My name is Bishop.

I'm a private investigator from the future. It sounds like the plot of a bad movie, but it's the truth.

During my time in the present, I've encountered many things. Some of them were simply mystifying. But nothing has confused me as much as the current scene before me.

I'm sitting in the Xavier Institute, a place which is no longer home to me (if it ever truly was). Standing around me are three women who mean very much to me.

The first is Ororo Munroe, or Storm as she is called, due to the fact that she can control the weather. She is a member of the X-Men, and during my time with them, she was quite possibly my closest confidant.

The other is Pamela Greenwood. A woman who I've only recently come to know, but have discovered that, despite my reservations, I have strong feelings for. I first met her during my time with the X-Men before she was revealed to be an assassin in disguise. Now I find her here in Chicago, with no memory of her attacking me. That situation still remains a mystery to me.

The other is Shard. She is my sister. In my own era, she was killed by the Emplates, and the only way to save her was to download her consciousness into a holographic projector. This projector came to the past with me and she became a photon-based lifeform. The last time we met, she betrayed me.

But, none of that matters. The four of us are simply sitting in the living room of the Xavier Institute. Just... talking. There is no threat of danger or battle. Everything is just calm. It feels... nice.

I know this is a dream, however. I know that in a moment, I will wake, and it will all be over.

"It doesn't have to be."

I turn to my left where a Caucasian woman with long, brown hair is sitting next to me. There is a smile upon her lips. She was the same woman from my dream at the cemetary.

"Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter," she replies. "The point is that this doesn't have to be a dream."

"What do you mean?"

"Wouldn't you like this to be your reality, Bishop?" she asks. "No wars for you left to fight? Your sister restored to a real life and not as some form of technology? A life where you can just relax? Where you can be peaceful?"

"I admit, it would be nice," I tell her. "But it isn't the way it is. There are wars to be fought out there. There is no rest for me. Not while I still have a mission."

"Mission?" she asks. "What mission?"

"My... mission..."

"Your mission was to eliminate the criminals that escaped into the past," she said. "You did that. Your next mission was to stop the one who would betray the X-Men. You did that as well. Your missions are over, Bishop."

"Not all the felons from my era have been apprehended," I tell her. "Fitzroy is still out there somewhere."

"If you let me, I can make Fitzroy go away," she says. "He won't be a concern of yours anymore. You can relax. Live in peace. No need to worry about any missions. Just enjoy life."

She stands from the couch, and I notice that Pamela, Shard, and Storm have all vanished. It's just me and her now, whoever she is.

"Think about it, Bishop."

My eyes suddenly snap open.

I'm back in Chicago. Back in my own bed.

I rub my eyes with my hand and then look at the clock on the nightstand. The red digits on it read 10:33. I must have overslept. I've never done that.

I pull the white sheets off my body and make my way over to the bathroom. I remove my shorts and climb into the shower, allowing the warm water to pour over my body. I find I'm still a bit drowsy, despite the fact that I've trained my body to operate on at least three hours of sleep. The shower helps to wake me up a bit.

The entire time, my mind is still on the dream. Who is this woman who keeps appearing in them? I can't recall ever seeing her before in my life. What is her purpose? Is she simply a figment of my imagination, or is she related to something else?

In my life, I've come to accept that there are no such things as coincidences. As an officer and as a soldier, it's my job to be suspicious of everything. Could she possibly have some connection to Shaw and this vanishing man?

The best bet would be to contact the X-Men and ask them for information on any mutants who have any sort of teleportation powers. I'm not sure how many people there are in the X-Men's files who fit that description, but it's certainly worth a try. And if he has something to do with the Shaws, that makes things much more interesting.

But I don't want to rely on the X-Men. I came to Chicago so I could get on without their assistance. And yet, I seem to be going back to them more and more lately. However, it doesn't appear as if I have much of a choice.

In Westchester, New York, there sits a large mansion. It's nestled deep within Salem Center, off of an access road with large gates and a sign which reads THE XAVIER INSTITUTE FOR HIGHER LEARNING. Within it is the current home and base of operations of the X-Men's Alpha strike force. They fight for the dream of human/mutant equality.

Several subfloors beneath ground level is a communications room. Within this room sits Scott Summers. He is also known as Cyclops, the current leader of the Alpha team as well as the first X-Man. He was just wrapping up a mission log on the recent situation at the Smile Bright Offices.

"It may not have been right, but—"

Scott's words were interrupted by a small flashing light which indicated an incoming message.

"Computer, pause entry and bring up incoming call," he ordered. The computer before him complied with the command and the image of Bishop came upon the screen.

"Bishop..." he said.

{{ Hello Cyclops. }}

Following the death of Professor Xavier, these two men had radically different ideas for how they should pursue their mentor's dream. It was Bishop who took half the team from the X-Mansion.

Cyclops has never agreed with Bishop's methods. He's not very fond of the man's gung-ho approach to a situation. Bishop is not very fond of Cyclops's somewhat antiquated methods. These two find themselves on opposite sides of the same coin.

"What do you want?" asked Scott.

{{ I need information on a case I'm working on. }}

"Like what?"

{{ It involves Shaw. }}

"Can't be," said Cyclops. "Shaw's dead. So is the rest of the Hellfire Club."

{{ Yes, I'm aware of your ex-wife's actions. }}

The words struck Cyclops like a punch. If Bishop could see past the ruby-quartz lens of Cyclops's visor, he would see a burning rage within the man's eyes.

{{ But I'm not talking about Sebastian Shaw. I'm referring to his son. }}

"Shinobi?"

Bishop simply nodded a response and Cyclops began to rub his chin in thought.

"What about him?"

{{ It's a long story, but from what I've been told from my sources, there is a bald man who can teleport himself and objects from one area to another. Is it possible Cerebro might have any information on h—"

"Telford Porter," replied Cyclops. "I didn't even realize he was still alive. We battled him years ago. He calls himself the Vanisher. Used his talents for theft."

{{ He's since moved on to bigger venues. }}

"What's he been up to?"

{{ Drug trade. }}

"The Vanisher is involved with a drug cartel?"

{{ From what I've deciphered, he leads a drug cartel. }}

"What does he have to do with Shinobi?"

{{ I'm not sure. What would the Vanisher's primary motivation be for assisting Shaw? }}

"What else?" asked Scott. "Money. Seems that's all Porter was ever interested in."

{{ And Shinobi probably inherited a lot of it from his late father. }}

"Watch out for this one," warned Cyclops. "Shinobi Shaw may not seem like a huge threat, but if you cross him, he can be just as ruthless as his father. If not moreso. And if he's recruiting other mutants, then this might mean a resurgence of the Hellfire Club."

{{ If that's the case, then I want you to get me all the information you have pertaining to them. }}

"I'll see what I can do."

{{ Thank you. }}

I cancel the connection and then simply stare for a few moments at the monitor. Naturally, I had heard about the way Cyclops dealt with Mark Rogers. It was broadcast all over the news. A security camera inside the building caught a dead-on shot of Cyclops firing his optic blast right into Mark Rogers. The impact had killed the man.

If it were me in that situation, I would have done the same thing. I respect Cyclops for the choice he made. Although I'm positive that some of his teammates, Storm and Phoenix in particular, are at odds with him due to just that.

A message suddenly appears on the monitor, asking me if I would like to accept a download from an alternate server. The server number is the private server that is owned and operated solely by Xavier's organizations. I accept the download, and it only takes a matter of moments for it to complete.

I hadn't expected Cyclops to send the data that quickly. I assumed it would have taken him at least an hour to compile and send all the data pertaining to the Hellfire Club and—

Wait...

I open up the document. My eyes are in shock at what I see on the monitor.

NEXT: Pam is in the clutches of the Hellfire Club! But how did they gain access to Xavier's private server, and how do they even know who Pam is?!