Archangel

Psylocke

"Okay," Warren Worthington the Third said as he sat down in his chair at the head of the board room table. His white angelic feathered wings spread and folded behind the back of the chair as he opened his leather bound folder, "What's on the agenda for today?"

"Diode and Maggott are back," Roni Santiago said as she raised her pen vertically in her hand and cleared her throat.

"Hey-o!" Maggott cheered in a somewhat overzealous way.

Everyone clapped their hands as Diode and Maggott mockingly stood up and waved. Diode pretended to cry, "I'd like to thank the makers of Jell-O and the producers of Passions for hiring writers for their scripts who have the IQs of monkeys...and...and...the continued support of my sexy-ass employer!" Roni sat down and blushed. Pyro chuckled as Archangel rolled his eyes.

"Um, well we do have a particular problem with our media exposure," Xorn said.

"I have a whole bunch of assignments lined up from our MTM department," Psylocke responded. "That should clear up misconceptions that we are serious about our work and we're not in it for the glamour."

"Wait...MTM?" Pyro echoed with an arched eyebrow.

"Mutant threat mission," Psylocke explained. "MTM makes it sound cool."

"And what's this not in it for the glamour talk?!" Diode joked.

"Ugh," Psylocke sighed.

"Alright then," Archangel said as he folded his hands, "how many MTMs do we have?"

Psylocke put her index finger to her closed lips, "Fifteen."

"Fifteen?" Pyro choked as he leaned forward in his chair. "Crickey..."

"How serious are they?" Xorn asked.

"We should be able to handle it," Psylocke said as she shook the purple hair out of her eyes, "it's merely an issue of educating the humans these mutants interact with on a daily basis."

"What about our other departments?" Archangel asked.

"The engineering department needs extra funding for the Danger Room Project going on in the dome up on the roof," Maggott replied.

"Public relations are steady. Our approval rating is still climbing," Diode said.

"The science department has developed a new--"

Suddenly, the door busted open. Bill Gemas, the metrosexual-dressing design division manager rushed into the office. He was the only remaining human member of the board resulting from the name and policy change from Angel Incorporated to X-Corp. "Sorry I'm late. I was setting up something with my...um, secretary. What'd I miss?"

"Well, you're not on time, Bill," Warren said. "I'd say you missed pretty much everything you haven't heard. You were saying, Xorn?"

"Yes," Xorn continued, "the science department has developed a new brand of fiberoptic technology. If we get the grant from the government, it could catapult X-Corp into the top categories like Microsoft or Exxon."

Warren's eyebrows rose, "Good news."

"Uh, yeah...," Pyro coughed. "Since I'm the government liaison, I'll get on that grant proposal."

Warren nodded, "Well, finances are doing well thus far. Now that Betsy has pledged her own family's fortune in with my own, building a new Seraphim jet and helping the X-Men rebuild the mansion isn't much of a setback, but it doesn't mean we should lose steam now."

Bill nodded, "We're also designing new uniforms for the team, in addition to a better jet."

"Wait...uniforms?" Pyro asked. "I thought we opted to stick with the business attire and ditch the leather and spandex thing the other heroes are doing."

"During certain MTMs that require the entire team, which will become more of a public event than our smaller missions, we may need more protection than just the ultra-thin kevlar underneath our dress clothes," Psylocke said.

Bill nodded, "Based on research, we actually found that people are more accepting of superhuman phenomena granted they are coming from more of a superheroish costume."

"Our uniforms will be individualized," Psylocke said. "Yet they will still represent our team. Hopefully they won't be too corny, either."

"Hey, the way the public treats us, we can wear whatever we want," Diode said.

"Yes, but you still need to maintain a semblance of uniqueness amidst other heroes," Bill said.

Warren nodded, "Sorry to say, we're competing with the Champions and Force Works revivals. Our mission statements are different, but they're still shaped around a business. The superhero mystique is a new fad, but hopefully the public will realize we're not trying to cash in just because we're mutants, but because we're trying to promote tolerance and equality for our kind."

"People are still wondering about Joseph," Diode said. "We need to make some kind of announcement. I don't know if PR can risk giving anymore details of the wedding away to avoid the subject."

Archangel sighed, "We can't do that just like we can't tell them Sabretooth, a known killer, helped us take down Warp Savant -- after which we were thrust into superstardom."

"Well, it was Joseph who defeated my brother," Diode reminded. "Joe's the reason X-Corp is where it is today."

"We already almost had a mishap during our first major mission, namely Betsy's connection with the Jigoku and Vargas," Pyro explained.

Maggott cleared his throat as he tried not to concentrate on the fact he started the fire which consumed his former apartment complex in order to destroy the extra slugs his mutation birthed.

"Maggott...?" Psylocke asked.

"W-what?" he replied.

"What about the accidental death of your family?" Psylocke asked. "Did the South African authorities deal with that yet?"

"Oh, um...heh, see," Maggott rambled. "That was a lie."

"What!?" Psylocke snapped.

"Uh...whoa," Pyro muttered.

"Alright, alright...I'm not gonna run from the truth," Maggott sighed. "I started the fire in my apartment complex."

Archangel's stare seemed to glare upon Maggott to the point where he could almost feel his skin crawling...but that was just Eany and Meany crawling around in his abdomen...but it was still making it worse. Warren asked through clenched teeth, "Do you mind telling us...why you decided to become an arsonist? Not to mention somehow masking your true thoughts from Psylocke?"

"It wasn't because I was trying to hide a secret like Joe was," Maggott said.

"Joseph didn't know he was Proteus," Xorn said as he folded his arms.

"Here's the deal, guys...," Maggott said. "You remember my new mutation? I'm sure you saw it on TV when I was filling in for the ragtag Fan Four?"

"Those little maggot spore things?" Pyro asked. Hugh Japheth nodded in response.

"Well, they all seemed to get bigger...to the point where I could barely control them. It all started right before I was about to join the Omega team," Maggott said. "Thankfully they didn't start to reach full size until after I moved into my apartment in Brooklyn. But even then...their hunger grew...I was afraid they'd turn on me...or worse...turn on the lot of you."

"You should have said something," Archangel said. "We could have helped you."

"They were a part of me...which means they'd know if I said something...I kept 'em secret," Maggott said. "I had to...ugh." Japheth buried his head in his hands, "If you want to fire me, I'll understand. I was only trying to protect you guys. The problem's fixed now, but...I guess there's potential hazard if word gets out that I did it."

"I doubt anyone will be pressing charges," Archangel said. "I made a generous donation to the tenants of the building. I've received word that everyone has moved somewhere else and are doing fine."

"But what if the city presses criminal charges?" Psylocke asked.

"Then Maggott will turn himself in," Xorn answered.

"Aw, come on...," Maggott said. "I've helped this city save billions of dollars in property damage."

"And yet, you caused property damage in return," Diode said as electricity sparked from her eyeballs. "In case you're just tuning into reality...I hate it when I'm lied to."

"I'll talk with Charlotte," Archangel said. "Maybe we can come to some kind of understanding."

"Wait...Detective Jones?! I don't wanna go to jail, man!" Maggott shouted.

"She understands our perspective," Archangel said, drowning out Maggott's worried shouts. "She understands heroes might have to bend the law sometimes. Most of all...she might understand mutations rage out of control," Warren closed his eyes and recalled the days when his feathery wings were absent, replaced with Apocalypse's own metallic, techno-organic tissue.

"Worst case scenario," Archangel began, "you'll have a fine and be put on probation."

"Fuck, why'd I even--?" Maggott paused. He sighed, "Yeah...sorry. I know this is gonna hurt our image."

"Don't sweat it too much, dude," Pyro said with a smirk, "remember the days of Cap's Kooky Quartet? Eventually Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and Hawkeye became respectable as heroes on the Avengers."

"The hell does that matter?" Maggott asked.

"Well...um, aren't you a former criminal?" Pyro asked.

"No!" Maggott shot back.

"Oh...," Pyro huffed. "Well then yeah, you're screwed."

"AWWWwww!" Maggott moaned.

"It won't come to that, don't worry," Archangel said. “Celebrities, as bad as it sounds, don’t go to jail. It’s almost a given.” He exchanged eyes with his telepathic fiancé’s.

"Oh, Bill?" Psylocke asked.

"Yo," Bill responded as he palmed his sharply gelled hair, checking its firmness.

"I'm erasing your memories of this meeting," Psylocke responded. "Sorry. Hopefully next time we'll try not to reveal huge secrets that could ruin us."

Bill took out his pocket knife and clipped a hangnail off of his thumb, "Nah, I'm used to blanking out and waking up at my desk, getting worried that I missed the meeting, but that I probably heard something I wasn't supposed to and--" Bill unexpectedly got up from his chair and exited the office.

"Now...anything else anyone wants to tell me before we take a coffee break?" Archangel asked.

"I think I accidentally bought a porn company," Diode winced. "I thought I clicked 'no,' but...damn Internet, I tell ya."

"...I meant anything about business," Archangel said.

"...oh," Diode said as she slumped into her chair. "No."

Warren let out a whistle as he rubbed his eyes, "See, this is why I hate Mondays."

As her colleagues got up for a coffee, Psylocke felt herself drift away to another place...another body...

"...what?" Betsy asked. She looked down and saw her naked body beading with sweat. Not only that, but her skin was different. The pale yellowish tan it had been for a long period when she inhabited the body of Kwannon, the Asian assassin and lover of Matsuo Tsurayaba, former emissary of the Hand. She sat in a dark chamber akin to the old dungeons of Europe.

"You still haven't figured it out, huh?" an obnoxious feminine voice asked. Her silhouette had almost an arachnid quality to it, mainly because she possessed six arms. Spiral stepped into the light and smiled.

"Is this a dream?" Psylocke asked.

"Mmm, maybe," Spiral said, "depends on what you want to believe is real. You've been here in Mojoworld for awhile now. Ever since that incident in the Ebon Vein dimension, where you lost your precious shadow manipulating powers of the Crimson Dawn."

"That's...not possible," Psylocke breathed. "I shed my skin, revealing my old self underneath. Even my hair was blonde. I...was British again."

Spiral shook one of her index fingers at her, "See, that's the tricky part, Miss Elisabeth...you're not exactly bound to the same physics of mutants or even a sorceress like myself. Magic has a weird effect on you, does it not? You're a descendant of Otherworld."

"Yes...but not in this body," Psylocke said.

"You still have the same soul," Spiral responded. "Your soul is life force, energy...which is what Otherworld is all about. That's why Mojo and I were intrigued by you. By nature, you weren't supposed to have an active x-gene, but you did."

"What does Kwannon's body have to do with all of this?" Psylocke asked. "I was told her mind was just as fragmented as mine after I emerged from the Siege Perilous--"

"You were told?" Spiral asked. "Miss Kwannon was merely an instrument to put you on the right path."

"As an assassin for the Mandarin?" Psylocke shouted. She attempted to get up, but her chains bound her tightly.

"Don't you know how Mojo operates?" Spiral asked. "He needs his performers to be action stars, it's the only way to get ratings. Granted, Longshot was different. We needed to mold you a little. We had to pull a few strings on Earth 616 to do it, but I think it may have finally paid off."

"Almost," Psylocke smiled as she delivered a massive psi-bolt into Spiral's brain. Spiral gripped her head as her helmet fell off and rolled to Psylocke's feet. Betsy gripped the horned, opera-like helmet with her feet and jabbed the horns into the chains, causing them to break. Betsy stood up and towered over Spiral's cowering, pathetic body as she whimpered.

"Tell me what the hell is going on," Psylocke growled as she yanked on Spiral's hair, arching her head back and causing her to yelp. A pink blade of energy protruded from Psylocke's fist as the edge came ever closer to Spiral's neck.

Spiral suddenly cackled, "Why haven't you acted like this back on Earth? Where's the fury, the love for adventure, the sophisticated sultriness? What's happened to you there?"

Psylocke "retracted" her psi-blade and let go of Spiral's hair as she backed up. Spiral stood up and smiled.

Psylocke simply glared at Spiral, "Well, you bloody tell me what's happened! Apparently, I'm living two different lives. One there, one...here."

"You're all jumbled up...mixed and matched in all the wrong places. You're not Elisabeth Braddock, not anymore," Spiral said. "Kwannon or Revanche...or whatever she called herself before she died in your old body doesn't matter. Her soul is gone, dead. What matters is you have two glasses with one soul poured in each and neither one is the right mix."

"Want some dressing with that word salad, Rita?" Psylocke asked.

"And what's worse," Spiral shouted, "you've been trying to put together the missing pieces on your own...and now the mixture is just really screwed up and just doesn't taste yummy at all. Thankfully we've still got you here...pure and untainted."

"So, what does Mojo have planned this time?" Psylocke grimaced.

Spiral smiled, "Come now, Betsy. Give me some credit. I'm not going the cliché route and spilling everything for the viewers at home to see...although it would be great for dramatic effect..."

Detective Charlotte Jones sighed as she plopped down in her chair at her desk at the precinct. A yellow neon post-it sticking up on a manilla folder caught her eye. She pulled the small piece of paper off the folder and read it.

"Twenty-third and Washington Apartment complex in Brooklyn...Maggott connection...arson?" Charlotte read aloud to herself. She arched an eyebrow as she looked around at the other desks of the detectives, "Who put this on my desk?"

Various detectives and officers alike looked up in response to Charlotte's query, but offered no response. Charlotte bit her lip as she turned back to the folder and opened it. Inside, there were eight by ten inch black and white glossy photos depicting Hugh Japheth, otherwise known as Maggott, as he tampered with wiring in the basement of the apartment complex. Charlotte flipped through the photos as Maggott was then shown pouring gasoline all over the place. The final photo was Maggott as he struck a match.

"God...," Charlotte huffed. She looked at the phone on her desk, specifically the number for X-Corp on speed dial. She glanced at the photos and noticed a digitalized date in the lower left corner. It matched the date in which the apartment complex went up in flames. Granted, Charlotte was not fond of how her ex-lover, Warren Worthington, exploited he and his friends as mutants, but she did not want to see them suffer because of one teammate's mistake.

Were the photos even real? It wouldn't be too hard for even a ten year old with Photoshop to forge those pictures. But still, they were convincing. With all the sleazy tricks of the mutant paparazzi, it would be a breeze to catch Maggott in the act.

But Maggott still saved everyone, every single tenant, Charlotte thought to herself. It was obvious he tried to cover something up, but why would he go through such extreme measures to get something like that done?

Charlotte typed Maggott's name into a search program on her professional computer and pulled up his profile.

MAGGOTT

Real Name: Hugh Japheth
Nationality: South African
Height: 6' 8"
Weight: 350 lb.
Hair: white (currently shaved bald)
Eyes: red
Previous Afflictions: Fantastic Four, X-Men (questionable)
Criminal Record: *CLASSIFIED*
Superhuman Abilities: Mutant slugs/digestive system which can devour matter and energy at rapid speeds. Transformation into durable, blue muscular form once digestive tracts have reached capacity. Possible secondary ability to scan recent events by psionically reading residual memories in his general area. Unconfirmed ability to discharge miniature slug-like creatures.

"Why would his criminal record be classified?" Charlotte asked herself.

"Probably because someone didn't want everyone to view it," a masculine voice said, which startled the crap out of Charlotte to the point she almost fell out of her chair.

Charlotte looked up and saw a seemingly sickly man with a yellowish tint to his skin, as well as white hair, "Did you give me this folder?"

"Actually, one of my photojournalists did," the man said as he offered his hand to shake. Charlotte simply stared at the man's decrepit hand and refused to touch it.

"Who are you?" Charlotte asked as she stood up.

"The question is who is Maggott? Obviously not the angel he makes himself out to be, heh," the man said. He sighed, "My name is Mo...Joe. I mean...Joe. Joe Mojo...jojo. It's Canadian."

"Yeah, I can tell," Detective Jones said. She crossed her arms, "What do you know about Maggott, Mr. Mojojojo?"

"Why'd you say my name all weird?" Joe asked. "Is there a problem with my name?"

"I know all about cartoons, sir. I have a young son," Charlotte replied. "If this is your idea of a joke--"

Charlotte's rant was cut short when the man handed her six other folders. He smiled, "That's the rest of X-Corp's dirty little secrets."

"Shouldn't you be selling this to the tabloids and not...well, me?" Charlotte asked.

Mojo smiled, "Come on, just promise to take a look at it for me? If you think it's rubbish, that's fine. Just remember I've had my private eyes on them for awhile. I've got them in the most incriminating acts imaginable...might be something worth pursuing."

"I know most of X-Corp personally," Charlotte said as she carelessly tossed the other folders on her desk, "I know they wouldn't participate in criminal activities."

"Heh," Mojo chuckled. His skin appeared to turn a paler shade of yellow-green and his gut began to protrude outward, "Erk...uh-oh. Gotta go, sweetie!" He appeared to hop awkwardly as he walked towards the exit, "Remember to take a peekity-peek for your uncle Mojo, hehehehehe!"

"Right...," Charlotte muttered as she watched the strange man exit the precinct and then glanced at the folders on her desk. She took one last glance at Maggott's profile before clicking on "clear results."

"I'll definitely be taking a look," she said as she opened the folder designated for Archangel...

Psylocke awoke in the board office of X-Corp. She breathed heavily and blinked several times as the sun was shining through the window as opposed to the dungeons of Mojoworld. She pulled out her makeup compact and checked herself in the mirror. She was in her old British body, fair skin and all.

Was it a dream or some kind of telepathic influence? If she really was switching between bodies, she would have to tell someone. She could become a liability during a mission...or just do something really embarrassing on television.

"Warren?" Betsy called out. She was still alone in the office. Everyone was probably still getting their coffee. Betsy stood up and opened the door, to her surprise she saw the young blue-haired receptionist, Sandy.

"Ohmygod, Ms. Braddock, I...," Sandy breathed. She gripped her beating chest and swallowed, "They...oh God..."

Betsy's spine went cold, "Sandy, what is it? Who's they?"

Bill came running up to her amidst the congregation of shocked employees. Apparently, there had been some sort of a tussle, as there were scorch marks along the wall and floor. Many of the desks and cubicles were turned over on their side in a jagged, random array. Bill panted, "The board...they took 'em!"

"Who's they?" Psylocke repeated sternly.

Bill scratched the back of his head, "Um...some fat dude. And these weird liquid metal creatures...they were like hounds. They just--"

"Blob's dead...," Psylocke muttered to herself. Bill thrust a piece of paper in her face. Betsy took it and read it. She could recognize the handwriting immediately and gulped. Everything she experienced during her body/dimensional shift was real, it had to have been.

I STOLE 'EM, BITCH! HAHAHA! NOW WE'RE EVEN!
(bitch)

-Mojo
^_^

Psylocke wondered aloud, "I didn't realize I stole something from Mojo...aside from maybe his dignity when I helped defeat him. And I thought he died…at least, the first one. The second Mojo helped kill the original…and then there was a fifth one, 100 years in the future…ugh…I SO don’t need this right now, to quote a valley girl."

"What are we going to do?" Bill asked. "I mean, I think Warren's kind of a douche bag, but...we can't run this company without him or the others!"

Psylocke grabbed Bill by the collar, "Quit being a wanker! Get down to the science department and have them call Reed Richards, Hank Pym, and every other scientist you can get your bloody hands on!"

As Charlotte sipped a cup of regular coffee, she ran a search through with all the X-Corp board members. She became increasingly upset by her findings, as well as the information Mojo had provided her.

ARCHANGEL

Real Name: Warren Kenneth Worthington III
Nationality: American
Height: 6' 0"
Weight: 176 lb.
Hair: blonde
Eyes: blue
Previous Afflictions: X-Men, Champions, Defenders, X-Factor
Criminal Record: *CLASSIFIED*
Superhuman Abilities: Angelic wings, hallow bone structure, zero body fat, peak human strength, enhanced senses, enhanced healing (twice the normal rate). Possible photonic-based wings -- blue skin (?). Possible living metal wings.

PSYLOCKE

Real Name: Elisabeth Braddock
Nationality: British/Japanese (?)
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 165 lb.
Hair: blonde (currently dyed purple)
Eyes: blue
Previous Afflictions: X-Men
Criminal Record: *CLASSIFIED*
Superhuman Abilities: Telepathy and precognition. Possible shadow-warping and metamorphic abilities.

DIODE

Real Name: Veronica Santiago
Nationality: Mexican-American
Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 150 lb.
Hair: black
Eyes: brown
Previous Afflictions: N/A
Criminal Record: *CLASSIFIED*
Superhuman Abilities: Manipulation and generation of electrons, including limited control of the electromagnetic spectrum. Able to influence human emotions through accute connection with brain impulses.

XORN

Real Name: Shorn Dai-Chi
Nationality: Chinese
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 240 lb.
Hair: N/A
Eyes: N/A
Previous Afflictions: unknown
Criminal Record: *CLASSIFIED*
Superhuman Abilities: Star cluster in skull creates gravitational disturbances and related phenomena akin to solar activity. Able to read various spectrums in his vicinity. Speeds up natural healing in others.

PYRO

Real Name: St. John Allerdyce
Nationality: Australian
Height: 5' 10"
Weight: 150 lb.
Hair: blonde
Eyes: brown
Previous Afflictions: Brotherhood, Freedom Force, X-Men
Criminal Record: *CLASSIFIED*
Superhuman Abilities: Psionic manipulation of fire by exclusive control of oxygen molecules.

"All of their criminal records are being blocked...which means they all have something to hide...," Charlotte muttered to herself. She looked through the folders and saw photos of the X-Corp board members interacting with Sabretooth, as well as making some kind of deal with the Jigoku crime syndicate. Even more disturbing was the fact former employee, Joseph, didn't even have a public record.

Just what the hell is goin' on over there...? Charlotte thought.

Thirty hours and sixty-one Dr. Peppers later...

"...okay...," Bill sighed as he and ten other scientists employed by X-Corp stood in what appeared to be a large ring standing on its end. "Looks like we've got ourselves a dimensional gateway with a one-way trip to Mojoworld."

"Good," Psylocke said as she walked down a set of stairs to the main floor. She wore an all black ninja outfit. She pulled gloves over her hands and made sure all of her concealed weapons, throwing stars, sais, daggers, nunchucks, and truncheons were in place.

"What'doya mean good?" Bill yelped. "How are you gettin' back? You can't go there yourself, you need backup or something!"

"I...," Psylocke began, but she winced as a bird of fire screeched in her mind. It seemed to have said something, but it wasn't directed at anyone. It was just like a ripple in the astral plane caused by a sudden jolt of some kind. "Jean...?" Betsy shrugged it off, "I can do just fine on my own, Bill."

Betsy then walked over to a cart on wheels and strapped a katana sheathe to her back. She picked up the Japanese blade and slid it into the sheathe and pulled the hood over her head and wrapped a piece of cloth around her face, just below her eyes. She rapidly approached the gateway as she yelled, "I'm going to Mojoworld, I bid you adieu--HUW!"

Psylocke log-rolled backward onto the floor, a blunt pain in her temple, and quickly darted to her feet, slightly embarrassed, "Not turned on, I suppose?"

Bill and the other scientists nodded.

"Could you?" Psylocke wondered.

Bill picked up a metallic remote and pressed the large red button. The gateway hummed to life as a brilliant white light escaped from the circular opening. Flashes of electricity shot out of the sides of the ring as the light seemed to flicker.

Psylocke sighed, "Don't be scared, Billy..." She sprinted full force into the light, just as the machine powered down and produced a deafening pop.

"...so does this mean I'm the interim head of X-Corp?" Bill asked. "Huh? No, don't end the issue, tell me!"

NEXT: Mojo (and X-Corp's) got some splainin' to do!

"ARGH!" Bill shouted.