X-Factor (5th series) #4

Factor House, where Alex Summers a.k.a. Havok, leader of X-Factor, is conducting a meeting with several of his teammates – Joanna Cargill a.k.a. Frenzy, St. John Allerdyce a.k.a. Pyro, Granny Smite and Dr. Cecilia Reyes. Havok has a few notes from management – firstly that Xyber is going to be out of action for a while, so a temporary replacement is being brought in – a teleportation mutant. 'God, what I'd give to be a teleportation mutant' Frenzy declares, to which Pyro adds 'Right! I'd bail on ya losers the moment things went sideways!' Havok turns to Cecilia and informs her that ClikClok want her to start using a codename – preferably something that “slaps” with the 18-25s. 'They want me to change my name?' Cecilia responds, shocked. 'Well, at least they didn't make ya get a face-tattoo removal!' Pyro exclaims, pointing to his bandaged face. 'I'll relay your feedback' Havok assures him, before informing everyone that they have a mission – to rescue some scientists.

'That sounds perfect. After last week, I could really use a softball mission' Frenzy responds, before asking where the scientists are. 'The center of the Earth' Havok reveals. 'Crap in a hat' Frenzy mutters, before Havok adjourns the meeting. The team exit the conference room and wak down a corridor, where Cecilia is busy on her phone. Havok tells the team that every second counts, and lives are at stake. 'This is why you joined X-Factor!' he reminds them. 'Actually, I joined X-Factor to get over a relationship' Cecilia responds, and Pyro reveals that he joined to promote his romance novels. Cecilia looks down at her phone, where she has a message from Oskar, indicating that he really needs to tell her something.

Frenzy asks where the loaner mutant is, and Havok reports that they will meet the team at the launch site. Havok then turns to Granny, and putting his hands on her shoulders, informs her that he wants her to sit this one out, as it is too dangerous. 'I welcome death!' Granny smiles. Havok tells her that he appreciates her positive attitude, but that they are going deep beneath the surface of the Earth. 'So what if we get buried down there... and you can't die?' Havok asks. Granny frowns, and realizes that she hadn't considered that possibility.

Soon, X-Factor's jet descends at the Alamogordo Superbore, in New Mexico. A woman in a white lab coat is waiting for the team and she introduces herself as Dr. Lucy Grieves. She explains that she is in charge of the Ori, the lost science vessel. Dr. Grieves looks pained as she reports that there isn't nearly enough time to prepare Havok's crew for a mission of this complexity, and asks everyone to pay attention. 'As you may know, the Earth's mantle is not completely sound. There are subterranean caverns – pockets hollowed out by ancient flows of magma' she states, before motioning to a strange large structure called the Nematode. Dr. Grieves reveals that they sent a team of two scientists down the superbore toward the Earth's core, but they believe their vessel was lost in one of the caverns, but luckily, they have a backup vessel with which to retrieve them. 'Any questions?' she asks.

Havok asks if there will be decent lightning in the caverns. 'Decent... what?' the doctor responds. 'It's just that, you know. We're supposed to make ClikClok videos of our mission. It's part of our job' Havok explains. 'Wow. Just wow. You're determined to die horribly, aren't you?' the doctor asks. She then waves at X-Factor and thanks them for their service, adding that their other crew member is already on board. The team begins climbing the staircase to the top of the Nematode, as Frenzy decides that they should only send in teleportation mutants. 'Whoever it is, I hope he can teleport others, too' Pyro mutters, while Cecilia tells her teammates that she is primarily looking forward to the lack of cellphone service.

But, as Cecilia enters the Nematode, she is shocked: 'OKSAR?' she exclaims. 'Hi, Cecilia' a man with brown hair and wearing an X-Factor costume, with a green scarf around his neck, waves, sheepishly. 'This... is sort of what I needed to talk to you about' Oskar explains. The hatch slams behind the team, as Cecilia turns around and bangs her fists on it: 'Wait! I've decided to take a personal day -' she exclaims, but Havok just tells her to sit down, as they are about to drop – and a moment later, the large Nematode is shunted down into the Earth.

Pyro looks at Frenzy and asks her 'What's with the cold war over there?' to which Frenzy, watching Cecilia and Oskar with interest, tells Pyro that she is pretty sure Oksar is her ex-boyfriend. Oskar leans towards Cecilia and tells her that he can explain, but Cecilia has pulled her hood over her head so she doesn't have to look at Oskar, and folds her arms across  her chest. Calling Oskar “Wintergeist” she tells him to save it. 'Wintergeist? I'd kill to have a codename like that' Pyro, who still has the bandages across his face, tells Frenzy. Cecilia pulls her hood back and angrily tells Wintergeist that he can explain why he ghosted her, and why everyone at her favorite kombucha bar has seen her sobbing, and why he never introduced her to his parents or friends. 'Maybe a hundred miles below the surface of the Earth is far away enough that you're willing to be seen with me!' she declares. Oskar tells Cecilia that it isn't like that, that it never was. Pyro then asks Frenzy if she thinks he can have the codename after Cecilia kills Oskar.

The Nematode continues to surge downwards, when suddenly, Havok shouts 'STOP STOP STOP!' as he tries to pull on the brakes. 'What the -?' Cecilia begins, while Pyro starts to scream. 'You okay, Mariah Carey?' Frenzy jokes. 'What the bloomin' onion was that?' Pyro asks, before Cecilia reports that they have stopped. 'I think I know where the Ori derailed' Havok announces, as the Nematode perches on the edge of a large crater beneath the track it runs along. The team begins to prepare themselves for what's out in the tunnels, as Havok reminds them that they don't know what they are dealing with here. He informs Pyro and Frenzy that the are with him. He instructs Cecilia to set up a medical bay, and tells Oskar to stay with Cecilia. 'Oh, well, that's just dumplings' Cecilia scowls. Havok puts a hand on Wintergeist's shoulder and tells him that they are out of communications range, so if anything happens to the Nematode, he needs to teleport to the surface. 'We'll be back before the oxygen runs out' Havok adds as he moves down a ladder. 'Oxygen?' Pyro asks, confused.

'Nothing reminds you of how little this world wants us here quite like going deep underground. It's thousands of degrees centigrade. There's no breathable air. No water. In a world this hostile to your survival, everything you need – you'd better bring with you' Havok thinks to himself as the atmosphere control bomb drops out of the Nematode, down into the cavern beneath the broken tracks. The orb lands within the cavern, then dissolves, releasing a blue gas. 'Did it work?' Frenzy asks as she climbs down the ladder into the cavern, following Pyro and Havok, who, standing nearby some lava within the cavern, points out that they are still alive. 'Oxygen, nice!' Pyro calls out as he fires a burst of flame upwards. 'Looks like you came in handy after all' Frenzy smirks, to which Pyro asks her if that is a backhanded compliment. 'If I die, please don't make any puns about it'. Havok notes that there is no sign of the Ori in the parts of the cavern illuminated by lava flow, so the team has to look elsewhere. Havok realizes that this raises another question. 'Ya seem worried, boss' Pyro notes. 'I am' Havok frowns, glancing sideways. 'If the Ori came down here... then where is it?' he asks, motioning around the barren cavern.

Back in the Nematode, Cecilia sits on a med-bay bed, while Wintergeist tells her that he was hoping she would talk to him. 'If I could stop you. I would have done it by now' Cecilia responds. 'I made a terrible mistake!' Wintergeist declares. 'You sure did, buster!' Cecilia snaps, to which Wintergeist explains that even before he met Cecilia he made a series of terrible mistakes. He hands his head and remarks that he knows they don't give out medals for doing the right thing eventually, but that is what he is trying to do. He sits next to Cecilia and takes one of her hands, admitting that it is true that he never introduced her to his family and friends, and that he denied even having a girlfriend, and that he disappeared without a word – but he did it for a reason. 'A reason I couldn't tell you, because if I did... I knew I'd lose you forever' Wintergeist explains, before informing Cecilia that after the fall of Krakoa, he was aimless, and looking for a place to belong – but instead, one found him.

(Months earlier)

Wintergeist walks alongside Laynia Petrovna a.k.a. Darkstar, who welcomes him to Kunashir Island. Walking past two nuclear reactors, the once heroic Darkstar tells Wintergeist that she will give him a vision of the future. Darkstar looks up to the sky as she declares that Charles Xavier thought they could live in peace with the human world, while Magneto thought they could live separate from it – but both were wrong. 'There is only one way for our kind of live in peace with the human world. And that is to rule it!' Darkstar exclaims. Wintergeist points out that Darkstar isn't ruling them – in fact, she is going their fighting for them. 'Human nation-states were creatred for the very purpose of waging wars and destroying each other' Darkstar responds, to which Wintergeist knows he has made a deal with the devil – but wonders what else he could do when the devil is the only one hiring? 'If we want into their world... that's the front door!' Darkstar adds, throwing her arms into the air as she walks away from Wintergeist.

Working for X-Term, Wintergeist was forced to kill people. He is given a bomb and told by Darkstar that his target is a military base, and that the explosive is set to three seconds – all he has to do is teleport in, activate the timer and teleport out. But Wintergeist knows that no matter how loyal one is, how indispensable one imagines themselves being... you can never really work for the devil. You're simply there to be consumed by him. Teleporting into the military base, a green teleport signature glowing around him, Wintergeist looks shocked as he holds up the timer – and sees that the military base is full of children. Children armed with machine guns. But still children.

(Present)

Wintergeist looks forlorn as he tells Cecilia that he was asked to do something that even he was unwilling to do – and that was the day he left. 'But no one's allowed to quiet X-Term. Three days later, my parents were murdered' he reveals, explaining that he knew if X-Term couldn't find him, they would go after anyone he loved – which is why he couldn't tell anyone about the two of them. 'Because I love you' Wintergeist adds, as he looks up at the shocked Cecilia, who has been listening intently to Oskar's shocking story.

Back in the cavern, 'Hey, boss! Found the Ori!' Frenzy shouts as she and Pyro find a piece of the Ori vessel. 'It's smaller than I imagined' Pyro remarks. Havok looks up, shocked at what he sees. He knows that an automated drill team had laid tracks designed to allow the Ori to traverse these pockets and caverns – but the reason the Ori had derailed is because these creatures had eaten the tracks. Illuminated by a surge of flame courtesy of Pyro, enormous spider-like creatures loom above X-Factor, and suddenly, 'Watch out! They feed on metal!' a voice calls out – it's one of the missing scientists. Two of whom can be seen cowering nearby. Havok realizes that the reason they couldn't find the Ori, was because the spiders had eaten it.

In the Nematode, Wintergeist explains to Cecilia that he didn't tell anyone about the two of them because he wanted to protect her. 'And I didn't tell you... because it would mean telling you about the things I'd done' he adds. Cecilia tells Oskar that she understands, but points out that should have been her choice. 'I know. Stupid as I was... I imagined that if I joined X-Factor maybe we could start off. I thought that maybe here... we would be safe' he adds, unaware that outside the Nematode, several giant spiders scuttle their way closer to the metal vessel.

Frenzy uses her enhanced strength to knock back one of the giant spiders, while Pyro shouts 'How about a little fire, scarecrow!' in an attempt to keep the creatures at bay. 'That doesn't even make sense' Frenzy points out, too which Pyro tells her that he is going with it anyway. 'These are extremophiles! They live in lava! You're not going to hurt them with fire!' one of the scientists calls out. Havok uses his comm-link to contact the Nematode, asking them to respond – but he gets nothing.

'If you tell me to leave and never come back, that's what I'll do. But before I go, I just wanted to know... if you still love me' Oskar asks, dejected. 'Cecilia tells him that she does still love him – but isn't sure she can trust him. 'Come in, dammit!' Havok's voice can be heard on the comm-link, which Wintergeist responds to, apologizing, he explains that he was distracted. Havok quickly tells Wintergeist and Cecilia that there are creatures in the cavern, and that they are attracted to reflective surfaces and eat metal. 'Keep them away from the Nematode, or we're all dead!' As if on cue, one of the spiders bits its way through the side of the Nematode, and knocks Cecilia and Wintergeist backwards. When it lashes out with large claws, Wintergeist pulls Cecilia to safety, and Cecilia throws up her force-field to prevent them both from being harmed by the creatures, but she isn't sure how much her force-field can take, and suggests to Oskar that he teleport to the surface, otherwise they're dead.

'I'm not abandoning you again, C!' Wintergeist responds as he teleports out into the cavern, his green teleport signature glowing around him as he lands on a small piece of earth surrounded by lava. 'Come and get me, weird underground spiders!' he shouts, which seems to get the attention of those spiders who have surrounded Cecilia. 'What are you doing?' Cecilia asks as the spiders turn their attention to Wintergeist. 'Just a little closer!' Wintergeist exclaims, when suddenly, one of the giant spiders leaps up out of the lava behind him. 'Oskar!' Cecilia screams as she rushes from the Nematode. 'I got this!' Havok tells her as he releases a surge of plasma energy, knocking the giant spiders backwards. 'Kid's in bad shape!' Frenzy declares as she grabs Wintergeist.

'Atmosphere control bomb is wearing out. We need to get on board before we're all dead!' Havok exclaims as he continues to release a plasma surge at the creatures. Frenzy picks Wintergeist up and points out that the temperature is over a thousand degrees, so they are never going to make it with a gaping hole in the ship. Havok asks Pyro if he can channel his flame into a welding arc, to which Pyro responds 'Sure, boss. Why?'

A few moments later, the remaining panel of the Ori has been welded to the Nematode, which is now on its way back up through the tunnel. For a while, it seemed like they were dead and buried – which sounds so final. But Havok, who was recently both, he knows that it isn't final, not when so much of the world is dead in plain sight. Havok looks at his ClikClok account, which has disappointed comments about how no one has died on this mission. Cecilia is crouched beside Wintergeist, who wakes and asks 'Is that you, Florence Nightengale?' to which Cecilia tells him to shut up, before they kiss, and Havok thinks to himself that so much of what they bury, was actually never dead.