March of the Cybermen Chapter 3

3. Barbarism

------------------
"Talking"
*THinking*
-Computer talking-
--------------------------

Jinx was hanging out with Cyborg in the main room of Jump City Tower.  Everyone was around, just doing their own thing.

All of a sudden, a lightning bolt struck out of nowhere, and Jinx vanished.  CYborg was immediately there.  "What the hell happened?" he demanded of no one in particular.

-Temporal disturbance detected.  Magical quantum shift likeliest explanation.-

*Where to?* Cyborg demanded of his computer as everyone tried to investigate.  *When?*

-Analyzing...spatial coordinates constant.  Temporal coordinates...estimated 5000 year shift backwards.-

*...can I follow?*

-...confirmed.  Chronium phase sheilding capable of chronometric jump following tachyon trail.  Warning: exposed organic matter cannot survive this units transfer process.-

*Translation?*

-Host unit can follow safely...but subject Jinx would not survive same transfer process back.-

The Titans were surprised when Cyborg suddenly spoke.  "Do it."

He vanished in a flash of light.

------------

When Cyborg arrived, fully coated in his armor, he saw a battle going on between primitive humans and some sort of green creatures.  *Analysis of scenario.*

-Processing...chronium shift succesful.  Mystic temporal effects present.  All actions historically acounted for, barring ancestral deviations.-

*Explain.*

-Kill no humans.  All else will be accounted for by temporal resilience factors due to historical inflexibility principle.-

*Boo-yah.*  As the green creatures approached him, he pulled out his beam sword.

-Alert: ambient energy levels exceptionally high.  Overdrive available and recommended.-

"Let's do this!" Cyborg shouted.  The energy blade blazed brilliantly, and he charged.

-----------

One vicious and unnecisarrily graphic slaughter of freaky monsters later...

Cyborg turned as the leader of the tribe approached him.  "Yo!" he said, shaking himself off to dislodge the green gunk.

"You fight well, warrior," the leader said from beneath the helm.

-Alert: speaker is female.-

Cyborg nodded.  "I'm looking for a friend of mine.  Can you help me?"

She removed her helm.  "I am Sarrasim, leader of this tribe.  For your aid with these monsters, I will help you as much as I can."

As they approached the walled town, Cyborg's computer gave him some interesting information, which he relayed to Sarrasim.  "Those creatures I fought...they weren't actually alive."

"How do you mean?" she asked, confused.

"They were magical constructs."  Cyborg noticed Crawl flinch when he said this, but ignored it.  "They're made from magic to perform a specific purpose.  Taking down the endless waves of them does you no good.  You gotta find the mage who's making them and take them down."

"We are aware of this," Sarrasim said.  "It is fortunate that during our last battle, Craw was able to capture the witch responsible for their creation.  We thought to get information as to how to better destroy them from her, but the creatures obviously intend to rescue their mistress.  We shall simply have to hope that her death will end her spell."

"Well that could work but-" Cyborg froze as the gate opened.  THere, in the center of town, Jinx was chained to two posts, bleeding from several bruises and wounds, with a bad bump to her head.  He ran forward and cut her chains, catching ehr as she fell.

"Cyborg, what are you doing?" Sarrasim demanded.  "That is the witch responsible-"

Cyborg responded with a word that made everyone in town gasp, and even caused Sarrasim to instinctively cover her ears.  "Jinx isn't even 16 yet.  Yes, she's got strong magic, but all she can do with it is make things happen.  She can't do constructs: I should know, since I'm the one she comes to for comfort every time they fail.  That stuff out there wasn't her doing!"

"Cyborg...I want to believe you," Sarrasim began.  "But I will need more proof than that."

"YOu want proof?  Fine.  Magic comes in colors.  THose things were green, but Jinx' magic - no matter what she's doing - is pink!  If they were ehrs, they'd be pink, too!"

There was muttering.  Sarrasim held up her hand.  "Very well.  I do not wish to be harsh.  The two of you will remain as guests and will not be mistreated.  You have...two weeks in which to prove her innocence by finding the true culprit."

Cyborg nodded.  "I'll get started after seeing to her injuries, once she wakes up."  He turned to Crawl.  "You're the one who injured her?"

Crawl stiftened.  "It was a valiant battle, and-" he fell silent as Cyborg seized him by the throat.

"If she doesn't wake up...or if she's suffered irreperable harm...you answer to me!"  Cyborg dropped Crawl, and carried Jinx into an empty house.

---------------

Several hours later, Jinx stirred.  "Nnngghh..."

"Jinx!  You okay?"  Cyborg took her small hand in his.

She shook her head gently.  "What hit me?"

"An idiot," Cyborg said fiercely.  At Jinx look, he smiled.  "A live idiot, for the moment."

Jinx sat up.  "Where...are we?"

"Jump City...circa 3000 B.C."

"...trot that by me again?"

"We're in Jump City, 5000 years in the past.  Also, there seems to be a sort of war going on against some sort of magical constructs."

Jinx nodded.  "A witch up the mountain is making them.  I tracked her magic to her.  She's also the one who brought me here.  When I asked her, she said she only did as her Master commanded her.  Then something hit me in the back of the head."

Cyborg nodded.  "Someone's commanding the witch to make them.  We take out the witch or her master, war's over."

"So who is the master, then?" Sarrasim asked from behind him.

Cyborg turned.  "Don't know...yet.  But whoever it is wants something, and doesn't have it yet.  I'm gonna head up the mountain, find the witch.  I'll get some answers."

As he turned to go, Jinx grabbed him and pulled him into a quick kiss.  "Good luck," she said simply.  He nodded.  As he left, he heard Jinx say to Sarrasim, "He's mine, you know.  I saw how you were looking at him..."

Cyborg chuckled.  Girls.  He'd never understand them.

At the mountain cave, he encountered the witch.  "So you're the one making the creatures," he said simply.  "Don't try to deny it.  I can detect the connection between you and them.  Your magic is easily tracable."

"I do only as my Master commands," the witch said.

"You mean Crawl?  The only way he would have snatched Jinx from here and not you is if he knew you were here anyway, and wanted you to keep doing this.  He was going to use Jinx as a scapegoat.  If Jinx dies and the creatures stop coming, it shows he caught the right witch."

"You are too clever by half, outworlder."  Crawl came up behind him.

Cyborg grinned.  "So you admit it, then?"

"It does not matter if I do.  No one will hear it from you."

Cyborg grinned.  "But they're hearing it from you."  His cybernetic eye glowed, and an image was projected in front of him.  It showed Sarrasim and the other tribesmen staring at them through something Jinx was holding.  Jinx was smirking.  "Remote projection," Cyborg said.  "They just heard the entire conversation.  And I'd wager-"

He was cut off by a sudden aunslaught of the creatures.

----------------

Back at the village, he came to.  "That guy just don't play fair," he said grumbling.

Jinx looked at him.  "Sarrasim and her people are prepared to fight him.  Are we gonna stay and help, or head home?"

He shook his head.  "We don't have a way home.  I can get back no problem, but my method of transport would kill you."

Jinx chuckled.  "Geez, you don't know anything about magic, do you?"  She held up her hand and crafted a pink butterfly out of magic.  It vanished.  "And...now."

A green portal opened.  A black claw extended.  "That's Raven reaching back for us, now that she caught my signal.  We going, or staying?"

Cyborg looked around.  Sarrasim and her people would handle it, or not.  That was history.  It wasn't their place to interfere.  "Let's go."  They grabbed hold of the claw, and were pulled back to their own time.

"Just one thing I don't understand," Cyborg said as they passed through the portal.  "The witch brought you back.  Why?"

Jinx chuckled.  "She was aiming for you.  She missed."