Battleworld

"This is your world?" Nachtgleiskette asked. "How do you know?"

"I was born and raised here. And Battleworld isn't exactly huge," Firefly replied.

He stood and looked at his surroundings. When he was last in the classroom on Battleworld, things were decidedly more ordered - desks were set up in neat rows, posters lined the walls in well-measured placements. There was simply too great a lack of resources to risk not taking care of what little they had.

What Firefly saw was considerably different. The desks, chairs - even shelves, which had been resting against the back wall of the room - were overturned and broken. Scorch marks could be seen on the door, a window was smashed. There had been a fight, a ransacking, or both.

Nachtgleiskette shook his head.

"That is not what I meant," he said. He glanced at the shattered window and cringed as bright sunlight washed over his eyes. "You have seen enough worlds - how can you be sure that this is your Battleworld?"

Firefly knitted his brow thoughtfully. He was trying to think of an answer, but nothing came to mind. He knew Nachtgleiskette was right; with all that he - and the Exiles - had seen, there was no way he could be sure that the Battleworld he had just materialised on was the one he had left, but he tried not to accept this fact. Instead, he listened intently to the sound of pounding footsteps coming down a nearby hallway, hoping that whatever caused it would be enough of a distraction to make him forget his doubts, without being dangerous.

Suddenly, a familiar white-maned head popped through the door. Firefly's heart skipped a beat. He had given very little thought to his home since he had left, but the person standing before him was not only the last person he had seen before his departure - she was also the only person he had wanted to see again.

"M-Matt...?" she stammered as her eyes finally settled on him.

Her name was Kendall Logan, but she also operated under the pseudonym 'Torrent'. She was the daughter of the X-Men Wolverine and Storm and had inherited both her father's mutant healing factor and her mother's ability to manipulate the weather. Around her neck she wore a lightning-shaped necklace, one which Firefly had made for her himself; she was his best and only friend... and the love of his life.

"Is that blood?"

Firefly looked down at his body. His costume, which had been ripped apart during his transformation into the red 'Savage' persona, was again intact - but covered with the dripping blood of the fallen Sub-Mariner. Namor himself still lay, unmoving, at Firefly's feet.

"Oh my god! A body!" Kendall covered her mouth with one hand and let her eyes moved around the rest of the room. She saw the broken furniture, the tattered papers, the burnt door. "What happened here?"

Finally, her eyes found Nachtgleiskette, only half-hidden by the shadows in the corner of the room.

"M-Mr. Wagner?" she asked.

Mr. Wagner? Firefly thought. Of course! The others called him Nightcrawler! With the black skin, I never realised - they meant Mr. Wagner!

"Kendall, it's not what you - " Firefly tried to explain.

"CJ!" Kendall called. "Balder!"

Firefly heard more pounding feet coming down the corridor in response to Kendall's summons. Two more 'friends' - Clint Barton Jr., or 'CJ', and Balder Blake - both super-strong, both unlikely to take kindly to a blood-soaked, recently re-appeared form in their smashed and broken classroom. Firefly took a step closer to Kendall, but froze as CJ's green face peered through the open doorway.

"Matthew, m'man!" he exclaimed loudly. "You're okay! Your mom and dad were - " He saw the Sub-Mariner's body, the damage to the room. " - freakin'... out..." He took a deep breath. "What happened?"

"I... I..." Firefly groped for the words that would save him, but he realised there were none. He had killed the Sub-Mariner. He didn't mean to, but his hands - his pale, frail hands - were the ones that had taken the life of another man... a hero. He felt himself begin to panic and, as before*, his muscles began to stretch and grow beneath his costume.

[ * - in EXILES #10 - Adrian ]

"Calm yourselves, children."

Nachtgleiskette stepped completely free of the darkness in the corner of the room and positioned himself between Firefly and the others.

"Matthew is not responsible for this," he said. "I killed the Sub-Mariner."

CJ raised one thick green eyebrow.

"You... what?" he asked.

Nachtgleiskette turned slightly and gestured at Namor's fallen form.

"The Sub-Mariner," he said. "I killed him."

"Mr. Wagner!" Kendall gasped. "How could you...?"

"Yeah, 'cause your dad never killed anybody," CJ muttered. "Uh, I don't want to sound like I doubt you, man-who-is-the-wrong-colour-to-be-Mr-Wagner... but how could you possibly have killed the Sub-Mariner, when he never came to Battleworld with our parents?"

Nachtgleiskette frowned.

"Firefly?" he said. "Perhaps you had best explain this."

---

"Aleta..."

Aleta grunted in her sleep, and Joseph smiled. He looked down at her naked body lying prostrate against his own uncovered torso. Their tight-fitting costumes lay discarded at the foot of the bed, and despite being otherwise unaware of the world around her, Aleta's arms were still tightly wrapped around Joseph.

"Aleta," he said again, more loudly. "It is morning. We need to wake up."

Aleta snapped her body upright and her eyes shot open. "Morning? Already?"

"Yes," Joseph smiled. "Are... you alright?"

Aleta nodded slowly.

"We must dress quickly, find out where we are, and - "

Joseph put a finger to his lips and urged her to be quiet.

"I tried to tell you last night," he said. "I know where we are. I recognise it from the X-Men's files. This is Battleworld."

"Battleworld?" Aleta asked. She was already standing and pulling on her tight red uniform.

Joseph nodded.

"It was several years ago - at least, several years before my abduction from the X-Men's mansion to become a part of this group," he explained. "The world's heroes, and many villains, were abducted from the Earth and brought to this world, an amalgam of dozens of other worlds in our galaxy. Once here, they were forced to battle one another, with a fantastic boon offered to the last person standing."

"That's terrible!" Aleta gasped. "Who would do such a thing?"

"He was called the Beyonder."

Aleta froze.

"The... Beyonder?"

Joseph nodded again.

"Yes. Does that name mean something to you?" he asked.

Aleta shook her head, but her cheeks turned dark red. She had encountered the Beyonder before; in fact, her last battle before joining the Exiles was against his near-omnipotent form*. Abducted at the end of that battle, she had no idea when, if, or how the Beyonder was defeated - for all she knew, he had killed her fellow Guardians; she was sure that he at least intended to kill her, too.

[ * - in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #75 - Also Adrian ]

Of course! she thought. The Beyonder must be behind all this! He could have easily spirited me away during our fight - and the Punishers had already used his power to navigate between alternate realities. It all makes sense... and if I'm right, it means he is also the voice in my -

Aleta's thoughts were disturbed by the sudden opening of the door to the small shelter she and Joseph occupied. A moment later, three people entered - the Mysterious Stranger, clad in black and dark-red robes; Scamp, in a very tight red-and-blue bodysuit similar to Aleta's; and Ph-Eros... wearing the red-and-black-striped costume Aleta recognised as belonging to the Wild Pack leader, Battlestar**.

[ ** - Ph-Eros stole Battlestar's costume and weapon after defeating him in #10 - Adrian ]

"It seems I am the odd one out," Joseph said.

"Why?" Ph-Eros asked. "Because you are not wearing red, or because you are not wearing anything?"

Joseph blushed.

"There we go!"

"Shut up, Ph-Eros," Scamp snapped.

"I told you, babe - the name's Battlestar now," Ph-Eros replied.

Scamp rolled her eyes.

"I told you I don't care what you call yourself," Scamp stared at Aleta.

Ph-Eros pouted.

"If you three are here - and I must say, I'm surprised to see you willingly joining us, Stranger - we are only missing Firefly. Have you seen him?" Aleta asked.

Ph-Eros and Scamp shook their heads.

"If Firefly arrived on this world with us, I can easily find him - as I found the rest of you," the Mysterious Stranger said calmly. He raised his left hand and touched his fingertips to his temple. His eyelids shot wide open and a bright yellow light filled the whites of his eyes. "They are nearby. Only a few minutes walk away, in what appears to be a school - and we should leave now."

"Why?" Aleta asked.

"This house's usual residents are about to return."

The Mysterious Stranger lifted both arms above his head. Dark purple, blue and black tendrils of energy spilled from his hands and surrounded the gathered Exiles, lifting them into the air. Their bodies slowly dissolved into nothingness.

The sensation seemed familiar to all of them, very much like the sensation of teleporting they had become so used to - only, with the Mysterious Stranger guiding the process, it all seemed much more natural, more safe. After a moment, their bodies began to reform in a small, cramped and crowded classroom - and a few feet away they could see their friend Firefly, and their not-so-welcome follower, Nachtgleiskette.

We should have the Stranger teleport us more often, Aleta thought. He even managed to get Joseph's costume back on!

"Guys - those other kids don't look like they're too happy with Firefly," Ph-Eros said.

He was right. Five children stood around Firefly and Nachtgleiskette, angrily demanding answers. It was a moment before the newly-arrived Exiles could make sense of their loud jabbering - one-by-one they saw the broken, lifeless body on the floor, the blood on Firefly's uniform, the growing muscles... the red skin...

They turned to face the Stranger. He was still with them.

"So Firefly is Savage now?" Ph-Eros asked. "Did you guys all know this already?"

Firefly turned suddenly, and the sight of his friends proved to be too much for him. His costume again ripped apart as he grew, larger and larger, stronger and stronger, angrier and angrier.

"Firefly!" Aleta shouted. "Calm - "

"Not Firefly!" Firefly snarled. "BRUTE!"

I let him go fight Savage, Ph-Eros thought. This is my fault. I need to -

Aleta stepped forward.

"Calm down, Firefly," she said firmly.

One of the other children - a boy wearing a sleeveless black shirt, with long blonde hair falling over his shoulders - pushed his way to the front of his group.

"And who art thou?" he asked.

"My name is Aleta," Aleta replied. "This is our... friend... Firefly."

"Thy friend?" the boy repeated. He looked at the other children, then back at Aleta. "That is impossible. Matthew Storm is our friend."

Aleta frowned.

"We'll fight over who gets to take him home later," she said. "Right now, we have to stop his transformation. Ph-Eros?"

"Battlestar," Ph-Eros said.

"Battlestar?"

Ph-Eros took a step forward and removed the glove on his left hand. As Brute scanned the crowd, looking for an obvious threat, Ph-Eros carefull stepped up beside him and placed his hand, palm down, on the monster's bulging bicep. He whispered words no-one else could hear and suddenly, Brute sat, cross-legged, in the centre of the room - only a few centimeters from Namor's body.

"Stranger?"

The Mysterious Stranger glanced at Brute and shook his head.

"I am sorry, Aleta, but I will not help you," he said calmly.

"That's fine," Aleta replied. "If you can't - "

"It is not that I cannot help," the Stranger interrupted. "I will not."

Here we go... Aleta thought.

"Fine," she snapped. "Kids? Has Firefly ever done this before?"

All five children shook their heads vigorously.

"Right, didn't think so," she turned to Nachtgleiskette. "Nachtglei - "

Nachtgleiskette did not wait for her to finish. He stepped beside Brute, placed his hands on the red-skinned behemoth's shoulders and concentrated. Black mist swirled around them and, in an instant, they vanished - leaving only the sulfurous, burning smell of brimstone in their wake.

Aleta took a deep breath. She knew what was coming.

"What have you done with Matt?"

Kendall Logan was hovering a few feet off the ground, her eyes lit with silver sparks, golden lightning manifesting around the clenched fists at her sides.

"Yeah! That's our friend you just disappeared with," CJ interrupted. "We may not know what's going on, but we're not about to let some new - "

"Calm down, CJ."

Another girl stepped forward. She wore a long green cloak with white trim, had long blonde hair, and carried something immediately familiar to both Aleta and Joseph.

"Vance's shield!" Aleta gasped.

"Captain America's shield," Joseph said.

"That's right," the girl said. "My name is Sarah, but my friends call me Crusader." She turned to the dark-skinned girl. "Settle down, Kendall. I think we're good."

"How did you get that shield?" Aleta asked.

"It belonged to my father - Captain America. My mother made sure it was given to me when he died."

Joseph shook his head.

"Something is wrong," he said. "Captain America did not die on Battleworld. He returned after the Beyonder was defeated."

CJ laughed.

"I don't know what you've been smoking, bud, but no-one went home after this war. It's been twenty-three years since ol' Doc Doom beat the Beyonder, and our parents put the beat down on Doom, and we're all still here."

"Your parents?" Joseph asked.

Crusader nodded.

"The beau with the blonde hair over there is Balder, son of Thor and the Enchantress. Kendall is the daughter of Storm and Wolverine. CJ's parents are Hawkeye and the She-Hulk - "

"I sure hope those names mean something to you," Ph-Eros whispered to Aleta.

" - and Matt's - Firefly's - parents are the Wasp and the Human Torch."

CJ shook his head.

"Great, Sarah - tell the strangers our secrets. Such a wise move."

"We can trust them, CJ," Crusader replied. "I have a feeling."

"A feeling?" CJ laughed. "I know Cap never had that power, and if Rogue did, she sure kept it a secret!"

"Rogue?" The question seemed to burst out of Scamp as though she had been holding it in for years. "Your mother is... Rogue? Of the X-Men?"

Crusader smiled. "Yes."

Scamp turned pale.

"That's not possible! You're lying!"

Crusader scowled.

"I think you need to - "

"I don't 'need' to do anything!" Scamp shouted. "You are not Rogue's daughter! You can't be! You just... can't."

Scamp fell to her knees and began to sob quietly.

"Crusader, kids..." Aleta began. "I think we need to meet your parents."

---

It took almost an hour for the children of Battleworld to assemble their parents; and another half an hour for Scamp to stop crying and compose herself. Finally, they walked in to the same house that had sheltered Joseph and Aleta the night before - a house full of heroes, few of whom were recognised by any of the Exiles.

The primary exception being Rogue.

Scamp froze as her eyes settled on the green-and-white cloaked form standing in the corner. Ph-Eros stood behind Scamp as she watched the older woman. He allowed his gaze to follow her own, to take in her costume, her hair.

"Oh my - Rogue's your moth - "

Ph-Eros did not get to finish his sentence as, once again, the Exiles found themselves surrounded by the blue, mist-like energy that always accompanied their inter-dimensional teleportation and they slowly disappeared.

---

NEXT ISSUE: The Exiles find themselves in a new, even more unfamiliar world - and the clock is ticking! It's time for a Countdown!

IN WHAT IF...? #158: Brutal Planet concludes! It's the Secret Warriors vs. the Belligerent Brute!

IN EXILES DX #2: Enter - the Worldwalkers! Who are they, what is their agenda, and what is their deadly connection to the Exiles?