DISCLAIMER: All characters in this story are property of Marvel Inc., and I'm not making a profit from this, so don't sue me. Barring Helios and Glow, who are my own exclusive property. They may not be used without my expressed permission. X-Men: Yin Yang Part 10/?- Time to rest, time to die Morpheus, oneill@cambus.u-net.com Feedback appreciated, as is criticism, if constructive. The beginning of this chapter does sound like B5, but it's to introduce a storyline for the future, and is a good way to describe what I have in mind. If you haven't a clue what I'm on about, ignore me. {{blahblahbla}} is thoughts ^^blahblahbla^^ is telepathy ============== Eons before the human race was conceived, immortal races roamed our universe in search of fertile land. They visited many planets, sowing the seeds of life in previously barren systems. Now, these beings are at rest, and their fruit is blooming. Only a handful of people on Earth even know of their existence, and those that do have their doubts. Only two pieces of evidence remain to prove they were here, and one is currently...unavailable to the governments who search for it. == Can you imagine what it would be like, to look into a sunrise, and see the devil himself stare back at you? On a cool April morning, looking for the warm sun to pierce the horizon, Thom Peterson saw instead a monstrous cloud of hell on earth fill the sky, filling the sky with an evil darkness. Thom ran inside, and tried to phone the police, or someone, but found his phone dead. Running back outside, he saw boulders fall out of the shape, gaining speed as they fell. Hitting the earth with devastating impact, the sky was soon so full of dust he couldn't see the shape move closer to the ground. He didn't see a blue light shimmer in front of him. He didn't see the spear before it impaled him by the eyes into the wall. == As Thom's body drained of its life, Roberto Da Costa relaxed in a tightly bound leather chair, slowly puffing on a cigar. Around him, holographs displayed the results of the conquest of Redbridge. One sided as it was, it had marked the arrival of the Hellfire Club's newest weapon; mass drivers. These much vaunted propulsion devices had just been mastered by Reed Richards for use within an atmosphere, and the results had been devastating. He watched the lumps of solid rock accelerate towards earth, from an already high velocity, and erupt into the landscape like atom bombs, only with less after effects. The youngest member of the Hellfire Club thought of the recent battle with the Rebellion, his body still aching slightly from some blows he traded with Gambit. His thoughts drifted to Apocalypse, one of his great leaders who was felled in that fight. Ship had placed him inside its central core, where he would apparently regenerate. Roberto didn't believe in a word of it. He had witnessed the condition he was in, and didn't think that anyone could survive such wounds. As his mind wandered further, he noticed something peculiar in the footage that Ship had recorded. On the keypad on his chair's arm, he punched in a command that summoned a holocomm. In a few seconds, a moody Emma Frost appeared on his screen. "What is it Da Costa?" she snapped. Ever since losing her telepathy, she had become very worried about her future, both in the Hellfire Club and in life. "So sorry to bother you, Ms Frost, but I believe there may be something of interest in this footage I found from today's...expedition." His fingers skimmed over the keypad, and he continued, "Feeding signal to your position." In Emma Frost's quarters, a holograph appeared, showing several Marauders culling the population beneath them. "What's so unusual about this?" asked Emma. Assessing some other footage, Da Costa sighed, and keyed in another command. "Zooming in on specific subjects." The holofeed in Emma's quarters fixed on a middle aged man, lunging at a pack of Marauders without concern for his own safety. His eyes were glazed over, and when a Marauder swatted him away, his body went limp, and another citizen took up the attack in a similar vein. Emma finally paid attention to the feed, and whispered, "Mind control." "Exactly. And from the nature of it, I'd say telepathic. No-one can have such precise control any other way." "I don't believe it. Every telepath we have on record was wiped clean during the mindstorm." "You know I'm right, Emma." "I know, but...it's not fair. Why was someone spared?" Da Costa laughed, and replied, "Not sure. Maybe their karma was all paid up." "Oh very funny Da Costa. Go fuck yourself." Before he had a chance to reply, Emma's holocomm had disappeared. Smiling, Roberto removed the viewers in front of him, and called up a different, long-range transmission line. A simple password, 'Lamentos', was all that was needed to decode the signal. He took another puff of his cigar, as he watched a gathering of heroes depart their fortress of light. == In Arkansas, the Rebellion were finally leaving their home, which had come to mean so much to some of them. Everything they could carry had been scavenged, and now the least enviable task fell to Logan. He made one last sweep of the quarters, making sure everyone had got out. Then, he walked slowly towards the control box that Essex had rigged for this purpose. Logan took a breath of life from this place, and pressed the button. Slowly, he felt the earth beneath him stop. It was a strange sensation, but he didn't stay long enough to remember it. As he felt tremors rock the supports built to hold the rock together, he raced through the rocky corridors, tracing a familiar path to one of the exits. In seconds, Logan was outside, watching his home implode. A tear flowed over his rough skin, as memories rushed back to haunt him. Logan paced the corridors of the Rebellion's base, Jean showing him the location of the intruder telepathically. The air hissed as Logan's claws slid out of their hiding place in his arms. He caught a scent on the slight air currents blowing through the caves, and he contacted Jean. {{Jean, you listening? I know this guy. From years ago. Doncha got an ID yet?}} ^^Sorry, Wolverine. Whoever it is, they are skilled at blocking telepathic scans. I don't know how they're doing it. Be careful Logan.^^ {{I will. Thanks Jeannie.}} Logan traced the scent to within a few feet, and used a nearby rock formation to hide his approach. The scent he had suddenly vanished, and he leapt around the corner to see what had happened. What greeted him was a fistful of spite, and a bloodied nose. Momentarily disoriented, his hands grasped for solid rock, finding instead only air. A kick to the kidneys winded him, and he felt his legs give way under him. He knew consciously what was happening, but was helpless to stop it. His arms flailed, but his masked assailant kept up a relentless flurry of blows, before finally bringing a weapon into play. That was his mistake. As the knife cut deep into Logan's chest, he was already recovering. He played possum for a second, then leapt up and knocked the knife away. He had his claws against the man's throat before the knife hit the ground. He growled, and reached up for the man's black mask. Pulling it off, he was surprised and confused in the same instant. "Wilson?" == Hundreds of miles to the east, Jonothon Marken slowly trekked across barren fields, sidestepping dead bodies in his search for home. == In Redbridge, the Hellfire Club were gathered in Ship's strategic unit, surrounded by banks of processing equipment. From here, the shipwide data net was generated, and everyone on board was monitored by cerebral implants. A skeleton crew maintained the system; slaves who were altered organically to the control of the Inner Circle. In the centre of this vast room, a circular table was surrounded by four thrones in a diamond formation. Currently, only one of the chairs was occupied. Sebastian Shaw sat watching his subjects, carefully considering his options. As they patiently waited for him to speak, he was typing in a few commands into a keypad implanted within his arm. Apocalypse's organic technology was only available to a select few in this operation, the Inner Circle among them. Shaw finally spoke up. "Friends, I have just patched the following conversation into Magneto's quarters, where he is rehabilitating, and into Xavier's cerebral net." Ever since Storm attacked him during a moment of vulnerability, Xavier had been comatose. With all the commotion, he did not get proper treatment. One of Magneto's final actions before retiring to rest was to have Charles implanted with a cerebral net, which is a form of artificial intelligence. It was a risky procedure, but one of few available to them in such circumstances. With no telepaths to heal him, this gave his mind the best chance of recovery. "With the others in such...debilitating condition, I am currently the leader of the Hellfire Club. I have full control of Ship, and have decided to continue with our expansion. I see no reason to stop, since the Marauders do most of the work. With the Rebellion as decimated by the mindstorm as we were, we have the advantage. Our technology is now far in advance of theirs, and they have been divided. "They will pose no threat for the time being, and we can expand without fear of their interference. I plan to move the Scorched Earth agenda forward soon, as our window of opportunity is now. With no Rebellion to stop us, we will be able to move without hiding in shadows." This revelation sparked murmurs among the Hellfire Club, who were shocked at how assertive Shaw was being. Xavier and Magneto were always the dominant force in the Inner Circle, due to their close friendship. Now, his real motives were coming to the surface, as he had the opportunity to do acheive his own goals. After it had settled in, Quicksilver was the first to speak. "And why should we follow you Shaw? What about my father, or Xavier? Don't they have a say in this?" "I assure you, Pietro, these actions were discussed long ago. We were already planning this; I have simply advanced things. And do not worry about your father. He will be healthy in no time, if all goes to plan." Pietro caught the blatent threat, and nodded silently, no other option open to him except acquiesce. Shaw smiled without humour, and called up a holograph focused on the middle of the room. "This is what we have done so far." A gesture, and the blank screen filled with a map of the US, with blood-red tendrils spreading wherever the Hellfire Club had a presence. Obviously, their main task force could not patrol their entire territory, but a small police of slaves, headed by one mutant, to certain areas, would keep it in line. If ever there were signs of trouble, then a small group of Marauders would travel in one of Apocalypse's transports, and...take care, of the situation. "By the close of this year, we aim to have covered this area." The entire map filled up, as Shaw advanced the program. Then, the view zoomed out, and the tendrils stretched to other major civilizations, like Britain, Japan and Russia. Assessing the data before him, Reed Richards questioned "How can we acheive this? Our resources are powerful, but there is no way we could feasibly advance our forces to such levels. How would we control it all?" "Mr Richards. Because the Circle tells you its resources, you believe you know all of them? Quite naive. You see, the Circle is prepared for anything. We have planned this for a long time now, and our resources are far greater than you realise. We have been planting our... operatives in key positions in these governments for months now, and they have been sowing the seeds for our arrival. In a few seconds, I could throw the entire Japanese defense network into disarray. They have been largely untouched by our forces, and their recent independence from EarthGov has severed all their outside ties. They do not really know what is going on, and will not until it is suitable, thanks to our connections. Once we decide to move, we will have strengthened our forces with new recruits, and I understand that McCoy has been garnering some new test subjects recently. Care to fill the rest of us in?" Henry McCoy reluctantly began speaking. He had no idea how Shaw had discovered his project. "Certainly Sebastian. Comrades, as you now know, I have been experimenting in new areas recently, thanks to Apocalypse's generous contribution of organic technology to my endeavours. The equipment is fascinating, and I have been adapting it for use in creating a cyber-organic organism. Currently, I have only perfected it on a small scale, but recent tests implanting these in human test subjects have been encouraging. Through my studies of mutant physiology, it is my belief that several of my cyber-organic devices could be used to artificially induce mutant powers in norms. A solar power supply and a microwave transmitter would be all that is required for us to regulate such an army. But, this is all purely theoretical at this stage. Obviously, it will take months, perhaps years to perfect this technology," he lied. "You do not have years McCoy. You will have six months maximum to create your army. I will supply you with any resources you need to complete the task, and as many test subjects as is necessary." McCoy was still annoyed at his experiments being discovered, and with a sigh of regret, agreed. "Alright Shaw. You will have your army." == Le Fin. And that's it. I'm not sure about the next issue. If I get feedback on this one I'll write it. If not, I won't. Simple. If anyone's reading this, please respond so I'll continue. Roll Call ********* Rebellion: Forge[INJ], Jean Grey, Deadpool, Daredevil, Hawkeye, Banshee, Clear- Cut, Blink[INJ], M, Iron Man[INJ], Shang-Chi[INJ], Callisto [INJ], Glow (original)[INJ], Legion, Gambit, Marrow, Juggernaut, Wisdom, Sabra, Speed Demon, Essex, Wolverine, Maverick, Havok, Iceman, Chrome, Doom, Sunfire, Boost, Maggot, Chamber, Abyss, Landscape, Helios (original), Storm Hellfire Club: Angel, Hank McCoy, Shinobi Shaw, Quicksilver, Scarlett Witch, Reed Richards, Emma Frost, Roberto daCosta, Mikhail Rasputin. Paige Guthrie as slave Inner Circle: Ennur Sabah (Apocalypse), Erik Magnus Lehnsherr (Magneto), Charles Francis Xavier (Mutant X), Sebastian Shaw. Marauders: Warpath, Thunderbird, Moonstar, Colossus, Jubilee, Polaris, Wildchild, Omega Red, Scratch, Deflector (Reyes), Fenris, Sack, Vessel, Skin, Nightcrawler, Unuscionne, Caliban, Aurora, Pyro, Avalanche, Spoor, Rictor, Dazzler, Meltdown, Siryn, Black Tom, Shadowcat, Multiple Man, Random, Strong Guy, Firestar, Tusk, Wolfsbane, Feral, Magma. There's loads more, but far too many to go into here. Externals: Gideon, Mimic, Cannonball, Nemesis, Exodus, Candra, Selene, Crule, Absalom.