When Tony Stark called for mutant registration and waged war on both mutantkind and Wakanda alike, a group of heroes banded together to defeat him. There is a new status quo in the world, a resurgence of the super hero; Carol Danvers now leads S.H.I.E.L.D. She-Hulk now leads the Avengers. And Hank McCoy emerges as leader of the X-Men. They thought they'd won the war against Stark -- but perhaps it was only a battle…

XMEN: EMERGENCE
chapter two: girl talk


Jamie Madrox's eyes burst open to find Rogue standing in front of him. He slammed his fist into his chest, soon joined by another version of himself -- only Rogue did the same thing.

"Ah told you," Rogue smiled devilishly, "you'd be seein' a lot more'a me, sugah."

Madrox ran in the opposite direction, his duplicate behind him. Each version of Multiple Man beat against his chest again -- and for the four Madroxes there were four Rogues.

Jamie fell to the ground mid-run, finding himself eye-level with Iron Man's boot.

"Get up, Jamie," Stark lowered his hand. "Get. Up."

Jamie's eyes burst open a second time -- only this time he found himself in a lab, surrounded by a generic staff, strapped against an observation table.

"He's awake," one man said. A woman nodded, entering some information into a computer -- and then everything went black again.


"We're going after The Juggernaut?" Surge's eyes went wide. McCoy didn't turn around, instead focusing on the controls in front of him.

"Yes, Nori," Hank replied. "We're going after Mr. Marko himself."

"Can I ask why?"

"Ah'm with Gambit," Rogue spoke up. "The man left, he had t'have his reasons. Ah'm sure Cain woulda called by now if he was interested in joinin' up with any of us."

"You're probably right," Hank nodded. "But Carol needs him."

"I'm already tired a'this," LeBeau sighed. "De X-Men ain't a group of bounty hunters. De government work should be for de Avengers."

"These are different times, Remy," Hank remained cool, "and they call for different measures. The X-Men of old are no more -- we no longer live in that world, my friend."

Gambit's eyes met Rogue's -- an obvious 'I told you so' -- but neither of them said a word.


"This is my team," She-Hulk glared at Carol. "You can't just put her on it."

"I can," Danvers asserted, "and I already have. I'm the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Jennifer. I sign your paycheck."

"Then I'll take a pay cut," Walters challenged. "It's my team, Carol. That makes it my call."

"Jen," Spider-Woman moved toward her, but when their eyes locked she decided to stop.

"And don't start with that Director bull, Carol," She-Hulk fumed. "Tony threw the word around and look where it got him. Look where it got all of us!"

"We seem to be doing just fine," Ms. Marvel motioned around the room. "I don't see any of us hiding underground, I don't see any of us fighting each other… I see organized squads of superheroes, Jennifer -- the way it used to be. We're moving forward."

"By looking back?"

Spider-Man made an effort to interject -- but his words fell short when both Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk glared at him.

"Maybe this whole thing was a mistake," She-Hulk walked toward the door. "If you want to lead the team, Carol, then you can lead it."

"Tony Stark is alive," Danvers spat out.

A few jaws dropped -- and Carol would swear the entire group of Avengers spoke in unison. "What?"

"That's impossible," Spider-Man stood. "We were all there, Carol. We were all there."

"None of us saw it happen, Peter," Carol replied. "And Spider-Woman has evidence to support the fact that he's alive."

"She's always got something to weasel her way back in," Walters mumbled. "Does anyone else remember Weapon X? Carol, she almost--"

"--that's enough, Jennifer," Ms. Marvel cut her off. "If you want out, you're out. But if you're interested in finding Stark, sit down."

She-Hulk stood for a moment, bit both her lip and her tongue, and then sat back down.


Mystique emptied the rest of the red wine into her glass, placing the bottle on the small table in front of her. She looked around her apartment -- everything she'd collected over the years, even a few pictures of Irene Adler and Rogue, staring back at her.

A small piece of her wanted to stay there forever -- to shape shift into normalcy, to end the pattern of life which mirrored her abilities.

But she'd get bored.

She was bored now.

A tiny communicator buzzed in the silence, Raven pulling it to her ear and listening to Spider-Woman on the other side.

"They're going after Marko."

"The Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Is there much of a difference now?"

"Who, Jessica?"

"The X-Men."

Mystique grinned.


"Tom," the local bartender smiled at Cain Marko as he slumped into his establishment and took a seat at a rather large booth -- not for comfort, but necessity.

"How are ya, Steve?" Cain smiled. He wasn't sure if the man's name was Steve -- but his certainly wasn't Tom.

Marko hated Canada. He always had, probably always would -- but he had an old cabin he used to hide out in… and sometimes old habits die hard.

He'd messed up. Found himself dragged into something he wasn't ready to be a part of anymore -- something young men, young women, messed with… not an old man who happened to wield the power of the Crimson Gem of Cyttorak.

The bartender brought "Tom" a beer, nodded at him and returned to his station. Not much happened here -- not much tonight, not much ever. Cain liked it that way, and usually compensated by over-tipping Steve… not that it would pay the man's bills, but it'd help.

Or maybe not. Cain didn't come here to think about Steve's problems, he came here to think about his.

He missed Jen.

He thought about her hair, her eyelashes. Her soft fingers, her hard stomach. Her thighs wrapped around --

Too much. Cain took a sip of his beer, some cheap ale, and tried to remember the last time any kind of alcohol could actually get him drunk, let alone solve any of his problems.

He'd spent years in a drugged state aboard the Helicarrier, barely able to recognize his personal guard -- She-Hulk -- let alone understand her. Though he remembered something about a ham and cheese sandwich. He'd meant to ask her about that.

She was so funny.

And she understood him -- something it had taken him years to find…

"You're thinkin' about her again, Marko," Cain thought bitterly. He sipped at his ale again. He hated Canada.

"Troubles, Tom?"

"No more'n usual, Steve," Cain smiled his best fake smile. "No more than usual."


"You weren't going to tell us, were you?" Vance Astrovik sat back on the observation table as a doctor began to take a blood sample. Justice winced.

"Of course I was going to tell you," Carol stood beside him. "We've never talked about what Tony did to the two of you, Vance… neither you or Marko spoke for days. We thought we'd lost you just as we'd found you."

Justice looked away. "I don't really remember, to be honest."

Danvers looked concerned. "We'll help you remember, Vance."

"I'm not sure I want to. Why me? Why Cain?"

"I'm not sure yet," Ms. Marvel looked uncertain. "I have a few ideas... it doesn't really matter at this point, not until we have something more concrete. Just work with these guys, Vance... Madrox has been giving them hell."

"Imagine that," Vance smiled.

"Carol," Machine Man called from the far end of the lab, "She-Hulk has arrived."

Danvers nodded, making her way to the lab's door and closing it behind her. She met Walters in the hall.

"Hey," Carol smiled weakly.

"Hey."

"Thanks for coming."

"You should've told me about this sooner, earlier," Walters looked down at her. "If I'm going to lead this team, Carol, I can't be five steps behind anyone -- not even you."

"You're right," Ms. Marvel nodded. "You're absolutely right."

"So what else aren't you telling me?"

Carol ran her hand through her golden hair. "The X-Men are going after Cain."

"What?"

"They're going after Cain… The Juggernaut," Danvers said slower.

"I know who CAIN is, Carol!" She-Hulk glared. "How did they know where he is? Why're they going after him??"

"They know because I told them where to go," Ms. Marvel looked away from her. "There's something inside of him, Jen… something Tony put there… and now that I know what that is, well, I can track it."

"Or the X-Men can."

"Jen…"

"Why didn't you tell me? Why aren't I going after him?"

"They won't hurt him, Jennifer. They're just going to coerce him to coming back here… so we can study the effects Stark had--"

"I'm not worried about them hurting him, Carol!" Jen's fists tightened.

"I want to!"


The Quinjet landed in the thick snow -- and just as quickly as it took Gambit to make a reference to Storm, the X-Men found themselves in one.

"His cabin is just up ahead," Hank motioned for his team to follow him. Rogue flew past him, landed on the steps, and knocked.

Then she busted the door in.

"So much for the element of surprise," Hank muttered against the wind.

"Didn't we just land a jet out here?" Nori asked with a grin.

"Girl's got a point fer once," Gambit smiled. "'Sides, Cain's on our side, non?"

"We shall see, Gambit," McCoy replied -- just as Rogue flew back into the snow with a grunt. LeBeau went to pick her up but found that Rogue had already regained her bearings, flying right back toward the cabin to meet Juggernaut on its porch.

"I woulda looked you up if I wanted t'be found, X-Men!" Marko howled.

"And ah woulda asked you t'come with us if you had a choice!" Rogue slammed into him, the two flying back inside, the door frame shattering against the assault.

Surge, Gambit and Beast ran toward the battered entrance, Rogue and Juggernaut trading blows as they entered the small cabin -- chairs flew and splintered in front of the fireplace; kindling to excite and entice the flame.

"Rogue, please!"

"Ain't no use, homme," Gambit shook his head as a knife -- kinetically-charged, no less -- left his fingertips and slammed into the ground beneath Marko's feet.

It exploded, the cabin floor giving way to Juggernaut's massive frame. Rogue turned and shrugged.

"Why'd you fight him?" Surge approached her.

"Ah defended mahself," Rogue replied. "Ah busted the door down 'cause ah heard him screamin'… ah swear… and then he threw the first punch. He was throwin' it, though… ah dunno, somethin' ain't right."

"He went down easier than expected," McCoy spoke up, surveying the damage in the floor, looking down to an unconscious Marko, "especially since I didn't expect to have to put him there."

"What's done is done," Gambit joined them. "Let's get outta here."

The Juggernaut's massive fists grabbed at the floor from underneath, pulling himself up and stumbling to his feet.

"We mean you no harm, Cain," Hank said sharply as LeBeau pulled his staff, extending it in front of both he and Rogue. Nori's fists swirled with electricity. "Their stance aside."

"We've only got one question," Rogue pushed Gambit and his staff aside.

"What?" Marko glared, rubbing the back of his neck.

"What in the hell are you doin' here, Mystique?"


"Y'know my problem, Shulkie?"

"Don't call me that."

"Fine. You know my problem, Jensy?"

"Are you serious?"

Parker sighed. "Alright, fine. Let's not have any fun. Y'know, I read in a magazine once that petnames are what holds a team together."

"Oh?" Jen arched an eyebrow as the two walked toward the hangar.

"Think about it. Cap. Spidey. Shulkie… well, at least I think that's a good one," Peter grinned. "Uh… Viz. Didn't you guys call The Vision that?"

"I don't think I ever did," She-Hulk rolled her eyes. "Fine, Shulkie. Just not Jensy."

"Yeah," Peter agreed. "I wasn't a huge fan of that one."

"What's your problem, Peter?"

"Where are all of the bad guys?"

Jen climbed aboard the Quinjet, Peter in tow. They strapped themselves in, the hatch closing behind them as Walters activated the control system and set it for Westchester.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… aside from Tony Stark, who's apparently alive -- I mean… I think it's obvious, Jen. Where are all of the bad guys?"

"They're out there."

"I just don't feel like an Avenger chasing a ghost. I don't even feel like a West Coast Avenger."

"Those were good people, Peter."

"Yeah," Parker shrugged.

"They were."

"I'd still be bummed. If you're gonna be an Avenger…"

"You should be a 'new' one?"

"That was different."

"If you say so," Jen ignored him.

"So… does Carol know we're going to Westchester?"

"She doesn't need to."

"We're going to see Cain, aren't we?"

"I really miss Rogue, Peter."

"And I miss Gambit," Spider-Man grinned.

"What's it matter if I want to be there when they get back with Cain?"

"I don't know. I just don't know if you'll be ready for it, that's all. You've got the whole green thing… but you're still Jennifer Walters, and I saw the way your heart broke when he disappeared."

Jen kept her eyes forward as the Quinjet met the skies above Camp Hammond. She smiled softly, placing her hand on Peter's knee and squeezing it. "That's why I brought you along, Spidey. You keep me grounded."

"Aw, shucks," Peter smiled. "You're all I've got these days, Jensy."


Cain Marko stood in the door-less entryway to his cabin, having only left the local tavern moments ago. He was annoyed enough to find a Quinjet in his otherwise barren lawn, let alone to see not only Beast, Gambit, Surge and Rogue standing inside of his now-battered cabin… but in front of them, himself.

"What's goin' on here?"

"A reunion, of sorts," Hank looked toward the doorway. "Good to er… see you, Cain."

"You guys ain't got a city or a mansion you can wreck these days? I have one tiny craphole of a place and you have to demolish it?"

Surge cracked an uneasy smile.

The real Marko pointed at his doppelganger. "And you. What is this?!"

The Cain Rogue had attacked smiled softly at her daughter, Mystique reverting to her normal form. "How on earth did you know?"

"Ah'm an X-Man, Mystique," Rogue glared. "Not an idiot. Ah grew up fightin' the Juggernaut -- he throws a meaner punch."

"An' she grew up fightin' you, fer dat matter," Gambit snapped. "What are you doin' here, Raven?"

"You got about five seconds to explain," Marko growled as he walked skulked forward.

Hank stepped between Marko and Darkholme, a hand outstretched in each direction to keep the two apart. "Let's not be hasty… er."

"Listen to me," Mystique took a step back and then one toward Rogue. "I was going to impersonate Cain here so he wouldn't be involved… S.H.I.E.L.D. has caused the man enough problems."

"I had no idea you cared so much," Marko looked unenthusiastic.

"Don't be a fool," Mystique barked. "Didn't any of you wonder why Danvers sent you after Marko?"

"We weren't sent after Cain… only to talk to him, to convince him we needed his help. We weren't going to take him against his will," Beast surveyed his friends.

"You couldn't have."

Hank shot Juggernaut a look.

"Danvers is working on something huge -- Rogue, you know she can't be trusted," Mystique looked to her daughter. "McCoy, didn't she tell you anything?"

"I trust Carol with my life," Hank replied. "I certainly trust her more than I trust you."

"Ah think that's the general consensus," Rogue added.

"Tony Stark is alive," Raven ignored them. "When he abducted Justice and Cain here, he did something to them…"

"I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"You wouldn't remember it," Darkholme replied. "Stark knew exactly what he was doing. He doesn't take chances. There's a piece of him inside of you, Marko, and Carol wants it out."

"You realize how you sound, Raven," The Beast took a step closer to her.

"An' I'd like t'remind everyone here dat you weren't even in Wakanda when de man killed himself," Gambit glared at her.

"And I'd like to remind everyone here that you weren't aboard the Helicarrier when it happened, anymore than I was. But I have my sources -- someone who was close to Stark, who knew what he was working on… you don't think bringing Forge back to life was his number one priority, do you?"

"Sources?"

"Spider-Woman," Rogue thought back, answering Hank.

"She's with the Avengers now," Mystique nodded. "And Carol's told them something she hasn't told you, McCoy… she's using you and you're letting her."

"Carol would never mislead us."

"Fine," Darkholme snapped. "Then perhaps she doesn't know that if she extracts these… pieces… of Stark, she'll do exactly what he wants her to. She'll bring him back."

"This is insane," Surge sighed. "All of this, it's insane. Iron Man is dead."

"What's insane," Mystique looked around the cabin, "is if you let Danvers track down these pieces Stark's planted before we can. Let me go back with you -- I'll masquerade as Marko, we'll have all the Intel we need… and we can see to it that Tony Stark, more machine than man, doesn't come back to do exactly what he set out to do in the first place."

Mystique and Beast locked eyes, but it was Juggernaut who broke the silence.

"Inside of me?"


HOURS LATER, X-MEN HQ

She-Hulk took a deep breath as she watched the X-Men's Quinjet land in their hangar. Parker grabbed her shoulder, but the time for being sentimental was over -- she pushed it back.

"Fine," Peter muttered.

The hatch opened and the team, along with Cain Marko, climbed out one-by-one.

"Jennifer," Hank smiled somewhat uncomfortably. "I had no idea you'd be joining us for dinner."

"Yeah," Nori smiled at Peter. "It's Gambit's turn to cook."

"Hope y'like pizza," Rogue smiled at her man.

"Cain," She-Hulk stood firm, though it was the last thing she felt like doing. She wanted to run to him -- or vomit. She couldn't really tell.

"Hey," Marko replied. "I, uh… I'll be back."

Walters watched him walk past her, coldly, and nearly went after him -- but Hank grabbed her shoulder.

"What is with you people and my shoulder?!"

McCoy quickly pulled his hand back.

"It's a pretty shoulder," Peter shrugged.

"Did Carol send you?"

"No," Jen turned back to Hank. "She doesn't know we're here… but she told me you were going after Cain."

"Is that all she told you?"

Jen looked uncomfortable. "It's all she had to tell me."

Rogue made her way to Walters, motioning for her to follow her out of the hangar. She-Hulk did just that, Rogue looking over her shoulder back at the boys and Nori.

"Gal talk."


NEXT: Who's playing who? CAIN MARKO: Mystique or Juggernaut?! And more pieces of the Tony Stark mystery unravel! Thanks for the reviews, they keep it comin'!