TEEN TWO: INVASION By Aaron Thall [thall@netset.com] and Ben Church [bchurch@su.edu] Hotshot, the aliens featured, and all of the X-Tremes belong to Ben Church. Tornado belongs to Aaron Thall. Jubilee, Generation X, all other members, and a few others belong to Marvel Comics, and are used without permission. Send all complaints to president@whitehouse.gov. Deep Space The ship continued on it's course, as it had for millennia. Leaving a trail of death and destruction in it's path. The populations of countless planets wiped out, save for the few who possessed powers beyond the norm of their people. Those were spared for the games. Now the ship continued on it's path towards it's next destination. A planet rich in contestants for the games. A planet the inhabitants called, Earth. Xavier School For Gifted Youngsters, Massachusetts "Yo!" Angelo's voice rang from the front hall. "Amigos and Amigas! Gather round!" "Sup Ang?" Everett asked, emerging from the TV room, followed by Artie, Leech, Mondo and Paige. "Where's everyone else?" Angelo asked. "I want everyone to hear this." "Well, Monet and Paige are studying," Mondo said. Chamber and Penance are in the biosphere, Mr. Cassidy and Ms. Frost are in some conference about Jubilee's grades, and Jubilee and Aaron are avoiding them." "How do you know all that?" Everett asked. "You've been watching TV all day." "It's not hard to know things when you are a part of everything around you." Mondo answered simply. "All right well I won't wait for them then." Angelo said. "I'll tell them later. Guess who just scored us all tickets for the Lila Cheney concert this Saturday night in Boston?!" Angelo shouted. "You got Lila Cheney tickets?" Everett asked in astonishment. "Beast! How man?" "Trade secrets mi amigo." Angelo said mysteriously. He didn't want to tell them that the tickets had come in the mail from a friend of theirs. Some things just didn't need to be common knowledge. "Can Leech and Artie come too?" Leech asked eagerly. Angelo and Everett looked at each other. How could they say no without disappointing them? "Maybe when you're older." Everett said. Leech's face fell, and he began to pout. "Leech tired of waiting till he is older." Artie concurred with an image of him with a beard. Angelo sighed. "Kids." he said. Davidson Tree Farm, West Virginia Will Davidson tuned his guitar carefully, preparing for the biggest gig of his life. To date anyway. His band, The X-Tremes had only been in existence for about a month, give or take a week. It was due to a major amount of luck, talent, and their revolutionary gimmick that had landed the job they were to do tomorrow night. Nearby, the lead singer, looked on. Mike O'Connor, was a mutant who had joined the team shortly after he, and some of his friends had been the victims of an attack by the Friends of Humanity. Things for mutants had improved greatly since the incident in New York, but some people just didn't want to change. The band was a combination of Humans and Mutants. That was the gimmick that had helped land them this job. Will was the guitarist, occasional keyboardist and manager of the band, but since he couldn't sing to save his life, Mike had taken the job as lead male singer. The bassist was usually a girl named Kat, Zach's girlfriend, a human. But sometimes she let Zach play. Andy and Marian, Mike's friends from Summer Theater camp were back up singers, occasionally getting to be lead. The Keyboardist was Steve, a human friend of Mike's. The drummer was another human friend of Mike's named Jim. Mike was a 19 year old acting major at a small college in Virginia, he and Andy, Marian, Steve and Jim were all originally from the DC area. Mike's power, was imitation. He could imitate any sound or voice he had ever heard. He could throw his voice, actually make the noise he made come from somewhere else, and imitate several different sounds at once. Andy could control people's emotions towards her, Marian could either physically draw people towards her, or just the opposite. Mike had another friend, Stanley, who was also a mutant but had declined the offer to join. The last, and newest new member was also the lead female singer, and Will's girlfriend. She'd shown up one rainy night, unsure of where she was, or how she'd gotten there. She told stories of a hellish world where Apocalypse ruled, and she was still getting used to this world. She'd shown up two weeks ago and had just fit in. "Our group has grown so much." Will thought. "We're not even all in the band. Maybe I should start a roster or something." "Tell the folks at home what you're doing Roger!" Mike sang, a line from the new musical Rent. Will hadn't seen it, but he got the joke. "I'm writing one great song." he answered. Mike winced. "Man it's a good thing you aren't the lead singer." Suddenly he was smacked on the back of his head. "Ouch!" he complained. "No fair ganging up on me Rebecca." The Concert Generation X managed to get to their seats with a minimum of shoving, mainly due to Mondo's size. "You realize of course," Aaron said to Angelo. "That eventually you will have to tell us how you got these tickets." "Forget eventually," Jubilee said. "Spill it Skinny." "You'll see." Angelo grinned. At that moment, the lights cut out. "Ladies and Gentlemen!" a familiar voice announced from the stage. "Is that Don Pardo?" Paige asked in amazement. "Opening for Singing Sensation Lila Cheney," The voice continued. "The X-Tremes!" Aaron gasped in recognition and realization. "Angelo, you got those tickets from Will!" "Si." Angelo smiled. On the stage a spotlight shone on a lone boy who looked about 19. He had long hair pulled back in a ponytail and wore black shades. He also wore a white T-shirt with a huge black M on the front. He began to speak, at least it looked like he was speaking, but the voice was that of Martin Luther King. "I have a dream!" he said, and continued to quote from that famous speech, and then suddenly cut off with the voice of Rodney King; "Can't we all just get along?" Then the light's on stage kicked in revealing the rest of the band. Some wore M shirts and some wore H shirts. The music cut in immediately as the first boy began to sing. "Ahh," Mondo said. "Punk Ska." "Very good!" Everett said. "You've been studying. It's pretty good too." When the first song ended the boy said; "Yes ladies and gentlemen we are the X-Tremes a band dedicated to the notion that we can live in peace and harmony as is evidenced by the array of races you see before you. The M indicates a mutant and an H means human, and we would just like to remember today as the day that human and mutant alike stood together and shouted to the anti-mutant racists..." The music had started again. "We're not gonna take it!" he sang. "No! We ain't gonna take it!" another boy wearing an H shirt joined in. "We're not gonna take it, anymore!" The song escalated, and the audience began to join in on the chorus. Afterwards, the lead male singer of the group spoke once more, this time with the voice of Ed Sullivan. "Now before we bring out the star of our really big show, we have one more little number for you, to demonstrate the singing talents of our lead female singer." With that, a black disk opened behind him and he stepped back into it, while a girl stepped through it to take the mike. Aaron recognized immediately the familiar strains of Zombie by The Cranberries. "Yet another politically motivated song." He mused. He stole a sidelong glance at Jubilee, and was shocked at the expression on her face. It was one of shocked recognition. Jubilee, along with most of Generation X stared at the girl. She looked older, her hair was longer, she had a strange tattoo on her face, and she was obviously not shy, but the purple tinge to her skin were unmistakable. The girl on stage was none other than Clarice Ferguson. "Guys?" asks Aaron. "What's wrong? Guys?" No response. Aaron turns to Mondo, the only other one there not staring in shock. "Any ideas how to snap them out of it?" "Nope." "Figures..." "No way..." says Jubilee. "Jube, what's the story?" "Aaron! That's Blink! She was one o' us!" "I have a feeling that there's a lot more to this story than you're telling me." Jubilee and the rest get up and begin heading for the stairs. "We'll explain on the way!" ***************** Time passes, as does the X-Tremes' time on stage. Jubilee has just finished explaining everything to Aaron. "Well..." "Aaron?" "Makes just as much sense as the rest of the X-men's adventures!" Will and the rest of the band walk off stage. "Hey guys! Glad you could make it!" "I have to admit, it's a bit of a surprise to see you again so soon Will." "Nice to see you again too Thall*." (Will finds last names to be more informal than first names. Yet another victim of Mulder-and- Skully-itis.) "Will, did ya happen ta know that yer lead singer's an old friend o' ours?" ***************** The ship comes ever closer to Earth. It begins to scan the planet for possible targets. A city called New York is filled with such individuals. Many such individuals are apparently incarcerated in a building in an area called Colorado. There are also small groups in Washington DC, Michigan, England, Angel Grove, California, and Boston, Massachusetts. These are all powerful individuals. Some have similar powers, such as those in Angel Grove, but New York and Boston... Those have such variety! And must be investigated! After all, the games must go on... First Helm Xakari unfurled his long snout in excitement. Never had there been such a planet rich in contestants! As the discovery of this system was his, he would be assured an excellent reward. Minuscule ripples went down his snout just thinking about it. "M'seiras!" he called. "My lord, come see!"* *(everything said by the aliens is translated from their language) "What have you found this time 'Kari?" M'seiras and Xakari were old friends, but because of Xakari's navigational skills he had been steered in a different direction than the charismatic M'seiras, who'd swiftly risen through the ranks of the Xarn Games World. "By the Great Star!" M'seiras proclaimed. "When the Matriarch sees this you will go far indeed my friend!" As would every one on this scout ship. The Xarn believed in sharing credit. The crew leader's eight, lidless, arachnid-like eyes shone red with delight. "I for one look forward to seeing the games that will come from this." he said. After each invasion, the weakest supers were weeded from the strong quickly. But as time went on, the games grew more and more impressive. "Thought," Xakari mused. "I do not envy the ground troops." Ground Troops were the first step in every invasion. They were to identify, and capture the supers, and eliminate any and all norms. Air support was usually sent in quickly to aid them, as well as heavy artillery. The time each invasion took varied from world to world, but the end result was the same. A dead world, devoid of sentient life. The weak perished, the strong got stronger. And Xarns entertained by both the invasion, which was treated like a hunt, and the games as always. The days to come would be glorious indeed. Boston Massachusetts, Backstage Clarice gazed, openmouthed at the people before her. She had tried to prepare herself, knowing that the day would come when she would be confronted with ghosts of her past, but she was still caught unprepared. It had been hard enough, meeting the boy she had loved and had seen die immediately after arriving on this world. When the bombs had begun to fall, she had panicked and teleported into the M'Kraan Crystal. She had found herself in the yard of a lit house, in the middle of a rainstorm. Her greatest shock had been when Will had come to the door. When only minutes before she had witnessed his death at the hands of Apocalypse's followers. To his credit, he and others who had accompanied him to the battle had acquitted themselves well. Hotshot and Psylocke were the last to fall. While all around them their fellow Ghost Riders fell, Dr. Strange, Emplate, Penance, Namorita, Cloak, Flash Thompson, Jameson, Black Cat, Yukio, Mary Jane, and The Ghost Rider himself. In her world, Hotshot had followed Magneto for a time, but his desire to avenge the deaths of his sister and parents drove him to join Ghost Rider and his Spirits of Vengeance. Their reunion at the final battle had been brief and bittersweet. But then she'd been reunited with him. She smiled remembering the scene. She'd knocked on the door, hoping to find shelter, and the door had been answered by a sleepy looking Will. For a moment she'd stared shocked. His hair was shorter, he was missing the beard and mustache, and he still had both eyes. Then she'd seized him in her arms and kissed him. Surprising him to no end. She still laughed inwardly when she remembered his words when she'd released him. "Do I know you?" Later, she had been told of the world she'd found herself in. In this world, the man she had followed for so long was a terrorist, working against the man in whose memory he had formed the X-Men in the first place. Many of her friends were dead, like Morph. And more still, like Vincente and even Sabertooth were villains. That thought still brought her pain whenever she thought about it. Mr. Creed, the most decent and kindest man she'd ever known, was a cold blooded serial killer. And many of her worst enemies, Havok, Beast and Cyclops were heroes. And, as was evidenced here, many of her friends who had died in the battle with Apocalypse were alive and well. In many ways the man Bishop had been right, this was a better world. But in many ways, he seemed to be wrong as well. She shook herself out of her reverie and studied the people who were at the same time studying her. Claudia was not hooked up to a computer, apparently spared the incident that had necessitated such extreme measures. Chamber's face was almost gone, who knew what had happened to him. But they were alive. When Colossus had told them that Generation Next had been killed, she had mourned their deaths greatly. But here they were, standing there. The girl in the yellow trenchcoat she had met briefly in the final battle, she had been one of Gambit's fellow thieves. And then there was Aaron. Yes, Aaron. While she didn't know what he was like in this world, in her world, he was one of the most powerful assassins in Apocalypse's ranks. In her world, he was known by only one name. Hurricane. He was ruthless. Calculating. Relentless. She had faced him several times, always barely surviving for the next encounter. Rumor had it that Hurricane had his own agendas, and that he was actually playing Apocalypse like a harp. But then rumors are just that. Rumors. Hurricane had been there at that final battle. She had seen him just as she teleported into the crystal. Who knows how many he had killed before the wave engulfed all present? Aaron was not to be trusted. Not at all. Hurricane had killed several good friends. He tortured them with thoughts of escape, and then he simply exterminated them with a casual snap of the fingers, removing the air pressure outside their bodies and letting them explode. Or he occasionally removed inner air pressure and let them implode. She had watched as he had done this to an entire camp of humans once. Truly a gruesome sight. Such evil. How could this version be any different? She narrowed her eyes. Then she felt Will's hand on her shoulder. "Clarice, this is..." "I know who he is..." "Here he's one of the planet's greatest heroes. He calls himself Tornado." "Hero? I know that things here are different, but there's no way that this monster is a hero!" "Monster? You must mean Hurricane!" "You know of your counterpart??!! How?" "He crossed over along with Jube's counterpart. They're monsters all right. Cold blooded killers." "I take it that you've faced them?" "Understatement." "But the Jubilee I met was a hero as well!" "When she crossed over, she became embittered by the knowledge that her world and friends were all gone. She wanted revenge on us for our happiness." "So she joined Hurricane." "Yes. Hurricane fell in love with Jubilee during the final battle. He saved her life and activated a time bubble that sent them to this reality. Once here, Jubilee changed her name to Deathsparkle." "Tragic." "I know. The worst part is that I almost ended up like him. If it hadn't been for inspirations like the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man, as well as Jube here, I might have been what Hurricane became." "Lucky that you didn't." Will interrupts. "Guys, I noticed a few FoH guys in the audience. Think an appearance by the famous Tornado and Jubilee would shut them up?" "Do ya even have ta ask?" "I have misgivings about this." says Monet. "Same here Monet, but if it can help human/mutant relations, I don't see why not." "Well L.C's just about done up there. I'll tell the guys in charge that we have a special bonus for them." "Right Will. I'll go wit' ya." "Same here. One can only keep the strong vibrations in the air from deafening one's self for so long." Aaron and Jubilee walk off with Will. "I hope they know what they're doing." *********** New York... Spider-Man swings through the cool night air on a slender and impossibly strong webline. "What a night! Five muggings, three shoplifters, one holdup, and not one partridge in a pear tree! New York! Gotta love it!" He reaches out and fires another line. It adheres to a flagpole and he pulls up. And then he feels the familiar tingle of his spider-sense. "Trouble? Where?" He looks up. "Oh. There." He has no time to dodge as the light of a teleportation beam shines on him from somewhere in space... ************* Will walks into the manager's office. "Hello Will. Nice show your group put on." "Thank you sir. Ummm... Listen. Some friends of mine showed up and I think that the audience might enjoy meeting them." The manager chuckles. "I'm sure." "See for yourself." Aaron and Jubilee, now in their uniforms, walk into the room. The manager's mouth drops. "T-them??!!" "Us. We thought it might be a nice touch for the ending." "Sides, our buddy can use all the help he can get, considerin' what he's preachin." "So, can my group go up again?" Obviously, the manager said yes. As they leave, he turns and calls the television stations to tell them about this last minute surprise. ******************* "Well?" asks Ev. "We're on." The announcer's voice is heard. "Ladies and gentlemen, here once again are the X-Tremes!" Cheers erupt from most of the audience. Jeers come from the small number of FoH. Will and the band walk on stage. Will takes the microphone. He sees the television cameras setting up. Can't hurt to have a little publicity, now can it? "As some of you may know, the Friends of Humanity decided to stop by for a visit." Boos erupt. "Well I have two very good friends that have something to say to them. Guys, please allow me to welcome..." "IT'S SPIN DRIVE TIME!!!!" The voice is heard throughout the building. "Tornado and Jubilee!" They race out onto the stage. "The show must go on! Let's rock and roll!" Tornado then begins a short speech, completely unaware that an alien ship was waiting for just the right moment to strike... NASA Listening Post, New Mexico The first signals were detected at about 9 p.m. "What is it?" General Matthews asked, picking up the phone to listen in. "And why do I feel like I'm in a sequel to Independence Day?" He listened to the noise for a moment and put the receiver down. "You realize that I have only your word that anything at all is happening? As a layman I can't make heads or tails out of these signals." "Well sir perhaps these will convince you." the man by the fax machine said grimly." He took the papers that had just arrived and handed them to the General. "Satellite photos, just in." General Matthews looked at the pictures for a moment. "How close is that thing?" he asked. "Close. Closer than the moon." "And we're just picking this up NOW?" "Yes sir, well sir, our data shows that until about five minutes ago, this thing was, um, cloaked." "Cloaked?" the General asked incredulously. "You're telling me we're being attacked by Klingons?" "All we know is that it suddenly appeared on our instruments. But if they were, well, cloaked sir, than Klingons might not be too far off." "Get me the president on the phone." Xarn Games Ship (Also known as the Mothership) "We will be entering their atmosphere in 2 venters." Mohash said. "Did the Super survive transport?" High Lord Manai asked. "Yes." Communications Operator Xaka answered. "But The Matriarch has proclaimed that all further captures are to be made by Ground Troops as set forth by the Gaming Creed. Unless they prove too much for the troops to handle." White House "If they entered our space cloaked then they must be hostile." The President concluded. He covered his eyes with his hand and sighed. "Activate the emergency broadcast system." Somewhere in the Solar System Undetected by Terran technology, a Shi'ar outpost sat. Lilandra had ordered one placed there shortly after making Xavier's acquaintance. It's purpose was to notify the Imperium if the earth was ever in need of their assistance. Always before, Earth's own defenses were sufficient. When the Xarn uncloaked, the call went out. "Intruder.....Intruder....Intruder...." New York... The attack begins. People rush for cover as the Xarn ground troops open the attack. It is swift. Brutal. A failure. The assembled heroes of the city, the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, Fantastic Force, New Warriors, the X-men, Power Pack, Daredevil, Punisher, and several other vigilantes immediately leap into action. Details are not necessary. All one must know is that their counterattack is quite successful. "Ain't even enuff ta work up a sweat!" says Benjamin Grimm, better known as the Thing. "This was too easy people." says Captain America. "I ain't too sure that they were the main attraction. LOOK!" In response to Wolverine's words, the heroes look up and see a teleportational beam shine on them. When it clears, the Fantastic Four, Thor, Captain America, Wolverine, Psylocke, Gambit, Rogue, Cyclops, Powerhouse, Hercules, Firestar, and Iron Man are gone. Leaving the remaining heroes bewildered, confused, and with a city to protect. *************** Boston... "Hate is the force that drives us apart! But love for your fellows, may they be man or woman, human or mutant, pulls us back together! Listen to me. By giving into hate, you become no better than those who enslaved the Africans and African Americans so many years ago! No better than the evils that threaten our planet! No better than Adolph Hitler!" Tornado continues his speech. Besides one or two reluctant FoH members, his words are met with cheers and applause. "And there are men no better than Hitler represented here tonight. Hate groups like the Friends of Humanity preach that all mutants are threats. Obviously, this is not true! While some are threats like Magneto, others are heroes, just like us! Some of them are here tonight! Guys?" One by one, the members of Generation X come onto the stage, given costume eyemasks to protect their faces from future recognition. "These are not threats, as some claims them to be! They are true friends! And heroes!" There is more applause. The remaining FoH-ers finally shut up and begin to listen. Tornado smiles. "NOW LET'S PUMP THE JAM! ROCK THE HOUSE!" Jubilee yells. How were they to know that the song would never finish? ***************** Ravencroft, New York... John Jameson watches the viewers. "I can't believe this! Those heroes just vanished!" He utters a silent prayer. He then turns to a security camera focused on one Cletus Casady. This psychotic was the mass murderer known as Carnage. If he were to get out with so many heroes missing... Then it happens. A light shines in Casidy's cell. Jameson loses sight of him. Then, when the light clears, there is no Casady to see... "What in?" John jumped from his chair in shock. He quickly hit the alarm. "Casady has escaped!" he shouted over the intercom. "Repeat, Casady has-" his voice died when he saw the monitors for other cells. "My god!" he said. "They've all escaped!" Suddenly, the front doors of the asylum were blasted from their hinges. Several tall green skinned creatures entered the main hall, shooting the guards and orderlies present. "Intruder Alert!" he shouted. Intruder Alert!" Daily Bugle "Robby it's absolutely incredible!" Jameson fumed. "New York is under attack by Aliens, some of our most powerful heroes have vanished, and our best photographer is nowhere to be found!" "I know Jonah but Parker's a smart kid. He'll be all right." Robby said calmly. Though he projected an image of calm stability, inside he was terrified. Xarn GameShip The Magistrate watched the recording of the preliminary probing attack with delight. Xarn Troopers swarmed the streets, blasting every and any Norms they could find. The screams of the dying were drowned out by the sound of Xarn death rays and screams of panicked Norms as they trampled each other in their rush to escape. A mother collided with another trying to escape and in the collision her daughter fell from her arms. The woman dove for the child but was soon brought down by the hundreds of feet running aimlessly down Broadway. Her daughter however was miraculously spared the same fate as a blue blur streaked across the street, snatching the girl from harm's way. Depositing the child in an alley away from the fighting, Quicksilver smiled reassuringly at her. "Fear not child." he said. "No harm will come to you." Another Xarn fell to Thing's assault. "What are these things?" Johnny asked, blasting another with flame. "Who knows and who cares?" Thing replied, Alien laser's glancing off his rock hide. Dare Devil's radar sense alerted him to the presence of another Alien behind him. A quick back flip reversed it's position, and a swing of his leg brought it down. "They're testing us." he thought. Across the city, The Combined might of the Avengers, Fantastic Four and X-Men were beating back the Alien invaders, but Punisher did not know that, nor did he care. His machine gun fire was keeping them at bay, but it wasn't penetrating their armor. Behind him, a group of homeless cowered in the shadows. "Well if my guns ain't doin' the trick," he thought. "I'll just have to get hold o' one o' theirs!" With that, he shrank back into the shadows, waiting for his prey. He did not have to wait long. With a sweep of his leg he knocked the Xarn's feet out from under it. Grabbing up the dropped gun, Frank opened fire once more. Gambit threw the last of his cards at, fortunately, the last of the Aliens in sight. "Well Mon Ami," he said to Bishop, who was brimming with Alien Disrupter energy. "Are we having fun yet?" The brave troops had done well. They would be long remembered. She had decided that the situation did indeed warrant use of the teleporter. But she felt disappointed. The Teleporter cheapened the hunt. Boston "I would like," Mike said. "Oh you would, would you?" the audience shouted back dutifully. "If I may," "You may not!" "To take you on a strange journey." The music started then, drowning out the audience's question of "How strange was it?". Mike began to sing using a voice he had practiced often. "It's astounding, time is fleeting, madness, takes it's toll-" A huge explosion rocked the auditorium, throwing Mike off his feet. "The Hell?" he asked dazed. Then the screams started. A platoon of green skinned creatures entered and began to fire on the gathered humans. "Um, bad things." Will said. At the same time Aaron said, "Mike, a set up line if you please." Mike rose to his feet and exchanged a look with The X-Tremes' leader, Hotshot. Mike was no good in a fight, and he knew it. He continued to train, however his role in battles was primarily distracting and confusing the enemy, a role he enjoyed and did very well. Will nodded to him and said. "It's go time X-Tremes!" Mike nodded and provided Tornado with the set-up line he'd requested. "Hey Kids: what time is it?!" "IT'S SPIN DRIVE TIME!!" ************ Spider-Man awoke in an unusual room. Strapped to an examining table. "What is this? A b movie marathon?" He easily rips the restraints. "More like d or f if you ask me." Two Xarn enter the room. Two haymakers later, he webs them up and leaps into the ventilation system. "If they grabbed me, they might have grabbed some of my buddies too! Looks like it's Spidey to the rescue! Again." ************ Angel Grove... The five Rangers, Tommy/Red, Kat/Pink, Justin/Blue, Adam/Green, and Tanya/Yellow, watch the battle in New York. "This is not good." "We've got to do something!" Their communicators beep. "Tommy here. Go ahead Alpha." "YO YO YO! We got us an emergency in Boston! Looks like yer old friends could use yer help!" "We're on our way. SHIFT INTO TURBO!" ********* Tornado delivers a devastating sidekick to one of the aliens. It falls back. "Where did these creatures come from?" "Space." "Duh Jube. Real funny." "WILD FLOOR SHOW!" "AWESOME!" "COOL!" Monet hears the comments from the audience. "Wonderful! They think it's a show!" Will fries one. "So what do we do about it?" "There is very little we can do Will." "BUT MAYBE WE CAN!" All turn at the sound of the voice of the Red Ranger. The Turbo Rangers and the Blue Centurion stand before them. "HALT! You are disturbing the peace and instigating a riot! You're under arrest!" "Allow us Centurion!" "TURBO R.A.M.: CANNON MODE! FIRE!" The weapon launches a barrage of energy, frying the aliens. Cheers erupt from the spectators. *********** The Magistrate watches the battle's conclusion. "These Rangers add up to a dangerous equation. We had best teleport the lot of the supers up. ACTIVATE THE TRANSPORT!" She turned away, angry that once again, the thrill of the hunt was gone. ************* The Members of Generation X and the Rangers come together, along with the X-Tremes. "What was that about?" asks Everett. "We don't know. But a number of other heroes have vanished from New York, including Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four." "Aw man..." "And if the pattern holds true..." Tornado feels a disturbance in the wind. "LOOK OUT!!" His warning comes far too late. A teleportational beam spirits all of them away, including the human members of the X-Tremes. ************* San Francisco... Eddie Brock watches as a small group of aliens moves towards a smaller group of homeless. He feels the familiar tingling of the Symbiont. "Not yet. These things are attacking innocents across the planet. We must get to the source of the problem." The alien covers him. His skin becomes black. A white spider logo appears on his chest. Large rows of teeth gleam. "Venom has arrived." He leaps out and grabs one of the aliens. "Take us to your leader." ********* New York... Chris Powell looks from the rooftops at the damage below. He sighs a sad sigh. "I should be down there helping. But I have a feeling that the missing heroes are going to need me." He grasps the magical amulet. He is instantly surrounded by dark energy. Within a few seconds, Chris Powell is gone, replaced by Darkhawk. "What's that?" He extends his wings and flies down into an alley. "A damaged ship! Just what I need!" Darkhawk quickly gets into the cockpit. "I have a feeling that whatever's going on, it's up in orbit! And Darkhawk's gonna be there too!" The ship begins to climb up into the night sky. ************ The Magistrate turns to the individual before her. "So let me get this straight: You want me to fight heroes from my planet?" "Correct." "Can I kill them?" "Yes." "Cooolll..." Carnage begins to smile an insane smile... * * * * On Earth Juggernaut looked at the little green men incredulously as they blasted him with their guns. "You've gotta be kiddin' me!" he laughed. "I've seen some pathetic attempts in my day but you smurfs take the cake!" His laugh died as he was caught suddenly in the Xarn Teleportation beam. "Hulk smash!" And he did. Xarn's scattered as his tremendous fist crashed into a low flying Xarn aircraft. "Puny Aliens cannot beat Hulk!" he shouted. "Hulk strongest one there is!" Gripping the aircraft in one hand, he hurled it from his island. "No one beat's Hulk!" he shouted. "No one!" Then he too was caught in the beam. The Xarn ship Ecliptic sped over the mountains in search of prey. "Our scanner indicate heavy norm activity in this area!" the pilot said, his snout extending. "Destroy them!" Captain Neros said. They were having a good day. Until the huge purple being rose up before them. "Mission:" The Sentinel said. "Destroy Alien aircraft and troops. Alien Aircraft, targeted." It's hand smacked the ship, sending it careening into the mountains below. "And destroyed." In orbit: "Have the aliens detected us?" Magneto asked. "No My Lord Magneto." Exodus answered. "We are cloaked." "Good," Magneto said. All that was left to be decided was what to do, if anything." * * * * Mike O'Connor woke slowly, his head buzzing. "What happened?" he asked himself. He opened his eyes and saw Andy looking concernedly down at him. He attempted to raise one eyebrow and failed. "Wish I could blame recent events for that." he thought. Aloud he said. "Well there's worse sights to see when waking up after being abducted by aliens." he said, struggling to his feet. "Judging by that quip," Andy said, helping him up. "I'd say you're fine." Mike stood, but the room began to spin, making him stumble. "Fine may be too optimistic a word." he said. "Not dead is as positive as I'm willing to get right now." "At least the Aliens were nice enough to put us in the same room." Andy said, smiling at him. "Why Andy," Mike said, his balance quickly returning. "Ah didn't know y' cared." he finished with the voice of Doc Holiday from Tombstone. "Yes you did." Andy said. "Ever since the Hot Tub incident. Changing the subject, what do you think the Aliens want?" "Perhaps they want us to breed." Mike said with the same voice. "But ah suppose that's too vulgar a topic for circumstances such as these." He quickly examined the room, there were no windows, no visible doors. "In any case, ah surmise they want us t stay put." "Magistrate," Minister Morg said. "Several norms were beamed up with the supers from the Earth city of Boston. What do you want us to do with them?" "Norms?" The Magistrate said. "How did norms get in with the supers?" "They were in a group with them." Morg said. "Shall we terminate them as usual?" "Perhaps," The Magistrate said. "They may prove useful however, I'll consider the matter." "Yes Magistrate." The black void opened in an empty room, spilling Blink and Hotshot back into their cell. They had just attempted to use Blink's teleporting power to escape. "Weird," Will said. "Another room exactly like the one we just left. Amazing." "Apparently they have some sort of power dampners in here." she said. "I can use my power, just not escape with it." Suddenly, a door appeared at the end of the room. A heavily armed Xarn entered. "You will come with us." it said, using a translator so they could understand. "We will?" Hotshot said, surprised. "And we will do this...why?" The Xarn shook it's snout, their version of a shrug. "Suit yourself." It stunned the both of them. Stanley found himself in a blank room, by himself. Last he remembered, he was using his powers to dissuade Aliens from killing his fellow students in high school. Now he was here. What the heck was going on? The Games Coordinator studied the files of some of the newest Supers carefully. He pretty much had the schedule worked out, but he wanted to fine tune it. Mike O'Connor a.k.a. Synthesizer: Power: Sound Duplication. Zachary Jase a.k.a. Machine Master: Power: Control of Machines. Andy Smyth a.k.a. Venus: Power: Control of Emotions Towards Her. Marian Kray a.k.a. Pole: Power: Attract People or Objects Towards Her or Vice Versa. Jasmine Khan a.k.a. Electra: Power: Control of Electricity. Patch Fox a.k.a. Fang: Power: Retractable Bone Claws, Healing Factor. Note: DNA analysis shows relation to Subject: Wolverine. Rebecca Davidson a.k.a. Freezer Burn: Power: Cold Generation, Impervious to Damage From Sharp Objects. Note: DNA analysis shows relation to Subject: Hotshot, Mute. Rebecca Shaft a.k.a. Nail: Power: Extension of Nails Into Razor Sharp Claws. Carrie Chun a.k.a. Medic: Power: Healing any Physical Ailment. Victor Price a.k.a. Necromancer: Power: Control of Dead Tissue. Damion Forrest a.k.a. Pan: Power: Flight, Increased Fighting Ability. Stanley Kube a.k.a. Instant Karma: Power: Control of Bad Luck. "I could get some interesting fights from these." the Coordinator thought. Fang slashed at the wall again, to no avail. "Well I guess if it didn't work after ten times, it's not going to." he said. "I feel helpless. I hate that." "Look on the bright side," Becky said. "At least we're still alive." Extending one nail, she traced a line on her arm, not deep, but enough to bring pain. She smiled. Victor shuddered and turned away from her. His bald head and the number 666 tattooed across his forehead gave testament to the fact that he'd had enough of pain as a Genoshan Mutate. Will awoke in a huge arena, Blink by his side. He got to his feet, irritably. "I'm really getting tired of that!" he said. "If I get stunned, one more time today, I'm never coming here again!" "You got that right Dead meat!" a familiar voice called from nearby. Hotshot groaned and looked to his left. There, Hurricane and Deathsparkle stood, glaring at him. Or at least Hurricane was. Deathsparkle was staring in shock at Clarice. "You two?" he said. "Man they let ANYBODY in!" The wall parted to reveal a huge monitor. Mike and Andy saw what was happening and realized what was going on. "They want us to fight?" Mike said. "I'm screwed!" CURRENT MATCH: BLINK VS. DEATHSPARKLE UPCOMING MATCHES (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER) HOTSHOT AND BLINK VS. HURRICANE AND DEATHSPARKLE TORNADO VS. CARNAGE HULK VS. JUGGERNAUT X-TREMES VS. GENERATION X SABERTOOTH VS. CARNAGE Mike stared in shock at the list, looking for his name, sure enough, near the bottom he found it. "Who the hell is Ruckus?" he asked. Blink dodged the initial blast with ease. She still could not believe what was happening. Here was someone she had known, if briefly, and fought alongside, and now she was fighting her. The stories that she had heard about Jubilee's new identity had shocked her. And now they saddened her. Blink leapt through a portal and tackled Deathsparkle. "How could you do it?" she asked her, pinning her to the ground. "How could you betray your friends?" "Friends?" Deathsparkle sneered angrily smashing Blink in the face with both fists, throwing her off. "I have no friends here except Hurricane!" "Hurricane?" Blink snarled. "How can he be any friend of yours?! He represents everything you ever fought against!" "My friends are dead!" Deathsparkle shouted, blasting her. Blink opened a portal in front of herself, teleporting the fireworks behind her opponent. "No they're not!" she said through clenched teeth, anger and grief both welling up inside her. **** Tornado, Jubilee, and the Rangers look at the list of matches with surprise. "This is bad." "Ya gotta fight Carnage??!! Geez!" "Thanks for those words of support Jube." "Your friends are finished if we can't stop this before they face Hurricane and Deathsparkle!" "I know. Any suggestions?" Monet walks over and joins them. "Perhaps we should attempt to commandeer this vessel." "Duh." "That won't work. We don't even know where the control room is nor how to get there." "Maybe I can help!" says a voice in the ceiling. An unseen grate is kicked out and the head of the ever amazing Spider-Man sticks out. "Glad to see that you're all right!" "Same here! Listen: I think I can find that control room! I'm going to need help." Tornado turns to all present. "Justin. Monet. Dr. Richards. I don't think that it would be asking too much to request that you help our webbed friend, would it?" Blue Ranger leaps into the shaft, followed by the flying M. Reed Richards begins to snake into the shaft. "Not at all Aaron." They quickly vanish from sight. Tanya jumps up and replaces the shaft's grate. "Now that that's settled, how do we go about stopping the battle between Will, Clarice, Hurricane, and Deathsparkle?" Thing speaks up. "Only one thing we can do. Absolutely nuthin'!" ************** The ship piloted by Darkhawk links to the mother ship. "This oughtta be interesting." Several Xarn swarm around the ship to help what they think is an injured flyer. A dark force blast knocks them all unconscious. Darkhawk flies up and out into the maze of corridors... ************** Blink dodges Deathsparkle's blast. "You say that all from your world that you cared for are dead? You are wrong Jubilee!" "IT'S NOT JUBILEE!!! IT'S DEATHSPARKLE!!! DEATHSPARKLE!!!!!!!!!!!!" Blink throws a piece of rubble even as Deathsparkle fires full force. Both attacks hit at the same time and both are knocked unconscious. The Magistrate watches. "Draw." ********** "NEXT MATCH: TORNADO VS. CARNAGE." "Crap. Why now?" "I know that ya can do it Aaron!" "I have to stop Carnage before he has a chance at any more bouts." "We're counting on you man." "No pressure, right Tommy?" *********** Carnage slowly enters the arena. He looks around. He wants so badly to leap into the stands and kill all the spectators. And he will. It's all just a matter of time. But first he gets to make a new name for himself. As the man who killed Tornado. Tornado teleports into the arena. He narrows his eyes at the sight of the insane killer. "Bring it on." Carnage races forward, spears forming from every tentacle. Tornado leaps up, avoiding being turned into Swiss cheese. "Strike one!" Carnage lets loose with a barrage of dart like projectiles. Tornado catches two and throws them back at Carnage, who merely reabsorbs them. "Strike two!" It's time I went on the offensive! Tornado hammers Carnage with a Hyper kick and a Cyclone Punch, neither of which affect the killer in the slightest. "This is bad. Better take out all the stops!" Tornado concentrates. He feels his power surging. It feels like a raging wind in the pit of his stomach. Then he lets the raging wind loose. "OXYGEN DRAIN!" The resulting implosions rock Carnage, but still he stands, impossible as it seems. Tornado sees a piece of debris hit an invisible field and get destroyed by electricity. Now that gives me an idea! Tornado ducks under an ax and pulls out his Battle Board. My Board is an excellent conductor of electricity, and Carnage is vulnerable to electricity! This adds up to KO Tornado tosses his Board to Carnage, lightly. "Catch!" A single tendril snakes out and grabs the weapon. "Stupid." "I assume you are talking about yourself?" Tornado races in and shoves Carnage into the electric wall, making sure the Board touches the field. Carnage is completely engulfed in energy. He smokes for a second, and then drops to the ground, not as Carnage, but as Casady. Tornado picks up the Board. "Strike three. Yer outta here!" ************** Mike stepped into the Arena warily. He'd seen the fight between Tornado and Carnage and thanked his lucky stars he hadn't drawn that psycho. The Xarn who'd come to fetch him had told him that he need not kill his opponent, another lucky break. He also now knew what Ruckus' power was, they'd told him that as well, and he knew he had a chance. His power had strengthened his ear drums, sound could not harm him as much as it would a normal person, or even any other mutant. "Okay time to look confident Mike." he thought. "Just think of it as an action scene where you're doing your own stunts." "Hi there kid." Ruckus said, walking calmly to the center of the ring. "Ready to lose?" "I's ready, you's ready?" Mike asked. Then, imitating Will Smith, "I beat you so bad you're grandchildren gonna be bruised." Ruckus merely smiled and lit a small fire cracker. "Cool!" Mike said, now as Beavis. "Fire!" Ruckus threw the firecracker in the air and it went off. Mike looked at Ruckus. "That's very impressive." he said sarcastically. "What else do you do?" "This." Ruckus opened his mouth and out came the sound of the firecracker amplified by ten. The sound threw Mike on his back. Anyone else could have been deafened by the noise, but he merely had a slight ringing in his ears. "Not bad." Mike said. Then he prepared to retaliate. He concentrated on where he wanted the noise to go. He concentrated hard on Ruckus's eardrums. "Hope this doesn't do any permanent damage." he apologized. Then he imitated the amplified firecracker explosion, but he projected the sound directly into Ruckus' ear canal. Ruckus reeled as the explosion rocked through his head. Mike took advantage of his distraction and kicked him in the stomach as hard as he could. Ruckus bent double and fell under the impact of Mike's arm on his back. Planting his foot on his back, Mike said; "Give up?" Ruckus brought his hand up to his ear, and found it bleeding. He looked at Mike with grudging respect, if some resentment. "Yeah kid." he said. "I give up." NEXT MATCH: X-TREMES: BLINK, HOTSHOT, SYNTH, VENUS, POLE, ELECTRA, FANG, FREEZER BURN, NAIL, MEDIC, NECROMANCER, PAN, INSTANT KARMA VS GENERATION X: CHAMBER, JUBILEE, M, MONDO, SKIN, SYNCH, TORNADO, AND SEVEN OTHERS OF THEIR CHOICE "This is bad." says Jubilee. "Monet's still gone too!" "Actually Jube, that may work to our advantage." "How?" "If Monet is not here to fight, then that battle must be postponed." "But doesn't that also mean that they'll be lookin' fer her an' the others?" "All we can do is wait Jube." ********* Spider-Man crawls through the systems, followed closely by M, Blue Ranger, and Mr. Fantastic. He feels a familiar tingle. "HOLD IT!" "What's wrong?" asks Justin, obviously uncomfortable in the presence of other, much more experienced heroes. "Motion detectors. We must be getting close to the control room." "What do you suggest Spider-Man?" asks Reed. "Blue Ranger, can you fire that weapon of yours with pinpoint accuracy?" "I guess so." "Please, no guesses." says Monet. "Yes or no." "Yeah. I can do it." "Aim for that power module on the back of that scanner. Blast it at a 40 degree angle, or the Xarn will know that it didn't burn out on it's own." "Okay. Here goes nothing!" "Wrong: here goes everything." Justin fires his Auto Blaster. He nails the module and the scanner becomes inert. "Excellent work son. Now we can move unhindered." "In this shaft Dr. Richards? Not a chance!" **************** The last Xarn ship returns from San Francisco. Venom steps out with three Xarn. "Thank you for your hospitality. We appreciate your cooperation. We'll make sure that your deaths are painless." Several pseudopodia whip out, razor sharp, killing the three Xarn. Venom quickly disguises himself as a Xarn and races off to put an end to the madness. *********** The Magistrate prepares herself for the next battle. It's obvious that Generation X will win. This battle is merely a formality. A messenger runs in. "Magistrate! Four of the supers are missing!" "Well find them! I have a battle to observe." "I'm afraid that you don't! One of the missing supers is a member of Generation X. The one called M." "Blast! Now we'll have to send in Juggernaut and Hulk before them." "Also, three of our crew were found dead in the holding bay." "Is there anything else?" "Yes. A super calling himself Darkhawk is running rampant throughout the ship. He is heading near the holding bay." "Find this Darkhawk and whoever killed those crewmen. Then destroy them." *********** Darkhawk flies through the corridor. He didn't like hurting those aliens, but what other choice did he have? Two Xarn leap out and fire their blasters. Darkhawk erects a force shield, which blocks the blasts. He fires his grappler claw and wraps it around the hands of one of the aliens. One healthy tug later, that alien is unconscious by dented metal. A third Xarn appears and snaps the neck of the second, right before morphing into Venom. "VENOM!!??" "Darkhawk. We remember you." "Listen, I know that you want to protect innocents. Well I need your help to find the missing heroes and villains!" "You are suggesting a temporary alliance?" "It's better than duking it out, isn't it?" "Agreed." With that, Venom and Darkhawk race down the corridor to face the next challenge together. ************* Each of the heroes strike the walls of the giant cell at the same time, but their efforts are in vain. The Thing and Hercules cannot get through. Powerhouse and Synch cannot disintegrate out. Thor and Iron Man cannot blast through. The other heroes save their strength. Captain America throws his shield. The unexpected happens. The shield goes right through without damaging the walls. Tornado runs over and shoves his Board into the wall. It goes through easily. "Fascinating! Apparently this unbreakable wall doesn't exist!" "So how come we ain't breakin' through?" "Most likely a slight hypnotic suggestion that keeps you from going past this point." "So what do we do about this?" "I'm not exactly sure. Firestar might be able to scramble the suggestion." She walks over. "I'm ready if you are." "Should I surround us with a force field?" asks Sue Richards. "No. That would be counter productive." "They're right sis." Firestar flies up and prepares to attempt to scramble the suggestion without frying all present. Every hero crosses their fingers. *********** The Xarn fill the arena once more, even as two competitors walk in. Hulk and Juggernaut. The Magistrate can be heard. "LET THE GAMES BEGIN!" Juggernaut looked at the man he was about to fight. "Woah," he said. "Finally a challenge!" "Puny Juggernaut cannot beat Hulk!" Hulk yelled. "Hulk strongest one there-" "Put a sock in it Greeny!" Juggernaut uppercuts Hulk, sending him reeling. The green giant flew into the air and landed several feet away. Hulk rose, and grew. "The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets." he said. "Hulk smash!" He rushed Juggernaut and slammed into him at full speed. In the corridor, Mike was being led back to his cell by two Xarn guards. Behind him, he heard the fight of the century going on. "Too bad I'm missing this." he thought. "But, escape comes first." Then he projected sounds of a fire fight straight out of Star Wars into the corridor to their left. The two guards drew their weapons and rushed into the corridor, leaving him behind. "God these Xarn are stupid!" he said to himself. "How'd they ever take over so many planets?" Entering the cell ring, he stopped at the first door, and activated the release mechanism. Held inside was a large, creature that looked like he was made of black diamond. "Come on!" Mike shouted. "We's breakin' outta he'!" Grake didn't understand a word the little alien had said, but it wasn't a Xarn, so it must be escaping. That was fine with him. The rest of the X-Tremes had been gathered together for their battle against Generation X. "All right now listen," Hotshot said. "I don't know why the Jolly Green Giant and Jug Head went on before us and I don't care, it gives us more time to plan." "Plan what?" Freezer Burn signed. "Do we really want to defeat Generation X? And out of curiosity, do you think we could?" "If it was just us and them?" Hotshot said. "In a second. We would have the advantage of numbers, and knowing their powers, don't forget I was in Generation X. For about five minutes. They know next to nothing about us. But with seven people that they choose, it's a toss up." He waved his hand dismissively. "But that's not the point! I've been thinking about this, not one word Sis, and I think that with us, Generation X, and the Seven others, well between the all of us I bet we could bust out of here." At that moment, the wall to their right vanished. Synth stood outside with an Alien, apparently from a previous planet. "What are ye all standin' around for?!" Mike asked. "Do ye not know a jailbreak when ye see one?!" The Magistrate was furious. The situation had deteriorated quickly. Many of the supers had escaped and two had snuck onto the ship somehow. This had never happened before; what was it about the Earth Supers that was so different? "Bring the norms here." she ordered. "It seems they will indeed prove, useful." "Yes Magistrate." "How goes the surface operations?" "We hold our ground Magistrate, but that is about all for the moment. The uncaptured supers continue to hold off our forces, though we are capturing more every minute. The norms are putting up quite a fight as usual but that will be ended once the supers are all gone. They gained some ground when their defense robots surfaced, but we have destroyed the base where they were being manufactured and our aircraft are holding their own." "Magistrate!" the scanner crew member shouted. "What now?" she sighed. "Several unknown ships have orbit!" Lilandra had chosen to oversee the operation Personally. Beside her stood the Vizier and Gladiator, her most trusted aides. *Charles,* she called telepathically. *Where are you my love?* *Lilandra!* Xavier answered. *What are you doing here?* *I have come to help your people Charles.* she said. *What is happening?* *The situation is grim I'm afraid. The destruction and death is almost overwhelming and many of earth's heroes and villains alike have been captured. Including many of the X-Men!* *Fear not Charles.* Lilandra assured him. "Open fire." she ordered. "Disable the ship but do not destroy it." The Xarn ship rocked with the impact of the Shi'ar weapons. "Are our shields holding?" The Magistrate asked. "Yes!" "Then return fire! Destroy those ships!" *********** Firestar radiates energy, praying that she can make a difference. The walls vanish from the minds of the assembled heroes. "Good work Firestar." says Cap. "Now where do we go?" asks Powerhouse. "We wait. I have a feeling that things are having an unexpected turn." In response to Cap's words, the ship shudders at the impact of the Shi'ar's attack. *********** Spider-Man kicks out a ventilation shaft and drops into the control room. The others quickly follow. "It's your show from here guys! Hey! Blue! We'll keep an eye out while M and Reed do their stuff." "Right." Mr. Fantastic and M get to work on the controls. "Incredible! These creatures are teleporting villains up as well. Carnage. Shriek. Juggernaut. And more my the minute." "Can you teleport them back?" "I believe that I can. Monet, please keep an eye on the monitor." Reed begins to tinker with the controls. The signal for Carnage and most of the villains fades out, signaling their return to their original locations. "Success!" "Glad to hear it Doc! One problem! We've got company!" ************ The Hulk slams into Juggernaut again. He shrugs off the blow and hits Hulk with his pile driver punch. The Magistrate watches, concerned by the events plaguing these games. How could this be happening? Supers escaping, two sneaking on board, the Shi'ar attacking... Perhaps this planet will have to be destroyed completely. ******** John Jameson and Dr. Kafka hides under her office desk while the Xarn swarm around, unaware of the presence of two humans. Other humans are either dead, hiding, or have escaped. There is the sound of a coin dropping. The Xarn ground troops turn and see Daredevil burst in, followed by the rest of Power Pack and Justice of the New Warriors. Energizer takes the blasts from the Xarn death rays and uses them to power up. Lightspeed swirls around the Xarn, tying them up with ropes. Mass Master blinds a second group of Xarn, allowing Daredevil to do his stuff. Justice checks on John and the Doctor. "Are you two all right?" "We are now. Thanks to the five of you." "You will be happy to know that your inmates have all reappeared in their cells." "But how-?!" "I think we can thank our missing heroes for that." "Let's hope." ************* Tornado looks at the corridors. He realizes that something must be wrong. The aliens should have realized that the suggestion was gone... unless they had more pressing matters. "Kat." Pink Ranger walks over. "Yeah?" "I'm worried about something. What do you think is going on with the human members of the X-Tremes?" "Who knows? It's probably not good though." "Yeah. But one other thing... what will the aliens use to destroy a planet that they can't conquer?" Jubilee joins them. "Aaron? What's wrong?" "I wish I knew Jube." "I hate just sittin' around here!" Kat's communicator beeps. She presses it and responds. "Kat here. Go ahead." "Katherine," says Demetria, "Are you not aware of the Shi'ar's attack on the very vessel that you now occupy?" "Oh no..." "Kat! Contact Justin! Tell him that we have to get the heroes off the ship! And to locate the missing humans!" "You've got it!" "It's time ta rumble!" ************* The Magistrate watches the continuing battle. Both the Hulk and Juggernaut are worthy opponents. But one must fall. She thinks of the problems plaguing this mission again. "Release the Devastator. If we cannot conquer this planet, we will destroy it entirely." The general behind her brings up an extra few points. "But what of the missing supers on this ship?" "We will have to destroy them. Prepare a complete biological sweep. I want every organism on this ship dead. And make sure that there are enough escape pods for us." "It will be done Magistrate." The Magistrate turns away. And smiles. Victory will still be hers... The Shi'ar vessels continue to bombard the ship. Lilandra watches from the lead ship. "Fear not Charles. We will save your X-men." ************ Wolverine pops his claws. "I'm sick o' waitin'!" "You don't have to any longer Wolverine! Just hold on for a minute." says Tornado. He turns back to the Rangers and Blue Centurion. "I hope this works." "So do we! We have to stop those ground troops!" "Agreed. They are disturbing the peace and they must pay the price!" "Is Centurion always like that?" "Yes." "D'OH!" Iron Man and Psylocke scan the area. "We've got trouble. Xarn soldiers are heading this way." "We need that transport now!" *********** Justin and Spider-Man hide on either side of the door. "I'm not getting a warning from my Spider sense. They're friendlies!" Darkhawk and Venom enter the room and see the four heroes. "Welcome to the party guys." "Weee. What fun. Can we go now?" Venom looks at Spider-Man. "Can he be lost in space?" "WOAH! Danger Will Robinson! Save it for the aliens Brock!" Reed Richards comes over to them. "I've prepared the teleportation systems to take us home. However, I can't get a lock on the missing humans." Justin's communicator beeps. Kat's on the other end. "Justin, Tornado, Jubilee and the rest of us are going to look for the X-Tremes. Care to join us?" "In a heartbeat. Coming guys?" Darkhawk nods. Reed hands them small devices. "These will keep a teleportation lock. Just press the red button when you're ready to transport. The computer will do the rest." Venom grabs one. "We have some unfinished business." "Fine. But be careful, okay?" "All right guys, Darkhawk and I are porting back. Tell the others to just press the red button on the device we're bringing to get back to the surface." Justin and Darkhawk vanish. Venom heads down the corridor. "Ready Doc?" "Absolutely. Coming Monet?" "Of course." They push one more button and vanish from the control room before it seals itself off from the rest of the ship. ********* Justin and Darkhawk reappear in the midst of the other heroes. "Ready?" Several heroes nod. "Then get in close and someone hit that button." Cyclops turns to the Rangers, Tornado and Jubilee. "Are you seven sure that you can handle those troops alone?" "We just gotta do that super hero thang Cyke." replies Jubilee. "Besides, we still have to get at Hulk and Juggy too." Cyclops nods. "All right. But be careful. You two should know something though." "What?" "You'll make fine X-men someday. Rangers, our doors are always open for you." "Thanks." "YO! CYKE! ARE YA COMIN' OR ARE YA GONNA GOSSIP ALL DAY?!" He turns in response to Wolverine. "Let's do it!" The heroes vanish. "Here we go!" Xarn soldiers appear. Death rays fire, but so do Jubilee's plasmoids, Tornado's bee stingers, and the Rangers' auto blasters. The aliens are easily outmatched and quickly retreat. "After you." The Rangers rush by Tornado and Jubilee at top speed. Tornado extends his board and Jubilee gets on behind him before they race after the Rangers. ******** The Magistrate turns away from the battle between Hulk and Juggernaut, no longer interested in the outcome. "Activate Devastator." *********** The heroes reappear on the battered streets of New York. They see Punisher finishing off a small remainder of the Xarn with the assistance of Friday the Smartship, Cloak and Dagger, and several members of the New Warriors. "Need help?" asks Spider-Man jokingly. "No." answers Punisher, with absolutely no humor whatsoever. A large shadow falls over the heroes. They look up and see a giant, robotic Xarn warrior. Blue Centurion steps forward. "Stand back. I'll handle this. Go help evacuate the civilians." The heroes waste no time arguing. Obviously the Centurion is better equipped to handle the situation. "Robo Racer: power up!" A giant police car appears on the horizon. It is trailed by a number of normal police cars. The Robo Racer quickly transforms into battle mode. Blue Centurion takes the wheel. "Prepare to face justice for your crimes." ******** "Activate the bio sweep. And begin standard evacuation procedures. Start with those closest to the escape pods." ************* Xarn swarm towards the escape pods. However, when they arrive, all the ships have been destroyed. Venom rips out the controls to the Magistrates ship. "All flights have been canceled. Have a nice afterlife." He presses the red button on the transport activator and fades away. ********** The X-Tremes rush through the corridors. A sudden blast of energy forces them back. "WHAT THE?!" Hurricane and Deathsparkle come from the shadows. "Blink. It's time we finished our little chat." "Hello again little candle. Are you and your pathetic team ready to be snuffed out?" "We're more than willing to take you on!" "HOLD IT!" Tornado and Red Ranger leap between them. "We have more important things to take care of right now! According to the Turbo Navigators, in ten minutes, this entire ship will be cleansed of all alien life. We have to locate the human members of your group, as well as Hulk and Juggernaut, and get out of here!" "Tornado's right." Tommy hands Hurricane, Hotshot, and Blink activators. "Just press the red button to get transported back to the surface." "And why should we help you?" "Does the term: I can blow up your receiver ring any bells?" Hurricane scowls. "You'll pay for this Tornado." "Later. We don't have time to argue." Tommy's communicator goes off. "Red Ranger here." "This is Blue Centurion. I require your assistance." "We're on our way. Looks like you're on your own. Good luck." "You too." The Turbo Rangers teleport out. The remaining heroes, plus the two evil refugees from the AOA, race off to finish the job and tie up loose ends. "Tornado I gotta tell ya," Hotshot said. "We've got to stop meeting like this." "Hey Emplate showed up before we did last time." "Good point. Okay, we've got a small problem, you said we've got ten minutes to get off this Death Star before it's immune system kicks us into the next world. Personally, I don't think we've got time to get both, our people and Hulk and Juggers." "So what are you suggesting?" Tornado asked incredulously. "That we leave Juggernaut and Hulk here to die?" "Of course not!" Hotshot said indignantly. "I'm suggesting that you and the others get the two Titans whilst me and the X-Tremes get our friends." "You really think you guys can handle an entire ship of pissed off Aliens?" "I know we can." "All right then." Tornado said. "Good luck Hotshot. You would have made a great Gen Xer." "Thanks Tornado." Hotshot said. "It's been great working with you. I'll see you in ten minutes, well, eight now. Besides," Hotshot added, lowering his voice. "A minute more in Hurricane's company, and Blink may very well just decide to blink him into pieces." Tornado stole a quick glance at Hotshot's girlfriend. She was glaring at Hurricane with death in her eyes. "Good point." Tornado and the others ran in one direction and the X-Tremes in another. "All right I got my posse together," Will said. "It's time to vent some hostility. Fang take point, sniff out our human friends." Pointing at Stan, Will struggled for a moment. "Uh, the guy in the shirt, with the hair..." "Call me Instant Karma." Stan said. "Okay Instant Karma and Pole, keep people off our back if you would. Necromancer, see what you can do with Synth's big friend there." Almost immediately, while in the middle of a huge intersection, they were set upon by what seemed like the entire population of the Xarn ship. They came from every one of the many corridors, swarming towards them. Being the first to meet them, Fang ripped into them with his claws. Immediately after, Nail extended her nails and joined him. Pole and Instant Karma kept the Aliens in back at bay, Pole merely pushed them away with her power, while Instant Karma caused them to trip, run into one another, and caused their guns to backfire. Hotshot's power protected him from the Aliens' guns, and his heat blasts scattered several. Despite their anger at the Aliens, none could bring themselves to kill them. Synth created general chaos with a barrage of overlapping sound effects, that if one listened carefully would be able to identify half a dozen sci-fi movies, including Star Wars and Star Trek. Machine Master took control of security system and trapped most of the Xarn behind force fields, Electra shorted out most of the guns, while Medic stood, protected in their circle. Two Xarn managed to get past their defenses, but were stopped when Venus made them terrified of her. They dropped their guns and ran. Freezer Burn froze a group where they stood and went to help her brother, who was melting the floor beneath some Aliens. Blink merely teleported an entire regiment away. Meanwhile Pan was having the time of his life. Crowing at the top of his lungs, he mercilessly teased the Xarn while defeating them. He flew over their heads and kicked them as he went by. Through it all, Necromancer stood silent. His eyes closed, he let his power seep into the Stone Giant. This Alien would be his link to the souls of the dead on this ship. Through that, he realized that this creature was not only the only survivor of his race, but also the only surviving contender in the games. Earth had been the Xarn's last chance it seemed. Necromancer called out to the souls for help. And they answered. He immediately knew the history of each race the Xarn had wiped out. He knew the location of their friends. And finally he granted the souls the revenge they had wanted so badly. The corridors of the ship were filled with an unearthly, chilling wailing. The wailing of a hundred angry souls. The Xarn never had a chance. "We should go to our friends." Necromancer said to Hotshot. "None of us want to see what's going to happen next. I have initiated a bio sweep of my own." Ignoring the ghosts as best they could, the X-Tremes pressed on. Finally they reached their destination. And stopped. The Xarn Leader and her closest advisors each had one of the humans by the neck, with a gun to their head. The Magistrate quivered with anger, but also with renewed hope. "You will surrender yourselves to us, and accompany us, be our new champions in the new games," she said through a translator. "Or your friends will die. Slowly and horribly." Hotshot eyed the Magistrate coldly. Then he uttered the code phrase for the plan they'd thought up long ago in case of just such an emergency. "Shoot the hostage." Blink displaced the human prisoners for a fraction of a second, knocking them out. The Magistrate and her advisors looked in surprise at their comatose prisoners. Which was all the distraction Blink needed. The Humans were quickly teleported into the protective circle formed by the X-Tremes. "Bye now." Hotshot said. "It's been real......well terrible I guess. Don't think it hasn't been a little slice of hell!" He pressed the red button on his teleporter and the X-Tremes were gone. ********** Tornado and Jubilee burst into the arena. Hulk and Juggernaut turn to face them, momentarily startled. Unfortunately, it doesn't last. "Well, well well... Look who decided ta join the party! Xavier's favorite boy scout and his little sidekick!" "Hulk remembers Tornado." "Oh great. Dumb and dumbest. Listen up: both of you! There's a biological sweeping beam coming through this ship! It's going to destroy everything alive on board!" "You have got to be kidding me!" "Puny Tornado threatens Hulk!" I can't believe that he lost his intelligence again! "No Hulk! I'm crazy, but I'm not stupid. The aliens that brought you here did it." "Tornado lies! Tries to trick Hulk! But Hulk will crush puny Tornado first!" "Get in line Greenie! This yo-yo is my half brother's best shot at achieving his pathetic dream! I crush him and poor little Charles will be set back years!" "Geez! Listen ta us! Ya ain't got much time before that beam comes through! Here!" Jubilee tosses two activators. "Just press the button... unless you're afraid." "This is pathetic! Just because we don't buy your stupid bio sweep story!" "Is the big bad Jughead scared o' a little wed button?" mocks Jubilee. "Hulk fears nothing!" "It's your funeral kiddies." They both press the buttons and vanish. "Good thinkin' Aaron!" "Wouldn't have worked without you Jube." "Ummmm... where are Hurricane an' Deathsparkle?" "They ditched us when we came in here!" A laser strike destroys Tornado's activator. "NO!" Hurricane laughs from somewhere else in the ship. "Thanks for the opportunity Nado! Have a nice rest of your life!" There is the sound of an activator going off. And then silence. The beam appears on the opposite side of the arena. "MOVE!" ************** The Rangers reappear in the city. "Man! Look at all this!" Tanya looks up and points. "WRONG! LOOK AT THAT!" Robo Racer throws a punch at Devastator, which shrugs off the blow and returns with laser blasts and explosives capable of demolishing a small building. Robo Racer's blade comes out and it slices at the robot, but to no avail. More blasts fire, but the Robo Racer's shield appears in time to block it. "Looks like Blue Centurion does need help!" "Well he's going to get it Adam!" The Rangers make the call together. "WE NEED TURBO MEGAZORD POWER NOW!" Somewhere in Angel Grove, a street opens up and the five Turbo Zords roll into action. They teleport to New York. The Rangers leap into the cockpits. "Let's do it!" Wind Chaser splits into two parts and transforms into arms before combining with Mountain Blaster. Dune Star and Desert Thunder raise their bumpers and link to Mountain Blaster as well. Red Lightning leaps into the back of the makeshift tank. "TURBO UP!" Tommy puts his Turbo Key into place and turns. "TURBO UP!" The other Rangers follow suit. Tommy's wheel becomes handlebars and he hits the breaks. The zord begins to rise, extending feet and pushing the back of red Lightning down to reveal the head of Turbo Megazord. Mountain Blaster's lightbar comes up, finishing the transformation. "POWER RANGERS TURBO!" ******* Magneto watches the alien mother ship. "It appears that this invasion has come up short." "My lord!" Uniscone runs into Magneto's throne room. "Yes?" "It appears that two mutants are still present on the station." "And why did you bring this to my attention?" "One of them is your nephew." "Aaron? It appears that I will play a small role after all." ********* Tornado activates his communicator. "Blast! Teleportation's down! It can't break through the bio sweep!" "Try contactin' the Rangers!" He does. No response. "This is bad." The sweep heads towards them. "RUN! IT'S OUR ONLY CHANCE!" "Jube, we'd just be delaying the inevitable! Reed was too smart! He sealed the control room off!" The green field moves closer. Tornado and Jubilee rush into the next room. And stop cold. "DEAD END!" "And the Magistrate!" "You have ruined everything! Everything!" "Hey! I can understand her!" "I have learned your language. Enough to tell you this: although I perish this day, I will still have the pleasure of watching the two of you die first." ******* The Turbo Megazord fires it's artillery at Devastator. The robot reels from the attack. A handcuff like projectile launches from Robo Racer. "Rangers, it's time we ended this fight!" "Agreed Centurion! TURBO MEGAZORD SABER!" The weapon appears. "Synergizer Blaster Mode!" A large gun appears in the right hand of Robo Racer. "Turbo Megazord Spinout!" The zord begins to spin as it races at the robot. "FIRE!" Robo Racer lets loose with a barrage of missiles. Both attacks strike simultaneously, destroying Devastator. "Mission accomplished." Robo Racer and Blue Centurion vanish. "We did it guys!" The Rangers teleport down. "Hey! Where are Tornado and Jubilee?" Hotshot runs towards them. "They're still up there!" "But that sweep! NOOOO!!!" ******** Hulk and Juggernaut continue to slug it out. Suddenly, Juggernaut is teleported away. ********** Alpha 6 watches from the Power Chamber. "YO! Juggy! If ya can't play nice, ya don't play at all! Capish?" ******* Juggernaut is dropped in the Atlantic ocean. "Looks like I gotta walk back! Jeez! What a day!" ***** Tornado and Jubilee appear near Blink. "The Magistrate's dead. Leaped into the sweep." Tornado replaces his board and drops his transport activator. "Very neat and tidy ending, isn't it Hurricane?" responds Blink. "WHAT?! But how did you-?!" "Know? Easy. I know you." "You just got on our hit list Blink. Watch your back." "I'll hold my breath and count the minutes." The two AOA dopplegangers body slide out. "Jerks." ************ Tornado and Jubilee watch as the sweep comes closer. "Looks like this is it." "Looks like." "Jube, you should know that no matter what happens, I'll always love you." "I know Aaron. I love ya too." They embrace and kiss. Suddenly, a magnetic field engulfs them and pulls them from the ship. "NOOOOOO!!!!!" The Magistrate cries out in vain at revenge lost, mere seconds before the sweep consumes her. ********* All eyes turn towards the ship as the sweep is completed. Eyes tear at the thought of two heroes lost. "I can't believe it! Aaron... Jubilee... gone..." "It can't be true! Can it?" The questions are quickly answered as a magnetic bubble comes to the ground. It slowly dissipates, revealing a very much alive Tornado and Jubilee. The heroes gather round. "Who would have thought that my uncle would actually have some use?" "Not me." *********** Venom watches the others from the shadows. "Our mission is accomplished. San Francisco awaits our return." The alien costume reforms into clothing and Eddie Brock walks away towards the airport. ************** Darkhawk flies up to the rooftops. Spider-Man swings up and joins him. "You did really good today Hawk." "Think so? I barely did any good." "You kept the aliens from looking in the control room. Those distractions of yours probably saved us all today." "Thanks. I still don't believe you." "Have it your own way." Spider-Man swings away, snapping pictures for the Bugle. Darkhawk looks down again. Spider-Man was right. A Darkhawk can still make a difference. If he could smile at the moment, he would have. Instead, he merely sighs and glides off into the night... ******* Magneto watches as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents begin to board the Xarn mother ship. He knows that he could have just left Tornado there and ended their family feud. But that would be a victory hollow. No. He will crush Tornado. But he will do it at a time and place of his choosing. Magneto turns away and walks off to another corridor... *********** Will turns to his group. "Some gig, huh?" "You could say that." answers Zach. "How are they Medic?" "They'll be fine. Just a little nauseous in the morning." "Good." "Here's a good idea: Let's go home." *********** Lilandra watches from her ship, already heading back for Shi'ar space. "Good luck to you all." *Lilandra? Leaving so soon?* "I am afraid so Charles. My duties demand that I return." *I understand. Good journey.* "To you too my love." ************** Tornado turns to Skin. "Angelo." "Aaron?" "The next time you get tickets in the mail..." Jubilee interjects. "I'm paffing em ta Kingdom Come." The other heroes laugh. And the sun rises... THE EVER LOVIN' END! Notes: This story occurs after issue 25 of Tornado and Jubilee, which, at the time of this writing, has not been posted. The Turbo Rangers and all related effects belong to Saban Entertainment Inc., and are used without permission. The Xarn, that funky black diamond creature, Hotshot, and the X-Tremes, with the exception of Blink, are copyright 1997 by Ben Church. Tornado, Hurricane, and Deathsparkle are copyright 1996 by Aaron Thall. All other characters are copyrighted by Marvel Comics, and are used without permission. Don't sue us. Your janitors have more money than we do right now. Hiring isn't out of the question though! ;)