The Doorman did what he did best for Storm.  He opened a door.  That door was specifically to the labyrinth of computers and plasma television screens that Dr. Trekker made his home in.  The room smelled of overheated hard drives, but Storm chose to ignore it.  After all, it paled in comparison to the harsh smells of the Morlock Tunnels.  Still, having even spent that brief time in Kenya had spoiled her nose.  To go from clean, serene air to a cluttered, oily atmosphere wasn’t a pleasant prospect for Ororo.  Nonetheless, she needed information from Dr. Trekker.  Ozymandias had told her to recruit three mutants, but he gave Ororo no indication of their psychical appearance.

 

Finally, wading through the massive tangle of cords and blaring screens, Storm had made it to the epicenter of the room.  A large, albino man with black sunglasses and bleached white hair was seated atop a hoverchair that was ten feet above Storm.  Large metal tubes were hooked into the base of the chair and kept it suspended.  It obviously held plenty of weight, as Trekker couldn’t be less than four hundred pounds.  Somehow thought he managed to be immaculately dressed in a maroon suit and black tie.  It was a feat the defied the gods and spat in their faces.   When he spotted Ororo he began to lower his chair.  It was accomplished with a great deal of smoke and squeaking coming from the metal tubes.  When he was at eye level with Ororo, he said, “Storm of the X-Men.  To what do I owe the honor of your presence.”

 

“I am no longer with the X-Men,” Storm corrected.

 

“You should know better than me that once an X-Man always an X-Man,” Trekker said revealing two rows of pearly whites.

 

“Of course my heart will always be with them, but that’s not why I’m here,” Storm stopped before being lured into an emotionally vulnerable state.  “Ozymandias provided you with information.  Now I expect to be provided with the same.”

 

Trekker laughed.  “Then you may want to be a bit more specific in what you want.  I could easily tell you about every time a baseball player has said weed or every football player from the state of Georgia.”

 

Storm folded her arms across her chest and lightning crackled form the corners of her eyes. “Don’t play games with me Trekker or I’ll short circuit every single, solitary piece of electronics in this room.”

 

The albino’s laughter became a scowl.  “Precisely why I used to bar Xavier’s lot.  You’re all humorless assess and wherever you are property damage follows.”

 

“That doesn’t sound like information to me,” Storm threatened.  She couldn’t help but to process Trekker’s insult though.  Was that really how other mutants thought of the X-Men?  What would Charles have said to that?

 

“The three mutants you seek are named Dania, Ramirez, and Genzo,” Trekker said as he typed away at the keyboard in front of him. Three of the plasma TVs nearest to Storm flashed pictures of the mutants she had been sent to find.  “Dania is the Latino woman with the cross tattoo above her eye.  Ramirez is the bald Latino man with the skull tattoo on his skull.  Genzo is the gray skinned, elf looking fellow with the big, buggy yellow eyes.”

 

“I could have deduced that on my own,” Storm snapped.

 

“If you want information you’re getting it my way so shut up and listen,” Trekker replied and then continued onward.  “They’re all possessed of multiple mutant abilities that come in pretty odd combinations if you ask me, but I can only guess that’s part of their unpredictable charm.  Dania has contained bursts of super-speed in combination with a mutant tracking ability that allows her to find any mutant anywhere.  She can sense a mutant’s abilities and just how skilled they are with them.  The gal is even able to tell a mutant ways in which they haven’t thought to use their talents.  An extension of that ability is being able to activate latent mutations and push a mutant’s ability to the next level.”

 

“I’m surprised she hasn’t been sought out given that ability,” Storm said, having finally unfolded her arms.

 

“Given the forty percent success rate I think it’s understandable especially since those not in that forty percent dive into an indefinite coma.  Though otherwise she’d have made great Xavier Institute material.”

 

Ororo sighed.  “Cyclops has turned away from the educating of new mutants in their powers I’m afraid.”

 

“Well…I’ll tell you about that later.  Moving on, we have Ramirez.  He’s able to control the growth of his body and has fine-tuned it to the point that he’s a real fan with the ladies.  Done a few pornos actually.  Anyway he’s also possessed of wind control, but you might be able to teach him a few points in that particular area.  Much like Dania, he has a massive chip on his shoulder that makes him quite the dick to be around.  Excuse the funny.” 

 

Storm buried her face in one hand.  “Can you just continue?”

 

“Humorless indeed.  At least Bobby Drake might appreciate me.  So the last of your recruits is Genzo.  He’s an odd looking fellow, but I can’t really talk can I?  In addition to that though he has a few seeming mental issues.  He isn’t exactly playing with a full deck.”

 

“You can stop,” Ororo interjected.  “The more you talk about these three the more and more I think Ozymandias wasn’t paying attention to his vision.”

 

Trekker laughed.  “He better have been because that means the information provided to me could potentially be inaccurate.
 

“The art of prophecy has always been an inaccurate one.  Especially with a man like Ozymandias who is always changing the landscape.”

 

“Perhaps,” Trekker said.  “So would you like to know about Ricardo Russell?  You seemed to be getting rather cozy.”

 

Ororo hid all eagerness and coldly replied, “Don’t assume so much Trekker.  Why so eager to tell me about Rick?”

 

Dr. Trekker interlocked his fingers and sat his hands on the top of his stomach.  “Mr. Russell is involved into a very intriguing project and you seemed so disheartened when you spoke of Cyclops abandoning the idea of training mutants.  I figured I could give you some hope.”

 

Storm turned away from Trekker and made her way to the door.  Was her lack of faith that obvious?  If Trekker, a man she hadn’t met until today, could see it then it had to be.  Ororo was almost tempted to hear Trekker out, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.  She knew his type well enough.  He was a businessman and they needed to feel like they had something others wanted.  Trekker had annoyed Ororo just enough to make her remain cold.

 

“You don’t have to worry about my hope.  The thing you should worry about is any of your information being wrong,” Storm warned as all of the plasma screens scrambled momentarily.

 

“The names of 100 mutants who will manifest their powers over the next two months,” Trekker said.  “That is what Ozymandias and I exchanged.”

 

“And just how does this revelation concern me?”

 

Trekker smiled.  “It concerns your friend and his work at the Levin Institute.”

 

 

---

 

“For a second there I really did think you were going to make me wait until Armageddon,” Rick smiled as Storm made her way back to their table.

 

“Unfortunately, the Doctor has a tendency to talk far beyond the normal capacity to deal with,” Storm smiled back as she took her seat across from Rick.

 

“So where were we?” Rick said as he took a sip of his drink.

 

“You were telling me about our vacation to Miami.”

 

“OH was I now?”

 

“Unless of course you had another beautiful woman waiting for you.”

 

Rick nearly choked on his drink.  “No.  Business really doesn’t allow me much time for pleasure.  I’d figure it’d be the same for you being with the X-Men and all.’

 

Ororo’s eyes perked up.  “So you know I’m an X-Man.”

 

“From the moment you walked in.  Just didn’t want you to think I was some evil mutant undercover or something,” Rick said.

 

Ororo laughed.  “As ridiculous as that sounds it’s probably exactly what I would have thought.  Ahh the life I lead, but I’m not with the X-Men anymore.”

 

“Conflict of interest?”

 

Storm sighed.  “Something like that.  So how was it that you knew of my affiliation with the X-Men.”

 

Ricardo playfully stirred his straw around in his martini.  “I work for The Levin Institute.  It’s a place much like Xavier’s that is interested in the training of mutants, but we’re stationed in Africa and deal primarily with mutants from third world countries.”

 

Ororo smirked.  “You’re not here to recruit me as a teacher are you?”

 

“Not a chance.  A woman as beautiful as you would be too much of a distraction to teachers and students alike.”

 

“Is that right?”

 

“Let lightning strike me if I’m wrong,” Rick replied.

 

Leaning forward, Storm sat her head between her palms.  “I can arrange that.”

 

 Putting a hand to his heart, Rick said, “Aww you wound me!  But, I think where I’m from is probably the one place in the world you’d never have to worry about using your powers.”

 

“So would this be where you start telling me about my vacation?”

 

Rick smiled.  “Indeed, it would be.  I have a couple of beach houses right on the shore with a great view and I so happen to have about a month of financial recruiting left to do before I head back to Mozambique.”

 

“Admittedly, I am not sure what my duties will entail in the coming month, but I think it’s more than time for me to take an actual vacation.”

 

Rick leaned back in his seat.  “So is that a yes?”

 

“Yes,” Storm smiled.  “Going to the beach with you would be quite lovely.”

 

“Good,” Rick said as he pulled out a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and scribbled something on it.  Handing it to Ororo, he said, “This is my cell number.  Call anytime and I’m bound to pick up.”

 

“So am I to take it that you do not sleep.”

 

Rick rose up from his seat and gave Ororo a kiss on the cheek.  “Wouldn’t you like to know?  Call me.  Okay?”

 

“Of course,” Storm called out as Ricardo walked away from the table and disappeared into the masses of the club.

 

As Ricardo vanished in the club’s crowds, Storm smiled despite herself.  She hadn’t felt butterflies around any man in a long time.  Happiness of any kind had eluded Ororo for some time.  Maybe, just maybe, she could grab her piece of the pie.

 

It wasn’t a thought she was going to get to dwell on, as a rough, but feminine voice called out, “hey X-Man!  Why are you here?”

 

Ceasing her fancy thoughts, Ororo looked up and saw the three mutants she had been sent to find approaching her.  The irony of it wasn’t lost on her.  With practiced patience, Ororo replied, “I believe I’m entitled to enjoy a drink once in a while.”

 

The slim, but muscular woman crossed her arms and zeroed in her green eyes on Ororo.  “That not much of an answer.”

 

Dania reminded Storm of Callisto with her tough posture and sinewy frame.  She had a jagged tattoo around her right eye that looked like a distorted cross.  Black studded bangles stood out amongst her all black ensembles that included a tank top and leather pants.  There was an alluring attractiveness underneath the bony attire and gruff posturing.

 

Taking a sip of her drink, Storm said, “I give the answers I feel are sufficient, Dania.”

 

If the Hispanic woman was surprised, she didn’t let it show.  Storm was impressed.  The two men in her company weren’t quite as adept at disguising their emotions.  The already bulging red bug eyes of Genzo expanding outward even more were a comical sight right out of Roger Rabbit.  Ramirez’s angry scowl laid his thoughts bare, but Dania maintained an icy cool.

 

“So you know my name.  Big deal.  Must have been the redhead.  The Xen fellow got capped.”

 

Lightning trickled at the corners of Storm’s eyes as she gently set down her drink.  Pushing a strand of hair from in front of her eyes, Storm said, “I would strongly suggest you give Charles Xavier the proper respect.  If not for him you wouldn’t even be standing in this nightclub.”

 

“Spare me the bullshit,” Dania groaned.  “So what do the X-Men want with me?”

 

“Absolutely nothing.  I am not here on their behalf.  I have come in the name of Ozymandias.”

 

Storm proceeded to explain to the three mutants exactly who Ozymandias was and how she had come to leave the X-Men.  Surprisingly, they heard Ororo out without interruption.  Finally after ht tale’s completion, Dania asked, “So some prophet supposedly wants use to saddle up with him?”

 

Ororo nodded.  “Far as I can tell.  There is something he’ agreed to if the three of you say yes.”

 

Dania looked back to both Genzo and Ramirez, who nodded.  Looking back to Storm, she said, “We’re listening.”

 

“He’s agreed to help you find your brother.”

 

This time, Dania’s facial expression softened visibly and her shoulder slumped.  Ramirez put a comforting hand on Dania’s arm and said to Ororo, “You better not be bullshitting.  We gave up on finding him months ago.”

 

Storm saw camaraderie in Ramirez’s touch.  He had a build much like Cable’s, but without the gray hair.  In fact, he lacked any hair at all.  A black skull tattoo covered his scalp.  When he touched Dania, she couldn’t help but to feel Nathan’s touch.  One more friend she had lost to this endless struggle.

 

Sighing slightly, Storm walked forward and placed both hands on Dania’s shoulders.  The touch made Dania and her friends uncomfortable, but Storm had proven genuine thus far.

 

“I swear to you, all three of you, if there is anyone who can find your friend it is Ozymandias.”

 

“Then we’re in,” Dania answered.

 

Storm stepped back and smiled.  “Good.”

 

Dusting her shoulder, Dania said with a playful flare, “Just don’t touch me again.”

 

---

 

NEXT: Mario DaVingi comes onto the scene and Ororo meets up with Yukio.