The X-Men – The Beautiful People
T-minus 3 days till take off…
Reed Richards was a nervous wreck. He so desperately wanted to make a name for himself by furthering the United States space program and being a pioneer in interspace travel. He had already helped to design and construct a ship that he believed could help accomplish this. While he could serve as an engineer and navigator on the flight, he wasn't a pilot.
That was where his best friend, Ben Grimm, came in. Reed had approached Ben with the idea and while Ben remembered as kids promising Reed that he would pilot the craft if Reed ever built one, Ben insisted that he couldn't do it by himself. That was where Major Christopher Summers came in.
He was one of Grimm's superiors and quite the adventurer in his own right. Reed was willing to do whatever it took to get Ben on this adventure with him, which was why they currently sat in Major Summers' office as the Major digested what he had just been told.
"So let me get this straight, Ben," Major Summers said incredulously. "You want me to join you in some sort of haphazard voyage into space?"
Ben nodded sheepishly.
"To look for a supposed 'Negative Zone' that could be a gateway to other universes?" Summers asked again.
Ben nodded again, but this time with a slight grin.
"And let me see if I got this last part correct," Summers says with a dramatic pause and raised eyebrow. "In an experimental spacecraft that your egghead friend here, built? No offense, Richards."
Ben chuckles, looks at Reed and realizes that the egghead comment was spot on. Reed just sat there, smiling uncomfortably.
"Yes, Major Summers," Ben said. "I know it sounds crazy, hell, it is crazy, but Reed is my best friend. I trust him."
Major Summers stood up and began to pace the room.
"We'll be court martialed for this," Summers says out loud, not really looking for a response.
"What about cosmic rays?" he asked.
"I've taken that into account, Major," Reed says. "The ship's shielding will hold up."
Major Summers eyed Reed suspiciously before turning to Ben.
"Grimm, you're one of, if not the best pilot I've ever trained. You don't think this is at all rushing it? You're talking about doing something NASA takes months, if not years to plan, and we're going to do it in three days?"
Ben nods, "This is totally insane, Major. I really wouldn't blame you if you said, 'No'."
Major Summers sighs. "Didn't say I wasn't going to do it. I love my country as much as the next guy. You're still going to owe me, Grimm."
Reed and Ben stood up, thrilled that they had gotten the man they wanted.
"You won't regret this, Major," Reed says with an almost elastic smile.
"I'm not so sure of that," Major Summers begins. "I'm supposed to be taking my wife and two sons on a trip to Alaska on our plane. If this works out, I'm sure they'll understand why we went a week later."
The three men shook hands and immediately began planning their adventure.
Ben smiled and slapped Reed on the back.
"My best friend," Ben chuckled. "Mr. Fantastic."
T-minus 2 days until takeoff…
A day later, Reed Richards finds himself breaking up with the girl of his dreams, Susan Storm. When Reed told her of his plans, she wanted to go with him. Major Summers however, was very adamant that the crew would only consist of him, Reed, and Ben.
As much as Reed had planned on letting Susan come with him, Major Summers was right. The repercussions were too high. Even if the mission was a success, they were going to face severe penalties. Oh well, all in the name of science. He had no idea he would never see Susan again.
Two hours after takeoff…
Somewhere on the shores of the United Kingdom, Ben Grimm regains consciousness and tries to take in the carnage of the crash. He realized that he was probably in shock. Which was probably a good thing in helping him deal with the site of Reed Richards' and Major Christopher Summers's corpses. Did shock also explain the broken bodies of what appeared to be men made of stone?
One of the stone men crawled in his direction. His legs destroyed, the stone man reached out to Ben, and one of its massive, stone hands grabbed Ben's leg. Its rough, rocky fingers gouging a wound that Ben sustained in the crash.
Ben's body goes into convulsions as his mind is flooded with the creature's thought patterns. His name is Korg, and he is part of an alien race called the Kronan. He and his crew were part of an advanced invasion party from their planet.
They were headed for Norway, when their ship collided unexpectedly with the human ship. The collision, and subsequent crash brought them down hundreds of miles from their intended landing zone.
Ben then 'hears' the distress call that Korg sends out to his planet.
"Under attack by an Earth ship! Humans more dangerous than anticipated! Cease invasion plans…"
The transmission ended.
Ben snaps out of his trance in time to see Korg die.
Ben passes out from the pain. Along with the bodies of his comrades and the aliens, Ben is removed from the area later that evening by a British team of scientists and eventually turned over to the United States special research area, Project Pegasus.
Hundreds of miles away, a young doctor from the United States, Donald Blake, enjoys an uneventful vacation in Norway before returning to his practice in New York a week later.
10 years later…
The Middle East
Scott Summers thrived on this. Here he was, slightly older than the legal drinking age, and yet he found himself alone in the deserts of Iraq. He loved his job as a man-hunter, but things were different this time around. Instead of bringing a man to justice, Stark industries had hired him to bring back their benefactor. Hopefully in one piece.
Billionaire Tony Stark had a heart condition, but it didn't stop him from coming to Iraq with a team of Army Rangers, in an effort to create weapons to win a difficult war with as little casualties as possible. Unfortunately, terrorists had abducted Mr. Stark, and he now spent his days behind bars in a dark, dank, cave.
Scott had hiked for two days to get to this compound, and now that he was here his mind went into that 'zone', where he planned out a strategy. Before his mother died, she told Scott that he was every bit as intelligent as his father. A father who helped hijack a secret spaceship that malfunctioned and crashed.
His mother had been pregnant when his father, Major Christopher Summers died, and the stress from that caused her to lose her child. A year later she died. Scott and his younger brother, Alex, were teenagers that no one would adopt. They were put into separate orphanages and hadn't seen each other since.
As if all of that wasn't enough for a teenager to deal with, Scott suffered from constant headaches. Little did he know it was the beginning of his mutation. Scott had the ability to shoot blasts of energy from his eyes. It was great. If he could see a target, he could hit it. His aim was perfect. Why wouldn't it be? The beams came straight out of his eyes!
With this discovery, Scott ran away from the orphanage. He committed his first minor crime at 15 years of age. Nothing serious, just enough money or goods to survive. He grew up in the streets, impressed the right people, and was an official bounty hunter at age 18.
Over the years his reputation grew. Enough to get a billion dollar company like Stark Industries to call him. It was now time to earn a very healthy paycheck.
Scott sat in silence taking note of all of the soldiers in the compound. This was going to be easy. Three snipers in three towers, and the rest of them in one building. Gambling probably.
Scott came up with a plan almost immediately. He would use the same strategy that he used to free the Maximoff siblings from that 'concentration camp', in Prague. That place was a hellhole, but their father paid him a lot of money. It was a little odd that once they found out who hired him, they were no longer in any hurry to return home with him.
Scott snapped back to the present. He took one last look around the compound and then fired. The building exploded with one big force beam, and everyone in it was either knocked out by the concussive force or…expired.
Scott took out the snipers one by one. It was too easy. Being in those perches, the snipers only had one way down, and he was too quick on the draw with his optic blasts. The siege was over within a couple of minutes.
Scott carefully walked down to the cave where they kept the man he was here for. The prisoners in the cave began to cheer, and some even rejoiced by crying. One man simply smiled. The man Scott was here to rescue, Tony Stark.
"You okay, Mr. Stark?"
Tony looked up at the young man. He was a good looking kid, roguishly charming if Tony said so himself. He was quite calm, and had just unleashed hell on the terrorist all by himself.
"I'm okay, kid," Tony said. "Just deep in thought. You here for me?"
"Yes, sir," Scott replied. "I have a Mr. James Rhodes en route to evacuate us, as well as any other survivors."
As Scott helped Tony out of the cage, Tony surveyed the destruction.
"Great job, kid," Tony said. "If you didn't get to me in the next couple of days, I would have had to try some crazy plans of my own."
"Really, sir?" Scott asked, genuinely curious. "Such as?"
Tony chuckled. Being a captive can make the mind think some crazy things, and creating a suit of armor out of spare tank parts would have been way too outlandish, even for him.
"Doesn't matter, kid," Tony smirked. "Let's go home."
Scott Summers had just led world famous philanthropist, Tony Stark, and 7 other American survivors out of the Middle East. He was now a hero. Yet, throughout the helicopter ride home, all he could think of was Wanda.
New York University, New York
Midtown High School student, Peter Parker, slowly daydreams his way through a public science exhibit at New York University. It was an outing he had been looking forward to for a while. He was at home here. Nerds from hundreds of other high schools and universities were in attendance as well.
Peter passed an exhibit of spiders. Nothing too interesting, arachnid attributes and possible mutations. Peter stood inches away from one of the displays, staring at the spiders, trying to get a good look at their mandibles.
From behind him, a big, meaty hand pushes him against the glass display, and a chorus of laughter follows.
"Ha!" the large figure says, "Puny Parker wants to kiss a spider!"
Peter turns around, adjusts his glasses and meekly mumbles, "I'm not afraid of you, Flash."
Flash Thompson growls, "What did you say, Parker?"
An even bigger hand grabs Flash by the shoulder.
"I believe his response was that he was in no way intimidated by you," the voice said. "Obviously, your belligerence is a reoccurring theme, and it appears to be wearing thin on his patience."
Peter turned to see the person behind the voice. It was a young man, probably the same age as Peter, but he was as big, or bigger, than Flash. Yet, he also looked like Peter, and wore glasses and a sweater-vest.
"I don't know who you are," Flash threatens, "But this is none of your business."
Flash nervously looked at the handsome, muscular teenager. He definitely had a presence about him, but he wore glasses, so he had to be a nerd. Right?
"My name is Hank McCoy," the young man answered. "And now that we've been properly introduced, we can either depart as friends, or resort to barbarism, which in turn always seems to lead to fisticuffs."
Flash's friends have gathered around them, and the angry mob mentality became tangible.
Hank put himself between Flash and Peter.
"We don't have to do this," Hank says to Flash.
"Ha," Flash snorted. "Sounds like you're chicken."
Flash and his friends rush forward, and with uncanny agility and speed, Hank begins to gently dance around the bullies, eventually tying them all up with their own jackets. Six, burly teenagers now sat on the floor, wondering how someone so big could be so fast. A hush came over the crowd that had gathered to watch.
Hank then kneels in front of Flash.
"Rest assured, I am a pacifist by nature," Hank says. "But I believe in standing up for what's right. In the future, I would appreciate you gentlemen leaving my friend alone."
Hank then walked over to Peter.
"I believe that these Neanderthals will be leaving you alone in the future, my friend."
Peter didn't know what to say. This person was just like him, but so…big. Especially his hands and feet. All he could do was smile awkwardly.
Hank then reached over Peter's shoulder and squashed a spider that was about to land on Peter.
"Ew," Hank cringed. "I hate bugs. Having said that, have a great day, chum."
Hank then turned around, put his NYU varsity football jacket back on, and left.
Worthington Industries, New York
Warren Worthington III strolls through the hallways of his incubator building. Dozens of young scientists and doctors worked passionately on projects that he funded. This was where ideas were made into reality. Unfortunately, many of these young geniuses took Warren for granted.
Popular opinion was that Warren was too young to be in charge, and many of the scientists under the employ of Worthington Industries were very vocal about their discontent with the young man. So far today, he had laid off seven of them. He was not done yet.
Hank Pym pounded his desk. It had been months since he had made any progress on his 'Pym Particles', and word was that the bratty, upstart owner of the company was coming around and cutting all of the dead weight in the company. So Pym had another plan.
He would show off his beings of artificial intelligence. Ultron and the Vision. Sure, they were still in the experimental stage, but they would be more than enough to impress some pretty boy, rich kid.
Pym turned the Vision on, and got ready for his interrogation by the young Worthington.
"Hello, Dr. Pym," the monotone voice forced out. "The Vision is online."
That voice gave Pym the creeps. He would have to adjust it later.
"Hello, Vision," he said. "Our trashy benefactor will be here in a few moments, and we need to impress him."
"Yes, Dr. Pym," the Vision concurred. "I will do my best to impress our benefactor."
"Good man, Vision," Pym chuckled.
Moments later, Worthington walked in.
"Good afternoon, Dr. Pym."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Worthington," Pym mumbled.
"Please, call me Warren."
Hank Pym nods as Warren walked over to the Vision. The synthezoid's eyes followed Warren's every move.
"Wow," Warren said. "Who is this guy?"
Pym rushed over to their side and said, "This is the Vision. He's a synthezoid with an artificial intelligence to go along with some very innovative abilities."
"Artificial intelligence?" Warren asked. "Does that mean they have free will?"
Pym was both nervous and suspicious of Warren's line of questioning.
"Eventually," Pym responded. "He's been learning on the fly. I've been introducing him to as many different thought processes as possible."
The Vision looked from Pym to Worthington.
"Really?" Warren asked. "So, his thoughts are based on yours?"
Pym shrugged, "I guess you could say that."
Warren smiled, "Well, if that's the case, I don't need both of you, one of you will have to go…"
Hank Pym's face dropped in shock.
With that, Warren slapped Hank on the shoulder, "Sorry, Doctor Pym. Just a little bit of payroll humor…"
Before Warren can finish his sentence, the Vision angrily grabs him by the throat, calmly walks him over to the window, and casually throws him out of it.
"I have taken out the trash, Dr. Pym," the Vision says matter-of-factly.
"Vision!" Pym screams. "What have you done?"
"I don't understand…" the Vision begins.
"You've killed him!" Pym shrieks. "We are in so much trouble!"
"I do not appreciate your tone, Doctor Pym," the Vision says cryptically.
Hank Pym is incredulous. He looks at the Vision, who then begins to walk towards him. Pym pulls out a remote control and presses the failsafe button. The Vision abruptly stops in his tracks.
Pym then rushes to the window fully expecting to see Warren splattered on the road below him. However, he is shocked to see a shirtless Warren flying up towards the window. The young billionaire was supported by a large set of majestic, white wings.
"Now you're fired, Dr. Pym," Warren says sternly. "Leave immediately. All of your possessions and research will be disposed of by security."
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii – The Arizona Memorial
Shiro Yoshida's blood is boiling. Literally, boiling. He was a proud young man, and he still held a grudge against the United States for what had transpired in the war decades ago. He believed the bomb was what made him what he is. A freak…maybe even a monster.
The radiation had affected his mother, and Shiro was born with the ability to manipulate the fires of the sun. To be different brought shame to the family, so Shiro would often sneak away from his family and their resources, and he would fly. Above the mountains, and across the oceans. It was magnificent.
He would take extended trips, testing his powers on tiny, uninhabited islands. No one to judge him, and no one for him to hate. Those experiences gave him the peace he was looking for.
Yet, there was that time he ran into the fish-man with the pointy ears, on one of those excursions. The man had been swimming in the ocean, before rocketing skyward and attacking Shiro for no reason. Then, with an American accent, the man went off on an arrogant, anti-human tirade.
The man was a maniac, otherwise he would have realized that Shiro was not an ordinary human. Shiro could see a little bit of himself in the man's eyes. It scared him. Then when the man started to strangle Shiro, he had no choice.
Shiro was sure he would have died had he not unleashed the fires within him. Burned beyond recovery, the fish-man fell into the Pacific Ocean, somewhere between Japan and Hawaii. That day brought him full circle. It made him realize that he needed…something. He waited for a calling to keep him focused and to help him suppress his rage.
Then someone named Scott Summers called him with a proposition. It sounded scary, it sounded crazy, and most of all it sounded exciting. From Hawaii, Shiro would fly to Dallas, and then on to New York to meet Scott and the rest of his people.
New York City, Greenwich Village
Ororo Munroe sat at the bedside of a man she didn't know. She visited him here in the hospital quite often. She felt an obligation to be here. Originally, she didn't know who he was, or what had happened to him. Since then, the man's neurosurgeon, a Dr. Stephen Strange, hypothesized that this man had suffered some form of mental trauma.
Ororo thought back to that day in Cairo. She was a young pickpocket, and she had just tried to lift this man's wallet. He stopped her, and she could have sworn he spoke to her with his mind! Ororo also remembers feeling another presence in her mind, as well as in the mind of this man.
It was a darker, evil presence. It wanted to kill the first man, and enslave Ororo. The shock of those two in her mind, triggered something in Ororo, and the last thing she remembers is lightning striking her and this poor man she had tried to rob.
Physically he had healed, but the man hadn't regained consciousness since. Ororo had tracked him down after she learned how to control her powers over the weather. She told everyone she was a family friend, and she held vigil over him whenever she could, just hoping that one day he would wake up.
Having spent so much time with this man, she got to know Dr. Strange quite well. One night she could tell that he was agitated as he left the hospital. She decided to follow him from high above. Flying over him, she worried about his speeding on snow-slicked roads.
Sure enough, he lost control of his car due to the bad conditions. Unbeknownst to the doctor, Ororo used her ability to have the winds keep his car upright, and the man avoided a major car accident. It would always be her little secret. She needed him to care for the man in the coma, Charles Xavier.
New Mexico, Area 51
Wanda Maximoff did her best to keep the crowd at bay without hurting anyone. Her brother, Pietro often referred to her powers as a 'hex', whereas she referred to them as her 'charms'. It was good luck for some, and bad luck for others. Whatever you called it, Wanda did admit that it could be unpredictable.
Her boyfriend, Scott Summers, had asked them to attend this protest of Gamma bomb testing. They expected a fugitive to be in attendance, and he was a big payout. The man in question was Emil Blonsky, some sort of psycho scientist who wanted to sabotage any, and all gamma testing and experimenting.
Wanda and Pietro had gotten there in time to find Blonsky inciting a crowd of protestors into a riot. While Pietro removed Blonsky to a holding house, Wanda tried to calm the crowd down. This was going to be a challenge, because her powers always seemed to be much more focused when she could concentrate on one person or event. A crowd this big always ran the risk of a scattered charm.
Luckily for her, this particular charm had the crowd dancing, as if they were all at an outdoor festival of some sort. Wanda could only guess that this whole environment triggered a memory of Woodstock in her, and she in turn projected that onto the crowd.
Behind her, she heard a muffled boom, which came out more as a, 'thump'. Then there was a pale, green glow from the horizon. Racing past that danger, her brother, Pietro ran up to her with a scrawny scientist in his arms.
"Who is this little man, Pietro?" she asked.
The man cleared his throat, "My name is Dr. Bruce Banner. I was rushing out to the test site to calm the protestors. Then, uh…"
Pietro's patience got the best of him. "I had stopped in the observatory to see how long we had until the countdown. It seems that Dr. Banner here had no regard for himself, because he decided to leave the room just as the countdown started."
"Uh," Dr. Banner stammered. "Needless to say, I appreciate your help…"
"Save it, dork," Pietro cut him off.
Pietro grabbed Wanda, who waved goodbye to Banner, before she was whisked away by her brother. She was excited to be reunited with Scott. He had called them earlier and said that he had found some new candidates and they were almost ready to expand their operations.
Left behind with the rest of the crowd, Dr. Banner couldn't shake the sudden urge to dance.
END PART 1
X-Men: The Beautiful People Pt. 2
New York City
Scott Summers held onto Wanda Maximoff as they finished their last dance of the night. Wanda loved dancing, and this club's extended hours provided her a lot of opportunities to do so. As a couple, they attracted a lot of attention, and this particular club's bouncers were great at giving a lot of personal space to celebrities and the beautiful people.
Wanda had already gained fame as a model, her face and body gracing the covers of magazines such as Vogue, GQ, Maxim, and even Sports Illustrated. Scott on the other hand, had recently gained a whole lot of unwanted press due to Warren Worthington III, telling everyone how the young mutant he had code-named, Cyclops, had rescued the adored philanthropist, Tony Stark.
Warren Worthington III had gotten wind that Stark was about to do a tell-all book about his rescue, complete with a movie deal. So Worthington decided to introduce the world to the X-Men before Stark could. At first, Scott Summers was furious with him, believing that this attention would blow all future covert operations for them.
While Scott and Warren debated about revealing Scott's identity as Cyclops, Warren was already telling the world his secret identity as the winged hero known as the Angel. Once that was announced, Warren went on to explain how he was funding a team of super powered individuals known as, the X-men.
The name 'X-Men' had that certain 'something' to it. The public loved it! There was so much to tell about the X-Men and the heroes who were on the team, and Warren decided to give their exclusive interview to Oprah. The thought was that her audience size was so big, and her credibility was unquestioned. If she embraced the X-men, so would the world.
Prior to the publicity parade starting, Warren and his people had done their marketing research and did all the sample sizing. Through that they came up with code names for everyone on the team. Pietro Maximoff, who previously only worked as Wanda's one-man security team, would now be known to the world as Quicksilver. Pietro had been indifferent when given his new code name, but when the endorsement offers started pouring in, he made it a point to personally thank Warren.
Wanda had wanted the code name, The Scarlet Witch, but the brand testing on the name wasn't positive, and after some debate, they decided on simply, Scarlet. Wanda was on top of the world right now. Not only was she rich and famous, but so were her brother and boyfriend. A girl could get used to this!
Sitting at the club's bar, Warren spoke with the X-men's newest recruit, Shiro Yoshida, code named, Sunfire. Yoshida was already Japanese royalty, so the attention given to the team didn't bother him. He was excited to make the Sunfire name a household one. This was his chance to become a platform for all of his beliefs. Eventually people would listen to him. And he had a lot to say.
Warren and Shiro were interrupted by the beautiful, Ororo Munroe, recently code named, Storm. Upon coming to America, Ororo often worked nights, becoming both a singer and famous club DJ. Her work had garnered her a huge underground following. Occasionally hanging out with the Kardashian sisters only helped to expand her brand.
"Warren," she began. "Have you heard from Hank? He was supposed to be here."
Warren smiled and shrugged. For the life of him, he couldn't believe how lucky Hank McCoy was. He was the biggest, strongest, and probably smartest of the group, and he had somehow captured Storm's heart in record time. Warren shrugged, the Beast was built like a gorilla, but spoke like a poet. Everyone on the team loved him.
"No," Warren said. "Haven't spoken to him for a couple of days. He did say he'd be here."
Ororo was more than a little concerned. Hank wasn't the irresponsible type. His cell phone was off, and if he wasn't here with them when he said he would be, then something was wrong.
"He did mention something about touring a research facility in Canada." Warren offered.
"I'm going to look for him." Ororo said matter-of-factly.
Warren thought about it for a second, then offered, "We're only going to be here for a little while more. I've already contacted the paparazzi so they can catch us leaving. Please stay with us, and if he doesn't show by the time we leave, we'll all go look for him."
Ororo smiled and nodded. She didn't agree with everything Warren did, but she trusted him. She trusted all of the X-men. They called her Storm because of her weather manipulating powers, and they were about to make a splash on the world, and with some of the things they were planning to do, they needed to believe in each other. So far no one gave her a reason not to.
Flash bulbs and neon lights exploded at the club's doorways as the X-men made their exit. People yelled out their names in adoration, and why not? The world loved beautiful people. First it was a limo ride to the airport, then a private helicopter back to Warren's mountain estate. Traveling this way wasn't a necessity, but it sure contributed to the aura of the team.
Canada - Top Secret Weapon X Facility
Earlier that week Hank McCoy decided to accept an invitation to tour a bioengineering lab here in Canada. Supposedly they were making all kinds of advances in plant mutations, and his interest in Genetically Modified Organisms got the best of him. With the world's population booming, there needed to be some plan to make sure our food resources kept up with that population.
They had put him up in an epic hotel suite, and that first morning he decided to do a bit of Crossfit, before the tour. The hotel concierge had recommended the forest directly across the hotel, and along with the jog, Hank was looking forward to taking to the trees and swinging.
Hank's senses had always been superior, dare he say, superhuman? On the fateful day that he met both Scott Summers and Warren Worthington III, he instinctively knew there was something different about them. Confidently, he approached them and they discussed their uniqueness at length.
There he went again, distracting himself before he could even finish a thought. Deep on the hiking trail, a helicopter had swooped down on him and deployed a giant, steel-mesh net, trapping him like an animal. He was so stupid, always getting lost in his thoughts, he should have heard the helicopter from miles away!
The many doctors and scientists observing him would talk amongst each other like he couldn't understand a word they were saying. He was infuriated, but he decided that silence was the best course of action for now. He learned that they had injected him with a large dose of healing factor that this facility had been experimenting with.
Apparently there were two other mutants in the facility born this healing factor. Logan and Wade. The quacks here were trying to see if they could 'transplant' this ability into other mutants. So far no one else had survived the process, and the scientists supposed that someone with animalistic 'traits' like Hank, was a good candidate.
Fevered and nauseous, Hank had had enough. He had been working on his restraints for the past few days, and just recently the straps on his feet had loosened enough for his toes to reach a knife that was left on a tray by his feet. They had no clue that his feet and toes were dexterous enough for him to use like hands and fingers.
Cutting free of the restraints, and stumbling out of the room, Hank encountered several of the facility's guards, and easily incapacitated all of them. He hated violence, but when left with no recourse, he could do what had to be done. Approaching an exit, Hank ran into a room housing none other than Logan and Wade.
They were both strapped to gurneys, and both were drugged with an IV's going into one arm, and blood being removed through another. Hank rushed over to help them.
"Hey, big guy," Wade said weakly. "Are you here for my sponge-bath?"
"No!" Hank said almost too quickly. "I'm going to get you both out of h…."
Before he could finish, two gunshots rang out, and two bullets punctured his back.
Hank spun to face his attackers, dodging the next two shots fired. Leaping towards the man with the gun, he fell to his knees in pain. Desperate, he swiped at their legs and knocked them both down. A couple of well-placed haymakers later, and they were both unconscious.
Hank crawled back in Wade's direction, but before he could do anything, someone from behind him yelled, "Freeze!"
Hank had no choice. He jumped forward, and out of the room's lone window. A rain of bullets chased him out of the tiny opening, and he fell to the ground, in a world of pain.
"Come back!" Wade yelled after him.
Hank looked up at the window he had just jumped out of, and several guns pointed out at him. Hank thought he heard his heart beating extremely loud, but realized that had it been his heart, it wouldn't have made the grass around him whip back and forth. It was another helicopter!
Hank sighed, and was almost resigned to his fate, but then a bright red laser beam shot outwards from the helicopter, and blew up the window full of guns. The beam was an optic blast belonging to his friend, Scott Summers. The X-Men had found him!
Cyclops and Quicksilver quickly loaded Hank into the helicopter, and Hank chuckled. Here were these two trained mercenaries, dodging bullets trying to save him, and all he could think about was the first time they all worked out together in the gym. Scott and Pietro kept adding weights to the bench press, and Hank kept lifting it. They began to call him a Beast, and the name stuck.
On the helicopter, Storm fretted as Hank passed out from his bullet wounds. He was weak and he was burning up, but he was still breathing. Storm almost fainted when she saw the two bullets push themselves out through his back. With her hands on him, she watched as the wounds began to close, instantly healing themselves.
"What did they do to you?" she whispered.
Hickam Air Force Base – Honolulu, Hawaii
Carol Danvers had been in the Air Force for years. She thought she had seen it all. Today, was a whole new lesson for her. Standing in front of her was what looked like the perfect man. Most Americans knew him as an urban legend, or a folk hero at best, but she was staring at someone who was very real.
When the rescue teams had contacted her, they originally just called in a dead body that might be 'of some interest', to her. When she arrived in Hawaii, she wasted no time in going to the lab that he was being held in, because mid-flight she had gotten a call saying he was alive! Who would have thought after all these years, the man the world once knew as Captain America, would see the 21st Century?
Los Angeles, California
Tony Stark sat and enjoyed his 'beverage'. It was only 10am, but he needed something to keep him motivated. Warren Worthington III, had just announced his team of X-Men, and it would take all momentum away from his latest project!
Major Ben Grimm had phoned him for a meeting of great importance, and Tony had wanted to do a little showing off. Worthington's speech may have taken a little air out of Tony's big reveal, but he was pretty sure that Major Grimm would generate some interest of his own. A decade ago the man had been in, and survived, a spaceship collision!
Walking over to the constructive side of his incubator workshop, Tony gently kicked all of the power tools to the side. He put his hand on the metal suit and admired his handiwork. It was big and it was powerful. It was also very dangerous, the flight system on it still needed work, and the ammunition in the suit was volatile, but it could still be an asset to the American people.
Tony had been on edge, and he would admit, shaken, ever since he saw video footage of mutants like Cyclops and Sunfire, using their…gifts. While he was sure they had the best intentions, the X-Men would eventually need to be regulated. That would probably be the only way that he, and the American people, would feel safe.
Sadly, Tony wouldn't dream of putting himself into the suit. His time as a prisoner had helped him appreciate his life a whole lot more. So he was going to leave the testing and responsibility of this suit to his pal, and bodyguard, James Rhodes.
Colorado Mountains – Remote Estate of Warren Worthington III
A week later the team sat around a conference table, listening to Warren as he displayed several pictures on the large monitor in front of them. It was aerial footage of the Weapon X Facility that they had rescued Hank from just two days ago. It had been destroyed and abandoned.
"So whoever these people are," Scott Summers began, "They are officially no longer on the radar. Everything on the ground level has been totally incinerated."
Hank sighs.
"Sorry, Hank," Warren added. "We don't know if there's any way we can find them again."
Hank nodded. "I understand completely, Warren. On that note, I have a young friend named Peter Parker, who had set up a series of tests for me with his professor, a Dr. Curt Connors. Thankfully, all of the tests that the good doctor and I have run, seem to show that the whole experience, as negative as it was, has at the very least, left me with a new healing factor."
"Thank goodness," Ororo Munroe said dryly, while slapping Hank on the back.
"Rest assured, Hank," Scott says. "We plan to find these people."
"Damn straight!" the fiery Shiro Yoshida, added.
"My sincerest of gratitude, comrades," Hank grinned.
"Okay," Scott continued. "On to our next subject. Supposedly there's a mutant in New York City running around and fighting crime at night."
"That is an affirmative," Warren announced proudly. "And the X-Men are going to take him down as a favor to the city of New York!"
Unimpressed, Wanda Maximoff takes a look at the costumed individual on the screen.
"He looks…interesting."
"I've heard of him, sister," Quicksilver responded. "That's who the street thugs have started calling, 'The Punisher'."
END PART 2
The X-Men: The Beautiful People Pt. 3
Los Angeles, California
Major Ben Grimm stumbled through downtown Los Angeles. This was another of his many episodes since he came out of his coma a year ago. The pain was excruciating. Mercifully, Ben blacked out, but when he came to, he found that he had somehow wandered into the middle of the street.
Still in a fog, Ben snapped back into the moment with cars blaring their horns as they avoided hitting him. Then there was the screaming from the terrified motorists who had gotten out of their cars. Sadly, one driver couldn't avoid him in time.
Ben braced himself as the large truck collided into his side. The driver shot through the front windshield, and hit the street behind Ben, dying instantly. Ben stood there, looking at the frail, crumpled body of the driver. Then he turned to look at the truck.
It had stopped abruptly upon impact with Ben. The front of the car had crumpled like cheap plastic and reminded him of an accordion. He on the other hand, was fine. There was no pain, and his rocky hide didn't even have a scratch!
That was when Korg infecting him became a reality. He had passed on his genes, cells, blood, or something, onto Ben. And now Ben looked just like Korg. He was some kind of…
"What is that thing?" a terrified soccer mom screamed out from the safety of her minivan.
The crowd began to get louder. Screams of terror were now replaced with screams of rage.
"He killed that poor man!" came the shout of an overweight school teacher who was unhappy at work, and was actually quite thrilled to see something out of the ordinary.
Ben put his hands up and tried to explain himself.
"Noooo…." came the gravelly sound from his throat.
Ben panicked. He had meant to say a whole sentence and not one word, but his vocal chords felt heavy. Blocked, even. Talking took a lot of effort. He damned the…Thing that he had become.
"Easy there, big fella," came a voice from above Ben's head.
He looked up to see a winged man hovering above him. He wore a dark-blue, leathered jumpsuit of some sort. Ben also noticed the white 'X' that adorned the winged man's jacket. It almost glowed.
Ben extended his hands and tried to explain himself, but before he could, a bright-red laser beam hit him in the chest and actually pitched him backwards.
"Careful, Angel," Cyclops said. "We don't know what this thing is capable of."
Ben looked up to see another man whose pupils glowed red. He assumed that the lasers came out of the man's eyes? That withstanding, he found himself insulted that the man called him a 'thing'. That was twice in less than five minutes!
"You got it, fearless leader!" Angel replied. "I was just trying to distract him for my friend."
That was when Ben was hit with a burst of fire. Instinctively he shielded his eyes, the fire didn't hurt. He then looked up to see the cause of the flames, and it was another leather clad man with an X on his chest.
Trying to protect himself, Ben reached back and grabbed a little Prius. The owners had abandoned the car and ran for safety a long time ago. With one hand, Ben threw the car at the man with the fire.
Before Sunfire could defend himself, the car instantly disassembled into thousands of pieces of plastic, metal, and rubber. Each of those pieces levitated in the sky for a second, before they all rained down to the road below. That kind of…witchcraft was unnerving to Sunfire.
"That was awesome!" Angel yelled. "I'm impressed, Scarlet!"
The woman known as Scarlet was standing next to Cyclops. She smiled at Angel.
"I wish I could tell you the exact charm I used," she began. "But I just wished for the car to split into pieces. I'm going to have to remember that one for later."
Ben was about to apologize to the young members of this team, when another good looking guy, this one with a muscular physique, and somewhat freakishly large hands and feet, landed in front of him. The young man hit him with a combination of punches that actually stunned Ben!
Ben just wanted to move the man away from him. He swept his hand in front of him, the way a normal person would shoo a mosquito. His open hand connected with the young man, literally pitching him into the air from the impact.
"Beast!" yelled Angel.
Angel rocketed towards his friend, and caught him before the Beast could hit the pavement. Sure, the Beast had a healing factor, but Angel figured that his friend didn't need to take that risk.
"Thanks for the save, chum," Beast smiled. "But I would have landed on my feet, I assure you."
"We have to take this thing down before anyone gets hurt," Cyclops said.
"Quicksilver," Cyclops continued. "Let's work on that scenario you and Storm have been practicing. I'll soften him up for you."
Ben heard the man's commands, and tried to tell them that he was already feeling a little weak from this exertion. Sadly, only deep, guttural grunts came out of him this time. This infuriated Ben, he was not a dumb monster!
Emotional, Ben screamed out with all his heart. One word came out, "Stop!"
"Hurry," Scarlet panicked.
Cyclops released another blast from his eyes, and Ben staggered backwards once again.
Ben heard a loud 'Boom', and then a mini-tornado hit him. As Ben blinked, he had been wrapped from neck-to-toe, in copper wire. A young man with white hair stopped running circles around him for just a second to check his handiwork. Satisfied with his work, Quicksilver smirked and disappeared!
Ben struggled against the wires and he could feel them weakening, when from out of a clear blue sky, a large bolt of lightning hit him. He fell to his knees, barely hanging on to consciousness.
The Beast landed in front of Ben, holding a door he had just pulled off of a car. He swung the door at Ben's head, knocking him off of his feet. Ben was unconscious before he hit the ground.
"Wow!" Angel exclaimed. "Nice swing, Hank!"
"Angel!" Cyclops scolded. "We're in public. Code names, please."
"Sorry…Cyclops!" Angel said in the way a teenager would when they got caught coming home after curfew. Then much more quietly, Angel said, "Way to go…Beast."
Beast shrugged.
"I merely delivered the coup de grace, my fine feathered friend," Beast offered as he bowed. "I would say that the beautiful, and deadly, Storm, shocked our friend into submission."
"I think it would be tacky for us to go down the line and pat each other on the back," Storm said. "How about we just say that the X-Men just kicked some ass?"
"I think we should also thank Japanese intelligence for giving us a head's up on this thing." Sunfire offered, just a little too smugly for everyone's taste.
"Agreed," said Cyclops. "Please keep that connection open, Sunfire. Intel like this is invaluable."
"I hope they slow down the footage," Quicksilver gushed. "My shoe sales are going to skyrocket after this."
Everyone chuckled, except Scarlet. She had never seen or heard her brother act so shallow before. Prior to this, he was very mission-driven, but the newfound money and celebrity had definitely changed him. At least he got along with the team she sighed. That was a rarity for her brother.
"Time to get back home, people," Cyclops stated matter-of-factly. "New York is a long way from here."
"Speaking of which," Sunfire interrupted. "We need to discuss the practicality of our main headquarters being in New York."
"I concur," Beast said. "Logistically, Angel's retreat in Colorado is better suited for our travel needs. Mutants or not, traveling between coasts, will eventually take a toll on us."
"Give me a break," Storm chuckled. "I'm a party girl, and I say New York or Los Angeles. Besides, you're choosing Colorado so that you can run around the mountains all day playing Tarzan."
"That's enough," Cyclops scolded. "We'll discuss this accordingly in New York."
"You know, Cyclops," Angel suggested. "Hollywood isn't that far from here. Maybe we could do some interviews?"
Cyclops looked at the rest of the group. They all seemed to soak up the fame that this new career gave them. He was at fault as well. He knew this was part of the lifestyle that Warren had set the X-Men up for.
Scarlet looked at him with pouty eyes. Then Quicksilver mockingly did the same. Cyclops chuckled. Oh well, they did just take down a monster.
"Okay," Cyclops began. "But instead of a studio interview, we hit the local nightlife, and we can do the paparazzi stuff. But…we only give them fluff. No details about strategies or our powers."
Everyone laughed and agreed. Sunfire was a little disappointed. He had planned to use a studio interview with Fox News, or someone of the like, in order to further his political agenda. He got over it, though. There were enough cameras and microphones. Someone would give him a chance to be heard.
Hickam Air Force Base - Honolulu, Hawaii
It had taken some doing, but Carol Danvers had gotten the President of the United States to agree to deliver the monstrous 'Thing' into her custody. Several dozen emails over the last year from Major Ben Grimm had given her some insight into this creature. She had hunch.
Carol had spoken to Tony Stark earlier as well. They were still going to pursue Operation S.H.I.E.L.D, and along with Captain America, the Thing was an integral piece of that operation. She still pinched herself whenever she thought of the Captain being alive.
Carol sighed. Eventually Captain America would either ask for, or encounter, a mirror. She realized that they would have to cross that bridge soon. He hadn't verbalized it yet, but he knew something was wrong with him. She was hesitant to move forward until she was certain that the Captain was right in the head.
There was some good news, though. Stark had promised her a new weapon. Something retro, yet groundbreaking.
It was only a matter of time before she met the X-Men. The arrogant Warren Worthington III, and his very expensive team of lawyers, had gotten the X-Men deputized, so they operated on the side of the law, just barely. Not only that, but they had the public on their side as well.
Carol marveled at how wrong that whole situation was.
Hollywood, California
The club was jumping tonight. Once word got out on social media that the X-Men were partying here, the line outside was around the block, and the crowd inside was standing room only. After all, they had just stopped a monster terrorizing the city!
On the dance floor, the Beast danced with both Scarlet and Storm. Quicksilver was off in a corner, a drink in one hand, and a train-wreck debutant in the other. Sunfire got his wish, and he bent the ear of a very influential Senator from California for over three hours.
Away from the noise, and prying eyes, Angel and Cyclops, sat in a private booth overlooking the dance floor. They each nursed a drink. Angel enjoyed his hard liquor, and the blue collared Cyclops enjoyed a beer.
"Hank is going to wear those two out on the floor!" Angel laughed. "They don't realize that his cardio was already at inhuman level before he got a healing factor!"
Cyclops laughed with him. He then took a sip of his beer in preparation of bypassing the small talk. If Angel wanted the spotlight, he'd get it. They were tucked away for a reason.
"So what was so important that you had to bring me all the way up here and away from that smoking hot gypsy girl, Warren?" Cyclops asked.
"Come on, Scott," Angel joked. "I still had a zinger about how Quicksilver is going to need a healing factor if he leaves with that reality show has been."
They both got a hearty laugh out of it, and clinked their glasses in appreciation.
"Okay," Warren caught his breath. "Now that I got that out of the way, the reason I wanted to talk to you is to ask you how you felt about wearing a pair of shades or special goggles when you're in uniform?"
Scott shook his head. "Why would I wear sunglasses or a visor, or anything else? In the moment it would take for me to lift them, my aim could be altered. I've never missed a shot, Warren."
"I get it," Warren conceded. "There's money involved…"
Scott chuckled in disbelief. "No, Warren. I don't want your money. Besides, you all already pick up the team's expenses. I don't need any more money."
"I will slap you if you ever say that again," Warren smirked. "I just thought I'd give it a try. Besides, I'm sure Scarlett would slap me if I covered those fiery red eyes with sunglasses."
"My eyes are brown," Scott said, confused.
"Really?" Warren asked. "Maybe there's some red residue after you use your optic blasts?"
"Highly unlikely," Scott sneered as he walked away. "Moron."
"Wait!" Warren stopped him. "Stop! It's Ray-Ban. Seeing as your powers are all about your eyes, Ray-Ban thought you'd have a perfect synergy with them. They have a whole campaign set up. Something to do with containing all that power behind their lenses."
"I'm flattered," Scott smiled. "I really am, but I can't risk any missions worrying that the sunglasses will slow down my shot."
"How about if you wear their sunglasses whenever the team makes a public appearance?" Angel offered.
"I can do that," Scott agreed.
"Great!" Warren practically shouted. "I'll have my lawyers draw up the paperwork tomorrow!"
"You were banking on this option the whole time, weren't you?" Scott asked.
"You got me," Warren smiled. "But we would've added another zero if I got you to wear it during missions."
Scott chuckled. He wasn't going to change his mind, though.
"Do me a favor, Warren," Scott asked humbly.
"Sure," Warren agreed. "Anything."
Scott took a sip of his beer and said, "Send half of those earnings to my brother as an anonymous grant for his research."
"Sure, Scotty," Warren said. "Although are you sure you don't want him to know it was from you?"
Scott shook his head, "Not just yet. He wouldn't take it. He's doing good work, and I want him to continue with that, and to stay far away from us."
Warren nodded. "He's like us, isn't he? What kind of power does he have?"
"Believe me, Warren," Scott said grimly. "With the power he has, he could wreak all kinds of havoc on the world."
"Understood," Warren said. He then scanned the dance floor, and wanted to change the mood a little.
"Okay, Cyclops," he said with a smile. "It's time for the X-Men to rock this party. Besides, that knockout of a singer is an old friend of mine."
Scott laughed, and he and Warren, along with the rest of the X-Men, had an epic night in Hollywood. The tabloids and paparazzi had a field day with all of the antics and hook ups from that night. It was exactly the kind of publicity Warren craved for his team.
Unfortunately for Warren, the X-Men already had a lot of people's attention.
END PART 3
The X-Men: The Beautiful People Pt. 4
Hell's Kitchen, New York
Jean Grey had been off of her meds for almost a month now. She had never felt so alive! The whole process had started innocently enough, the orderly assigned to her nonchalantly shrugged when the first pill fell out of Jean's mouth and onto the floor. On the second day there was some confusion within the hospital, and the nurse in charge of distributing daily medications simply forgot to pass them out.
The nurse had been on her way to work, when she saw the hero known as the Angel. He streaked above the highway showing off for all who could see him. Along with several other cars, the nurse pulled over to get a better look at him. Other than flying, she assumed his super power was being unbelievably handsome!
Regardless, on the third day, Jean woke up to feel a little spark in her brain. She could hear the orderly outside once again grumbling about having to pass out patient meds. The thing is, he didn't say it out loud, but she had heard him as clearly as if he was standing next to her. She realized that she had heard what he was thinking, just like she was able to do when she was younger.
Jean took it upon herself to tell the orderly's brain that he had already helped everyone take their meds. The orderly was instantly happier, and she felt good about herself for making him feel that way. She went on to do this to the all of the guards over the next several weeks. Eventually her thoughts became her own again.
Jean remembered her parents putting her in the asylum because they were afraid of her. She had grown tired of this place, though, and she was ready to go home. She let her mind reach out, and over 30 miles away, she had located her parents' brains. She used her powers to remind them that it was finally time to pick her up.
Now they were a happy family again.
What really set Jean off, was feeling someone named Emma trying to take control of her brain. Emma, who called herself, 'the White Queen', surprised Jean at first, but Jean was too strong. Jean had gotten the upper hand in psychic combat, and the psychic strain caused Emma to have a stroke.
More recently, Jean had seen the X-Men on the news and was totally enamored by them. The one called the Beast was a hunk, and the Angels sex appeal was legendary, but there was something about the one they called Cyclops that made Jean uneasy. Her heart fluttered every time she saw him on television.
Jean knew she was like them. She was a mutant. She wanted to be an X-Man.
She put together a homemade costume very similar to the X-Men's. She assumed that if she were to become a vigilante like them, then they would eventually ask her to take her place among them. She needed to find a super villain to prove herself, though. The police could handle regular crooks, she was out to impress!
Jean Grey was on patrol. Unfortunately, villains didn't announce when they would strike, so she had have to improvise. She knew that the bad guys operated at night, and what better area to find them in New York, than, Hell's Kitchen? High above the city, she closed her eyes and 'listened'.
A few minutes later she found someone. His name was Phineas Mason, but he called himself the Tinkerer. He operated in a small warehouse below, building technologically advanced weaponry for the underworld. Jean heard him thinking about his current projects – a giant scorpion tail, a pair of giant beetle wings, and a rocket-powered skateboard.
She could only assume the terrible things the Tinkerer's clientele would do with these weapons. His crime was enabling bad guys to commit crimes. She had to stop him.
Colorado Mountains, Remote Estate of Warren Worthington III
Scarlet took in the scene before her. The X-Men had gathered outside in their civilian clothes to observe a new mutant display her abilities to them. The mutant was able to create a lights out of the sounds around her.
The mutant was the famous singer, Dazzler. Her real name was Alison Blaire, and she had been an off and on girlfriend of Warren's for the couple of years. She had known about her mutant ability for years, and incorporated her power into a one of a kind lightshow at every one of her concerts.
Scarlet smiled at the power of the X-Men. Dazzler had told them that she would've kept her powers a secret out of fear, if it weren't for the X-Men. In her line of work you couldn't get on the wrong side of popular opinion. Scarlet couldn't wait to get on Twitter to announce their newest member. She needed to do so before that social media diva, Sunfire, did.
That would have to wait until Cyclops gave his approval. Scarlet watched as Scott lifted his sunglasses to see what Dazzler could do. Currently, she made her fingers into the shape of a gun, and a beam of light shot out from the tip of her finger and cut a tree in half!
"Impressive," was the only word Cyclops could think of. "Very impressive."
"Wow!" Angel gushed. "You're damned right it's impressive!"
"So you're saying that the louder the sound," the Beast asked. "The stronger the light construct?"
"I guess," Dazzler shrugged. "All I know for sure is that when I'm surrounded by all that loud music at my concerts, I can do almost anything with the light. As opposed to when I'm home and all I can hear is the birds outside."
"There are barely any birds here now," Quicksilver prodded. "How were you able to do that to the tree?"
The Beast nodded. It would have been his follow up question had the impatient speedster not interrupted him.
"I guess the best way to explain it, is that I had stored up a lot of that energy from last night's concert?" Dazzler smiled sheepishly.
Sunfire chuckled softly at what he considered to be the typical American dumb blonde. His smile faded when his cellphone rang. He stepped away from the rest of the group to answer it in private.
"What do you think, Scotty," Angel asked.
"Angel," Cyclops scolded. "While I understand that we've gone public with our identities, I would still prefer that we use codenames in the company of outsiders. It may be a façade, but we should have some discipline."
Angel smiled. He put his hands up in surrender. This was why he knew Cyclops was the right man to lead the X-Men. He had standards and ideals, and he didn't waiver.
"My bad," Angel said. "But after watching Alison...I mean, Dazzler, don't you think she'll be perfect fit with the X-Men?"
"I'm not sure yet," Cyclops shrugged. "What we do is very dangerous."
Warren couldn't believe this exchange.
"What?" he said. "Look, I know that you and the Wonder Twins have had all kinds of covert missions, and Sunfire may have some sort of military training, but Beast, Storm, and I, haven't. And we were a part of the team from day one."
Cyclops nodded. "I know what you're saying, Warren. I really do. But I'm also concerned for Dazzler's safety as well."
Warren paused. The rest of the X-Men watched for his reaction. Having run a billion dollar company for years now, Warren knew that this could potentially be a disastrous moment for a business, let alone this team. In his mind, he knew that Scott was right, but in his heart, he knew that Dazzler was perfect for this team.
"Okay," he began again. "How about we make her an X-Man in training?"
Cyclops pondered the request.
"How so?" he replied.
"We can all take turns training her," Warren smiled. "Each of us can give her a unique perspective on what we do, as well as using her powers?"
"That's a great idea, Cyclops," Storm chimed in. "I think that her powers are a lot like mine. I'd love to work with her."
Cyclops paused for a second. Then he scanned everyone's faces. They were all so excited at the thought of a new member. Except Sunfire. He was off to the side on his phone.
"I think that's a great idea, Storm," Cyclops smiled. "I'll work out a schedule for Dazzler's training."
"Cyclops!" Sunfire yelled out as he ran back to the group.
"The Japanese embassy just called," he rushed. "There's a mutant hovering in the dark near our New York headquarters. And she's holding a body."
"Quicksilver!" Cyclops shouted. "You need to run ahead. Get to New York! Now!"
Angel and Cyclops rushed towards the hidden hangar.
"The rest of you, get to the Blackbird!" Cyclops shouted.
The Blackbird was the name of the supersonic jet that Warren had built for the team. It was invisible to radar. Cyclops had given the specifications he wanted, and then put Angel in contact with the 'contractor's that built it. The Blackbird would have them in New York in no time, but in cases like this it still wasn't fast enough.
Cyclops turned to Angel.
"I think Dazzler should sit this one out," he said. "We still have a lot to talk about."
Angel didn't like the order. Cyclops had worded it as a suggestion, but make no mistake it was definitely an order. Yet, he understood the order.
"Scarlet," Cyclops said with a sense of urgency. "When we get onboard please call Quicksilver. You seem to be the only one who can understand him when he's running."
Seconds later, the team was in the air and racing to New York.
Hell's Kitchen, New York
Quicksilver was the first on the scene for the X-Men. Scarlet said he was to look for a woman in the sky, with a dead body floating next to her. It was a challenge for him to run while looking up at the sky, but he managed. He figured he was in the right place when he came upon several secret service looking dudes standing outside of their vehicles, staring up at the sky.
Quicksilver looked up and saw her. She was a smoking hot redhead in a stupid looking costume. And yep, she had a dead body next to her.
"My costume isn't stupid!" Jean shouted at Quicksilver.
"Aw crap," Quicksilver said. He hadn't heard her with his ears. He had heard her in his brain.
"Get out of my head," he said.
"Sorry," Jean said genuinely. "Don't mean to intrude, but I'm still trying to get used to all of the input constantly streaming into my brain."
Quicksilver was probably the fastest person on the planet, but he still needed a moment to process what was unfolding before him.
Jean interrupted his thoughts again, "If you don't mind, I'm going to send all of these spooky guys in suits, away."
"You can do that?" he asked. "From way up there?"
Jean giggled. "Give me a second."
Quicksilver watched in total disbelief as a moment later all of the men in suits got into their cars without a word, and drove off. He was part of a team that included a guy with wings, and another guy who could shoot lasers out of his eyes, but this had to be the damndest thing he'd ever seen!
"I'll take that as a compliment?" Jean teased as she lowered herself, and the Tinkerer's body, down to the ground.
Quicksilver had a bunch of questions, but first and foremost was, "Did you kill this guy?"
Jean looked at the limp body of the Tinkerer and nodded sheepishly.
"I'm so sorry," Jean began. "I was trying to get names and stuff about his clientele, but his mind was full of nothing but vile thoughts towards me."
"So you killed him?" Quicksilver asked, just so he could get clarification.
"I threw him against a wall," Jean began. "I figured a super villain could take it."
Quicksilver quickly checked the Tinkerer's body.
"Not all super villains are indestructible." Quicksilver said sarcastically.
Before Jean could answer him though, the Blackbird zoomed into sight. It slowly hovered over the middle of the street. Its wingspan was too wide for the street, so the wings folded upwards and the large ship landed comfortably in the middle of the road. Once they piled out, the Blackbird rose back up on autopilot, and zoomed away to its private hangar.
"What's going on?" Cyclops asked Quicksilver.
"My name is Jean Grey," Jean said. "I want to be an X-Man."
"Is that man dead?" Scarlet asked, somewhat shocked.
"Yes…" Jean hesitated. "He is…but he's a super villain!"
"Guys," Quicksilver said. "We've gone over this. From what I gather, Jean is a telekinetic and a telepath."
"That's the Tinkerer," Cyclops said. "He might be a villain, but he's not a super villain."
"He builds weapons for bad people!" Jean said through her gritted teeth. She could hear all of the judgment in their thoughts.
"If you're a telepath, then I'm sure you already know how we feel about this?" Angel asked.
"Yes," Jean acknowledged. "And I'm surprised by the hypocrisy. Other than the weather witch and the monkey boy, everyone else on your team has killed."
Everyone got silent. Except the Beast.
"Monkey boy?" he asked, genuinely insulted.
Cyclops glared at Jean.
"You're right. We have blood on our hands," he said. "But you have to be able to see the difference? This man is different than the ones we killed. It's not illegal for him to engineer, build, and sell these items."
The tension began become tangible.
"Would these items be used to commit crimes?" Cyclops paused. "Of course they would, but that's when we step in."
"But…" Jean started.
"Hold on," he interrupted her. "I've already looked into this man. He has no criminal record. I'm not saying he's innocent, but in a court of law, with this evidence, he would have gotten probation at best."
"Probation?" Jean scoffed. "Then I did the world a favor!"
"Did you?" Angel asked. "Cyclops is right. We are not judge, jury, and executioner. I started the X-Men to give people hope. It was never about fear."
Jean chuckled. "Please. You're telling the truth about hope, but what you're not saying out loud is that the X-Men is also a great way for you to stroke your ego, rich boy."
Angel shrugged. "Everyone knows that."
"Cyclops is right," Sunfire chimed in. "The fact that we have to explain to you that we can't punish somebody for something they might do, tells us that not only are you not ready to be an X-Man, but you need professional help."
"No," Jean whispered. Then a little louder, "I won't be put through that again!"
With that, Jean extended her hands at the X-Men, freezing them in place.
New York, the office of Mayor Nicholas J. Fury
Cyclops, Angel, and Scarlet, sat in the Mayor's office. Behind them were half a dozen of the Angel's lawyers. They were all dressed in the finest suits, and wielded their briefcases and laptops like weapons. Across from them at an oversized table, was Mayor Fury, his Chief of Staff Peter Coulson, and Police Chief Sam Wilson.
"Listen, Worthington," Mayor Fury addressed Angel. "You can send your vultures home. We're already done with the questions. All we wanted to do from here on is talk."
Angel smiled. "That's pretty good. The Angel and his Vultures."
Cyclops chuckled along with Angel. The lawyers smirked. All of them. Scarlet was not in a laughing mood.
"I've always been partial to falcons." Police Chief Wilson frowned.
"Be that as it may, let me just recap for everyone's sake," Angel continued. "We didn't allow her to escape, mutant or not. We saw the same video of the incident as you. She shut our brains down until she was comfortably away from us. You saw it. We saw it."
"Truth be told, Mr. Mayor," Scarlet added. "I'm sure you can sympathize that the whole situation with Jean Grey was quite unnerving. No one wants to be put into such a vulnerable state."
Mayor Fury looked at his two advisors, and the best they could offer him were shrugs.
The video was a street camera showing the moment when Jean Grey raised her hands at the X-Men. Like puppets, they all suddenly froze in place. According to the digital timer on the video camera, they stood motionless for just under three minutes.
The only movement in the whole video, was Jean walking up to Cyclops and kissing him. She then slapped Angel on the rear before flying away. Warren smiled at both incidents.
Jean had left the Tinkerer's body for them to take care of.
Mayor Fury sighed. He dove into politics in order to weed out the city's dirty politicians, and to build the police force into something the entire nation could admire. With Coulson and Chief Wilson on his side, they would do a lot of good for the city.
If it weren't for these damned people with their super…powers!
"Okay. The city isn't ready to tie ourselves up in lengthy legal battles with you…yet," he growled. "However, your team's deputized status is on thin ice. Jean Grey scared a lot of people levitating that body for your benefit."
"It bothers us too, Mayor Fury," Cyclops nods.
"My people and I will be watching you closely," Chief Wilson warns. "The best heroes we could hire."
Angel held his hands up in surrender. "I don't doubt you, or Mayor Fury, one iota, Chief Wilson. I get it. The falcon is a bird of prey. However, I hope you'll remember that the X-Men are on your side."
"We'll see about that," Mayor Fury scowled. "Now please, get out of my office."
Massachusetts, University of Massachusetts Medical Center
Carol Danvers had been contacted by her staff in the middle of the night, and that normally made her cranky. Today was different though, this morning Dr. Otto Octavius had finally come out of his coma! A month ago the poor bastard had an explosion in his lab when the radioactive materials he was handling ignited and exploded.
Thankfully Octavius had created groundbreaking robotic tentacles to help him with the handling of radioactive materials. While those arms saved him from death, they also grafted to Octavius' body. Danvers watched in amazement as 'Dr. Octopus', as the nurses began to call him, signed all of the necessary paperwork to be a part of Operation: S.H.I.E.L.D. Using those tentacles he was able to sign all of the papers at the same time.
END PART4
The X-Men: The Beautiful People Pt. 5
New York, Headquarters of the X-Men
Alison Blaire couldn't sleep. Warren Worthington lay beside her in a bedroom the size of a large condo! They had been on again, off again, love interests for over a year already, and this was the first time he had brought her here. God, he was gorgeous.
Earlier that week, the X-Men had confronted a woman who could not only move things with her mind, but she could read their minds as well! The encounter had left them all quite unsettled. Warren denied it, but Alison knew him too well already.
Alison took a deep breath and exhaled. Currently, she wasn't here as Warren's girlfriend. She was here to begin training as an X-Man. As the Dazzler. The chance to use her light creating powers for the benefit of others was too much for her to ignore. No matter what people said, she wasn't shallow.
She made a good enough living as a singer, and with a one-time Top 40 single, she could live off of those royalties. She planned to donate most of her salary from the X-Men, along with any endorsements or royalties from them, to a couple of different foundations she had set up. Coming up, she had done whatever it took to 'make it', and now that she had, it was time to give back.
The thought made her smile, and she began to glow. Literally. Orbs of pink, blue, orange, and yellow, danced around Alison's head. She sighed. Relaxed, she fell asleep.
In another room, Hank McCoy was awake as well. His girlfriend, Ororo Munroe, slept soundly next to him. Hank on the other hand, had a lot to think about. In the past weeks he had been shot, beaten, and burnt. Yet here he lay in bed, with not even a scratch.
Hank knew he should be thrilled, but something about his new healing factor bothered him. Between the recent fights, all the publicity, and spending time with Ororo, Hank couldn't find the time to run tests on himself. He sighed. All in due time.
Finally, Wanda Maximoff lay in bed looking at her boyfriend, Scott Summers. He slept deeply, and soundly. As well he should, since she had to charm him to sleep. He'd wake up tomorrow morning precisely at 7am.
Scott had been awake for close to 24 hours. The stresses of running the team was hard enough. Then to find out he had a half-brother who was from Russia? And a mutant?
Earlier tonight, Scott was worried because Sunfire and Quicksilver decided to leave the building to go and 'have their own life'. Who knew what that meant? While Scott was the team leader, he was not their father, and he couldn't stop them from living their lives, but he could still worry, and he did.
As Cyclops and Scarlet, they were one of, if not the most, famous couple in the world. Wanda understood that he was a great leader and strategist. She also knew that Scott was already planning for fights and events that no one else had even considered yet.
Wanda kissed Scott's forehead and decided to get some sleep of her own. There was no sense in her worrying about anything, Scott did that for all of them. And she loved him for it.
Brooklyn, New York
Wade Wilson pulled his coat tight around him. He adjusts the hood to cover as much of his face as possible. Thinking a whiskey would be perfect to warm him up, he walks into a rundown bar. Despite the remote location, Wade noticed that this place was unusually busy.
Wade was never one to avoid crowds, hell, he lived for attention. His current situation required him to keep on moving, though. He finds table in back away from all of the prying eyes who already watched him sit down.
A cocktail waitress casually approaches him.
"What would you like to drink, sugar?" she asked.
Avoiding eye contact, Wade murmurs, "Just a Whiskey."
The cocktail waitress smiles "Just trying to keep warm?"
Lowering his hood, Wade replies, "Yep."
Wade notices even more people spilling into the bar. This was no coincidence. These mooks all seemed to know each other. Not to mention, a lot of them were carrying large duffle bags. Had to be weapons or cash.
Unlike his Weapon X roommate, Logan, Wade didn't have any heightened senses, but he definitely notices the tension in the air. This wasn't where he needed to be right now. He gets up and starts for the door, when a large man blocks his way.
"Excuse me," Wade says with his eyes on the floor.
The man refuses to budge, which causes Wade to accidentally bump the large man.
The whole bar stands up with that slightest of contact.
The very large, and very bald, man looks down at Wade.
"Excuse me, stranger," the large man said. "This is my establishment, my neighborhood, my City. I move for no one."
Wade knows this man. Wilson Fisk. The Kingpin.
This was a bad dude who controlled a majority of the city's criminal underground. He was known to 'dispatch' of his adversaries with his bare hands. Wade cursed his timing.
The Kingpin puts down his briefcase and removes his coat.
"Look, Mr. Kingpin, sir," Wade said with a smirk. "I don't want any trouble, I'm just passing by."
"You seem too anxious to leave," the Kingpin acknowledges. "What brought you to this particular establishment, on this particular night?"
"Ladies night?" Wade quips.
"I find it odd that we are gathered here tonight to discuss our 'Punisher' problem, and a stranger like you shows up," the Kingpin frowns.
"Punisher problem?" Wade giggles. "I didn't realize it was that kind of club."
"Outstanding." Kingpin says with a smile of his own.
The Kingpin backhands Wade, sending him flying back onto a table, instantly breaking it.
Dusting the splinters off of himself, Wade sighs, "Let's get this over with,"
He pulls out two swords from under his coat, and through a hail of gunfire, begins to slash, dice, and eviscerate, everyone in the bar. The two exceptions were the cocktail waitress, and the Kingpin.
The Kingpin stood with his mouth open in shock. Within a matter of seconds he had seen the stranger messily kill two dozen men. This was the kind of fear that Kingpin demanded, he wasn't supposed to be the victim of it!
"Sorry about the mess, Mr. Kingpin," Wade says. "I really was just passing through. I could give you a lengthy dialogue about how I have to spare you so there is no vacuum in the underworld, and you're the devil I know, and blah, blah, blah…but, how about we leave it a you owe me one?
Just then, Wade is hit in the back of the head. Hard. He collapses at the Kingpin's feet.
Kingpin looks at the assailant.
"Thank you," he says. "But as my bodyguard I would have preferred that you were by my side when this encounter happened."
"I apologize," the large, muscular assailant says. "As your chauffer as well, I should advise you that someone parked in your stall. That's why it took so long."
"I understand, Luke," Kingpin nods. "Although, when I paid for those experimental treatments on you, I should have asked them to give you super speed to go along with your strength and steel-hard skin."
Luke Cage shrugged.
"No damage done at least?" he asked.
Waiting for a dramatic cue, Wade chooses this moment to stand up suddenly. The suddenness of it scared the Kingpin, who grabs at his chest suddenly.
"Son of a bitch!" Wade yells, as the back of his head began to reassemble itself one bone fragment at a time.
Still gasping for breath, the sight of Wade's head healing itself was too much for the Kingpin. His eyes roll up into his head, and he falls to the floor. Wade guessed it was a heart attack.
As Wade stands over the Kingpin, he dodges a couple of unannounced punches from the Kingpin's bodyguard. Wade looks at the man and realizes that this dude looked like a total badass! Wade also determined that either this guy bought his clothes two sizes too small, or he worked out.
"What's up, big guy?" Wade asks disingenuously as he spins around.
He throws one of his swords at the large man and Wade sees literal sparks come off the man's skin where the sword had bounced off. The man picks the sword up off of the ground and breaks it in his bare hands.
Wade meanwhile, hears a soft moan coming from the Kingpin. Wade turns his attention back to the Kingpin and thrusts his remaining sword into his heart. That did the trick!
Wade looks back at his attacker.
"We don't have to do this anymore," Wade called out. "You have a name, stranger?"
Luke walked forward until he was a few feet from Wade.
"My name is Cage," the man grunts. "Luke Cage."
"Damn. Cool name," Wade admits genuinely.
"You got a name?" Cage asked.
"My name?" Wade asks out loud. He had to come pretty strong. Cage oozed coolness. He thinks about it for a second before answering, "You can call me Slash Gordon!"
Cage cringes at the name, and Wade notices the reaction.
"No?" Wade asks. Wade ponders it for a second and says, "Deadpool. Call me Deadpool."
Cage nods. "Deadpool. Look, Deadpool, I really have no beef with you. And seeing as how my employer will no longer be paying me, I'd like to just go on my way."
"The Kingpin owes me one," Deadpool shrugged. "I can make sure you get paid."
Cage looks over Deadpool's shoulder, "You killed the Kingpin."
Deadpool cringes, "Sorry. I haven't had my meds recently. Short attention span."
Cage puts up his hands, "No worries. I'm out."
Deadpool watches Cage leave the bar. He is about to leave as well, but his curiosity gets the better of him. He needs to know what the Kingpin has in his briefcase that was so important for all of these people to be here. Hearing sirens, Deadpool takes the briefcase with him.
Sitting under a bridge later in the evening, Deadpool opens the briefcase to see that it is full of documents regarding someone named, Frank Castle. He wore a costume that resembled a devil, and they called him, 'The Punisher'. The Kingpin and his goons were planning an all-out assault on just one dude?
Intrigued, Deadpool reads a little deeper into the file and finds that the Punisher has been on the wrong side of the Kingpin for years. As a young man, the Punisher once stopped the Kingpin's goons from killing an amateur boxer who was supposed to blow a fight for some pretty heavy gamblers. The boxer, and his young son, were able to escape into the witness protection plan, but Frank Castle wasn't so lucky.
A week later, Castle was assaulted by the Kingpin's men. They beat him and tortured him, pouring unknown chemicals into his eyes. He was declared legally blind, but he survived as a warning to anyone else who felt like they could betray the Kingpin.
Deadpool exhaled. Wow. This Frank Castle, Punisher dude, must be a bad man to attract this kind of attention. But he was freaking blind!
"Oh well, Mr. Punisher," Deadpool chuckled. "You're welcome…"
Deadpool crumples up the paperwork and tosses it over his shoulder.
A moment later Wade was surrounded on two sides of the bridge by what looked to him like the whole United States Army. Everyone pulled out their guns, and pointed them at him.
Deadpool held up his hands and shouted, "Oh my God! You people take littering seriously!"
Hickam Air Force Base - Honolulu, Hawaii
Tony Stark walked down a long hallway with Captain America. Tony could hardly breathe. He had only heard stories of the Captain's heroics during the wars, and with the Captain's stature, and…scars, he struck quite the intimidating presence. However, they had a common goal, to protect the American people.
Besides, Tony shrugged. Once the Captain saw his team, and Tony's new surprise addition, the Captain would be thankful to have Tony as part of Operation: S.H.I.E.L.D's, brain trust.
They finally made their way over to a glass casing, showing both Ben Grimm, codenamed the Thing, and Doctor Otto Octavius, codenamed, Dr. Octopus, in a room watching footage of the X-Men using their powers.
Captain America quietly stared at the duo. He waited to see if there was any sign of fear on their faces while watching the footage. Thankfully, there wasn't any. Then something else caught the Captain's gaze. His own reflection.
Captain America's last mission ended with the Captain literally getting blown off of a plane. The Captain had held on too long, his boots having gotten caught in one of the planes panels. While the Captain survived the explosion, the resulting flames and shrapnel had severely scarred the Captain's face.
It unnerved Tony how the Captain had dealt with the many scars on his face. Using something red that Tony hoped wasn't blood, the Captain traced every one of his scars. His impromptu war paint made it seem as if the red stripes of his beloved flag, ran across his face. It would definitely come off as a fierce visage to his opponents on the field of battle.
The Captain spoke, his voice a gravelly baritone.
"There are only two of them," he said. "Where are the rest?"
Tony nervously led the Captain to yet another room.
"The mercenary is being personally delivered by Carol Danvers," Tony began.
"A mercenary?" the Captain scoffed. "What's so special about this one in particular?"
Tony shrugged, "We've been led to believe that he can't die."
The Captain stopped at the door that Tony had led him to.
"Everyone can die," the Captain said unflinching.
"No doubt," Tony agreed half-heartedly. At this point, he just wanted to show off his newest weapon.
"Okay, Cap," Tony smirked. "Is it okay for me to call you Cap?"
The Captain nodded.
Tony cleared his throat and threw the door open. Inside the room, among all kinds of tools and rafters, was a 15 foot suit of armor. His friend and body guard, James Rhoads, was inside the armor. The shiny, purple armor, took Tony's breath away every time he saw it.
"What is that?" the Captain asked.
Tony beamed, "I call it…the Sentinel!"
END PART 5
