X-Cutioner's Song
Somewhere above mankind, in a huge orbiting space station called Greymalkin, comes a man who has, in many ways, chosen to place himself in this high place. The irony being that in order to save his people, he has had to abandon them.
Cable left Garrison Kane in the fortieth century to continue his recovery from the grievious wounds inflicted by The Chaos Bringer, Stryfe. Cable has returned to seek out his X-Force and to finish with Stryfe once and for all.
"Welcome back to Greymalkin, Nathan." Professor greets him.
"Fill me in on what's happening." Cable tells him.
"Current events prove quite fascinating. Jean Grey and Scott Summers have been apprehended by agents seemingly loyal to Apocalypse. An assassination has been attempted on Charles Xavier. He now lies in a catatonic state." Professor explained, as he showed Nathan news video of the events.
"This never happened. Professor, who did this? Who shot Xavier?" Cable asks.
"Well, regardless of the illogical nature of the evidence presented, Nathan...It would appear...That you did." Professor told him, as he switched to a video of the assassination attempt, which clearly showed Cable firing the shot and teleporting out.
"By the Dream!" Cable swore. "Body-Slide me down the safe house in Switzerland. Now!"
As soon as he finished teleporting in, Cable made straight towards the armory.
"Professor, give me an up to the minute status report on everything." Cable ordered.
"There has been an ever increasing escalation in maneuvers, Nathan. Mr. Sinister has visited the Xavier Mansion. X-Force is engaged in West Texas with elements of the X-Men and X-Factor." Professor told him.
Cable selects two plasma pistols, two plasma rifles, two ion blades and several grenades.
"Too much happening too quickly. Only one person can be responsible for all of it. Stryfe, Stab His Eyes! It's time to take him down once and for all--Man to man--And quite literally--Face to face! Professor Body-Slide me to Newfoundland, Canada, Department H Headquarters. Now." Cable orders.
Seconds later, Cable appears inside Department H's parameter defenses, only to find the compound in an uproar.
"Professor, make yourself useful and confirm for me that, that piercing is a parameter breach." Cable orders.
"Affirmative. It seems this complex was under assault prior to your arrival." Professor tells him.
"Perfect. That means while H Security is knee-deep in one fire fight or the other, I can slink in, steal the necessary files that I need to track down Stryfe and the MLF and Body-Slide home before anyone has a clue. Nice to see all my clean living is finally paying off and something is working out the way I planned it. For once." Cable says, as he raises his plasma rifle and blasts the wall in front him, behind which is the Records Room of Department H.
"Nathan, according to my sensors, you may have a problem." Professor tells him.
Cable readies his rifle and steps through the hole he has just blasted to find himself face to face with Wolverine and Bishop of the X-Men. And neither one of them appear to be in a mood to talk.
"It's going to be one of those days." Nathan says. "This is certainly a situation that's rife with possibilities. I don't imagine that one of those possibilities is that you give me five minutes alone in this file room and then permit me to go on my way unmolested, perhaps?" Cable asks.
"MURDERER!!" Bishop screams, as he fires his hand-cannon.
Cable ducks beneath Bishop's fire and grabs a 300 lb. file cabinet and throws it, taking Bishop out of the fight, for the moment.
"You ain't gonna take me down by tossing a file cabinet. No more messin' around, Cable. I want answers. I only need your mouth intact for that. So the number of limbs you'll keep while you give me those answers is strictly up to you!" Wolverine says, as he leaps to the attack.
Cable raises his plasma rifle, but Wolverine cuts it cleanly in half before Cable can fire. Before Wolverine can follow through Cable lands a right cross with his full strength knocking Wolverine through the far wall.
"Wolverine, are you injured?" Bishop asks.
"Nothing that nailing that joker wouldn't cure." Logan answers.
"I would not wish to insult you by attacking him, if you wish to handle him alone." Bishop tells him.
"Of all the ways you could insult me, lending a hand ain't one of 'em." Logan says, as he pulls himself up from Cable's blow.
"Cable, there is nowhere for you to go!" Bishop says, as he raises his hand-cannon.
"Why should I go anywhere? I like it here." Cable tells him, as he draws his plasma pistol and fires, blasting Bishop back through the wall.
"If you knew anything of me, Cable, then you would know that shooting me with an energy weapon is the last thing you would want to do." Bishop says, as he absorbs and channels back Cable's blast, with interest.
Cable raises a telekinetic shield but the force of the blast still knocks him through the only wall that had been untouched by their battle.
"Point...taken." Cable says, as he slowly pulls himself up.
Wolverine, again leaps to the attack. Cable grabs his arms in mid-leap and flips him over his hip only to feel the still hot barrel of his own plasma pistol thrust suddenly against his temple by Bishop.
"Wolverine, Bishop, listen, I didn't do it. I did not shoot Xavier." Cable tells them.
"We saw you, Murderer. I do not want your lies! I want your confession! And then I want your head!" Bishop tells him.
"I'm afraid you're going to come up empty on both counts, Chief." Cable says, as he neatly throws Bishop over his shoulder.
"Now you're saying it was a frame-up? Is that what you want us to believe?" Logan asks.
"That would be nice, yes. I've always been a big supporter of the truth. But if you don't believe me...Then go ahead. Strike. Come on. If you're that sure of yourself, then stop me once and for all. Might be your only chance. Just keep in mind that if I'm telling the truth, then someone's playing you for a fool. It's your call as to whether the name fits." Cable says, as he lowers his arms to his sides and leaves himself wide open for whatever lies ahead.
Wolverine draws back and swings, but at the last possible second he retracts his claws and only strikes Cable with his adamantium hardened fist.
"You retracted your claws. Why? Because you wanted to see if I flinched?" Cable asks.
"No. I didn't need 'em." Logan replies.
"Wait a minute your own eyes told you what he did! Are you telling me you believe him when he asks you to ignore what you yourself have seen?" Bishop asks.
"I can't be one hundred percent sure he's lying. But I have to be one hundred percent sure, because if I kill him, then he's one hundred percent dead. 'Gotta give him the benefit of the doubt...For now." Logan tells him.
"Oh, do you?!? WELL I DO NOT!!!" Bishop screams and raises the plasma pistol.
"You should really switch to decaff." Cable tells him.
"Listen to the man, Bish. It couldn't hurt." Logan tells him, as he neatly cuts the barrel off of the pistol before Bishop can fire. "Now, once you've calmed down, Bishop, go pick up your gun and let's get this sorted out."
Bishop goes to retrieve his hand-cannon and Cable senses more guards on the way.
"Logan, guards'll be here any second. I can take us somewhere quiter to talk." Cable tells him.
"Let's do it, Bub." Logan replies.
"Professor, Body-Slide by three. Greymalkin bound."
Seconds later, Department H guards enter to find an empty room.
Greymalkin, for the man called Cable it is meant to be a refuge, a safe haven, a place of peace, but now it is party to a council of war.
"So much seems insignificant when viewed from this perspective, doesn't it, Wolverine?" Bishop asks, as he stares out of the viewport at the serene planet earth, spinning beneath the orbiting space station.
"At my size, Bishop, I put everything into perspective. 'Sides, I don't need this view to teach me about my insignificance. Life's done a fine job of that lately." Logan replies, as he lights a cigarette.
"Logan, put out the cigarette." Cable tells him.
"You kiddin'?" Logan asks, taking a deep draw of his smoke.
"FLAMMABLE CARCINOGENIC MATERIAL IN USE: EXTINGUISHING PROCEDURE ACTIVATED: PROCEDURE ENABLED."Greymalkin's computer activates a fire-suppression system and a nozzle extends out and snuffs out Logan's cigarette.
"Don't blame the computer. It's only following it's programming. Where I come from, smoking isn't considered very smart." Cable tells him.
"I don't like you, Cable. I've never liked you. I like your house even less. It's got as much personality as you do." Logan says.
"More actually. Come on we have a job to do." Cable tells them.
"Agreed, we must eradicate this man, Stryfe. The terrorist behind the assassination attempt on Charles Xavier." Bishop says.
"More than a terrorist, Bishop. More a force for anarchy, born and bred for chaos, but desperately trying to find a sense of order." Cable says, as he leads them to the War Room.
"Nice poetry, start talking." Logan tells him.
"Professor, Stryfe Log: Recount for the detail impaired." Cable orders.
"Professor?" Logan and Bishop ask in unison.
Professor activates the log that Cable has specified and the computer begins to recite, as a huge hologram of Stryfe is projected.
"STRYFE: REAL NAME: UNKNOWN. AGE: UNKNOWN. STATUS: SELF-PROCLAIMED ANARCHIST AND FOMENTOR OF POLITICAL DISSENT. NOR-AM PACT REGION. CIRCA 3783-3806 A.D. STRYFE HAS PARTICIPATED IN ACTS OF AGGRESSION AGAINST BOTH THE CONTROLLING RULERS, THE HIGH LORDS OF NEW CANAAN, AS WELL AS THE REBELLION FORCES KNOWN AS THE CLAN CHOSEN. DECEMBER 25, 3806, CANAANITES DEFEATED THE REMNANTS OF THE MAO-SINO PROVINCE PACT, THEREBY CONSOLIDATING CONTROL OF GLOBAL FORCES. IN AN EFFORT TO MAXIMIZE POTENTIAL FOR ANACHISTIC ENDEAVORS, STRYFE AND DISPLACEMENT UNIT, DESINGATED ZERO, FLED TO CURRENT TEMPORAL ZONE, CIRCA 1993 A.D."
"I first encountered him about eight years ago. I knew he was a man out of time." Cable was careful to tell them only as much as they had to know. He couldn't tell anyone the full truth, yet.
"How?" Logan asks.
"Because so am I. I was a part of the Clan Chosen who sought to overthrow Canaanite rule. When we failed, I came to this time." Cable replied.
"So you and Stryfe are different sides of the same coin?" Logan asks.
"Yes. No. Maybe. He came back to exacerbate the mutant rebellion, to try and prevent the High Lord Ascension. I came back to try and control the Ascension. To ensure order in the future. There's just one problem. Well, one major one, anyway. I recently fought Stryfe, hand to hand, and learned something about the man inside the armor..." Cable had to be careful, not to tell them too much.
"And what was that?" Logan asks, as he lights another cigarette.
"I found out something that Kane, Weapon X, said was true...That underneath his helmet, Stryfe wears my face." Cable replied, he had to let on that he had never known about Stryfe's appearance, to avoid too many questions about both their origins.
"FLAMMABLE CARCINOGENIC MATERIAL IN USE: EXTINGUISHING PROGRA...SQUARKKZZZ..." Logan sliced the nozzle off as it extended." The computer droned on.
"SYSTEMSDAMAGE
SYSTEMSDAMAGE
SYSTEMSDAMAGE
SYSTEMSDAMAGE
"Then he is a duplicate of you?" Bishop asks.
"Or Cable of him." Logan adds, as he enjoys one deep draw after another of his cigarette.
"Which would explain how Stryfe impersonated Cable when he shot Chuck. But it doesn't answer the obvious question...Why're you and him walkin' around with the same face?" Logan asks.
"I...I don't know." Cable lies through his teeth.
Logan contacts Storm and tells her the situation and finds out that Charles Xavier's condition is getting worse by the minute and that the combined teams have had no luck at all finding Scott and Jean.
Logan sits, extends a claw and begins to scratch out doodles in the table, Bishop begins to replay the scene of Xavier's shooting over and over, while Cable gets a cup of his life's blood, black coffee.
"Anyone for a cup of coffee? Wolverine? Bishop?" Cable asks.
"I have no need of liquid refreshments, Nathan. Thank you, anyway." Professor tells him.
"I was speaking to our guests, Professor." Cable replies.
"Perhaps they are uncomfortable aboard Greymalkin? Space travel, even our tight orbit around the Earth, is an acquired taste." Professor says.
"Or maybe they're just concentrating on the task at hand, locating Stryfe. Gentlemen, I appreciate the importance of a strategy session as much as the next seasoned Warhorse, but running through this scenario Ad Infinitum is getting us nowhere, Bishop. Why don't you take a break?" Cable asks.
"Computer? Run holo-program. Again." Bishop says, "As near as we know, this began with an assassination attempt on Professor Xavier by, all appearances to the contrary, someone other than Cable."
"It has been established that Stryfe, sans his helmet, is an exact replica of Cable." Professor interjects.
"Or the other way around. Meanwhile, Summers and Grey were being kidnapped by Apocalypse's Horsemen, as the Professor, despite the mansion's Shi'ar Technology, lay dying, one cell at a time." Bishop recites.
"At that time there was little evidence to connect the tragedies." Professor adds.
"Until Mr. Sinister, for whatever his reasons, intimated that Stryfe was behind this well-orchestrated assault." Bishop says.
"Not that the kids in X-Force could corroborate my innocence upon their capture, since...private matters had forced me underground for a while." Cable tells them.
"It's not the first time Stryfe set-up your people in order to get at you, Nathan." Professor says.
"Apocalypse is apparently also a target for Stryfe's revenge. According to Storm, he had not authorized his Horsemen to attack, any more than you had anything to do with the assault upon the Professor, as you managed to explain to our satisfaction. For the moment. Stryfe is out for vengence, but why? Against whom? For what?" Bishop asks.
"Perhaps a display of the key elements to date?" Professor asks, as he displays a hologram of Stryfe, Professor Xavier, Scott, Jean and Apocalypse.
"Perhaps. But you're missing one." Bishop tells him.
Professor adds a hologram of Cable to the others.
"There, you go. Cable--A General without his troops. Stryfe--A man from the future obsessed with the past. Apocalypse--Stripped of his Honor Guard. Charles Xavier--Nearly stripped of his life. Finally, Scott and Jean--The heart and soul torn from the body that is the X-Men. Find out what these disparate players have in common, and we've found the key to defeating Stryfe. As a child, the only way to avoid a Nimrod was by hiding among the norms. Relationships between mutants and, pardon the term, 'Flatscans' were strained at best. A human home was the last place a Sentinel would look." Bishop tells them.
"Not that reminiscing over memories which have yet to be isn't fascinating, but how in the ancient future is this going to help us find Stryfe?" Cable asks, sipping from his coffee cup.
"What the kid is sayin' and I'm inclined t' agree with him, is yer mirror image is probably hidin' in plain sight, among his enemies." Logan says, as he continues to scratch doodles into the table top.
"The mansion?" Bishop asks.
"Cerebro would have pegged him." Cable tells him.
"Here?" Bishop suggests.
"Similarly, I would have detected him." Professor says.
"That'd leave Apocalypse's base of operations." Logan says.
"I will commence gene-scan...Focus on California...Egypt...Gene-scan negative. A global search might be..." Professor starts.
"A waste of time and resources." Bishop interjects, "Wherever he is, Stryfe feels safe...Out of our reach...confident."
"If he is among his enemies, we've ruled out the Professor, myself and Apocalypse. So where on Earth could he have taken Scott and Jean?" Cable asks.
"That's IT!" Logan yells, as he notices for the first time just what he has carved into the table top. "It's why Jeannie hasn't been able to fire off a psychic cry for help. 'Till now. They're in the last place X-Factor battled Apocalypse and his Dark Riders. Don't you see, People? They're not on the Earth at all!" Logan steps back and points to his carving in the table top.
There, as bold as day, was an exact replica of the moon.
Cable patched through a call to Xavier's mansion and as soon as Storm appeared on screen, Logan began to tell her his discovery.
"They're on the moon. I'm positive. It's the only thing that makes sense." Logan told her.
"I am completely confused. Logan, how in the world did you jump to this conclusion?" Storm asks.
"Part of it's instinct, 'Roro. Something I have been known to use successfully now and then. With Stryfe trying to muscle in on Apocalypse's terrain, it wouldn't be surprising if he were operating out of Pocy's last known major HQ, namely Luna. Plus, the distance would explain why Jean's been having trouble sending a thought broadcast. But I think she finally managed to. It barely got to me, to the degree where my subconscious had to let me know I had an incoming call." With this, Logan turned the table up on it's side so that Storm could see the perfect carving of the moon on it's surface. "She reached me, intentionally or not, since I'm the one guy, aside from Scott, that she felt closest to."
"Wolverine...Are you picking up anything else that could possibly be interpreted as a telepathic call from Jean, consciously, unconsciously, or otherwise?" Storm asks.
"No. Which may mean nothing, or everything." Logan says, "Still, if there's any shot at all we gota take it. Bishop, Cable and I are goin' to head to the moon to rescue Sc..."
"You will do no such thing. I do not want you hurling yourselves into whatever danger awaits without knowing the circumstances." Storm tells him, "Instead of having you as an asset, we might have to rescue you as well. I want the three of you to come here, via whatever transport means that Cable has."
"Forget it. I'm not walking into the lion's den. I'm interested in confronting Stryfe, not risk having to fight my way out of an X-Stronghold. And if you two try to force me to go, then someone's going to get hurt." Cable tells them.
"Like who?" Bishop asks.
"Like me, probably. But that won't accomplish anything. You need me cooperative, not comatose." Cable replies.
"Man makes sense. We got a standoff here, Storm. 'Less you want us to try and strong-arm him. Your call." Logan tells her.
"Very well, Wolverine. Do as he says. We will arrange our own mode of transportation. Mansion out." Storm says, as she cuts off the transmission.
"Good thing she passed on your offer to head straight to the moon. Bodysliding there isn't the same as bodysliding to Earth. There's different gravimetric fields involved. Not to mention planetary..." Cable begins to explain.
"Hold it. You telling me we can't get there?" Logan asks.
"No. We can, but serious adjustments have to be made. This isn't 'Star Trek' you know. If I'm bodysliding to a different planetary mass, I have to recalibrate my instrumentation." Cable tells him.
"How long will that take?" Logan asks.
"If I do it myself...About twenty, twenty-five minutes." Cable answers.
"And if we help?" Logan asks.
"An hour and a half." Cable replies.
"You wouldn't happen to have some beer and a deck of cards around here would you?" Logan asks.
Two hours later, Apocalypse has cured Professor Xavier at the mansion. While on Greymalkin, Cable has long since finished his adjustments to the transporters. Logan sips his beer and plays solitaire, Bishop stares out the viewport, lost in thought, while Cable has drawn his ion blade and gotten a piece of scrap wood and carved out a striking likeness of Domino. He stares at it a few moments when he is finished and then turns to the others and says, "I'm bored."
"Me too." Logan replies.
"Let's go." Bishop says.
"We're gone." Cable replies.
A few minutes later, the trio appear inside a side-chamber of Apocalypse's old lunar base, just outside of the main entrance.
"All right, I've landed us in some sort of storage facility. Suggestions, Logan?" Cable asks.
"Subtlety. Avoid fighting if we can. Sneak in, find Cyke and Jean, sneak out. If we're lucky, no one will even notice us." Logan says, as he activates the opening switch on the door.
"Uhm...Guys...We've hit a snag." Logan says, as the door slides open to reveal The Dark Riders along with at least a hundred armed guards.
Our Journey Continues With
The Final Chapter
Return To The
Go to the Site Index for a complete mapping out of this site. From here you may jump to any point in the Askani'Son's history that you wish.
