Well I've finally posted again. Sorry this part is so short with all the
time that has gone by. There have been some creative differences between the
two authors and I think I'll be takig full reign in three more parts.
Hopefully I can produce more often, even if they are shorter. Anyway, I've
had to replot everything while maintaining the integrity of the other parts.
As always comments, critiques and even flames are welcome.

Disclaimer stuff: Marvel made 'em. I wrote 'em. That settles 'em.

Recap: Iceman's membership in the X-Men was discovered by Creed's
bodyguards. Deadpool joined X-Factor.

Part VIII


     Among humans, he considered himself omniscient. Among gods, he
considered himself one of them. as well he should, he rationalized. He had
the ability to tap into any mind on the planet at his discretion and wasn't
that the trait of a god. He knew there were several others just like him,
but not many. On this night, this self proclaimed god was sitting in front
of the television, watching reruns of old sitcoms.
     Every so often, such as a night like this one, where nothing could
maintain his interest he tended to scan for those other gods. More as a test
of his abilities than any other reason. He closed his eyes. If his
subconscious emerged from his body while his eyes were still open, he would
see two sets of images simultaneously, which gave him a throbbing headache
when he returned.
     Like a shade, his astral form seeped through his body and hovered
before souring to the east. The Darwinist god, Apocalypse, sat in his
chambers, monitoring his pawns placement and actions. His mind was the
easiest to tap into. Without fear of being caught, he stuck his hand into
the shell of the god's head and searched. A dream of an age where he ruled a
devastated world filled his inner most thoughts. Although it was something
he had seen numerous times he was worried. The details were becoming
frequently familiar and Apocalypse was becoming more... confident in this dream.
     With a mental shrug, the visitor left his first contact and headed
northeast, where three others lived. His arrival was almost instantaneous.
The natural laws of science and physics did not apply to a form that
contained no matter.
     Below him was the red haired beauty. Her mind was one of the more
difficult of the next three. Her mind traps were constantly changing and
though he knew he could break through them all without her knowledge, the
other might scan him during the process. There were some things that she did
allow to leak out. The most significant was that she was pregnant. Perhaps
there was a way he could probe the child and than through it into her.
     His hand passed through her abdomen and found the child to be too young
to have even begun a conscious state. He quickly vacated and set aside the
information for use at a later date.
     The second one he scanned for was the bald man he considered his arch
nemesis. Xavier had done nothing to warrant this other than provide a
challenge he had yet to solve. Often with telepaths trying to hide
themselves, a blank area was formed where they stood, serving as the mask.
Only very sensitive telepaths could sense this absence of all things.
     The astral form's eyebrows raised in consideration. Xavier was never
far from his students. At random he chose one of the X-Men to discover
Xavier's whereabouts. The southern belle was the closest and by simple
manipulation of thought found out Xavier was being held by      X-Factor at
Fall's Edge. And he was POWERLESS.
     The astral form immediate flew to the region with it's physical body.
He had plans to make. For too long he had neglected his game. The Upstarts
as a group had gone off of the own accord since he had failed to keep
interest in the game. Fitzroy was a member of the new Hellfire club. Cortez
was still struggling for control of Magneto's Acolytes. The others would be
easier to wrest control over again to join in the game. The new target would
be Xavier. He who killed him would rule the Upstarts... until the next round.


     After leaving the Blackbird's hanger, Cable headed directly to the sub
basement in which X-Force was housed.
     "Yo bossman," Meltdown yelled from down the corridor. She was lying
down, outside her room, with the cordlessphone to her ear. "What do you want
on your pizza fearless leader?"
     "Tabitha, hurry up and hang up. We have important work that needs to be
done. Gather the others and meet in my room in thirty minutes. Anyone not
there has six extra hours of training in the Danger Room this weekend. I
want everyone in full uniform. We have serious planning to make for the
future of X-Force. It is imperative that it happens soon." 
     Cable's commanding voice he used in the field almost caused Meltdown to
drop the phone. The soldier breed into her made her nod in compliance while
the other man on the phone kept asking if anyone was there.
     Cable strode down the corridor to his chambers and turned with a
mischievious grin. "Make mine onions and pepperoni," he said rounding the
corner, leaving Meltdown perplexed about his important plans.
     Twenty minutes later, every member of X-Force assembled in his room.
Under his tutiledge they had become the world's most elite mutant strike
force created. Although the ranks had undergone considerable chnges since
it's inception, the team's power level was at an all time high. Warpath,
Sunspot, Siryn, Meltdown and Rictor had matured immensly in the two years.
They had learned to augment their powers to peak efficiency and interact
with on e another in combat as if their entire lives had devoted to it.
Caliban, the newest member, needed work. His brute force and detection
abilities were irreplacable but his child-like intelligence impeeded most
progress he could make.
     On the way back to the mansion, Cable had re-evaluated the teams recent
performances. They were a strong unit but more recently had been acting on
their own frequently and certain pieces were missing to make his team
perfect. Cannonball was now a member of the X-Men, Shatterstar had lost his
killer instinct and even the loss of Feral were hurting them. The fighting
spirit was still there but he wanted it brought out more if they were going
to go on some missions that he had planned. Perhaps a little house cleaning.
Someonelse's house that is.
     "I'm glad you all made in time. I guess nobody wanted six fun filled
hours in the Danger Room," Cable began, sounding like a drill instructer.
Assembled around him was his team. They had taken placees on the floor, bed
and chairs, all facing him. "Something has come up that we need to discuss.
I believe our intervention in this is most definitely called for."

End Part VIII

Next:A solution to Rogues powers.

In case you missed a part they can be found at:

www.spydernet.com/lori/index
www.geocities.com/SoHo/6329
www.ici.net/cust_pages/darqstar/direct

And if you didn't, go there anyway. There's PLENTY of fiction waiting to be
read.

Scott Kruse