Date: Fri, 30 Jun 2006 11:13:18 -0400
From: Dusty Hansen <dustyh75@hotmail.com>
Subject: newest ultimate x man part 9

Obligatory warnings and disclaimers:

1) If reading this is in any way illegal where you are or at your age, or
you don't want to read about male/male relationships, go away. You shouldn't
be here.

2) The X-Men and any related characters are property of Marvel Comics,
trademarked and registered and copyrighted and all that. I'm using them
without permission.

For those who read the comics and worry about such things, this story takes
place in the (much simpler and easier to follow) Ultimate X-Men universe,
and starts right around issue 54. If you don't want to dig out your copy,
the team at that time is Jean Grey, Cyclops, Iceman, Kitty Pryde,
Nightcrawler, Colossus, Angel, and Dazzler.

Comments can be sent to "dustyh75@hotmail.com"

Thanks.

***

As the water continued to stream down on them Peter reached for the bar of
soap he had opened earlier and began to gently wash Seth, spreading lather
across his shoulders and chest, half scrubbing and half massaging at the
same time.  Seth let out a soft noise of pleasure, leaning in toward Peter's
hands with his eyes closed.  Peter softly kissed his face over and over as
he washed him, his thick, powerful hands sliding up and down Seth's arms and
torso, raising his arms above his head, running soapy hands through his hair
as he lightly caressed Seth's face.

"Peter," Seth whispered, sighing.  He opened his eyes, looking for Peter's.
"You don't have to wash me."

"I want to," Peter responded, circling his thumbs over Seth's nipples,
smiling as he saw Seth shiver and arch his back when Peter rubbed them with
soapy fingers.  "When I am done, you can do the same for me."

"Can I just feel you up and call it washing?" Seth asked, and then gasped as
he felt Peter's soap-slick hand gently cupping his balls, rolling them
around in his palm, lightly tugging the sack.  "Oh, God."

"You can do whatever you want," Peter replied, leaning down to kiss Seth
again.  His lips were gentle now, lightly fluttering over Seth's, and his
tongue barely slid inside.  "Turn around now, and I will wash your back."

Seth turned, facing the shower spray, closing his eyes to keep the water
from hitting them, and felt Peter's strong hands on his shoulders.  Peter
kneaded his neck, gently but firmly working the muscles with his strong
hands, and then trailed them down Seth's back, guiding him forward.  Seth
leaned in, resting his palms flat against the shower wall as he felt Peter
washing the small of his back, and then he sighed as he felt Peter's hands
cupping his cheeks.  Peter only lingered there for a few moments, his hands
running over the firm globes of Seth's butt, and Seth gasped again as he
felt Peter's fingers slide briefly into his crack.  Peter watched, seeing
Seth jump, wondering if this was too much of an intrusion, too much of a
presumption, but Seth's legs opened a little and he seemed completely
relaxed.  Still, Peter wasn't going there yet, and he slid his hands
downward as he soaped Seth's thighs and then his calves.  Peter was kneeling
in the shower now, his face inches away from Seth's ass as he rubbed Seth's
feet, and he looked up.

Seth's body was beautiful above him, all of the muscles relaxed, water
streaming down his smooth back.  His hands were flat against the shower
wall, and his head hung down, the shower spray falling directly on the top
of his head.  He trusted Peter completely, knowing that Peter would never
hurt him.  Peter was so different from Scott, so much more caring and less
selfish.  Scott had been all about getting what he wanted, using Seth and
then muttering that half-hearted apology, but Peter seemed to want Seth to
feel good even more than he cared about his own pleasure.  Peter slid his
hands up Seth's legs again, feeling Seth spread them open a little more, and
then he slid a hand into Seth's crack, tentatively rubbing.

Seth moaned, biting his lip, and pushed himself back against Peter's hand.
Peter's finger brushed over Seth's hole, barely touching it, and Seth
gasped, his hips jerking.  Peter did it again and again, flicking Seth's
hole and listening to him whimper, watching his body undulate as he bit his
lip.  Each time his hips pulled away and each time they slid back, wanting
to escape the exquisite teasing pleasure but also needing more of it.
Working the soap over his hand again, making sure it was slippery and slick,
Peter rested a finger on Seth's hole and then, ever so slowly, started to
push.  Seth threw his head back, his fingers curling on the shower wall, and
then Peter slid inside of him.

Peter didn't have a name for the noise Seth made, something between a
whimper and a yelp, a wordless pleading cry, and Seth's back arched
suddenly, pushing himself toward Peter, pulling more of Peter inside.
Gently, watching carefully, Peter pulled his finger slowly back and then
slid it inside again, a little deeper than before.  Seth was hot and tight
around him, gasping and moaning above him, and Peter felt himself getting
hard again at seeing Seth so turned on.  Not removing his finger, he stood,
and began to kiss the back of Seth's neck and shoulders as he gently
fingered him.  Seth continued to whimper and groan, letting out a continuous
stream of noises as his hips slid back and forth, riding Peter's finger, and
his head fell back against Peter's shoulder as Peter added a second finger.
Peter looked down over Seth's shoulder and saw that Seth was hard again, his
cock sticking out, throbbing and bouncing, but Seth could do nothing for it
with his hands braced against the wall.

"Peter," Seth whimpered, falling into a rhythm with Peter's probing fingers,
feeling them open him up as he continued the push back into them and then
pull away.

"Yes?" Peter asked, kissing the side of Seth's neck and nibbling at his
earlobe, his other hand wrapped around Seth to grip his chest, caressing it
as he held him in place.  Peter's cock, now fully hard, was rubbing against
Seth's ass cheek as Peter continued to fingerfuck him.

"Fuck me," Seth whimpered.  "Please."

Peter's hand stilled, two fingers still buried inside of Seth, and he
sighed.

"I cannot," Peter said finally, and Seth started to pull away from him.
Pulling his other hand out, Peter held Seth firmly in place with both hands
on his chest, and his lips were right next to Seth's ear.  When he spoke
again his lips brushed against Seth's skin.  "Wait."

"No, I'm sorry," Seth said, still trying to pull away.  He wasn't trying
very hard, because he had no doubt that Peter could hold him right here if
he really wanted to.  "I shouldn't have asked you."

"You misunderstand," Peter whispered, his voice calm.  One hand was still
flat on Seth's chest and the other was spread, palm down and fingers open,
on the top of Seth's abs.  Peter was leaning into Seth, and Seth still had
his arms braced against the shower wall, holding up them both.  "I said that
I cannot fuck you, but I did not mean that I do not want you.  I do, very
much.  If you haven't figured that out yet, I'm not sure what else I could
do to show you."

"Then why?" Seth asked.  If Peter wanted to do it, and he wanted Peter to do
it, then why weren't they doing it right now?

"I do not ever want to fuck you," Peter said.

The feeling of his lips brushing the sensitive skin by Seth's neck, right
next to his ear, was maddeningly erotic.  Even though he could feel his
whole body pressed against Peter's, and could feel Peter's hard cock
pressing against him while Peter's hands managed to hold him in place and
caress him at the same time, the lips were turning him on more than anything
right now.  Despite them being completely naked and wet in the shower,
Peter's soft whispering and the feather light dance of his lips as he
whispered to Seth seemed incredibly intimate.

"I want to make love to you," Peter clarified.  "Not to fuck you.  I would
not use so ugly a word for what I want to do with you, and when I do make
love to you, it will not be like this.  Right now we are alone and a little
afraid, and we are comforting each other.  If that is all that ever comes of
this, I will always remember this night, but if you and I are to have more
someday, I do not want a small room in a dirty motel to be the way we
begin."

Now Seth sighed, understanding what Peter meant, but not particularly happy
about his words.

"So that's all I am to you right now?" he asked.  "A comfort?"

"No," Peter answered, planting a soft kiss on Seth's neck again.  "You are
my teammate, you are my friend, and I hope someday you will be more.  Right
now, I care about you more than I would have thought possible after only a
day, but I worry that when this is over, when we return to the mansion, this
closeness and this intimacy that we feel may not continue.  When we are no
longer dependent on each other, I worry that we will feel differently."

Seth nodded.

"I understand," he said quietly.  He had been hoping that whatever was
happening between him and Peter would mean something, that maybe he meant
something to Peter, but Peter had a point.  They might just be reaching out
to each other because they had no one else to reach out to.  "But I don't
think I'm going to feel differently."

"I do not think I will, either," Peter said, smiling.  The hand on Seth's
stomach began to slide lower, pushing through Seth's light blond pubes, and
then Peter's fingers began to gently caress Seth's cock, lightly squeezing
the head between his thumb and forefinger.  Seth let out a little whimper,
and Peter began to kiss his neck again.  "And if our feelings do not change,
perhaps the anticipation will make it that much better."

Seth's only answer was a sigh as his hips began to move, thrusting his cock
into Peter's hand.  Peter continued consuming the side of his neck, kissing
and sucking and nibbling just a little, the sharp little scrapes of teeth
sending shocks through Seth's whole body, and then Peter's other hand danced
across his chest and began lightly squeezing one of his nipples, tugging it
gently away from his chest and then rolling the hard tip between his
fingertips.  Seth felt like his whole body was on fire now, and he felt his
power start to flare up, but he pushed it back down.  He wanted to feel this
the way Peter felt it, wanted to feel everything the way it really was.  He
knew it could be different, could be even hotter, but he wanted Peter to
want him for himself, not for what he could do to him.

Peter's mouth was drifting back and forth across Seth's shoulders and neck
now, working one side and then the other, kissing his way across the skin
between.  His cock slid into Seth's crack, riding it, and Seth pushed back
against him as Peter's able hand continued to stroke him.  Peter's fingers
kept a tight grip around his shaft, the wet friction playing across the
smooth white skin, and the ridge of Seth's cockhead bumped the top of
Peter's fingers each time he thrust back to feel Peter's dick slide wetly up
his crack.  Both of them were moaning now, Seth's high pitched and needy and
Peter's a deeper hum, muffled at times by Seth's skin.  Seth could feel
Peter's hard nipples brushing his back, and Peter's firm arms encircling
him.  Peter began to thrust harder, pushing into Seth as he slid his cock
back and forth through Seth's crack, and Seth's arms began to shake each
time Peter leaned forward.

Seth suddenly lost his balance as Peter pulled him away from the wall with
one arm, the other working Seth's cock even faster.  Peter pulled him
backward, still thrusting up, his hard spike squeezed by Seth's firm ass,
and Seth was riding Peter now, feeling Peter's hard thighs supporting his
own.  Seth turned his head, finding Peter's face there, and Peter jammed his
tongue into Seth's mouth, both of them moaning.  At the same time, Peter
squeezed Seth's cockhead, and Seth jerked as he began cumming again, gasping
for air.  Peter held him in place, feeling him spasm, his hand milking
Seth's cock as creamy white cum oozed out of the tip, and they continued
kissing until Seth caught his breath and his muscle contractions subsided.
Peter gently lowered Seth to the floor of the shower, both of his hands
caressing Seth's chest and abs now, and Seth realized Peter hadn't cum.

Reaching back, Seth gripped Peter's thick shaft, feeling it throb in his
hand.  It somehow felt thicker than it had looked, the skin like a soft
velvet coating over a steel club, and Peter groaned loudly as Seth squeezed
it.  Pulling him forward, Seth slid Peter's cock between his legs and then
squeezed them tightly closed, trapping it in a wet tunnel of warm flesh.
Peter began to thrust almost immediately, lost in a sudden wave of urgency,
feeling the tight grip of Seth's body around him.

"Do it, Peter," Seth whispered, leaning back.

He could feel Peter's hard cock rubbing the underside of his own, the fat
head poking at his balls.  Peter thrust harder and faster, his hips slamming
into Seth's, and Seth's body shook as he braced them against the wall.  Each
time he slammed forward Peter let out another loud grunt, almost a bellow,
and his arms curved upward to grip Seth's shoulders as he thrust into the
hot, tight tunnel Seth had created.  Seth squeezed his legs together,
flexing them, trying to keep his thighs as tight as possible, and suddenly
Peter's arms flexed so tightly Seth thought he might break.  Peter's
thrusting hips lifted Seth off the floor of the shower as he came, a flood
of hot cum splattering the inside of Seth's legs.  He collapsed against
Seth, panting hard, and Seth's arms shook as he supported them both against
the shower wall.

At least Peter seemed to realize that Seth was about to drop them, and he
collected himself enough to stand.  As soon as Seth dropped his arms from
the wall Peter grabbed his shoulders and spun him around, one arm draping
around Seth's waist to pull him close.  Seth looked up at him, his light
blue eyes wide and innocent, his almost white blond hair darkened by the
water that slicked it down, and Peter leaned in to gently place his mouth
over Seth's.  They kissed for a few moments, the only sound the shower still
spraying down on them, and then Peter pulled back, smiling.

"I believe I have gotten you messy," he said, his fingers lightly caressing
the side of Seth's face.

"It's ok," Seth shrugged, his hand resting on Peter's broad chest.  "I think
my fingers are turning into raisins, though."

"We should get out of the shower, then," Peter grinned.

They playfully dried each other off, interspersing the toweling with a lot
of kissing and giggling, but Seth noticed Peter's face darkening a little.
They dressed only in their underwear, Seth in his boxers and Peter in his
briefs.  As much as he enjoyed staring at Peter's bulge, which somehow
seemed even larger in the tiny, almost bikini briefs Peter had packed
himself into, Seth was more concerned about Peter's face, and the solemn
expression that had settled across it.  After he hung up the towels in the
bathroom, Peter sat down on his bed and motioned for Seth to come over.

"Sit down, please," Peter said, holding out his hand.  Seth sat down on the
bed, and swallowed nervously when Peter took his other hand and held them
both carefully in his larger ones.

"Peter?" Seth asked.  Peter was just staring at him, his eyes fixed on
Seth's, but his expression was very sad suddenly.

"In the morning, we are going to go to the bus station up the highway from
here, and we will purchase two tickets with the remainder of the money I
took out," Peter began, and Seth wondered what was so serious about travel
plans.  "I do not believe the Professor has located anyone to assist us, as
he has not mentally contacted either of us.  However, I believe that
Sabertooth and Toad are far behind us, or else they would have attacked this
room by now, so I believe that we will be able to return to the mansion
safely."

"That's good, right?" Seth asked.

"Yes, that will be good," Peter answered.  "Before we do that, though, I
must tell you something.  I had thought you would ask before now, but you
have not, and I cannot keep this from you any longer.  How much of our fight
earlier do you remember?"

"What do you mean?" Seth asked.  He hadn't thought about the fight at all
since he'd woken up in the woods and Peter had answered his questions.  "I
remember everything up until I passed out.  We already talked about that."

Peter sighed, his eyebrows furrowing together a little.  He was clearly
struggling to find the words to say something else.

"I do not know how to say this," Peter began, and he really didn't.  He was
about to break Seth's heart, and maybe more than that, but if he didn't do
it now the Professor would as soon as they got home.  Bad news was always
better if it came from someone you liked, and someone who cared about you.
"When we went to Savannah-"

"No," Seth said, shaking his head.  He knew, suddenly, what Peter was going
to say even though he wasn't using his power.  He'd managed not to think
about it up until now, had somehow allowed himself not to consider it at
all, but Peter wasn't going to let him turn away.

"Seth, I was in the house," Peter said, squeezing Seth's hands tightly,
pulling them close.  Seth's lip was trembling.

"No, it was a trick," Seth said, trying to pull his hands away.  He needed
to get out of here, to not hear this, to get away from Peter before Peter
said it because after he did then it would be true.  Right now, it was just
an idea.  It wasn't real.  "It was an ambush.  They tricked you."

"Seth, it was not a trick," Peter said, shaking his head again.  He could
see Seth's eyes watering, could see the panic rushing across his face, and
then suddenly his hands were burning.  "Seth!"

"Let go of me!" Seth yelled, trying to wrest his hands away from Peter.  He
felt his power flare up, trying to make Peter let go of him, to free his
hands so that he could run, run far away from here.  "Let go of me!  It
isn't real!"

Peter wanted to yell, too.  His hands were burning, and now his arms, too.
He could feel the heat of the flames, could smell the smoke and under it a
ghastly smell like barbecued pork, the smell of meat burning.  Every nerve
in his brain screamed at him to let go of Seth's hands, but he would not.
He knew it was Seth's power, knew it wasn't real, no matter how real it
felt.  Seth needed to know that his parents were dead, that Sabertooth had
torn them apart in the house and that was why Peter had yelled at him not to
go into the house.  Peter had tried to protect him then, and he hadn't
intended to say it now, but the instant he thought it, the second he
remembered the scene in the living room, the blood on the walls and the
bodies, both bodies, it traveled back through the link to Seth.

"No!" Seth screamed, tears bursting from his eyes.

A wave of pain, rage, loss, and anguish so strong it was a physical blow
rocked Peter back across the bed, and then it was gone as he finally let go
of Seth's hands and the link was broken.  Seth stumbled backward, falling
off of the bed, his eyes so wet that he couldn't see Peter as anything more
than a blurred form.  He didn't know if he had hurt Peter, or even if Peter
was unconscious or not.  All he could see at that moment was the image from
Peter's mind, the image of his parents, his parents on the floor, and they
were, they were...

Seth crumpled into a ball on the floor, racked with sobs.  He couldn't
breathe, couldn't think, couldn't do anything but cry, and then suddenly he
felt strong arms wrapping around him.  Peter folded himself around Seth on
the floor, his legs around Seth's, his arms holding Seth's arms as he pulled
Seth back against his chest.  Peter made no attempt to move him, but instead
just cradled him, rocking slowly back and forth the same way Seth was,
keeping him cocooned in a warm, safe grip.

"I have you," Peter whispered soothingly in his ear.

"I saw!" Seth burst.  He thought he was screaming, but it was really just a
hissing whisper.

"I know," Peter said, rocking.  He could feel Seth shaking and trembling.
"I did not mean for you to see that."

"But I saw," Seth keened.  His eyes were tightly closed, but it didn't
matter.  He kept seeing it over and over in his head.  "I saw it.  I saw
them."

"I know," Peter soothed.  "I am sorry, so sorry."

"I saw," Seth repeated, tears flowing down his cheeks.  He could feel Peter
all around him, but it was still the only thing he could say.  He tried to
speak again, but his voice cracked, failing him.

For a while the only sound in the room was Seth weeping, a wordless,
cracking sound that broke Peter's heart as well.  A few times he seemed to
taper off, but when Peter shifted a little, trying to carry him to one of
the beds, Seth just began sobbing again and Peter immediately went back to
the rocking.  He didn't know what else to do.  When they had lost Henry,
everyone had expressed their grief in different ways, but no one like this.
Ororo might have, but she had locked herself away.  If she had cried like
this, she had done it behind a closed door, and Peter felt guilty suddenly
for not doing more to reach out to her.  She had pushed them away and they
had let her, but he would not allow that to happen again.  He would be here
for Seth for as long as Seth needed him.

Eventually Seth slumped limply in Peter's grasp.

"Seth?" Peter asked softly, but there was no answer.

Ever so slowly Peter lifted Seth's head, crooking a finger under his chin,
and he saw that Seth's eyes were closed.  Carefully, keeping a watch on his
face, Peter unfolded himself from around Seth and scooped him up, carrying
him to the bed.  For a moment he wondered if Seth would want to sleep alone,
but then he worried that Seth might wake up in the middle of the night and
need something, need someone close by.  Peter climbed into bed, still
holding Seth with both arms, and stretched out on his side.  Sliding a
pillow under Seth's head, he turned Seth on his side and slid forward to
spoon up against him, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him in close.
  Making a small sound in his sleep, Seth leaned back into him, safe, and
soon they were both asleep.

Sometime later, he wasn't sure how long, Peter awoke with a start.
Daylight, weak and barely there, was just starting to peek in along the
edges of the shades, and Peter thought for a second that this was the
longest night in the world.  They can't have gotten more than a few hours of
sleep, as it had been around midnight when they got to the motel and then
they had been awake for at least an hour after that.  He felt Seth shaking
in his arms, his shoulders hunched together, and realized that it had woken
him up.  He couldn't see Seth's face, but it felt like he was crying again,
or maybe trying not to cry.

"Seth?" Peter whispered softly.  It was possible that Seth was asleep,
caught in some terrible dream that Peter could easily imagine.

"I'm sorry," Seth whispered, his voice trembling.  Peter tightened his arms,
pulling Seth in closer, and when he spoke Seth could feel the breath on the
back of his neck.

"You do not have to be sorry," Peter soothed.

"I have so many things to be sorry for," Seth argued, not raising his voice.
  He sounded resigned, almost defeated.  "I should have done something."

"There was nothing you could do," Peter whispered.  What had happened to the
Rands was over before either of them had gotten to the house, maybe even
before they'd gotten to Savannah.

"I don't mean last night," Seth explained.  "I mean before, I should have
done something.  I should have tried harder to find them.  Maybe I could
have worked everything out, or talked to them, or something."

"They did not want to be found," Peter argued.  No good would come of Seth
blaming himself.

"But they could have been!" Seth burst.  As quickly as it happened, though,
the energy already went out of him, and he seemed to wilt in Peter's
embrace.  "Anyone could have found them.  The Professor did, Sabertooth did,
I should have.  I should have been looking, should have done something."

"What could you have done?" Peter asked.  "You and they already had this
discussion, and they ran away from you."

"They didn't run away," Seth sighed.  "I did.  I always do.  I run away from
everything, and then try to fix it later.  If I hadn't run away, if I'd
stayed with them in Ohio, maybe, I don't know, maybe."

"Maybe nothing would have changed," Peter countered.  "You cannot go back,
you cannot undo what has already been done.  You know this, Seth."

"But I should have done something," Seth argued, ignoring him.  "There are
so many things I should have said, stuff that I'm not going to get to say
ever.  We didn't do it when they were, when I could have said it and it
might have mattered.  I didn't get to tell them that I loved them, or that I
was sorry, or."

His voice trailed off, cracking again, and his shoulders began to shake
again as sobs took over.  Peter held him tightly.

"Shhhh," Peter soothed, whispering in his ear.  "Whatever you needed to say,
they know.  It doesn't matter now because they know."

***

The trip home, a long ride on a Greyhound, was nothing like the trip to
Savannah had been.  They had no bags, no Ipod, and no happy flirtatious
traveling mood.  Peter bought some magazines at a news stand, but Seth just
started listlessly out the bus window for the entire ride, the countryside
reflected in his glassy eyes.  When Peter spoke to him he answered barely
above a whisper, only sharing a few words, insisting that he was fine.  When
the bus stopped for a while, taking on passengers and unloading at one of
the larger cities along the way, Peter purchased sandwiches and a few
drinks, but he had to argue Seth into eating one.

"I'm not hungry," Seth whispered, turning away from the wrapped sub Peter
held out.

"Seth, you have to eat," Peter argued.

He knew Seth was in there somewhere, the bright, easygoing Seth he'd known
for a few hours there, the Seth who was filled with passion and life, but
now he felt like he was just watching a shell.  He knew it was the grief and
the regret, but Seth just seemed defeated, completely pulled in on himself.
Peter remembered his vow last night not to let that happen, and held out the
sandwich again.  He would keep holding it until Seth took it.  Seth turned,
reading something in Peter's face, and finally took the sandwich.  He
unwrapped it slowly and chewed mechanically.  It seemed to have no taste at
all, like chewing up a mouthful of paper, but eating it was easier than
arguing with Peter.

More than anything right now Seth just wanted to be left alone.  He didn't
resent Peter for trying, for reaching out to him and making sure he was all
right, but he just wanted to lie down and sleep and stop seeing things
behind his eyes.  He wanted to think back to other times, when he still
lived at home, when his life was still kind of normal, and he couldn't do
that with Peter here.  He knew that he still cared about Peter, that he felt
closer to him than anyone else right now, but when he looked at Peter all it
did was remind him that everything was different, everything had changed,
and it would never be the same again.  Peter's voice and his soft squeeze of
Seth's hand shook him out of his thoughts.

"We are here," Peter said, nodding his head toward the window.  Seth thought
about putting his gloves on, but it just seemed like too much effort.

>From the bus station they were supposed to hail a cab to the school, and
then they would finally be home.  Seth followed Peter slowly down the steps
of the bus and then out to the sidewalk, ignoring everyone around them.  If
he hadn't been lost in his own thoughts, he might have noticed the woman
with green and white striped hair following them, watching them closely from
behind her sunglasses.  Peter, intent on hailing a cab and getting them out
of here as quickly as possible, didn't notice her either until she stepped
up behind them and waved her hand, and then it was too late.  A wave of
nausea dropped him to his knees on the sidewalk, which now seemed to be
spinning, and he was dimly aware of Seth falling next to him.

"Sabertooth and Toad may have failed, but you will surrender to me," she
said, leaning over Seth as she pulled a syringe from her jacket pocket.
"You will surrender to Vertigo."

Seth punched her in the face.

***

To be continued.

Yes, I know Vertigo hasn't ever shown up in the Ultimate universe (at least
not yet, anyway), but I think I'm going to start peeling away from the
comics a little more now.  Also, I know this was long in coming, but I've
been out of town a lot.  I'm also behind on answering emails, but I think
I'll be able to catch up soon.