Archangel

Psylocke

Colossus

In a lavish courtroom, a large Russian sits before a window with a paintbrush in one hand, and a canvas in another. There's a wide display before him, one of a stand with a painting board on it, well lit from the window over his shoulder. The painting, though not quite finished yet, depicts the scene before him.

A bustling court room, with small groupings of people chatting after a resolve case. The many centers of attention are particularly a blonde man in a white business suit with elegant angel wings folded on his back sits at the defense's table, his listless and tired face buried into his forearms. At his side, consoling him, is a woman with butchered purple hair with sloppy and distasteful blonde and brown highlights, wearing a long black skirt and a white blouse.

Sitting behind them in one of the bleachers of the court room at the far end of the room, is another blonde man, shorter and lankier, drunkenly laying about with one hand holding an ice bag to his forehead, his eyes closed. The sleeves of his red dress shirt are rolled up, his slacks are dirty, and he has at least one black eye. At his side is a folded, black trench coat, draped over the bench he sits at.

“Next tosser that flashes a camera gets a custom-made fireball up their bum…” he mutters. “Don’t they realize some of us are nursing hangovers?”

Not far from the man is a hispanic woman, comfortably thick in her features, though not in anyway fat. She wears rather discreet clothing that doesn't quite match her personality by any means, as she is opening her mouth wide and sticking out her tongue. At the same time, a hand tugs down the scarf around her neck just enough to expose the various hickeys on her neck to the mass reporters and photographers stand before her, all of them near the doorway of the courtroom.

“Judge Judy, eat your heart out,” she says.

Back at the front of the court room, near the prosecutor's table, stands a green woman in a gray business suit and skirt. There's a small pin on her breast with a gold "A" on it. Before her, addressing her in a rather intellectual conversation is large figure wearing a kimono of royal colors, dominantly red with bits of blue and gold trim. He wears a bulky, metal helmet -- glowing with a strange of aura of blue, and with a rather audible dent engraved in the forehead. His arm is also in a sling, and beneath the kimono some bandage dressings can be partially seen.

“What do you believe the chances of success are, Miss… Walters, was it?”

“Yes, Mr. Xorn,” she says. “And to be honest, it’s not looking too good.”

“Whatever punishment they thrust on me, I am willing to accept, Jen,” says Xorn. “I spent many years as a prisoner of Feng Tu. Nothing the American justice system can do to me will ever compare to such torment.”

“Good to know that you're prepared for the worst,” says Jennifer Walters. “And Mr. Japheth, could you please stop staring at me?”

At the green woman's side, is a lanky and awkward black man, with but a small bit of blonde hair atop his head, examing the green woman's impressive biceps. Two metal slugs are about him, one running up the back of his leg, another over the top of his shoulder. His nose is sniffling, and his eyes are twitching irritably. He thumbs his nose, almost tweakerish, and giggles.

It is upon this last scene that the courtroom's artist -- Piotr Rasputin -- makes his finishing touches, and lets out a sigh of accomplishment. He looks over the edge of his painting, and closes one eye, seeing the very scene he depicted. From the defense table, the winged man looks up groggily to Piotr, and frowns. Piotr sets aside the brush and canvas on the painting stand, and lifts and turns the painting around for the winged man to see. Piotr makes a questioning face, as if searching for approval, and the man nods half-heartedly, though appreciating the gesture.

"Want to remind me how this all happened again, Betsy?" Warren asks, before slumping his head back down onto his forearms.

Betsy takes a calm breath, and explains.

"Only if I knew hearing the bloody story wouldn't further drive you mad with an exhausting grief. But then again..." Betsy grins, teasingly.

"Just humor me, please," Warren pleads of her, groaning to himself. Betsy continues to rub Warren's shoulder gently, smiling down to him sympathetically.

"For you, luv, anything…"

She can hear her own heartbeat as she moves down the hallway in near slow motion. She's breathless, to say the least, but nevertheless decisive in here seductive movements. The whole world to her is a blur of dark and light, swirling grays... like an eerie dream, though so vivid and lucid. She wears a beautiful, flowing nightgown of sorts, shimmering in the dim nightlight that passes through an occasional window. The hall itself is filled with the strangest and most twisted of pop-cultural memorabilia, including the skeleton of Elvis Presley, Dan Rather's toupee, the shredded remains of the script to "The Cable Guy," the shotgun that killed Kurt Cobain (with dust revealing Courtney Love's finger prints all over it), and so on.

Oddly enough, none of that matters to Psylocke. She's gotten quite used to the tastes Mojo had when decorating his citadel, and continues on her way... the world still passing around her in slow motion as the pounding of her heart continues. She's almost to her destination... to her lover... The large portraits that begin appearing on the wall, of all the Mojos past (including Oprah and Dr. Phil) signifies that. The most recent portrait of the most recent Mojo has been defaced (no doubt by Diode) with a goatee, Devil's horns, a wagging snake like tongue, and an arrow sticking through his head. It's from that portrait that there's only a few more steps... and she reaches the large, twin doors leading into an office.

The twin doors open as if anticipating her arrival, and she walks into the large office room that once belonged to Mojo.

“Warren…?”

At the very end of the room, is her lover, illuminated in full color in a gray and dark world, facing out over the large, mix of a technological wonder and wasteland. His large wings heave with his breaths, and Psylocke's breathing slowly starts to come back to her as she approaches him. He turns around cooly upon realizing her presence in the room, and smiles to her slyly. Her heart beat speeds up gradually, along with her returning breaths as she nears him. His wings rise as they embrace in a passionate kiss, her eyes closing just as the large wings close in around her tightly.

After a moment, their lips slowly part, and she confides in him, "I love you..." and her heartbeat and breathing slow down to a stop. There's a brief moment of silence, and then finally...

"Back at ya, luv," an Australlian accented voice responds. Betsy gasps and her eyes shoot open, and the world of gray and her lover have been replaced by a fiery hell surrounding her body where Archangel's wings had been, with Pyro in his place and grinning down at her menacingly. She jerks away from him as he laughs, and snaps back to reality in a flash. A hand suddenly rests on her waist, and she jumps in shock. She turns to the source.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Warren asks. It's no longer nighttime, and he's sitting on Mojo's large chair before an even larger desk, with her in his lap. She shakes her head, and is suddenly in a cold sweat.

"What did you just say?” she asks. “Just a moment ago..."

"I said, 'back at you, love,’" he replies.

Psylocke runs a hand through her hair and stands up, just as the doors to Mojo's boardroom swing open. She then hears a voice shouting, “hey hey there, Miss Hoover—making sure our fearless leader remains stress-free?”

“Diode…” mutters Psylocke, the dialogue giving away her teammate. She glances over to Warren, who rolls his eyes at Diode’s comments. Psylocke turns to face them and sees a large man with short, neatly trimmed black hair standing by the young Latina’s side. “Hello Colossus.”

Colossus just sort of smiles, and Psylocke stands from Warren’s lap. Diode leaps up on the small desk and begins to make thrusting motions with her hips.

“'Aiee aiee, harder Mr. Chairman of the Board! Faster! Fly me to Heaven, Angel!” she exclaims. Psylocke looks down and places a hand on her forehead as she mouths the words, “please let her slip and break her neck… please…”

“But then again, there’s no way there would be any bleeding down there,” says Diode. “Not saying you’d be flapping in the wind, but I’ve heard stories, so I know you’re not as virginal as you’d like people to think (but then again, with those skimpy jumpsuits you used to wear, I doubt anyone thought it). And stories… hooo boy, have I heard stories. Something about a lake in Westchester…? Care to comment, future-Mrs. Worthington?”

“Diode, if anyone would--” Psylocke begins.

“…something you needed, Roni?” Warren interjects, cutting off whatever Psylocke’s rebuttal would have been.

Diode makes no reply, but instead lays down on the desk and picks up a small glass globe of sorts. Inside is a large, brown blob in the shape of the former ruler of Mojoworld.

“Eww… what the hell?” she asks with a slight giggle. “Did Mojo preserve his turds or something?”

“No… that’s Mojo’s remains,” says Psylocke.

“Sick…” says Diode. “And you keep this around? You’re weirder than I thought, Worthington.”

She glances up at Warren and Betsy, who are both glaring daggers at her. She turns away from the evil eye to look at Colossus, who is trying to hold back his own laughter.

“Diode… what do you want?” asks Warren once more.

“Okay, here’s the deal!” replies Diode, clapping her hands and sitting up straight. “I’ve got big news, news that’ll really help the mutant rights and publicity angle we’re trying to push!”

“Does this mean you’re resigning?” asks Psylocke. “Please tell me you’re resigning.”

“Nope, better!” replies Diode with a huge grin on her face. “Okay, are you guys ready for this? Tell me you’re ready for this. Are you ready for this?”

"Fascinating," Xorn remarks as if in a sincere, thorough interest. Perhaps it is, but that doesn't change the fact that he's lying flat on his back, half way on a runway stage, and that his interest is in regard to a stripper squatting down, clasping a $50 bill that's taped to his metal face-mask between her lips (figure it out for yourself which ones), and pulling it off while standing up with it held tightly by a very... not so tight place.

Maggott's sitting at a table not too far away from Xorn, nodding his head to fast-paced techno music and biting his lip with a devious, drunken grin as a virtual African goddess does a personal strip tease for him on the table he's at for him.

The location is the flashiest of strip clubs out there. Dark and sensual, with strobe lights, black lights, orange and pink neon signs, and 80s techno up the wazoo. There's the usual brand of poles, cages, and runways. The song "I ran (so far away)" by A Flock of Seagulls is playing.

A sign over the bar reads "A Burning Sensation -- the Pole Position Club." Below the sign reads a notice that says "Under New Management." It's definitely one of the most "well-equipped," though prestigious, strip joints in Hollywood. It seems frequented mostly by many celebrities and movie producers -- with the exception of sore thumbs Jay and Silent Bob, who are wearing VIP passes that were given to them by the new owner.

Speaking of the owner... decked out in a tacky, brown dress suit with pink stripes and a pink undershirt (as well as designer sunglasses), Pyro stands at the corner of the bar talking to a larger man who has short, dark brown hair and a goatee. Beside them, idley drinking a beer and "seemingly" minding his own business is a casually dressed man, occasionally glancing their way.

“Now c’mon, y’ got off to a nice start with Good Will Hunting,” says Pyro. “But what on God’s bloody green earth were you thinking with Armageddon?”

“Well… it wasn’t all that bad…” mutters the actor. “I thought it was a very intelligent script that really challenged me as an actor.”

“C’mon, admit it, mate—y’ just took the role so you could make out with Liv Tyler.”

“…is this off-the-record?”

“Yup.”

“Then of course that’s why I took the role,” he says. “C’mon, that movie was horrible.”

“Okay, now you were good in Chasing Amy—the goatee was off, but you were good,” says Pyro.

“…no it wasn’t…” he says. “I liked the goatee…”

“It annoyed me the whole feckin’ time!” exclaims Pyro. “But after Chasing Amy, you had Dogma… which was funny… but y’ feckin’ sucked, mate. Damon carried your ass.”

“Hey, that was a very dramatic role that showed off my diversity as an actor.”

“You were over the bloody top!”

“…so?”

“And my god man, what were you thinking with Paycheck and Gigli?”

“Can we please not talk about Gigli?” asks the actor. “I still have nightmares about the reviews… But what about Sum of All Fears?”

“Haha, oh man, that movie brought back feckin’ memories, mate,” says Pyro. “Now, y’see, back in the day, I was a terrorist. And the way we did things, we did it with class and finesse. None o’ this cloak and dagger shite, we were proud, we were public, an’ people knew who we were.”

“Excuse me,” says the man sitting by their side. He chuckles slightly in a nervous tone. “Sorry, I couldn’t help eavesdropping, but could you clarify what you just said? Something about terrorism?”

“HEY, JLO’S EX!” exclaims Maggott from his table. “GET THAT CRAPPY ACTOR’S ARSE O’ YOURS OVER HERE AND GET ME A FOSTER’S!”

The actor whistles for a waitress and points over at Maggott’s table. He then stands and sits down next to Maggott.

"Now, see there was this one time..." says Pyro to his new companion. "Me an' my mates in the Brotherhood, we were responsible for an assassination attempt on Senator Kelly. First time I did the terror gig, an' it was the first time I ran into the X-Men. See, back in those days, Kelly was really staunch on his anti-mutant platform. So no bloody way could we let that fly. So we tried to kill him, an' I'll tell ya, that was one fecked up da—"

Pyro stops once he sees the indulgent grin beginning to form on the man's face. Pyro glances down, and catches sight of something poking out of the man's sleeve. A revelation hits the former terrorist, and he lunges at the man, gripping him by his shirt collar.

Over at Maggott's table, a waitress brings and sets down two large glasses of drinks for Maggott and the actor. They both get ready to reach for the drinks, when suddenly, the man who was speaking with Pyro lands on their table. Pyro pins the reporter down on the table with one arm. After a grunt, the reporter stares up at Pyro in fear as Pyro snaps his fingers. The drinks light up in a blaze of fire, nearly singing the reporter's face.

"'ey Hugh, the gels hungry?" he asks.

Maggott immediately turns blue and bulks up as Pyro pulls out the tape recorder from the reporter's sleeve, and tosses it over his shoulder. Maggott's two slug-like companions, Eany and Meany, appear virtually out of nowhere, and leap up into the air, gobbling it up in seconds.

"Listen up and listen good," says Pyro. "If you or any of your media yuppies show yer faces at my place of business, then y' won't be as quick as a meal as that tape recorder was—I promise it'll be much, much longer. Plus, keep in mind who's your new boss."

Pyro pulls the reporter off of the table and throw him to the ground. The reporter stumbles and falls, landing on his hands and knees. He turns his head and looks up at Pyro.

"Piss off."

Without another word, the reporter quickly gets to his feet and runs off, leaving Pyro and Maggott standing there watching him leave.

"Wankers," says Pyro. "You can come out now, kid."

The actor slowly peeks up from behind the table he was hiding behind, and then stands and rejoins Pyro and Maggott. The two X-Corp members sigh and shake their heads, and their friend does the same.

"Crazy night, huh?" he says.

Pyro and Maggott exchange glances, then they both lift their hands up as they shout, "waitress!" in unison.

Not far off, Xorn watches as two strippers on a runway bend over elegantly, back to back, dropping their heads to their ankles between their legs, and press their asses together. They begin kissing and suddenly, their asses start vibrating against each other, and the metal eyeslots on Xorn's mask begin to bend in a sort of awe.

"Fascinating..." he again remarks, just as out from the corner of his "eye," a stripper from across the club inches her finger towards him. Xorn, innocently enough, points to himself, looks around, and then walks towards her. She smiles seductively, and they disappear into the back of a room.

"Err... co-host of TRL?" asks Warren with a hint of confusion.

"Yeah, Total Request Live!!" replies Diode with a giddy tone in her voice. "See, back when I was a stand-up, I was on one of those Comedy Central specials, so I got a bit of exposure that way. Then, I became a mutant and got more exposure. And then I became a mutant celebrity in charge of one of the first and only corporations run by publically-known mutants. So the other day, MTV calls me up, and they're like, 'how would you like to co-host a show?' And at first, I said no, because I didn't like the idea of having to share the spotlight. But they eventually sold me on the idea of me co-hosting TRL."

"I dunno about this..." mutters Warren. "Ever since I formed X-Corp, my goal has always been, first and foremost, to fight for Xavier's dream... albeit in a slightly unique way."

"I know what you're saying, wings, but just listen," begins Diode. "I mean, think about this for a minute. What to kids care about these days? It's not like the sixties when kids would be interested in stuff like politics and civil rights. These days, kids are total slaves to pop culture. Hell, Queer Eye is probably one of the main reasons gays are more accepted among the younger generations. You gotta reach them by pop culture, and what better way than to have a mutant co-hosting one of the shows that these kids flock to day after day? Hey, maybe we can even inspire mutant musicians to come forward!"

"What do you think, Peter?" asks Warren.

"I actually agree with Roni," replies Colossus. "Winning over the youth is winning over the future. The younger generations will be the ones who play a pivotal role in the future of human/mutant relations."

"I'm still not sure, I want to try and avoid turning X-Corp into a spectacle," says Warren. "What do you think, Betts?"

"Hmm?" asks Psylocke, snapping to attention. She processes her fiancé's words, then shrugs her shoulders. "Sorry, I was distracted. Colossus makes a good point, though. And out of all the board members, Diode is the one with the highest approval rating among the young generations."

"Woot!" exclaims Diode. She lifts her arms up above her head and begins to raise them higher slightly. "C'mon Petey, raise the roof!"

"Raise... the roof?" asks Colossus. He watches Diode, and then begins to do the same motion. Psylocke simply rolls her eyes.

"Excuse me," she says, turning to leave the room.

"Aww yeah, this is gonna be great!" exclaims Diode. "Think about it, I can meet all these famous people! Like Usher and Avril and Christina. And Ricky Martin... god I love me some Ricky Martin. Not to mention Enrique... ohhhh. And Simple Plan and Michelle Branch and I can make jokes or something... hey, that's great! I can use my comedy routine there! Oh man, this could be my chance to really break out as a comic! I mean, what better place than MTV? And then..."

Archangel drifts off, watching Psylocke leave, concern evident in his eyes.

Psylocke makes her way out of the citadel office and into a private, exotic looking washroom not far down the hall. She shuts the door behind her and walks up to the sink, turning on the water, and drenching her face. She then reaches for a towel and pats down her face, then looks up into the mirror.

She jumps when she sees Pyro staring back at her with the same devious and sinister grin as in her "vision."

Balling up a fist, she quickly jabs the mirror, shattering it to pieces just as her reflection reemerges.

"Excuse me... miss?" says Xorn. He sits and watches as, in a private VIP room, the stripper continues her pole dance for him. Truthfully, however, boredom is beginning to set in for him. "What you are doing, very interesting, and I would like to thank you for what you've showed me of exotic females, but I must be going. I will compensate you, of cou—"

"Wait," says the stripper. She stops her dance and lays down on the small stage in front of Xorn. She brings her face so that it is mere inches from his iron mask. "How would you like something a bit more exciting and..."

She looks him up and down, and then licks her lips before she says, "fresh."

"Hmm... I'm intrigued," says Xorn.

The stripper hops off the stage and moves over to Xorn's chair. She gently pushes him back and then begins to perform a lap dance. She begins rubbing her body up against him, and Xorn watches with rapt attention.

"Fascinating..." he says. He reaches out with his hand slowly and places it on her leg. The stripper coos lightly, but then moves his hand away and shakes a finger in front of his mask.

"Naughty, naughty," she says with a smirk. "There's a strict hands off policy here at the club, but..."

She looks him over one more time.

"I suppose I might be able to make an exception in your case, Xorny..."

And I ran, I ran so far away.
I just ran, I ran all night and day.
I couldn't get away.

"Winding down now," says Pyro. He sits next to Maggott and perches his legs on the stage.

"Most everyone's left for the night," says Maggott. "I'll give it to ya, Johnny—y' certainly showed these vrot stoepkakkers a helluva time. Look at that one."

He points to their newfound actor friend, passed out on the stage.

"What y' plannin' t' do with him anyway?"

"Not the first time me an' him have hit the scene," replies Pyro. He places a cigarette between his lips and points at an ashtray. A single spark left over from an extinguished cigarette jumps up and flows to the end of Pyro's cigarette. It increases in size, enough to provide Pyro with a light.

"Thought you quit," says Maggott.

"Feck off."

Pyro takes a drag on the cigarette, then pulls it away from his mouth. He tosses his head back slightly and blows the smoke through his nostrils. A scream comes from the back room. The sudden break in silence shocks Pyro enough to kick his reclined chair back, and tossing him to the ground.

"Shite!" he exclaims.

Large, blue hands help Pyro to his feet. Pyro looks at Maggott, already transformed. The two look around and see the stragglers in the club, as well as the actor on stage, begin to turn their attention towards the back room. A woman dressed in skimpy clothing comes running out with tears streaming down her face.

"What the hell?" asks Maggott. He looks at his teammate. Pyro signals for two bouncers, who are already moving towards the VIP rooms. The stripper runs up to Pyro and throws her arms around him, sobbing into his chest.

"He raped me!" the stripper exclaims. "I... I told him no, that there's a no touching rule... but he wouldn't listen!"

"There there, lass," says Pyro, lightly patting her on the back. Maggott raises an eyebrow and Pyro simply shrugs his shoulders. "Just tell us now, who is it we're talking about?"

"That... that... thing in the iron mask!" she exclaims. "The one with no face!"

"Xorn?!" exclaims Maggott.

"Yeah, him!" she says.

Pyro pushes her away from him and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Right then, just what kind of game are y' playin' here?" he asks.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" she asks.

"No way Xorn would do something like that," says Maggott.

"No, you don't understand... he—"

"Shut it," says Pyro. "Pack yer things, bitch—you're fired."

"WHAT?!"

"I don't appreciate my girls tryin' t' scam me and accuse my friends," he says.

"You filthy bastard!" she exclaims. She starts hysterically hitting his chest, but Pyro barely feels the light slaps. "You're just protecting him because he's your friend—because he's a mutant! I'm going to the cops and you'll be hearing from my lawy—"

Pyro pulls his hand back and slaps it across her face. He pushes her away and she falls to the ground.

"Hugh, would you mind takin' out the trash?" he asks. He takes notice of the bouncers emerging from the VIP rooms and walks towards them. Maggott picks the woman up effortlessly and carries her to the front door.

"Let me go!" she exclaims.

"Fine," says Maggott. He kicks open the door and drops her outside. He brushes off his hands and walks over to Pyro.

"I'm sorry... come again?" asks Pyro.

"It's like I said, Mr. Allerdyce, we searched all the VIP rooms," says one of the bouncers. "Mr. Xorn's gone, he must have gone out the back."

"Shite..." mutters Pyro. "Bring the car around, we have to find him."

A small hand wraps lightly on the door labeled "WOMEN" and a voice calls out.

"Hey Psylocke!" exclaims Diode. "You better lose all the weight you can on the crapper, 'cause we're going out for Chinese to celebrate my upcoming television debut!"

Diode pushes the door open and walks inside.

"Betts...?"

Diode looks around the bathroom, but sees no one in there. She also takes notice of the shattered mirror, combined with some blood in the center of it.

"That's... not good..." she mutters.

A knock on the door shocks Diode's attention.

"Roni, is Betsy in there?"

"No, she's not," replies Diode. She unzips her pants and sits down on the toilet. "Hey Warren, you didn't install any of those toilet cams or anything in here, did ya? Last thing I need is some guy jerking off to me doing my business on one of those fetish sites."

Outside the bathroom, Warren covers his eyes in embarassment.

"Interesting group you've assembled," says Peter.

"Colossus... please, just... just shut up..." mutters Warren.

Xorn has quickly made his way out of the better parts of Hollywood into one of the not-so better parts. He's staring down at the ground, looking at the filth and trash of the alleyway he's walking down in his own unique visage, and even sees a passed out bum lying not too far away. In his own mind, Xorn is reliving short, brief glimpses of what happened... not only as a part of his memory, but with his unique way of remembering. But his memories are jumbled, so much that he's finding himself confused.

He doesn't hear the car screech to a stop at the end of the alley way as he continues to talk, but he remembers the woman saying she's not supposed to, but that she'll make an exception... he remembers reaching for her out of an innocent curiosity... and he remembers a scream. He doesn't notice three men and a woman pile out, and make his way towards him intently. What did he do wrong? Surely she wasn't trying to deceive him... surely he didn't do anything wrong? But what if...

"There's the sick freak, Bruno! That's him! That's HIM!" a woman's voice yells... the stripper's. Xorn looks up, his hands still in his pockets. He sees the woman from the strip club, and is again confused.

"Wha -- ?"

*CLANG!*

So confused in fact, that he doesn't notice the sledge hammer come across his metal helmet, and knock him into the alley ground. The bum he saw seconds ago wakes with a startle, to yelling and screaming, and sees Xorn lying on the ground. He quickly gets up and runs.

Xorn lies disoriented from the blow, but still manages to move back up to his feet. Another blow from the sledge hammer to his helmet puts him down hard again, and then the two other men run up and start kicking him across the ribs and torso, one slinging a chain down onto him, while the other slings a bat. The stripper urges her "heroes" on from the end of the alley.

Bruno, the guy with the sledge hammer, waves his two friends out of the way, saying he's gonna put the rapist freak down once and for all. They promptly move out of the way to the sides and back of Xorn, and Bruno comes at Xorn, sledge hammer raised. Suddenly, Xorn jerks up and in a flash has grip of the sledge hammer, and flings it out of Bruno's grasp. The sledge hammer flies through the air, and nails one of the other strapping "heroes" in the knee, snapping it inward, and he drops to the ground, screaming.

Xorn's other assailant comes at him from behind, and then he turns around and snap kicks him in the jaw. Xorn then spins and backfists him across the temple, sending him into a nearby building wall in the alley. Bruno lunges at Xorn, sending a fist for his chest, but Xorn slaps the fist away, and reaches out to grab Bruno with both hands by the collar. He then pulls him forward and headbutts him, another loud *CLANG!* ringing off Bruno's forward. Xorn's got a large splot of blood on his face mask when he drops Bruno to the ground, who's now bleeding from the skull.

The three men down for the count, Xorn aggressively turns his sights on the stripper... and the memories come back to him from the strip club.

Sharper and more violent, and he remembers fully what happened... Fully what he did. The stripper screams and starts moving backwards towards the car her and her "heroes" showed up in, but trips backwards and hits the pavement. Xorn moves over her, menacingly, and begins to unlock his helmet....

A horrid scream comes next, followed by a flash of blue energy.

And I ran, I ran so far away.
I just ran, I ran all night and day.
I couldn't get away.

A portal opens in the boardroom of X-Corp's main offices. Archangel, Colossus, and Diode step out from the portal. Colossus holds two bags of Chinese food in his hands.

"Gotta love the instantaneous transport," says Diode.

"Yeah," says Archangel. "Too bad it can only take us from Mojoworld to the boardroom..."

"I agree," says Diode. "Even with all the wrinkles and aging crust, Antonio Banderas still has the finest Latino ass in all of Hollywood."

"Don't ask," says Archangel to Colossus.

"I must admit," begins Colossus as he sets down the food on the table. "I do feel a bit like the odd duck in this group. You seem to have this tight, closely-knit set of friendships. I appreciate you all trying to make me feel welcome, though."

Diode leaps on the boardroom table and crosses her legs. She wraps her arms around Colossus and then says rapidly, "Ooohhh... usted es tan lindo! Apenas deseo apenas abrazarle y besarle y fondle le todo encima, usted estiron ruso grande!"

Colossus blinks, stares at Diode, and then opens a box of Chinese food. Diode bursts out into laughter and falls off of the table. Archangel grins and walks over to help her up, but a clearing throat interrupts him. He and Colossus look in the direction of the interruption and they see Psylocke and Detective Charlotte Jones standing in the doorway.

"Beeeeeeeeeeeeetsssssssy!" exclaims Diode before jumping to her feet. "Err... and Warren's ex-girlfriend... this can't be good. Unless you guys got scooped up for a project by MTV, too! I can see it now... 'Tailmaters... The Asses of Playboy Billionaire, Warren Worthington III!"

Archangel hands Diode a box of Chinese food.

"Eat," he says. "It keeps you from talking."

He walks towards Psylocke and Charlotte and then says, "everything okay? You left kind of abruptly, Bets."

He hugs her and gives her a light kiss on the cheek, and then eyes Charlotte with a hint of suspicion.

"Detective Jones has some interesting information, and she wanted us to hear it from her," says Psylocke.

"What is it?" asks Archangel, looking over at Charlotte. Before Charlotte can open her mouth, there's a light knock on the door. Sandy stands in the doorway.

"Warren, there's someone here to see you," says Sandy.

"Who?" asks Archangel.

"Bill Gemas..." replies Sandy with a hint of disgustion and concern in her voice. "He's in the lobby."

"Just have security escort him out," says Archangel.

"Security's too afraid to," says Sandy. Archangel exchanges looks with his teammates and Charlotte, and then leads the way out to the lobby.

"Oh, you little shitting fink!" Archangel curses upon seeing Bill Gemas on crutches with a neck brace.

"Pssst, hey Betsy..." whispers Diode to Psylocke. "Did Warren really just say 'fink'?"

Psylocke gives Diode a dirty look, and the former comedian shuts her mouth. Gemas just grins and laughs a little.

"I told you you'd regret firing me," he says.

Warren shakes his head, and then lunges forward at Gemas. Charlotte and an unarmored Colossus move in to stop him, but are knocked away by Archangel's wings. Warren grips Gemas by the collar and slams him against the lobby. Gemas drops his crutches and nearly wets himself... again.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a snarky, though stable voice comes from their side. Gemas snickers to himself in Warren's grasp, as the quartet of X-Corp and Detective Jones abruptly turn their heads to a new arrival.

"Jennifer Walters, Attorney-at-Law. That's my client you're manhandling, Mr. Worthington, and I don't take very kindly to it."

She-Hulk, her muscular frame evident through her business suit and skirt, then cracks her knuckles and flashes a pearly white grin. Everyone's jaws drop in shock, and there's a loud thud as Warren nervously drops Bill Gemas flat on his ass.

"That's a good fly-boy," she says as she takes a few steps forward, and Bill stands up, dusts off his suit and straightens out his neck brace as She-Hulk takes a paper out of a file, flashing it to Warren. "Now then... On behalf of the city of Manhattan and state of New York... Warren Worthington III... You've been served."

NEXT ISSUE: Cory Wiegel and Dino Pollard bring you the stunning conclusion to "MEDIATRICS" in the X-CORP 2004 ANNUAL! Will X-Corp ever be the same? Will Pyro and She-Hulk have "the sex"? And will Diode be a better host than Carson Daly on TRL????