The Mutant Control Act
The world would never be the same. Never. It has not been since the day a giant robot walked down a busy Bayville street, assaulting humans that had strange superhuman powers. Powers that caused large scale destruction and took down a Sentinel—one of the most powerful weapons known to mankind. Since that day the entire world has been living in fear; fear that has given rise to hate. And hate caused persecution and unlawful executions of "people" who werethoughtto be mutants.
Mutants were said to be the next stage in the evolution of mankind. After M-Day, mutants began to turn up across the world. It was like a disease. The number of mutants just kept increasing, and before anyone could realize what had happened, another incident took place that completely shook the world: The Rise of Apocalypse. Apocalypse was a mutant determined to take control over the world and rule it. No existing human technology was able to take him down. What finally defeated him was never revealed to the public. It just happened that one day he was going to take over the world, and the next day he had simply disappeared.
People began to panic. The general public soon realized that super humans only look good in fiction (i.e. cartoons and comics). There were some who did believe that mutants were a gift to mankind, but a majority of the world believed them to be something inhuman, and mutants with physical deformities like Beast or Spyke didn't help to change that image. There were those that used their powers recklessly to hurt people who had offended them, and some used their powers only for a mischievous intent. But in some cases that proved to be disastrous enough that those disgruntled mutants set a fear in the hearts and minds of the people. Was it panic? Was it fear? No one knows what led to the events that led to it... Just one word hate, hate directed against mutants.
Several vigilante groups were formed to protect humans and exterminate mutants, or as they called it: "to bring them to justice and under control." This blatant hate and extremism backed by financial power from those who sought to make a profit in even such delicate situations aggravated not only the hate directed against mutants but Global Peace as well. The deaths of innocent mutants and their unlawful incarceration at the hands of these Anti-Human Factions infuriated mutants as they felt their right to live freely had been compromised. A few demanded justice in the court of law, but a majority of them decided that enough was enough, and for the first time, mutants retaliated.
The mutants wreaked havoc, destroying anything that came in their way. Terror set in, and the governments of various nations declared a state of emergency. Armed and other para-military forces were deployed to contain the situation and to protect the normal citizens; they were largely unsuccessful. The mutants had finally had enough and in order to protect themselves and their loved ones, they decided to spread the message far and wide that they had as much right to live freely as any other creation of God; if any person decided to hunt them down, it wouldn't end well for them at all.
Victorious, the mutants backed down temporarily; however, they always kept their guard up and started living in large societies and numbers. Numbers provided strength and security.
The humans, however, still lived in fear and rightfully so; parents lived in fear that their child might be a mutant and that he'd be forced to leave them. Some people actually thought it shameful that they had produced a mutant and disowned the member at the first given opportunity. Mutants became outcasts of society and started to live a life in exile. Those who could control their powers continued to live in normality, but were either scared of being exiled or that their families and loved ones would be harmed on their account. As it was mutants and humans were now two different races on planet Earth, the latter dominating the former in terms of number. However, the x-gene continued to activate mutations in people across the globe and continuously increased mutant numbers.
Though mutants stood their ground, humans continued to make life difficult for them; most were refused jobs or fired from their existing profiles. They were banned from entering malls and other shopping marts. Basically, they were denied the basic necessities of life. One situation led to another, increasing the number of unemployed mutants and thus forcing them to take what they needed to live with force even if that meant using their powers, never thinking once of the fact that they might hurt someone in order to fulfill their own needs. The problem aggravated, and before anyone knew it mutants were back in their armor and were ready to lock horns with their oppressors.
It was then that a voice of reason, Professor Charles Xavier, requested that acceptance was the only path that could help both humans and mutants to make peace with each other, that mutants were people, and that just like nonmutant humans, they too felt threatened of their surroundings when they knew that someone was going to hurt them or their family. Like humans, they would do anything to protect themselves even if it meant using their powers. He stated that if humans wanted to live in fear for the rest of their lives, they could continue to aggravate mutants or they could make peace, respect them for what they are and expect the same in return.
Whether grudgingly or after giving into reason, humans finally gave into the fact that right now, it'd be better for them to hold themselves back from their anti-mutant propaganda. However, there were those on both sides who continued with their extremist ways; The Friends of Humanity and The Global Alliance for Safeguarding Humanity (G.A.S.H.) continued to incarcerate mutants without any action being taken against them, and there were several mutants who believed in safeguarding themselves against such extremists and taking the war to them. The leading mutant extremist groups were the Rytsari from Russia and the Lancers from the European Union.
And I... what can I say? I pity humans for their narrow-minded attitude, but I prefer to work alone. I believe in making those who harm the innocent pay, and I believe in protecting my own kind. That's what I am going to do; especially after what is about to take place. It will have a great impact on the life of every mutant, and most likely it will be for the worse.
The Mutant Registration Act, a global law that if cleared by the United Nations would mean the end of a mutant's right to freedom. The Act forces mutants to register all personal information, professional details, his or her primary and secondary (if any) mutation, and the attachment of a GPS tracking device that is to be worn at all times. The mutant will only be allowed to go to certain places in his home town or city of residence, and any deviation from the authorized areas will lead to indefinite incarceration until the mutant is represented in court. If the mutant ever uses his power in any situation other than life or death, they will be imprisoned. Until a mutant learns to control their powers, they shall not be allowed in any public places; after authenticating the fact that the mutant has learnt control over their powers, only then they shall be allowed to visit the designated areas. The last rule includes the one that ensures that the life of a mutant will become that of a prisoner, as all mutants will be housed in designated housing societies that shall be provided by the governing body of the nation, and that their "security" shall also be the responsibility of the government.
The Act gives the humans the security they need and we...well, we get to be in prison. Xavier might be up for it, but I surely am not, and that's what I'm here to stop. As I walk down First Avenue towards the UN plaza, where the general secretary and the security council have gathered to pass the bill, I thought to myself that this is the last and the biggest mistake that they will ever make.
I walked down the busy lane to the barriers that have been placed around the plaza for security. Cops and special forces man the boundaries. Fools, I thought to myself. They think they can stop us, but they are mistaken. I continued to walk, pulling the cowl over my head and concealing my face so that I could get their attention. Fortunately for me, a few of them made their way to me, pulling out their batons for safe measure. The officer in front brandished his badge at me.
"Sir, I would request you to lower your hood and identify yourself." I continued to walk at a slow pace, thinking about how foolish, how very foolish they were. They surrounded me, a few with their guns pointing at me.
The officer in charge stood in front of me, his badge in hand, "Put your hands behind your head and get down on your knees. Otherwise, we'll have to use force."
I stood my ground.
He took out his gun and pointed it at me his voice quivering, "Get down on your knees and put your hands behind your ... Aargh!"
Unfortunately before he could utter another word, I decided to end his pitiful life. He grasped for his throat, trying to relieve the pressure that was choking him to a painful death. I heard the clicks of weapons being unlocked, and guns being pumped, ready to fire. They knew they couldn't save the man from choking to death but they would try and take a shot at me...BAMF!
I was surrounded by a scarlet smoke that smells of sulfur dioxide, my ticket out of here, and before I could take another breath or blink my eyes...BAMF! I was out of there and standing on the top of the UN Headquarters.
"Impeccable timing, Azazel," I said to the red-skinned demon. His tail coiled around his waist, and with a devilish grin, he nodded and then teleported to the pre-planned location, leaving behind the foul-smelling smoke. I expanded my telepathic awareness, knowing that I have only seconds to execute the plan before the roof is stormed by the National Guard and special ops. I searched for the minds waiting in the crowds to hear me out, and I just said one word,NOW!
A blinding flash of light illuminated First Avenue, sending people into panic and probably blinding some.
"Well done, Helia!" I said into her mind, and the last thing I heard was Azazel teleporting her away, before I left her mind.
"Tsunami, Gale, Quake, execute Catastros," I conveyed the message telepathically to my other associates, and before I could utter another word, I felt the floor shaking beneath my feet and a whirlwind of twisters that surrounded the entire plaza, blocking out the light from the sun. I could hear them now, I could hear them in my head. Screaming, shouting, crying...A million foreign thoughts raced through my mind. People crying for help, others falling down several floors as the ground beneath their feet crumbled, and many others died a painful death as pillars, walls, and roofs crushed the life out of them slowly and painfully. Fear, terror, panic, pain, suffering, death...they knew what had hit them, and they couldn't do a thing about it.
As I rejoiced in the moment of the agony of the pitiful humans, I called out for the final strike.
"Tsunami, put your entire force in the attack and destroy the very foundation of Turtle Bay." She acknowledged my command, and the last thing that I felt from her was a surge of intense power coursing through her body and then nothing. Just raw power and no emotions, no conscience.
I looked over to the ocean, and for a moment, I thought that this would be the last thing I would ever see, with the floor crumbling beneath my feet and the wind ready to blow me off the roof any second. That I wouldn't live to see the day when mutants could live a peaceful life. As my entire life flashed before me, I saw a gigantic wave of about 200 feet coming towards me, as if the ocean itself had pulled back from the beach and the continental shelf, giving rise to this Wave of Death, and death it'd surely leave in its wake. I prayed for my last breath to the angels above.
But alas, I was saved by the Devil once again in the disguise of a mutant. A loudBAMF!And I was far away from where the wave had struck, and it had made its way inland to about a kilometer, destroying most of Turtle Bay. As I saw the water recede, I couldn't see a single sign of the United Nations Headquarters. It had all been destroyed, the four majestic buildings that were the center for all of humanity was now a large puddle of mud, left behind in the death wake of a Tsunami.
Project Catastros had been a success, or team Catastros had been a success he should say. "You are mad, Sean, you know that, don't you?" Azazel said to me with slight humor in is voice.Was the devil actually cracking a joke?
"Trust me, Azazel, had I not been mad, we wouldn't have been able to pull it through," I said, looking at the receding waters and finding it difficult to believe that we had finally done what even the most powerful of our kind had been unable to do, and then it struck me.
"Tsunami..." I began to ask but even before I could complete the sentence I knew what had happened and my suspicions were confirmed when I saw Azazel look to the ocean and the setting sun slightly shaking his head. I felt pain, I had lost a member of my team today, but this was war and there were bound to be losses. "We couldn't have done this without you, Goddess of the Sea," I said silently to myself and for a moment there, I thought I saw her on the horizon.
The image of a girl so beautiful that even the moon's beauty was nothing compared to it, long waist length hair blowing in the wind and beautiful sea blue eyes looking over at me, making me warm from within. For that one moment, I felt something that I hadn't in a very long time. Grief. I felt Azazel place his hand on my shoulder, a gesture to comfort me, perhaps.
"Let's go, Sean. The others are waiting for us. It's a day to celebrate. She'd have wanted us to."
I looked at the setting sun that lit up the ocean in various hues of red and ochre, and I nodded. Before Azazel teleported me, I could hear it all in my mind... cries of agony and the anguish of thousands of people.
New York Times
WAVE OF DEATH
Manhattan: 12th September 2011: The tsunami that struck Turtle Bay not only destroyed the entire UN Plaza, but also lead to the deaths of thousands of people. The 200 meter high tsunami that had suddenly arisen out of nowhere has maritime and meteorological experts in a frenzy, as the tsunami wasn't detected at all. No signs appeared to have been observed before the tsunami struck, nor were there any warnings given for the earthquake that struck Manhattan just before the tsunami hit Turtle Bay. Recent reports have confirmed that no one in the Plaza survived the natural disaster but a question has arisen: "Was it a natural disaster, or a carefully executed plan by the various extremist factions that have openly raised their voice against the Mutant Registration Act which the Secretary Council and the General assembly had sat to discuss upon?" Senator Kelly...
Charles Xavier decided against reading the complete article. He folded the newspaper and kept it on his study table. He rotated his wheelchair to look out of the large glass wall that overlooked the sea.
"Difficult times are ahead for us, Storm." He looked at the white haired former African Goddess standing beside him. "Do you think we'll be able to handle it by ourselves?"
Ororo Munroe didn't have any answers and remained silent. For the first time, she didn't know what to say. What had this world come to? They saw the sun peek out from behind the clouds, and its rays illuminated the dark study. She sighed and looked at the man who had always been like a father to her since she was a little girl. "All we can do is try our best and hope for the same." She then took her leave to administer the school, leaving Professor Xavier deep in thought.