Subject: [OTL]: (New Mutants 3) Breeze Arc: Timewind Prologue (PG-13) Date: Mon, 17 Jun 2002 21:55:35 -0700 (PDT) From: Phil Hartman will1@earthling.net Breeze Arc: Timewind Prologue by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: The kids and anyone else not recognized are mine; the rest are Marvel's. No money is being made off of this. Please don't sue. NOTE: Wonder whatever happened to Aaron Wisdom's friends after Aaron went back in time ? Prepare to find out >) NOTE 2: " - spoken word # - personal thought ~ - telepathy * - pre/retrocognition -------------------------------------------------------- The Story So Far: -------------------------------------------------------- In an alternate future for the Marvel Universe, a war of apocalyptic proportions between the mutant-seperatist state of Genosha and the rest of the planet resulted in the extinction of the Genoshans, and their mad leader, Charles Xavier Lehnsherr - the youngest son of Magneto, also known as Abaddon. This "Lehnsherr War," which ravaged the world for six months in 2006, led to the establishment of the Extranormal Security Enforcement group, or XSE, in the United States. Mutant seperatism/supremacy all but vanished from the landscape of mutant politics, as empowerment and a skyrocketing mutant birthrate radically altered the demographics of the U.S. and the world. By 2020 A.D., a new generation of mutants had begun to enter adolesence, having grown up on the exploits of those heroes who had won the Lehnsherr War. One group of these "great-grandchildren of the atom" have come together as the third team of New Mutants, training at the Xavier Institute in Salem Center, New York. One member of the Mutants, Aislinn Richards - daughter of Franklin Richards, son of the Fantastic Four, and of Rachel Summers-Richards, first daughter of the X-Men - sent another of her classmates, Aaron Wisdom, back in time to try and prevent a chronal armageddon. She succeeded ... and must now pay the price. -------------------------------------------------------- 9/1/2020 A.D.: Xavier Institute for Paragenetic Studies, Salem Center, NY: 10:04 hrs EDT: -------------------------------------------------------- The greenish haze she floated in began to clear, the ripples of temporal chaos flickering back into the emerald sea she usually waded in. Aislinn Richards wobbled, hitting her knees, as she faded back into four-dimensional reality. #He ... did it,# the 13-year-old thought, smiling despite her exhaustion. The Caucasian girl struggled to her feet, her slight frame shivering, and she ran a sweaty hand through her cropped red hair. "Ace !? What happened ? Where's Aaron ?" Aislinn turned around to look up, meeting her fraternal twin brother's concerned green eyes with her own flickering verdant gaze. "I - had to send him back -" Aislinn began, leaning against Aidan. The psionic boy hugged her, then, and helped her to the floor of the Danger Room, as their remaining classmates rushed to their sides. "Let me through !" a blue-furred girl with concerned blue eyes demanded. Aidan allowed Maria McCoy to examine Aislinn, his concern for his sister flooding their twin psi-link. "She sent Aaron back in time somewhere," Aidan said absently, shaking his head. "I got a flash of something about a timestorm, but I can't probe - ah !" Aidan stiffened, then, and looked at Aislinn in panic. "What ?" their cousin, Morgan Summers, demanded - Aaron was as much her friend as he was to the the Summers twins. "She's GONE - astrally, into the past," Aidan gasped. "She must be looking for him -" VYSSHMMMM CH-KLAK The rest of the teens looked around into the barrels of energy rifles. "Freeze," a young Caucasian woman with cropped red hair and an XSE uniform demanded, scowling. "I want answers, kids. NOW." -------------------------------------------------------- 2002: Alternate past: Frank Richards and Rachel Summers' jaws dropped as a girl about Aaron's age, with cropped red hair, green eyes and a VERY familiar face, walked out of the light clad in a black skinsuit. She smiled at them shyly, then looked at Aaron with a sad expression. "Ace ... ? ACE !!!" Aaron cheered, running to hug the girl - - and passing through her, his face turning to a mask of horror. "I'm sorry, Aar," Aislinn Richards said, tears welling up. "You've saved us. But you're part of this timeline now. All the visions I've seen are clear - you've got to stay here, in Earth 627's past, with the second New Mutants." She let her powers pull her astral form back, then, to 2020, trying to ignore the part of her mind that was screaming #BRING HIM HOME !# #I can't - I know if he comes home, he'll be tried as an accessory to chronal disruption,# Aislinn reminded herself. #I'll be in enough trouble with the XSE as it is - he shouldn't have to suffer -# -------------------------------------------------------- - and her eyes opened, as a roar of fury filled her ears. "WHATEVER her reason, she wouldn't go screwing with the timestream for some kind of sick kicks !" Aislinn heard Aidan howl. The breaking and wavering of his voice dredged up a desire to laugh from some perverse part of her psyche. "Aid. Back down," Aislinn asked, struggling to her feet despite Maria's demands for her to stay down. The chronovariant girl smiled at her healer friend, then managed to meet the XSE corporal's gaze steadily. "Officer Astrovik. I surrender myself voluntarily," Aislinn said, somehow managing to keep from blacking out - #I must be more exhausted than I thought -# The rifles flickered greenly - - *and pulsed, releasing energy towards Aidan when he leapt before his sister to cut off the XSE troops* - - and Aislinn added, "Aid, BUTT OUT. NOW." Aidan looked aghast at his twin, who reinforced her order with a quick telempathic nudge. ~We can't win here,~ Aislinn sent, relying on their twin-link to boost the message due to her own low power levels in the psi-department. Aidan seemed ready to ignore her, but finally just hung his head. Morgan and her twin brother, Payne, flanked Aidan, and scowled as one of the XSE troopers placed an inhibitor collar and power-shackles on Aislinn. "Standard binders. She's too tired to fight," XSE Corporal Maureen Astrovik said, without malice. The private complied, allowing Maureen to create a pair of flexible plastic binders around Aislinn's wrists with her matter transmutation power. "Smart play, Miss Richards," Maureen added. She leaned close to Aislinn, then whispered, "Nothing personal, kiddo. But this level of C-V screwiness requires intervention." Aislinn just nodded - she didn't trust herself to keep from giving Maureen a rude answer. Aaron's face flickered before the chronovariant girl, making Aislinn close her eyes against the tears while the Danger Room doors slid shut. -------------------------------------------------------- to be continued -------------------------------------------------------- DRAMATIS PERSONAE: -------------------------------------------------------- Aidan Richards - Franklin and Rachel Richards' second-eldest son and second child, twin brother of Aislinn Richards. Somewhat hot-headed, protective of his family and friends, contemptuous of the increasingly-proactive (some whisper fascist) XSE. Short red hair, green eyes. Disgustingly powerful mutant psi, although not able to warp reality. Instead, Aidan can manipulate psi-energy and the astral plane in still poorly-defined ways ... Aislinn Richards - Franklin and Rachel Richards' only daughter, twin sister of Aidan Richards. Short red hair, green eyes. Tends to be more of an explorer of her powers than anything else, but also willing to do what must be done to save others. Not a martyr, but soft-hearted. As powerful a chronovariant as Aidan is a psi, "Ace" is still bound by the Marvel Law of Time Travel her grandfather Reed discovered: You can't change the past of your own timeline. Nevertheless, Ace can send others physically to alternate pasts or futures. Payne Summers - Nathan and Beatrice (Domino) Summers' son; short brown hair, blue eyes. Smart-mouthed wild kid, immense psi and even greater luck. Tends to get the rest of the second New Mutants in trouble. Acts as a polar opposite to his fraternal twin sister - Morgan Summers - Nathan and Beatrice (Domino) Summers' daughter; cropped brown hair, piercing blue eyes. A leader-figure with unsettling levels of psi; not QUITE in Aidan Richards' league power-wise, but more skilled than he is in basic telepathy and telekinesis. Intense in training, and has single-handedly defeated a leftover Sentinel in one-on-one combat, but also has a funny side - when she cares to show it. Aaron Wisdom - Pete and Kitty Wisdom's son; short brown hair, blue eyes, can control his own molecular density. Formerly a bit of a cynic like his father, Aaron has developed a greater degree of compassion since his temporal trek back to the past of an alternate Earth to help save the entire timestream. It's unclear if he can - or will - return to his home time. Nora Ramsey - Doug and Rahne Ramsey's only daughter; cropped red hair, blue eyes. Potent metamorph, not limited to only lycanthropy like her mother. Shy, unassuming, compassionate. A peace activist, Nora is unafraid to step forward and speak out against violence - she's something of a hippie for her time period. Zach Guthrie - Sam and Tabitha Guthrie's first-born son (of too many children to count); crewcut blond hair, blue eyes, plasma generation. With an overdeveloped social conscience and "aw-shucks" attitude, Zach could be mistaken for a younger Sam. He's a little more uptight morally than even his father was/is, however ... Gabrielle Worthington - Warren and Elizabeth Worthington's daughter; purple hair/eyes; Darkforce generation, telepathy. Powerful, mysterious and all too-willing to use her beauty as a weapon, "Gabby" is no longer the innocent she used to be back on the playground. She seems too focused on the pursuit of pleasure to be malicious, however ... Lucian DaCosta - Roberto and Amara DaCosta's eldest son; black hair, brown eyes, geokinetic with enhanced strength and durability. Always testing himself against others, Lucian is far more than he seems - not just a sports star, he's also a cunning tactician. Fortunately, he is as loyal to his friends as he is to competing against them in the Danger Room. Maria McCoy - only natural-born daughter of Henry and Cecilia Reyes-McCoy; blue fur, eyes, healing, healing factor, super-intelligence in medical matters. Gifted with her parents' wit and self-sacrifice, as well as a power Cecilia would love to have had, Maria could prove to be a medical prodigy as she grows. She is often too willing to sacrifice her own interests for the sake of others, however. Brendan Drake - only son of Robert and Emma Drake; brown hair, blue eyes, cryokinesis. Almost his father's clone, Brin is even MORE of a goofball - and his comfort with his powers has enabled him to excel remarkably in that area of his education. Much to his mother's frustration, Brin is just happy being a goof as he is a mutant ... Laura LeBeau - only child of Remy and Marie LeBeau; brown and white hair, green eyes, touch-based telepathy and power replication (uncontrollable, but Laura's power doesn't drain her victims). A lonely girl, Laura is afflicted with an uncontrollable, if non-lethal, version of her mother's original absorption power. She faces a more acute threat of insanity than Marie did, however - not only from her own still-uncontrollable "gift," but from her mother's own slow descent into catatonia following the Lehnsherr War, which claimed the life of Laura's half-brother Charles. Lance Summers - only child of Alex and Lorna Summers; short blond hair, blue eyes, disintegration. A shy, fearful boy, Lance is somewhat of an anomaly among the Summers: he doesn't angst openly, he has no overt leadership skills, and is easily cowed. This may stem from the militaristic parenting tendencies of his father, Alex, who is the current commander of the XSE, or the overt fights Alex and Lorna seem to constantly have. Of course, it may also have something to do with the fact that Lance vaporized an escaped prisoner of the XSE when his powers manifested ... N'Kera Munroe - only child of Ororo Munroe and Davis Cameron (the Australian teleporter Slipstream); white hair, blue eyes, dark skin, electrical manipulation. A cunning, sneaky girl, "Kera" is every inch the thief her mother was at her age - but in the information age, the heiress to the Munroe name is especially dangerous, thanks to her cyberkinetic power. She's not so interested in actually being a thief as in the thrill. She's also worried about the odd cybernetic entity who seems to have taken an unhealthy interest in her ... -------------------------------------------------------- to be continued in Timewind Book 1 --------------------------------------------------------