TEMPO

BIOGRAPHY

The time-twisting mutant Tempo was a member of the first incarnation of Stryfe’s Mutant Liberation Front. Heather Tucker’s life before becoming a mutant terrorist is shrouded in mystery. She left college to join the MLF and debuted with them when they attacked an energy facility. Her temporal abilities slowed the reactions of the facility’s security, enabling her teammates to handily accomplish their mission. Tempo was among the members of the MLF sent to liberate the young mutants Skids and Rusty Collins, wards of X-Factor who had been detained by the US government for refusing to submit to the Mutant Registration Act. Their rescue attempt was nearly thwarted by Cable, who had been tracking the MLF and wanted to recruit Rusty and Skids himself. Recognizing the threat that Heather’s powers presented, Cable took her down first. Despite this setback, the MLF proved victorious in their first clash with Cable and escaped with Rusty and Skids. [New Mutants (1st series) #86-87]

The MLF soon regrouped and launched an attack on Genosha, though Stryfe’s true motives were far greater than “mutant liberation”. He soon sent Tempo and her colleagues into battle against Cable once again when his long-time enemy began to interfere with his efforts to pave the way for the rise of Apocalypse. Cable had learned from his past encounter with the MLF and easily took them out. [New Mutants (1st series) #100, Cable: Blood and Metal #2]

Tempo soon faced a bigger challenge when the MLF’s efforts to rescue Thumbelina’s brother Slab from prison were interrupted by X-Factor. The mutant speedster Quicksilver was minimally affected by Tempo’s “time-twisters” and therefore posed a serious threat to the MLF. X-Factor proved to be a match for the MLF, which barely managed to accomplish its rescue mission and escape. [X-Factor (1st series) #77]

The MLF’s next assignment proved a test of Tempo’s loyalty moreso than her mutant powers. Stryfe had targeted the Tucker Research Center, whose founder Dr. Tucker had developed a pre-natal test to gauge the likelihood that an unborn child would be born a mutant. He had also developed an experimental process for halting the mutation in utero. Upon hearing that the Tucker Clinic was their next target, Tempo (whose own last name was Tucker) called to warn Dr. Tucker of the impending attack. She clearly had a connection to Dr. Tucker, who recognized her voice. Despite her timely warning, Dr. Tucker refused to be deterred from his life’s work by terrorist threats. He reported the imminent attack and told his staff not to come in but arrived himself to safeguard his research. When the MLF arrived, they were confronted by X-Factor.

During the battle, Tempo was clearly holding back and allowed herself to be bested by Polaris. This did not save Dr. Tucker himself, who was eviscerated by Wildside. X-Factor succeeded in driving off the MLF before they could complete their mission to destroy Tucker’s work. With his dying breath, Dr. Tucker asked X-Factor member Wolfsbane to see that his research was given to the government. Wolfsbane opted to destroy the data herself,  as she believed that it was an abomination to mettle with God’s plans for unborn children. Back at the MLF’s headquarters, Stryfe questioned his troops to see if any of them knew how X-Factor had been tipped off to their next move. Tempo denied any knowledge but Stryfe seemed to know that it was Heather’s personal connection to Dr. Tucker that thwarted their plans. [X-Factor (1st series) #78]

[NOTE: Given that they shared the same last name and were both African-American and that the storyline focused on the choices of parents regarding their mutant offspring, it is likely that Dr. Tucker was Tempo’s father.]

Stryfe’s plans culminated in a massive conflict that pitted the MLF against the combined forces of X-Force, X-Factor and the X-Men. Tempo faced off against Quicksilver once more and proved far more effective in slowing him down. However, she was so focused on this task that she was easily taken down by an attack by Psylocke. In the wake of this conflict, Tempo and other members of the MLF were arrested for their crimes and sent to a prison equipped to handle superhuman inmates. [X-Cutioner’s Song crossover]

Tempo and the others were scheduled to be transferred to the Vault when they were liberated by Reignfire. He offered them power and wealth in exchange for assisting him in his war on humanity as members of his new Mutant Liberation Front. Heather’s first assignment was to capture anti-mutant government official Henry Peter Gyrich who served as the head of Project: Wideawake - the United States' latest use of the Sentinels as a last defense against mutants. During the mission, Heather found herself appalled by the brutality of her teammates and openly voiced her hatred for them. When she learned that this mission was largely a test of her and the other original MLF members, she flew away in frustration. She was pursued by Moonstar, who questioned why she was with the MLF. Heather admitted that she didn’t truly know whether it was fear, insecurity or conflicted convictions. Regardless of her true reasons, it was clear that Tempo was floundering in her commitment to the MLF and questioning her life as a terrorist. [X-Force (1st series) #26-27]

Cable and X-Force tracked the MLF and staged a rescue attempt. During the conflict, X-Force member Feral was goaded by Stryfe and, after witnessing Gyrich’s virulent anti-mutant sentiments herself, she decided to aid the MLF in killing him. She was stopped by Tempo, who had realized that she could no longer be a party to the MLF’s murderous methods. She was taken down by Reignfire for her betrayal but her efforts helped X-Force to win the day. Feral defected to the MLF and Heather was left behind with X-Force. [X-Force (1st series) #28]

Heather returned with X-Force to their Camp Verde base. Cable all but invited her to join them despite his reservations about her motivations. Though she considered it, Tempo ultimately declined the offer. She had been torn about her activities with the MLF and was unconvinced that X-Force offered her a better alternative. Instead, she decided to return to college and carve out a normal life for herself. [X-Force (1st series) #29-30]

Like so many other mutants before her, Tempo’s attempt to live a normal existence was short-lived. Several months later, anti-mutant sentiments reached a new high with the advent of Operation: Zero Tolerance. This new wave of intolerance drove Tempo back to the MLF, which had recently reformed under Wildside’s leadership. Tempo contributed her time-twisting as well as her computer skills to the team, but this incarnation of the MLF didn’t last long. They were fed intel that led them into a trap set by Operation: Zero Tolerance. Bastian’s forces attacked them and, despite the efforts of X-Force to stop them, Tempo was captured along with Wildside, Dragoness and several members of X-Force. [X-Force (1st series) #67-68]

Tempo was one of the fortunate mutants to retain their mutant powers following the mutant decimation of M-Day. She briefly took refuge at the Xavier Institute among “The 198” but kept a low profile. When things went sour with the government’s attempt to control the remaining mutant population, Heather struck out on her own. Not long after, she was recruited by Exodus to serve in the latest team of Acolytes. After a failed assault on SHIELD’s Helicarrier during which they were defeated by the X-Men, the Acolytes allied themselves with Sinister and his Marauders. Together, they hatched a plot to acquire the supposed Mutant Messiah, the first mutant born since M-Day. Tempo and her fellow Acolytes attacked the Xavier Institute in the hopes of acquiring the Destiny Diaries and taking out Blindfold – each a source of future knowledge that might give the X-Men an advantage. Their quest for the child brought them into direct war with the X-Men, X-Factor and the New X-Men and once more, Tempo found herself on the losing side. Though they lost the mutant child, Exodus’ team did manage to leave the battlefield with Professor X, who had been killed in battle. Tempo slowed time allowing them to spirit Xavier’s body away with the intention of restoring him, if possible. [X-Men Annual (3rd series) #1, Messiah CompleX crossover]

After they succeeded in restoring Xavier to some semblance of his former self, he challenged their supposed purpose in the new mutant order following M-Day. This led Exodus to a crisis of faith and he disbanded the Acolytes. Tempo and the others decided to take refuge in the new mutant nation that Cyclops had established in the San Francisco area, but unfortunately Utopia did not prove to be a safe haven for Tempo. When an errant personality of Legion's warped reality, Utopia was transformed into Fortress X. In this new reality dubbed the Age of X, mutantkind had taken refuge in Fortress X where they battled outside forces to maintain their freedom on a daily basis. Within this altered reality, Tempo was recreated as the fierce leader of Tempo Cadre. Tragically, Tempo was killed in battle against their human enemies. As was the tradition in Fortress X, her psyche was absorbed by Legacy – Rogue’s alter ego in this warped reality. Eventually, Legion's reality-warping personality was brought to heel and the Age of X was brought to an end. However, it appears that Tempo’s death was all too real. [X-Men Legacy (1st series) #245]