"No," Vargas said simply, looking at Sakura coldly.
The white haired ninja raised an eyebrow curiously, looking at
that dark haired warrior curiously. Vargas had attacked the X-Men,
seeking to kill one of their number a few months ago, and Sakura had
hoped to recruit him for Stryfe's cause.
"I thought that you had a vendetta against the X-Men?" Sakura
asked curiously.
"No," Vargas shook his head, "I merely sought to cheat fate."
He took a book from a nearby stand and flipped it open, revealing an
simple but clear illustration. Vargas lay on the ground, defeated by
the X-Man Rogue, and she raised a sword to strike him dead.
"One of the Destiny diaries," Sakura murmured.
"Indeed," Vargas closed the book once again. "At one time, the
predictions in this tome were entirely accurate," he said calmly, "But
more and more, events in the real world do not match this diary, and I
no longer feel so certain of a fatal confrontation between myself and
Rogue."
"But I feel certain that Rogue remembers the attack you
launched," Sakura reminded him pointedly, "and then there is the
question of your defeat at Shadowcat's hands. Can your pride bear up
under such dishonor?"
"If it means preserving my life," Vargas said coldly, "yes!"
"Then you are not the man I had thought you were," Sakura said
simply. Soundlessly she was gone, leaving no signs of her presence
there.
"I wonder if you would want to know how the diary speaks of
you, my dear Sakura?" Vargas said softly, and he began to laugh.
Sakura slid through the shadows of the city, silently cursing
the cowardice of the man she left behind her. 'Now I understand why
Stryfe did not attempt to recruit him,' she thought bleakly. There was
an electricity in the air, a feeling of expectation. The battle was
coming, of that she felt certain, and she wanted them to be ready.
At the beach house, Kitty and Sage scowled at the computer's
monitor screen. "Looks like the screen over the Reaver's base is still
working fine," Sage noted.
"But look over here," Kitty highlighted a part of the desert
just beyond the town. The picture was a few hours old, but it clearly
showed two figures there. "Can we enhance the image?" Kitty asked even
as she brought the image manipulation programs up.
"Those two are mildly scary in front of a computer," Elizabeth
murmured softly, waiting for a call to go through. She was trying to
reach a friend in British intelligence to see if any major illegal
weapons purchases had been made from within Australia.
"Oh, yeah," Rogue agreed. Kitty was clearly a very happy
hacker, but it didn't worry her too much. Sage and Kitty only seemed
to get along in front of a computer terminal, the rest of the time
they were merely polite. 'Wonder why?' she mused.
"We'd better leave our girlfriends alone," Heather offered
with a smile. She shook her head slightly, "Girlfriend. Never thought
I'd be saying that in public."
"Oh?" Rogue looked at her curiously.
Heather shrugged, "I've had a few flings, but never seemed to
settle down much." She smiled over at Sage fondly, "I guess she's my
first serious girlfriend."
"Looks like you picked pretty well," Rogue smiled.
"Yeah," Heather agreed softly.
"Bingo," Kitty crowed. She waved her hand, "Somebody go get
Storm, we've hit paydirt!"
"You called?" Ororo strode into the room, Raven just behind
her. They went over to where Kitty and Sage were sitting, "What's
news, Kitten?"
Kitty gestured to the image, now magnified and enhanced on the
screen. "Looks like we caught a training session, and I recognize both
players," she pointed.
"Lorna Dane," Sage gestured to the green haired woman on one
side, then pointed at the sandy haired woman opposite her, "and
Plasma."
In the ghost town out in the Australian Outback Lorna Dane
restlessly paced her small quarters, considering what she could do.
More and more she had been feeling grave doubts about her joining up
with Stryfe, and now...
"I can't believe Sakura said that," Lorna sighed.
Sakura had all but confirmed that Stryfe intended to use the
mad villain Nemesis as a weapon of mass destruction. A living engine
of destruction, with immense energy contained within his crystal
containment suit, he would simply destroy all life around him. It was
then that Lorna really began to grasp the evil of the being she was
working for, an evil she wasn't sure she could stand.
'But I can't stop him on my own,' Lorna had to admit. She knew
she was powerful, with incredible magnetic abilities, but she also had
her limitations. Nemesis could overwhelm her shields, not to mention
the capabilities of all the others. She needed to wait for the right
moment, and most importantly, she needed an ally.
And there was only one candidate for that out here...
Lorna left the house she had claimed for herself, moving down
the dusty streets with a sense of purpose. 'Sakura's off recruiting
and Stryfe and McCoy are locked up down below,' she thought, 'I'll
never have a better chance to approach her.' She knocked on the door
she had chosen firmly, waiting for permission to come in.
Plasma opened the door, smiling with honest pleasure as seeing
her standing there. "Lorna, come on in," she waved her inside.
"Thanks, Linda," she said as Lorna gave the sandy haired woman
a once over. Dressed in T-shirt and blue jeans she looked pretty good,
especially when she smiled like that.
"Decided to take me up on my open dinner invitation?" Linda
asked her with a grin. The place was filled with the scent of savory
food cooking, and Lorna blushed as her stomach rumbled. "Guess so,"
Linda chuckled softly.
"I forgot to eat lunch," Lorna admitted just a bit sheepishly.
With a shy smile she watched Linda move about assuredly in the
kitchen, dishing up two servings of savory food then pouring them each
a glass of sparkling wine.
Before sitting down at the table Linda turned on the radio,
raising up the volume just a bit too loud. "As long as we talk
quietly," Linda murmured to Lorna softly, "we should be fine."
"You read my mind," Lorna kept her voice down. She shivered
slightly at the feeling of Linda's warm breath across her cheek as
they leaned close to talk.
"Your offer earlier to watch my back for me," Linda said to
Lorna softly, but with an unusual intensity in her voice, "did you
mean it?"
Lorna met her eyes, feeling an odd sinking feeling once again.
The more time she spent with Linda, the harder it was to remember her
bond with Alex Summers. Instead, troubling dreams of her and Linda
together had begun to fill up her nights.
"Yes," Lorna said firmly, "I did mean it."
Linda smiled slightly, "Good, because I don't think I trust
Stryfe to do it for me." She reached out to put her hand over Lorna's,
"But what do we do about Nemesis?"
"I wish I knew," Lorna admitted. She squeezed Linda's hand
gently, "I guess we just have to wait for the right moment."
Linda hesitated, then surprised her by leaning over the table
and gently pressing her lips to Lorna's. "And is this the right moment
for us?" she asked her softly.
Lorna didn't hesitate at all, instead she leaned over and
returned the kiss vigorously. "You really should know," a few moments
later a smiling Lorna drew back just a bit to say, "that I have no
idea what to do now."
Linda grinned slightly, "You think I'm experienced?"
"This should be interesting," Lorna rose, tugging Linda to her
feet.
"Trust me," Linda pulled her enthusiastically back towards the
neatly made bed, "I think we'll be able to figure it all out."
"We've got visual confirmation," Kitty said to the others
intensely, "I think we should move as soon as possible!"
"It's nearly sunset," Ororo said quietly, "and it's going to
take us time to reach the town. We'll hit them in the morning, when
we're all rested."
"Why do I feel like a bit player in Apocalypse Now?" Neal
asked with a wry smile.
Kitty opened her mouth to protest Ororo's statement, but
Rogue's gentle hand on her shoulder stopped her. "Do we contact
Deathstryke?" Rogue asked.
"I've already sent Mystique to do so," Ororo answered them
crisply.
"Always a step ahead," Bishop remarked as he strode in. "I
heard back from my contacts," he said to them seriously, "and if this
shipment did go out to the Reaver's base they've laid in some very odd
supplies out there."
"Hi, Bishop," Heather waved. Her eyes twinkled, "How's Cat?"
Ignoring Bishop's blush Sage asked, "Odd supplies?"
"Protein rich growth medium for culturing bacteria, prosthetic
parts, artificial bones, a variety of computer equipment, weapons of
every type, and a shipment of S&M gear," Bishop read off the list he
produced from a shirt pocket.
"I don't know about the last item," Sage frowned to herself
fiercely, "but I do not like the sound of that list. Not at all."
"The remnants of the first generation of Reaver cyborgs are
still out there," Psylocke murmured softly, "could they be using
McCoy's genetic splicing techniques to revive them? Maybe with
superhuman powers?"
"If so," Kitty sat up, her eyes narrowing, "then there could
be a lot more enemies out there than we were expecting."
"Get the jet ready," Ororo said grimly, "we're moving out
now."
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