’s bloody hard work being an impatient saint!Her ship (or rather what Dr. Nemesis has grown into) contacts her. When he preens, she verbally cuts him down to size. He reminds her of his brilliance and how he discerned the location of Sinister’s lab. Ever since the kamikaze idiots carried his spores with them to the lab. And they’ve been watching toadstool TV ever since, she retorts and tells him to make his point. He shows her and she watches as Mr. Sinister is now at the World Farm. The Diamond Empress is at his heels and the Brotherhood holds him prisoner, Nemesis tells her and goads whether she has missed her chance. Will Sinister reach the lab before she can deploy her unscientific little payload?She ain’t missed #&%! she bristles. Sinister can’t get into the hangar to his clone! But she can? Nemesis asks. Faith can, she replies. She challenges him to prove he is the most brilliant processor in the universe, Scan every quanta from the Worldfarm outward. He has to find something!A millennium ago, Destiny stole the Moira clones. She preserved this timeline just to give her wife Mystique the longest life possible. Mother Righteous has spent the entire time banking on a single article of faith… that people will do anything for love. Put it like that: of course, Destiny foresaw a time when Mystique would die. And then, what is the only way for the lovers to reunite? To hit the very reset button she spent so long avoiding. That’s all this galaxy of death and hate was to her - a game of hide and seek with the Reaper. They heard she tried to reset it herself in the second century and failed utterly. Stands to reason there is a Plan B. Mother Righteous bets it was Destiny who led Sinister to the Worldfarm. But that wouldn’t be enough. Her piss-witted brother cannot be trusted to finish anything on his own.One of her servants shows her an unexpected object on the screen.“Oh Irene, you clever cow,” Mother Righteous laughs, gives the order to signal Vox Ignis the coordinates and sound the trumpets: Let the rapture begin!The call goes out and Mother Righteous mockingly watches as the undead Auntie Fortune organizes the death jumps of the surviving Nightkin against the forcefield around the Moira lab. They teleport and shatter against the shield and die.Mother Righteous orders Auntie Fortune to take her there to see hovering outside the Worldfarm. Auntie asks if it has worked. Has the faith of the congregation overcome the heretical barrier? Mother Righteous swears. She senses that while the field is depleted, it still holds. Then it was all for naught? Auntie Fortune asks dejected. Mother Righteous tells her not to worry. It’s all under control. She refers to what she saw on the screen before: A skeletal Galactus coming in infested by the Spirits of Vengeance. Vox Ignis joins them to explain that very thing. She has eyes, she replies wryly.Vox Ignis continues, stammering they infested the great Devourer. So incandescent was his hunger for revenge on those who poisoned his reality that he became the perfect host f… Mother Righteous impatiently interrupts him and orders him to pipe down. They are waiting for something.The Spirit of Variance part of Vox Ignis admits that the other spirits still abhor him. He had hoped to forge an alliance but they hounded him here like vermin. Bored, she tell him it is a tasty little distraction, pat on the head and all that. Distraction? he utters shocked. He’s been fleeing the Devourer for 56 years!Worth every second to make all the warring wankers aim their sensors at the big fella, she explains. Otherwise, they might notice… She sees something in the distance. Here he comes!A thousand years ago, the Sinister Council shot the Juggernaut through Thanos’s brain. They didn’t wonder where he’d go next but Destiny knew. A thousand years, his speed growing, unable to die or stop, while she tweaked the path of the Worldfarm, setting up an impossible conjunction… and so the Juggernaut flies through Galactus’s head into the Worldfarm, cracking the previously unbreakable shell around the Moira lab.They walk through the ruins to find the forcefield still sputtering. Annoyed, Mother Righteous orders the last Nightkin Auntie Fortune to kill herself jumping against it. Resigned, she does so and the forcefield finally breaks.Vox Ignis looks at the corpses of all the dead Nightcrawler chimeras who sacrificed themselves over the centuries. Does the Reliquary Perilous really require all this death? Mocking them for their stupidity, Mother Righteous explains, this is the Reliquary Perilous! A tomb of martyrs, immeasurable self-sacrifice, generations of faith. And all of it spent on this. She takes one of her flying light globes. The weapon that will purge the Sinister strain? Vox Ignis asks. She tells him not to be simple. If that was the goal, they wouldn’t have to lift their fingers. Soon all of the chaos from outside will reach in here and destroy that. She points at a vat with a Moira clone. Kill the clone, destroy the universe, she explains.That’s monstrous, he protests. And it’s inevitable, she shrugs. Death follows life follows death. The best you can do is prepare.She takes out another globe containing: a villain’s notion of perfection - the essence of Rasputin IV, a sword forged in hope - the Hope Sword. an egg of extinction - The Phoenix Egg… the most powerful artifacts of will and spirit fused into a holy virus to infect its way backward and rewrite it all. It was never about ending the story. It’s about changing the start!Vox Ignis realizes that’s why she asked all those people about their regrets. She is sending those secrets back in the past. She agrees, this isn’t a cleaning purge. This is a cheat code so that in the next round hearts are trump.Horrified, Vox Ignis points out all those people lived and nothing can change that. She replies that they served. It’s not the same at all. And they can serve still. All she needs to do is touch the heart to the clone, then kill it. This spell has a long journey ahead. It needs a snack. She separates the Spirit of Variance part from Vox Ignis and it gets absorbed by the heart, leaving behind an ancient Banshee. Which just leaves the navigation system, she continues. It needs a sentient mind to steer the payload. Not just free of the Sinister strain, but antithetical to it. A radiant soul, saturated in the purifying faith of fanatics without number. She opens another balloon, revealing the Golden Child. Time to shine, kiddo! she orders the frightened child.Mother Righteous knows the child will burn to astral dust in a haze of screaming agony, but better the child than Mother Righteous herself!That moment, she hears a bamf sound. She turns around to find a furious Wagnerine, demanding her baby and attacking.Mother Righteous paralyzes her with a spell and loosens her claws which fall to the ground, she finds herself impressed that Wagnerine is still alive. She tells her her story is Mother Righteous’s to decide. A thousand times Wagnerine thanked her and with every grateful word she gave Mother Righteous dominion over her soul and flesh. She and her kin mean nothing to…Suddenly, she screams in pain, as Banshee has used one of the blades to slash her foot. One of them is worth a billion of hers! he shouts and calls her a terrible old hag. He tries to use his sonic scream but starts coughing.She paralyzes him. He complains he served and thanked her for a thousand years, and all for what? For what indeed? she echoes. A splendid distraction, he grins. Before she understands, Wagnerine stabs her with her tail through the chest. Nobody ever remembers the tail, she states.Wagnerine turns toward the heart, but Banshee warns her she doesn’t have much time. Time for what? she demands. He tells her that, sooner or later, someone will destroy that thing. What have they achieved? What does any of it matter, if it can all be undone in an instant? She hears the plaintive voice of her child and cradles her to her chest. What were they for? she wonders. Banshee groans that there is nothing as important as being in charge of you own story before the end.Wagnerine teleports away with her child, leaving Banshee and the primed heart.Being in charge of your own story? a new voice asks. He can barely stutter her name, before she shoots him in the head, Well said, the original Moira X agrees as she takes up the heart…