*BLINK!*

There is a loud thud as eight bodies hit the dry arid land of the Australian Outback. They are mutants with extraordinary powers, they are the X-Men...a faction of them, anyway. Most of the world would rather see them dead than to see them protect and defend.

"Bloody...my ass..." Pyro grumbles.

"Uh, everybody alright?" Rogue asks. Her gloves had been burnt off from the explosion caused by the Phalanx entity known as Harvest. *

(* See last ish -- Brad)

Rogue casually walks over to Joseph and offers her hand. Joseph takes it with his own bare hand and lifts himself up. He catches himself, "Wait...Rogue? I'm touching you!"

Rogue smiles, "Ah know, sugah."

"How is that possible?" he asks.

Blink is laying flat on her back, but immediately darts up, scratching herself. "Damn bugs...Sorry for the rough landing guys...I sorta panicked..."

"No bother, Clarice," Quicksilver, their leader, says. "We're all alive, that's all that matters."

Psylocke walks over to help up her beau, Warren Worthington III, otherwise known as Archangel. He is currently in his human form. "Well, think I can still get a mortgage on the mansion?"

"Not likely, heh heh heh," Sabretooth says.

"Blink, I think you made a mistake...you teleported one man too many," Archangel retorts.

"Aw come on, Angel-boy. I helped fight off the drones for you wimps!"

"Stop bickering, you guys," Blink says.

Pyro walks around and scratches his head, "Are we all in the Outback? I knew this place was familiar..."

"You've been here?" Rogue asks, exchanging a look with Psylocke. The two X-Women were once stationed in the Outback after being thought dead, just before going through the mystical Siege Perilous.

"No, but I was born in Australia. Just outside Sydney," Pyro informs.

"The Outback? I just picked a random locale as far away possible from our amazing exploding mansion," Blink reveals innocently.

"I wonder if our old base is still around?" Psylocke questions aloud.

Sabretooth crouches on the dry land and points his nose upward, sniffing the air.

"There's something out here, about a few miles east...too faint to tell what it is, if it's a person or a building."

"Which reminds me, Victor," Quicksilver says, pressing a button on his remote control, causing Sabretooth's muzzle and shackles to secure themselves. "Just to be safe."

"What the hell is this for? Why can't you pricks trust me?"

"Take it easy, Mr. Creed," Blink says. As the other X-Men begin walking eastward, Blink stops Quicksilver for a moment. "I need to talk to you, Pietro."

Quicksilver sighs, "I was about to see if there really was anything out there so Creed isn't leading us into a trap of some kind where he can escape us."

"Yeah, well it's Sabretooth we need to talk about."

Even though he is many yards in front of them, Sabretooth's ears perk up as he listens to the conversation. He cracks a wicked smile.

"What is there to talk about, Clarice? He's dangerous...I'm beginning to regret having him on the team. A wild card like that could prove fatal for us if we were in serious trouble. What if we are in a situation where X-Men are hurt? And he turns his back on us?"

"I'll displace every one of his molecules if he does that!"

"Would you? You seem to be uncomfortably friendly with him..."

Blink sighs. "I just feel there is a hint of the Victor Creed I knew of a time and place that no longer exists..."

"Well, if it no longer exists, what does it matter? The Creed you knew is gone, so stop trying to shape things the way you want it. Grow up, Clarice." Pietro disappears in a cloud of dust as he sprints at superhuman speeds.

Blink sheds a tear. "Asshole."

"Well, it looks like the sun is about to set," Rogue observes. "We'll just have to wait for Pietro to see if there really is shelter out there."

"Can't I just 'port us all there?" Blink asks.

"Too risky, there could be hostiles out there," Archangel says. "If Pietro is as fast as that smart-ass mouth of his, he should be fine."

"Until then, we should set up camp," Psylocke says. "Pyro, any suggestions?"

"Um, yeah. Lesson number one, don't try to sleep in the Outback. The bloody bugs will crawl in your ears and eat your brains, then the buzzards will eat whatever's left."

"Great," Psylocke says.

"But," Pyro says as he generates flames from his flame-thrower, "if we build a fire, we should be alright..."

"Sounds good, John. Ah'll find some brush," Rogue says, taking flight.

"I'll find some rocks to put around the fire so we don't accidentally burn up the entire Outback," Blink says.

"No need for that," Pyro says, "I'll make sure the bon fire won't get outta control. Promise."

"Well then what should I do?" Blink asks.

"I dunno, sit down some place that isn't overrun by ants?" Pyro responds with a smirk.

Psylocke plops herself onto a large boulder, speaking to Archangel, "I forgot how hot it was down here."

Warren sits himself next to Betsy on the same boulder, wiping sweat from his brow. "Yeah...to think the Survivor 2 contestants were here not too long ago..."

Psylocke smirks, "They had nothing on Rogue, Colossus, Havok, Dazzler, Storm, Wolverine, Longshot, Madelyne, and I. We were the original Survivors."

"So I've heard."

Joseph walks up to Blink and asks, "I never knew you were so skilled with your teleportation powers. How did you manage to teleport all of us here...in individual portals no less, to the same location?"

Blink smiles at the complement, "Well, Witness taught me how to see the world in a different way. Since my portals are tears in space-time, I can partially feel the space around me. I couldn't see all of the team to teleport them, so I concentrated on the space everyone took up and opened portals where I felt imprints of everyone. Then I sort of funneled everyone's destination into one."

"Witness must be a really good teacher," Joseph declares. "I wonder why he wanted to teach you anything, you seemed in control with your powers."

Blink stares up into the sky, which is starting to become darker. "I don't know..."

Rogue returns with a large pile of dried up branches and grass, dropping it on the ground in front of Pyro. "Hold on to yer buns, kiddies," Pyro says with a smile. He holds out his arms.

*WHOOSH*

"Hot tamale!" Sabretooth cackles. "Hoo-hah!"

"You like that, Creed, eh?" Pyro taunts. He's a little weary of the muscular mass of savagery, but feels he can relate to Sabretooth in a small way...sans the psychotic killing.

The flames practically explode from the dried material, producing a warm glow. The X-Men gather around the fire. Rogue takes the opportunity and sets a bunch of boulders around the camp fire for the others to sit on.

"So, who wants to do a ghost story?" Blink asks, giggling.

Archangel rolls his eyes, "Come on, we need something scarier than that."

"How 'bout a tale of little ballerinas from Quebec--" Sabretooth begins.

"Shut up," the others say collectively.

"Hehe, ever see the swamp rats of Mississippi?" Rogue asks.

"I thought you were a swamp rat?" Psylocke teases.

"Whatever, Betsy. Wasn't that you who used to look at herself in the mirror every five seconds?" Rogue counters with a smile.

Warren busts out laughing, "Who said she used to do that?"

The other X-Men roll on the ground laughing. Psylocke lashes out at Warren, grabbing his hair and threatening him with her psychic blade. The X-Men cease their laughter. "Say that again...," Psylocke growls coldly. The red tattoo signifying her exposure to the mysterious Crimson Dawn is beaming.

Warren's skin goes blue, while his eyes and hair begin to glow like the sun. Wings made of pure light explode from his shoulder blades. Out of instinct, he shouts, "Stand down!"

Psylocke regains her composure and her psy-blade disperses. "Warren...I-I....I'm sorry...."

Warren turns to his human form, rubbing his temples. "No problem...I'm not sure what just happened there..."

"Let's just try to forget it," Pyro says.

"Hey, Ah just realized we're a day ahead now," Rogue says. "Ah was just getting used to the Mountain Time Zone."

"Hm, Pietro has been gone for quite awhile..." Joseph observes.

"Yeah..." Blink says.

"Hah! Finally, we get some peace and quiet!" Sabretooth howls.

"Shut up!" Rogue yells. All eyes land on her. "Alright, guys and gals...let's go. Blink? Open a portal."

Blink's eyes light up with pink energy as a tear in space and time appears before them. They can't see what's on the other side, so all they see is darkness. The X-Men jump though, and with Blink the last to go in, the portal closes.

Elsewhere...

"Who is he?" a man with a skull mask on asks.

An average looking man examines the unconscious body of Quicksilver. "I've seen his face around before. He's an Avenger, I think."

"Lousy pricks," says a man with tank treads as part of his lower body. "Well, at least the new security system sent a hefty voltage into him before he could do any damage."

A group of three mechanical men stand behind the three handling Quicksilver. Their names are Cole, Macon, and Reese. They were once mercenaries for the Hellfire Club, taking on an assignment to kill Wolverine. Wondering how they became cyborgs shouldn't be considered splitting atoms.

The other three are known as Pretty Boy, Skullbuster, and Bonebreaker. Bonebreaker is the man with tank treads for legs and is the leader of this group of cybernetic bandits. Pretty Boy is a cyborg, but looks the most normal out of all of them. Skullbuster has the mask with a skull on it and is also a cyborg.

Together, they are known as the Reavers.

As Skullbuster picks up Quicksilver, he says, "Should we chain him up?"

"I suppose, but how do we know he won't just break free? Pretty Boy said he's an Avenger. The only Avenger with white hair that I know of was that speedster. When this guy wakes up, he'll just vibrate through the chains," Bonebreaker explains.

"What should we do with him, then?" 'Buster asks.

Bonebreaker stares back at their technologically advanced headquarters, "Put him in a stasis field...we'll figure out what to do with him in the morning."

As the Reavers retreat into their base, a portal opens, out pouring the rest of X-Men Omega. They stay low to the ground. Archangel peers into the distance. "I can see people moving inside...they're part machine!"

"The Reavers," Rogue whispers. "They must have gotten Pietro."

"I thought he was the fastest man alive?" Sabretooth mutters.

"He's fast, alright. But when you move that fast, you're bound to make mistakes," Rogue explains.

"Since when are you Ms. Information? Or should I call you 4-1-1 Girl?" Sabretooth retorts.

"Quiet, Creed," Joseph snaps. "She knows how other people's powers work."

"Oh, right. The absorption thing..."

"How are we going to get inside? If we 'port in--" Blink begins.

"It would be too dangerous," Psylocke finishes. "I'll shadow-port myself in. I'm a ninja and I've faced these things before. Once I need help, I'll call for backup telepathically."

"Alright, Betsy...good idea...," Rogue says.

"I'm not so sure, Betsy," Archangel says. "Remember when you lost control back there?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine, luv. I can take care of myself."

"Couldn't we just burn them real bad?" Pyro asks.

"They're cyborgs, Johnny," Rogue says. "Burnin' 'em doesn't exactly work."

"So, are we goin' to rescue Magneto's favorite son or what?" Sabretooth wonders aloud.

Psylocke shoots Creed a look, "Bugger off! I'm going --" Psylocke's tattoo over her left eye lights up as she dives into a shadow cast by her teammates.

The first thing Psylocke sees is Quicksilver suspended in midair in some kind of energy field. She sees five Reavers chatting as they sit down to discuss their latest terrorist attack. Psylocke's telepathy flares up when she senses a thought-pattern behind her. Using her mind, she cloaks herself, making her appear as Gateway.

Reese gets a puzzled look on his face, "Hey! Where've you been -- urk..."

Psylocke pulls her psy-blade out of the cranium of Reese, letting down her illusion. She sticks to the shadows. The Crimson Dawn allows her to blend in shadows better than Nightcrawler, after all.

"Eh? Where's Reese?" Bonebreaker asks. "Reese?"

His buddies, Cole and Macon, rush to find him unconscious on the floor. "What happened to ya?" Cole asks.

"You alright, Reese?" Macon asks. "Man, he don't look so good."

Psylocke smiles slightly within the shadows as she unsheathes a katana, she slices into Macon and Cole, lopping off their right forearms. "You don't say?" she asks. Before they can draw their guns, off go their other forearms.

"Get 'er!" Bonebreaker yells, unloading a bunch of random rounds in Psylocke's direction. A bullet grazes Betsy's shoulder, but she's had worse happen -- that ain't gonna stop her! She easily flips out of the way, taking refuge in another shadow.

Outside...

"Warren? Time to bring in the calvary..." Psylocke commands with her telepathy.

"We heard the guns, we're on our way," Archangel says, with his energy wings forming, "Let's go, X-Men!"

Rogue pulls her fist back as she approaches the outer wall of the Reavers' base...

*BOOM*

When the smoke clears, Rogue, Joseph, Pyro, Blink, Sabretooth, and Archangel stand in the void. Rogue, with a simple gesture, presses the button that releases Sabretooth from his shackles. "Sick 'em," Rogue says.

Creed laughs, "My pleasure, Skunk-Head." His adamantium claws glimmer in the dim light of the computers housed in the tech-filled base.

Almost crawling on his stomach, Sabretooth leaps ferociously into battle, pouncing on Pretty Boy, tearing at his body and face.

"My face! Not my face!" he screams.

Blink sees Quicksilver suspended in an energy field and flings one of her javelins, piercing the deactivation button. Pietro falls onto the floor, motionless. Bonebreaker aims his gun at the X-Men leader.

"Any of you move, and he dies!" 'Breaker shouts.

Blink sees Sabretooth continuing to claw at Pretty Boy. "Victor! Stop!"

Sabretooth's ears perk up, turning his head to the sound of Clarice's voice. He has the damaged Pretty Boy within his grasp. He lets go.

Bonebreaker smiles, "That's better."

"Joseph..." Psylocke calls.

Joseph turns his attention to his teammate. "Elisabeth? Where are you?"

"I'm closer than you think. I'm a ninja after all. I want you to use your magnetic powers. The EMP energies you generate will be the only way to defeat the Reavers..."

"They'll kill Pietro..."

"Trust me..."

Suddenly, the boastful Skullbuster is grabbed from behind, a psy-blade is held in front of his face. Bonebreaker is taken by surprise, his gun leaves his target. Joseph takes this as his cue and conjures his entirety in generating a massive pulse of magnetic energy.

{{ EMP alert! }} the computer blares. {{ Activating EM protective field. }}

Bonebreaker laughs. "Nice try, X-freaks!" He cocks his shotgun and points it at Quicksilver at pointblank range.

Psylocke, who is still holding Skullbuster, yells, "I wouldn't try that yet! You want your friend here to have a headache for ten days?" She inches her psy-blade closer to 'Buster's head.

"Don't let her do it, man!" he shouts.

"Come on, Bonebreaker," Psylocke sneers. "Try me."

*BLINK*

Quicksilver has been teleported from his original location into Sabretooth's arms! Blink smiles. Bonebreaker growls, shooting his gun like crazy. Rogue leaps in front of her team, taking most of the punishment. Blink creates a bunch of miniature portals, sending the bullets back at Bonebreaker.

"AGH!" he yells. "What the hell are you two doing? Get 'em, Macon and Cole!"

"Not so fast!" Archangel extends his psyche talons and slashes into the both of them.

Before they can retaliate, Pyro blasts them with a wave of heat. Pyro then forms the rising flames into a giant kangaroo. "When in Rome...," he says with a smile as the flames reflect off of his sunglasses. The "kangaroo" then proceeds to box with the two former mercs.

Psylocke, meanwhile, jabs her blade into Skullbuster, rendering him unconscious. "Sorry, luv."

Bonebreaker slowly begins to back up, his tank treads going into overdrive, as X-Men Omega advances toward him. Quicksilver regains his composure and zips behind Bonebreaker. "From one leader to another," he says while finding Bonebreaker's off-switch. "I guess this is checkmate."

Quicksilver wipes the blood from his face, "Clarice, teleport this scum somewhere more obsolete than the Outback."

Blink's eyes light up, "Done."

*BLINK*

The six heaps of metallic and organic junk light up with pink energy and are sucked into individual black portals.

Quicksilver puts his hands on his hips, looking at his team. "So...do you think this place is good for a new headquarters?"

The X-Men nod.

"Good, because I was going to make it our new base no matter what you thought," Quicksilver says with a little smile.

As the X-Men enjoy their latest victory, Sabretooth retreats to the far corners of the base. He crosses his arms and finds that his wrist is able to move freely. He takes the shackle off of his left wrist and notices it was broken. He shoots a look towards Blink and slips the shackle back on.

"This should be interesting...eh?" Sabretooth mutters to himself.

NEXT ISSUE: ???