PRELUDE TO ASCENSION - 8/? By Various Ilyanna: Ilyanna is in her room and is about to make a disk to teleport to Limbo when Cyclops comes in to check on her. A hasty spell shows her in bed, without the armor. Cyclops is stiff, reserved, preoccupied, he barely says two words and is obviously only stopping by at the request of the Professor. When he leaves Ilyanna creates a stepping disk, intent on finding Doug. She teleports to his room, but he's not there. She's nearly caught as Cyclops enters looking for Warlock, just as Ilyanna has left. In Limbo, She casts a scrying spell to find Douglas and discovers he is invisible to her magic. A deliberate counter spell to scrying has been set upon him by a mage of no small caliber. She decides that a physical search of the mansion might be worthwhile, but whenever she's Majik in Illyana's body, the eldritch armor appears, and Ilyanna grows taller and looks older, a dead give away. She can not remove the armor either. She decides to cast a spell to see what Cyclops is doing and why he seems so stiff towards her. X-Men Mansion - Main Wing - Communication Room Cyclops: Interrupts Professor X in a teleconfernce with Dr. Haller. "I'm sorry to barge in Professor, but I can't find Warlock. I've checked his room and combed the mansion." Professor X: "Never mind that now Scott. Warlock and Doug can take care of themselves. It is Magneto who is our main concern, and he's tipped his hand. The Israeli government has been closely monitoring the EM field since Magneto's return, and it pulsed slightly when a recent rocket attack was diverted. Strangely the Syrian's seem to be mobilizing for a ground war. They must have something unusual at their disposal to be so bold. Whatever it is, Cerebro has identified it as biogenetic." Cyclops: (To himself) "I've never seen the Professor so obsessive before." (To Xavier) "Is it Magneto, or another mutant?" Professor X: "Impossible to say, but when mutants interfere in politics...remember Genosha. We must leave at once to study the situation up close. Assemble the Blue Team in the Blackbird within the hour. Leave Beast behind with Jubilee, Ilyanna and Doug. He needs to finish his studies with Moira on finding a real cure for Stryffe's disease." X-Men Mansion - Sub-Basement - Danger Room A game of tag that is getting rough. Rogue - tagged out. Jubilee - buried in an awning by a holographic Longshot who is now engaging Gambit. Wolverine has collided into Colossus. Wolverine: Rolls to his feet, gets up, goes to Colossus, gets in his face, and says "Tag! Now grow up Petey, or else Forge is gonna have to whip you up some Tungsten Huggies! All the X-Men have had their share of personal loss; Cyke lost Maddie, Angel lost his wings, sheesh, I've lost both Mariko and Silver Fox, and Kitty lost you. It comes with the territory. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a training session to win while you probably have some puppies you want to drown." He turns around to resume the game. "OK Jubes, let's see if you've been paying attention during my lessons." Colossus: Colossus is not amused. "Wolverine is trying to take this fight past tag and into battle. Colossus is happy to oblige." Slams his hands together, creating a shockwave of concussive air which staggers Wolverine back as the diminutive fighter braces himself against the gale. Wolverine: Snikt! "You don't know when to quit, do you Petey boy!" Colossus: "It is you Tovarisch that needs the lesson," and stomps the ground in a shockwave that ripples the ground under Wolverine. Gambit: (In a stand off with Longshot) "I have always an Ace in the Hole mon ami, in this case it's you!" Gambit flicks two cards, one exploding after the other which Longshot dodges, but is unknowingly driven into Colossus's shockwave. Longshot: Stumbles into Wolverine's way as the two right themselves on the shaky ground. Cyclops: (From the observation room) "This session is terminated. We're leaving for Israel. Get your gear and meet me at the blackbird within the hour." Longshot: Leaps to his feet and heads for the door as the room, and Longshot, fades away. Jubilee: Blasts away an awning that fades before she's done. Grumpy, she heads for the ready room. Wolverine: Eyeing Peter, but talking to Jubilee. "Not so fast. Mags is out of your league, kid. You're stayin' here. That's one thing the Prof and I agree on." The two leave arguing. X-Men Mansion - Sub-basement Laboratory The Beast, book in foot, test tube in hand, is balanced oddly on a chair while searching for a pencil. He finds it as Colossus storms in. Colossus: "I trusted you friend with that which is the most precious to me in this world, and you have lost her!" Beast: "A caterwaul to wake the Banshee? Do you refer to Ilyanna? She was sleeping nicely when last I checked." Colossus: "She is gone from her room and if any harm to her comes, the floor will run red with whatever blue furred monsters use for blood!" Ilyanna: Enters the lab. "Peter? I was looking for you! I miss you!" She runs over and gives him a hug. Colossus: Breaks down crying, "Oh wise one in heaven, what does it mean to play such poor tricks upon a man's soul! No Gods in existence could be this cruel." He hugs his sister back, saying something about his mother that not even Ilyanna could hear. Beast: Quietly sets down his equipment and leaves the room. Ilyanna: "Peter, I -uh- have something I've got to tell you, I've got to tell someone. Can you be strong for me?" X-Men Mansion - Sub-basement - Ready Room Gambit spends the time previous to the mission by selecting his weaponry. He takes four decks of cards, "don' leave home without 'em," his staff, about 20 quarter-inch diameter metal spheres, and the rope with weights. He then repairs to the workout room, and works with his rope and weights, primarily working on a bolo like toss, but also practicing on entanglement. (To Himself) "Up against Magneto eh? Could be nasty. Wonder if he might be needin' another man on his side... After all, dey don' trust me here completely. An' if his side is de winnin one - well Gambit always likes to come out on top. But what about Rogue? Hhmm... Best be thinkin on dis one for a while." X-Men Mansion - East Wing - Wolverine's Room After leaving the Danger Room, Logan stopped by the kitchen to grab a few beers and is now getting ready for a shower. Logan (To himself): "I thought Jubilee was never gonna stop arguin' about bein' left outta this mission. Looks like Kitty told her some stories about how she saved the X-Men's butts back when she was a kid. Funny, I never expected those two to get along. I guess somethin' good came out of Illyana's sickness." He finishes his beer, grabs another one off of the bed, and starts towards the bathroom. On the way, he stops to look at the picture of him and Mariko that is sitting on his dresser. "Here I am lecturin' Petey about losing loved ones and I can't even look at Mariko's picture without gettin' choked up. I sure do miss ya, babe." After showering and putting on a clean costume, Logan grabs his last beer and goes to the Communications Room. "Been so busy huntin' for Magneto and the Acolytes that I forgot that Grimm's in a world of hurt because of my carelessness." He sits down at the main console, navigates through the communications software until he finds the number he's looking for, and hits the dial button. After a couple of rings an attractive "woman" with strawberry-blonde hair appears on the screen. Receptionist: "Four Freedoms Plaza. May I help you?" Logan: "Hiya Roberta. Is Ben Grimm around?" Roberta: "I'm sorry, Mr. Wolverine. He and the rest of the Fantastic Four currently away on a mission. May I take a message?" Logan: "Nah. I'll call back. Thanks." He hits the hang-up button, leans back in the chair, and finishes the rest of his beer. "If I had a buck for every time we've called the Fantastic Four when they're out on a mission .... Well, time to go see what kinda battle plans Chuck and Cyke have dreamed up. Maybe I can alienate myself from a few more friends while I am at it." He stands up and heads for the War Room. Blackbird Xavier, Cyclops, Wolverine, Colossus, Rogue, and Gambit en route to the Middle East. Rogue: Reading. "If this romance don't get any better, I'm gonna have tuh settle for the real thing." Professor X: (In copilot seat) "Silence, the precision aligning of these tracking instruments requires my complete attention." Cyclops: (In pilot seat) "ETA 20 minutes." Israeli Border Magneto: Is flying above the Syrian army when he detects equipment that is searching for biogenetic energy. He surmises that the Syrians are concerned that a mutant force may be used against them. The Syrians have brought a great deal of conventional hardware, but not enough to conquer any hold any significant territory. There is only a thousand troops, all in radiation gear. Then Magneto spots a solitary soldier advancing before the army, seemingly without fear. The army gives the being great ground. He draws the Israeli fire but seems unharmed. He walks up to the entrenched border and a loudspeaker announces: "I AM BYZANTIUM! The Godless Israelis must remove themselves from the occupied territories and the western world must cease its interference in the affairs of Sovereign Moslem Nations. If not..." He EXPLODES in a blinding flash that decimates 3 acres. After the dust clears, he coalesces - from the dust. "Next time, I will detonate with nuclear force! If you do not believe me, consult the American SHIELD on Project HEART. You have thirty six hours to leave this land so that it can be reclaimed for the glory of Allah!" Magneto lands on a hill overlooking the border; trying to be subtle. It is going to take more of his concentration than he wants to try to use while flying. He brings up a force field, slowly, surrounding as wide an area that includes Byzantium as he can without including anything he cares about being destroyed. Its edges are kept deliberately far away from Byzantium and from the source of the Syrian sweeps for mutant activity, until he has the power level raised, slowly, to a point he thinks can *handle* a nuclear detonation. His face tightens; with this kind of a range, that much power *hurts*; but he begins slowly closing it in, opening small vents momentarily to allow the Syrian tanks to pass through it to the outside as it narrows around Byzantium; the smaller and smaller area lets him strengthen its force still farther, and he uses his entire functional range that will not cause him serious damage -- there's no way of telling how much higher than a normal nuclear blast this person's explosive force can go. When he has Byzantium isolated, though with walls still wide enough around him to try and prevent him from noticing yet, he holds it there and makes his way back to the mountain-core where he left Renegade, looking absolutely ravaged; white, and tense with pain. It takes a noticeable effort to speak clearly. "We must... be prepared to leave on very short notice. Please... help me close this place." nodding to the base at which they'd been staying. He watches, as still as possible, until Renegade has it closed up and it is safe to leave. Renegade: Swallows loudly and closes things up as best as she can surmise, ripping off a printout of the messages the computer spitted out. As she turns off the radio there is a bulletin between the Mossad and SHIELD. They are ETA in 20 minutes, so are the Avengers. Magneto: Then he turns his focus back toward the border, which he can't see from here with his eyes, takes a couple of deep breaths, and tightens the force field around Byzantium with crushing strength. Syrian Army Captain Ruhallah: "Byzantium, our governments are already denying responsibility for us and you, calling us extremists, and our people are already rallying to your demands. The Americans tried to scramble the news broadcast of your grand proclamation, but our private broadcast has reached the worldwide news affiliates. We have the world's attention. The Americans are scrambling all available forces, SHIELD and the cursed United Nations' Avengers are on their way. But, our side actions have delayed them effectively. Your Martyrdom, praise Allah, is prepared and will not be wasted." Byzantium: "God does not need the deeds of the bold and brave to be made known to him. God knows all and blesses this day. The infidels will learn the price of of their arrogance. Praise Allah." Captain Ruhallah: "Praise Allah. All forces pull back and prepare the protective enforcement. We move at 10 minutes past the mushroom clouds appearance. None of us will survive this day, but the hellspawn will be driven from our lands! JIHAD!" A cheer of Insanity swells the thousand plus troops. Radiation clothing sweats the desert heat into their eyes, but soon they will see the hammer of god strike. It is a good day to die. Blackbird (ETA 10 minutes) Professor X: (Listening to the radio) "My god... Cyclops, there is a mutant capable of creating a nuclear detonation threatening to destroy the occupied territories. We must reach there at once. Everyone - strap yourselves in for maximum G-Thrust!" The Blackbird streaks at a velocity only an alien vehicle can muster. Golan Byzantium: As he builds to explode a peace settles over him, he has never detonated so strongly before, he may not be able to reassemble this time. A chance to die, to be at peace, free of the radiation that is driving him mad, burning in his eyes, a chance to rest with god. He feels a pressure build upon him and he assumes it is his own. Like in love, he builds and lets go to the ecstasy that his power brings and explodes, but something is wrong. Like a sneeze held, he collapses inward. His skin burns away as his power is reflected upon itself, and he implodes into pure energy. The cataclysm becomes blinding in its brilliance, blinding all foolish enough to gaze upon it. But the blast, trapped in a magnetic klein bottle, is forced back until energy returns to matter. Nothing remains of Byzantium but a broiling lump of Neutronium. Residual radiation spills out as the magnetic field is released, that can't be helped. It will be 70,000 years before that small mark of the desert returns to normal. For now, the sand is block of pure glass. Golan One Magneto: Explodes. The wave of power was more than he could even conceivably imagine. His own power feeds back and blasts his fortress to smithereens. Renegade is shot out like a bullet. Magneto crumples like a rag doll tossed into a well. His base is gone, all that remains is a crater with his unconscious self exposed to the sun. Blackbird Cyclops: His visor cuts out the white blast before even the polarized filters of the Blackbird lock out the glare. Then the Blackbird goes blank as a massive EM pulse fuses or knocks out all its systems. "There's been a nuclear explosion, EM's knocked us out, we're going down hard. Grab chutes and bail out!" ---------------------------- This is a serial work of fan fiction. It is based on the adventures of the X-Men and diverges from the comic continuity after Unlimited X-Men #1. Continuity may also differ in other respects. This story in its original form is an e-mail RPG started on .racx, and these Posts are combined from the actual moves of the players, with minor editing, plus my added filler. Co-plotting and most of the dialogue should be credited to the appropriate players listed at the end. Sorry, no more players will be accepted. Previous Chapters available by E-MAIL request to Dan Adams at Dan: dadams@hpbs3339.boi.hp.com -GM/Author Scott Bachmann/di800@cleveland.freenet.edu The Players DougLock: Jennifer.L.Lehoczky@williams.edu (Toby Elliott) Magneto: rivk@midway.uchicago.edu (Naomi Gayle Rivkis) Colossus: dn961@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Matthew S. Mccarthy) Rogue: jav41196@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Jennifer Vodvarka) Gambit: V534YYNN@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu (Matt Dempster) Majik: glaw@Jade.Tufts.EDU (Gabe) Apocalypse: david@coral.cs.jcu.edu.au (David Conlan) Wolverine: musgse@meaddata.com (Steve Musgrave) Cannonball: tnieboer@nyx.cs.du.edu (Toby Nieboer) Cyclops: CHL701S@vma.smsu.edu (Christopher Lenger) J.Pierce: uplink@cwis.unomaha.edu (John) Beast: dh340@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Joshua H. Gage)