AGE OF XAVIER
CHAPTER 2: THE PHOENIX PROBLEM
Ilha dos Esquecidos, New Years Day, 2017
Somewhere between the southern tip of South America and the northern reaches of the Arctic Ocean sits a small island known as Ilha dos Esquecidos. Isolated from the rest of Mutantkind, the island acts as a prison for those Mutants that have been disruptive to society. The mentally unstable, the disloyal, and the psychopathically violent are held here with collars around their necks to govern their powers, a technology invented by the humans. They are left to roam free around the island, and have built amongst themselves societies in which to function and keep sane.
A supersonic jet bursts through the horizon before it halts and hovers over one of the northeastern beaches. The black jet emanates a harsh sonic vibration that tears up the sandy beach and assures that all Mutants will be clear of the area before it lands. Two guards step out of the hatch holding electronic pads.
"MPIA log 0114. January the first, 2017. Recording the transfer of Mutant Offender 0092, Toad, aka Mortimer Toynbee. Indecent behavior, behavior detrimental to Mutant society, destruction of property. Final warning was issued and ignored. Life sentence."
Toad steps off the jet in shackles. The guards lead him to a spot near the water's edge and place the power impeding collar around his neck. The guard presses a button his his electronic pad and the collar flickers on. The cuffs and shackles are removed. One of the guards puts the electronic pad an inch from Toad's face, reflecting his image back to him.
"Would you like to make a final statement for the public record?"
"Yea," replies Toad, "kiss my bullocks."
The guards close the file and walk back onto the supersonic jet. As their backs are turned Toad unrolls his tongue down to his waste. He reaches underneath it and grabs a small computer chip. He places it in the back of his collar, and it turns off. The ground begins to shake, Toad leaps nearly thirty feet to a nearby tree before the vibrations from the jet cause him to disintegrate. Hanging from a tall branch he watches the jet disappear back into the horizon before he climbs back down. He heads immediately into the North jungle, the most dangerous part of the island for new arrivals. This part of the island is inhabited exclusively by lifers. Those with no hope of ever leaving no matter how good their behavior, and they act accordingly. Mutant life has little if any value here.
As he moves through the brush, he spots booby traps and avoids them by hopping along tree trunks. About a half mile in, he reaches a makeshift wall with a giant "S" painted in red. At least it looks like paint. Toad looks around for a moment before he squats down and springs himself over the wall. Upon landing on the other side, he is quickly met with a hard kick to the face which sends him to the ground. He groans in pain for a moment and tries to stir himself from the ground. He turns his head and holds his broken jaw as he stares at a hulking Mutant with a flashing collar around his neck. The tiny Toad drags himself off the ground and is eclipsed by the huge Mutant before him.
"Nice kick mate," mumbles Toad through his broken jaw. "Cheers."
Toad spits a wad of poison in the Mutants face and then leaps just above his head before kicking him with both legs at the top of his skull. The Mutant's head is sent to the ground like a comet crashing to Earth, his body following until his legs stick in the air. His skull has been collapsed and his neck severely separated as he lay dead.
Several mutants come out of background and look on in awe. They have not seen a Mutant's powers work since they have been here. Toad begins feeling uneasy as the number of Mutants now surrounding him grows massive. He surveils the crowd and considers leaping away when an arrow suddenly hits him in the ribs, and he falls down unconscious.
WCML Meeting. New York City
The most powerful Mutants in the world sit around an oak table, pounding their fists and deciding the fate of millions. Beast has just confirmed all of their worst fears. Professor Charles Xavier, the living god and eternal leader of all Mutantkind, the great enslaver of humankind, the only father this new world has ever known is terminally ill. The rumors have swirled for weeks, but haven't been confirmed until this moment. Even among his trusted X-Men, Xavier is such a vidal fabric of everyday Mutant life, none can be allowed near him. Only Beast who acts as his doctor and Cerebro's technician is privileged enough to be in his physical presence.
"Now is not the time for infighting brother and sisters," Beast's calm voice cuts through the chaos of the room, "Now is the time to begin rationally discussing the very serious eventualities that we have chosen to put off up to this point."
Nightcrawler turns to the screen. "In regards to the economic ramifications should we have to resume a war with the humans, I believe that Western Europe should be awarded the defense contracts, seeing as…"
"You're a heartless bastard Nightcrawler," interrupts Cyclops. "How is he Beast? Can we see him?"
"When he is able to communicate telepathically with you he will initiate contact. For now he is in an intensely focused state in Cerebro, it would be pointless to try and speak with him. As for all of your concerns regarding the humans, we are no longer bound by any meaningful treaties. On the unfortunate day that Xavier passes on, the minds under his psychic control will simply cease to function. The humans will be of no consequence I assure you, the real concern is…"
"Labor," interrupts Archangel, "should we really allow all the humans to die? I don't think the prospect of Mutants serving other Mutants is going to go over too well with the masses. We don't need Xavier's mind control to enslave humankind."
"Leave it to the wealthiest Mutant in the world to start thinking about labor costs," mutters Colossos. "My question is how do we keep the rest of Mutant-kind in line without the Professor? Who knows what kind conflicts will arise once they no longer have him to fear and worship. This government body could come under attack."
Beast and Cyclops look at each other somberly as the X-Men continue to shout over each other and throw around doomsday scenarios and accusations. Rogue watches in disbelief as Wolverine's head hits the table as he passes out. He has drunk more Mirophane in one morning than most Mutants will ingest in a lifetime. Even a drop on the tongue of this elixir would kill most Mutants instantly. Wolverine is on his second pint, and it isn't even noon yet. The argument reaches a fever pitch when Beast lets out a blood curdling roar that makes even Banshee cover his ears.
"Enough!" The X-Men fall silent all at once. They have never heard Beast raise his voice to them in this way. He takes a moment to compose himself.
"These are trivial matters ladies and gentlemen. These are problems easily solved. They are like a child's grade school assignment to a superior mind such as mine. Stop wasting your breath and your fear. I'm talking about a problem that most unfortunately for all of us, I cannot solve. It is a problem Professor Xavier himself has never been able to solve. I'm talking about…"
Cyclops drops his head into his hands. "The Phoenix Problem."
Wolverine's head slowly lifts off the table and he looks up at Cyclops with bloodshot eyes. Rogue can barely make out the words. "The Phoenix?"
"Jean was destroyed, Summers." Wolverine has just spoken for the first time in weeks. He begins to pull himself up on his chair. "What Phoenix Problem?"
Cyclops rests his finger on the rim of his sunglasses."Are you a child Logan? Or are you just a very, very old man? All of you. I swear sometimes it feels like I'm listening to children fighting over a sandbox in the middle of the desert." The X-Men sit in stunned silence.
"From the moment the humans surrendered, you have been so consumed with claiming your reward, your slice of Earth, you actually believed that the Phoenix was destroyed. You believed that Xavier would give up his greatest would make you think that, other than childlike naivety? Why should any of you be trusted with information you can't handle?"
"All right Cyclops," sneers Storm. "What exactly is The Phoenix Problem?"
Ilha dos Esquecidos
Toad slowly and painfully wakes up in a chair to which he's been tied. His vision is blurry and his head is ringing. There is a terrible throbbing pain in his side. In his hazy state, he hears a familiar voice.
"Good morning sunshine."
Toad tries to make out the figure sitting in front of him but can't. It doesn't matter he knows who it is. It's the Mutant he was sent here to find. He tries to respond, but is still too woozy, and his jaw is badly broken.
"It's been a long time Toad," the voice continues. "Wish I could say you looked good, but you've seen better days. You must feel like hell. The arrow that got ya was dipped in the venom of the South American Blue Toad. I'm willing to bet the irony aint lost on ya."
Toad finally regains his vision and makes out his captor, Karl Lykos. He is covered in war paint and wearing nothing but a purple loin cloth, sitting on throne of rotting would surrounded by dozens of guards and concubines.
"Hello Karl."
"So you finally got sentenced to Esquecidos. But somehow your powers work, and you come straight to my camp. So you working for the other side now? You here to kill me?"
"Maybe we ought to talk in private mate," Toad mumbles through his broken jaw.
"Anything you got to say to me, you can say in front of my Children."
Toad rolls his swollen eyeballs. "Glad to see you're still batshit crazy. You're gonna need to be."
"You better stop being so damn mysterious and start answering my questions, or the way you feel now is gonna seem like a picnic."
"I really think we ought to talk in private. But however you like it. I can't tell you who sent me here, but I'm sure you know. I need to get you off this island, we need your help."
"I aint goin nowhere. I've built my own paradise here. Turned lemons into lemonade. I live like a god here, not a soldier. These men and women are loyal and devoted to me. I couldn't leave them. They would fall apart without their Father. Especially the women. Tell Magneto I told him where to stick it."
Toad looks around at Karl's "family". His tongue uncurls out of his mouth, reaches behind his neck and pulls the chip out of his collar. He drops it on the ground before his tongue is ripped back into his mouth, the collar now functional again.
"That chip deactivates the anti-Mutate collars. Anyone who puts it on will regain all their mutant powers."
Karl's "Family" look around at each other, and then at him. One of his female concubines suddenly punches him in the throat and leaps for the chip. The room descends into chaos as all the Mutants throw each other around and wrestle around on the floor to get to the chip. Karl gathers himself holding onto his throat. Another one of his Children kick him in the face as the mad scramble for the chip continues. The chip is fumbled around as arms are bitten and groins are kicked. Karl pulls himself off the ground and does a suicide dive into the fight pit. He kicks and fights his way to the bottom with no regard for his own well being. He comes up with the chip and quickly places it on the back of his collar.
Karl Lykos' powers are now fully functional. He grabs the first two of his Children he can grab and puts them in a double front face lock, beginning to absorb their energy. When he has absorbed enough his body begins to morph. First his skin turns a bright shade of green, and then his head seems to elongate. He bends over in pain as two massive winge rip through his back shoulder muscles. He grows double his own size. He finally has made a full transformation from Karl Lykos, to the giant and powerful, half-man half pterodactyl Sauron.
Once he has absorbed enough energy to fully become Sauron he bursts through the ceiling of his makeshift castle and soars into the sky, screeching with elation. He then flies back down into his fortress and grabs Toad by the bottom legs of the chair he is tied to. Anyone outside on Ilha dos Esquecidos at this moment will surely remember the strange site of Sauron flying away into the sunset with Toad dangling beneath him upside down.
WCML Meeting, New York City
The World Conference of Mutant Leaders has concluded. The X-Men mill around the entrance of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, shaking hands and saying their goodbyes as they shuffle into their limousines. Rogue hugs Storm after having helped a passed out Wolverine into his limo.
"Talk to you soon, Sug."
"Stay strong Rogue, We are doing the right thing,"
Storm's limo pulls up and takes her away. Rogue walks up Park Avenue and makes her way into Central Park. She goes to a secluded area underneath small bridge. When she is finally alone her eyes turn yellow and her skin begins to scale up and become blue until she has fully transformed into Mystique. She breathes a sigh of relief and cracks the tension out of her neck before she pulls a small but powerful transmitter out of a loose brick in the bridge.
"Magnus, we need to speak immediately. The situation is far worse than we anticipated and we need to talk face to face. Meet me at rendezvous D and I'll explain, Raven."
She destroys the transmitter and turns back into Rogue before walking out from under the bridge as the sun sets behind her.
NEXT CHAPTER: BROTHERHOOD