Beijing, China.
Feng Tu Installation.

The earth shook violently as the six members of X-Corp and the Fantastic Four stood in the center of what appeared to be an uneven match. At least hundreds of reanimated corpses of Chinese soldiers and warriors throughout time surrounded them.

Feng Tu, the military installation's namesake and operator, hovered eerily above them all. His hide had been burnt to the point of blackness. His white military uniform was tattered and worn away, revealing his true self.

Xorn collapsed to his knee as he gasped for breath as his hands rested over Johnny Storm and Pyro, who had sustained minor injuries during the firestorm they created. Xorn's healing energies came from his own essence, but they were finite.

"Xorn, for the love of God, you're going to end up killing yourself," Reed Richards yelled.

Xorn's eyes glowed, "I believe we all have more pressing matters, Dr. Richards."

"So we noticed," Thing grumbled as he clenched his rocky fists.

Psylocke held out her hands as a katana made of pink psionic energy appeared in her grasp. She twirled the weapon around and held it in the defensive position, "Tu can reanimate dead tissues in organisms...in effect, he can resurrect."

"But not really," Pyro said as he reached for his pack of cigarettes. He looked at the small gold and white pack and sighed through his nose. He was shot and killed just recently. Not to mention his recent recovery from the Legacy Virus, he has cheated death more times than he probably was meant to. He tossed the pack on the ground. He'd get the gum.

"We were lucky," Archangel said.

"You were lucky," Feng Tu's voice echoed. "You have harbored terrorists in your midst, and now that fact is made public. Mr. Dai-Chi is an agent of China. We will fight with every last breath to hold onto him."

"I may be China's national hero, but I am not some terrorist to be controlled!" Xorn shouted.

Tu smiled, "You were bred for your country. Your father carried the x-gene and passed it on to you. You are China!"

"What was your purpose, Tu?" Xorn inquired. "You were born into the same world as all mutants!"

"I only answer to China, no one else!" Tu shouted in Mandarin.

"Our country's way of life has blinded you!" Xorn shouted. "Our people are righteous. Our government is corrupt! China is about the people!"

Diode whispered as the zombified corpses remained around the heroes, "Uh...should we make a break for it?"

Psylocke smiled as she thrust her psi-katana through one of the soldiers, disabling him, "I'd say so."

Invisible Woman concentrated as she formed an invisible floating disk underneath everyone. The disk began to rise above the swarm of mangled soldiers. Reed shouted, "Sue, get to the hovercraft!"

Human Torch flamed on as he held out his fist towards the ceiling of the installation. He glanced over at Pyro, "I'm going to need a little boost if we're going to punch through all the miles and miles of rock and dirt."

The floating disk began to waver. Sue gripped her temples, "Sorry...it's hard to concentrate. The Negative Zone did something to me..."

Psylocke approached Sue from behind and gently pressed against her head, "I'll help you focus telepathically. Just keep going."

Pyro shook his head as he increased Human Torch's power. He blasted away through the underground installation. "This would go faster if I didn't feel like I have a hangover. Being a zombie does that to ya," Pyro grumbled.

As large boulders began to fall through the giant hole, Diode blasted them apart with a high voltage burst of electrical energy. Blue streams of energy swirled around her, "Whoa. Go me."

Archangel ducked as tiny pebbles bounced off of his head, "Jesus...can we speed this up?!"

"I've got the gels eating as much and as fast as they can," Maggott said, referring to his matter-ingesting slugs.

Invisible Woman concentrated and formed her invisible pod into a bubble to further protect everyone, except for a small opening for the Torch to continue blasting away, "Sorry, I don't know how long I can hold it."

Psylocke concentrated as well, a pink butterfly forming around her face, "Just keep going, Sue."

"Alright...who farted?" Pyro asked as he tried not to breathe through his nose.

"Gah, it's these damn Hot Pockets!" Thing retaliated in defense of his abdominal control.

"Aw man," Diode groaned as she looked below her feet. The hundreds of corpses rapidly climbed through the tunnel being led by Feng Tu's skull-like face. "We've got some Halloween-ish Buddhist company under us!"

"Oxygen's getting thin in here," Thing said.

"Don't worry, we'll have enough...air," Pyro panted. "Just a few more miles..."

Maggott closed his eyes and said, "The gels are at the surface, they're making the opening wider." He opened his eyes, "Sue, can you follow their trail?"

"I see it, Japheth," Sue replied. "But...I don't know if I can go any faster."

Xorn's eyeslots glowed, "Everyone hold on...I am going to briefly cut us off from Earth's gravity."

"How fast will we be going then?" Diode asked.

"Nearly 100,000 miles per hour," Reed replied.

"Yeah...that should be fast enough," Diode said as she closed her eyes and sat down inside the bubble. Sue closed the hole as Torch and Pyro crouched down with everyone else.

Xorn held out his hand as the zombies suddenly became smaller and smaller as the bubble rocketed out of the tunnel. Rocks crashed against the bubble as it burrowed ever so speedily out of the ground. Eventually, the bubble broke the surface, exploding the ground like a bomb. Just as Sue let her shield down, the resulting force sent X-Corp and the Fan Four crashing into the ground.

Eany and Meany slithered their way up to their master, Maggott. He opened his eyes, "There you are!" He tickled the slugs on their undersides as they wiggled with joy, "Who're good gels? Yes, you are!"

"Ugh...enough with the puppy dog talk," Pyro snapped.

"Everyone alright?" Archangel asked.

"For the most part," Reed said. Warren flew over to Mr. Fantastic and shook his hand.

"Thanks," Archangel said. "We didn't mean for this to happen. Getting you involved."

Reed smiled, "It's okay, Mr. Worthington. You've helped us financially. It seemed like a kind way to return the favor. Besides, the media is just eating this up. X-Corp and the Fantastic Four together?"

"If you don't mind, could we hitch a ride? Ours got blowed up, sir," Diode said to Richards.

Reed chuckled as he pointed, "It's over on the other side of that mountain."

Before anyone could move, however, the swarm of zombies followed by Feng Tu rocketed out of the tunnel. Soon, even the brightly colored spandex of the Fan Four nor the leather suits of X-Corp could be seen amidst the carnage.

"Joseph?" Havok asked as he stood up from his post at the computer terminal. "What's he doing here?"

"Nice to see you, too, Alex," Joseph replied somberly.

As Blink and Joseph walked into the Exiles base in New Mexico, there was a small reunion of sorts between the former members of X-Men Omega. Proudstar gave him a hearty pound on the back with his palm as Polaris gave him a hug.

"Is everything alright? We saw what happened on TV," Polaris said. "You just attacked Xorn."

"Was it mind control?" Havok asked.

"No, none of that," Joseph said. He sighed and looked at Blink, "I think my days with X-Corp are up."

Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound was heard as a large metal door opened. Three silhouettes approached from the doorway. The man in the middle had long black hair tied into a ponytail. The men to each side of him was a very tall, muscular man and a more lean Asian man with an intense stare.

"He has come here looking for redemption for what he has done," Exodus's voice echoed. His eyes fixated on Joseph, "Haven't you, Kevin?"

Colossus tensed up at that name. He armored up and looked over at Exodus, "His name is Joseph. He is a friend of the X-Men. I have met him before."

"What you say is true, but there is more you've been blinded to...it seems the rest of X-Corp, as well," Exodus said. "Do I have to reveal it?"

Joseph shook his head, "I'm Kevin MacTaggart."

"You're...Proteus?" Colossus gasped as he recalled having killed Proteus with his metal form all those years ago. Havok and Polaris gasped as well, since they were on Muir Island during the time Proteus went on a rampage. They also worked closely with Moira, Proteus's mother, during the aftermath of the "death" of her only son and ex-husband.

"Not anymore," Joseph spoke.

"Is that why you attacked Xorn?" Havok asked of the man who once saved his life.

"Alex, stop it!" Blink shouted.

"No, Clarice," Exodus said. "He must explain himself."

Joseph sighed as he sat in a chair, "For a minute...I just thought Xorn was my father. He ruined my life just like my father. I guess the trauma unlocked these memories set up by Deus."

"Deus?" Exodus asked of the first major enemy for the Exiles.

"I was recreated to look like Magneto," Joseph explained. "Down to his powers. It may have been a subconscious doing on my part...but..." Joseph collapsed onto the floor and began to sob.

Colossus sighed and reverted back to his human form. He looked at Exodus, who said, "Your friends are in trouble, Joseph. And now the Fantastic Four. Are you going to run from your problems all of your life, or are you going to confront them? Before others get hurt in the crossfire?"

Joseph looked up with puffy eyes, "How do you know they're in trouble?"

"Yeah, I haven't seen anything on TV, yet. How do you know?" Sunfire asked.

"I just do," Exodus simply replied as his eyes briefly glowed. "Do you want redemption, Joseph?"

Joseph nodded.

"Then you must first fix this conflict, one that you started," Exodus said. "It will not erase the deaths you caused prior to it, but...you must do it if you are to keep your soul and if you are to remain on this path towards the side of good."

"I'll take him," Blink offered as she helped Joseph to his feet. She looked into his eyes, "If you'll let me?"

"I hardly trust myself, but...they are my friends, regardless of who I was," Joseph said.

Exodus gave his permission with a nod and Blink disappeared with Joseph into a pink portal of energy.

Archangel gritted his teeth as he felt sharp objects and bone scratch against his face and body. He shouted with all of his might as his wings, as strong as they were, fully spread and knocked back enough zombies for him to take flight. A single zombie grabbed onto his leg and buried its teeth in Warren's ankle.

"ARGH!" Warren squealed as he kicked the zombie with his other foot, knocking off its head. Archangel pulled out his twin handguns and began firing into the fray of zombies. Suddenly, a large mass knocked nearly half of them back. Warren could see Sue had her shield up around her Fan Four teammates, as well as Diode. The rest of X-Corp were still inside the swarm.

"Oh God," Warren swore as he pointed his guns at the other half of the zombified warriors. He pulled the triggers, hoping his eyesight was advanced enough to see his friends so not to accidentally shoot them.

A large blue clothed arm suddenly wrapped around a quarter of the swarm and divided it from the rest. Out of the corner of his eye, Archangel saw Human Torch take flight and incinerate the separated portion. The FF and Diode ran out of the shield and attempted to take the rest on solo.

"No!" Archangel shouted from above the ground as his wings flapped in the wind. Reed and the others stopped. Archangel pointed towards the mountain, "Get to the hovercraft! I'll get the others!"

"But they're still in there!" Diode shouted as her eyes crackled with electricity. She concentrated and flew alongside her employer. "Betsy is in there, dude!"

Warren grit his teeth and closed his eyes. Through the psychic rapport with his fiance, he could tell she was more than alive, "She's okay. The others can handle themselves...I hope. You need to get to the hovercraft and get out--"

Suddenly, a stream of orangish energy hit Archangel like a train, sending him plummeting to the ground. Diode looked up in shock and saw smoke emanating from Feng Tu's glowing fist, "Well, aren't you full of surprises?"

"I'm more powerful than you and your friends have anticipated, Ms. Santiago," Feng Tu bellowed. A beam of energy shot from his fist again, intended for Diode, but she dodged it at the last second, retaliating with an electron blast of her own. The electrical energy hit Tu, but had little effect. "I'm growing increasingly bored with you pathetic media whores," Tu sighed.

"We prefer the term our-parents-didn't-pay-enough-attention-to-us-disorder sufferers," Diode said as she flew up as fast as she could muster and delivered a punch to Feng's jaw. Feng's scorched face managed to curl into a grin as he blasted Diode point blank range in the stomach, sending her spiraling through the air.

Human Torch saw what happened and took to the skies almost immediately. He flamed off his top half and caught Diode, "Gotcha, cutie."

"I thought you were gay or somethin'," Diode muttered.

"Depends on the person," Johnny smiled. "I'm bisexual, in case you were wondering."

"Keen, so I might have a chance with ya?" Diode replied.

"Maybe," Johnny laughed. "If our schedules are free."

Diode winced, "Crap...I'm bleeding." She gripped her stomach where the blast had hit and brought up a bloody glove to her face.

Feng Tu laughed as Mr. Fantastic slingshotted the Thing directly at him. The large rocky creature tucked and rolled as he shot like a cannonball. Feng simply blasted Thing, which caused him to ricochet and crash into the ground.

"HAHAHAHA--what?" Feng asked as he was lifted off of his feet by an unseen force. Sue concentrated and pummeled Tu into the ground as hard as she could.

Johnny descended with Diode and gently lowered her onto the ground. Reed stretched his legs and made it over to them in two steps, "We have medical equipment in the craft!"

Archangel came limping up to them as he gripped his side, "We're not through yet."

Maggott seemed to roar as his muscular blue form burst through the swarm of zombies. He had cuts all over his body, but it didn't seem to phase him. He hammered his fists through the zombies one by one, pulverizing each of them. Maggott had held his body over his teammates the whole time.

A fiery whirlwind whipped up and incinerated more of the zombies as a localized solar wind made up of a brilliant blue discharge of particles disintegrated the rest. Xorn and Pyro stood in the dust cloud which resulted from their combined efforts. Three remained as Psylocke leapt into the air and drove her outstretched hand into the heart of one and kicked the heads off of the others.

Maggott collapsed as Eany and Meany immediately burrowed their way into his abdomen. Japheth appeared to dry heave as his slugs' energy they ingested increased his vitality. He stood up as his cuts appeared to close up part way.

As Thing dug himself out of the crater he was thrust into, the two superhero teams met up with each other and looked at Feng Tu as he was pinned to the ground by Invisible Woman's shield.

Xorn panted as he grabbed Archangel and Diode, then Maggott, but his healing energies did not work, "I...I cannot..."

"You've revitalized their bodies from the brink of death," Reed explained. "They have developed an immunity to your healing, believe it or not."

"Aw crap, I've got this hangnail that's been bothering me for months!" Pyro quipped.

"Get Roni to the hovercraft and get her the medical attention she needs," Archangel commanded.

Reed took Diode in his arms and bounded off towards the top of the mountain by forming his legs into springs.

"What about you, luv?" Psylocke asked, observing the scorched leather and dried blood over Warren's ribs.

He replied, "I'll be fine. I've lived with worse pain."

"Maggott? You cool?" Pyro asked.

Maggott shrugged as he rubbed the abrasion on his shoulder and grimaced at the other wounds over his body, "Meh...I guess."

"You...will not win...," Feng Tu said from beneath the shield. His eyes glowed, but nothing happened.

"We took out your soldiers, dead or otherwise," Psylocke said. "You won't be reanimating anything else."

"Xorn...is still bound by his duty," Tu said. "If he disregards it, we will hunt him down and execute him by any means necessary...even if it means blowing up the entire X-Corp building."

Archangel walked up to Feng as he clenched his fists, cracking his knuckles, "Is that a threat?"

"Warren, please," Xorn said as he lightly grabbed Archangel out of the way. He turned and faced Tu, "I will not ignore my patriotic duty."

"Xorn, don't be an idiot," Pyro said. "They're just using you."

"Perhaps, but I think a peaceful solution is a possible outcome," Xorn replied. "I will donate money to the people of China out of my own salary." His eyeslots glowed from inside his helmet as he gazed upon Feng, "I will still fulfill my duty as well as my obligations towards X-Corp."

"What if...there is a problem you must face personally?" Feng asked.

Xorn crossed his arms, "Then I grant you permission to handle it accordingly. But you will work on my terms. You forget while you are the mouthpiece for the government, I have the authority over you as national hero of China."

Feng let out a strong sigh, "Fine."

"X-Corp and the Fantastic Four will also not be charged," Xorn said. "They acted in defense."

"You're asking quite a lot of us...since it was I who saved your life," Tu said.

"You kidnapped my friends and used them against their will," Xorn said. "Perhaps you want to get the United Nations involved in this diplomatic matter?"

"Blah, blah, blah...let me go," Tu demanded. Xorn nodded and Sue let her shield down.

Tu got to his feet and smiled, "Fool!" He reeled his fist back and attempted to follow through, but Xorn grabbed Tu's wrist and snapped it.

Tu screamed in pain as the bone stuck out from the skin, "OW! By the light!!"

"Jeez, I thought you were a pacifist, Xorny?" Maggott asked.

Xorn looked down at Tu, who cowered on the ground, nursing his wrist, "He'll live."

X-Corp offices.
The next morning.

As the doors to the conference room opened, Archangel, Psylocke, Pyro, and Xorn brushed past the photographers, microphones, and cameras.

"...Is Xorn a traitor to the Chinese people...?"

"...Is X-Corp responsible for destroying the Feng Tu installation...?"

"...Is Xorn still employed by X-Corp...?"

"...Did the Fantastic Four contribute to your victory...?"

"...What is Xorn's future of X-Corp like...?"

"...Where do Xorn's priorities lie...?"

"...Do you think Diode and the Human Torch would make a good couple...?"

Archangel shouted, "That's it, go home!" as he shut the doors. Maggott and Diode were in the hospital getting their wounds treated. Archangel's avian physique allowed him a quicker healing time than most. He sighed and turned around to see the others' backs turned to him as if they were stunned and immobilized.

"Alright, guys, let's..." Archangel began, but he seemed to experience the same kind of shock. Warren gulped down the last word he was about to say and felt his jaw drop.

Exodus, Colossus, and Sunfire stood by the window which overlooked the Manhattan skyline. Havok and Polaris leaned up against opposite walls. Joseph sat in the chair at the head of the long table with his fingers steepled under his nose. Blink stood silently behind him. Proudstar wiped his mouth after eating an entire vegetable platter. The Exiles wore professional business attire to accomodate their unexpected trip.

Joseph cleared his throat, "Um...hiya."

To be concluded...