The X-Writers Present:
X-Factor #123

Storyteller: Jon Bartley
Edited by Andrew Wheeler

"Vitalogy"

**** DISCLAIMER: X-Men, X-Factor and all related characters are copyright
to Marvel Comics. The X-Writers is a non-profit group of e-mail writers. No
harm is intended. These characters have been used without the permission of
Marvel Comics.
This is intended for mature readers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

        Shard, the holographic member of X-Factor, stands in the doorway of
Wild Child, Kyle Gibney's, room wearing herself as usual. She leans up
against the frame of the door and smiles.
        "And why am I doing this again...?" she asks, pulling her smile
into full.
        "$15,000, Shard. Just stand there. Now... I'm going to throw a few
things at you and they will pass through you." Wild Child informs stepping
a few feet back with his small home video camera stapled to his left hand.
        "And this will make your friend, Robert, laugh?"
        "No... He's not my friend. And don't call him Robert. His name is
Bob Saget."
        "I don't understand how this makes him laugh and gets us $15,000
dollars."
        "He hosts this show where people send in their home videos of
family and friends doing funny things. Or at least amazing. The most
funniest or amazing video sent in gets $15,000. The viewers of this show
decide. Okay. Now... Just stand there." Wild Child points his camera toward
Shard and steps back even more.
        Suddenly, her image starts to break up and Forge, the leader of
X-Factor, passes through the area where her image was. Forge stops where he
stands. "Hmmm? Oh... Sorry, Shard. I didn't see you."
        "Thanks... Thanks, a lot." she says, reforming her image behind him.
        "YES! YES!" Wild Child lets out a series of cries. "ALRIGHT! I got!
I can't believe I got it!"
        "What?" Forge and Shard say in unison.
        "Forge... You passed right through her.. The effect was great and I
got it right here! Right on tape!"
        "Well, that's great. Save it for Friday Night Videos... Wild
Child... A train crashed in South Carolina en route to Virginia to
deliver a scarce supply of adamantium. The package belonged to me. It was
being carried by a young boy named Jason Waters. Luckily, rescue crews
rescued all the passengers.
        "The engineer of the train knew about the package and, when five
terrorists attempted to take over the train, it's possible he lost control
of it. All passengers *are* okay, as I said, but the terrorists' bodies have
not been found. They were believed to be mutants and --"
        "-- and where there's mutants, there's a good chance they aren't
dead. I hear ya. I'll get all the information of it when I get to the site.
Hey, Shard -- want to come with me?"
        "Sure!" she chirps
        "No, she can't," Forge starts, "she has a phone call. My office."
        "Phone call? Who?"
        "Go see..." he said it with a slight smile.

* * * * *

        It only took Shard a few seconds to get to Forge's office. Ever
since he updated her programming, she could teleport by 'jumping' her
holo-field off of different electrical sources. Even if there was a small
plug outlet, she was able to teleport there. There was a slight mix-up in
reforming after teleporting, but it wasn't visible to the naked eye and
fixed itself.
        Shard opened her eyes to find herself in Forge's office. The sun's
pouring shine fell onto the carpeted floor from the back window. There was
a wonderful view from that window and she gazed for only a minute. Shard
walked around his desk and reached for the phone. It was a black cordless
phone. She picked up and pressed the TALK button. "Hello?" There was
only a dial tone. "Heeeeeeeello!"
        "Put the phone down. There is no caller, but if Forge told you who
was here, I doubt you would've come in such a hurry." A voice called from
Forge's couch. A tall, dark, muscular man sat on the edge of the couch. He
wore a uniform similar to Shard's and carried a plasma rifle on his back.
His name is Bishop.
        Shard put the phone down and stared forward. "Bish... Bish..."
        "...op. ...op. Bishop. I thought it was about time we saw each
other.. Again... Forge tells me you have... "grown"."
        "Bish... Bishop." Shard closed her eyes. "Bishop... Bishop..."
Shard touched her holographic temple. "
        "Shard... What's wrong?"
        She turns her back to Bishop. "Wait..." Shard staggered over behind
Forge's desk and pulled out all of the plugs in the outlet. "Ahhh... Sorry
about that. I 'teleported' here by using the electrical outlet. I wasn't
all in tact and it just hit me."
        Shard's eyes were still closed. She tried to imagine her brother,
Bishop, in a different place at a different time. She couldn't. Bishop
stood ten feet in front of her and it was different. It's just like when
you've been singing in the kitchen for ten minutes and you turn around to
see your younger or older brother or sister standing at the frame of the
door laughing silently. And you're too proud to cry or blush. You can't run
away.
        "Shard?"
        "I don't like looking at you. Now." Yes, she does.
        "Then don't..."

* * * * *

        Kyle Gibney walked into the lounging room in Falls Edge. He saw one
person in the room. And her name was Mystique. Raven Darkholme, sometimes.
Raven was lying in front of the large television set, watching old re-runs
of "Seinfeld." She laid there, wearing only a robe. And as Kyle neared her,
he began to speculate how little clothing she was wearing underneath the
blue robe if any. He began a silent investigation into that.
        Kyle first noticed her feet, a fine place to start. Her toes looked
moist. That would indicate she just got out of the shower or she just has
sweaty feet. Physical data of her feet have now been taken in. To rule out
the fact it is sweat, the only other data to be collected is smell. Kyle
took in a deep breath. It didn't disturb her.
        A very floral smell enters Kyle's nose. The only conclusion one
could reach by this is that she either has taken a shower or applied some
kind of lotion to her feet. Now... Raven doesn't strike Kyle as the kind to
apply lotion.
        With Raven's past, no smell would be more logical. Kyle moves up
her body. The straps on her robe are fastened very tight, convincing Kyle
without a shadow of a doubt she has taken a shower. If she had any clothes
on underneath, she wouldn't have fastened it so tight. Raven's hair is dry,
but no previous information could be ruled out by that. Finally, he came to
the conclusion...
        "Raven... Put some clothes on."
        "No."
        "Yes, we have to go to South Carolina to round up some terrorists."
        "You like me or something? That's ironic."
        "What is?"
        "Look who you're asking to "round up" terrorists." Raven stood up
and tossed her robe off. Kyle only got a glimpse of her birthday suit
before Raven changed her shape, morphing what seemed to be her semi-nude
form into her trademark costume. "Fooled ya."
        "What?"
        "Forge told me about the mission. I had my costume on all the time.
I just wanted to see what kind of gentleman you are. Let's go..."

* * * * *

        Inside Forge's office, Shard covers her eyes with her hands as her
brother, Bishop, paces back in forth in the office. Every second or two, he
looks back at her.
        Bishop noticed that only her fingertips were placed over her eyes.
In the few times he'd seen her cover her eyes, she only covered them with
her fingertips. He was better than he thought. "Shard, give me your hand."
        "I liked to talk about you." But not now, right?
        "You don't now?"
        "No, you should have just called."
        "Sorry to have snuck up on you like that. You're right. I should
have called. I was scared to see you again after Forge told me about the
small developments you've made. But, the way things are going in this world,
I can't afford to be scared. I suggest you open your eyes and look at me."
        "M-aaaaybe.. Maybe not."
        Bishop sighs. "Well... I didn't want to do this, but Forge says I
can."
        "What? What are you going to do? And I wouldn't listen to Forge too
much if I were you."
        "Well... Just sit back with your hands over your eyes and you'll
see." Bishop pulled out his plasma rifle from it's holster resting on his
back. He set the trigger to auto-fire, which made a high-pitched noise. He
pressed the barrels to his belly and pressed in hard.
        "What's that noise?"
        "You'll see." Suddenly, the rifle shoots an entire magazine,
twenty-four bolts, into Bishop's belly. The pain was minor due to Bishop's
ability to absorb energy blasts. That ability absorbs the energy, but he's
not invulnerable. A pink outer shell of energy surrounds Bishop and pumps
through his hands. "Shard? You gonna open your eyes or are you still gonna
be stubborn?"
        "I don't know... What was that sound?"
        Bishop points his palms directly at Shard and throws a great deal
of the energy he's absorbed into himself at her stomach. She bolts
backwards landing on her ass.
        "What the *HELL*?!"
        "I hurt you?"
        "Not much. What did you do that?"
        "Were you going to open eyes?"
        "Uh... You know something? You look reeeeeeaaaalll old."
        Bishop bends down. "Okay... Listen -- see me? I'm your bro. You're
my sis. Okay? It's what's in the soul that makes the person. And I know for
a fact that you are my sister. I'm about the only one that would know.
Okay? You got that?"
        "Yeah... I got it."
        "Now, get on your feet and tell me all about yourself."
        "Okay. But you didn't have to do that."
        "It was just a brotherly love nip."

* * * * *

        Wild Child walks along mangled wreckage alongside a set of train
tracks. Every passenger has been safely rescued. Most of the rescue workers
have gone home. Now it's up to government workers to clean up the mess and
X-Factor members, Wild Child and Mystique to make sure that the terrorists
that were the main cause of this wreck are dead.
        Wild Child signals for Mystique to come down to the wreckage that
sits in a foul-smelling ditch from the tracks that are quietly sitting
where they should. "Raven... You checked the second car?"
        "Not yet. From what I can gather about the circumstances
surrounding the few minutes before the wreck, there's a good chance that's
where their bodies are."
        "Got a gun?"
        Raven nods. She slides down into the ditch. The smells hits her
first. She waves her hand in front of her nose. "Y'know, if a dog was to
run down here and take a big shit, it would be like a breath of fresh air."
        "Look who you're telling..."
        Raven pulls back a sheet of mangled metal and flips the laser on
her rifle into it's 'ON' position. She adjusts it to 'flashlight' and scans
the car. Raven enters the car and looks at the interior. From what could
be gathered just upon looking, this car was meant for storing. Mystique
remembers what one of the workers told her when she and Kyle arrived. He
said that there was no one in this car. He also looked like he had seen one
too many passengers with wounds that would heal, but a person can only take
so much.
        Still, she looked around. Suddenly a panting sound came into her
ears. "Ah... ah... ah... ah... ah... ah... ah... ah... ah..." She walked
around a large crate and saw a woman with a grenade in her hand. She didn't
have an arm to pull it with.
        "Crap... hold on." Mystique said, dropping her rifle. "Hold on. I
got you..." Raven bent over and picked up the woman. "Tell me... Are you
one of the bad guys here? Bet so..."

        Wild Child jumped up ten feet and landed on top of the mangled
metal. He looked across the wreckage with a better view. Just out of
curiosity, he scanned his eyes across the second car, to where Mystique
was supposed to be. There was a hole on top of the car. The metal was bent
outward. 'Mystique... I hope you're okay,' Kyle thought.
        Suddenly a small burst came from the inside of the second car. The
metal walls muffled the sound. Then Kyle heard, "SHIT!"
        He dropped to all fours and ran across the metal, jumping to the
air. Kyle did a triple flip and landed on his feet on the other side of
the wreckage. "Mystique?"
        "FUCK!" Mystique ran out of the second car encased in blood. It was
dripping from all areas on her body.
        "Mystique?? You're bleeding?!" Kyle sniffed at the blood on her
chest. "No, not your's... What happened?"
        "That bitch in there... Her head blew up and now there's blood all
over me!"
        "What bitch?"
        "There was a woman in there. Probably one of the people we were
sent to 'round up'. I picked her into my arms. Then all the sudden there
was a thump or something. Then her head blew up. I think she fucking pissed
on me before that!"
        "Did the woman have any wounds?"
        "'Did the woman...' Oh, geez... She's dead! I'm covered in blood. I
know that her wounds might help us, but I'm kind of a fussy broad. So why
don't you --"
        Cutting her off were four different guns shoved in her and Kyle's
face by four different people.

* * * * *

<A while ago>

        Within the walls of the Washington, D.C. Mutant Holding Cells, the
mutant known as Spoor and his new cellmate, Ivan Bullet, walk down the cold
halls freely. "Did I tell ya I could get ya out?" Ivan said quietly, but
with excitement running throughout his voice. "I usually break about this
time every day, but I never leave. Why?"
        Spoor didn't say a word.
        "Well, I'll tell ya. I like this place. Really! I do! Sometimes, if
I play nice with the others, the guards will hit me with a smile. Like
they're saying, 'You just might get out.' I know they're not..." A very
muscular guard passes by Spoor and Ivan.
        Spoor starts to slow his walk.
        "Hmmm? Oh, don't worry about him. I'm keeping us in shadow. He
can't see us. That's my power. They useta call me Erik Shadow, cause of my
power and stuff. What's your name?"
        Spoor had completely stopped now. So had the hall guard. Ivan
didn't dare look into Spoor's eyes. He had only seen Spoor stop moving once
since the cold-blooded killer was placed here. That one time Spoor bit off
another inmate's thumb. Maybe he likes blood moving across his hands, Ivan
thought, or perhaps it could be that he gets excitement from life passing
through his hands, his fingers and watching it dribble off his fingertips.
        Spoor approached the guard. He jumped at him with no warning,
pinning him against the wall. The guard would never know who his attacker
was, because in all that time, Ivan keep Spoor in his large shadow. Spoor
pounded his large fist into the guard's face.
        Ivan did not dare count how many times Spoor pounded at that guard,
then pull back and pounded again, but he guessed it went on for a good
fifteen minutes. Spoor never grew tired of it, which scared Ivan a bit. But
when it was all over and that guard was dead, Spoor sat back on the ground
and panted a while before saying: "I'm Spoor."
        Ivan went into the prison's library later that day and looked up
the word, spoor. And he never would again call Spoor by his name....

* * * * *

        In South Carolina at the wreckage site where Wild Child and
Mystique are, four very hi-tech guns are being shoved into their faces.
The four individuals doing the shoving are known as Threnody Smile. "We're
Threnody Smile," the first one, the leader of the group said. "My name is
James Prodigy. State your business here."
        "I'll tell you --" Mystique begins.
        "Wait," Kyle interrupts, "we are from the government-sanctioned
mutant group, X-Factor. This train wreck is our business. We were ordered
to make sure the mutant terrorists responsible for mainly causing this
crash were either dead or apprehended. Who are you.
        "We are a government-funded group as well. We are there for any
mutants in need of help. I heard about the wreck and there were some mutant
children on their way to D.C. for a class trip on this train. We came as
soon as we heard and we see you -- in these wild get-ups -- and we assumed
you were terrorists. Mutant ones." He lowered his gun and signals for his
group to do the same. "I must say I've never heard of X-Factor. But I'm
glad to see there is such a group. Have you found any luck finding your
terrorists?"
        Kyle sighed in relief. "Well... I think my friend here found one."
        Mystique shared the blood on her body with the group. "I tried to
save her and she pissed on me, then her head blew up."
        James Prodigy stepped back. "Mystique... I've heard of you.
        Kyle's eyes bounced back and forth between the two. "Yeah, well...
I hope we've gained an ally."
        "Oh, you most definitely have. May we help you in your search?"
        "Thank you, but no."
        As James and his group walk away, Mystique leans over to Kyle's
left ear and says, "I think he likes me..."

* * * * *

        Later that day at Falls Edge, Kyle and Raven are arriving back at
their home as they see Shard kiss her brother, Bishop, goodbye in the main
hall. Kyle reaches into his coat pocket and removes a cassette from his
pocket. Bishop, the X-Man, passes him and there is only silence between
them, for Kyle knows Shard has told her brother everything about him. "See
ya 'round, Bishop, eh?" Kyle says
        "Whatever, Kyle..." Bishop responds.
        Shard runs up to Kyle with a smile. "Didjagitem? Didjagitem?"
        "It... I couldn't find Everclear, but I found Spacehog." He handed
her the tape from his hand.
        "What's wrooooooooooong?" she says.
        "You wanna go to Sonics?"
        "Sure..."
        "Good, I tell ya all about it."
        "Bad or good," Shard asks as the two walk toward Kyle's car.
        "Kind-of both. Hey, I saw yer brother leaving. You have fun while I
was gone?"
        "Yeah... He had to beat a little sense into me. I guess I forgot
what he looked like an' it spooked me." Shard reached out for Kyle's hand.
She looped her fingers in between his. "Sonics?"
        "You can eat, can't you?"
        "My holofield can decompose the food, I think."
        "Good."

THE END.