Chapter 6

A heavy silence falls on the X-Men as Cable relays the events of the past few minutes through his com-unit. “And when I came to, the only things I could find were four sets of footprints and several large pools of blood.” The War Room remained silent until Xavier asked, “Was there anything else?” “Nothing, except the fact that Nate was attacked by only one person. Also, all of the footprints, including Nate’s, stop abruptly, as if the persons began to fly...or teleport. Chances are, as much blood as he lost, Nate was kidnapped by someone very powerful...powerful enough to catch him off guard. Not easy to do against a telepath of his caliber.”

“Thank you, Cable, you’ve been most helpful,” Xavier said. He turned to the X-Men and sighed. “That is our situation, my X-Men. I’m open any suggestions you may have.” The room was silent until another transmission came through. They all recognized the Irish accent right away as Banshee’s voice, and they could tell something was troubling him. “What is it, Sean?” “I know ye’ve got yur hands full with Nate, Charles, but I was wondering if any of ye had seen David recently.” The X-Men exchanged worried glances and Xavier shook his head. “Not since the rest of you were here, Sean. Why do you ask?” “Well, it seems the lad took off on his own. I think he’s gone off to find Nate.”

“It’s too late,” Psylocke said suddenly. Everyone turned to her, puzzled looks on their faces. “If you ask me, X-treme’s already found Nate.” “Betsy, are you suggesting that David was the one who attacked Nate?” Jean asked. “I’m almost sure of it, Jean,” she replied. “Think about it. It had to be someone powerful enough to take Nate out, but also someone who knew him. How else could he suprise him like that? X-treme’s the only one who’s missing, and powerful enough to do so. After all, it’s not like we haven’t had our share of traitors before.” All eyes shifted to Gambit, then Xavier, and all realized Psylocke’s point was valid.

“If the lad is as powerful as ye say, Psylocke,” Sean said, “how do ye plan to find him and Nathan?” “With time, focus, a ton of luck, and this,” she replied, holding up a miniature device. “It’s a tracker tuned to Nate’s specific bio-signature. It should lead us to Nate’s last location on Earth, if not Nate himself.” “And just how is it you happen to have such a device, Betsy?” Archangel wanted to know. Psylocke narrowed her eyes at him . “When you’re as powerful as Nate, you tend to have many enemies. In times of need, he wanted to have a way of letting someone he trusted know where he was...namely, me. Does that answer meet approval, Warren?” she asked coldly.

“This is not the time for petty arguments,” Xavier interrupted, placing a hand on Psylocke’s arm. “Right now, we need to find Nathan as soon as possible.”

“Awake yet, young one?” a deep voice asked. Nate recognized the voice right away. “What do you want with me, Master?” he asked angrily. “I quit Overpower a long time ago.” “Which is precisely why you’re back,” the Master snapped. “No one just quits Overpower, X-Man; you only leave in one of two ways: with my permission or by death. Since you didn’t receive my blessings, make no mistake, you will pay with your life. And who better to take it from you than the one who you robbed of his life?” “What are you talking about?” Nate said.

“He means me, Nathan,” X-treme replied, stepping from the shadows. “You stole my life, and I intend to take it back, one way or the other.” “You’re both nuts. I didn’t steal anyone’s life!” Nate growled and tried to step forward, only to find he was restrained by chains attached to a stone wall.

“You deny your own crime? Not this time, Nathan. Or don’t you remember your brother, David?” Nate stopped struggling and stared at X-treme. “What do you know about David?” “Only that you did nothing to save him when he died, and in doing so, you stole his life. But all that’s going to change very soon, Nathan.”

X-treme chuckled and gazed into the air. “Do you remember when we first met, Nathan? You thought you sensed a darkness in my soul. It was anger, dear boy, not darkness. Anger for dying needlessly. Anger for having life stripped away. Anger at you for taking that life!” The light in his eyes flashed for a moment and then dimmed. “But as I said, that will all change.”

Nate shook his head. “You’re still insane. Even if I am responsible for David’s death, what does that have to do with you?” X-treme threw back his head and laughed. “Fool! Did you really think it was a coincidence that my name was your brother’s? I may not be your brother, but his soul lives within me! I am his avenging angel, and his final wish is for you to die! And I, your angel of death, will make sure you die slowly and very painfully.”

Tears fell from Nate’s eyes as he tried in vain to blink them away. “Y-you’re wrong. You can’t b-be David. You can’t!” “But I am, and so much more,” X-treme replied. “The Master saw that I needed revenge. He gave me this body,” he said, spreading his arms, “this strong, mighty body. I’m ten times as powerful as David ever was, and that’s more than enough to destroy you, Nathan Grey.” A smile of pure malice spread across his face as he turned and walked away, laughing to himself.

“What have you done to him?” Nate asked, turning to the Master. “What have you done to my brother?” “I merely gave him what he wanted: enough power to exact his revenge against you. And that will happen soon, because tomorrow, at dawn, you will face him for your life.” He chuckled and raised his arms to the sky. “X-treme versus the X-Man! That will be a sure crowd pleaser. The missing Grandmaster returns to face his own brother...to the death! I love it! Imagine it, my young warrior: the last thing you’ll ever see will be your brother’s hand rising to strike the final blow!”

Logan slipped quietly down the hall, silently making his way to the Blackbird port. He wasn’t surprised to find Psylocke heading for one of the minijets. “Late night trip, Betts?” he asked, casually lighting a cigar. Psylocke didn’t bother to turn around. “I have to go, Logan. No matter what Xavier says, I have to find Nate.” Logan smiled and blew a large puff of smoke as Psylocke climbed into the pilot’s seat. “Wasn’t gonna try to stop ya, darlin’,” he said. “But lemme give ya a little pice of advice.” He blew another puff and looked straight into her eyes. “We all got our private pain. I got mine, you got yours, and the kid’s got his. Only difference is, the kid can take out half the country with a thought if he wants. All I’m sayin’ is be careful, darlin’.”

Psylocke looked down at him as the minijet’s engines roared to life. “Thank you for the advice, old friend, but I know Nate all too well. He may never admit it, but sometimes even the world’s most powerful mutant psi needs a little help from his friends. And if Xavier can’t see that I care about Nate, that’s his problem. Goodbye, Logan.” The minijet lifted into the air, turned, and shot out of the hangar. Logan just shook his head and said, “Sure hope you know what you’re doin, Betts.” “Don’t worry, Logan,” her voice replied into his mind, “this time, I’ve got some backup.”

He shook his head as he awoke, and Nate Grey had no idea where he was. But as the very first rays of sunlight shone into his cell, the memories came flooding back. He was to fight for his life today, supposedly against the person who he once had the greatest amount of respect for. Nate made a silent vow, perhaps the last one he would ever make. If it really is you, David, I swear I’ll make you see the truth. If not, then I guess I’ll see you real soon.

The door to Nate’s cell swung open and a large guard stepped in. “Dawn, punk. Time to meet your maker.” He loosed the chains and dragged Nate from the cell. All around him, Nate could hear the people jeering at him. “That’s the one that’s gonna die today.” “I thought he was the best fighter we had?” “He was, but now his brother’s gonna finish him for the Master.”

Yet, there were still a few that believed in him. “Come on, X-Man! You can beat this punk!” “Dat dere’s da X-Man, da toughest son-of-a-gun dat ever lived.” “X-Man’s gonna tear this guy apart!” “X-Man forever! Yeah!”

Nate smiled faintly as the guard reached a large platform balanced on five tall poles. He picked up Nate and tossed him in the center of the platform. He landed hard on his shoulder. Nate slowly stood as a booming voice announced, “Wearing the violet and gold, our returning Grandmaster, the X-Man!” To Nate’s surprise, the crowd erupted into cheers. Seems they haven’t forgotten me, he thought.

The voice went on. “And now, his opponent in this battle to the death, wearing black and green, the Master’s right hand man, X-treme!” There were scattered cheers and several boos as X-treme appeared on the edge of the platform. He smiled at Nate and said, “Time to die, X-Man.”

The booming voice returned and shouted, “FIGHT!” X-treme’s left hand slammed into Nate’s jaw. Nate staggered and X-treme lashed out at his arm, instantly reinjuring it. “I’m going to finish what I started in Alaska, Nathan,” he said with a smile. Nate closed his eyes and X-treme was thrown back to the edge of the platform.

“Kill him!” the Master yelled from the crowd. “Make him pay for stealing your life!” X-treme rammed into Nate, driving them both off the platform. They landed in a large, rocky pit. Nate kicked X-treme and rolled away. “Listen to me, David!” he shouted. “This is wrong! I didn’t want you to die! You can’t kill me; I’m your brother!” “NO!” X-treme shouted back, whipping out a knife that had been concealed at his side. “You stole my life! You let me die! It’s all your fault! You could’ve saved me!” He dived onto Nate, driving the knife into his body again and again. Nate’s cry of pain pierced the early morning air, rose with the wind, and traveled across the rocky plains.

The minijet landed on a rocky cliff, just outside the tournament grounds. Psylocke leaped to the ground, followed by two more figures. “You’re sure about this place, Psylocke?” the first asked. “Yeah, what are we doing here?” the second added. “We’re here to help Nate,” Psylocke whispered. “Now shut up, both of you, before someone hears us.” The two fell silent and followed her across the rocky plains.

A scream penetrated the thick morning air, followed by a shower of rocks. Psylocke and her companions began to run, dodging the rocks when they could. “What the heck was that?!” the second figure asked. “It’s big trouble, now come on!” the first said. They came to high hill, and looked down to see two figures wrestling several hundred feet below. “Any ideas on how we get down there?” Psylocke asked. “Just one,” the second figure answered, and all three disappeared.