"Do you mind running that by me again?" asks Quicksilver. Him and the rest of the X-Men stand in the office of Warren Worthington, the X-Man known as Archangel.

"Dimensions aren't directly connected to each other," replies Blink. "Think of dimensions as land masses and the negative space between them as the sea. Whenever we use my portals, we travel through this negative space, but it happens so fast that we don't notice it. Back when I first fought Harvest, I teleported him and myself away, but I didn't have a destination in mind. So we were trapped in this 'sea' between dimensions. The In-Betweener plucked me from there, but left Harvest. I thought he would be caught in that 'current' for the rest of time, and he would have been if I didn't accidentally let him out."

"What does any of that have to do with the Pirates?" asks Quicksilver.

"She's getting to that, Pietro," replies Joseph. "Have patience."

"To quote one of the finest rabbits of our time, 'he don't know you very well,'" says Pyro.

"The Pirates travel through this 'sea' in their ship," says Blink. "But sometimes, they don't have a destination in mind. And with a ship like that, they're endangering the sea itself."

"How?" asks Archangel.

"The sea isn't meant to be travelled by ships," replies Blink. "It's a foreign element that disrupts the flow of the current. You see, when others travel through the sea, they go with the current. That's why jaunts that are farther can be harder to reach, because you have to wait for the current to take you there. But when they have a ship, they can fight against the current."

"And if they do disrupt the current?" asks Psylocke. "What then?"

"There's a chance that the current may reverse," replies Blink.

"In English," says Pyro.

"That was English," replies Blink.

"In that case it looks like I'm in over my head," says Pyro.

"We all will if the Pirates aren't stopped," says Blink.

"What's so dangerous about reversing the current?" asks Rogue.

"The current is basically the flow of time itself," replies Blink. "If the current is reversed, then time itself will reverse. It'd be like trying to hit fast-forward and rewind on a VCR at the same time. You can't progress and reverse time at once, and if you try, you'll only end up with catastrophe."

"Okay, so now we know what we're dealing with," says Archangel. "The question now is, what do we do about it?"

"We have to get into the current and stop the ship," says Blink.

"And how do we do that?" asks Quicksilver. "You said that people are swept up in the current if they enter the sea. How are we supposed to stop them if we're swept up?"

"Why don't we just get a ship of our own?" asks Sabretooth.

The eyes of the rest of the X-Men are raised in curiosity at his suggestion. He looks at the faces of his teammates and is surprised by their reactions. He starts to shake his head.

"I was just kidding."

"It's the only way," says Blink.

"Wait, didn't you just say that fighting the current is bad?" asks Sabretooth. "Now you want us t' fight it?"

"It's a risk we have to take," says Blink. "Because if we do nothing, then there's no way we can stop the Pirates."

"There may be an easier way," says Joseph. "What if I encased the ship in a magnetic shield? That way, the current would just flow over us and we wouldn't disrupt it."

"No, there'd still be a disruption," says Blink. "Only way there wouldn't be is if the ship was intangible."

"Where's Shadowcat when you need her," says Archangel.

"I can do it," says Rogue.

"Huh?" asks Archangel.

"I absorbed Shadowcat once," replies Rogue. "I can use her powers to make the ship intangible while we're in the sea."

"We better pray we don't need your muscle, then," says Archangel.

"Seeing as how we're probably the only team on the planet without a vehicle, how are we going to get there?" asks Pyro.

"Let me handle that," replies Archangel.

"How are we going to stop their ship, though?" asks Rogue.

---

He was born Charles Lehnsherr. But he has no recollection of that short life. The furthest thing he can remember is being found by a group of children and a nun. Not knowing what his own name was, he was given the name Joseph by one of the children. During his time there, he discovered he possessed the mutant ability to create magnetic fields. The nun, Sister Maria, told him of the X-Men and he traveled to America in search of them. He met up with Rogue, then joined the X-Men and discovered the past of the man called Magneto—the man he thought he was.

Now, Joseph knows that he is the survivor of another reality, a reality that has now died. After what Blink just told them of the sea between dimensions, he cannot help but wonder—was he also caught in this current as well?

He stands looking at the private jet of Warren Worthington, and curiosity is in his blue eyes. Eyes which have seen far more than they should have to see in the span of twenty years, although he cannot remember even half of what he has experienced. He looks through the windows of the cockpit to see Warren familiarizing himself with the controls. During his first stint with the X-Men, Joseph made it a point to understand the X-Men by reading the files. From what he read, Warren learned how to fly a plane before he was able to drive a car. Judging from the stern look on Warren's face now, Joseph can tell that it has been awhile since the former Angel has flown a craft.

Slender arms wrap around Joseph's waist and snap him out of his thoughts. He feels a slim body press up against his back, and his hands slide atop the smaller ones on his abdomen.

"Something wrong, Clarice?" he asks.

"Just thinking, I guess," she replies.

He turns around to face her, and he looks down into her pupiless eyes. Some might say that eyes like hers would be unable to show emotion or depth or even humanity. Joseph knows this is not true.

"About what?"

"This isn't like the Jigoku or the Sentinels," she says. "This threat the Pirates pose, we're talking Apocalypse-level bad here. And this isn't like it was with Apocalypse, because I had the rest of the Twelve and Cable backing me up. But now, this is basically all up to me."

"You'll do fine," says Joseph.

"You don't know that," says Blink. "I don't know that. The In-Betweener taught me a lot of things when I was with him, helped me control my powers. But... what we're doing here... I don't know if it's something I can do on my own."

"We're all behind you on this," says Joseph. "You're not alone."

"I can't do this, Joe," she says, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close to her. "I'm not prepared to do something on this level."

"You can't prepare for something like this," says Joseph, gently placing a hand on her head and stroking her hair. "Sometimes, you just have to jump right into a situation."

A gust of wind suddenly blows past the two young mutants, and they look up to see Quicksilver standing in front of them with his arms cross across his chest.

"We're ready to leave," he says. "If you're through with your Kodak moment, that is."

"You're an ass," says Blink as she walks past Quicksilver. Joseph comes up to Quicksilver's side and places a hand on his shoulder.

"She's a little on edge right now," he says. "Not the best time to push her buttons."

"So what?" asks Quicksilver. "I'm always on edge. Now come on, we have a multiverse to save."

Quicksilver walks towards the plane's boarding ramp and Joseph sighs before following him. He walks up the steps and sees Blink walk into the cockpit. Makes sense, since she's the one who will have to transport the plane into the sea. He takes an empty seat next to Pyro.

"You and Joey enjoy your moment out there, Dawson?" asks Pyro with a grin. Joseph looks at him, then turns his head away.

No one, however, noticed the stowaway in the ship's cargo bay. And Psylocke smiles to herself.

---

"Pre-flight check complete," says Warren. He looks at the other two in the cockpit with him. Rogue sits next to him, and Blink sits behind her. "You guys ready for this?"

Rogue grips the flight stick and nods. He looks to Blink, and she solemnly nods as well.

"Okay, then we're off," he says. He activates the engines and moves the throttle forward. The plane begins to speed down the runway. Warren slowly pulls back on the stick, and the plane begins to lift off the ground. It flies at an angle as it heads into the sky.

"Okay Clarice," he says. "Let's go sailing.

Rogue and Blink both give him an odd look.

"What?" he asks. "That was funny."

"No it wasn't," replies Rogue.

"You guys have no sense of humor," says Warren.

Blink closes and opens her eyes. As she does this, a small tear appears in the fabric of space and time. The tear begins to grow larger, and all Warren can see beyond the portal is blackness. Still, he accelerates forward, inside the negative space. The instrument panel begins to go nuts as it tries to make sense of the new environment. Warren ignores them and still flies forward.

"Rogue?" he asks.

Rogue grips the flight stick and concentrates. The molecules that comprise the ship and everyone on it begin to speed up, which makes them intangible.

"We're in," says Warren. "Now what?"

---

Not far from the private jet is the Red Bull, the dimension-hopping ship that serves as the home to the Crimson Pirates. On the bridge, Killian sits and watches as the Sea Dog multiples operate the ship. Standing by his side are Bloody Bess, the ship's first mate and Broadside, the gunner.

"Captain, we've got company," says one of the Sea Dogs.

"Who?" asks Killian.

"I'm trying to get a reading on their vessel," replies the Sea Dog. "But... I can't get a solid one for some reason."

"Can we get a visual?" asks Killian.

"Aye sir," replies the Sea Dog. He enters some commands on the console before him, and the Pirates watch the monitor before them. An image of a small jet appears, with the symbol of Angel, Inc. on the tail—a capital A with a halo hanging over the top of it.

"Broadside," says Killian. "Lay down some fire. The last thing we need is competition.

"Aye sir," says Broadside and moves to his station. He starts to strike the controls, and the ship's turrets open fire on the small plane. Killian and Bess watch as the fire seems to go through the ship.

"Umm... slight problem..." says Broadside.

"What's happening?" asks Killian.

"I'm scoring direct hits," replies Broadside. "But... for some reason, the hits seem to go through the ship."

"A ghost ship...?" mutters Bess.

"I don't believe in ghosts," says Killian. "I'm going on deck. The rest of you stay on the bridge."

Once Killian leaves the room, the door slides shut. Almost on cue, a figure appears from the shadows. He has long, black hair and carries a broadsword. He sulks slowly on the deck and comes up behind Bess. He brings the sword up, and then down on her neck, seperating her head from it. Aside from Killian, she was the most dangerous of the Pirates. Some of the blood that shot forth from the wound lands on Broadside's head.

"Eh?" he asks and turns. He sees the tall Spaniard assassin standing above Bess's decapitated body.

"You sonnuva bitch!" exclaims Broadside. He reaches for his gun, but the assassin moves like lightning, slicing off Broadside's hand. He then drives his sword into Broadside's chest and pulls it up through his head, slicing it in half. The assassin then turns to the Sea Dogs, who begin to surround them.

"Pleath," he says as he begins to dispatch them. "Don't make me laugh."

He takes out the Sea Dogs in short order, their limp bodies lying in pools of blood all around him. He rips some clothing from one of the bodies and uses it to clean his blade before sheathing it.

"By the way," he says as he slips back into the shadows. "The Jigoku thend their regardths."

---

"Is that Killian?" asks Warren.

"Looks like," says Rogue. "No clue what the hell he's doing, though."

They watch as Killian's eyes begin to glow brightly. Rogue cries out as this happens.

"What'd he do?" asks Warren.

"Forced me t' become tangible..." mutters Rogue. "This guy's pretty powerful."

"I'll take care of him," says Blink.

"What?" asks Rogue. "Are you nuts? We need you to stop the ship."

"If I don't stop him, that means we'll disrupt the current," replies Blink. "It's the only way."

She blinks her eyes and then she's gone in a flash of energy.

"Christ..." mutters Warren. He watches as Blink appears on the Red Bull's deck behind Killian. "Whatever you do, don't tell Joseph."

"Tell me what?"

Warren and Rogue's eyes go wide in shock. They turn their heads to see Joseph standing behind them in the cockpit. He looks down at the vacant seat, then looks to Rogue.

"Where's Clarice?" he asks.

---

Killian smiles as his eyes begin to glow brighter. The energy seems to travel down to his hands. Given another moment, he would have built up enough energy to completely vaporize the jet.

Too bad Blink isn't going to allow him that moment. A sharp kick to his back gets his attention, and he turns to face his attacker.

"You?" he asks. "You think you can stop me, kid?"

"Funny," she says as she twirls a javelin in each hand. "The last guy who said that to me ended up trapped in the current."

The javelins begin to glow with the temporal energy at Blink's command.

"Care to join him?" she asks.

Killian simply chuckles and crosses his arms over his chest. His eyes glow for a few moments, and then the amused look on his face turns to shock.

"What?" he asks. "I can't affect their molecules."

"That's because they've been infused with temporal energy," she says. "The same stuff that makes up the sea. And that's something not even you can control."

She brings the javelins up and motions for him to come towards her with one of them.

"Now," she says with a smile. "Let's dance."

Killian extends a hand and fires several molecular blasts from it. As they travel towards her, Blink deflects them with the javelins. She leaps forward and Killian alters the molecules of the ship, causing a sudden explosion to occur beneath her. However, she is already gone an instant before the explosion comes. Killian grits his teeth in pain as he suddenly feels Blink stab one of her javelins into his back. The molecules in his body are scrambled for a fraction of a second. Blink pulls the javelin, and kicks him, causing his face to strike the deck. He gets back to his feet, and Blink sees his hand glowing. He fires the blast, and a portal suddenly appears before Blink. The portal reopens behind Killian and strikes his back.

"I'm not going to let you disrupt the current," she says.

"I'll do whatever I want," says Killian.

"How?" she asks. "In the current, you're nowhere near as powerful as you are in a solid dimension. But me, I draw my power from this place. And if you thought what I just did was impressive, then you ain't seen nothing yet, bub."

As Blink speaks, her eyes begin to crackle with temporal energy. She lifts one of her javelins and hurls it down. It strikes his leg and pins it to the hull, disrupting the molecules in an endless cycle. His eyes begin to glow and now it is Blink's turn to cry out in pain. She slumps to the ground. Killian reaches to pull the javelin from his leg, but upon the touch, the molecules in his hand are disrupted the same.

"You're right kid," he says. "I can't control the molecules of the current. But you only draw from the current, you're not a part of it. So your molecules are fair game."

Blink's body begins to convulse as Killian manipulates the molecules. He grins as he manipulates the molecules of her uniform. The leather seems to become liquid, and the collar of her jacket reaches up over her mouth and starts to travel inside, completely covering her.

Then, the Red Bull begins to convulse.

Killian looks up and sees Joseph hovering before him, surrounded by a magnetic field. The Red Bull begins to disassemble and the different parts of it are swept up by the current.

"I think you're done here," says Joseph. Killian is about to turn his molecular control on the X-Man, but Joseph slows the blood flow of iron to his brain. The flow then begins to reverse and Killian convulses in pain. Joseph speeds up the reversal, causing a heart attack in the Pirate. As the Red Bull is dismantled, he sees the bloody bodies of the other Pirates becoming lost to the current. Then, Killian himself is swept away. Before Blink can join him, Joseph latches onto the metal on her person and attracts her to him. With Killian's power disrupted, her jacket has returned to normal, and she gasps for breath. He flies back to the jet and enters it. Sabretooth closes the door behind him, and he sets Clarice down on the ground. Sabretooth hovers over him, and Quicksilver steps forward.

"We need to get out of here before we become swept away as well," he says.

"Give 'er a break, junior," says Sabretooth. "You saw what she just did. If not f'r silvertop, she might be dead."

"No... he's right..." mutters Blink. "We can't stay here..."

In the cockpit, Archangel and Rogue watch as the darkness before them suddenly opens up to reveal blue skies. Warren accelerates towards it and the portal closes behind them. The plane slumps slightly as Warren tries to regain control over the new atmosphere. The jet begins to plummet, and he pulls hard on the stick.

"Everyone get strapped in!" he orders as he engages the landing gear. The plane begins to fly out of control, the sudden change overloading the systems. "Looks like it's gonna be a rough landing..."

Suddenly, the plane stops in midair. Joseph enters the open cockpit, his eyes glowing.

"Where's the nearest runway?" he asks.

Warren smiles and activates the headset. The worst was behind them.

And the smile never faded once from Psylocke's face during the entire ordeal.