Note: the characters from the X-men:Evolution and Marvel Comics belong to Marvel Comics. The character of Icon belongs to DC Comics. My thanks go to the creators of Icon, the late, great Dwayne McDuffie, M.D. Bright and Mike Gustovich. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes only and no money shall be earned by the writer.

Chapter 4

Xavier Institute for Gifted Children

Bayville, NY

1740 EST

Logan led their two distinguished guests to the drawing room. He then closed the sliding oak doors behind them. "All right, guys, you've got the floor."

"Barbarian," Namor sniffed. "I suppose it is asking too much for you to introduce your companions to me?"

Logan grunted. "Didn't think I needed to, Fishy, considering their faces were plastered all over the news channels on September 11th."

"I am afraid I do not have the time to spare on the drivel produced by your media outlets," the Sub-Mariner drawled. "However, I must admit I could never forget the face of the lovely woman who had assisted the Asgardian with the rains used to drown the raging fires in Manhattan. My lady," he said to Ororo, "I am honored to be in your presence. I am Namor the First, the Sovereign of Atlantis."

After Namor had planted a gallant kiss on the back of her right hand, Freeman narrowed his eyes at the undersea king.

She nodded and graced the Sub-Mariner with a beautiful smile. "Greetings, your Highness. I am Ororo Munroe."

"Hail and well met, Ms. Munroe. Now, tell me, are you also an Asgardian, kin to the Thunderer?"

She shook her head and shot a perturbed look at Captain America. "I am not, your Highness. I am a mutant like you despite what Captain Rogers may have told the media."

Steve winced. "Sorry about that, ma'am. Logan told me it would be best to go with that cover story rather than disclosing that you are a mutant to the world at large."

"I understand, Captain. I was merely teasing you."

"That's good to know, ma'am. I wouldn't want to get on the bad side of a woman who can call down a lightning bolt on the top of my head when she sets her mind to it!"

They all laughed at Rogers' joke before Logan said, "Namor, let me introduce you to a straight-up guy," he pointed to Icon, "Augustus Freeman. Gus…well he ain't from around here. An accident in space brought him from his universe to ours and his ship and he are stuck here with no way back home."

"Greetings, Freeman. I am sorry that an accident brought you here unwillingly."

"Thank you, your Highness and greetings to you, as well."

"You should know that Steven has told me you also fought against the Axis Powers on your Earth during the War."

"Yes. I worked with the O.S.S. as a commando. That allowed me to use my enhanced abilities to help defeat the Axis forces."

"That is good to hear. However, given your appearance as a man of African descent, were you not troubled by working with those who had not considered you their equal?"

"Prejudice and injustice always troubles me, your Highness. Yet, I had to place all of that aside to battle those who sought to commit genocide on a global scale and enslave those who merely desired to remain free."

The Sub-Mariner eyed Icon for several moments in silence before he said, "Well said, Augustus Freeman. Now allow me to tell you all about a troubling matter that has come to my attention."

After he had told them the tale he'd relayed to Rogers at the Avengers Mansion, Logan grunted. "So…we need to infiltrate the base, figure out who's running it and what they're doing there, and take it out if they're not on the up and up?"

"That sounds about right, Jim," Rogers affirmed.

"What do you think, Gus?"

He shrugged. "A hidden facility that is unaffiliated with any national government and harvesting cosmic energy on a massive scale? I must say I am troubled by the situation, as well, and would be happy to go with you on this mission."

"What about me, gentlemen?" Ororo asked.

Logan shook his head. "Darlin', we've all had the training and the experience from the War to handle missions like this. Besides, we need you to stay here and keep Chuck and the kids safe."

Although it was plain from the expression on her face that Ororo wasn't thrilled by the idea of being left behind, she nodded gracefully.

"Jim," Icon said, "if we're going to infiltrate a facility and determine what is going on there, I believe it would be prudent to take Shadowcat and Rogue on this mission with us. Shadowcat's phasing powers will be critical to the success of the mission while Rogue's powers can help us extract information from the appropriate targets on site."

Logan stroked his chin, deep in thought. Then he looked up at his fellow instructor. "I'm not crazy about the idea of dragging Stripes and Half Pint with us but I can't fault your logic, bub. So long as one of us is always with 'em then it probably wouldn't be too dangerous for them. I'll run it by Chuck and see if he's okay with it."

He closed his eyes, apparently reaching out to Xavier's powerful mind. After a minute or so, his eyes flashed open. "Chuck's okay with it as long as we do our best to protect the rugrats. He told me he will send for them to join us here."

"I am uncertain about having children accompany us on this mission, Barbarian. They may not be up to the task," Namor said.

"Hey, bub! I've trained these kids and they're damn good. Besides, working with Toro and Barnes during the War didn't appear to trouble you too much, McKenzie!"

At the troubled grimace on Roger's face, a somber Logan shook his head sullenly. "Damn it, Steve. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have shot my mouth off like that."

Rogers simply reached out and gently grasped Logan's shoulder with his right hand. "There's no need for an apology, Jim. Bucky and Toro…they were the best of the best. They were good soldiers."

Then Captain America's eyes peered down at the floor, his voice much softer now. "Good soldiers."

Namor blinked several times as if he were trying to hold back his tears. "Indeed, they were. Logan," he said, turning to the X-Man. "If your charges are as valiant as Barnes and Toro, any objections I had are withdrawn."

"They're X-Men, Namor. They're prepared to do anything to protect mutants and humans in a world where most people would imprison or kill them simply because they're a little different."

The Sub-Mariner stared at his old comrade with respect in his eyes. "I would be honored to associate with your young heroes without any reservations, my old comrade."

#

Professor Xavier's Office

Bayville, NY

1750 EST

After the professor had released Kitty and Kurt, Scott had remained behind to continue the discussion about the use of their powers on the streets of Bayville.

"Look, Professor, the thing that really gets me is that I hesitated. I was so worried about anyone seeing us that we almost failed to act in time to save those kids on that school bus. And why? I mean helping others and saving lives just like Icon and Wolverine had on September 11th should be the reason we use our powers!"

"Scott, I know this is a confusing issue for you and the others. Yes, helping others is the right thing to do but we must also try to remain anonymous, at least, for the present."

The young man still wasn't buying it. "It's like we're hiding in shame for no reason. The world didn't get bent out of shape when Wolverine, Storm, Icon and Magneto exposed themselves during the terror attacks. What's the harm in letting people find out about the rest of us?"

Xavier shook his head resolutely. "No, Scott. Even now, there are a lot of people who believe that African Americans and other minority groups shouldn't be afforded basic civil rights. And these disadvantaged people are no different genetically than the majority population of their various nations, yet they are treated poorly at times. Now imagine how the people who look down on minority groups would come to view mutants. They simply would be unable to accept that we walk the Earth among them. Now, fortunately, even with our friends' selfless actions a month ago, most people are either happy they helped out where they could or angry at them for failing to prevent the attacks in the first place. Regardless, they're not really interested in looking closely at Ororo, Logan and Erik, preferring, for the moment, to lump them with the rest of the enhanced humans of New York City."

Now, the Professor sighed. "Look, Scott, I'm not blaming you for what you did today. In fact, I'd have done the same thing in your place. I'm just saying, you need to do what you can without revealing what you are."

Scott narrowed his eyes at the man behind his spectacles. Normally, the Professor was an eloquent man. However, what he'd just said, 'what you are' rather than 'who you are' kind of frosted the boy's shorts. He turned away and took two steps toward the door. Then he stopped and glanced at Xavier over his left shoulder. "I don't know, Professor. I'm having a hard time with this one," he admitted before he turned away and strode out of the office into the hallway.

#

Xavier Institute for Gifted Children

Icon's Starship inside Its Hangar under the Swimming Pool

Bayville, NY

1801 EST

Namor was still a bit shaken after the starship had transported the six of them into this alien room while leaving the attractive Ms. Munroe behind in the mansion's drawing room. "What is this place?"

"It is the conference room aboard my personal starship, your Highness."

"Please, Augustus. You are an Invader now, one of us. Call me Namor or McKenzie."

"Very well, Namor. In the interests of protecting James', Kathryn's, and my secret identities during missions, please call him, Wolverine, her, Shadowcat and me, Icon."

"I shall endeavor to do so, my friend," the King of the Seven Seas agreed magnanimously.

"Thank you. Now I shall task my ship to scan the hidden base you discovered and have it show us its layout via the conference room's holographic projector." Then he spoke to his sentient A.I. "Miriam: commence a scan of Shard Island in the Vestmann Island chain. Show us any and all underground or security installations, please."

Before anyone could draw another breath, the ship provided a holographic image showing a massive base constructed inside the cliffs that took up almost half of the small island. "Is that the facility?" Namor asked.

"Yes," Icon said. He studied the base's layout for several moments before he spoke again. "Look at the two rooms on either side of the causeway leading into the vehicle bay. See all of those flashing blue lights?"

"Yeah," Logan said. "The rooms look like armories to me."

"Most likely because the scans show they're filled with robots that have very powerful energy signatures. I would assume they're combat robots based on these readings. However, we should have a much clearer picture on them once the ship is close enough to conduct a short range scan of the facility."

Now Shadowcat moved one step closer toward the projection. "This section here," she pointed to it. "Like, I think that's where they keep their servers."

"True," Icon agreed. "Across the hall from that room, the scans show there are several well-equipped laboratories, as well."

"So," Rogue noted, "the vehicle bay is on the top level while the labs and servers are two levels down. What do y'all think they use the level above that for?"

"I would say they are living quarters, young lady," Namor observed.

"Well that's just fahne and dandy," the girl announced in her distinctive southern drawl. Rogue was a thin, sixteen-year old with a head of beautiful auburn hair except for the two distinctive white tresses that framed both sides of her lovely face. She was a few inches taller than her friend and roommate, Kitty Pryde, and her youthful body had already begun its transformation toward maturity.

"Icon," Captain America now asked, "what's going on in that large room down the hall from the labs?"

"It appears that is where they're channeling the cosmic energy they have harvested. Fortunately, there is a portion of the room that appears to be a shielded observation area where their scientists can view their experiments in safety."

"Got it," the Captain said. "Shadowcat, you can use your powers to take down their entire computer system if it comes to that, right?"

"That's right, sir."

He smiled at her. "That's good to know. If we have to take down their entire operation in a hurry, it's nice to have you as our ace in the hole!"

As Kitty appeared to be pleased by the kind attention provided to her by the living legend, her roommate added, "Not that she'd toot her own horn or anythin', our little Kit is a mean computer hacker to boot!"

"Maybe so but don't let all the praise go to your head, Half Pint, or we might not have enough room on Icon's ship to carry all of us to the target!" Logan teased.

While Kitty shot the feral mutant a dirty look, Icon said to her roommate, "Your ability is also crucial to the success of mission, Rogue. You may be required to touch one of the personnel inside that base to obtain passwords and other critical intelligence."

"Ah won't let y'all down," she swore.

"Of that, young lady," Namor said with a rare smile on his handsome face, "I do not harbor any doubts whatsoever!"

"All right then," Captain America said and they all gave him their undivided attention. "We'll form two teams. Team One will be our infiltration team. Team Two will be our assault team. Team One will penetrate the facility undetected, gain access to the computer system, determine what they're doing in those labs, and discover what they're keeping behind the shields in the cosmic energy room. Team One will be comprised of Wolverine, the team leader, Shadowcat and Rogue. Team Two will be the rest of us. If Team One informs us the facility is engaged in nefarious operations that pose a significant risk to either Atlantis or America, Team Two will commence its assault inside the vehicle bay. Team Two shall inflict as much damage as possible and provide Team One enough of a distraction to continue its mission to obtain useful intelligence, and if possible, to wreck their thinking machines. However, if, at any time Wolverine believes it to be too dangerous for his team to continue its mission, he will order that his team be extracted immediately."

"That should not be a problem, Captain. The ship's transmat device shall lock on the signals of the communicators I will provide to everyone. If any of you get in trouble call Miriam and she will transport you back to the ship. Now, you all should maintain an open channel at all times. The communicators transmit through the sub space realm and are untraceable by any detection system on this planet."

"Thanks, Icon! I wish we had something like those gadgets for the Avengers!" the Captain exclaimed.

"I will see if I can fashion something for you, Captain; however, I will need to construct it in such a way that would keep your Anthony Stark or Henry Pym from trying to back engineer the devices. I wouldn't want to introduce any technology that could endanger your planet's natural course of development."

"Whatever you say, Gus." Then he returned to his mission briefing mode. "All right, everyone. Icon's ship will ferry us to the target. We should arrive at Zero hour Greenwich Mean Time. Once we're there, Team One will saddle up and be transported to an uninhabited area close to the room where they keep all of those thinking machines. Team One, get in that room, neutralize any personnel and security devices inside. Do not, though, I repeat, do not kill anyone to complete the mission."

Icon nodded. He was happy that Rogers had added that last proviso. From what Logan had told him about his time with the Invaders, Bucky Barnes, they're youngest member, had lied about his age to enter the Army in 1942. In fact, Barnes had been younger than Rogue and Kitty when he was taught to be a soldier even though his skill as a marksman had come to him long before he'd ever donned a uniform. However, what had never been disclosed to the public was the fact that Bucky had been the Invader's designated sniper and assassin. Although that war had taken Bucky's innocence early on, he knew that Logan and he never wanted either girl to become killers like the four men currently aboard his starship.

Now Captain America said, "I think we've covered all the bases. We have a few hours before we shove off. Get some chow then some rest. An hour before we go, I want us back aboard this ship so we can study any new scans provided by Miriam and adjust our plan accordingly. Then we'll walk through our mission objectives several times before we head out."

After the Captain had completed his briefing, Icon directed Miriam to beam them all back into the mansion's drawing room.

#

Skaer (Shard) Island

Vestmann Island Chain, Southwest of Iceland

October 4, 2001- 0002 GMT

Inside a utility closet three X-Men shimmered into existence.

Wolverine raised the index finger of his right hand to his lips and gave his team members the universal sign for absolute silence. Then he took a moment to study Stripes' and Half Pint's faces. Although his acute sense of smell had detected the hint of fear from both girls, their fright was surprisingly superseded by the excitement they both felt. For one thing, this was really the first time they'd ever participated in a high stakes mission. Even cooler for their young sensibilities was the fact they were working alongside three living legends who'd fought and survived World War II, along with an alien who was one of the heroes who'd saved Washington, D.C. from terrorists on September 11th!

Wolverine simply sighed quietly to himself. Although he had a soft spot for both girls that he would never, ever admit to anyone even on his dying day (and that would probably be long after Rogue and Kitty had bought the farm after having full and happy lives) and did not want to see them come to any harm, he was actually glad to have them along.

Time after time, Rogue had proven she was a gutsy little spitfire. Even before she'd joined the team, Rogue had saved Scott from Mystique and had rescued Jeanie from Blob after that tub of lard had gone all stalker-boy on the young telepath. As for Half Pint, well…she'd risked her life to help him break the mind control of the creep who'd turned him into Weapon X.

Satisfied that he had, without a doubt in his mind, the bravest X-Men of the bunch at his side, he popped the middle claw of his right hand and crouched down close to the floor. Then he slowly bored a hole through the wall with it.

Once his claw had fashioned an opening, he withdrew the blade into his hand and snaked a cable with a small television camera on the tip through the hole. Once he'd positioned the device, they studied the small monitor that displayed the interior of the server room. They saw there was a single operator stationed at one of the monitors inside the room and no one else.

Wolverine nodded to both girls silently directing them to go to work.

#

Kitty took Rogue's gloved left hand into her right hand and phased them both through the wall while carefully avoiding any of the servers on the other side. While phased, the girls quietly crept up behind the operator whose attention was focused solely on the computer monitor in front of him. When they'd reached their goal, Kitty released her hold on Rogue. Now the green and black clad mutant who was no longer phased reached out with her gloveless right hand and touched the right side of the man's face.

Moments later, he seized up as she stole a minute portion of his life force and his short term memories. When he passed out, Rogue grabbed his clothed arm and gently lowered his unconscious body to the floor. Meanwhile, Kitty was busy dragging a chair over to the security camera positioned close to the ceiling on the far wall. Once the chair was in place, she stepped onto the seat and waved her phased hand through the device, shorting it out.

Then she climbed down from the chair and hurried back over to the wall next to the closet where Logan awaited her return. In the meantime, while her roommate phased through the wall to fetch the feral mutant, Rogue used her stolen knowledge to access the facility's computer system.

#

When Wolverine and Shadowcat had joined Rogue, he found the girl had managed to find a file with a fishbone diagram showing the objectives the facility's scientists had accomplished in route to the ultimate goal of one of the major projects of the organization the three X-Men now knew to be called the 'Enclave.' Then their eyes shot wide open with fright after they discovered exactly what the Enclave's 'ultimate goal' happened to be.

Now Wolverine growled lowly into his communicator and said, "Guys, we've got to destroy this entire base right damn now! These bastards are creating enhanced artificial humans! They're building a master race to serve in an army these wackos intend to use in trying to take over the whole damn world!"

#

TBC

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