“He’ll be alright for now,” Dr. Vesso said to everyone in the room, namely X-Force, as he pulled the covers up to Wisdom’s shoulders.

“What’s wrong with him Doctor?” Shadowcat asked.

Taking a deep breath Dr. Vesso rubbed at his eyes for a moment and then said, “Peter’s immune system is under heavy attack by a number of engineered viruses. I’m assuming that during the time while he was under Shadow King’s thrall that these viruses were implanted in his body. Perhaps as Farouk getting his revenge on Wisdom if all else failed. The viruses were apparently activated when Peter’s powers surged.”

“So what are you going to do for him?” Siryn questioned.

“We’re using a number of experimental drugs on him to help fight off these viruses. And we’re also about to call in Moira McTaggert and see if she can offer us any help. Other than that we just have to wait…and pray,” Dr. Vesso replied.

Tears began to stream down Lydia’s eyes as she knelt down next to Peter and held his hand as she softly said, “Baby wake up. Please be alright. Don’t leave me.”

“I think we should go,” Maverick said as he turned and walked out of the room. Bishop, Shard and Marcus followed quickly behind him.

“You think the poor bastard will make it through the night,” Mystique joked getting her two very sharp stares from Shadowcat and Siryn. Throwing up her hands in mock defeat the shape shifter said, “Fine. I know when its time for me to go.”

As Raven walked out of the room Kitty nearly wanted to scream, “The nerve of that woman!”

“Don’t get yourself worked up Kate. That’s just the way that Mystique operates. Now I’m going to go and get myself a thing of Pringles from my room. Feel free to join me,” Siryn offered as she too left the room, leaving Kitty standing alone.

Katherine watched Lydia hold Peter and she couldn’t help but to feel that it should be her next to Wisdom and not Lydia. It was strange because Kitty was hardly head over heels for Wisdom anymore, but they would always have a bond. Though she knew it would be against her better judgment to stay here. Blowing a kiss to Wisdom she left the two lovers alone hoping in the tiniest way that maybe Peter had felt that kiss.

Hearing the door close Lydia knew that she was now alone with Peter. The Genoshan woman hardly resented Kate, but she did have uneasy feelings towards her. After all, the woman had slept with Wisdom on many occasions during which Lydia and Peter had still been officially together. During Apocalypse’s rule and while under the influence of Shadow King they had relations time on top of time. She didn’t blame either one of them for their actions in either situation, but it was hard for her to just pretend that Kitty had been sleeping with her man. And Lydia had almost convinced herself that Katherine had no feelings left for the old Brit, but the fact that she was the last to leave suggested something to Lydia. Maybe there was something more there than either woman wanted to admit to.

“Three of the five women on this team have been with you Peter. I wonder if you ever even stopped and realized that. Maybe you did. That might be why you always had that damn smirk on your face. I want to see that smirk again baby so wake up. Alright? Do it for me if nothing else,” Lydia pleaded as she began to cry uncontrollably.

Mystique made sure she got a corner of the Helicarrier where not too many roamed and no one would see her. Leaning back against the cool metallic wall Raven let her body slide down it until she was sitting flat on her butt with her legs bent in front of her. Taking a deep breath she buried her face into her hands.

As of late Mystique felt more and more like she was truly all alone in the world. Destiny, Avalanche, and Blob were all dead. Pyro had betrayed her and joined the X-Men. Now, he was flashing around the world as a mutant celebrity with X-Corp. If she ever saw John again she’d give him a good slap to remind him just how cruel the humans had once been to him. Her two children, Rogue and Nightcrawler, both wanted not a damn thing to do with her. And her she was on a team full of people who regarded her as nothing less than a heartless piece of slime. All except for Wisdom, who actually treated her with a degree of dignity.

“You’re worried about him aren’t you?” Shard asked coming around the corner with her arms folded.

“No, I was thinking about my siblings. How Sinister could have them attached to a bunch of wires like Wisdom somewhere right now,” Mystique lied. She didn’t want anyone, especially one of the XSE asses, knowing that she held any semblance of emotion for anyone on this team. Her being cold and heartless to everyone on this ship was her only trump card at the moment. It made her unpredictable and that gave her a distinct advantage.

“You know Siryn says she met up with Cortez while in Ireland. It seems he’s betrayed Essex and the geneticist has taken quite a blow since he last fought the Exiles. You might want to talk to Genesis about a possible rescue mission. I know Sinister is still pretty high up there in terms of priority for most organizations that know about him,” Shard suggested.

Mystique laughed, “Like Genesis would ever help me. You must be joking Shard. Quite the twisted sense of humor on you there gal.”

“I’m not joking. I only suggest it to you because I have a stake in Sinister too,” Shard replied.

Raven’s eyes perked up at that and she looked at Shard with a great deal of curiosity, “What could you possibly want with Sinister?”

“I think he had something to do with the return of my brother’s powers. I need to know if its true or not because if it is he could easily manipulate Bishop into doing something against his will. Sinister is desperate right now. Desperate men do desperate things,” Shard explained.

“You have no idea,” Mystique laughed weakly thinking back to the night when she had discarded her son as if he were a piece of trash. She had been desperate then and she did the only thing she could think of. It had been one of the most tragic mistakes of her life. Raven had only wished that she had kept her son with her. Kurt would have been a valuable asset to have in the war against humanity she was waging. Perhaps with him on her side things might have gone differently with Kelly.

“I’m going to leave you alone now, but think about what I said Mystique. We’re going to eventually have to confront Sinister. Too many people on this ship now have ties to him,” Shard warned turning away from the shapeshifter and departing around the corner.

“I hope Genesis’ somewhat ties with Ms. McTaggert is able to get Wisdom moved up to the top of Muir Island’s priority list,” Marcus said as played Solitaire on the computer that was in the lounge for everyone to use. He had two rows complete and just needed to find a red 2 before he could finish off the third column.

Seating behind him reading a Cosmopolitan magazine was Siryn, “I’m sure he will be. Moira isn’t one to play with somebody’s life. Business for her has been a bit more slack lately too with the Legacy Virus having vanished away and more mutants becoming comfortable with their mutations.”

“You seem pretty calm and collected about this. I’d figured you’d be a wreck like Kitty and Lydia are,” Marcus replied.

“My trip to Ireland invigorated me in a way that I’ve needed for a long time. I’m more focused and energized now Marcus. My emotions and past mistakes don’t rule me anymore. Besides Wisdom is a fighter. I’m sure he’ll make it,” Siryn assured not once her voice faltering in its confidence and poise. Marcus could hear the difference in Theresa’s persona. He was happy for her because she was on the near brink of a nervous breakdown after Black Air and the Sons of Set incidents.

“Perhaps Wisdom wouldn’t be having to fight for his life if you hadn’t been selfish and returned from your vacation as requested,” Bishop said bluntly as he walked into the room in complete uniform unlike Marcus and Siryn who were both casually dressed.

“I think you’re out of line here Bishop. Theresa had every right to complete her vacation and Zeneo Tech. hurt Peter. Not Theresa,” Marcus reminded sternly.

“Shadow King hurt Peter if you want to get technical. The fact of the matter is if Siryn had been here she could have provided extra firepower against Devious. Instead, she was off getting drunk at some pub and acting completely unprofessional. We represent S.H.I.E.L.D. and as such we should hold ourselves to the utmost standard,” Bishop replied. He didn’t intend to waver on his stance and he had prepared himself for the verbal barrage he was going to get. The point had to be made though if this team was to continue being effective. Nothing could be held back.

“If anyone deserved a vacation it was me Bishop. I was literally ripped open and dissected like some high school kids would do a dead frog. Black Air did that to me and they enjoyed every second of doing it. And before I can even truly recover from that we have to go off and fight a giant snake god who by the way tries to rape me! And then there was…” Siryn stopped letting her voice trail off not wanting to say what was going to come out of her mouth next.

“Your guilt over making a deal with Sinister? Am I getting warm? Let me tell you something. You make your own bed Siryn. Because of your mistake you became sloppy in the field and everything that happened to you afterward was a consequence of that. And because of your mistakes you decide to take a vacation. A decision that now has a teammate fighting for his life!”

“How the hell are you connecting of all this Bishop? None of this is connected to me and Sinister’s history!” Siryn exclaimed near the point of breaking into tears but keeping her emotional poise.

“Then let me tell you something that is connected. Sinister always gets your soul as payment for favors. Just ask a friend of mine. And because of you we’re one day going to have Fabian and his crew come barreling down on our heads. You’ll learn that the day you shook Sinister’s hand was the day you threw away your soul,” Bishop replied his voice shaking with anger that only years of military training could instill in you.

“You know that’s funny Bishop. I never thought playing the hypocrite was your role. What about you and Witness? What you did for him wasn’t exactly what’d I call noble. Would you?” Marcus asked having won his Solitaire game during the conflict and finally deciding to add in his comments.

“How would you—why are you in my head?” Bishop asked both of his fists balling up tightly.

“I didn’t have to dig very far Bish. All of those nasty thoughts were on the surface of your head the whole time you were going off. You don’t like to see people repeat the same mistakes you’ve made. I’m fine with that. But next time be more careful of how you do it. Cuz what Siryn has done doesn’t even match up to what you did for Witness during that year. And I’ve only caught glimpses my friend,” Marcus said tapping on his head lightly.

Suddenly feeling very uncomfortable Bishop pulled at the collar of his uniform, gave both of his team members a hard long stare, and walked out of the room.

“That was intense,” Siryn said letting out a deep sigh. Looking at Marcus she smiled, “You sure know how to put people in their place.”

“Perhaps. But he is right about one thing Theresa. Fabian is going to come after you one day. If for no other reason than that you’re a commodity to Sinister.”

“I know Marcus. And I’m sure turning him down isn’t going to make him like me that much either,” Siryn replied.

“Perhaps we should tell Genesis about making Fabian a priority.”

Siryn laughed, “Haven’t you learned by now? Genesis operates on his own system. What missions he and only he thinks are important are the ones we’ll go on.”

***

“Anybody have an idea what Genesis decided to get us all up early in the morning for?” Maverick asked while shining his gun.

“You think any of us actually know North? Genesis is the mystery man of the hour around here,” Shard replied twirling her plasma gun around her index finger simply to pass the time.

“I wouldn’t exactly call him a man. He’s lacking a few key parts. Like a body for instance,” Mystique joked sitting on a chair with her legs spread wide open in a very unladylike manner.

“Glad to see all of you could make it,” Genesis said coming around the corner in his robotic form. He moved flawlessly as if he was human, but the facial expressions were still a bit awkward. They either came off too exaggerated or not exaggerated enough. In this case the smile of the S.H.I.E.L.D. commander was extremely exaggerated.

“Lets cut the pleasantries and get to the point here Genesis. My man is on a flight to Muir Island right now and I want to call Dr. McTaggert as soon as he gets there.”

“You’re all going to be working with some of my XSE today. Since all of you have ample experience in combat situations you’re going to dealing with ways to help my XSE use their abilities in more creative ways,” Genesis explained as an diagram popped up on the large computer screen where his head would normally be detailing who was working with who.

“Great me and loud mouth get to work together,” Mystique moaned seeing that her partner was Siryn. The two of them were going to be training with Whisper. She had heard that the boy had potential in loads. Too bad she still wasn’t running the Brotherhood. She would have picked up the Soldier X remnants in a heartbeat.

“I don’t think I’ll be of much help to you Marcus,” Shard said seeing that they were both going to be working with Enigma who was a potentially powerful telekinetic and telepath.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m sure there is something you’ll be able to offer,” Marcus assured.

“I hear Velocity can be a hard head Bishop. I’ll let you take up the reigns of discipline,” Kitty smiled knowing that she herself had been quite the rebellious teenager while with the X-Men and the streak carried over into adulthood.

“There’s no way he can be as bad as Pietro. I’ll personally vouch for that,” Bishop replied.

“So you and me have Red Moon. You know anything about this guy Lydia?” Maverick asked scratching the back of his head trying to think of somewhere he might have heard the name before.

“I hear he’s got potential to be a damn good XSE agent and maybe even an officer given time. I know zilch about his powers though,” Lydia replied.

“Great we get stuck with mystery mutant,” Maverick grumbled.

“Glad to see you’re all so anxious about your assignments. I want my XSE trained rigorously. They’re going to be tackling more and more field missions. I need them to be top notch. Dismissed,” Genesis commanded every getting out of the room as fast as they could.

“Lets get started Enigma. I’m going to hold up an object and I want to see if you can crush it with your telekinesis. The objects will vary from difficult to easy, but the point of this exercise is to show you that you will be thrown into a variety of situations and conflicts,” Marcus said holding up a glass plate in his hands.

“Remember Enigma. Don’t exhaust yourself. Use your telekinesis as needed. No need to overexert here,” Shard reminded as the lesson began.

Engima easily shattered the plate, crushed the aluminum can, and crunched the old rusty steel without looking like she had broken a sweat. Needless to say Marcus and Shard were both impressed with the young woman.

“You’re almost making my job too easy here Enigma. See I’m going to have to up the game with you a bit,” Marcus smiled clapping his hands. Large yellows balls all tied to tether cord came down from the ceiling.

“Let me guess. Pin the tail on the balloon,” Enigma joked dryly.

“Hardly. This is an agility exercise. I want you to send a telekinetic bolt around all of these balls without hitting them once or making them bounce. If they bounce you gain penalty points. The object is to keep from getting penalties and to finish the course in under two minutes,” Shard explained.

“Oh come on! Do you really think I can do that yet?” Enigma asked a little shocked at Shard’s confidence in her abilities.

“I’m sure you can. Just put some effort and concentration into it darling. If you don’t succeed at first we’ll keep trying. You can’t go into dangerous situations like we face without having a wide range of control over your powers,” Marcus explained hoping he was appealing to the young Enigma.

“You might be right Marcus, but how come all Siryn ever does is scream?”

“So you’re from Germany?” Maverick asked as he prepared the obstacle course that Red Moon was about to run through.

“Yes sir I’m from Frankfurt. Born and raised,” the young XSE cadet replied as he adjusted his red gloves. Sharon Carter had prepared his costume for him personally. He wore a black body suit with red gloves, red boots, and a red moon in the center of his chest. His abilities granted him the power to create red colored vortexes in the shape of crescent moons.

“So Red Moon are you ready to get tested?” Lydia asked cracking her knuckles.

“Yes of course,” Red Moon said pulling out two red sais from his thick belt.

Maverick smiled, “Good because we’re not cutting you any slack.”

Ten rows of steel pillars rose up from the ground and steel spikes ripped forth from each metal cylinder. The pillars began to move around the room in random directions and at random speeds. In the center of the rectangular room was a white table with a red globe on top of it.

“Your objective is to get that red globe without getting smacked around by any of those pillars. Powers are not allowed in this exercise so go at it,” Maverick explained.

“And if you get in a tight squeeze I’ll come in there and save you,” Lydia added.

“Not a chance. I’ve been wanting to do this for quite some time,” Red Moon grinned twirling the sais in his hands rapidly.

“Malik you have the potential to be quite the great warrior in a short amount of time,” Bishop said through a microphone. He was sitting in a booth above the training area.

Velocity smiled, “Thanks, but being the curious guy I am I gotta ask why you think that.”

“Because of your incredible learning capability,” Kitty said phasing up from the ground only a few feet in front of Kevin.

“Yea I learn fast. Crap I do everything fast, but what makes me any different from that Pietro guy?” Velocity asked.

Katherine laughed, “Well, for one you can control your density. You can manipulate your increased speed capabilities to have a variety of effectives. Your powers are a bit more creative though not that’s not to cut any skin off Pietro’s back. If you ever encounter him as an opponent don’t blink.”

“I’ll remember that. So what’s the training you guys are going to have me do?” Velocity asked.

“We’re going to push your density powers a bit since that is an area I’m somewhat seasoned in,” Kitty replied. Bishop slapped a few buttons on from the booth and laser guns mounted on six-foot metal poles rose forth from the ground like mines.

“You’re going to go maximum density for this exercise. Each laser gun has a red flag atop it. Your objective is to get all the red flags and place them in the brown picnic box at the end of this obstacle course in under three minutes. Anyone of normal speed can’t complete this mission in less than five minutes without the guns. You have the guns to knock you back, but you have your speed,” Bishop explained. He knew what Malik’s response was about to be and by the smile on Kitty’s face he knew she knew too. More and more lately she was beginning to remind him of Logan. Her time during the Apocalypse and with Shadow King had made her gruffer. She would take more risks and wasn’t afraid of doing the tough thing. Maybe part of that was because of her relationship with Wisdom.

“I can only move at normal speeds when I’m at max density,” Velocity exclaimed. He wasn’t sure why he had been stuck with Shadowcat and Bishop if they hadn’t even read up on his powers. He was here to be trained properly and not just have some random exercise thrown at him. Being a part of the XSE was supposed to help him get a better grip on his powers. Now all he felt like was some piece in a board game that the players (X-Force) were annoyed with.

“We know that you can only have normal speed at max density. That’s the point. You’re going to keep doing this course until you can manage to keep up at least some degree of super speed while in max density. I’ve got all night and I’m sure Bishop has all night too. Lets get to work,” Shadowcat commanded slipping once more into the ground.

“Great. I get stuck with the damn drill sergeants of the team,” Kevin groaned.

Lance wasn’t a stranger to combat. He had seen his fair share of it while being a member of the now defunct, Soldier X. So he strongly resented the fact that he was having to train under Siryn and Shadowcat. What the hell could they possibly teach him about his powers that he already doesn’t know?

“I can tell by the look on your face that you don’t want anything to do with us at the moment. That’s fine, cuz honestly I have no desire to be here with you either,” Mystique said bluntly as she twirled a plasma gun on her finger.

“Forgive Raven. She sometimes lets her mouth overload her ass. Lance, I know you might not be too happy about having to train with us, but I think we can all learn from each other,” Siryn said.

“Fine. Lets get this started then so I can go and eat already,” Lance exclaimed.

“Oh boy I can tell we’re going to have fun with this one,” Mystique groaned.

Nick Fury stepped into Genesis’ office and not a single light or computer was on. Fury knew better than they think that didn’t mean his presence wasn’t noted. Holding a disc in his hand Fury slid it into one of the nearby computers.

“Wake up Genesis. I got the information you wanted,” Nick said lighting up a cigar.

Suddenly every computer in the room flashed on and Genesis’ mug was on every one of them.

{{Perfect timing Fury. I was getting to be a bit bored. Humm….this information is rather disturbing.}}

Nick laughed, “You’re telling me. Black Tarantula has a stranglehold over the principal drug lords in Miami, Atlanta, and Dallas. And not only that. He’s transporting nerve gas to terrorist cells through his drug shipments. Every major gang along the East Coast along with any hidden terrorist cells now have their hands on some nerve gas. All we need is a gang war to break out and we’ll have nerve gas in wide circulation. Thousands could die.”

{{This is something I’m going to have X-Force and XSE deal with.}}

“Genesis those two squads have more important things to worry about. We regular humans can handle the situation just fine,” Fury replied not feeling the need to be very formal with the talking computer program.

{{With all due respect Colonel I’m in charge of this organization now and I feel this situation would be best left to X-Force and the XSE.}}

“Super powers don’t mean super efficiency,” Nick warned walking out of the door.

***

“You got us all here. I assume we’ve got ourselves a mission,” Mystique said leaning back against a wall.

{{You would be assuming correctly. I’ll sum this up quickly. Black Tarantula is creating major potential problems for the United States. He’s distributing nerve gas along with his drugs. I need you to go in there and put a major dent in his operations. I’m not looking for a total shutdown, but I want some results.}}

“So when do we head out?” Siryn asked.

{{You won’t be going in there Siryn. You and Mystique are going to be trying to capture as much of the nerve gas already in the US as possible. You two will lead teams of XSE into areas where we suspect the nerve gas is located. Siryn will lead Enigma, Red Moon, Frost Pack, and Bryson Bale into Dallas. Mystique will lead Kamal, Mastodon, Marvel Guy, and Whisper into Dallas.}}

“Great I get to lead a bunch of testosterone filled young boys,” Mystique sighed.

“What’s the deal Genesis? Can’t the XSE handle themselves?” Siryn asked irritated.

{{Senior officers leading the operations will increase the success rate. And only a minimum number of officers are required to infiltrate the two main bases. Bishop, Maverick, and Lydia will take the Northern Base. Shadowcat, Marcus, and Shard will take the Southern Base. You have twelve hours until this mission is initiated. Be prepared.}}

“Oh don’t worry. We will be,” Bishop said cocking his gun.

***

“Guys we need to talk,” Siryn said pulling up a chair to sit in. At the small table across from her Mystique and Marcus were seated each having their own feelings about Siryn getting them up so late. Mystique’s legs were crossed and she tapped her finger on the table repeatedly and with a quick pace. Marcus seemed to be a bit more calm having his hands clamped together and his elbows resting on his knees.

“I’m listening, but it had better be good for this time in the morning,” Mystique groaned.

“Not like you have beauty sleep to worry about. All you gotta do is look in the mirror and all them bags go away,” Marcus joked. He knew what it was like to feel like you were getting old and he had to admit he resented Raven for never having to feel like that.

“This is serious you two. So listen up. While I was in Ireland I got a very unexpected visit and no I’m not talking about Cortez,” Siryn said barely talking above a whisper.

“Then who paid you a visit darling? The Grim Reaper?” Mystique asked playfully.

“Forge. The real Forge,” Siryn replied making the room become uncomfortably silent.

In a few minutes Siryn covered all that Forge had told her to a shocked Mystique and Marcus. They barely seemed able to comprehend what Theresa was telling them, but they were professionals and they coped with it.

“Do you think Genesis might be on to you in any way?” Marcus asked wanting to make sure that Siryn wasn’t putting herself in unnecessary danger.

“No. I don’t think he does. He’s smart, but not a mind reader,” Siryn replied.

“Do we really know that? How do we know what abilities Mjnari was able to keep a hold of?” Mystique asked.

“Mjnari was the son of Storm. His powers are primarily focused with the elements. I don’t think we have to worry about telepathy. Though the simple fact is we have to sit on this until either Forge or Genesis make a definite move,” Marcus declared.

Siryn sighed, “Unfortunately you’re right.”

“So we’re just frogs in a pot of water waiting for it to start boiling?” Mystique queried.

“Basically,” Marcus stated.

“Great. I can feel the temperature rising already.”