Disclaimer:  All characters belong to Marvel Entertainment Group.

*Note: This story takes place before the Mutant X book starts.

Old Friends

     Nicholas Fury gazed out of the window, admiring the stillness of the clouds. "If only things were ever that calm around here," he muttered, lighting another Cuban cigar. He sighed in relief, blowing out puffs of gray smoke. Walking over to the main console, he pressed a button. "Yes, Colonel Fury?" the secretary asked. "Tell Dani Moonstar to come to my office at once." "Right away, Colonel," she said.

   Within a few moments, Dani was in his office, wondering just what Fury wanted from her. He had droned on and on about her good work on the Mutant Liberation Front operation [[X-Force # 87]], but she could've cared less. Finally, Fury stopped praising her and looked deep into her eyes. "Have you ever killed a man, Dani?" he asked. "I can will my arrows to be fatal, sir," she replied. Fury shook his head. "That's not what I asked." "Once or twice, out of rage," she admitted. "It's nothing I'm proud of, sir." "Think you could do it again?" he asked. Dani looked a little surprised. Fury realized he should explain the mission to her.

     "It's your old X-Force buddy, Sam Guthrie," Fury said, recalling the event in his mind. "A few weeks ago, he was captured by Havok's Brotherhood. We're not sure why, but we now have reason to believe that he's working with them in terrorist activities." "That doesn't sound like Sam at all," Dani said quietly. "As far as we can tell, it's not exactly him anymore. They've found a way to increase his power," Fury added. "By how much?" Dani asked. "Let's just say he's like Wolverine with a blast shield. That's why I'm considering lethal force, unless you have a better idea. Either way, it's your assignment now." "Yes, thank you, sir," Dani said, heading for the door. "Good soldier," he said as she left. "Good luck, kid."

     In a few hours, Dani found herself in a small S.H.I.E.L.D. jet, flying over a compound in the Nevada desert. "How much longer?" she asked impatiently. "I'm just as eager to find Sam as you are, Dani," Cable said, glancing out of the window. "But caution comes first." "Thanks again for coming with me, Cable," Dani said. "I know we've never gotten along very well, but...after you saved my life in Asgard..." [[X-Force & Cable Annual '97]] "I'd do the same for anyone else in X-Force," Cable said quickly. Dani nodded in silence, but the tension between them bothered her, as usual.

     Cable landed the jet several feet away from the compound. Making sure to leave the craft in cloak mode, Cable and Dani set out for the building on foot. They hadn't gone too far when a series of expolsions alerted the Brotherhood to their prescence. "Get down!" Cable yelled, even as Dani rolled across the sand. When she looked back, Cable was nowhere in sight. "Cable!" she shouted, her eyes traveling frantically across the sand. A mind-scan proved just as useless.

     "Going somewhere, little girl?" Dark Beast asked. Dani spotted him on the roof of the compound. He effortlessly leaped to the ground. Dani was not impressed. "What have you done with Cable?!" she demanded. "Guess we'll have to wait and see," he replied with an evil smile.

     "Come on, Cable; you're a Summers! Even Scott would've seen that one coming!" Cable ignored Havok's taunting as he slowly stood up. "Ready for round two?" Havok asked, a gleam in his eyes. "Definitely," Cable said, reaching for his fallen gun. As he predicted, Havok aimed a plasma blast at the gun. As soon as it left his fingertips, Cable turned and ran in the opposite direction. The gun exploded, as Cable had expected--he'd rigged it himself--and provided the distraction that he needed to regroup.

     "Get back here, Cable!" Havok roared, wiping the sand from his face. He raced after what appeared to be a retreating figure. A few seconds passed before Cable emerged, watching Havok disappear over the dunes. He was lucky the psionic projection had worked at all, especially in his deteriorated conditon. That first explosion had taken a lot more out of him than it should've.

      After clearing his head, Cable desperately tried to remember where he had last seen Dani. Before he got the chance, he felt a searing pain in his back. Cable fell to the sand, warm blood rushing from the fresh wound. "These psi-blocks McCoy designed really work," Fatale said as she pulled her sword from his back. "Too bad you won't live long enough to realize that."

     Dark Beast jumped aside, Dani's last arrow just missing him. "Either I'm getting better, or you're getting worse," he joked. "Funny," Dani answered, shooting another arrow over his head. "It appears you missed again, little girl," Dark Beast said with a grin. "Did I?" Dani asked with a smile of her own. The wily doctor instantly leaped to the right, only to find a psionic arrow waiting for him. "Persistence wins the battle," she said, standing over the mutant.

     "Don' touch him, Dani. I don' wanna hurt ya." Dani froze and spun around. The being behind her could hardly pass for Samuel Guthrie, much less a member of X-Force. Long, wild, blonde hair hid most of his face, save for one red eye. "Sam, is that you?" she asked, staring in disbelief. The being growled in anger and hit the side of the compound, leaving a large dent. "Mah name is not Sam! Mah name is Blast!" he cried, panting heavily. Dani slowly stepped away from Dark Beast, keeping her eyes trained on the mutant in front of her.

     "Okay, Blast, listen to me. If you know my name, you must know I'm your friend." Blast shook his head slowly and moaned. "Mah head hurts when Ah try ta think," he said. "Let me help you," Dani offered, reaching out to him. Blast snarled and stepped back. "No! You're one o' them X-Men! Ah can tell!" Dani could see the beginnings of a blast field around his feet. "Blast, wait! You don't understand!" "Understand this, X-Man!" Blast shouted, launching himself at her.

     In the few seconds she had before impact, Dani considered her options. In order to avoid serious injury, her best bet was to hit him with a round of arrows. However, that would only convince Blast she was an enemy, which was the last thing she wanted. She decided it would be better if she showed him that a fight wasn't necessary. Unfortunately, she finally realized as he rammed into her, that could be very painful.

     Dani hit the sand hard, and the taste of warm blood invaded her mouth. Blast loomed over her, his red eyes shining. Dani curled into the fetal position, hoping the Brotherhood hadn't stripped her friend of all his humanity. "Please remember," she whispered as Blast raised his hand to strike.

     Back at S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters, Nick Fury was having second thoughts about Dani's mission. "Shouldn't have sent her alone, not this time," he decided, puffing at his Cuban cigar. "Guthrie's way too dangerous now." He rose from his chair, striding towards the door. Just as he reached it, Agent 23 walked in. "Sir, we've finally got Havok," he said. Fury stopped in his tracks. "Where?!" he barked. "Loading Bay 3, sir," the agent replied. "Let's move then!" Fury said. He raced down the access tunnel, the young agent right behind him. Upon reaching the loading bay, Fury only saw a hovercraft. "I thought you said Havok was here, soldier!" he shouted in anger. "Well, yes and no to that one, sir," Agent 23 said slowly. "What do you mean?" Fury asked, glaring at him.

     Much to Fury's surprise, Agent 23 slowly began to fade away. "Well, y'see, Col. Fury..." he said, "Havok's here all right, but then again, he isn't!" By the time he finished speaking, Agent 23 ws no more. The figure that stood in his place was not a welcome sight. "You!" Fury yelled, drawing a laser pistol. "Save it, Fury!" the boy said, reaching out with his mind. Fury fell to his knees, pain clouding his vision. "We're going on a little ride," his attacker explained, "and we're going to find Havok together!" As he was shoved into the hovercraft, Fury mumbled, "Why are you doing this, Grey?" For a moment, the boy said nothing. Then, brushing a few strands of white hair from his face, he said, "Call it a family affair, old man."

     Dani waited for the next flash of pain, but there was none. "Why won't yah fight back?" Blast asked, gazing down at her. "I can't fight you," Dani whispered. "You're my friend...no matter what the Brotherhood has done to you." The boy scratched his head, confusion in his eyes. Gradually, the red haze left his eyes. "Dani? What's goin' on? What are we doin' here?" But Dani didn't answer; she had passed out. "Lord, what have Ah done?!" he cried, gently cradling her in his arms. "Ah'm so sorry, Dani. Ah'll never hurt ya again, Ah swear."

     "Put her down, Blast," Havok commanded. Fatale stood by his side, blood still dripping from her sword. "Ah don't know what ya done ta me, Havok, but ya won't do no more!" "We'll see about that. Fatale, show our young friend the light." "Gladly," Fatale said, a smile forming on her face. "Think you can handle me, sweetie?" "Get outta mah way, Fatale. Ah'll kill ya and Havok both if Ah got ta, but Ah won't let Dani die!" "Oh, don't worry about that," Fatale said. "You're the only one that'll die, if you don't drop her right now."

     Cable awoke with a start. Pain instantly cut through his back, and his head spun wildly. He could hear voices on the other side of the compound, though none of them sounded very familiar. Drawing a gun, he cautiously approached them and peered around the corner.

     Havok was leaning over Dark Beast, trying to wake the doctor up. From what Dani had told him, Cable guessed that Sam was the one fighting with a strange woman. Probably the same woman who put a sword in his back, he realized with a grimace. Dani was lying on a large rock nearby.

     "Better make this count," Cable muttered, drawing a bead on Havok's neck. Havok winced as the shot hit, then he slumped to the ground. Unfortunately, the element of surprise was lost when Fatale spotted him. "Join the party!" she shouted over the roar of her opponent's blast field. "Maybe later," Cable said, aiming at her leg.

     Before he could get a good shot, he heard a motor overhead. Glancing up, Cable saw a S.H.I.E.L.D. hovercraft. "Must be Dani's backup," he realized. Even so, he was still wanted by the group. As the hovercraft landed, dust clouds rose, providing Cable with the cover he needed. Racing forward, he smacked Fatale over the head with his gun. She dropped like a stone.

    Aboard the hovercraft, Nick Fury gazed out of the window. "Hope you know what you're doin', Grey. The Brotherhood ain't exactly easy to deal with." Nate Grey arched an eyebrow as he grabbed a heavy guantlet from the floor. "I've dealt with them before, old man," he said, slipping it on. There was a beep as he tapped a few buttons on it. "Let's just hope this baby still works, or we're both dead."

     "Just love your reassuring thoughts," Fury growled. "I imagine getting slapped with this would really hurt," Nate commented as he opened the outer hatch. "You coming or not?" Fury grabbed a gun from the floor. "And miss a chance to nail Havok? Not on your life, kid. What's left of it, anyway." "Shut up and go," Nate said as they stepped out into the open air.

   Dani shook her head as she regained consciousness. Havok, Dark Beast, and Fatale lay at her feet. Cable stood at her side, his gun trained on Blast, who kept several feet between them. Dani searched for the evil look she had seen in his eyes earlier. It wasn't there. "Cable, don't," she said, touching his arm. Cable relaxed his arm, but Dani could tell he was ready to lash out with a psi-blast at any moment. Dani got up and slowly approached the young mutant. His muscles tensed as she came near.

     "Don't take another step, Moonstar," Fury commanded as he stepped into view. His gun was trained squarely on Blast. Nate Grey pushed the gun aside. "Relax, old man. We missed all the action already." "Wrong," Fury said, pointing it back at Blast. "That boy is dangerous, and he's going down for good." Dani planted herself directly in front of Blast, blocking Fury's shot. Nate stood by her side, cracking his knuckles. "If he's dangerous, then I'm just fatal," he said with a grim smile. Fury looked at Cable. "Y'know, you made 'em this way." "Me?" Cable asked. "You SHIELD operatives aren't exactly easy to persuade. I'm still on your wanted list."

     "Beggin' yur pardon, sirs, but Ah think the bad guys are wakin' up," Blast said. They all turned to see the Brotherhood come to life. "You're all under arrest," Fury said, "and as far as I'm concerned, you have no rights." While he and Cable herded them into the hovercraft, Dani turned to Nate. "And you are?" "X-Man," he replied. "Friends call me Nate." "I see," Dani said, looking at Blast. Nate took the hint rather quickly. "I'll leave you two alone," he said, heading back to the hovercraft.

     "How do you feel?" Dani asked. "A lot better, since those guns aren't on me anymore," he responded. "Ah'm startin' to remember Cable, X-Force, and S.H.I.E.L.D., but that's it for now. What'd they do to me, Dani?" She shook her head. "I don't know. Whatever they did, I want to help you. But you have to trust me." "Ah can do that," he said with a nod. "Ah think Ah already do." Dani smiled and hugged him. "Welcome back, Sam." He slowly returned the embrace. "Thanks, Dani," he said.

     The trip back to SHIELD HQ was a long one, but well worth it to see the Brotherhood behind bars. "I think that takes care of everything," Cable said. "Not quite," Fury said, looking at Blast. "He could snap at any minute." "I'm sure I could prevent that," Nate said, planting a few suggestions in Fury's head. "Well, I guess Nate here could handle 'em if he got out of line." Cable chuckled and shook his head. "Okay guys, what's the next stop?" he asked.

     "We'd better find some way to revert Sam back to his old self," Dani said. "Hey, who says he can't keep the new powers and learn to control them?" Nate asked. "I mean, that's what I'd do." "An interesting thought," Cable said, scratching his chin. "Don't Ah get a say in this?" Blast asked. "Sure," Nate replied, clapping him on the back. "That is, after you learn how to control your powers. I happen to know a place where you could do that. Ever been to Snow Valley? I know some people that might be able to help you."

     "Are ya sure that's a good idea, Nate?" Blast asked. "Ah'd still be dangerous to anyone around me." "I'll go with you," Dani volunteered. "Between me and Nate, there should be enough psionic ability to keep you normal." "Well, Snow Valley it is, then!" Cable said, hoping Nate's psionic control over Fury would last a bit longer.

The End, For Now!