Chapter 1: The Gentle Giant on the Run

Piotr Rasputin, or is usually known as COLOSSUS, was running through the streets of New York City, trying to escape the disaster that happened back at Utopia, the X-Men's former home. As Piotr was running, flashes of memories started invading his mind as so many events had happened to him over the last few months that caused him to run for sanctuary, not knowing where to go or hide. He remembered when he first possessed the Cyttorak powers and become the Juggernaut in order to save his sister, Illyana's life. Unfortunately, it came with a cost as not only did he lose the love of his life, Kitty Pryde, but he also lost his humanity and knew nothing but evil thoughts on defeating his enemies. However, fate took a more tragic turn when Scott Summers, also known as CYCLOPS, decided to train Hope Summers for the Phoenix Force and believed that they could harness the powers of the Phoenix Force. Of course, Piotr knew this was dangerous since he saw first hand what had happened to Jean Grey, who was formally possessed by the Phoenix Force and the destruction the force had caused. What no one knew was that the Phoenix Force had possessed him and the other members of the X-Men and he could not control the destructive tendencies of the Phoenix Force. Fortunately, however, not only was the Phoenix Force able to knock out Cyttorak's influence over him, ridding him of the Cyttorak influence, but Hope Summers and Scarlett Witch were able to defeat the forces of the Phoenix Force, restoring mutant kind. Even though Piotr was happy for this, he knows that his life is now on the line since he is now a fugitive.

Where would he go? He can't go back to the X-Men, since he will be arrested and he cannot go back to the Jean Grey Institute since he did not want to risk the lives of the mutants who reside there and he still had not forgiven himself for what happened there. The only option he has now is to run away from the law and find a safe place to hide until everything quiets down.

After a few more miles, Piotr spots an old abandoned building that was in ruin and he decides to run in there. Once inside the building, Piotr starts walking around, seeing the ruin of the building and he thinks to himself:

"This building is decaying, just like my own identity and my hope. First, I was the Juggernaut, then I became the host of the Phoenix Force and now, I am just a mutant on the run from the law. I cannot go back to the X-Men for I have no place there, so what can I do? What is my purpose if I am meant to be a fugitive with no home or family? I am getting tired. I must rest now."

Piotr sadly found a spot on the ground that had a broken down mattress and he quietly laid on the mattress for some rest. While Piotr lay on the mattress, he dreamed about the X-Men, his friends that he may never see again and his lost love Kitty Pryde, who he may never sit under the sun with ever again.

The next morning…

Piotr awoke to the sun shining on his face and he breathed in a sigh of relief, for it had been a long time since he was able to appreciate the beauty of the sun, ever since he was so busy fighting enemies most of the time. He got up from the mattress, yawned and started walking towards the open entrance of the abandoned building, when all of a sudden, a large frightening looking alien jumped in front of Piotr, growling ferociously in his face. Piotr was taken aback for a moment, but being an X-Man for many years and fighting various enemies, he quickly changed into his steel form and punched the alien several miles away from the building. Piotr then quickly ran out of the building and he saw that the streets of New York City were being run with many frightening aliens like the one he just punched. All of the citizens in the city were running away from the aliens in fear of being killed by these monsters.

Piotr saw the destruction and mayhem caused by these mysterious aliens and he wanted to defeat them before they harm anymore innocent people. However, before Piotr had the chance to run out of the streets to help, the sky had suddenly grown dark as there were huge airships coming towards the city. The airships then started shooting lasers at the aliens and the aliens were disintegrated right before the citizens' eyes. One of the airships that was larger than the others, then landed on the streets of New York City and the door to the airship suddenly opened. Out stepped a man who was dressed in a white business suit and had short blue hair that was swept to the left side of his face. Once the mysterious man walked calmly to the bottom of the airship, he started speaking loudly to the citizens:

"Citizens of New York City! I am Nigel Faust, representative of the Natural Resources Division and commander of the Alien Demolisher Army and I have come to be your savior in these terrible times! It seems that aliens have overtaken our fair city with a plan to steal the Earth's precious resources and use it to power up their battalions! If this horrible deed is done, then the Earth is doomed as we know it! So, we must act now and destroy these invaders before they destroy our precious planet with the help of my armies who will provide the safety for the citizens which is needed in this hour!"

The citizens of New York City then started cheering loudly while Piotr stood around the building, unnoticed by the crowd and he started thinking to himself:

"Nigel Faust? Hmm…how could I not have heard of this man before and what does he know about the alien invasion? In fact, when was there such an invasion to begin with? This man claims that he will protect the people from the alien invaders, however, he seems shifty and mysterious to me. I must find out more about this man."

Since Piotr did not want anyone to notice him, he spotted a black cloak lying on the ground nearby and put it on himself. Then, when the airship with Nigel Faust inside started lifting off the ground, Piotr quietly sneaked about the crowd and grabbed onto the airship without anyone noticing and was riding on the airship to the mysterious destination that would lead him to Nigel Faust's quarters.