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while I wait for oddball to come back with my feedback for chapter 10, here's chapter 9. If Oddballs' internet still isn't working in a couple weeks, I'll go ahead and post what I have for the remaining chapters, then go back and do revisions later. Also, do you have suggestions as to a codename for Lilly? Right now I've got mollocke (like, molecule-warlock. Psylocke is psionic warlock, and the two are kind of similar, so...), but I'd like to know if you have any better ideas.




As Hisao bailed out of one of the world's most advanced aircrafts and quickly achieved free fall, he realized he really should have thought this out better. Typically a fall at terminal veloctiy would shatter every bones in a persons' body and reduce their muscles to smears on the ground they landed on. While Hisao had a healing factor, he had no idea whether it would be able to compensate for the damage. And if it didn't, he would die yes, but more importantly Hanako would too. Die or lose herself completely. A bigger problem was that even providing his healing factor allowed him to survive the fall, he had no way to getting back to Japan and delivering the life seed. While he could speak English thanks to his blunt attempt at copying the language out of Psylocke's head, he had no papers, no American money, and minimal knowledge of the area. Unfortunately, his options had been extremely limited, and truth be told, this was probably the only way he had even the slightest chance of saving his friend. There was no way he could take Besty on in a fight, that much was clear. She had years more experience than he ever did. If he had waited any longer, the plane would have gotten to Xavier's and he wouldn't just be facing Psylocke, but every other telepath the X-men had on staff. No, this had been the best of a series of really bad options. Really bad options.

“Dear lord, what have I gotten myself into...” he thought to himself, “Ok, so the Blackbird cruises at 20,000 meters and terminal velocity for a human is roughly 187 km/hour, so that means I have a little under seven minutes to come up with an exceedingly brilliant plan and put it into execution. Come on Hisao, think.”

As he plummeted, a small city on the distant ground grew larger and larger. As the city grew, Hisao felt a sharp pain in his chest. Focusing, he breathed heavily, trying to will it to subside. It got worse and worse however, and it felt like his body was going numb. The pain clouded his vision and he blanked out. Then the healing factor asserted itself and the pain subsided, only for the ground to be moments away. Hisao let out a strangled choke, and then suddenly felt arms grab him around the waist.

“Hisao, have you lost your mind entirely?” Shizune's thoughts entered his mind. “That is quite possibly the stupidest thing I have seen anyone do in my entire life. I mean, seriously, a fall from this height would have caused your body to be split into dozens of pieces, and healing factor or no healing factor, you would have DIED! What the hell were you thinking?!”

“Seemed like a good idea at the time” Hisao thought back, “I'm willing to do whatever it takes to help Hanako, and right now that involves getting away from the X-men.”

“I want to help Hanako too, but there's a difference between being determined and being completely obtuse!” Her thoughts were extremely irate. “Do you have any idea how lucky you were I was able to find you? Trying to locate a human at the distance between me and you is like locating a needle in a haystack!

Shizune guided their decent and they landed in an alleyway.

“Alright, so it wasn't the greatest idea,” Hisao thought back, “But it worked. At the rate we were traveling, they'll probably be several states away by now.”

“Yes, but you know as well as I do that Betsy won't rest until she has the life seed and uses it on Angel. We've got to get back to Japan. Fast.” Shizune shook her head.

“I assume you have a plan?” Hisao asked mentally.

“Of course, I'm just nailing down the details.”

“So you don't have a plan.”

“Not what I said at all. I'm running down all the unaffiliated teleporters I've learned of and trying to figure whether they'll be nearby.” Shizune gave him a cross look. “Which is more than you did. You just jumped out of an airplane and hoped for the best.” She scanned around “First order of business is to determine where we are.”

The two of them walked out into a busy street. Hisao took a brief glance into a passerby's head.

“Orlando, Florida.” he thought to Shizune.

“Damnit.” she replied “Not exactly metahuman central. Still, better than, say, New Mexico. I mean, the only metahuman to come out of that armpit of a state was that Firebird girl. No, wait, I guess there was Portal. And those losers the West Coast Avengers faced a few years back.”

“Firebird? Like...Pheonix?”

“What? No! Hispanic woman, christian missionary, truly immortal as far as anyone has been able to tell... Am I the only person who reads the files?”

“I've been working my way through them, there's just a lot to go through.”

Shizune shook her head, “You need to read them. If you're going to join on these missions, you need to be prepared. I know Misha is... how she usually is with that sort of thing, but you're hardworking. And smart. You could be a damn fine X-man.”

Hisao shook his head, “This is just a one time thing. Soon as Hanako's better, I'm returning to my studies.”

“Do you really think the supervillians of this world will leave you alone? Trouble always follows whenever a metahumans around. Move cities, they follow. Change countries, new villains pop up there. Hid on a mountaintop as a monk, still can't shake them. Especially considering Lilly.”

“What about Lilly?” Hisao asked, not sure if he wanted the answer.

“She has a file, and in Psylocke noted that her potential is on the cosmic level. Think Pheonix or Molecule Man and you won't be too far off. Once word gets out, and trust me, it will, everyone and their brother is going to want a piece of her.”

Hisao gave a funny look “First of all, how did Psylocke even determine that? Second, if she's that powerful, wouldn't she be able to take down almost anyone who tried to hurt her?”

Shizune shook her head, “To answer the first, she did some telepathic scans from a distance.”

“She spied on me?”

“She's a ninja, what do you expect? Anyway, as for the second, having power is one thing but knowing how to use it is something completely different. Mimic has all the power of the five original X-men, and yet he gets his ass kicked on a regular basis. But to my original point...” she paced around, trying to concentrate. “Cloak's in New York, Magik is too close with the X-men, Trevor might work, do you have his number?”

Hisao paused, “No, but Hanako would.” he pulled out his phone and dialed, then immediately closed it “Line's dead.” he replied, a tint of worry creeping into his thoughts.

Shizune shook her head. “Dammit.” she thought.

“You sound a lot different thinking to me than when you sign through Misha.” Hisao remarked.

“What do you mean?” Shizune asked

“Well, before you were a lot more formal, less causal. I don't know why there’s the difference.” Hisao shrugged.

“Because thoughts are communicated differently than hand signals. But thats not important right now. Who else might help...Hub would work, but I don't know how to get in touch with her. Kestrel's dead, No idea where Blink is, last I heard she was trying to take down Apocalypse's descendants, Portal's MIA, Quasar's in another galaxy...Ahha!” Shizune grabbed her phone and touched a couple buttons.

“You know someone?”

“Yes, I think so... Perfect.” She held up the screen to Hisao.



Disasterplex.

With Iron Maiden, In This Moment, and Special Star Lila Cheney.


Hisao gave Shizune a funny look, “How is a rock concert supposed to help?”

Shizune rolled her eyes. “Lila Cheney is an intergalactic teleporter as well as a musician. She has minimal connections with most of the X-men, and she's giving a concert in Tampa tonight.”

“Tampa? That's a hundred miles away.” Hisao said, trying to work out the logistics of such a trip in his head.

“If we get on the train now, we should be able to get there towards the end of the concert. C'mon, we better hurry.”

“Which train?”

“Silver Star.” Shizune tapped her phone a few more times. “We need to head south by about a mile and a half.I assume you don't have any money?”

“Just yen. I didn't expect to be in America.”

“Neither did I. You'll have to telepathically convince the driver to let us on.”

Hisao winced, “Isn't there some other way?”

“I could fly us, but that would take several times a long. And you'd be held by your armpits the entire way. From what Misha told me, it's pretty uncomfortable.”

“Fair enough. Alright. Lets go.”

Shizune nodded and sprinted off down New York Avenue. Hisao followed, panting slightly. As they ran, Hisao noticed that most of the people on the sidewalk seemed to be giving them a wide birth, as if they were deliberately avoiding the two of them.

After a few blocks, Shizune glanced back, “Doing all right?”

“I'm fine. When we get back, remind me to thank Emi for getting on my case about my physical condition. I owe her big time....Why is everyone avoiding us? This street is crowded yet everyone-”

“Anti-mutant prejudice.”

Hisao gave Shizune a funny look, “But we're not mutants.”

Shizune shook her head and motioned to her uniform.“We're with the X-men. To most people, the two are synonymous. And America isn't as...liberal... about mutants as Japan is. Not just mutants, either. Remember that most of the states still haven't legalized same-sex marriage. It's a fairly backwards nation socially.”

“Uh, Japan hasn't either.”

“Not yet, but according to Psylocke. it will be legalized within the next six years. I'm not waiting though. Misha and I will be heading to Canada to tie the knot within the year.”

Hisao blinked “You're moving to Canada?”

“No, but the ceremony will be performed there. We'll still live in Japan, primarily, though we might take extended trips to other branches of the X-corp. Singapore, Mumbai, London, Paris... I've always wanted to see Paris. Speaking of which, when are you going to propose?”

Hisao's face flushed. “Soon I hope. Unfortunately trying to afford a wedding is...difficult. Especially on a student budget. Believe me, I've thought about it for years, but I want everything to be perfect when we do get married, so it's still yet to come. I'm hoping in a couple years, though with the price of graduate school, I'm not sure.”

“You worry too much about making everything perfect. Considering how much you two love each other, just do what you can and I'm sure she'd love it.”

Hisao was about to respond to that, but a rock stuck him in the back of his head. He whirled around “What the hell?” He glanced at three teenagers who were grabbing stone off the sidewalk and hurling them in his general direction.

“Just ignore it,” Shizune responded, “We're almost at the station.”

“Ignore it? They just threw-”

“Yes, I know. We need to go.”

Hisao nodded and ran off again. “Is it like this all over the US?”

“Not in every part. Generally, older people tend to hate mutants, younger people are more of a mixed bag. Florida is a major destination for elderly folks and their families, so it's less tolerant than say... California. Or Michigan. Or most of New England. It's getting better, slowly. Ten years ago your typical mutant was likely as not to be stoned to death by an angry mob. Now they can at least walk the streets with a fair degree of safety. There are still issues that come up though. Remember that Civil War fiasco a few years back?”

Hisao shook his head, “Not really. I don't really pay attention to foreign politics.”

“The US government tried to make people with powers register their abilities with the government. And would imprison without trial anyone who didn't. The superheros didn't take kindly to that and went on strike. Support for registration dropped off pretty quickly when people realized how badly they depended on the metas. Seattle getting destroyed was a pretty big wake up call.”

“I remember that part. HYDRA attack, wasn't it?”

“Actually it was Leviathan. News media got it wrong, similar organization, but manned by soviets instead of Neo-Nazis. But yeah, fifty thousand dead, many more injured, billions of dollars worth of property damage, I'm sure you recall everything that happened afterward.”

Hisao nodded, “International outpouring of aid, declaration of a state of emergency in Washington state, arguments for tighter security measures... I recall that much. It was like 9/11 all over again.”

Shizune nodded, “That killed the act faster than you can say “Senator Kelly.” Was repelled within days and nobody has touched the issue since. Thank god. When we get home, look up Rachel Summer's file. She was from a timeline where things didn't turn out nearly as well. Ah here we are. Can you put up a illusion to make us appear in our civilian clothes?”

Hisao focused briefly. For the life of him, he couldn't think of anything except the school uniforms they worse back on campus. He tried for a moment to conjure up something else, but soon decided it would suffice. “Think I've got it.”

“Good.” Shizune thought and walked into the station. Hisao followed. Then Shizune paused at the large train schedule posted on the board. “Crap.” she thought.

“What?” Hisao thought back.

“The only train to Orlando left several hours ago.”

Hisao winced. “Plan B then.” He pulled out his phone and dialed a number. In slightly accented English, he said to the person on the other end, “Yes, connect me with a cab company.” There was a short pause “Yes, we're at the Amtrak station. I need to hire you to get me and friend to Orlando. And fast.”

He turned to Shizune and switched back to Japanese“They're on their way.”

“Whose on their way? I don't read English well.”

“Cab company,” Hisao paused “You mean those glasses don't have a translator? I would have thought that'd be an obvious thing to include.”

“No,” Shizune responded, “Most of the X-men have any and all relevant languages telepathically inserted into their head, but Psylocke hadn't been able to find the time yet.”

Hisao shrugged “I could try. With English at least. I mean, I took it out of Psylocke's head, it shouldn't be that hard to insert it into someone else's.”

Shizune thought for a moment. “Can you manage it before the cab gets here?”

“Well, I inserted my vision centers into Lilly's head in just a few minutes, so probably.”

“Go ahead then.”

Hisao closed his eyes and focused inward. Reaching into his temporal lobe, he isolated the relevant parts of Broca's area and Wernicke's that dealt with English and took a hold of them. Then, reaching out he found Shizune. As he entered her mind, he sensed it, to his surprise, as a distorted view of Yamaku. Looking inward he could sense regions dealing with her dorm room, the library, and most especially the student council office, which was much larger than it had been in reality and was filled with a series of board games, with unusual titles such as “Get term paper done,” “Beat danger room simulation,” “Make out with Misha.” Hisao chuckled slightly at the last one.

He eventually sensed the relevant locations, and inserted the information, then exited. “I think I'm getting pretty good at this.” he remarked.

“I can tell.” Shizune replied, “Thanks. I owe you one.”

“So, I guess your experiences at Yamaku made quite the impression on you.”

Shizune looked at him, somewhat surprised. “Yes, but what made you say that?”

Hisao shrugged. “My telepathy can work in a number of ways. I can hear thoughts, I can analyze parts of people's brains, and I can enter what I call a “mindscape.” It's a sort of semi-phyisical representation of a person's psyche and everybody's is different. Lilly's is a old house in the country, Hanako's is a nearly empty library. Yours is made up of locations in Yamaku.”

Shizune looked at him, apparently intrigued. “Really? That's interesting. Psylocke never mentioned anything like that. Do you always get it when you enter people's minds?”

Hisao shook his head, “No, only if I go in really deeply. And I don't usually do that unless there’s a good reason. It's a bit invasive.”

Shizune tensed slightly, “See anything untoward in there?”

Hisao grinned, “Would I be looking for something like that? Nah, it was pretty much what I expected. Sex toys and bondage magazines.”

“What?” Shizune thought, her mind in shock.

“Kidding kidding. Board game,s actually. Lots of board games.” Hisao chuckled slightly.

Shizune visibly relaxed at that. At that moment, a cab pulled up. The door opened and the two climbed in the back.

“X-men, huh?” The driver, a heavily muscled man with a tattoo of a guitar on his right elbow, said, “Don't see many of those taking cabs these days.”

“Ah geeze,” Hisao stated, realizing he had dropped the illusion to work on Shizune's mind.

“It's fine. Just fine,” The man responded, “I like dem X-men. One of dem, that white haired chick? Saved ma wife a few years back. She was on a trip in new york during an attack by some a dem aliens that look like giant insects wit' eyeballs big as dinner plates. Nearly got eat'n by one. That girl managed to shoot some kinda lightning out of her hands or something. Cooked em like a duck ona spit.”

Hisao was somewhat surprised he could understand the man as easily as he was, even with his knowledge of English. “How fast can you get to Tampa? One of my friends is in dire danger.”

“Bout two hours. Name's Mac, by da way. Nice ta meet ya.” The taxi drove off.

“Lucked out there.” Shizune thought to Hisao. “Next time, keep the illusion up,”

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Hisao thought back.

“You know, it's nice to be able to communicate with someone without an interpreter. I mean, I love Misha to pieces, but I really wish I didn't have to rely on her so much.”

Hisao nodded, “I can guess it's a real drag.”

“Yeah. I mean, Wolverine is also good at sign language, but he's not always on base. Psylocke's a telepath, but she and I just don't have very much in common. We basically talk about the mission and that's it. Armor still hasn't learned sign, and X-23.... She's an odd case.”

“How so?”

“She's had very little experience with the world that isn't related to killing people.” Shizune answered “And due to the way she was brought up, she doesn't understand emotion like most people do. Rather than getting it naturally, on instinct, she has to learn most of it the same way most people would learn a language or talent. It's like she autistic, in a way.”

“Really? She seems pretty normal to me.” Hisao thought for a moment about pointing out Shizune didn't have the greatest grasp of emotion either, but decided against it.

“She's worked hard. And she's still working hard. Misha and I have actually been helping her learn that sort of thing, but she still doesn't always get it. For example, but she's rather blunt in saying things. Also, she doesn't really like getting close to people, most likely because she's lost everyone she allowed herself to open up to.”

“I see..” Hisao paused, “I don't suppose I could help?”

Shizune shrugged. “Maybe. I mean, out of everyone on the team, you have the biggest heart. If she ever decides to open up, I think you could be what she needs. You're kind, compassionate, extremely hard to hurt and you will go through hell for your friends. She could use someone like you.”

“Biggest heart?” Hisao asked.

“Of course.” Shizune responded.

Hisao opened his mouth to object, but a voice from the front interrupted him.

“Yer a quiet couple.” Mac stated.;

“Uh, sorry about that.” Hisao replied. “We were just thinking to each other.”

“Thinkin huh? So yer a telepath? What's your friends power?”

“Uh, flight and energy blasts. And we're both pretty hard to hurt.”

“Ah, nice. If I ever had a powa, I'd want teleporation. Would make it so easy to get anywhere.”

“I know the feeling” Hisao replied.

“What's yer names?”

“Well, I'm uh, Mentat. She's Voidstar.”

“Mentat? Yer a Dune fan?”

“Yeah, it was a really good book. Loved the bit about how spice makes the human mind as powerful as a computer.”

“I know, right? Programmin can't do shit compared to a guy on drugs. Read sci-fi a lot?'

Hisao nodded, “Yeah, it's one of my favorite genres. I read pretty much every sci-fi book in my high school library over the course of around six months.”

“What's yer favorite?”

Hisao paused for a moment. “Hard to choose. I really liked Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. First four books at least. Last one left a sour taste in my mouth.”

“Ya heard there's a sixth now, right?”

Hisao blinked “But Douglas Adams died years ago.”

“It got taken over by that dude who wrote Artimus Fowl. Eoin Colfer.”

“Seriously? I'm going to look into that. Got any other recommendations?”



One hour, forty five minutes, and sixty books titles later....


“Dis where ya wanted to go?” Mac asked,

Hisao glanced at Shizune, who nodded. “Yeah, this is the place.” he said to the driver. He sighed and reached in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. “I am really sorry about this, but well... I only have foreign currency. Here's three ten thousand yen notes, combined they're worth around four hundred dollars. I hope that will be sufficient.”

“Ah, ya from Japan?”

Hisao nodded, “Yeah. It's a long story.”

“Neva woulda guessed. Your English is damn good. Long way from home, I take it?”

“Yeah.”

“And someone's life is on de line?”

“Very much so.”

Mac nodded, “Tell ya what, I'll let you take this ride for free. Call it repayment for saving ma wife.”

Hisao blinked, “Thank you. That really helps.”

“No problam.”

Hisao turned to Shizune, “We'd better hurry.”

Shizune nodded and the two got out of the car and walked up to the building. Shizune turned to Hisao “According to the schedule, Cheney should have just finished a little while ago. If we get backstage, we can probably meet her there.”

Hisao nodded and the two entered the amphitheater. Hisao immediately winced at the loud noise emanating from beyond the food court.

“Something wrong?” Shizune asked.

“Just the volume.” Hisao thought back “I'll be fine.” He concentrated slightly and probed the minds of people around him. “Ok, from what I can tell the best way to get backstage is this way.”


He set off walking down a dark passage and climbed over a gate stating “No admittance.” A few minutes later he noticed light coming from a side corridor.

“Hey, you can't come in here.” A voice said, and Hisao looked up to see a giant man with muscles the size of dumbbells blocking the doorway. The man then blinked at him. “More of you?”

“It's very important.” Hisao said. He then reached out into the man's mind and thought to him “Let us in.”

The man blinked and shrugged, then stood aside.

“What do you think he meant, “more of you”?” he thought to Shizune.

“I can think of a few possibilities, none of them particularly good.” She responded.

“I hope it doesn't mean-” Hisao rounded a corner and stopped dead in his tracks.

“Figured you'd show up here.” A familiar British voice replied.

In the room was Lila Cheney. Also in the room were Misha, Nate Grey, Armor, X-23, and Psylocke.

It was at that moment Hisao realized his luck had just ran out.

Off the top of my head, I think Justice would be a good codename for Lilly.
1: If she's a super hero, that means she's fighting for justice and all that cliche crap.
2: Her habit of acting formally and carefully thinking things through kinda fits with the idea of the justice system. That, and her motherly nature fits with the whole 'watching over people' thing.
3: Her current level of power would be extremely helpful for investigation, again tying in with the justice system.
4: If she really is ultra powerful, her showing up could act as a sort of 'judgement.'
5: "Justice is blind."

Well Justice is already taken, but I don't know his current status in this universe.

I've never been a fan of heroes taking a name that points to what their powers are. In a superhero game I played in, my character had Immunity to Fire. So what name did I pick? Icarus.

griffon8 wrote:Well Justice is already taken, but I don't know his current status in this universe.

I've never been a fan of heroes taking a name that points to what their powers are. In a superhero game I played in, my character had Immunity to Fire. So what name did I pick? Icarus.

Wow. Nice. Anyway, I just suggested it because I like to think I'm clever, and I really don't like Mollocke. I won't be able to read it without thinking "bollocks."

Shizune shook her head, “To answer the first, she did some telepathic scans from a distance.”
“She spied on me?”
“She's a ninja, what do you expect?

Somehow I find her spying on her teammates and then putting the info in the daily memo hilarious.

fifty thousand dead, many more injured, billions of dollars worth of property damage

Makes the usual strike of airline cabion attendants seem trivial by comparison...

As for the name... I find the whole concept of friends using codenames for one another a bit silly - especially since the bad guys already know their identities.

Kyvos wrote:I really don't like Mollocke. I won't be able to read it without thinking "bollocks."

Totally agree that Mollocke can't be used, but I didn't think of that reason.

Yeah, I don't really like Mollecke. Might rewrite the last chapter if I think of something different. Justice would be great, except theres already one in the Marvel U (two if you count the new universe one). Other ideas?

Sovereign, maybe? It's an adjective to describe something of royalty or having total control. The royalty thing fits with how important she could be if she's got cosmic-level power, while the control thing reflects her personality and her power. I also checked to make sure that this one isn't used.

Kyvos wrote:Sovereign, maybe? It's an adjective to describe something of royalty or having total control. The royalty thing fits with how important she could be if she's got cosmic-level power, while the control thing reflects her personality and her power. I also checked to make sure that this one isn't used.

...Thats an interesting idea, especially considering what I have planned when they visit this one alternate reality. I might go with that.

Sovereign seems a bit too forceful for Lilly. Majesty seems a bit less imposing and still get the point across.

Oddball wrote:Sovereign seems a bit too forceful for Lilly. Majesty seems a bit less imposing and still get the point across.

True, but I think Sovereign sounds a little bit more like something she's be willing to call herself. Also, if she's gonna be insanely powerful, I think the forcefulness needs to be there to some degree, and it's not as forceful as something like Dictator or Empress. It's tough to say.
I wonder if this is the kind of stuff that writers actually talk about when naming characters.

Kyvos wrote:I wonder if this is the kind of stuff that writers actually talk about when naming characters.

Of course it is, even if it's just 'ordinary' names. Writers want to come up with an Awesome McCoolname, not stick them with an Unfortunate Name or have them choose a Fail O'Suckyname.

I'm going with Soverign. I like that one a lot. Also, good news. Oddball got the revisions of the latest chapter back to me, and his suggestions inspired me to throw a *major* twist into the mix regarding psylocke. I think its a brilliant addition, so here ya go.

Chapter 10: Defection

“You know, Mentat.” Psylocke said, “I'm not sure whether I should be angry at you or seriously impressed. Barreling out of a aircraft without a parachute is something not very many X-men can or will do.”

“How'd you find us?” Hisao asked.

“Well, Cheney was the only teleporter you could reach in time, so it was obvious you'd go for her. We're going to Xavier's now, and no more foolishness. I just hope your little stunt hasn't cost Angel his life.”

Hisao instinctively reached for the pocket his life seed had been placed in.

“Psylocke, can't we help Hanako first?” Misha asked, “I know you care about Angel but...”

“We went over this a dozen times.” Betsy responded, “Literally. A dozen. My decision stands firm.”

Hisao glanced at Nate. “You think you could help me take her?” he thought.

Nate looked at Hisao “I could, but why should I?”

“If you help me out here,” Hisao thought back “I'll do whatever you want to pay you back.”

Nat shrugged noncommittally

“You know, while I am glad you all waited until my part of the concert was over before contacting me,” Lila stated, “I would appreciate being told what exactly is going on.”


“Angel's being overtaken by a psychic poison” Psylocke stated, “Hisao took the item I need to cure him so that he can save a friend in Japan who's also losing her mind.”

“So, you have to choose who to save.” Lila said and shook her head “Sucky decision, I must admit.”

Hisao glanced over at X-23 and Armor. Armor seemed to be a bit annoyed more than anything else.. X-23 however, had a unusual look on her face. Sorrow, mixed with, oddly enough, fear. He then turned to Lila.

“Lila, please.” Hisao pleaded, “I don't want Hanako to die. Please help me out here.”

Lila glanced at Hisao, then at Psylocke, then at Hisao again”I don't even know you. And I barely know her. Seriously, can't you guys leave me out of it? I never joined the X-men for a very good reason. You guys are nuts. You run around the world, save people who don't give a shit about you, and fight between yourself all-the-freaking-time.”

“Mentat, be reasonable. Lets look at this logically. Angel's far better of a fighter, he'd much more of a help in locating a second seed.” Psylocke stated.

“We don't have time to find a second seed.” Hisao replied, “And considering we nearly got killed trying to find this one, I think we could end up dead if we try.”

“Let me also point out,” Psylocke stated, “That Angel has been in more fights before he was eighteen, than the seven of you godchildren have been in your entire lives combined. He'd be of immense help in containing Hanako, or putting her down if it come to that.”

“PUTTING her DOWN?” Hisao snapped. “Are you NUTS? Do you care about Hanako at all, or were you just letting me come along as some cruel joke? Angel's hasn't been stable since he lost his wings, and let me remind you his new ones aren't even under his own control. Remember kamakazi? That guy he decapitated? Or that bit with the morlocks? Or hell, how about the the time he abandoned the entire team in the middle of a firefight to go all angsty about his amputation. Honestly, I think you just want to use the seed on him to sleep with him again.”

“I could say the same thing about you.” Psylocke replied, a grim smile on her face.

“WHAT?” Hisao snapped in an even nastier tone, “If you think I'd cheat on Lilly, you're even more nuts than your ex.”

“I've been in your head, Mentat.” Psyclocke responded calmly “I know fully well that while you love Lilly, you have feelings for Hanako too.”

“If you think loving someone means that I'm going to cheat on my girlfriend...” Hisao began. “OH! I see where this is coming from.” he gave a nasty grin. “You're projecting.”

“Excuse me?” Psylocke responded indignantly.

“Don't play stupid Betsy.” Hisao replied, “I read your file. Last time your were dating Angel, you were on a team with that faux-Frenchie with the portable UFO. Fantomex, I think his name was.”

Psylocke opened her mouth, but paused.

“Yeah, I see now. You got sick of Warren's angst so you got with the suave master thief.” Hisao smirked, “Talk about crass.”

X-23 glanced at Psylocke, “Is this true, Psylocke?”

Armor scratched her chin. “It would explain a lot...”

Psylocke's face flushed and she gritted her teeth. “Hisao Nakai, how dare you....” she muttered, and then tore into his mind.

Hisao's shields buckled under the strain, but did not break.

“Why can't I get in...” Psyclocke muttered.

“Eh, thats my doing.” Nate stated. “Yeah, I saw you cheated on Angel once the subject was brought up, and I have to say.... Pretty nasty Bets. Doing that to a guy on the verge of losing his mind... Kinda low.”

“I'll get through soon enough.” Psylocke stated angirly

“Psylocke, Mentat please don't fight.” Misha said. “I liked us as a team. Not enemies.”

“Stay out of this Misha.” Psylocke snapped back. “This doesn't concern you.”

[It actually does.] Shizune thought and signed [You and Hisao are both my friends, for one thing, for another, inner conflict on a team will prove detrimental in the long run.]

“Give me a break.” Lila replied, “You clearly haven't been with the X-whatevers long if you think that’s the case. Tussles like this happen every fucking day. Part of why I think you're all nuts.”

Psylocke formed her psychic blade in her hand “Give it up.”

“Never.” Hisao stated.

“You can give it up, or I will take it by force. I'd rather do the former, but the latter is fine by me as well”

Hisao glared at Psylocke, “You'll have to kill me then.”

Psylocke rolled her eyes, “Don't be so overdramatic.”

“I'll resist you know. I'll resist until every muscle in my body, every once of mental power is spent.”

“So, you're going to fight me then?” Psylocke chuckled, “You're not anywhere near my league, as I proved a few hours ago. I can take out you, Nate, Voidstar and Hardhead by myself-”

Her sentence was unexpectedly interrupted by two long, sharp, adamantum laced claws being thrust into her lower back. She started to reach behind herself, but fell to the ground, breathing heavily. X23 looked at the others. “No,” she said, “You won't.”

“My god X, why-?” Armor started

“I didn't expect that...” Lila 's voice trailed off

“What the FUCK-” Nate stated bluntly

“You weren't there when Hanako broke the first time.” Laura said firmly, “I was. And I will not let that happen again. Ever. Again.”

Armor formed her psionic shielding and lunged at X-23, Hisao stared at her. “SLEEP” he thought as hard as he could, and the girl collapsed.

Nate glanced at Hisao, and nodded briefly. Hisao turned to Laura.

“X-23...” Hisao began.

“Laura's fine.” the girl responded.

“Laura...Is she..” Hisao then glanced down at Psylocke, who was still collapsed on the floor.

“She'll recover fairly quickly. I stabbed her in a place that is excruciatingly painful, but not lethal.” Laura shrugged. “I'm good at that.”

Misha opened her mouth, like she wanted to say something, but then closed it again.

Hisao looked up at Laura, then down at Betsy, then back up at Laura. “Thank you.” He finally said.

Shizune looked at X-23 and gave her a knowing look. X-23 nodded, then turned to Lila.

“Lila, can you...?” X-23 begin. The rock star stared at Psylocke.

“Was that really necessary?” She asked.

Hisao looked at her for a long moment, “Lila, have you ever cared about someone so much that you'd do whatever it took to help them if they were in danger? And I mean whatever it took. No matter how difficult or unpleasant it might be, you'd be there for them when they needed it.”

“I did, once.” Lila admitted, “Long time ago.”

“Then you understand.”

Lila looked at Hisao and slowly nodded. “Yes. I suppose I do. Where was it you needed to go?”

“Homat apartment complex. It's one mile south of the University of Toyko.”

Lila nodded and pulled out her phone. “Alright just let me tell my drummer to call Betsy an ambulance...Alright.” She closed her phone. “Get in close. We'll be making a short stop and then we'll be there.”

I have to say, I really love how Lila came out in this version.

Great job there.

And here is chapter 11. Other chapters will follow shortly



Chapter 11: Salvation

The group reappeared in a massive... city, of a sort. It was a sea of buildings, shaped in unusual fashions not like anything seen on earth. Angels jutted out in ways that Hisao thought would have made the buildings collapse, and the style was... ugly. Garsh greens and oranges in a mish-mash of colors that made his head hurt. It reminded him of Rins artwork, in a way.

“Welcome to Translatia.” Lila said, trying to catch her breath. “Sorry, I'll be just a minute. Teleporting takes a bit out of me.”

Hisao glanced up, and immediately regretted it. Rather than a sky, the view above showed a sun, yes, but beyond that was a large ocean, interspaced with continents.

Hisao blinked, taking in the view.“This has got to be the largest space station I ever- wait a second. Lila, is this a Dyson sphere?” He asked, disbelieving.

Lila nodded, “Yeah, found it abandoned about a decade ago. Took it for myself. It's got everything. Mountains of gold, oceans of water, farms of food, enough technology to hijack a planet and sell it for profit.” She chuckled slightly at that last mention, though Hisao wasn't sure why.

“But the problems with a Dyson-” He began, but then shook his head. “No. No. You know what? I don't care anymore. Solid sound makes no sense, it exists anyway. Faster than light travel shouldn't function, it exists despite that. Laura is healthy and normal despite having uniparental dysomy. Superhero science is clearly absurd, but it works. I'm not going to continue calling things “impossible” when they work. Instead, I am going to figure this stuff out, no matter how long it takes.” He paused dramatically, but nobody seemed to take heed.

Misha turned to Laura “Are you sure Psylocke is going to be alright?”

X-23 nodded, “We've been on about a dozen missions together, right?”

“Yeah.” Misha stated.

“At any point in that time, has my skill in injuring people been called into question?” Laura asked

Misha shook her head sadly.

“Then trust me” Laura replied, “Psylocke will recover in a day. Possibly less.” She extracted her claws, sighed, and pulled them back in. “I'm good at what I do. Much as I hate it.”

Hisao remembered what Shizune had mentioned, and opened his mouth, but wasn't sure quite what to say. He was good with people, yes, but comforting a girl who had spent her entire life being trained to kill people was a little beyond him.

“You told me couldn't quit.” he finally stated, “Because you were too messed up too do anything else. What did you mean by that?”

X-23 shrugged, “Literally everything I've done since I was born was focused towards killing people in some form or fashion. I have no experience doing anything else.”

“Well, you could learn!” Misha piped up “I could show you how to play games and sew and write stories and stuff. I'm a pretty good teacher.”

Laura gave a hollow chuckle. “I tried learning things once. After I escaped from the facility but before I joined the x-men I found a cousin of mine and we went to school together. I got kicked out in a week. Funny story that.”

Misha shook her head, “I wouldn't kick you out! I mean, you're a nice person. A little rough around the edges at times, but you're pretty nice!.”

X-23 shrugged but didn't respond.

“Let me get this straight,” Nate said, “X-23 has been used to kill people her entire life, right?”

“Pretty much.” X-23 admitted.

Nate blinked slightly, “Then why is it that the X-men have continued to use her, rather than trying to help her get a normal life?” he asked, his tone halfway between confusion and accusation.

Shizune and Misha glanced at each other, Misha had a somewhat guilty look on her face.

“Well...ahh..” Misha began...

[Bear in mind that Misha and I have only been with the X-men for a few months.] Shizune signed and thought [We have not been part of such a decision making process. At a guess however, I would say it's because X-23 has not explicitly announced her intention to leave, rather just wishing things were different. Many superheroes considering quitting at some point in their careers or another, but usually nothing comes of it. I acknowledge this doesn't excuse the situation at all, but it is an explanation. ]

“Don't worry about it,” X-23 stated .

Hisao took issue with that, “I am going to worry about it. Laura, if you want to quit, go right ahead. You shouldn't feel trapped in this lifestyle.”

Laura shook her head, “I don't know how to do anything else. Also, Wolerine's pretty much the only family I have left. I don't know where I would go otherwise.”

Hisao paused for a moment “Tell you what. You wanted to be a writer, right?”

X-23 nodded.

Hisao hesitated, then continued, “Bring some of your writing by my place once all this is over, and I'll help you with it.”

Laura paused, opened her mouth, then closed it again. Then she nodded.

“Mentat,” Misha began, “Was what Psylocke said true?”

Hisao winced at the question. “Do you have sexual thoughts about other girls?”

Misha's face turned beat red. “Well, ah...”

Shizune gave an annoyed look at Hisao [Mentat, what my girlfriend imagines is her business. Not yours.] she signed and thought.

Misha translated and Hisao nodded.

“Precisely” Hisoa said, “And I would appreciate it if you would offer me the same courtesy.”


“I think I'm up to the teleport back.” Lila stated.

“Why exactly did we stop here?” Nate asked, “Couldn't you just teleport us straight to Japan?”

“Nah,” Lila replied, “I can't travel shorter distances than one astronomical unit. For localized transport I have to stop here first. I want to know something first though. Who the hell are you guys?”

“Pardon?” Hisao asked.

“I've seen Armor all of once, and I only know X-23 cause any clone of Wolverine is going to attract attention. I have no earthly idea who the rest of you are.”

“Well, I'm hisao, those two are Shizune and Misha and this is Nate-” Hisao began

“Codenames, Mentat.” Misha stated as Shizune signed

“She's a superhero.” Hisao pointed out.

“No, I am not.” Lila stated. “I'm a rock star. I have no intention in joining the X-whatevers because I like the way I live my life. I tried that kind of lifestyle, it didn't work out. I had to teleport into the center of a star twice, and I'm sure you can guess how hard that was to survive.”

“The temperate of a star is in the millions of degrees.” Hisao stated, disbelieving, “how in the world..?”

“Tech from my sphere.” Lila replied. “I how no idea how most of the stuff here works, but it's saved my ass a million times over regardless. But what exactly are you?”

Hisao sighed. “I guess 'godchildren' is as good a name as any. Shizune-pardon, Voidstar, Hardhead, and I were exposed to some sort of energy when we broke a “godstone” and well....”

“So, you're not mutants?” Lila asked.

“Nope!” Misha replied cheerfully.

“Then why the heck did you join up with the X-men?” Lila sighing in exasperation. “Leaving aside the prejudice against them, they've got more angst than a horde of emo teenage boys. You could have asked the Avengers. Or the New Warriors, or hell, even the Champions.”

Shizune made some quick signs.

“Well, the X-men were the only team with a division in Tokyo!” Misha translated,

“You should have just remained in school and-”

“Trust me, I tried” Hisao replied, slightly annoyed, “Then not one, but two, supervillians busted through my best friends window. Now can we please get back to Tokyo so we can save her life?”

Lila nodded, “Get close.”

There was a flash of light, and the surreal landscape disappeared. The familiar landscape of Homat apartment complex appeared in it's stead. The moment the six of them arrived, Hisao took off running. The others followed at a steady pace.

As Hisao entered complex “B” and hurried down the hall, he whispered a silent prayer that he wasn't too late. It had been nearly two full days since he and the X-men had set off in the Blackbird, and judging by the comments Psylocke had made it sounded like the disease progressed rapidly in its victims.

He reached the door to Hanako's apartment and threw it open. Inside, Hanako was curled up in a ball on her bed in the fetal position. Leaning above her was Lilly, who was stroking Hanako's hair gently. As he entered, Lilly turned over to Hisao.

“Thank goodness you've arrived.” She stated, “She collapsed like this a few hours ago and hasn't moved since. I tried calling you, but the call wouldn't go through. Fitz has been trying to come with some way to stall the problem, but has come up empty so far. Emi and Kenji haven’t responded to my messages yet and I have no way to get in touch with Rin.”

“Well, I'm here now.” Hisao stated and pulled the life seed out of his pocket. As he did so, his hand brushed against his phone and he realize the battery had fallen out out of the device.

Holding the life seed, he walked up to Hanako. “Now how do I use this...” he mumbled.

“Poke her with it.” Lilly stated. Hisao glanced at her.

“How do you know?” He asked

“I read objects, remember?” Lilly replied, “It's telling me pretty clearly you need to prick her.”

At that moment, Hanako's eyes flew open and bolts of force blasted from her body. Hisao ducked and one clipped his elbow, leaving as nasty wound that quickly stitched up. He overheard the rest of the team enter the room.

Hanako began to levitate above the bed “YOU'RE NOT REAL!” She cried, her voice barely understandable, distorted in such a way that gave an unearthly sound to it.

At that, Hisao felt a searing pain stab him in the chest.

“Of... all.. the.. times...” He got out, trying to control his heart.

“Hisao, whats happening?” Lila asked, Hisao just shook his head.

“Hanako!” Misha called out.

“Hisao?” Nate asked.

“NONE OF YOU ARE REAL! YOU'RE ALL JUST ILLUSIONS IN MY MIND!” Hanako screamed and another series of force disks emitted from her hands, leaving nasty gashes in the wall across the room.

“Please! Stop this!” Lilly cried.

“Hanako... please...” Hisao got out. “For god's sake... calm down...”


“Her mind's going out.” Nate stated, “We better hurry this up.”

Through the pain, Hisao glanced in Hanako's mind and realized Nate was right. The library was fully half taken over by the Apocalypse Tomes and they were multiplying by the second. Her climbed on top of Hanako's bed and swung the life seed at her, only to be blocked by a force field.

“GETOUTGETOUTGETOUT!” Hanako yelled, and a force bolt slammed into Hisao, he winced but looked straight at her.

“This is exactly why I never joined the X-men...” Lila muttered.


“Hanako.” He stated, the pain starting to die down, “You ….remember.... me,... right? Hisao Nakai, …..your friend? I'm here.... to help you. I know you're.... undergoing.... a great deal of trauma.... at the moment.... but I can fix that....” He held up the life seed. “I can help you.... But you need to let me.”

“YOU'RE IN MY HEAD! YOU'RE NOT REAL!” Hanako screamed deliriously

“Should I try to force her to drop the field?” Nate asked.

“No....I know what I'm doing” Hisao replied, the pain finally receeding and turned back to Hanako. “Hanako, I can make things real again. You don't need to hurt anymore.” He reached over to Hanako's desk and picked up a small, delicate doll with long auburn hair and a blue dress. “Do you remember this?” he asked, “Eighteen birthday party, remember? I was there for you.”

“I---” Hanako started, staring at the doll, “I...”

“I was there for you then, Hanako,” Hisao stated, “I've been here for you for the past four years. I'll be there for you until the stars fade and the sun goes black. Because you matter to me. You matter so much. Please, just drop the shield.”

For a moment, the force field faded. In the moment, Hisao took his chance and jabbed her with the seed.

Hanako let out a yelp of pain and fell from the air she was levitating in onto her bed.

Hisao reached out his telepathy again and looked in her mind. The library was on fire. Not all of it, but the tomes he had seen in her mind, covered in hieroglyphics and bound in human flesh, they were burning. In moments, the taint was gone.

“Hanako?” Lilly asked.

“Lil...ly?” Hanako said weakly, “Hisao? Knew you'd save me.... you always...save me....” And at that point, she collapsed, unconscious.

“Good job talking her down like that.” X-23 said.

Hisao glanced back at the others and nodded. “Thank you. And thank you all for helping me. Couldn't have done it without you.”

“No problem Hicchan!” Misha said cheerily, “That's what friends are for, right?”

Shizune nodded briefly. [If anything like this ever happens again. Don't hesitate in the least to ask for help.] She signed and thought, [Thought I do think you should join up with the X-men. You could use the training.]

Hisao shook his head, “Kinda doubt that would be a good idea. I think Betsy's going to be pretty mad when she comes back. I killed her ex, essentially.” He visably winced, then shook his head.

[Possibly] Shizune stated [But maybe not. She would understand why we did this, though accepting it is another matter altogether]

“If you'll pardon me.” Lila stated, “I have a meet and greet with my fans in ten minutes, so I need to get going. Good meeting you all.” She focused for a moment and then disappeared.

Hisao stared at Hanako. She was sound asleep. Poor girl had been through so much the past couple months. But it could improve from here. It had to improve from here.

“I think I'll wait here until she wakes up.” He remarked.

“I will do the same.” Lilly stated and turned to the remaining four people in the room. “Thank you so much Misha, Shizune, X-23...Um, if you don't mind my asking, who are you?” She turned to the last member.

“Nate, Nate Grey.” The teenager remarked, “And no problem. I gather you're Hisao's girlfriend?”

“Yes, I am. Four years and counting.” Lilly grinned, “Any relation to Jean Grey?”

Nate shrugged, “Not as far as I know. Don't think too hard about it.” He glanced at Hanako. “I'm gathering she's been through a lot.”

Hisao nodded, “Yeah. She has.”

Nate nodded back. “She's pretty cute, you know. Love the hair in particular. Is she single?”

“No, she's got a boyfriend.” Lilly stated, “Sorry to disappoint you.”

Nate frowned slightly but nodded again.

[We should probably get going] Shizune signed and thought, [Having been up for forty eight hours, we need some sleep before going to class tomorrow.]

Hisao nodded, “See you two tomorrow then.”

“If there's any change, any at all.” Misha stated, “Call us. Regardless of the time.”

“Will do.”

Misha walked off, Shizune followed.

X-23 turned to Nate. “Since you don't have any place to go, I'll put you in one of the spare rooms in our base.”

Nate raised an eyebrow. “Really? That's nice of you.”

Laura nodded, “No problem.” She turned to Hisao and Lilly, “Keep me apprised of the situation. I'll be by soon to check on her.” She walked off, with Nate following.

Lilly turned to Hisao, and then gave him a big hug. “Thank you.”

“You don't have to thank me,” Hisao stated, “It's what I'd do for anyone I care about.” He let out a yawn and rubbed his eyes. It struck him all of a sudden how absolutely exhausted he was. Fishing into his pocket he pulled out his wallet and cell phone, inserted his battery back into the latter, and then placed them on Hanako's desk. He then reached into his other pocket and pulled out the power source that, to be honest, he had forgotten he had.

“Interesting.” Lilly remarked.

“What's interesting?” Hisao stated.

“Well, just that device. It's talking to me. Tell me about the creatures that made it.”

Hisao nodded, but yawned again. “You can tell me all about it soon.”

“Would you like me to bring our sleeping bag?” Lilly asked.

Hisao nodded, “Yeah that'd be great.”

Lilly walked off and opened the door. After a few minutes, she returned carrying an extra large sleeping bag as well as a change of clothes for her boyfriend. and set it on the floor. Hisao quickly dressed in the bathroom, then opened one side of the bag and crawled in. Mere moments later, he was asleep.