Stryfe gazed at the monitor, at the faces of the members of the Mutant Liberation Front. They had been expendable soldiers to him, recruited to be revolutionaries in his cause. And when he no longer needed them, he cut them loose without a moment of pity. He did not regret making that choice even now, but it had been a bit rash. He had not expected to survive his final battle with the X-men, and had not considered the long term picture. Having them as agents would be useful, but it was no longer possible. A smile suddenly appeared on Stryfe's face. 'But that does not prevent me from recruiting another group of agents' Stryfe thought. He began to review the files, using his perspective as a time traveler to his fullest advantage. Finally, five faces appeared on his screen. "Well, to work," Stryfe rose to his feet, a switch was pressed on his gauntlet, and he was simply... gone. In Egypt, near the pyramids, a young woman simply and effectively destroyed all that stood before her. The man, garbed as servants of some long dead pharaoh, attacked from advanced vehicles with high tech weapons, but it was all for nothing. The sandy haired woman struck out again and again with massive waves of energy, frying any who dared oppose her. She killed them ruthlessly, cutting down men like a farmer would rows of wheat. A final wave of fire, and they were gone. Stryfe stepped from the shadows, clapping softly, "Very well done, Plasma. But they are only a fraction of your father's forces." She turned to look at him angrily, fire dancing around her hands. "I don't care how many men the Living Pharaoh sends against me," Plasma vowed, "I'll kill them all." Energy surged, the sand melting into glass all around her. "But unless you can actually reach their master, the Pharaoh himself," Stryfe smiled, "it will all be for nothing." Plasma narrowed her eyes at him, "Your point being?" "If you assist me in my agenda," Stryfe smiled, "I'll help you with yours. My resources are many, and I can be a most helpful ally." Plasma looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then smiled slightly. "Allies then," she said, adding, "for now." Stryfe took her hand, and they were gone. The yard of the prison went deathly quiet. The young woman tried to hold her guts in with her arms, but it was a loosing battle. The cat woman stood above her silently, a small smile on her face as she savored the suffering of the other girl. "Don't cross me," Feral said, raking the crowd with her eyes as her claws flashed, "or you'll end up like her." With that, she turned and walked away. "That was stupid," the voice said coldly. Feral reacted by instinct, leaping, only to be stopped in midair by the power of Stryfe's mind. "Here to settle old scores?" Feral hissed and spat at him. ""That girl's death will add years to your sentence," Stryfe noted. He paused, "But only if you're still here to serve it." "You offering me a way out?" Feral asked. "Cable showed me you were an effective operative," Stryfe smiled coldly. "But disobey me, and you will wish you were back here," he added. "Are you planning on going after the X-men?" Feral asked him. At Stryfe's nod she grinned,. "Good! I'd love a chance to get back at a few of my former friends." She stepped up to his side, and they were gone. In a small town in the midwest. It was a quiet place, full of simple country people who were used to living a simple life. But deep beneath their city, something far from simple was going on. The girl struggled in her bonds, fighting to get free. The gray furred figure moved around her, talking cheerfully, "I'm merely performing an experiment, Miss." He attached various connections to her body, hooking her to a larger device, "This will trigger any latent mutancy you have, as well as enhance it. Won't hurt a bit." He bustled over to a switch, paused, "Oh, I'm sorry. This will hurt a great deal." He flipped the switch, and the girl screamed. Her body blazed golden for a moment, then the light died as her body crumbled to dust. "Fascinating," he ambled over to collect samples of the dust, "her powers were too much for her body to contain." He muttered, "Maybe I should reduce the frequency..." "Still up to your old tricks, McCoy?" Stryfe asked quietly. "Hello, Stryfe," McCoy, also known as the Dark Beast, said to him cheerfully. "What can I do for you?" he asked. Stryfe looked around him thoughtfully, "There are somewhat more primitive facilities than I'm used to seeing you in." "Difficult times," McCoy shrugged. Stryfe felt the other's presence behind him before he saw it, "Call off your dog, McCoy. Or you may just loose him." McCoy smiled, "Back off, Nemesis." The crystal armored figure moved around to McCoy's side, her living energy pulsing brightly. "Let me at him," Nemesis said to McCoy softly. Stryfe ignored him, speaking directly to McCoy, "How would you like a fully equipped lab, and unlimited test subjects?" "And in return?" McCoy asked with a grin. "Assist me in killing each and every X-Man," Stryfe answered. "I'd help with that," Nemesis grinned. "Indeed," McCoy agreed, and the two of them joined Stryfe to be teleported away. It was cold out in the desert, but she didn't care, didn't even feel the cold anymore. She sat there, remembering the times they had shared, the peaceful year they had spent out here before the call to arms had carried them back into the wars. Wars that had cost him dearly. She bent forward, a single tear running down her face. "I'm sorry for your loss," Stryfe said quietly. Polaris sprang to her feet, green hair swirling around her face as she turned to face him. She glared at him floating nearby, and softly said, "Get the hell out of here, before I tear that armor off you and make you eat it." Stryfe raised his hands, "I come in peace, Lorna Dane." "What ever you're selling, I'm not buying," Polaris said quietly. Magnetic energies swirled around her, ready to be used. "What many of your allies forget is that I know the future," Stryfe said quietly. "You don't know anything," Polaris scoffed. "I know that three renegade members of the XSE went back in time to this era," Stryfe said softly. Polaris gazed at him in shock as he continued on, "I know one of them tried to return home, and that Havok was caught in the middle." He smiled, "What the X-men don't know is that he was displaced extra-dimensionally." "You can help him get home?" Polaris asked, a bit of hope in her voice. "Yes," Stryfe nodded, "in exchange for your assistance in my endeavors." "Against the X-Men," Polaris clearly sounded troubled. "X-Men who were so utterly unable to help you that you even turned to Magneto for aide," Stryfe reminded her. keeping his voice gentle. "I need your help Polaris," he paused, adding with a smile, "in the name of mutant brotherhood." Polaris hesitated, then she reached out to take his hand. "For Havok, I'd do anything," she said to him softly. "Welcome to the Brotherhood," Stryfe smiled as they both disappeared. Sakura smiled sweetly, nodding to the various security guards as the guard assigned to her escorted her into the depths of Department H. It had been so easy breaching their security, her papers passing each inspection, her uniform perfect in every way. She fought back a devilish smirk over the name that she had put on the false documents: Inspector Sakura Kinomoto. 'Patently false, and they still missed it,' she thought. Sakura shook her head, focusing on her business here. "How long have you been holding him?" she asked the guard quietly. "Wolverine brought him back in a few weeks ago," the young man volunteered eagerly. Almost as soon as he had seen her, he had been as helpful as possible. 'Put a pretty woman in front of a sex starved soldier and their brains run out their ears,' Sakura thought. "Have you had any problems holding him?" she asked. "Ever since we restarted the Weapon X program," the soldier said defensively, "we've been preparing for just such an eventuality." Reverently, he added, "He's an product of the first Weapon X project, you know." "One of their great successes," Sakura said, trying not to let the sarcasm show in her voice. "We're here," he announced. He swiped a pass card across a reader, and the heavy door slowly eased open. They both went in, and it closed behind them with a thud. Inside, there was a separate cage, a figure sitting there with large, metallic mitts over his hands. He leaned forward, golden hair catching the light as he looked at her thoughtfully. "Who's the frail?" he asked. "Victor Creed," the officer said nervously, "this is Inspector Sakura Kinomoto. She'd like to ask you a few questions." "Sabertooth," Sakura smiled, "it's very good to meet you." A small device dropped from her sleeve into her hand, and she activated it with a soft beep. "What was..." the officer started, but she cut him off with a blade thrust into his heart. He gazed at her in disbelief before sliding to the floor. "The room's being monitored," Sabertooth noted. "Thanks to this," Sakura held up the device, "they're only seeing what I want them to see." "Nice," Sabertooth gave a nasty smile. He looked at her thoughtfully, "What do you want with me?" "How would you want to take on the best there is?" Sakura asked him. "Logan," Sabertooth growled. "Katherine Pryde," Sakura smiled at him. Sabertooth looked at her in surprise for a moment, then grinned. "Shadowcat?" he laughed, "I'd love a re-match with her." "Then this is what we'll do," Sakura began to explain... The young officer led her to her car, climbing into the passenger side. "Where did you manage to get an image inducer?" Sabertooth asked, hidden under the illusion. "I have my ways," was Sakura's answer. She added seriously, "They won't be fooled by the boy's body for long, even if it's disguised as you." Conversationally, Sabertooth asked, "Why shouldn't I kill you right now?" "The image inducer you're wearing on your wrist also contains a powerful explosive device," Sakura explained calmly, "enough to tear your arm to shreds. Non-lethal, but very painful." Sabertooth grinned, "Though you'd have that covered." Sakura opened the glove box, "Papers, ID, and airline tickets to Australia," she said with a grin. Softly, "Good hunting." Sabertooth blinked, snarling as she simply disappeared from the inside of the car.
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