This is an AU story. I'm considering it a crossover fic with the comics and movies since I'm going to accept Wolverine Origins (the movie) and also the origins of the Marauders and original lineup. I'll explain more as it progresses, but for clarification purposes, that's what you need to know. :)

Evolution is nothing to be feared. It is simply the process of putting one step in front of the other. Standing up a little straighter, turning on the light switch when it gets dark. Those who do not do such a thing, die off. In the case of the Marauders, this is the process of evolving into a more honed machine. A better team. The first Marauders were selected for their.. flexible moral beliefs.

Case A: Vertigo was a starving, dirty mess. Give her money and she became a willing participant with no vacillation about the Morlock Massacre.

I realized that loyalty to money did not create the type of team I was looking for. I needed a team that was willing to put my demands above all. I needed a deep, ingrained sense of loyalty.

I woefully underestimated the power of this type of loyalty until I studied Xavier and his motley crew of mutants. Some were disdainfully useless on paper, but they were more than willing to lay their lives time and time again. Loyalty to me, not to money, became my new factor for my new breed of Marauders.

I sent my old Marauders into bases to free mutants that were forced into testing. From these underfed creatures, I was able to sort them. I found those who were missed by their families, loved regardless of their mutations.

They were returned to their families. I had no use for them.

Those left were broken, in a sense. People are essentially pack creatures. I offered an identity to those who were lacking. I offered them a chance to find the sense of belonging that they were scared to admit they needed. I offered them a chance for revenge. Some politely refused my offer, to which I sent those to Xavier.

But some looked up with hope at what I offered them. Those were the ones who became my new Marauders.

Now, I am certain Xavier would propose that I enslaved these mutants and forced them into my ranks, but that has never been the case. I want to make this clear: no Marauder has ever been forced. All have come willingly. A testament to the true nature of humanity, no?

I have fed them. Clothed them. Trained them on their mutations. Helped them realize their true potential. And for this, I was given an unquestionable loyalty.

For all my trouble, I noticed that several stood out amongst my Marauders. These four females became the star pupils of my team. They led my Marauders. They trained them. Resourceful and resilient. I was able to focus on my research while my own personal horsemen took control.