RivalsInfo@RivalsInfo
‼️GALLERY CARD: (2/3): HOSTILE TAKEOVER
I have learned a great many things since I was removed from my timeline. For instance: When a Mutant as powerful as Jean Grey calls for help, there is no doubt that the situation is dire. So when her voice suddenly echoed in my mind — "Sai! We need you! Now!" — I knew that the battle ahead would be fierce. I had no idea, however, that the foes we were destined to face would be familiar ones.
I had been on Krakoa, testing out cybernetic upgrades made to my armor by Forge as a part of Emma Frost's Hellfire Protocol. The technology of this futuristic era is centuries beyond what I was trained to use, and though I had long been comfortable slaying demons with but a single sword, I was learning that these modern advancements had their advantages as well. Once the telepathic distress call was received, however, my fellow X-Men, Gambit and Magik, boarded their Blackbird, and I followed close behind on gossamer wings of pure psionic energy. Together, we journeyed across time and space from the island of Krakoa to the island of Manhattan.
We arrived to find Jean and Rogue already under attack. Instinctively, I dove into the fray, landing with katana drawn. I was shocked to discover that our enemies wore the faces of our closest friends. Rogue. Gambit. Magik. Wolverine. Star-Lord. There they stood, perfect duplicates of some of my most trusted companions. At first, I assumed they were warriors from another timeline, here to ignite yet another battle. But when I reached out to them with my mind, something was different. I was met with a cold nothingness, as if their identities had been wiped clean. Whoever they were, they were not the heroes I knew. They were foul clones made in the likeness of true heroes. The ultimate act of deception.
As the false Magik's blade crossed with my own, my telepathy probed ever deeper into her brain, searching for any clue as to who she might be. A series of images overwhelmed my mind's eye. Brutal experimentation. Technological modifications. Cold indoctrination. Then, names that meant nothing to me at the time: "Corporate Raiders," "Tyler Stone," and "Alchemax." And then I saw it. The same logo that adorned the futuristic structure that had appeared in Lower Manhattan was branded in the middle of her pupil.
It had become clear to me that these beings were neither human nor Mutant. They were living weapons in service to a corrupt corporation, and nothing more. Their strange nature made them something more akin to yokai. And there was no one better in any reality at taking down their kind than I.
My hunt had begun anew. And I had the sense that this was only the beginning of a strange new chapter...