Note: the characters from the X-men:Evolution belong to Marvel Comics. The character of Icon belongs to DC Comics. My thanks go to the creators of Icon, the late, great Dwayne McDuffie, M.D. Bright and Mike Gustovich. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only and no money shall be earned by the writer.
Chapter 1
Personal log. I was en-route to Earth to continue the mission assigned to me by the Cooperative to observe and assist humanity in its efforts to engage in self-improvement in my guise as the super hero known as Icon. I was also looking forward to seeing Raquel and my godson Armistad, as well. My ship was preparing to exit hyperspace on the edge of the solar system when it struck an undetected quantum string. The collision sent the ship plunging through space, out of control, to stop here, wherever I am.
Arnus, originally from the Cooperative planet Terminus, picked himself up from the deck of his starship. "Miriam?"
"Yes, Arnus?" his ship's sentient Info Tool responded. After the Cooperative had gifted the ship to him for defeating the dreaded Yoongar, he'd named the living computer after the slave woman who'd found him after his escape pod had reconfigured his genetic structure so he could be 'reborn' as an African-American male child.
"Ship's status, please."
"Except for secondary systems and life support, everything is down. We're on impulse power only and I'm holding us in orbit."
"In orbit where?"
"Earth. We were on course in this direction when we were pulled in by the star. Apparently the collision threw us in the same direction."
"Screen on."
He saw an unimpeded view of North America on the screen, not a cloud in sight.
"Arnus, we are too low in the atmosphere to retain this orbit."
"Can we make it to the hangar at my house, Miriam?"
"My sensors are unable to locate your home. In fact, I cannot locate Dakota City at all."
He blinked twice when he heard that. "Scan the planet for Metropolis," he ordered. Perhaps Superman may have some idea of what had happened to Dakota City.
"I am unable to locate Metropolis, either."
That certainly did not sound good. "Miriam, is our cloaking device active?"
"Yes."
"Good. We need to find a remote location that has a communication net we can tap into to determine where we currently are."
Several moments later, Miriam said, "I have a remote weather and science station on one of the islands in the Falklands chain. It should meet our requirements."
"Very well then. Take us to that island."
"Acknowledged."
#
Xavier Institute for Gifted Children
August 21, 2001 0801 EST
"My God!"
Charles Xavier ripped his Cerebro helmet off of his head to avoid the surge of power that had struck the instrument. Before the power surge, he'd been running a routine scan of the planet for any signs of a new mutant. Then he'd detected a being so incredibly powerful, his mind almost couldn't handle what he'd found. As the computer locked in on the mutant's location, his right eyebrow nearly rose to the ceiling. "He's on Gough Island in the Falklands chain," he muttered lowly. The island was practically uninhabited except for the members of a small South African weather station and scientific research team.
Could he be one of the members of the team, he wondered as he shut down Cerebro before he exited the chamber. Then he telepathically called out to the two instructors of his Institute. "Ororo, Logan, please report to my office immediately."
Minutes later, he wheeled himself to his office and found his two friends inside awaiting his arrival. Logan, code-name Wolverine, was a short, stocky man with a spectacular muscular physique. His mutation provided him with heightened senses, retractable bone claws and an amazing healing factor that probably made the man an immortal. Unfortunately, a rogue government agency had experimented on the man in the past and had fused molten adamantium onto his skeletal structure and his bone claws, as well as severely damaging Logan's memory. The other instructor, Ororo Munroe, code-name Storm, was a tall, aristocratic beauty with azure eyes and long white hair. Her mutant ability allowed her to control the weather.
"Charles," she asked, "What has happened?"
"Cerebro has found…something. It is a mutant, one who I believe is more powerful than any mutant we've ever discovered before. Even Magneto's power or my own would not measure up against this new mutant's power. Currently, the mutant happens to be on Gough Island."
"Where in the hell is Gough Island, Chuck?" Logan grunted.
"It's in the South Atlantic and a part of the Falklands Island chain. It's practically uninhabited except for a small research post run by the South African government."
"What do you want to do about this mutant?" Ororo asked.
"We must travel to that island immediately. We simply cannot allow anyone else to contact him before we have the opportunity to present what we have to offer at our Institute to him. If Magneto were to find this mutant and turn the mutant to his cause, I shudder to think of what could happen. Logan, Ororo, we'll leave Scott and Jean in charge of the Institute while we're gone. I want you both in your uniforms when we fly the Blackbird there to greet our new friend."
"If this guy is as powerful as you think he is, Charles, I hope your optimism about him is spot on."
As his two friends rushed out of his office to prepare for their journey, he found himself agreeing wholeheartedly with Logan's assessment.
#
Gough Island
1625 GMT
Miriam had shown Arnus enough by now to prove that he was on the planet Earth in another universe.
This Earth didn't have Superman, the Justice League or Dakota City. Atlantis' ruler here was a being called Namor. Also, New York City appeared to be the center of activity for enhanced beings on this world. The world-wide media reported on the exploits of an organization known as the Avengers and a family called the Fantastic Four.
There were also some reports about mysterious beings who were called mutants or humans who possessed a so-called X-Gene. Although some of these reports were clearly short on facts in regards to some of the powers of these mutants, there were credible scientific theories on the nature of human mutation from several learned sources.
What had been very troubling about some of the media coverage on these mutants was the racial animus that some of the homo sapiens had for their mutated brothers and sisters. There were some who believed the government should register these mutants to be able to continuously track them. He smirked at that. In the United States of America on his Earth as well as this one, the federal government didn't even register fire arms, instruments that have killed far more people in that single nation every year than any altercation between enhanced humans or mutants. Worse, some fanatics wanted to commit genocide and wipe out every mutant on the planet.
In his guise of Augustus Freeman, he'd fought against racial prejudice and oppression during America's Civil War and fought against tyranny and genocide during World War II. If he was now stuck living on this world considering how unlikely it was that he could return to his own universe, he knew he'd fight for justice and equality for everyone, no matter who they were.
"Arnus, Alert: an aircraft is approaching our position at a high rate of velocity. The craft is quite unusual for an Earth vessel. It employs a rudimentary masking field that would shield it from most Terran detection systems."
"Miriam, please identify the craft."
A holographic image shimmered into existence right in front of him. "The aircraft is similar to the Lockheed SR-71, albeit stubbier and wider than the reconnaissance aircraft in my databanks. There are three life signs aboard, all are X-Gene positive. The craft is slowing as it approaches the island. Do you wish to maintain our cloak?"
He narrowed his eyes for a moment then shook his head. "No. Decloak. I will exit the ship and greet our visitors."
#
As the Blackbird winged its way above the northern shore of Gough Island, her pilot announced to his passengers, "Storm, Chuck, radar has just picked up something close to us."
They all stared out of the windscreen for a few moments until Storm shouted, "There!"
The trio witnessed a strange craft hovering a few meters above the ground almost a quarter of a mile from the plane's current position.
"What is…it?" she asked, her voice full of wonder.
"I…I don't know," Charles admitted. Then he said, "Logan, take us toward it very slowly and set us down three hundred meters away from it. I don't want us to get too close. I don't want to frighten its occupants."
The pilot grunted to let Xavier know he'd heard his instructions and switched the craft to hover mode. Soon, Logan gently landed the aircraft on a patch of lowland grass sprinkled here and there with red crowberry bushes.
Once they'd secured the Blackbird and had exited the plane, Logan pulled his mask over his face and sniffed the air. "Folks, I don't smell anything that seems out of place, so far."
Storm placed herself behind Xavier's wheelchair and began to push him forward while Wolverine strolled a few meters ahead of them on point. When they were about fifty meters from the strange craft, someone shouted, "Greetings!" to them.
#
Ororo saw a tall, powerfully built Black man dressed in a crimson suit of body armor trimmed with gold bands around his arms and legs slowly floating down to the ground. In the center of his chest plate was a gold ring where his dramatic and billowy green cape was attached. The man wore blue gloves that reminded her of the kind that men used to wear to attend the opera in a bygone era. His face was very handsome and he appeared to be in his late thirties or early forties.
He had a slight smile on his face and seemed to present a non-threatening posture as he slowly walked toward them. Then he came to a halt about seven meters distant. "If you are the island's security personnel, I apologize for intruding upon your airspace. If you so desire, I shall leave immediately and never trouble you again."
"Please, wait!" Charles called out to the man. "We are not representatives of the government that owns the weather station here. We simply came here to talk to a mutant our instruments had detected on this island. I think the person we believed we'd find here is you; however, if the craft that is behind you is yours, I am now not so certain you are a mutant."
The man shook his head. "I am sorry you came all this way for nothing. I am not a mutant and I do not possess the X-Gene."
Charles nodded and said, "I realize that now. My device is designed to detect genes outside the human norm which is why it detected you. I, myself, am a mutant. My power is telepathy. I am able to read the thoughts of humans and mutants. However, I am unable to read any of your thoughts. I can sense your presence but that is all I can read."
"Interesting," the man said simply. "I suppose the reason you cannot read my thoughts is the fact that my genetic structure is a human/extra-terrestrial hybrid."
That declaration stunned Ororo and she could tell it had shaken her two companions, too. "Who are you?"
"On Earth, my Earth, that is, my name is Augustus Freeman. I was born on a planet in another galaxy in my universe called Terminus. Almost two centuries ago, I was marooned on my Earth and to survive, my life boat reconfigured my genetic structure to emulate the form of the first sentient being who'd found me. It made me take the form of a newborn, African-American male child based on the slave woman who'd discovered me."
"I see," Charles said. "Why, that's remarkable!"
"If it isn't just a load of B.S.," Wolverine noted with a growl.
The man chuckled as he regarded Logan. "I must admit that my story is quite…unique. However, considering the fact that I have a starship hovering above the ground behind me, I would argue that would give my tale some credence."
Storm blinked twice at that. The man did raise a good point. "Mr. Freeman—"
He interrupted her gently, "My dear lady, please call me Augustus."
She smiled at his gallantry. "Very well…Augustus. I was just curious about your attire. Is your uniform customary attire for the people of Terminus?"
"No. Actually, this is the costume I wore on my Earth in my guise as the super hero Icon. Now, for the moment, that's enough about me. Would you all be so kind as to introduce yourselves, please?"
"My apologies," Charles said. It was plain to her that her mentor was happy everyone was engaged in a calm and rational discussion for a change. "I am Professor Charles Xavier. The charming lady with me is Ms. Ororo Munroe and the gentleman's name is Logan. We are instructors at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Children, an institution where we teach mutants to control their gifts and to use them for the benefit of all of humanity. We also believe in teaching mutants that the only viable way to peace and security for all is to not see ourselves as separate from homo sapiens."
"Quite interesting. I was just studying information my computer had collated regarding mutants and the issues regarding their integration into society as a whole. I would like to continue discussing this further with you in comfort, if you don't mind. Would you care to come aboard my starship where I can provide you with refreshments and accommodations?"
"Are you planning on inserting any probes up any of our orifices or something?" Wolverine demanded.
"Er…no. I just planned on sitting down and engaging in a civilized conversation."
"Well then…I'm okay with that," Logan said.
Storm was actually surprised that Logan wasn't more aggressive in his attitude toward the stranger. However, he had done nothing but be polite during their conversation; that's why her companions and she felt so at ease in his presence.
"Splendid," Augustus said. The he spoke into a tiny microphone on his collar. "Miriam, target all sentient life in a two decare radius around me and trasmat us to the ship's lounge."
Then, in the blink of an eye, she found herself in a brightly lit room where three chairs awaited them along with a small table with three carafes, four glasses, four coffee mugs, and some tableware. Augustus offered coffee, tea and water. Wolverine agreed to a glass of water. He sniffed it first then took a tentative sip. When nothing seemed to happen to him, he nodded to his fellow companions. Ororo then asked for a glass of water and the stranger poured a glass for her then himself. Charles declined having any refreshment politely.
Moments later, Xavier said, "Augustus, you mentioned in passing that you had lived on a different Earth than ours. Can you tell us more about that?"
"Of course. After spending many years marooned on Earth, my people had finally rescued me several years ago. Before I left my people, I was an adjudicator. One of the criminals I had had incarcerated for his crimes against my people found his way to Earth after I had returned to Terminus. He was determined to kill every human being on the planet. So I returned to Earth to stop him. After that, circumstances required me to remain on Earth for most of my time with periodic transits to Terminus. Today, I was returning to my Earth from Terminus through hyperspace, a realm that allows starships to travel faster-than-light."
"Yes," the Professor noted. "A former student of mine, Reed Richards, has proven the existence of hyperspace very recently."
"That is quite surprising," Augustus observed. "Only a few people on my Earth knew of its existence. The only reason they knew was due to knowledge provided by other extra-terrestrial beings. To have an Earth-born human discover hyperspace at this point in your history is…intriguing." Then he chuckled a bit and said, "I will look into this more later. However, I should continue my tale about how I ended up here."
"Please do," Charles said.
"Well…as my ship prepared to exit hyperspace at the edge of my Earth's solar system, she apparently collided with a quantum string. These anomalies are quite rare and, to my knowledge, none of my people had ever had a similar encounter before. It seems that this particular string shifted my ship from the hyperspace realm connected to my universe to the one connected to yours. After I'd arrived to your world, I soon discovered that I had been displaced from the Earth that I'd known to yours."
"That sounds like you have had a very trying experience," Ororo said. "Do you think you will be able to find a way to return to your universe?"
Augustus sighed heavily. "No, I don't believe so. As I mentioned before, quantum strings are an extremely rare anomaly and even my people don't know much about them. In fact, I would have no idea how to begin to reverse the process."
"I'm real sorry to hear that, bub," Logan said.
The stranger nodded to her teammate. "Thank you for your kind sentiments, Logan."
"What do you plan on doing now?" she asked.
"At the moment, I don't really know what I'm going to do about my situation," he admitted. "I may remain hidden on this island until I determine what do with myself. In the meantime, I can use my enhanced abilities to help those who are in desperate need of assistance."
"Enhanced abilities? Do you mind telling us what kind of abilities you possess?" the Professor asked.
"Well, I do have an assortment of abilities due to the hybrid genetic structure I possess. I have what you may refer to as super strength, far in excess to what is reported as the upper limit of the gentleman you may know as the Fantastic Four's 'The Thing.' I possess super speed and super reflexes, allowing me to fly at Mach Five in the atmosphere and faster in the vacuum of space."
"You don't need to use a space suit?" a stunned Logan asked.
"No. My body and constitution is self-sustaining in any environment. My body is nearly impervious to high impact forces or blunt force trauma. I also have enhanced senses, can project beams comprised of positrons to penetrate non-organic material or to stun sentient entities, and project force fields to imprison my opponents temporarily."
Ororo was simply gobsmacked by all of the abilities he'd listed for them. Then when she'd glanced at Logan and Charles, she'd found they were as stunned by what they'd heard, as well. Augustus, on the other hand, just looked as if he'd been discussing the local weather.
Several seconds later, she heard Charles in her mind. "Ororo, Logan, even though I realize that this may be somewhat of a risk to us, I believe we should offer to have him join us at our Institute. Having him with us is a much better scenario than having him fight against us if he is influenced by someone like Magneto or worse."
"I agree, Charles," she beamed to her mentor.
"Keep your friends close and your potential enemies closer, eh, Chuck?" Logan noted through the telepathic connection.
"Augustus, what did you do to make a living on your Earth?" Xavier asked.
"I was one of the managing partners of a successful small law firm. I am certain that my ship could plant the proper credentials in your computer systems to support my identity here and provide me a membership in the appropriate bar. Of course, it will take some time to make connections and develop a practice here."
"That seems like a very logical course of action, Augustus," the Professor agreed. "Of course, I can assist you by making introductions and by retaining you to represent my Institute and my business interests."
"Thank you, Charles," the tall man said. "I appreciate your kindness."
"Perhaps," Storm said, "this arrangement could be beneficial to all of us, Augustus. You see, we have just added a crop of new students to the Institute that could use some mentorship as well as benefit from our training and experience. However, there are only three of us to fifteen of them. It would be wonderful if we could have you join us as a part-time instructor, mostly in the mornings and the evenings. During the school year, the children attend a local high school for most of the day, so you could start your law practice with little interference from them."
He viewed her with a look that showed he was a little uncertain about her proposal. "I have never been a parent before and I've been told by a close associate of mine," Augustus noted with a sad smile, "that I'm not the nurturing kind."
Logan shot a wry look at the man. "Hey, bub, do you think I look like the coddling type to you? We can leave the nurturing to Ororo and Charles while we show the brats how to survive in a cold, cruel world."
"I see." Then he flashed the first grin they'd seen from him. "I suppose I am good at teaching hard lessons when I put my mind to it." Then he turned serious once more. "Professor, how does it work with the instructors and you? Are we colleagues to you or employees?"
"The instructors are treated as my colleagues. If the students are engaged in combat training, an instructor is in charge. If the students are engaged in an actual mission, the two oldest students are the team leaders; however, if an instructor is participating on a mission with the team and a team leader has lost the confidence of his or her team or the team is in danger of being captured or killed, the instructor has the option of taking command of the team for the remainder of the mission. As for the relationship between instructors, I consult with them and we usually resolve issues by majority rule. However, if we are in a crisis situation, the ultimate decision resides with me after I consult with the instructors."
Augustus narrowed his eyes at the Professor. "That could lead to myopic decisions at times, Charles, particularly if you're the only person who ultimately decides what constitutes the 'greater good.'"
"You've raised a very good point, Augustus, one I have never truly considered until now."
The other man simply shrugged. "Blame it on my legal training, Professor, to see flaws in any system. Although no system is perfect, the system you have is pretty good except in the case where someone could possibly pass themselves off as you and infiltrate your organization. I could help you improve your security systems using your own technology to avoid that problem. I would not want to insert my people's technology into your systems because if something ever happened to me, I don't want that to result in a flaw in your systems."
Well, Ororo mused to herself, his comments had only served to further seal the deal in her mind. Not only was he immensely powerful, at least according to Cerebro's readings, he was refined, intelligent, controlled, and diplomatic. Even though his story was fantastic, he seemed completely genuine during their conversation and did not seem over eager to assert he would be a good fit for the Institute.
Also, it didn't hurt that he looked quite fine for a man who was as tall as an NBA forward!
"Augustus," Charles said, "something tells me that you would be a wonderful addition to our Institute. We can provide you a place with people who would accept you into the fold no matter who you happen to be while you're building a life here. And if you wish to use your powers for the benefit of humankind, I believe if you maintain a secret identity and present yourself as an enhanced human and provide your assistance in a manner that doesn't draw attention to the Institute, I think we would be comfortable with that arrangement."
"I suppose it would work if your Institute has a substantial amount of property. I can have the Maker, a sort of construction and fabricating device on my starship, construct a hidden hangar for the ship."
"How long would it take to build a hangar, bub?"
"Hmm…less than thirty minutes or so. It uses the technology of my people that can transmit matter into energy and reconstruct that matter into any form the Maker chooses. On my world, I had the Maker construct a hangar for the ship under my home's swimming pool. I am certain it could do the same here."
It was only when he discussed the capabilities of his starship that reminded Ororo that the man was an alien. Yet, was that so bad, considering how plenty of humans viewed mutants? The sad thing, though, for him, was that he was most likely the only alien from his world this universe would ever see. Losing both his home world and the Earth that he'd known must be truly devastating to his spirit.
"We know this is all new to you, Augustus," she said, "and it has to be difficult for you to cope with everything you must be experiencing after being displaced here. However, if you wish to join us, we would love to have you."
The man sighed deeply and nodded. "Very well," he said. "I shall follow your craft to your Institute."
#
TBC
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