The X-Tremes #0
by Ben Church
b_church@yahoo.com

	I think you know the drill by now.  They aren't mine.

	"Now let's see," Will mused, staring at Apocalypse's 
strong hold through the huge hole in the wall.  "Which cliché's of 
being an X-Man have I now fulfilled.  Well, I've died and come 
back, my entire immediate family is dead, and I've been transported
to an alternate universe.  That's three.  Sheesh."
	Two days ago, Will had come back to his old stomping 
grounds to investigate the disappearances of several old friends.  
Discovering that Namor and Roma were attempting to save them from 
a fate worse than death.  To never even have existed.  The 
Destruction wrought by Legion when he killed Xavier completely 
wiped out Will's world.  As well as the universe it rested in.
	Will and his friends, Damion Forrest, Zachory Jase, 
Carrie Chu, Rebecca Shenk, and Jasmine Melor had been transported 
to this new timeline, the one created by Legion's actions.  That 
had been two days ago.
	In that time, Will and his friends had been hiding out in 
this building, attempting to learn a bit about this world they had 
found themselves in.  The shades that Cybo had given him were a 
great help in that.  Their long range sensors had a very long 
range indeed.
	"Lord," Will mused.  "Cyclops and Beast as bad guys, 
Sabertooth as an upstanding citizen?  It's too much man."
	"Talking to yourself again?" Zach said, arriving from his 
foraging expedition.  Zachory Jase, a mutant with the ability to 
control any machine.  He was Indian American, and Will had always 
thought him weird.  It was one of his more endearing qualities.
	"Who else is gonna listen?" Will defended himself.  
"What'd you get?"
	"Not much." Zach admitted.  "The girls here just don't 
take to strangers."
	"Yeah well," Will thought for a moment.  He couldn't think 
up a comeback for that.  "Any food?"
	"Yeah, that's one thing about this world.  They're always 
willing to help out a fellow human in need."
	"If only they knew."
	"Yeah, how would they react if they knew Satan walked 
amongst them?"
	"Be careful when you're out there." Will warned.  "I 
understand there are some real wackos out there."
	"Thanks I like you too."
	Will smiled slightly.  "We can't go on like this." he said.
"We can't hide forever, from what I've seen, Apocalypse will find
us eventually.  We have to be ready."
	"So what do you suggest?"
	"I'm not sure just yet.  I'll talk to everybody tonight.
We've got to have some plans for the future."

	Deep into his work, Beast barely noticed when the alarm on 
his console began to beep.
	"Hmmmm," he thought.  "What has the computer found for me 
this time?"  He looked at the screen.

	FOUR ALPHA CLASS MUTANTS DETECTED:
	DAVIDSON, WILLIAM A.K.A. THE HOTSHOT
	CHU, CARRIE A.K.A. MEDIC
	UNKNOWN ID
	UNKNOWN ID
	
	TWO BETA CLASS MUTANTS DETECTED:
	UNKNOWN ID
	UNKNOWN ID

	"Weeeeel now!" McCoy grinned.  "Ol Hothead has gotten 
himself some more allies eh?  And powerful ones at that.  Time to send 
in the troops!"

	"All right," Will said.  "Now I suppose you're all 
wondering why I called you together.  God I've always wanted to 
say that."
	Will and the others were sitting in the main room of one of
many abandoned tenements on Manhattan Island.  Will had decided it
was time to get down to business.
	"We can't keep hiding." he said simply.  "Apocalypse has 
lots of ways of detecting mutants.  It's only a matter of time 
before he finds us."
	"So what do you suggest?" Jasmine asked.
	"I think we should fight." Will said.
	"Fight Poccy's soldiers?" Damion said.  "Will I love a good
adventure as well as the next man, but attacking those goons, with 
only two trained fighters would be suicide!"
	"Careful Damion." Will cautioned him.  "You're starting to
mature."
	"Never."
	"Whatever, anyway, like I said," it's only a matter of time
before-"
	The wall exploded.  "Moot point now I guess." Will thought.
	Standing just inside the room, were Sinister's enforcers.  
Havok, aboard a hover-cycle, Cyclops, Aurora and Northstar.
	"Chu!" Will called.  "Stay back and handle any wounded!  
Jase, see what you can do about that cycle but be careful, Havok 
packs a long distance attack!  Shenk, Melor, hang back with Chu!  
Peter!"
	"Yo!" Damion Forrest, a.k.a. Peter Pan was always ready for
an adventure.
	"Take out the Olson twins over there, I've got One Eye!"
	"Sir, Yes Sir!" Pan laughed.  He was rarin' to go.
	"Lord," Will thought.  "Please don't let leadership turn me
into another Cyclops.  I'd rather die.  Again."
	Havok was his usual arrogant self.  Before he could blast 
the Indian boy before him, his cycle flew out from under him, 
throwing him onto his back.  Furious at the insult, he leaped to 
his feet, ready to blast the boy into oblivion, only to be struck 
dead on by his speeding hovercycle.  He fell back once more, 
knocked cold.

	Pan dodged at blast from the Twins with his usual agility. 
In the time since he and Will had last seen each other, Pan had 
had his own little adventure.  Out witting a group of terrorists at
an airport.  It had sharpened his skills immensely.  He could dodge 
a bullet if he had too.
	Feinting with his sword at Northstar, he instead lashed out
with his leg, connecting solidly with Aurora's head, knocking her 
out.

	"Good grief," Will thought.  "This is ridiculous!  Most of 
my friends have never seen combat like this, and we're still wiping
the floor with Poccy's enforcers!"
	Pan flew backwards, blasted by Northstar.  He hit the wall 
and slumped to the floor unconscious.  "Now that's more like it." 
Will thought.  "Damnit."
	Northstar and Cyclops blasted Will simultaneously.  Not 
hurt, but thrown back by the force of the blast, Will landed on 
his back.
	"That won't stop him." Cyclops said.  "Northstar take out 
these others, I'll handle Hotshot."
	"Hmmm," Will thought, getting to his feet.  "Seems I'm 
known on this world.  Wonder what I'm like?"
	He dodged a blast from Cyclops, who then drew a blade from a
sheath at his hip.
	"Ooops!" Will thought, backing up.  "This wasn't in the 
script!"
	A quick blast from Northstar knocked Zach out cold.  Carrie,
busy with Pan, sighed.  "Becky get him over here."
	"No problem." Becky said.  "Oh wait, there's a homicidal mutant
in my way.  "I guess that constitutes a problem."
	"I'll cover you." Jasmine said.  "God I feel like I'm in some
weird movie."  Shrugging her shoulders, she gathered the latent 
electricity in the air, and sent it at Northstar.  I wasn't much, she
had not a lot of control over her power, but it was enough to distract
him.
	Becky made it to Zach, and dragged him back to Carrie.  "Okay,"
she asked.  "Now what?"
	Carrie placed her hand on Zach's head.  "I've got an idea."
she said.  Zach awoke at that moment.  Carrie outlined her plan.
	Will was too busy dodging blasts from both Northstar, and
Cyclops to actually fight back.
	Jasmine sent a spark of electricity into Northstar, causing him
to shout suddenly.  The noise distracted Cyclops, who looked in the
man's direction.  Zach immediately opened his visor, blasting Northstar
out of the fight.
	"Damn You!" Cyclops cursed, even as Will leaped for him.  Two
hits, and kicks to the jaw, put Cyc down for the count.
	"God I have always wanted to do that!" he said happily.  "Now,
let's get out of here before they come to."

	Two days later found Will and his friends, still hiding.  But
also training.  The Shades had picked up the X-Men's attempts to 
restore the proper time line.  Will wanted to help them.
	He'd learned of the time of the attack on Apocalypse's strong
hold.
	"So basically, we'd be going in as backup?" Zach asked.
	"Pretty much." Will told them.
	Zach nodded.  "All right, I'm in."
	The rest agreed soon after.

	Hotshot and Psylocke were completely surrounded.  Infinites
swarmed them, two more replacing every one they cut down.
	"It's not looking good Will!" Psylocke shouted over the din of
battle.
	Hotshot didn't answer.  He was too busy staying alive.  He 
hadn't come all this way, watched as every one of his allies but one
died, only to be killed by Infinites.  "Nope, If I'm gonna die it'll be
at Holocaust or Poccy's hands only." he promised himself.
	"Try scanning again!" Hotshot said.  "I've never known Strange
to be really far off with his calculations!  If he says the X-Men are
attacking today, then they're attacking today!"
	"I'll give it a shot!" she replied.

	Clarice was startled to feel the unfamiliar presence in her 
mind.  It would have been disconcerting at the best of times, but in 
the middle of an assault on Apocalypse' Citadel, it was very bad.  In 
a near panic, she began to thrust the presence from her mind.
	*Easy!* the presence shouted.  *I'm on your side!*
	*Who are you?* Clarice asked warily.
	*My name is Psylocke.* the voice said.  *I'm part of another
resistance group that arrived only a little while before you people 
did.  We were trying to time our attack to coincide with yours.  But
unfortunately, we were a bit early.*
	*I thought the ranks looked a bit thin,* Clarice thought with 
a smile.
	*Unfortunately,* Psylocke said.  *So are ours.  Hotshot and I
are the only ones left.  And we're in a bit of trouble-*
	*Hotshot?* Clarice thought with a start.
	"Will!" she shouted out loud, disappearing.
	Quicksilver looked up from the console of the transporter, 
trying to determine if he had indeed stopped Beast from escaping into 
the crystal.  "Clarice?"

	
	Hotshot was being hard pressed by Heat Resistant Infinites, 
with bladed weapons.  He was not a happy camper.  Particularly when he
found himself about to be impaled.
	"Sorry I never got to say goodbye to you Clarice." he 
whispered.
	"You'll never have to if I have anything to say about it!" a 
familiar voice called.  The weapon, and all the surrounding Infinites
flew to pieces, granting Will and Psylocke a brief respite.
	The young purple mutant that Will had whispered his apology to
appeared before him, embraced and kissed him as hard as she could.
	Clarice, a.k.a. Blink had thrown caution to the wind when she'd
heard her friend was in trouble.  She'd long ago forgiven him for the
mistake he'd made at the camp, but she'd never found him to tell him.
Until now.
	"Um," Will smiled slightly.  "Does this mean I'm forgiven?"
	Clarice merely smiled.  "You're quick."

	As the portal closed behind them, Will and the others braced
themselves for anything.  Except nothing.
	"Hmm," Will thought, hearing the sounds of battle from 
somewhere beyond their position.  "Seems my aim is off."  Then, 
thinking about it, he corrected himself.  "No, it's pretty good 
actually."
	"That was pretty good Will." Zach said.  "What other nifty 
little devices can those shades make?"
	"Well," Will said.  "It's currently working on something to get
us out of here."
	"Can't it just take us out the same way?" Carrie asked.
	"No, I mean OUT of here.  According to this thing's sensors,
this entire place is gonna be blown to smithereens.  It's gonna get us
out of this entire dimension.  That way, if all goes well with Mags' 
plan, we can get back home."
	"Oh." Pan said.  "Good."

	"Might I suggest we get to the main battle?" Psylocke asked.
Her british accent even more pronounced as she grew more agitated.
	"Capital idea Old Bean." Will grinned, faking a British Accent.
He hadn't felt this good since, well, since the Incident.
	Clarice prepared to teleport them out of the corridor, when
voices echoed down towards them.
	"Hmm," Hotshot said.  "Looks like the fight's coming to us 
again."
	The new arrivals turned the corner, and froze.

	Will and his friends gasped.  There stood two people they 
didn't recognize, and Will Davidson.  Sans right eye.
	Will felt a phantom itching in his left eye.  In his own world
he'd lost his left eye in a fight with a street gang.  Later, his 
consciousness had been transferred to a clone body, reuniting him with
his lost eye so to speak.  But apparently something had happened to him
in this world to make him lose, and not regain, his right eye.

	Hotshot's eye narrowed at the sight before him.  Doubles of 
himself, and his friends.  Most likely one of Sinister's tricks.
	"I don't know where Poppinfresh got the genetic material to 
create you guys," he growled.  "But if you want a fight, you got one."
	"That would be great." his double said hesitantly.  "If we 
wanted one.  But we don't.  "Not with you anyway."

	Will suddenly thought of something.  Cyclops and Beast worked
for Apocalypse in this world.  It was entirely possible, though he 
hated to admit it, that he did as well.
	"Unless of course," he amended.  "You happen to say, work for
Apocalypse."
	Psylocke knew they didn't have time for explanations.  She dove
into Hotshot's Double's mind.
	After the initial shock of having his mind invaded, Will 
relaxed and let the exchange of information happen.

	Hotshot saw the look of concentration on Psylocke's face and 
knew that answers would be forthcoming.  He stood, not alarmed, but 
wary as the group approached, his own double with a look of 
concentration on his face.  He was attempting to speed the exchange.
	That's when it happened.  The faraway battle apparently 
drew closer.  The metal wall to their right exploded, Sunfire 
hurtling into the corridor.  The shrapnel from the destruction 
shredded through the closest person.  Hotshot.
	Nobody moved at first, all were too stunned to react.  Will
had just seen himself die.  Clarice had lost her love, only minutes
after finding him again.
	Then Psylocke acted.  Grabbing her dying friend's head, and
that of his double from the other universe, she concentrated.
	Will screamed, as memories, thoughts, not his own were forced 
into his mind.  He realized just before consciousness failed him, that
Psylocke, rather than allow her friend to die completely, had just 
transferred his consciousness into his own head.
	"This should be interesting." he thought.

	Pan rushed forward to stop Psylocke.  He didn't know what she
was doing, all he knew, or cared about, was that Will was being hurt.
He thought briefly that he'd never seen Psylocke when she was still 
British.  Not a bad looker.
	By the time he reached her however, she'd apparently finished 
what she was doing.  Will's double collapsed, apparently dead, while
Will staggered, recovering from the assault.
	Psylocke also collapsed, the strain too much for her to bear.
Her heart and brain gave out at exactly the same moment.
	Clarice teleported to Will's side, not sure what was going on,
but she at least knew these people were not her enemies.
	"Will?" she asked tentatively.  She was still amazed at this 
double of Hotshot.  It was disconcerting to see him without a patch 
over one eye, but she also thought he looked better this way.
	"Clarice?" Will asked, his voice shaky.  Why could he now see 
out of both eyes?  "What-"  Will blinked, and shook his head.
	"Woah!" Will said, recovering.  "What the hell was that?"
	"Beats the hell out of me." Zach said.  "Are you okay?"
	"Yeah, I think so." Will said.  He saw his double, and Psylocke
dead on the ground.  "But I may be traumatized by the sight of my own
dead body for a while."  He then looked at Blink.  "Um, hi.  We're here
to help."
	"Who are you?" Clarice asked.
	"Well to make a long story short," Will said.  "We're from an
alternate universe in which Apocalypse doesn't rule the world.  The
world you guys are trying to save."
	"Oh is that all?" Clarice said.  "And here I thought it was 
going to be complicated."
	Will smiled ruefully.  She had a wit.  "I like her already." he
thought.  Suddenly he felt a flood of emotion towards her.  Not sure 
where it had come from, he shook his head to clear it.  The emotion was
gone as quickly as it had come.
	"Well," Clarice said.  "You've arrived a little late."  She 
lead them out into the courtyard, after making sure that Sunfire was
all right.  He would live.
	"Magneto's defeated Holocaust and Apocalypse, we've already 
sent Illyanna and Bishop back in time.  Nothing much left but the clean
up."  She smiled.  But her smile faded when she looked up into the sky.
"Oh my god," she whispered.  "They've done it."
	Will and his friends followed her gaze.  At first they didn't
see what had upsetted her.  Then...
	"There!" Becky pointed.  "And there!"
	"Bombs." Will said.  "The Human High Council is Nuking us!"
	"Great!" Carrie exclaimed.  "Just great!  We escape one dying
world just to get killed on another!"
	Just then, Will's pocket beeped.  "Maybe not." he said.  
Pulling the shades from his pocket, he slipped them on.  The readout
on the left lens confirmed his suspicions.  "We can leave this world
anytime." he told his friends.  "The shades are configured and powered
up."
	"And that means?" Becky asked.
	"That we can leave anytime." Will told her.  "The shades have 
enough power to transport us, and one more, to the dimension adjacent 
to this one."

	Clarice's head reeled from the recent sequence of events.  She
had found Hotshot, only to have him die.  Or had he?  She was certain
that Psylocke had transferred Hotshot's consciousness into his double.
Her evidence was his recognition of her, and his confusion of seeing 
from both eyes, immediately after recovering from the transfer.
And now he was leaving?

	Will looked at Clarice.  Again, he felt a strange surge of 
emotion when he saw her.  Pain at the thought of losing her.
	"What is this?" he thought.  "Love at first sight or 
something?  Or maybe not.  What did Psylocke do to me?"
	In any case, he knew he must find out.  And that meant...
	"Care to join us?" he offered to Clarice.
	Blink stood stunned.  She had just been offered a chance to 
live, to possibly be with the man she loved.  In return, all she had
to give up was everybody she'd ever known, to leave her entire world 
behind.  She stood before Will and gently caressed his face.
	"I know that somewhere inside you is the Hotshot from this 
world." she said.  "And if he can hear me now, I want him to know that
I will always love him."  She backed away.  "But I can't go with you.
I can't leave everyone, my friends."
	"Yeah you can kid." a rough voice behind her said.  She saw 
Will stiffen in recognition.  What had Creed become in this other 
world?
	"You can," Sabertooth continued.  "And you have to."
	Before she could protest, he turned to Will.
	"I hear you're from Bishop's World."
	"You've got good ears." Will said.  "But then, you always
did."
	"I'm willin' to bet I'm not a great role model there.  Am 
I."
	"You'd win that bet." the boy agreed.  His body was 
screaming at him to head for the hills, even though his head told 
him that Creed was not a homicidal maniac on this world.
	"Can those little shades of yours record stuff too?"
	"Yeah." Will said, beginning to get a hint of what Creed
was getting at.
	"Then I got a message for myself."
	Will helped Creed record the message, all the while the 
bombs got closer.  A warning light flashed in Will's left lens.
	"This is it!" he shouted, activating the portal.  "It's now
or never!"  His friends didn't even hesitate before leaping into 
the portal.  Standing before the glowing hole, he held out his hand
to Clarice.  "Coming?  There's not a lot of time."
	Blink looked from the portal, to her dying world, to Creed.
The only father she'd known for more than half her life.
	"You gotta go kid." Creed told her gently, wiping a tear from 
her face.  "If not for your sake, than for mine.  You're the only 
person I've done right by.  I need that to survive.  And I need you to
find me, in that other world, and fix me.  Make sure that message gets
to me."
	Tears streaming from her eyes, Clarice embraced the huge man.
"I'll never forget any of you."
	"I hate to sound insensitive," Will said urgently.  But we are
out of time."
	Creed saw that he was right.  The bombs were about to impact 
with the earth.  He picked up Clarice and threw her at Will.  Her body
hit his and flung them both through the portal.  The hole in space
closed after them.
	"Goodbye kid." Creed whispered.
	The bombs hit.

Next Issue: It's a Zombie Jamboree!