Uncanny X-Men (Marvel Omega)

SuperNova, Part II

Somewhere In The Sahara

Kurt Wagner lies on the ground, having just been knocked down by an optic blast from his fellow X-Man, Scott Summers. Kurt looks up at the man he has called friend and fought beside more times than he can count, in shock. Even though Scott wears a ruby quartz visor which conceals his eyes, Kurt can tell there seems to be no remorse in the man. Not even in his voice when he speaks.

"Don't make this hard on yourself, Nightcrawler," he says. "Professor Xavier sent us to bring you back to the mansion."

"Xavier or Cassandra?" asks Nightcrawler.

"There's only one Professor Xavier, and that's Cassandra," replies Cyclops.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Domino, Havok, Fantomex, Bishop, Deathbird, and Sunpyre, who comprise the rest of Nightcrawler's team, rush to his aid. Cyclops' team, Storm, Colossus, Iceman, and Ecstacy, stand by his side.

"Something's not right," says Nightcrawler as Bishop helps him to his feet.

"What's this about, Scott?" asks Havok.

"The Professor wants you to return to the mansion," replies Cyclops. "You either come willingly or by force. The choice is yours."

"Mind control, has to be," says Havok. "No way Scott would blindly follow Cassandra like that."

"This isn't up for debate," says Cyclops. "Either way, you're coming back with us."

"Make this easy on yourselves, my friends," says Colossus. "Do not make us hurt you."

"You're the leader, Kurt, what do you say?" asks Havok.

Nightcrawler stands stoic for a few seconds, and no words come forth from his mouth. Instead, he vanishes in an explosion of smoke and brimstone and when he rematerializes, he appears in mid-air and delivers a swift kick to the back of Cyclops' head.

"Overpower them!" he orders, before vanishing from Cyclops again. "We outnumber them, so let's use that to our advantage!"

"And whatever you do, don't let Ecstacy touch you!" exclaims Havok as he fires off a plasma blast at Ecstacy. She nimbly dodges the blast and attempts to close in on him.

"No kill shots, Fantomex!" exclaims Domino as her and Fantomex avoid bolts of lightning that fly from the clouds at the command of Storm. The wind begins to accelerate around them, but Fantomex still moves with an incredible speed across the battlefield to avoid Storm.

***

The Iceman extends his arms and with a thought, the moisture around his body and in the surrounding air begins to freeze. This effect continues around the X-Man Bishop as he soon finds himself encased within this huge block of ice thanks to the efforts of his teammate.

"You're coming with us, Bish, whether you like it or not," says Iceman with a grin. "The Professor's got some big plans for the X-Men, and that includes you, timecop."

An interesting phenomena begins to unfold before Robert Drake's eyes. The block of ice surrounding Bishop begins to melt at an incredible rate. Within a few moments, the ice is nothing more than water around the large man's feet. Bishop stretches out his body slightly, enjoying his new freedom, before directing his attention to his opponent. The time-lost X-Man's eyes begin to glow brightly with energy, and through his hands, he directs that energy at Iceman in the form of a concussive force blast.

"You're an idiot, Drake," says Bishop as he approaches Iceman. "I'm immune to temperature changes, boy – I absorb the ambient energy from heat or cold."