'We have met the enemy, and he is ours' - Captain Oliver Hazard Perry

Four figures trailed through the snow, the jungles of the Savage Land behind them as they moved out. They were well wrapped up and secure, but nothing could have prepared them for the conditions they were now travelling in.

"It's damned cold out here," said Metalhead as they walked through the icy wastes of Antarctica.

"I know," said Xi'an, "but we're nearly there, my friend."

"If Dust's right," said Krys, her arm healed thanks to Xi'an who knew that his people would need to be at full strength to take on Exodus.

"I'm right," said Dust, gruffly. "Trust me, I know."

"Sorry," said Krys. "Just the events of the past week or so have got to me."

"Hmm," said Dust noncommittally as his thoughts went back to his arrival in Xavier City and his meeting with Shakti.

(In X-Men 2099 #3 - David.)

"Clarion," said Shakti. "He died. X-Nation failed before it started."

"What happened?" asked Dust, shocked by the revelation.

"Exodus."

"Exodus?" asked Dust in surprise. "I thought Magnus had finished him once and for all. If he's free then the whole planet is in danger."

"But what can we do? What do you know?"

"I don't know we can do," said Dust. "And you're not ready for what I know."

Dust closed his eyes, as the past seemed to be catching up with him. First Sinister and now Exodus. Would the curse of Apocalypse follow him forever? He wasn't Cable, he wasn't Nate Grey, he hadn't been born to clean up the loose ends they'd left fighting the High Lord. He'd never wanted to be a hero, to risk his life. The X-Men had died because of it, because of his desire to be left alone. That was why he was here now, to make amends and make sure the past didn't repeat itself.

"Dust," said Xi'an coming towards him. "What do you know of Exodus?"

"That's a long story," said Dust. "Used to be an acolyte of Magneto, but that's common knowledge. What isn't is the fact he was a regular human at one point until he was altered by Apocalypse." Xi'an's hand came to his mouth, only to be met by the face mask protecting him from the elements. "Magnus freed him from Apocalypse's storage and Exodus swore loyalty, however the conditioning of Apocalypse began to take hold over time and Exodus changed from a guardian of Magnus to a fanatic of his word. A delusional fanatic, with the voice of Apocalypse ringing in his mind. Eventually he decided Magnus was unfit for his vision to survive and attacked him. This was after the X-Men had been defeated during the Sentinel Dawn. I was in Genosha at the time it all went down. I helped Magnus put Exodus down..."

"When we get back to Xavier City, you and I are going to talk," said Xi'an. "First Sinister, now Exodus. I want to know everything else you do."

"Fair enough," said Dust, then stopped in his tracks as the snow blew around them. "If I'm right, it's just over this ridge. The Phalanx didn't reshape Antarctica that badly so it should still be there. If the storm dies down we'll see it."

(The Phalanx reshaped the world in 2099: World of Tomorrow - David.)

"Then we'll rest," said Xi'an. "Not for too long, but long enough to get our strength back."

"Do you think he knows we're coming?" asked Eddie. Dust nodded.

"I'm shielding us as best I can. I'm hoping he doesn't know I'm alive. I never met Fitzgerald so he wouldn't be able to tell Exodus about me, however I expect Exodus has taken the information about you three from his mind."

"We knew it was a possibility when we set off. Dust is to take on Exodus. We'll sanction the Acolytes," said Xi'an. "If there are any other followers with the others, then we have to take them quietly. Remember, we want Tim, Bloodhawk and Junkpile back if possible."

The others nodded and they began to eat what rations they had.

Back in Xavier City, Shakti and Meanstreak were trying to hack in to the Stark/Fujikawa systems and pull what they could on the Iron Man armour that had attacked the city the day before.

(Last issue - David.)

Henri was purposely hindering the challenge so to cover up the fact that Garokk was behind this and so they were getting nowhere.

"Huang," called Morphine from the back of the office. "Could I have a word?"

"No," said Henri, "we're busy here, Morphine. Go annoy a t-rex."

"I insist," said Morphine, putting his hand on Henri's shoulder and Henri tensed as a tingle went down his body. Morphine's touch was deadly.

"Take a break, Henri," said Shakti, sitting back in the chair, disconnecting from the mainframe. "We're not getting anywhere at the moment, and a break could do us a world of good."

"Okay," said Meanstreak, and removed Morphine's hand from his shoulder.

"I'm going to check on Rosa," she said and made her exit to the infirmary, leaving the two men alone.

"Don't touch me again," said Meanstreak to Morphine, his voice containing a calm menace.

"You're lucky you're still shocking breathing," said Morphine, the same tone in his voice. "I know what you're doing, I know what you're playing at, I don't know who you work for."

"What do you mean?"

"Bloodhawk and Junkpile didn't attack the labs yesterday. I was there, watching. I didn't recognise the man you answered to, or gave the equipment, but I recognise a traitor when I see one."

"You're dead," said Henri, running forward, but without the speed. The loss of his powers caught him off guard and Morphine hit the deck as Morphine punched him in the jaw.

"Now then," he said, shaking his hand to get rid of the stinging sensation in his knuckles, "who do you work for?"

"What did you do to me?" asked Henri.

"Wrong answer," said Morphine and put the boot in to the fallen X-Man. "Now who do you work for?"

"He'll kill me," said Meanstreak.

"And I'll buy you a kitten?" said Morphine, his hand glowing with the powers at his command. "Last chance."

"Garokk," said Meanstreak. "His name is Garokk."

"Never heard of him," said Morphine. "However, it is interesting that you used the names of Junkpile and Bloodhawk. Don't doubt you, just be interested to find out how you knew. Or how this Garokk knows. Let's go have a word with him, shall we?"

"I can't use my powers," said Meanstreak.

"A neural inhibitor, retrieved from the Theatre of Pain, injected when I touched your shoulder. You'll get your powers back when we meet your master."

"Jammit," said Meanstreak. "Okay, I'll take you, but we have to go now."

"Excellent," came the reply. "Let's go."

In the infirmary, Victor Ten Eagles was looking over Rosa. Physically she was fine, mentally it was a different matter.

"Hey," said Shakti as she entered. Victor turned and nodded. "How's she doing?"

(She was assaulted by Brimstone Love in X-Men 2099 #6 - David.)

"Still refuses to see the kids," said Victor. Joaquim and Maddie were waiting outside, and there was no shortage of people to look after them. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. Both of us," she said, a hand going towards her belly, where a psionic entity began to grow inside - her baby.

"I can't believe Xi'an did that," said Victor, putting his arm around her as she drew close.

"What? Throwing the Richards out of the city or proposing to me?"

(Last issue - David.)

"Both. Never saw Xi'an as someone to settle down."

"Neither did I," agreed Shakti. "But I think that's what his life lacks. Someone to love."

"He loves you?" said Victor, taken back by what she'd said.

"Yes," she said. "When we were in Hell, his thoughts and feelings were an open book to me."

(Xi'an rescued Shakti's soul from Hell in X-Men 2099 Annual #1 - David.)

"It'd explain a lot. He was very... irrational when you died, trying to bring you back with his powers."

"After all we'd been through, after all we'd done, it was a shock to him to realise how much he cared. I think it was seeing Magnus and his family that convinced him that this was the right thing to do."

"What about you?"

"I was uncertain at first," she admitted. "It wasn't the ideal situation. I'm having a psionic energy baby, forced on me by a robot, and I'd just come back from the dead. I was scared. I'd just made a major life changing decision..."

"Suicide?" said Victor, looking at her with a slight grin.

"A major life changing decision," she said. "And then there was this. I wasn't sure how to deal with it, but when I saw the conviction with which Xi'an challenged Reed and when it appeared Sue wanted to be involved with the birth he threw them out."

"He threw them out to defend you?"

"Yes," she answered. "It was... romantic."

"Jammit, Shakti, I hope you know what you're doing."

"So do I, Victor. So do I. Better get back to work." Victor nodded and let her go, wishing it could be that easy for himself with Krystaline.

Shakti arrived back in the computer room, to find no trace of either Henri or Morphine, and she was in no doubt as to the cause.

"What are you up to now, Morphine?"

The snow storm had died down a touch and the X-Men moved off towards the citadel. It had been in the location Dust had thought it had been in and there seemed to be a darkness about it even from the distance.

As they arrived at the main entrance to the citadel, they wondered how to get in. Dust shook his head.

"If he knows we're here, then we may as well just kick in the door," said Eddie.

"I expect the place is alarmed anyway," said Xi'an. "Neither Magnus or Exodus was reported to like unexpected guests."

"On three?" asked Metalhead, shifting to a metallic form, his short hair giving him a shadowy effect over his eyes. Dust nodded and telekinetically strengthened himself.

"One," he said.

"Two," followed Eddie.

"Three!" they said in unison as the two X-Men flattened the door with one punch. It fell to the floor with a slam, which echoed throughout the citadel.

"Interesting," said Xi'an.

"Perhaps nobody's home?" asked Krystaline as they entered.

"They're here," said Dust. "I can feel them. Four."

"Exodus, Tim, Bloodhawk and Junkpile," said Xi'an. "Together?"

"I think so," said Dust. "Exodus is probing at us, and I'm deflecting as well as scanning. It's... not easy."

"Then we go together," said Xi'an, and they went in, following Dust's lead.

The further in the got the warmer it got as the snows outside got further away. There was still a draught from the broken door, but the more they progressed the more bearable it got, and they shed their arctic attire.

Then it all started to come down with the opening gambit of an electrical blast from Skullfire. Eddie was quick to react, pushing Dust to the floor before it connected. Eddie's metal form was a natural conductor of Tim's power, and Eddie redirected it towards the roof.

Bits of rubble cam down in a cloud of dust allowing the X-Men chance to scatter and await what they knew was coming next.

"Hello, my brother," came the voice of Junkpile.

"Been a while," said Xi'an as he confronted his former ally. "Never thought I'd see you under the control of another."

"You were under the spell of Brimstone Love," reminded Junkpile and swung his fist to Xi'an, who leapt up, easily avoiding him.

"Just because I'm been behind a desk of late, it doesn't mean I've slowed down, my friend."

"You'll not keep the pace up forever," said Junkpile, only to be answered with a clang as Eddie.

"Been waiting to do that since Las Vegas," said Metalhead.

"Xi'an won't save you this time, meat," said Junkpile and the men of metal clashed like two mighty cathedral bells.

Xi'an backed off as the two behemoths fought and looked up, seeing Bloodhawk swooping down towards him. He leapt back, landed on his hands and launched up, kicking Bloodhawk in the jaw as he came down, sending the bestial mutant crashing to the floor as Xi'an landed with ease, crouched on his right knee, his left leg bent and his right arm supporting him.

"Sorry, Bloodhawk, but I don't see you listening to reason at the moment," said Xi'an as Bloodhawk picked himself up off the floor, shaking his head to throw off the daze his landing had caused.

"You must die for the will of Magneto," he muttered.

"That's not what he told me," said Xi'an, avoiding the wingspan of his sometime team-mate. He didn't want to unleash his molecular disruption power unless he had no other choice. They just had to give Dust time to find Exodus.

"Hello, Tim," said Krys as she confronted the last of Exodus' Acolytes. She and Tim had never really bonded as well as he had with the others, but that might have been due to the fact she hadn't been around much for his formative years. When they had worked in Halo City then, they'd gotten to know each other better, but she wasn't as close to him as Shakti. Or Luna.

"Krys," he said. "My master commands you destroyed, for you are an affront to the will of Magneto."

"You used to be one of us, Tim. Please come back to us."

"I... can't. I'm sorry." He unleashed a blast of energy towards her, which she refracted with a crystal shield, but the force of the blast threw her to the floor and Tim moved like a green streak of lightning to gain a better vantage position.

Meanwhile Dust had slipped away from the battle between the X-Men and the Acolytes to find Exodus. The X-Men's job was to distract the Acolytes, long enough for Dust to take Exodus down. These weren't Genoshan's who were easily manipulated, these were friends of the people they were fighting and as such were also fighting Exodus.

The Iron Man issue was also unresolved and so Dust was going by the assumption that Exodus had more than one set of enemies in 2099. Hopefully, dealing with both at the same time would be too much for him. He remembered the way things had played out last time.

"Hello, Paris," he said as he entered the throne room of Magneto, created decades ago for a different man to what he had eventually become.

"So it is you, Marcus," said Exodus. "I thought your imprint was familiar."

"I don't go by Marcus these days. I reckon once you get past a certain age, the need for your given name fades away. They call me Dust."

"Incredible. What happened to the passionate man you used to be? The one who didn't need codenames, or any nom du guerre, who did see the point in running round in spandex trying to save a world that was destroying itself?"

"He found his conscience."

"Too little, too late."

"I came to my senses, Paris, just a shame you didn't."

"Oh, but I have, Dust. I questioned my liege and I was smote by his mighty wrath. With your assistance. Did it feel good to be the right hand of God?"

"Magnus was not God. He was just a man living his life, surrounded by liars and deceivers like you and Cortez."

"NEVER MENTION ME IN THE SAME BREATH AS THAT SCUM!" shouted Exodus, twin beams of psionic energy flowing from his eyes in anger at Dust, whose eye glowed red as a circle appeared to deflect the energy being thrown at him.

"It didn't work then, and it won't work now," said Dust, without a smile. "You know what we have to do."

"Beware, X-Man, I'm not the same Exodus you once faced."

"And I'm not the same man either."

Both men closed their eyes. Energy leaked from the minute slits that remained on Exodus' face whilst the familiar red circle appeared over the head of Dust, sparking and crackling with the psionic energy. A physical battle would get them nowhere, both men had done that before. To fight each other effectively there was only one place to be and so they went on to the astral plane to do battle.

Psionic armour clothed them as the energies of the plane swirled around them and they drew psychic swords and the two psionic titans clashed.

In Xavier City, Shakti was trying the computers at Stark/Fujikawa when she saw a signal, coming closer to the city, with the same identification signature. Another Iron Man was coming to the city and she signalled to the Medical Lab.

"Victor, we have incoming," she said.

"Who's about?" asked Victor.

"Just us," she said.

"On my way," he said and made his way up, wondering where Morphine and Meanstreak had gotten to.

"How far is it to this Garokk?" asked Morphine, a cigarette hanging from the side of his mouth as the two men walked through the jungles of the Savage Land.

"Not far now," said Henri.

"Good," said Morphine. "Though this explains why we can't find you half the time."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because your boss is having an argument with Exodus and my city's in the middle of it. I want them both to keep away."

"Oh, you do?" said Garokk stepping out in front of them. "Thank you, Henri for bringing him so swiftly. Such an obvious trap, Somers, I'm surprised you fell for it."

"So am I," said Morphine. "Thought Meanstreak caved a little quickly back at the City."

"All too easy," said Garokk, "and now I have two inside people for Xavier City."

"Don't count on it," said Morphine, as his fist went back and floored Meanstreak. "Still don't have your reflexes back, sunshine," and he ran in to the forest.

"Forgive me, master," said Henri as he got up. "He caught me by surprise."

"No matter," answered Garokk. "Morphine Somers will learn that you cannot deny the will of the Sorcerer Supreme. After him, my children."

Ka-Zar, Shanna and the animated adamantium skeleton took off in to the forest after Morphine, Garokk's laughter echoing around the landscape.

In X-Men 2099 #9: Dust versus Exodus! X-Men versus Acolytes! Morphine versus the Reavers! The Heir War continues.

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