China (A secret government base)

"Are you sure this is the right course of action General?"* Colonel Shi-Zuing asked his superior as they continued their walk down the long, sleek and shiny corridor. The General simply looked at the Colonel with deep disapproval.

( *Translated from Chinese - Brent )

"Yes this is necessary. After the mutant attack on Fa Clinic and the death of Collective Man we are in need of a national defense against mutants. * Can you not understand this Shi-Zuing?"

( **Check out the awesome Fallen Angels #11 - Brent)

"Of course I can General, but why do we have to unleash the Gaunt? We have no idea if our mind drugs have worked on him. We don't where this man has come from and why almost 85% of his body is made of the techno-organic virus and let's forget the fact that he seems able to control it to his will," the Colonel noted digging up all the knowledge on the mysterious entity the Chinese government found only a few short months ago a mile outside of Beijing.

"Our mind control drugs work 98% of the time. I don't think one mutant can resist them my friend and believe me once he is released, we will know all of his secrets in time."

"General if I may speak freely. You are being far too cocky in this matter. I believe there is far more to this 'one mutant' than we could possibly know and if I recall correctly one mutant knocked out the entire American city of L.A.* It seems we have become too overzealous in this matter and it's not just you. Even I was once ready to do anything to retaliate, but now I see the error of my ways. Mutants are not putty to be toyed with. They are a dangerous force which could very well spell the end for us all!" Shi-Zuing protested knowing he would probably get reprimanded. Instead the General remained completely calm.

( *Cable was the mutant that knocked out the City of Angels - Brent )

"I agree with you completely Colonel, but you won't ever hear me say it. The government we live in today would hang me for it, but believe there are many in higher places that feel as you do. We want to get rid of the mutants in the camps here either by killing them or sending them to Genosha. We truly don't care as long as we get rid of them. You are to tell this to no one or all our efforts will have been in vain," the General whispered sharply under his breath. The Colonel smiled with satisfaction. Finally he had gained the tiniest bit of hope that things would change. After all what else could a mutant like him hope for.

"Well here we go General," Shi-Zuing said as the two of them came to the door to the room where the Gaunt was being held in cryogenic stasis. The General pressed his hand flat against the fingerprint scanner and with a tiny beep the door began to slowly slide open. The two men both took a deep breath as they stepped into the room not knowing what lied ahead for them.

"This is absolutely atrocious. How could anyone do such a thing to a living being?!" Shi-Zuing asked shocked and disgusted at the sight before him. The Gaunt had hundreds of copper wirings going straight through his body in his cryogenic chamber. The Chinese had never truly perfected cryogenic technology so they were probably using the wires to create electric currents to keep the Gaunt alive. The question was though did the Gaunt even need electric currents in his body?

The General moved slowly to a console next to the Gaunt's chamber. He pressed his hand on a smooth black surface and the chamber began to blink and flash with bright lights wildly. The experience was surprisingly beautiful to both the Colonel and General. Then slowly over a period of about five minutes the lights stopped flashing and eventually went out altogether. Gas began to blow out of the chamber at such a rapid pace the General stepped away from the computer console slightly nervous. Then came the moment of truth.

The door to the chamber flew off, as did the copper wires. The Colonel got whip lashed on the leg from the wires. He jumped more in nervousness than actual pain. He quickly looked back to the chamber as he heard a big thud. The Gaunt was free.

"It's amazing Shi-Zuing! His wounds are healing so rapidly that can hardly tell there were ever any there!" the General said full of excitement and curiosity. The Colonel on the other hand was a little more apprehensive. He saw the Gaunt as dangerous and potentially a great evil. Every time he looked upon that creature he got an eerie chill down his spine and that was all the proof he needed in his mind of the hidden darkness in this creature. His powers as an empath failed him when trying to scan this man.

"Where…Where am I?" the Gaunt mumbled out still trying to get his bearings. The Colonel looked over to the General with a look that basically told him he could do all the talking. The General gladly took the opportunity because he was curious as to what the Gaunt had to tell them.

"You are in the Ping Po government facility in China. How do you feel?" the General asked knowing good and well the Gaunt probably felt like he had been left in a washing machine for a very long time.

"I feel that like tanjit. What year is it?" the Gaunt asked starting to regain more strength. The General didn't respond immediately because of the mysterious tanjit word that the Gaunt had used. Then suddenly the Colonel realized something.

"How are you speaking Chinese to us? You don't look of Chinese descent," the Colonel blurted out. He had not mean to be so rash, but he was jumpy around this Gaunt character and the faster they sent him on his mission the happier he would be.

"I'm not speaking Chinese to you. I'm just using my linguistic powers to translate my language so you will immediately understand it. Now tell me what year it is?" the Gaunt asked angered as he stood on his two feet.

"It's 2002 and I suggest you watch…"

"I made it! Yes at long last I've made it. Now I'll start anew here in this time. I'll rebuild and become stronger," the Gaunt mused to himself. The General pulled out his weapon and pointed it at the babbling man in front of him.

"Gaunt you are an agent of the Chinese government and I suggest you begin acting as such before…" the General didn't get the chance to finish his sentence as Gaunt ran up behind him with super-speed and twisted his head entirely off.

"Before I do something like that I suppose," the Gaunt laughed to himself as the General's body fell to the floor lifeless. The Colonel tried to escape by running but was lifted off the ground and thrown straight into the wall in front of Gaunt. Once again with super-speed the Gaunt came up right in front of the Colonel.

"What are you? Why are you here?" the Colonel barely let out as Gaunt's TK pressed more and more against his body.

"I am the Gaunt. In the far future I was the ultimate weapon created by the U.S. government using the DNA on the old Cerebro files. What does that mean for you my friend? Well let's put it this way; I have the abilities of every mutant that has been born since the beginning of Cerebro and I also have some abilities of mutants that haven't even been born yet in this time. So basically I'm going to kick the tanj out of everyone on this planet until I reign supreme. Of course you won't be around to see my reign! Sorry I can't have someone going around spoiling my plans to everyone," the Gaunt smiled as he used the combined telekinesis of X-Man to crush the Colonel into nothing but powder.

"Now it's time to start setting up my chess board. I think I'm going to enjoy this game, but first I need to learn more of this time and world. I would hate to play a game that I don't fully understand," the Gaunt grinned as he teleported with a pink blink off to places unknown.

What was left of the Colonel's body began to stir and melt into a pile of goop that reassembled itself together. Slowly out of the goop appeared the Egyptian External and lover of Candra known as Adam.

"I hate to burst your bubble Gaunt, but someone does know about you now. I was going to leave the Colonel's body soon anyway so thanks for finishing the job for me. Now it's time for the Externals to set up their chessboard."