The Story Keepers mixed with the X-Men.
Disclaimer: The X-Men and any other Marvel characters I use in this belong to Disney, Marvel, and their respective creators while the Story Keepers belong to Focus on the Family Entertainment. I own nothing.
On Earth, during the year 2064 AD, the galactic pharaoh En Sabah Nur unleashed his fury on the Christians for the crime of proclaiming a king higher than Pharaoh.
Setting the city of New York on fire, Nur placed the blame on the Christians and launched a new campaign to wipe them out. Families were separated and children were left homeless as thousands were sold into slavery or worse, thrown to the lions.
Escaping the panic of the fire and dodging the advancing soldiers, a group of children found shelter in the gentle care of Charles and Moira Xavier, a local teacher and his wife.
There, the children discovered an amazing, secret network of daring men and women who risked their lives to help one another and to tell the stories of the great story teller. The one called Jesus.
So awaiting the day when their parents would return, Jean, Kurt, Scott, and Alex embarked on the adventure of a lifetime. Their mission was to keep the stories of Jesus, from over 2000 years ago, alive.
This is their story. They are…
The Story Keepers
Breakout Part 1: Kurt Wagner
If the torch still burns,
We will make it through the darkness…
Mrs. Summers sent her children Scott and Alex off with their newly found friend, Jean, as several soldiers arrived. She prayed to God that they would see each other again. Her husband had already been sold into slavery just a few days ago.
We will keep our voices strong.
We will be heard…
Scott, Alex, and Jean rushed through the streets as Scott noticed some guards and pulled the two back. Scott had brown eyes with brown hair. He wore dark red sunglasses over his eyes to hold back the concussive energy that the eyes held. His five-year-old brother, Alex, had blonde hair and blue eyes. Jean had green eyes and red hair. Scott hoped that they could find a safe place before the soldiers found them.
Now it's up to us to tell…
The stories…
Now it's up to us,
To carry on his word…
As the children rushed off, they arrived at a mansion outside of Westchester as a bald man with brown eyes, and in a wheel chair looked out.
"Jean, any idea who that guy is?" Scott asked.
"Uh-uh." Jean said. "I'll read his mind to see."
As a Mutant Telepath, Jean could naturally read minds, but she was shocked when the man turned to her.
"You know young lady; it's very rude to read people's minds without their permission." The man said.
"Uh-oh." All three children said as the man rolled down, but to their relief, he smiled.
"My name is Charles Xavier. Where are your parents?" Charles asked.
"Our parents were taken to be slaves." Scott said as Alex hugged a stuffed tiger he'd brought with him.
"Mine were still in the house when Nur's soldiers set New York on fire." Jean said sadly.
"Well I'm sure they're all gonna be okay." Charles said. "Until we find them, you can stay here."
We'll march on and on,
And proudly keep the stories.
We will hold the torch,
And keep its burning flame!
And we'll pass on all the truths
And the glories!
Inside Charles' house, they met a woman with black hair and brown eyes who walked up to Charles and a younger man, about twenty, who had blue fur over his body, blue hair, and ape-like feet.
"Who are these three?" The woman asked.
"They're children who got separated from their families." Charles explained. "I promised they could stay here until we could find them."
"And you believe them, Professor?" The man asked.
"Hank." Charles said. "They're just children, and they need a home."
"Charles' right." The woman said as she bent down. "Hello. I'm Charles' wife, Moira."
"Hi." Alex said.
"Hank McCoy." Hank said with a sigh.
"Good to know." Scott said. "So… Anything we should be aware of now we're here?"
"Yes." Charles said. "We're Christians."
"Oh, like Mom and Dad." Alex said.
"Right." Moira said. "In fact, Charles' been preparing to tell a story at one of our meetings."
"About who?" Alex asked.
"About Jesus." Charles said. "I'll give you guys a sneak preview since you'll be living here, and I need to practice. You see, when Jesus was a young boy well over two thousand years ago, he went to Jerusalem with his parents for the pass over feast…"
And we'll carry on…
Yes we'll carry on…
His name . . .!
()()()()()
A few weeks later, Charles was in the middle of a friendly market place in Bayville selling produce that Moira grew as some extra income.
"Fruits, vegetables, and grain!" Charles called out. "Fresh fruit, vegetables, and grain!"
"Hey Charles!" A blond friend of Charles' named Steve said. "I'll take four apples."
"Over here, Charles!" A man named Clint called out. "I'll take five!"
"Four apples and five!" Charles called out.
"Four apples and five." Jean repeated.
"Four and five wrapped and tied." Moira said with a smile as she held up a package of four apples and a package of five and handed them to Alex.
"Get ready, Prof!" Alex called out as he passed them to Hank.
"Cause here they fly!" Hank said as he tossed the apples to Charles, which he caught easily.
Charles then rolled up to Steve, glad to have an excuse to talk to them.
"Hey Steve." Charles said. "I like the new shirt."
Charles then talked to Steve telepathically so no one else could hear and whispered, "Meeting tonight at the high school."
"Here you are Clint." Charles said again as once more he telepathically spoke to Clint. "Meeting tonight at the high school."
Charles tried to go to market once a weak as a way to have an excuse to talk to his friends naturally and inform them of the meeting times.
"Perfect for the children." Charles said as he took a pastry sample from the baker and ate it. "I'll give you twenty dollars for the box."
Charles then leaned in to the baker, Sean Cassidy, and whispered, "By the way Sean, meeting tonight at high school."
While Charles was talking with Sean, a young boy with black hair, blue fur, a tail, and gold eyes, juggling several balls, walked into the road in front of the truck the gang was using as several oranges fell off and the boy quickly grabbed them.
"Vhy don't you learn how to drive?" The boy asked.
"Well why don't you stay out of the road?" Scott asked.
"Hey, those are our oranges." Hank pointed out as the boy began juggling them.
The people laughed as Scott was unable to catch them when Charles showed up to keep things calm.
"Nice juggling little fellow." Charles said. "What's your name?"
"I'm Kurt Wagner." Kurt said. "You know, if you really vant a treat, I could juggle some of zose vatermelons in your truck."
"Well," Charles said with a smile. "I think we should see this."
Kurt was given the melons and easily juggled them.
"Wow." Jean said. "How are you doing that?"
"Easy." Kurt said with a smile. "It's all in the wrists and timing the tosses just right. Here, let me show you."
()()()()()
By evening, Kurt handed Jean two small bean bags as she began to successfully juggle them.
"Kurt!" Jean called out excitedly. "I'm doing it! I'm doing it!"
She'd never really done anything like this before. She'd always stuck to books.
"See?" Kurt said with a smile. "You're doing pretty well, Jean."
Suddenly, Jean missed count and the bean bag hit her on the head.
"Ouch." Kurt said with a smile.
"Jean!" Moira called out.
"Charles and Moira are really nice." Kurt observed wistfully.
"Yeah, they're great." Jean said as she thought of how Charles and Moira selflessly took her, Scott, and Alex in, something she doubted many others would have. "Charles's the greatest guy on Earth, and you should hear him tell a story."
"Oh, my parents are great too." Kurt said with a smile. "Ve have a family circus act and travel ze whole galaxy."
"Wow." Jean said in awe. "Where do you live?"
"Oh," Kurt said. "Vell, see zat big vhite villa? Ve live in an even bigger one just behind it."
Jean looked at a large white house as she gaped at the idea of what Kurt's house must look like.
"Jean, time to go sweetheart." Moira said with a kind smile.
Jean went onto Charles's truck as it drove off when she turned to Kurt.
"Hey, why don't you come over to our meeting tonight?" Jean asked. "And bring your parents. Charles' gonna tell some stories about Je-"
"Jean, are you crazy?!" Hank said as he pulled Jean over to him. "Inviting a stranger to hear our stories? He and his parents could be spies for Nur."
"Hank." Jean countered calmly. "Kurt's not a spy. He's our friend."
Kurt waved good-bye as the truck went back to Charles' school.
()()()()()
That night, at Bayville High, everyone Charles had told of the meeting arrived, making the secret sign of the fish to prove they were Christians. Once it was proven, Hank would invite them in and get rid of the sign if it was made in any lasting way.
As everyone was there, Charles cleared his throat.
"Friends of Jesus, I want to thank you all for risking so much to come here." Charles said. "You know, some things never change. For example, when Jesus was teaching in Galilee, the Romans who occupied the city were so suspicious of gatherings; people had to leave the city to hear him speak. One day, Jesus and his disciples had gone across-"
Charles stopped when there was a sudden knock on the door.
Hank walked over to the door and saw the kid from that evening.
"You?" Hank asked.
"Is Jean here?" Kurt asked as Jean got up on Hank's shoulders and peered through the hole.
"Kurt?" Jean asked.
"We can't let him in." Hank protested. "He doesn't know the sign."
At that, Kurt juggled two bean bags in the air fast enough to make the shape of the sign.
"Oh yeah?" Jean asked. "Then what do you call that?"
Jean opened the door and let Kurt in.
"He could be leading Nur's entire army right to our door!" Hank protested. They could be dealing with something severe if they didn't do something.
"Hank, he's just a boy." Charles said patiently. "And he's as welcomed as anyone."
"Where are your parents?" Jean asked. "Couldn't they come?"
"Oh!" Kurt said as he thought. "Zey really vanted to, but zey had a performance tonight for ze Governor of Xandar."
"Oh." Jean said, apparently accepting what Kurt said, but Hank thought that Kurt's response took a little too much time to say."
"Now where was I?" Charles wondered.
"People in Galilee had to leave the city to hear him speak." Scott said helpfully.
"Oh yes." Charles said. "Thank you, Scott. Now, Jesus and his disciples had gone across the lake to be alone, but when they came ashore, there was a great crowd waiting for him. It is said that there were five thousand people there.
"'Lord,' Jesus' disciple, Simon-Peter, said. 'We should leave this place. We'll get no rest here.'
"But Jesus felt sorry for them since they didn't have a leader.
"'They are like sheep without a Sheppard.' Jesus pointed out.
"So, he began to teach them. He told them God loves everyone. The good and the bad. The honest and the dishonest alike. He loves our enemies just as he loves our friends.
"'Surely God doesn't love the Romans!' A man called out. You see what Jesus said was very brave as there were freedom fighters in the crowd who hated being ruled by the Romans.
"'Love your enemies.' Jesus countered. 'Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who treat you badly. Do to others what you would have them do to you.'"
"'Lord,' One of Jesus' Disciples said after awhile. 'This is a lonely spot, and it's getting late.'
"'Send the crowds out to the farms and villages, so they can feed themselves.' Peter advised.
"Instead, Jesus said, 'You feed them.'
"'How?' Peter asked. 'It would cost a fortune to feed all these people.'
"'How much food do you have?' Jesus asked. 'Go and see.'
"They found a young boy who willingly offered his food, five loaves of bread and two fish but nothing else.
"'All we have are these five barely loaves and two fish.' A disciple pointed out.
"'Make the people sit down on the grass in groups.' Jesus advised, and they divided into groups of fifties and hundreds.
"Then Jesus took the food and gave thanks. He broke the food into portions and gave it to his disciples to feed the people, and everyone had enough to eat.
"'Gather up all that is left.' Jesus instructed his disciples. 'Let's not waste any.'
"The disciples did so and filled up twelve baskets with what was left over."
"Wow." The children said.
"Charles," Alex asked. "What happened to the boy with the bread?"
"No one really knows." Charles said. "For all we knew he grew up and became a baker."
"Alright, that was an exce-"
There was a sudden pounding on the door.
"Open up in the name of En Sabah Nur!" A voice called out.
"I told you that boy was trouble!" Hank shouted. "Quick, you all know what to do!"
Everyone hid in pots and Kurt hid in a rolled up carpet as Hank quickly began grabbing some straw and began using a stick to mix it in with a fresh coating of mud for just such an occasion when several men broke the door down as Nathaniel Essex, one of Nur's top guards, stood there.
"You there." Essex said. "Where are all the Christians hiding?"
"Christians, sir?" Hank asked with a laugh. "In here? I'll eat this mud if you find any Christians in here."
Essex walked around and put his foot on the carpet as a small squeak came from it, and Essex undid the carpet to find Kurt there as all the soldiers held blasters to Hank as he tasted the mud.
"You know, with a little salt, it wouldn't be all that bad." Hank admitted.
"Search this place!" Essex called out, and the soldiers found several of the Christians. Everyone made a run for it as Hank used his Mutant agility and dexterity to leap over the guards and toss down several pots and the like, making them shatter on the guards as he rushed off with his natural speed.
()()()()()
Outside, Charles did a quick head count.
"Scott, Alex, Jean, and Hank." Charles said with a sigh as everyone smiled. "That's everyone. Thank God we're alright."
They then heard a carriage roll off as they turned to see Kurt stuck in a cage.
"Kurt!" Jean called out as she rushed to him before being stopped by Hank and Charles, causing Jean to weep as the two looked sadly at each other. Who knew what Nur was going to do to the boy?
Well that's the first chapter. Please tell me what you think.