Setting: The 'Normal' Marvel Timeline
"Fan out! Find him! I want him taken alive!"
"Why the hurry , my dear Forge?" drawled Mystique.
"Creed is X-factor's responsibility. We have to locate and recapture him before he hurts anyone."
Forge's communicator crackled to life. "Got his scent. Heading towards Street 12, the derelict buildings make pretty good hiding places."
Forge tapped his communicator. "Got it, Wildchild. X-factor, converge at Street 12. Scramble! Scramble!" He turned to Mystique. "Don't try any tricks."
A look of mock horror crossed Mystique's face. "I wouldn't dare! No siree, oh most high and mighty, all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipotent Forgie!"
His pursuers were everywhere. He could smell them. Wildchild and Shard were right behind him. The Multiple Man flanked his right. Forge and Mystique approached from the left while Polaris searched for him from the skies.
They were closing in on him. There was no way he could escape them. He knew that it was only a matter of time before they caught up with him, yet he kept running, instinctively darting from one shadow to the next. He might not be able to escape them today, but that would not stop him from helping a few of them along the road to the afterlife.
He turned into an alley. A gaping black hole appeared at the far end of the alley. A bald grey skinned man wearing a hideous bright purple, bright blue, and bright yellow spandex suit tumbled out and became an ugly discoloured splotch on the ground.
Interesting...a shapeshifter...
Moments later, a girl stepped nimbly out from the hole. She had lavender skin, magenta hair and strange purple marks on her face. She wore a light-green dress with a pair of matching boots. A quiver was slung across her back. She did not, however, carry a bow. The hole diminished in size and disappeared altogether.
Creed sniffed and smiled. They reeked of death. He liked that. Afraid that they might spot him, he crouched further into the shadows, determined to stay out of sight. They appeared to be in the middle of an argument.
BLINK!
"Splat! Oof! Get offta me! You're heavy!"
A second figure emerged from the gaping black hole.
"Shut up, Morph. I ain't even stepping on your fingers."
"Ooohhh! Really? See, my fingers ARE crushed! Wahhh!!!"
"Stop that! Mister Creed sent us here for a reason..."
"Correction. He sent you here for a reason. Me? I just got dragged into it because I happened to be holding onto you. I guess that officially makes me your guardian. Now is that a reason to celebrate or what? Pop the champagne! Break out the cards! By the way, where is here?"
"I said STOP THAT!"
"Uh...uh...uh...temper, temper. Didn't Mister Creed teach you never to shout at adults? Bet he only teaches you how to growl...Grrr..."
Blink backhanded Morph.
"Ouch! That hurt! What did you do that for?"
"I warned you..."
"Ok ok, kids nowadays, no respect for their elders," Morph mumbled.
"Morph?"
"Yah? Finally realised that you cannot possibly live without my bubbly patter, huh? I knew you'd see things my way...we were in the middle of a serious discussion about whether Creed was the best role model..."
Blink shot him a dangerous look. He quiet down and put on a hang-dog look.
"You're not injured. The trip through the portal must have had something to do with that."
"Or...it could be the mystical journey through the crystal, through time, through space and through alternate realities. To heck with it, all that matters is that I'm..."
"There he is! Madroxes, GET HIM!"
Blink and Morph swirled round.
The Madri! They're after...Mister Creed? Blink spun into action at once, drawing a handful of spikes from her quiver, she sent them flying at the Madri in one fluid move. The spikes flew true, focusing her teleportational powers, directing their time displacing properties at the Madri. In an instant, not one of the Madri was left standing.
Blink then teleported herself and a protesting Morph to Creed.
BLINK!
Creed watched in amazement as a black disc appeared directly in front of him. A lavender skinned hand shot out and grabbed him. He disappeared.
By the time X-factor arrived, all they found was an unconscious Jamie Madrox. There was no sign of Creed.
End of Part 1