Let's see, X-Men Evolution characters…don't own 'em. GI Joe or Marvel characters…Nope, I don't own 'em either! I don't really own anything. Well maybe a few random characters but I can't make money off of them. Sad I know. Here we go again folks! Another fun fic from yours truly! This fic starts just hours after Interdimensional Dementia ended. It's the continuing saga of…
Days of Our Mutant Lives
Chapter 1: Here We Go Again
"Let me see if I get this straight," Nick Fury, head of SHEILD pinched his nose and closed his good eye. "Some of the X-Men and Misfits went traipsing around several dimensions thanks to an invention Forge made. During this time not only did they cause a lot of chaos…Which is no big surprise really…They let loose Apocalypse back into this world?"
"Technically eleven Apocalypses," Hank coughed. Most of the X-Men and Misfits that had traveled were also in the room. "Into eleven different worlds actually. There used to be thirteen but…"
"Enough!" General Hawk, leader of GI Joe raised his hand. "I think we get the idea."
"To be fair we didn't really have any choice," Hank told him. "It was either release Apocalypse back into this world or have him mold all of reality in his image."
"Well you couldn't have released him right into a maximum security prison or something?" Fury snapped. "Just when I thought you mutant maniacs couldn't screw things up around here any more…"
"It wasn't our fault," Althea defended. "Well mostly. Technically it was Forge's fault for starting the whole mess in the first place."
"Okay I'll give you that," Fury agreed. "Where is he anyway?"
"He's probably still on the roof," Wanda said.
"Smart man," Hawk sighed.
"If he really was smart he'd have never made the stupid reality hopping thing in the first place," Wanda told him.
"Of course if he hadn't all of reality would turn into Apocalypse Land," Kurt pointed out. "Then we'd really have problems!"
"Like we don't have enough now?" Logan groaned.
"Obviously we can't let this information leak out," Fury groaned. "To say it could be disastrous would be an understatement."
"Especially if Magneto finds out," Xavier agreed. "Remember what happened the last time he tried to confront Apocalypse?"
"It hurts my head just thinking about it," Hawk groaned. "And we all know Apocalypse isn't just going to sit back and take a vacation."
"Great, just what I need," Fury groaned. "Another nutcase that wants to take over the world! Like SHIELD doesn't have enough problems going on!"
"Like what?" Xavier asked. "Something else is troubling you and I don't need my telepathy to see that."
Fury seemed to debate saying anything for a moment. "Oh why not just bottom this whole trip out?" He groaned. "There are quite a few things going on actually. Some I can't tell you about. Especially since you and everyone's brother seems to have a habit of trashing SHEILD Headquarters every other month!"
"Well what can you tell us?" Logan asked.
"First things first," Fury sighed. "There is some good news. Thanks to Sage we've managed to help close down a few Hellfire run 'businesses'. They've been dabbling in quite a few illegal operations, including some slave trading gangs."
"Slave trading?" Jean's jaw dropped. "You're kidding?"
"No," Fury's jaw was set. "And let me tell you this, the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle had no problems selling off their own kind."
"They were selling mutants as slaves?" Ororo gasped.
"How could they do that?" Wanda was shocked as well. "I thought the Hellfire Club was into mutants ruling the world?"
"As long as they're the ones doing the ruling," Fury told them. "We managed to rescue a half dozen mutants and found records of sales of at least fifteen more. Seven of them were bought by Cobra."
"Goddess no…" Ororo was horrified.
"If it will make you feel any better Storm I don't think your nephew even knew about this along with the other Hellions," Fury told her. "It seems only one member of the Inner Circle was responsible for that along with Shaw and that's his cyborg Pierce. The Hellfire Club usually divides certain responsibilities amongst themselves,each member never knowing exactly what the others are doing. According to Sage that's how Shaw set it up."
"What happened to the mutants that were rescued?" Xavier asked.
"That's…the tricky part," Fury sighed. "Most of them were from North Korea or Cuba. And most of them were sold by their own governments. There were two Chinese mutants which the government claims they were kidnapped and had to be returned since they refused to remain in SHIELD custody like the others."
"Wait a minute," Logan held up his hand. "SHEILD custody? I don't like the sound of that."
"I figured you wouldn't," Fury sighed. "And I'm afraid I have to tell you that both SHEILD and the United States Government have initiated Sentinel programs." This caused an upsetting murmur among the mutants. "And I guess it's safe to say that other countries are doing the same thing."
"Well this just really makes my day!" Logan threw up his hands.
"We are not planning on using them to hunt down every mutant we come across. We are only going to use the Sentinels for worst case scenarios," Fury told him.
"Like what happened last year in Chicago?" Scott snapped.
"That was a rogue agency and you know it," Fury told him.
"A rogue agency that had more than a few friends in both the Pentagon and Department H backing them!" Logan snapped. "And don't sell me any bull that there's no proof of that! Neverland practically stank of those guys!"
"Neverland stank period!" Jean agreed.
"I'm sorry if this upsets you but you have to understand my position," Fury said. "The world is in danger from several enemies and now Apocalypse. Certain…measures have to be taken for security reasons."
"What kind of measures do you need?" Jean asked. "You already have an operative in X-Factor and there's also Captain America's team you've been talking about."
"Project Avenger is only one aspect of our overall security plan," Fury told him.
"And what other aspects are you talking about?" Xavier asked.
"You're starting that damned Super Soldier program again aren't you?" Hawk glared at him. "Don't bother to deny it. I've been hearing rumors about it from the Jugglers themselves for months."
"Super Soldier?" Kurt asked. "You mean the same formula that created Captain America?"
"I thought that was lost years ago!" Logan shouted.
"It was," Fury sighed. "We're trying to create a better one. A more stable version."
"You are using the blood samples from Captain America," Hank realized. "And the effect's of Wolverine's healing factor in his system that Trinity implanted years ago."
"And if you can use other mutant sample to further it along so much the better," Pietro quipped sarcastically. "To think this day started off so well…"
"I knew you weren't going to handle this," Fury sighed.
"How do you expect us to react to both the government and SHIELD condoning mutant experimentation, military conscription and Sentinels?" Xavier asked. "I thought you were a better man than that Fury."
"It's not just rouge mutants that are a threat to the world Xavier," Fury glared at him. "Terrorists like Cobra and Hydra, dictators like Dr. Doom…Not to mention the alien menace that's threatening our world."
"Aliens? You mean like the Snarks?" Althea asked.
"Those pathetic excuses for space luggage?" Fury gave her a look. "Please. I'm talking real threats here. There are aliens we deal with that are twenty times as dangerous that you have no idea about and we'd like to keep it that way."
"Are you saying we're currently engaged in some kind of covert war with an alien race?" Xavier asked.
"No," Fury told him. "We're engaged in a few different wars of varying degrees with seven different alien races! And half of them we don't even know the true intentions of. As far as we can figure out they either want to take over the planet, blow up the planet or set up some kind of alien tourist trap to make a quick buck. So you can see why we're a little jumpy. Now I am sorry if the measures I am taking concerning mutants offends you but I have an entire planet to worry about. And I don't have the time or the energy to get into a debate about mutant rights. I have to do what's best for the planet as a whole."
"I hate to say this but Fury has a point," Hawk told the others. "Nations all around the world are recruiting mutant teams. Canada, Great Britain, Russia, Japan, China…All major contenders in the new version of the Cold War. Only they're using mutants instead of conventional weapons. There's even a rumor going around that Australia's got a secret mutant team going on."
"The more power we have on our side the better the odds," Fury nodded.
"Still don't like it," Logan grunted.
"I don't care," Fury told him. "You're damn lucky I went against my superiors to let X23 stay here!"
"If you even think about trying to recruit any of our kids…" Logan shot out his claws.
"Will you put those away?" Fury was unimpressed. "I've already got enough immature super powered idiots to worry about. I'm not looking for more! At least any under 21."
"Yeah well I'm still going to be watching you Fury," Logan sheathed his claws.
"The feeling's mutual," Fury grunted back.
"Gentlemen, and I do use the term loosely…" Hawk interrupted. "Let's calm down. We have enough enemies to fight. It's time to face facts, the world is rapidly changing and the more mutants there are in the world, the more dangerous things are going to be."
"Sorry General Hawk," Jean folded her arms. "I just don't want to wake up one morning to find Sentinels all over our front lawn trying to turn the Institute into a low grade concentration camp or worse!"
"And I don't want to have to hunt you people down because you can't control your powers or worse use them to infiltrate security buildings, steal or destroy sensitive documents or change all of reality as we know it," Fury snapped back at her. "Or join up with Magneto, Apocalypse or any other mutant nutcase dictator out there! I did pay attention to what you saw on your little trip. And what you wrecked!"
"Then maybe we should set some basic ground rules here and now," Hawk interrupted again. "Fury as head of GI Joe I am prepared to take full responsibility for policing the X-Men should they or any of their members get out of control."
"You think the Jugglers would go for that?" Fury asked.
"It was their idea," Hawk raised an eyebrow.
"Sounds like more inmates policing the asylum if you ask me," Fury groaned.
"But if you think about it what Hawk is saying makes sense," Althea spoke. "The Misfits are here practically every day anyway. And there's very little that goes on around here that we don't know about or can figure out. With the Joes occasionally checking up on the X-Men you'd never need to send out any Sentinels against them."
"There's another reason," Jean said. "Since we're in constant contact with the Joes and Misfits anyway and they're connected to a lot of people in the government there would be no need for the X-Men to break into any government building to find out information."
"Especially since we all know Trinity would happily do it for the fun of it!" Fury snapped.
"You say that like it's a bad thing!" Brittany interrupted.
"You can't be seriously thinking of having the Misfits become our babysitters?" Scott asked. "And I thought Apocalypse escaping was the low point of my day!"
"Not exactly," Hawk corrected. "GI Joe would basically watch out for the X-Men and try to keep things from getting out of hand."
"Still…" Scott began.
"I know you don't like it Scott but if you think about it, it's the best solution," Jean told him. "I'd rather deal with General Hawk and the Misfits over Sentinels any day. Remember what we saw in the Nexus. Do you really want that to happen to us?"
"Considering the situation you really cannot blame SHIELD for being worried," Xavier admitted. "And working with GI Joe…As chaotic as it is sometimes, would stabilize our position with the government."
"And we are considered by many as rogue vigilantes at best," Hank pointed out. "Others consider us outright terrorists, no better than Magneto."
"It's called compromise Cyclops," Hawk told him. "I know you're worried about the Institute as well as mutant kind and I can't say I blame you. But you have to realize that there are not only mutant threats to the planet that have to be dealt with. Some kind of checks and balances system has to be established for the safety of both humans and mutants."
"I hear what you're saying General Hawk," Scott sighed. "But what about all the other mutants out there? What kind of measures are being done to protect them?"
"I've made it clear that SHEILD will not be recruiting any underage mutants," Fury said. "And I'd rather have mutants working for me voluntarily. I understand the X-Men's need for certain rescue missions like Neverland. However…"
"Why don't we just say we'll take things on a case by case basis for now?" Hawk interrupted. "And see how it goes?"
"I have no problem with that," Fury nodded.
"Then it's agreed," Xavier replied. "We should…"
RRRRUMMMBLEEEEEEEEE!
"Now what's going on in this madhouse?" Fury groaned as the earth shook for a moment.
"Lance are you…?" Althea looked around. "Hey where's Lance?"
"He was with us a while back," Todd looked around.
"I don't see Kitty either," Wanda remarked.
"The last I remember seeing them they were outside," Kurt spoke.
"Oh no…" Hank groaned slapping his hand over his face. "Here we go!"
"Looks like you're going to get a head start on that policing the X-Men Hawk," Fury said sarcastically. "Because there is no way in hell SHEILD is going to get involved in another Avalanche/Shadowcat/Colossus love triangle spat!"
"You know all about it huh?" Logan sighed.
"Know about it?" Fury gave him a look. "I've got a file on it this big!" He indicated the range with his hands. "It's one of the most popular reading materials we have!"
"Looks like you're going to get more material then," Hawk got up with the others to see what the commotion was all about.
Several of the others were watching the commotion out the window in the library. "All right who won the pool for the time Lance went nuts after breaking up with Kitty?" Roberto asked.
"It's a tie between Tabitha and Arcade," Jamie read off of a chart. "Then again Tabitha did cheat…"
"I did not cheat," Tabitha sniffed. "I merely informed Lance of all the facts. Since when is that cheating?"
"Since we were planning on having a pool of how long it was gonna take for him to find out what happened last night you…" Bobby began then noticed the others were there. "Oh hi guys? What's new?"
"Funny, we were going to ask you the same thing," Scott folded his arms. "Does anyone want to tell us why Lance is currently fighting on the lawn with Peter again?"
"Like they need a reason," Fury groaned.
"Lance and Kitty broke up," Jamie informed him.
"So?" Fury asked. "Don't they break up every other week?"
"For good this time!" Jamie said. "Angel and Forge heard them."
"He's right, we heard the whole thing," Warren said. "And get this, Lance was the one who dumped Kitty."
"Where is Forge anyway?" Wanda asked.
"Oh right, I left him on the roof," Warren remembered.
"You left him on the roof?" Xavier felt a headache coming on.
"Well I was in a hurry you see I was helping Jamie run the betting pool and…" Warren began. "What?"
"Warren, I know your family's cut you off but I had no idea you were so strapped for cash," Hank blinked.
"So much for the pure Angel," Logan snorted. "These kids have corrupted you!"
"Oh yeah like I'm the only one around here," Warren snapped pointing to the clipboard Jamie was carrying. He took it from Jamie and waved it under Logan's nose. "You're name's on this list too pal! You and Beast both owe fifty bucks to the pot!"
"Yeah pay up!" Tabitha agreed.
"You shouldn't get anything!" Ray snapped. "You cheated!"
"How can I cheat on a rule that you never even made up in the first place?" Tabitha yelled at him.
"Well we just assumed…" Ray began.
"Assumed?" Tabitha put her hands on her hips. "You know what they say about people who assume don't you?"
"Uh not really, no…" Ray gulped.
"It means you make an ass out of U and Me!" Tabitha poked him.
"How do you figure that?" Ray asked.
"And people call me dumb?" Bobby slapped his head.
"It's a play on words you idiot!" Sam snapped.
RRRRUMMMBLEEEEEEE!
"Excuse me!" Hank raised his voice. "I think we've all gotten off track for a moment…"
"He's right," Tabitha said. "You and Badger owe us money!"
"Why do I come here?" Fury moaned. "I always leave with a bigger headache than my aspirin can handle! Why do I come here?"
"No, I am referring to the brawl outside!" Hank pointed. "I'm confused…"
"You're not the only one…" Fury groaned.
"I mean if Lance was the one who broke up with Kitty why is he fighting with Peter?" Hank asked. "He doesn't seem to have any reason to fight with him now."
"Yeah what the Tin Can made some kind of stupid comment or something?" Logan asked.
"No, what's got him mad was two minutes ago after he broke up with Kitty someone told him that she and Peter were sneaking around behind his back," Rogue glared at Tabitha.
"I just thought Lance should know about that kiss last night," Tabitha shrugged.
"Kiss? What kiss?" Scott asked.
"Oh the kiss Petey and Kit-Cat shared in the kitchen around midnight," Tabitha shrugged. "I believe Ray has a copy of the tape for sale."
"You kids are better at intelligence gathering than the CIA," Fury blinked.
"That's not really saying much Fury," Logan sighed.
"Wait so Kitty and Peter were fooling around behind Lance's back before Lance and Kitty broke up?" Scott asked. "Well no wonder Alvers is going berserk!"
"I'm pretty sure it's not as cut and dried as that," Jean tried to defend Kitty. "We should hear her side of it."
"It sounds pretty cut and dried to me!" Kurt agreed.
"I'd never thought I'd say this but I gotta agree on Alvers with this one," Scott nodded.
"Scott you were against Lance and Kitty being together forever!" Rogue looked at him. "You fought tooth and nail against them. Kept pushing Pete and Kitty together every chance you got and now you're on Lance's side?"
"Yeah it's not as if they kissed behind Lance's back before," Ray agreed. "What's the difference?"
"The difference is when they did it before Kitty was with both Lance and Peter," Kurt explained. "They weren't mutually exclusive at the time."
"He's got a point there," Roberto shrugged. "Kitty should have dumped him before going on to Peter. And I wouldn't be out twenty bucks."
"I sense a new betting pool coming up," Jamie thought aloud.
"And I sense a lapse in sobriety coming up," Fury moaned. "And you people wonder why everybody gets so worked up about mutants?"
"RAAAARRRRRAAAAAAA!" A furry black streak raced through the room and nearly knocked over Fury and several other people.
"What in Sam Hill was that?" Fury yelled.
"Jean's cat," Tabitha told him.
"Since when does Jean have a cat?" Fury blinked.
"Since her evil grandmother died and willed it to her over Christmas," Jamie explained.
"She willed her an insane cat?" Fury asked.
"It wasn't always insane," Jean sighed.
"Well what the devil happened to it?" Fury asked.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHA!" Polly laughed maniacally as he and Lockheed flew through the room. "HIT THE KITTY! WIN A COOKIE! DIVE! DIVE!"
"Does that explain it?" Logan asked as the animals left.
"That explains everything. Have I ever told you people how much I love coming here?" Fury said sarcastically.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RRRRRUMMMBLEEEE!
"AAAAAAHHHH!" A scream was heard from outside. "SOMEBODY GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!"
"Oh right Forge is still on the roof," Warren remembered.
RUMMMBLE!
"Not for much longer," Danielle remarked. "The way Lance is going at it the roof might just cave in beneath him."
"So Forge may go splat after all," Xi said cheerfully.
"You wanna start a betting pool on that, Wings?" Logan asked sarcastically.
"I am not that hard up for money," Warren glared at him.
"Wait a minute," Fury held up his hand. "I thought you were a millionaire, didn't your father leave you any money when he died?"
"Yeah but the day after the funeral my Uncle Burt ran to the courts faster than Anna Nichole Smith's in laws to stop me from getting my inheritance," Warren sighed. "Long story short…"
"He's broke," Jamie interrupted.
"I am not broke," Warren said. "Technically that's for the courts to decide. Unfortunately most of the money I have left either covers court fees…"
RUMMMBLE! THUD!
"Or goes to repairs around here…" Warren sighed as small pieces of plaster fell from the ceiling. "If figure I should be completely broke by Christmas if I'm lucky."
RUMBLE! CRASH!
"There goes another tree," Ray called out. "I think it fell on our roof."
"I think Thanksgiving is more realistic," Logan told Warren.
CRASH! RUMMMBLE!
"SOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE BEFORE I GET KILLED!" Forge was heard screaming. "THAT WAS CLOSE!"
"Warren…"Xavier sighed. "Could you please…?"
"I'll go get him," Warren held up his hand and left the room.
"I'd better help," Ororo sighed as she left with him. "And I'll try to calm down the situation outside as well."
"I'll help!" Shipwreck followed her.
"So much for calming down the situation outside," Ray remarked. "But at least Forge will get down from the roof."
"Yeah bring Forge in here so we can beat him up," Tim shouted.
"You are not going to beat him up," Xavier told him.
"He's right," Scott said. "I want first crack at him!"
"Yeah the people who actually suffered though his stupid device should get in the first shot," Pietro agreed.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! THUD! CRASH!
"Go get 'em Lance!" Bobby shouted. "Man I never thought I'd say that!"
"And to think for us this reality is normal," Jean groaned. "I'd better go help Storm." She started to leave.
"Jean are you sure you're up to…" Logan began.
"Wolverine I've just fought off ninjas, Sentinels, myself, angry mobs, zombies, insane mutant babies, Eleven Apocalypses, and some ticked off unicorns," Jean gave him a look. "I think I can handle Lance and Peter." She left the room.
"Did she just say unicorns?" Fury looked at Scott.
"Yeah she did," Scott sighed. "I much prefer the telepathic penguins myself. But I still wasn't crazy about the giant snails."
"Nobody was crazy about the giant snails," Wanda said.
"I didn't think they were that bad," Todd said. "A lot quieter than the old people."
"Don't get me started on the old people!" Scott threw up his hands. "Which reminds me I think I'd better get some of that hair growth serum, just in case."
"I think I'll just pretend I understand what you people are talking about," Fury groaned.
"I take it that you neglected to mention one or two stops in your little trip during the briefing?" Hawk looked at the Misfits and X-Men that had traveled through other dimensions.
"Yeah we kind of left out a few embarrassing ones," Hank coughed.
"Like what?" Hawk asked.
"Like the one where Storm was married to my pop and had to move in with the Misfits cause she was pregnant," Althea said.
"Okay…" Hawk blinked. "That I understand!"
"Yikes," Logan winced. "Good thing Storm didn't hear that one!"
"Let's put that under the classified section, shall we?" Fury sighed.
CRASH! SMASH! SHATTER! SMASH! CRASH!
"MEOWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Prometheus the cat fled through the room again.
"RARRR!" Penny was hot on it's heels, smashing into things. Her sharp hair was cutting into the furniture she hit.
"DIVE! DIVE! LET'S GO! DIVE!" Polly cackled as he and Lockheed flew through the room again. "TARGET AT FIVE O CLOCK! HA HA! FIRE! FIRE!"
"For crying out loud! Xavier can't you people control your animals?" Fury was nearly knocked over again. "Or whatever else that pink thing is!"
"Penny is a student Fury," Xavier told him.
CRASH! CRASH! SMASH!
"RARRR!"
"MEOW!"
CRASH!
"Who just happens to have a few socialization problems…" Xavier winced at the sound of more things breaking.
"No X-23 has a few socialization problems," Fury corrected. "That kid is just plain off the wall!"
RRRRUMMBLE!
"Was that thunder?" Ray asked.
"Odds are yes," Xavier sighed as the sky grew dark. "Oh what has Shipwreck done now?"
"Well Storm's flying so it can't be him groping her so it's got to be an inappropriate comment," Todd said.
"Yeah I'd bet on that," Roberto said. "Anybody want to take those odds?"
"We seriously need to have a discussion on gambling around here," Xavier groaned.
"Yeah I mean you'd lose your shirt on that kind of bet," Hank said before he thought. "I mean…"
"Let me rephrase that…" Xavier winced. "We seriously need an intervention of some kind for both the staff and the student population!"
Suddenly it began to snow outside. Both Lance and Peter were trying to run from Ororo. "COME BACK HERE!" She yelled. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT TO SHIPWRECK!"
"I'm okay…" Shipwreck wobbled by in a daze. "Oooh! Look at the birdies…"
"Well I'll be darned, she's not mad at Shipwreck," Althea said. "One of those idiots must have beaned him by mistake."
"I guess she's ticked off because someone besides her got to hit him," Danielle remarked.
"AAAAAHHHH!" The winds were so strong both Warren and Forge were being dragged around by the winds.
"PUT ME BACK ON THE ROOF!" Forge screamed.
"STORM KNOCK IT OFF!" Jean appeared in the sky with her Phoenix fire around her. "I MEAN IT!"
"She can do that now?" Fury's jaw dropped.
"Oh yeah," Scott gulped. "She's kind of now able to tap into the Phoenix Force a little more. I mean during the trip she seemed to get a lot better at it."
"Yeah she trashed three different Danger Rooms and two different groups of Sentinels," Todd nodded. "Not to mention knocked a couple of Apocalypses on their butts!"
"Well isn't that just great!" Logan threw up his hands. "Just what we need, another thing to worry about around here!"
"General Hawk if you want the job of watching the X-Men you can have it!" Fury told him.
"Thanks a lot," Hawk rolled his eyes. "Me and my big mouth!"
Things are off to a great start aren't they? Next Lance moans and complains about his breakup with Kitty. Only to have his day interrupted by a rampaging monster and an evil sorceress who decides to play therapist. If it isn't one thing it's another is it?