Cable had chosen a very secluded site for the teams new headquarters. One that he already knew the layout for since The Clan Chosen had used it as a base in his future. It was Larry Trask's old sentinel base. It was hidden deep within Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. It had all the team needed, a great computer set-up, rec-room, a ready room for mission prep, a fantastic communications facility, a huge hanger for many of Cable's vehicles and was hidden from sight deep within one of the mountains.
They had barely begun to settle in, however, when they heard, over the news, that three of their young friends Artie, Leech and Taki had been injured in an attack on the Saint Simon's Academy in Vermont, the night before. The academy had been attacked by a group called The Alliance Of Evil that Cable had been tracking for a week now by using the Cerebro mutant tracker. When he learned of this latest attack the team loaded up and made tracks to Vermont.
When the young boy named Taki awoke in his hospital room, he found his bed surrounded by X-Force. The first one he recognized was Boom-Boom. "How ya doin'" she asked.
"Not so good...Feels like everything's broken." Taki answered her.
"Ummm...That's 'cause just about everythin' is!" Tabitha said.
"Artie--? Leech--?" The boy asked, remembering his friends.
"They're both okay. They're sleeping in another room." Domino told him.
"Sam I know, but who are these others?" Taki asked.
"The Big Kahuna is Cable. He looks tough but he's okay. The one with the petey the dog make-up on is called Domino. Our mother figure as it were. The Big Bohunk who's secure enough in his masculinity to wear feathers is called Warpath. The one outta a Duran Duran video is called Shatterstar. Feral is the one who looks like Morris the cat--and is just as finicky. And y' know Sam already--Cannonball." Tabitha said, introducing the team.
"If we can dispense with the pleasantries now, Boom-Boom--We need to know what happened here. The boy may not be able to move, but he can talk...so talk." Cable said.
Taki explained all he could about the attack and twenty minutes later the team was in their chopper discussing their options.
"It looks like this was done by the same people who performed the previous attacks along the east coast. From what the boy told us, I'm certain we're up against a modified version of The Alliance Of Evil. They're a group of mutant mercs who fought X-Factor a while ago." Cable told them.
"But why have they been doing these hit and run assaults on what looks like random targets?" Warpath asked.
"No idea. But we've been able to use our Cerebro mutant detection system to track their moves. We know who three of them are. The last two have never been registered in Cerebro's databanks. Either they're non-mutants, or just two who've never been publicly encountered before. The ones we know are pretty familiar--and pathetic--territory.
Later, that evening, at Niagara Falls. The Alliance was striking again. Frenzy, Tower and Stinger gathered the crowd together, away from the observation deck and Frenzy called out, "Harness--All clear--Move out!"
With this, a figure clad in blue and gold armor stepped forward, with a energy leash running from the wrist of the armor to a young boy's neck. The armored figure said, "Start sniffing, boy." as the young boy was led to the edge of the observation platform.
"Please--It's so high up--It's scary--" The boy said.
"The sooner you eat. The sooner you can get down." The armored figure said.
"There. That way." The boy said, pointing out, over the edge of the platform.
"Great! Just great! Okay then, Kid, time for some real chills and thrills! My tether lines'll keep you snug as a bug in a rug and then you'll go get some nice tasty morsel's for Harness, right?" The armored figure said.
"No--Please--Not out there--" The boy pleaded.
"Show some guts, you little weasel! Get out there!" Harness said, slinging the boy out and over the edge, to dangle at the end of the tether line. "Can you taste it? Yeah? Eat it up then! Eat it all up!" Harness ordered.
With this the boy proceed to absorb some form of energy, from the air itself. More and more he absorbed and seemed to grow larger by the second, as he absorbed this energy.
"You got all of it, Kid? You must've--Feels like you've put on a little weight! Stop whimpering and hold on while I pull you..."
POOM
Cable's plasma rifle blew a five foot hole in the concrete, right in the middle of The Alliance, announcing X-Force's arrival.
Cannonball took out Stinger first, since she was a long-distance fighter. Warpath leaped out of the chopper and landed on top of Frenzy with an earth shattering impact. Shatterstar sliced a six inch gash into Tower's four feet thick ankle, toppling the giant with one blow. Warpath and Frenzy were both on their feet, once again, and Warpath landed a right-cross to her jaw that would have shattered a brick wall. She returned the favor in kind, knocking Warpath back a step. He then locked his fists together and delivered a round-house blow knocking her back several feet. She swayed for a few moments and finally fell to the ground, unconscious.
Harness saw that The Alliance was losing fast and told the young boy, "This is not going well at all. It may be time to cut out, Kiddo."
"You wouldn't want t' leave just when the bash is gettin' good, would you?" Boom-Boom asked, holding one of her plasma bombs a few inches from Harness's nose. "C'mon you cheap predator knock-off--You're so mondo-tunnel visioned on making the little kid eat--Howzabout I cram this time bomb down your throat?"
Harness grabbed the young boy and leaped over the edge of the observation platform.
"Hey! No fair! I can't fly!" Tabitha shouted.
"Neither can I." Harness replied.
Cannonball saw this and immediately flew to intercept them but, just before he could grab them, they disappeared in a flash of light.
"...Some sort o' teleportin' trick." Sam told Tabitha.
"Does this mean that Big Kahuna Cable's gonna be mad at me?" Tabitha asked.
Tower rolled over, meaning to rise and kill Shatterstar for the gash on his ankle, but before he could rise he felt the business end of a plasma rifle jam against, first his right temple, and then his left.
"Who. What. Where. When. Why. How." Cable said from his right side.
"Talk." Domino said from his left.
An hour later, the team was in Sayville, Long Island hovering over the grounds of a Gene Tech Research Facility.
"We're approaching now, Cable. Get the team prepped." Dom said as she piloted the craft.
Cable and the others were in the rear standing around a detailed projection of the grounds.
"The holographic imaging of the Gene Tech grounds show us what we need to know for a smooth breaking and entering. Their late shift is a light personnel rotation, so we shouldn't encounter much resistance. Tower told us that they were working for Gene Tech on a cellular reconstruction assignment. The only way to find out what that means is to get the information first hand." Cable briefed them.
"Are you sure hard and fast is the way t' go, Sir?" Sam asked.
"Always. Picking up a phone and asking Gene Tech about their ties with The Alliance wouldn't be the smartest thing to do would it? Let's go in there, get the information we need and get out. Ready--Move Out!" Cable ordered as the craft landed and he was the first to leap out.
As the team approached one of the huge shipping doors Cable said, "Shatterstar--?"
"Acknowledged." Shatterstar said as he pointed his double-bladed sword at the door and concentrated for a moment...then a blast of energy shot from the blade, which destroyed the door.
"Channelling my force of will through my sword is a tiring act, Cable. Don't squander it needlessly..." Shatterstar told him.
"But think of the ordnance I'm saving on by having you do it, Pretty Boy."
"Should I ever be too exhausted to effectively combat an opponent. I will keep that in mind." Shatterstar replied.
Alarms were blaring as the team entered the facility. They turned left down a hallway and ran into a squad of guards.
"Boom-Boom--Cluster assault--!" Cable ordered.
"Yassuh, Kemosabe!" Tabitha replied as she threw two of her plasma bombs, scattering the guards.
Cannonball, Shatterstar, Warpath and Feral finished off the remainder of the guards, clearing the hallway of opposition.
"Not bad, team, not bad at all. Quick and almost silent." Cable then triggered the microphone on his head-set and said, "Domino, give us a location and direction."
"Tracking your arm sensor now...Thirty meters left...Turn right...Fifteen meters down the corridor...Fourth door to the left. That should be the main lab." Dom answered him.
Cable and the others followed her directions and found themselves in front of a set of huge double-doors with "Restricted Entry" painted across them.
"This looks like it's right. Heavily fortified. Computer coded sequence lock. Hmmm...Warpath?" Cable asked.
Warpath walked up to the doors and with one blow knocked both doors off their hinges.
The team found themselves in a huge labratory. They had barely taken a step inside the doorway when a blast of intense heat seared the floor in front of them.
"Stop where you are! Make one move and it's the last one you'll ever take!" A deep voice shouted.
The voice belonged to Night Thrasher, the heat blast had come from Firestar and they were not alone. Beside them stood Marvel Boy, Nova, Namorita, Silhouette, Speedball and Chord. Together they were...The New Warriors!
Cable took a moment to access the situation and said,
"Everyone--On my mark...Take one step forward..."
Go to the Site Index from here you can jump to any point in the Askani'Son's history that you wish.