The Rogue
T.I.M.E. Vaulter
Part II:

March 1993.
R.O.G.U.E. Vaulter concept by Michael Sacal
      Plot by Michael Sacal and Barry Reese
         Script by Barry Reese

---

Soulmates

Ferris Winthrop sipped his drink and watched as Ken Clarkson navigated the crowded room. The younger man was a sniveling cur, but he had potential, Ferris had to give him that. Clarkson's position at Orb Industries was an important one, growing ever moreso since Orb had acquired its international holdings. Clarkson was now hoping to parlay that influence into a run for senate.

Winthrop glanced about the room. There were nearly two dozen people here, men and women of various positions and power-levels. But all of them had something Clarkson wanted, needed, if he were to seriously have a chance of a running for office. With the right support, Ferris mused, Clarkson could actually pull it off. Even now, he was promising Mr. Avery whatever it took to gain his support.

Ken had approached Winthrop earlier. The conversation had been short, but rather direct.

"Ferris! Good to see you. I hope I can count on your support -- I can pretty much guarantee that I'd look very favorably on legislation which could benefit your company." Clarkson had pumped his hand so hard it had seemed almost comical.

"Well... I try to stay out of the political arena as much as possible, Mr. Clarkson. To be honest, the main reason I accepted your invitation this evening was my interest in meeting your mysterious employer."

Ken had made a face at the sound of that. "Aric? Why do you want to meet him?"

Winthrop cast a glance at the display of arms on a nearby wall. The blades were obviously functional, in addition to being ornamental. "We share an interest in ancient warfare, from what I've heard. And I'm curious about his past -- showing up out of nowhere like this, seizing control of a large corporation. It's enough to intrigue almost anyone, I'd hazard."

Ken smiled, clenching his left fist. He wore a leather glove over the hand, to protect some injury or another. He seemed to look at Ferris with something akin to suspicion now, running his gaze over the man's broad shoulders and dark hair. Winthrop noted that Ken's paranoia melted away into sexual interest, which didn't surprise him -- many people found him attractive. "Aric's a shy kinda guy. He doesn't like the press much. But there's nothing mysterious about him, really. But like I was saying, I'd really appreciate having your support."

Winthrop had promised a campaign donation, more to placate Ken and send him away than any real interest in his political agenda. As a young, handsome millionaire, Ferris didn't really concern himself with the machinations of politicians. His true passion was historical warfare and archaeology. With the money he'd inherited, he'd scoured the globe in search of battle relics and the like. His specialty was Roman history, which had led him here....

Dacia had purchased a large number of authentic Roman items in recent times, with a particular focus on the Visigoths. Winthrop could see the appeal -- a group of proud warriors, laying siege to the greatest empire on Earth. And, eventually, succeeding. Very appealing, indeed.

"Ken! What the hell is going on here?"

Ferris glanced up as a blond behemoth burst into the room. It was obviously Dacia, his eyes sweeping imperiously over the surroundings. He's like some ancient king come home to his castle, Winthrop mused, only to found his court has been dining in the Royal kitchen.

Avery's wife was gawking. "Oh my goodness!"

As Aric strode forward, another man asked Ken "Who's the brute?"

To Winthrop's amusement, Dacia answered by yanking one of his blades free of its wall mount. Whirling about with the sword in his obviously expert hands, he bellowed "I'm the brute who owns this house! Everybody out! NOW!"

Amid the shrieking and running that followed, Winthrop slowly set his drink aside and moved towards the door. He could see Clarkson trying to soothe his employer's feelings "Lighten up, Big Guy. what are you so upset about? It was just a small party... Hey, I'm trying to advance my career. Can't you help a friend out?"

Dacia whirled on Clarkson, knocking his hand away from his shoulder. "Let's make one thing clear, Ken -- We are definitely NOT friends!"

With a smile on his face, Winthrop stepped out. Definitely intriguing. Mr. Dacia, I will be in touch....

In fact, Aric had just finished showing his dominance by forcing Ken to choke himself. Probably gave himself a good laugh over that one. The Big Guy needs to remember that without me, he wouldn't have Orb at all... The least he can do is try to pay me back by helping with my Senate plans.

Ken drove towards home, his mind clouded with indignation. He knew that he'd given Aric more than enough reason in the past to distrust him, but he was a changed man -- for the most part. After all, betraying Aric would not be a smart thing these days. The Big Guy was on edge almost constantly.

So lost in thought was he that Ken failed to notice the faint hissing noise that indicated the opening of a small canister in his back seat. Hidden beneath one of Ken's work jackets, it spewed forth a cloud of knockout gas.

Ken sniffed the air, noticing the faint odor of rotten eggs. By the time he'd truly noticed it, however, it was too late. Unconsciousness rushed in on him, and it was only by a supreme act of will that he managed to pull off the road without wrecking his car.

Slumping forward, Ken's head landed hard against the steering wheel, his weight setting off the car horn. It blared long and loud.

The shadowy figure who emerged from the darkness slowly made his way to the driver's side door. He found it unlocked and pulled Ken's body off the wheel. He studied the man's prissy, almost feminine features and couldn't help but feel amazement.

"It's almost hard to believe that you hold the key to everything, Clarkson. But it's true, nonetheless. If this timeline is to be destroyed... you're the key."

The ringing of the phone snapped Ferris out of his reverie. He'd been staring absentmindedly at a suit of Roman centurion armor.

He didn't bother to leave the museum area, instead answering a portable that he'd left lying around. "Winthrop."

The warm, female voice on the other end made him smile. "Ferris. I just wanted to know if you were still up for awhile. I just got back from that dig in Italy. Brought back a few prizes for you."

"Yes, I'll be awake for awhile yet. Come back, Samantha... I'd love to see what you've found for me."

Dr. Samantha Jones purred something back to him, but Ferris had already begun to tune her out. It wasn't that he didn't like her -- he enjoyed her company more than any woman he'd ever met and they shared his bed many times. But he was far more interested in what she may have discovered in Italy. He'd funded her expedition, hoping to find something left unpicked over the years.

Again, unexplainably, he thought of Aric Dacia. That name... Dacia. "Samantha," he began, interrupting whatever she'd been saying. "Did you find anything related to the Visigoths?"

"Yes... a few things. And something that, to be honest, I'm not sure about at all. It dates back to the 5th century, but the metal... It's like nothing I've ever seen."

"Hmm. Bring everything you can with you. I doubt I'll be able to place it if you can't, but perhaps between the two of us...."

"I'll be there. Bye, Ferris."

Winthrop hung up without answering. His gaze returned to the centurion armor before him. Not for the first time, he wished he had lived in that long-ago era. To feel the weight of the armor, a bloodied sword in his hands....

I was born in the wrong century.

A time Arc appears in the center of the observation deck and 2 figures step out from it.

They are Ivar Anni Padda and Rebecca Simms, T.I.M.E. Vaulters from realities VH 1 and VH 2 respectively.

"Phew, that was close. I'm glad we found out we could use the Lost Land as a sort of short cut between The City and this reality... I bet that when Solar closed it off he didn't consider the possibility of a psycho finding a way to break in and once again endangering it. "Ivar said as the arc closed behind him. "Glad I kept my time arc detector too. Solar's defenses are too great for your T.I.M.E. Vaulter technology, but since he knows I depend on my arcs to move around he must have decided to keep that intact."

"Yeah, that was lucky... Now let's see." Rebecca said as she took out a small tricorder-like device out of her pocket. "According to this there's some T.I.M.E. Vaulter tech located 10 miles from here... that way!" Rebecca said as she pointed towards the east.

"We have to find him Rebecca. We don't know what he's planning to do or why." Ivar said  as he pocketed his time arc detector into the inside of his jacket. The detector was nothing more then a relic of his past as a Timewalker now, something he had to give up when he agreed to join The T.I.M.E. Vaulters, a group composed of the last survivors of all the realities destroyed by Solar Prime *.

*: Unity 2000.

"I know Ivar, I know. About what happened before *, at my mom's house, I can explain."

*: Timewalker Yearbook 2: Rogue T.I.M.E. Vaulter Part I.

"Now's not the time becca, we can discuss it once we nab Jason and stop him. Till then lets keep this... professional, ok?" Ivar said as he avoided making eye contact with her.

The two of them entered the building and approached the elevators.

He fought to stem the rising tide of panic that threatened to overwhelm him. He'd seen some bizarre things in the last year or two, from aliens to monsters and back again... and that familiarity with the strange was all that kept him from passing out once more.

He was floating in a tank, nude save for his underwear. He felt for the breathing mask, following its long cord back out the roof of the tank. The oxygen was sweet and cold as it went through his nose and mouth.

Calmed somewhat by the knowledge that he wasn't about to die, at least not right away, Ken took in his surroundings. From the looks of things, he was in some sort of warehouse or laboratory, filled with computers. Through the fluid haze, he could make out a colorful logo on each -- "Angel Computers."

Ken studied everything as best he could, but the lighting was dim. There was something (another tank?) nearby, but he couldn't see inside.

"Awake all ready? You're in good shape."

The voice sounded garbled to his ears, filled with fluid as they were, but he heard the words clear enough. He turned in his tank to see a man stepping towards him, a strange object in one hand. Upon closer inspection, the device reminded Ken of a PADD from that show Star Trek.

The man himself was even more shocking than the PADD. He wore a costume of some sort, a kind of retro Buck Rodgers type of gear. A visor covered the man's eyes, while his white and black jumpsuit featured some sort of logo on his right breast.

The man continued speaking as if Ken had answered him. "Time to get you out of there. The nutrient bath should have done its work by now, anyway."

Ken looked up just as the top of his tank peeled away. A giant mechanical hand reached down from the ceiling, wrapping Ken in its harsh embrace. The machine pulled him away from the breathing tube, causing it to clang against the side of the tank as Ken was lifted into the air.

The hand deposited him roughly on the floor. Ken felt himself cough several times, as the blood rushed in his head. "Who... who the hell... are you supposed to be?"

The strangely dressed man paused for a minute, examining the naked and wet business executive before him. He seemed to be weighing something in his mind. At length, he answered "I suppose it won't hurt to tell you. You won't remember any of this anyway. My name's Jason Simms... But you can call me Dr. Tomorrow."

Ken put his hands over his head. "God. I've been kidnapped by an escapee from Flash Gordon. Let me guess -- we only have 14 hours to save the Earth?"

Dr. Tomorrow frowned. "Cute. You know, Queen recorded the soundtrack to Flash Gordon in my world, too -- so I catch the song reference. But I'm not fiction. I'm real. And my mission here is of vital importance. This timeline has to die, so that mine can live."

Ken stared hard at the man before him. "You're crazy."

"Think what you want, Clarkson. Like I said, it doesn't matter."

Ken rose shakily to his feet. "Oh yeah? And what's gonna stop me from running out the door and calling the cops?"

"This."

Dr. Tomorrow activated a gravitational inducer in his costume, generating a force bubble around Ken. The energy sphere lifted into the air and moved him towards a second water tank.

Ken felt like screaming again. This is a nightmare. I'm at home. I had a few too many daiquiris. That's all.

Unfortunately, what he saw as he came closer to the second tank pushed him over the edge....

A human form floated in the murk, slowly completing its transformation from shapeless protomatter into a simulacra of a human female. Though her face was obscured by the breathing mask fitted over her mouth, Ken thought she looked like a woman in her thirties. Her blonde hair floated gently in the water.

"What... what are you doing?"

"I'm about to clone you."

His words didn't fully register at first, even as the force bubble dropped him onto the bed. Tiny bands of energy snaked across his arms and legs, holding him immobile.

Dr. Tomorrow stepped over, looking a bit guilty -- but resolute in his actions. "I'm sorry. But it won't hurt, not for long. And you won't remember a thing."

"But why?"

"I told you why, you just don't want to listen. It's my job to make sure that the events in this reality don't  follow the course they did in the Book of Geomancers. It's the only way I can make sure that the Prime Reality crumbles... without affecting my own."

Before Ken could question him further, Dr. Tomorrow placed a sensor on his head. Ken felt electricity beginning to race through him, building in strength. He murmured Aric's name.

Tomorrow glanced over to where the woman was being lifted out by the mechanical hand. She was moved with great care towards a second bed. Simms helped adjust her body on the sheet and placed a second sensor atop her head. When both sensors were in place, Dr. Tomorrow lifted a small controller and pressed the switch. "Just remember, Mr. Clarkson. It won't last long."

Electricity surged through Ken Clarkson's body, lifting him off the bed in a spasm of pain. He bit his tongue so hard it bled.

Energy seemed to jump from Ken to the cloned woman. She twitched just as Ken's agony began to end, her eyes fluttering beneath their lids. Her naked form glistened with sweat. With a horrible hacking, she sat up, coughing phlegm and struggling to grasp onto this new life given her.

Jason Simms watched her as she gazed around herself. "It's okay," he said soothingly. "Don't be afraid. I'll get you some clothes and then we can start this new life of yours. You've got a bright future ahead of you... Senator Morris."

Afterwards, she'd handed him a small leather back, which he'd opened in bed. The metal disc he held in his hands now seemed... strange. It was obviously old, very old, but it didn't look like any Visigoth design he'd ever seen. "Where did you find this?"

"We found it in a clearing near one of Alaric's old camps. I'm amazed nobody else has grabbed it before now. The whole area has been picked clean." Samantha propped her head up on an elbow and watched Winthrop's reaction. He was very intense when it came to finds like this.

"It looks almost alien."

"Sure does. Are you going to have someone look at it?"

"Perhaps." He slid out from under the covers and kept his gaze on the small metal disc.

"Where are you going?"

"I want to put this in a case. This is definitely something I don't want to lose." Ferris didn't pay attention to what she said next, his attention already diverted. He stepped into the museum area, flipping on a light. He was still nude and he felt his excitement beginning to rise again as he contemplated this find. An old relic could be far more enticing than any woman....

He noticed a strange flicker, a shimmer of sorts, from the disc. The strange etching in its center was in a strange language, one that he didn't recognize. He had no way of knowing that it was Spider Alien... or that the aliens had once kidnapped humans to use as food from the area in which it was found.

The disc burst outward with a splurting noise, shaping itself into a metal sphere which hung in the air before him. The ball shot forward, wrapping itself around him. At first, he felt fear, but as he staggered forward he saw the centurion armor before him. It glinted into the light and, for a moment, he saw himself reflected in its surface.

An armored giant. A modern centurion.

A warrior.

He stood back and gawked at himself. Clad from head-to-toe in what he would one day know to be Spider Alien commando-class battle armor, he felt more alive than at any point in his existence.

No one will be able to know about this. No one. He felt the power in the suit, even if he did not know how to use it yet. I'll need to train, long and hard. And then... then... then I set about fulfilling my destiny... Building an empire.

Ivar and Rebecca enter the abandoned warehouse, which is now empty, as if a hand had reached out from beyond and taken all of Jason's equipment away.

"Dammit, we're too late!" Rebecca yelled.

"According to my readings we missed him by only 5 minutes!"

"Lets cry about this later becca. Lets see if we can find any clues. You check the back and I'll start here." Ivar said with a calmed voice. It was becoming obvious to him that Rebecca had lied to him on more then one thing. The current situation made it clear to Ivar that his few adventures had given him more experience then what Rebecca had lead him to believe she had.

As Ivar inspected the room he noticed that part of the floor was wet with some strange liquid, as well as noticing some open power conduits in the floor and walls. It was obvious that whatever Jason had been doing here it required a lot of power.

Rebecca walked out of the back room with 3 women dresses on her hands.

"Look at this. Either Jason is a lot more wacko then we thought or he's not working alone."

"Did you find any other clues?" Ivar asked.

"Yeah, this." Rebecca said as she showed Ivar an Archie toga. "Any idea what it is?"

"Ye.. yes. That's an Archie toga. It belongs to one of Archer's followers. Why would Jason have one... Oh God! No! Come on, we must hurry!" Ivar exclaimed as he took his time arc detector out of his pocket.

He inputted an image of Archer as well as writing the year 2020.

"If my guess is right Jason is planning on saving one of the most important religious figures of all time, and in essence changing all future history." Ivar said as he grabbed Rebecca by the arm and pulled her inside the arc.

Coming up in X-O Manowar 81 : The Centurion strikes! Aric and company move into the year 2000! And an old foe returns -- in a shocking manner....

Originally, Mike was going to write this issue as part of his R.O.G.U.E. Vaulter storyline. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I could use this Yearbook to set up a lot of future X-O continuity. Both Ferris Winthrop and Drusila Morris will play major roles in X-O's future. Where Ferris has been for the last 7 years worth of VFA-time, for instance, will be quite surprising....

Let me know what you thought of this rather unusual issue of X-O, in which the title character appears only briefly.

Keep in touch,

Barry Reese

And now a word from Mike :

Welcome to the second chapter of Rogue T.I.M.E. Vaulter.

After last issues revelation that Rebecca is not the granddaughter of Bart Simms but in reality an alternate of him from a destroyed reality who has been made to believe that she's from VH 2 by The Director, has slightly changed Ivar's affections towards her, making him doubt if this had been the only thing she had lied about.

Ivar not only feels doubt over what Rebecca's told him but also about everything he's been told by The Director -- whose identity he still doesn't know.

How will all of this affect Ivar and Rebecca's relation? Will it survive their present adventure? Stay tuned.

Michael Sacal

Thursday, February 1st 2001.