Issue #01

The Hunt For Wolverine

Part One
by Gary Jones

Xavier Institute for Higher Learning

Salem Centre � Westchester County � New York

Nestled deep in on the grounds of the Xavier Estate sits a small chapel. It is in this building that the children of the atom come to mourn loosing one of their own.

Today this building has the sad duty of having the body of Piotr Nikolayevich Rasputin lying in state, waiting for its final journey to the crematorium, after which his ashes will be returned to his home country of Russia.

�I can�t really believe he�s gone Professor,� Kitty Pryde stood looking at the face of her one time love, there were tears just being held back behind her eyes.

�He had become so withdrawn in the time since his sister died,� Professor Xavier at in his wheelchair next to Kitty, her hand held in his own �if only he had asked for the help of the rest of the X-Men when he learnt that his sister�s soul was being held captive in limbo, this tragic turn of events could perhaps have been averted.�

�You know how Peter could be,� Kitty looked down and smiled at her mentor �there was no way that he would have let someone else take the risk.�

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Illyana Rasputin was the member of the New Mutants known as Magik and she was the undisputed ruler of the other dimension realm known as Limbo.

Time ran differently in Limbo and the effects that it had on her body every time she teleported through that realm began to age her at an accelerated rate.

The best scientific minds on the planet were brought together in an attempt to solve the problem but there was nothing that Moira McTaggert, Reed Richards, Henry Pym, Hank McCoy and Professor Xavier could do to solve the problem.

It wasn�t until Reed called in a favour from the exiled Monarch of Latveria, Dr. Victor Von Doom, that a possible solution presented itself.

Doom theorised that they could use his Time-Platform to bleed off the excess temporal energy in Illyana�s system and disperse it throughout the time-stream. There was of course a rather large problem.

Months ago the demonic entity known as Blackheart conquered Latveria so he could use it as his base on Earth, a place where he could build his strength and his army for a coming war with his father Mephisto.

Doom�s Time-Platform was located in Castle Doom, which itself was situated in Doomstadt the capital city, right in the centre of Blackheart�s new power base.

Fortunately Doom had the foresight to place many mystical wards around the castle which had managed to keep Blackheart and his minions from entering.

The battle to reach the castle would be a long one and it was very likely that a great deal of blood would be shed on both sides.

Illyana had overheard the battle plans for the trip to Latveria and would not risk the lives of so many just to save her self. Using the last of her strength she opened another disk to Limbo and allowed her body to disperse in that realm.

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The loss of Illyana hit the X-Men hard, to lose one of their own in battle was one thing but to die from a side effect of your powers was infinitely worse.

One night several months later Colossus was surprised to receive a message from the Brotherhood of Mutants Deputy Leader Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch.

The mystic mutant had been probing the other realms when she had come across the spirit of Illyana being tortured by the being who had ruled Limbo before her, the huge purple skinned demon called S�YM.

The Scarlet Witch and Colossus met and using her hex powers they were able to create a portal to Limbo, together they would attempt to save Colossus sister.

The pair fought their way through the demonic hordes of Limbo to where Illyana was tied flat on a stone cross her age now returned to 19, her naked body being marked with cuts by the daggers of the BAMFs, small demons that bore an uncanny resemblance to the X-Man known as Nightcrawler.

Demons love a deal, especially a deal which gains them a pure human soul, and it was one of these deals that the Scarlet Witch and Colossus were quickly realising needed to be struck.

They were close to be overwhelmed when Wanda began to deal with S�YM.

In return for Illyana�s freedom and safe passage out of Limbo S�YM would gain the soul of Colossus.

Illyana was released from the cross, her every move full of pain, time ran differently in Limbo so it was impossible to know exactly how long she had been tortured.

S�YM was greedy, he reached out to take possession of his new soul, so consumed was he with excitement that he failed to see the faint scarlet aura that surrounded Colossus. The Scarlet Witch had placed an enchantment on Colossus so that any attempt to take his soul would force it out of his body and into whatever heavenly realm it had originally been bound for.

S�YM howled with rage but there was little he could do, he had struck the deal and could not go back on it now, he had been beaten by a better trick.

Wanda, Illyana and the body of Colossus were thrown out of Limbo and after regaining her strength Wanda transported the three of them to the Xavier Estate, and once she had made sure that the X-Men knew that they were there, she quickly vanished again.

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�I am pleased to say I can grant you a clean bill of health Ms. Rasputin,� Beast looked down from his clipboard and into the face of Illyana.

�You must be the most unique doctor in the world Dr. McCoy,� Illyana said smiling back into the friendly blue furred face �I don�t know of any others that deliver their patients medical reports while hanging from the ceiling by their feet.�

Both laughed as Beast flipped down and landed on his feet in front of Illyana �but there is something you should be aware of,� the Beast said, his voice taking on a more serious tone �your DNA is exactly what it was, all except your x-gene.�

�Don�t tell me my powers have changed, I barely got used to the last set before I died,� Illyana responded with forced humour in her voice.

�Your DNA now completely lacks the x-gene, you have no powers, and you are no longer even a mutant.�

�You mean I�m human.�

�One hundred percent base-line.�

Illyana looked at Beast with shock and could see the confusion of his face. Did he comfort her on the loss of her powers or feel happy that she was in perfect health.

�It�s ok for you to be happy Doc, I�m a little happy myself at being alive again.�

�I confess that I am not really sure how to act with you. On one side I am absolutely, positively ecstatic that you once again number as one of the living. On the other I have an overwhelming sadness that I will never see dear Peter again.�

Illyana hopped off the medical bed she had been sitting on and kissed Beast gently on the check �that�s what they said about me remember,� she smiled at the warmth in the older man�s eyes �we Rasputin�s always find our way home.�

Beast bounded off, his spirits raised a little by the words of the younger woman, he didn�t however see the sadness on her face as she said �we always make it home, even if we�re not alive when we make it there.�

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After borrowing some clothes from Kitty, Illyana walked with her friend to the chapel where her brother�s body was lying.

The pair of young women had just entered the clearing that contained the small chapel when it suddenly burst into flames, the explosion sending both flying backward.

The flames that were engulfing the chapel seemingly began to take on a shape of their own, forming themselves into the shape of a bird.

�Is it an eagle� Kitty momentarily thought to herself but then she realised �it�s a phoenix�, she grabbed Illyana�s hand and pulled her friend to her feet �we�d better go and get the others.�

Illyana however wouldn�t move from the clearing �but my brother�s in there, what�s that bird doing to him,� she said fighting back the tears.

�I don�t know but I�m betting the Professor will be able to figure it out,� Kitty touched two fingers to her temple and began to reach out with her thoughts.

The advantage of having the world�s most powerful telepath as your headmaster is that the instant anything goes wrong help arrives, help in this case arrived in the form of the Uncanny X-Men, Professor X, the Beast, Jean Grey, Cyclops and David North the man called Maverick.

�Jean you were used as a template for the Phoenix Force when it first came to Earth, can you get any impressions for its mind,� Professor Xavier rubbed his temples, the strain of trying to probe the consciousness of the cosmic entity showing on his face.

�I can feel its mind growing at an incredible rate, like its going from infancy to adulthood in moments,� the same strain was showing on Jean�s face as well.

�Well all I�d like to know,� Maverick asked as he removed the safety from his gun �is what the hell does it want with the body of the ruskie, doesn�t this thing usually go for chicks,� he pointed at Jean then looked at Illyana who was crying while being comforted in Kitty�s arms �for the snowflakes sake, it better not be anything bad.�

�I think my dear Mr. North that your question about what the Phoenix Force wants with the body of our departed colleague is about to be answered,� Beast said as he pointed in the direction of the burning chapel, the assembled team could just begin to make out the figure of a person emerging from the flames.

The X-Men were open mouthed as they looked at the figure that now stood before them, the organic steel body of Colossus had been reformed, by the heat and mystical force, into a female body which was slowing turning to flesh.

When the woman had completely turned to flesh Maverick was the first to point out �is it just me or does that look exactly like Jean, except for the hair being a lighter shade,� Maverick played with the safety of his gun as he talked �why would it bother to change Colossus� body like that.�

�The Phoenix Force is capable of restructuring matter on the molecular level, I would surmise that it was simply more familiar with this particular physical form,� there was a matter of fact tone in the Professor�s voice as he spoke.

�How can you all just stand there and stare at it, that thing has defiled the body of my brother,� Illyana was full of rage and looked as if she was about to attack the Phoenix Force with her bare hands.

�The thing ain�t acting hostile kid,� Maverick rested a hand on Illyana�s shoulder �I don�t think we should do anything until we know what it wants.�

�But it�s used my brother and taken all I had left of him away,� she pounded her fists on the yellow armour of Maverick and he stood still and let her burn out her rage.

�This is the judgement of the Living Tribunal,� all the X-Men present stopped and stared at the image that had materialized over the head of the Phoenix, it shimmered like a hologram.

�For the destruction of the D�Bari star system and the death of those who lived there, the entity known as the Phoenix Force has been sentenced to live the span of a human lifetime on the planet Earth,� the voice of the Living Tribunal sounded in the heads of all those present.

�Illyana Rasputin,� the uncovered of the Tribunal�s three faces turned toward the young blonde Russian girl �the Phoenix Force was corrupted before by the desires of the form it had taken. The body of your brother was chosen as its new host because it was devoid of spirit; the Phoenix Force will now have to learn what it is to have a human soul with no-one else�s experiences to draw upon.�

�What if it is corrupted again,� Jean cried out �we barely survived it last time, I barely survived it last time,� Jean pulled away from her husband�s embrace and moved closer to the Tribunal �I demand that you stop it from accessing it powers so that it can�t endanger our lives again,� there were tears in Jean�s eyes as she remembered the large portion of her life that had been stolen as the Phoenix Force lived her life for her.

�No purpose would be served by completely sealing off the Phoenix Force from its abilities,� the Tribunal looked into the tear filled eyes of the Earth woman �however your concerns are justified and I hereby limit the amount of power the Phoenix Force may draw upon,� with his final pronouncement made the image of the Living Tribunal faded from sight.

�So Jean,� Maverick smiled across to where Jean was standing �do you have a birthmark there as well?�

�Will someone please get that thing some clothes,� Jean threw her hands in the air in exasperation, while the others members began to laugh at Maverick�s comment.

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�So how you feeling now kid?� Maverick asked as he helped Illyana carry the last of her possessions from the Mansion�s attic to her new room.

�Considering I died, came back to life because my brother sacrificed himself for and now have just seen a cosmic entity of unimaginable power transform his body into a copy of Jean,� Illyana put the box she was carrying onto the bed �I�m a little confused and upset.�

�I guess it was a pretty dumb question.�

�Yes it was but thanks for asking it.�

�So how do you fancy a work out in the Danger Room to work out a little of that frustration.�

�Let me see if I can find a costume that still fits and I�ll meet you there.�

Both of them stood for a moment looking at each other until Maverick said �Perhaps I should go now huh?�

�That would be appreciated,� Illyana said as she pushed him out the door, leaning back against it once it was closed.

�Pretty cute for an old guy,� she thought to herself as she moved toward the boxes marked clothes.

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�I would have liked to put this meeting off with the arrival of our cosmic guest but I fear it has already taken a back seat for far too long,� Professor Xavier sat at the head of the table in the War Room which was located in the second of the Mansion�s sub-levels.

Occupying three of the other seats were Cyclops, Jean and Beast.

�I take it your referring to the Skrull we�ve had masquerading as Logan for the past three months Professor,� Beast said as he fidgeted in his chair. It hadn�t been redesigned since he had mutated into his blue form.

�I�m afraid it maybe far more complicated than that Henry.�

�When isn�t life in the X-Men complicated Professor,� Cyclops joked.

�As you know when Logan was knocked unconscious by the new Horseman Death, we discovered a device implanted in his brain,� the Professor pressed a button on the panel that was built into the table in front of him which caused a holographic image of the implant to be displayed over the centre of the table.

With another button press the image came apart to show the implants various components.

�Ironically if we had not identified this device as being of Skrull origin, we would not have preformed the micro-cellular scans of Logan�s DNA and exposed him as a Skrull.�

�What I don�t understand Professor,� Scott asked �is how he could have stayed in the Mansion for so long undetected with two of the most powerful telepaths on the planet living alongside him.�

�I think I can answer that one honey,� Jean said from the opposite side of the table to her husband �the Skrull Logan had such a perfect replica of the real Logan�s mind that unless the Professor and I knew what to look for, there�s no chance we�d ever find it.�

�And to create such a perfect replica the Skrulls must have had access to the real Logan at some point,� Beast added.

�So what do we do about the Skrull that is running around out there with Logan�s face,� asked Cyclops.

�He is very confused at the moment as I truly believe that he was unaware of his true nature,� the Professor swapped the image of the implant to one of Logan�s head �there are only scattered memories of his life as a Skrull in his mind.�

The imaged shifted again to that of a green skinned, ridged chinned Skrull before the Professor continued.

�As much as I am loathing admitting it, this Skrull is mentally Logan and should not be treated as an outcast.�

The four X-Men leaned back in their chairs in contemplative thought.

�Two teams then,� Cyclops was the first to speak �Maverick and Kitty will go after the Skrull Logan, while Jean, Beast and I will track down the real Logan starting at the abandoned Skrull base in Nevada,� he turned to the Professor �Sir if you could use Cerebro and try and get a fix on both our runaways it would help at lot.�

�Of course Scott, you need only ask,� the dimmed lights of the War Room lit up to full intensity and the imaging systems in the table shutdown �good luck and god speed my X-Men.�

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In the vacant tunnels under Manhattan that had once served as the home of the Morlocks, Logan sat with his claws unsheathed and he stared at them intensely.

If he hadn�t other things on his mind he might have spared a thought to where the Morlocks who had once inhabited these tunnels were at this moment in time, but at this moment his whole sense of self was being questioned.

�Charley thinks I�m a Skrull does he bub?� Logan muttered to himself �if I was a Skrull I could make this things change into adamantium.�

He stared at the bone claws that had been a mystery to him when they had first appeared and began to concentrate, focusing all of his indomitable will on proving Xavier wrong.

He was concentrating so hard that his eyes closed and his whole body began to shake �still bone,� he part whispered, part prayed as he relaxed his muscles and opened his eyes �aww noOOOO.�

An animal�s wail filled the Morlock Tunnels as the sunlight that filtered through from the street above reflected off the newly formed metal claws.

Next Issue

The X-Men begin their search for the Logans, while Death makes his move at the Mansion.

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