Chapter 9
The middle of September and the first hints of the approaching Autumn can be felt and seen. Little early this year.
A fairly typical large truck with trailer heads toward Bayville.
No-one would look twice at something that passes by them probably every day.
Almost no-one.
The driver doesn't see the spikes laid in the road until he drives over them, puncturing the tyres, causing him to hit the brakes hard, screeching the burst tyres as he tries not to lose control. He manages to bring it to a stop, breathing out in relief...until he looks up and sees a group of heavily armed men standing in front of him.
He raises his hands as they aim their guns at his cab.
One moves round to the door, opens it and drags the driver out forcing him to lie on the ground. As the driver goes down he spots the man wearing an armband with 3 letters on it.
F.O.H.
"Stay there and don't move," the driver is ordered in hostile tones. He nods his acceptance of that.
The group of men move round to the back of the trailer and they open the doors...shining a light within.
Shining a light of a huddle group of people...or if you looker closer, of mutants.
This was the latest people smuggling ring. Mutants who had been kicked out or driven away from their homes and families. After what Apocalypse did there were now thousands of mutants in the United States alone.
Course to the Friends of Humanity all these new mutants just proved what they've been saying all along about the danger these freaks of nature pose to normal people. And they would not just stand-by and let them gather together and form some sort of army.
Easier to pick them off in small groups...especially before they figure out how to control their powers.
That's why they take aim and cock their guns.
The mutants huddle back in fear, clutching each other...all except one who stands forward. It's hard to see them under a baseball cap and baggy clothes.
One of the FOH guys shines a light at them...to reveal a girl...if you can call it that. She has long ginger hair tied into a ponytail...but her face, the skin is silver, as if she's made of metal.
"Y-you won't harm these people," she tells them, her voice shaking.
The leader of the men sneers. "Will someone kill that freak already?" he asks of his men.
They open fire...and the bullets rip through the girl, tiny blobs of metal her body is composed of being blown in all directions...which then slide across the floor and re-merge back into her body.
"Holy F$%#!" one of the men swear.
"There's nothing holy about these demonic freaks," the leader rebuffs. "If bullets won't stop it..." he pulls a grenade off his belt, pulls the pin and throws it...only for it to be caught by a red/blue blur who brings it back and stops right in front of him, holding the grenade in his hand.
"Did you lose this?" Superman asks with a humorous tone and quirk of amusement on his lips.
The man stumbles back as Superman cups his hands around the grenade just before it explodes harmlessly within his grasp. He blows on his hands, clearing the debris and soot off. "Now gentlemen...and I use that term so very, very loosely, I have told your organisation before; Stay the hell out of my town!" he says sternly, in raised tones.
"Die alien freak!" one of them shouts as he opens fire.
Superman rolls his eyes as the bullets harmlessly bounce off of him. He blurs forward, grabs every single weapon off of them in seconds and proceeds to snap them all in half until they lie in a pile on the ground. He then grabs the leader and lifts him off the ground. "You listen to me. You will not harm a single person...and if your leader doesn't grasp that then I suppose I need to send him a message. Hold on a tick," he says as he throws the man high into the air.
While that guy gets the sensation of what flying without a plane feels like Superman proceeds to beat the living crap out of the others. He must admit there is a satisfying feeling when he hears one of their jaws break under his fists.
Superman dusts his hands off as they all lie there, beaten, almost broken in acts of extreme violence he isn't normally known for. He catches the leader as he comes back down with one hand round the guy's throat. "Now then. I think I need to illuminate your mind," he says very, very darkly as his eyes glow dark red, a malicious smile on his lips.
The leader's eyes go wide. He tries to break free. It's hopeless. He can feel the heat, his clothes start to singe, his skin burn...it's only a matter of moments till...
"Stop!" a voice screams.
Superman blinks. The glow fades and his eyes resume their normal cerulean blue. He turns his head, a frown puckering his brow. That scream came from the metal girl. He marches over to the truck, the leader guy still in his powerful grasp. "You don't want him to pay?" he asks her.
The girl shakes her head.
"Yet you can't stop me so why did you shout?"
"Because if you kill him all you'll do is prove that we're the monsters they claim us to be," she argues.
Superman chuckles. "But I'm not like you. I'm not like anyone...and for that they hunt me wherever I go. In fact they were doing that just before I showed up here."
That's Superman 4 SHIELD 0.
And it is also why he is behaving as he is. He just came from another battle with SHIELD. His temper, his control is on the very edge. War is almost free.
"I'm not like anyone either," she says as she removes her cap, showing more clearly her appearance. She almost looks like she was made of a liquid metal...like mercury.
"So are you asking me to spare his worthless life on nothing more than we need to act better than them?"
"Well when you say it like that...I guess I am."
Superman cocks his head, intrigued. "What's your name?"
"Cessily. Cessily Kincaid."
"Remember that name, pal," Superman says to the FOH guy. "A mutant named Cessily Kincaid just saved your life," he informs him as he throws him away like garbage. "Now is anyone back there injured?" he asks, his tone, his whole demeanour softening.
Cessily looks back. "Ah...I don't think so."
"Good. Ok, here's what I'm going to do. You all hang on tight and I'll carry you to Bayville. Anyone have a problem with that?"
No-one objects.
"Good."
Cessily goes to sit herself back down.
"Cessily," Superman stops her.
"Yes?" she queries.
"Thank you."
"For what?" she asks confused.
"You'll figure it out," he says cryptically.
"Ack, women," a disparaging voice snorts in disgust as War appears in Clark's vision leaning against the side of the trailer. "And we were about to have so much fun too," he gripes, annoyed at being so close to getting out, only for the voice of one girl to snap Clark out of it.
Clark ignores him, shuts the trailer doors and checks on the driver before he unhitches the trailer and lifts it up above his head. He gently rises into the air and flies toward Bayville, toward the district where all the mutants that have come live. The media gave it a name you know. District X.
At the Institute...
"Why are they all coming here?" Scott asks at a meeting including himself, Clark, the Professor and Beast. He's referring to all the mutants coming to Bayville. Clark was giving an update on tonight's events.
Rest of the teaching staff, Banshee, Logan, Domino(still in her sling but try and stop her) and Storm were away on a mission to investigate cases of disappearing mutants, particularly around this strip club in Metropolis and particularly involving mutants with physical mutations. Yes, apparently seeing those sort of mutants strip was a new fad or something in the seedy underbelly of society.
Nightwing had brought it to their attention as something she had picked up on recently in her job...both jobs as matter of fact.
Anyway Logan said he knew someone who could help, someone who owed him a favour. Went by the name Stacy X...don't ask...though everyone suspects Storm asked...a lot of questions as matter of fact.
On the other hand seeing Storm get back out there on a mission was perhaps a sign she was moving past Apocalypse and what he did to her.
Charles trusted the team that went to handle it. He has to. There are so many problems now he can't deal with them all personally.
"You're the reason, Scott," Clark answers, his tone heavy from the weight of another difficult night.
Scott looks understandably confused.
Clark elaborates. "You...the X-Men. You're heroes to these people, role models...especially after what happened with Apocalypse. Where else would they come to but the town where you live?"
"I thought the world was blaming us," Scott thinks.
"The reactionary press and the anti-mutant hate mobs do, yes but dig under that online and a lot of people do believe you saved the world," Clark corrects.
"Which we did," Hank just feels the need to say. They did save the world. If they hadn't stopped Apocalypse by now at least a fifth of the population would be dead.
"Yes, we did," Charles will happily confirmed. "But what we are witnessing is simply another one of the many results of that fight. Our fellow mutants, living in this District..."
"X," Clark interjects.
"Hmm?"
"It's getting called District X, now," Clark explains.
"I see," Charles says with a frown, uncertain whether he likes this new name or not. He finishes what he was about to say. "Our fellow mutants need us. The conditions of this District...they were buildings cited for demolition and redevelopment before the housing crash. They're terrible living conditions. I'm in the process of trying to buy the area but the company that owed the land was liquidated and it's all tied up in legal limbo. It's going to take awhile to sort. In the meantime I want the X-Men to aid them in anyway we can. I'm afraid the students will have to sacrifice some free time."
Scott can guess what sort of aid he means. Like volunteering to go do there, help do the buildings up, hand out food and clothes and things. A lot of people there have nothing.
"It's going to be an election issue," Clark raises. "Make no mistake Kelly will highlight it at some point if they keep coming like they do and I see no reason why they're not going to."
Charles sighs. "We'll need to arrange a meeting with Jonathan and the campaign team."
"Perhaps we could use this," Hank suggests. "You know make a big deal of showing Jonathan down there helping one weekend. I know it sounds terribly shallow and blatant PR but this is the world we live in."
"I'll make a note to raise it at the meeting," Charles says, agreeing with Hank on all of it. "I do need to ask one thing of Scott and I'm sorry but this intrudes on his personal life a bit."
Scott frowns.
"Emma," Charles raises.
"What about her?"
"Her and the Hellions have been very quiet since they got back," Clark points out, jumping in on what the Professor was basically going to ask anyway. "In fact since I barely see them doing their hero routine any longer I would go as far as to say they seem...distracted with other issues," he would phrase it as.
Charles is wondering whether Clark's now the psychic because that was more or less what he was curious about...and Scott does seem to be dating Emma as far as he knows which is the intruding on Scott's personal life bit. Oh, Charles trusts Scott and he can date whom he wants but the young man also has to realise there is a conflict of interest and it does make things complicated. "Again I'm sorry to raise it, Scott but if you know anything that could possibly affect the safety of the students we need to know," Charles tells him.
Scott's only just realising the bind he is in. Dating Emma and leading the X-Men may not necessarily be compatible. He rubs his forehead. "I don't know of anything," he says truthfully. "Like Clark said she's been distracted and hasn't told me why."
"You seen my grandfather or Shaw?" Clark wonders, folding his arms across his chest.
"No," Scott again answers truthfully.
"Just to make clear Scott, no-one is asking you to spy on anyone," Charles feels the need to say. "Just if you do hear anything that may effect us negatively...I have faith that you'll do the right thing," he chooses to phrase it.
Normally that's a great thing. In this case Scott thinks it's leaving him caught in the wind without a clue.
As the meeting breaks up Clark stays behind and moves to stand at the window staring out. He can see the press. They're an ever constant now because of his dad's Mayoral bid. He has to work ever harder to sneak in and out of the mansion without being seen. Luckily he is superfast. That helps.
"I have a feeling you wish to say something, Clark," Charles gets.
Clark sighs and rubs his eyes with his finger and thumb. "I almost lost it when I was confronting those FOH men," he confesses.
Charles' expression goes pensive.
Clark laughs sadly. "I only stopped because one of the mutants was brave enough to intervene." He turns his head. "I think she may be X-Men material if you want to consider it," he suggests based on the sheer fact she stepped forward when no-one else did.
Charles may.
"I think she was one of the ones that made the news. She looked like she was made of liquid metal."
"The Portland cheerleader," Charles recalls seeing that story on the news.
"I think so," Clark believes it was her.
"I'll look into it later but for now lets focus on you. It seems despite our best efforts War keeps finding a way to come close to the surface," Charles surmises.
"He never stops. Day and night he tries to find a way out of his prison and day and night I need to keep coming up with new methods of keeping him contained."
Charles listens to Clark's grave heavy tones with concern.
"How's the cell and restraints coming along?" Clark asks about what he suggested to the Professor the other week. Restraints and a cell designed to hold him.
"They'll be finished soon," Charles replies.
Clark nods. "Good," he gives his opinion on something he hasn't really been paying as much attention to as he should have. He needs to do that. Help finish it because he just can't be certain right now he can keep War subdued.
"How's the avoiding SHIELD going?" Charles wonders.
"That's partly why I was so close to losing control. I has just played 'Chase the Alien' with them...and seriously that woman just doesn't know when to give up," he complains bitterly.
"What woman?"
"Oh...Agent Danvers. She's a heck of a pilot and also the one who just doesn't know when to quit. Seriously, I'm faster and more agile in the air than any plane but she just keeps trying...trying my patience."
And trying his patience, making him angry and annoyed is what allows War to surface. Charles is getting the picture. SHIELD is just making it worse. "Clark, sit," he tells the young teen. "Let us go through our techniques," he advises that they go through all the techniques he has been teaching Clark to keep control.
Clark does what he asks but that cell needs to be finished because he is just feeling like...he deeply fears more and more this is not a battle he is winning.
Academy of Tomorrow Annex, Bayville...
The Hellions walk in late, bedraggled looking. Emma stands there, arms folded across her chest, a stern expression on her face. Not aimed at her students but at the man who 'borrowed' them.
"Sebastian," she greets him, sort of, her tone like ice. Cold enough to freeze any normal man. Ever since he showed up he's been using her students for his own personal missions. Missions she, apparently, doesn't need to know the details of. She's not happy. She feels like there are plots going on around her...well it's the Hellfire Club, there are always plots but that's not the point. Point is she feels like there are schemes afoot but this time she doesn't seem to know what is going on. That's a bad position. How can she protect herself if she doesn't know what is happening.
"Emma," Sebastian greets her back.
"Emma," the person behind Sebastian greets with with a disgruntled snort.
"Shinobi," Emma greets Sebastian's son. She was there when those two met up again for the 1st time since the battle of Smallville. That was...how does Emma phrase it?
Sebastian would never let his son go to jail over the episode...but to say he was disappointed...no that's not the right word. Sebastian has been disappointed in Shinobi for years. He could have been proud for his son finally showing some initiative except it wasn't Shinobi's initiative it was Lionel Luthor's.
So basically Shinobi made a huge mess of everything. Yep, this is way beyond disappointment. You can tell that by the fact Sebastian didn't even yell once. It's like he has given up any hope his son might amount to something and has simply decided that he needs to keep Shinobi around so he doesn't cause any further embarrassment to the family name.
"So what did you have my students do this time?" Emma wants to know.
"You don't need to know that, Emma," Shinobi hisses.
Emma's ice-blue eyes narrow. "You want to try that line on me?" she asks, her tone having a hint of menace to it.
Sebastian gets her meaning. "Emma, you try and read either of our minds I'll make you regret it every day of what remains of your life," he warns her.
Emma's eyes narrow that little bit more. "I'm not allowed to be concerned about my students?"
"I never said that," Sebastian says. "Why don't you go read their minds if you're so concerned," he suggests.
Like Emma hasn't tried already. "You had Sage put in a telepathic suggestion that prevents them from remembering what it is they do," she points out.
"Did I?" Sebastian says with false surprise. "Well it's late. I'm off to bed. Lots to do tomorrow," he says cheerily.
Emma watches father and son go. Gah! She wants to tear her hair out. She can't remember ever being this out the loop. She has got to find out what is afoot, what Sebastian is doing here when he clearly doesn't trust her with knowing his thoughts, what her sister was doing that had her turn up with Shinobi in the first place.
She has to know what is happening and she has to find it out soon.
Canadian Wilderness...
"It's so good to see he's mellowed!" Quicksilver shouts sarcastically as he dodges an entire tree trunk thrown at him.
Thrown at him by Sabretooth. After picking up the Wyngarde sisters ol' wannabe bigfoot was next on the list of Acolytes to locate and bring back to the fold. They found him deep in the Canadian Wilderness living alone in a log cabin...and he wasn't happy to see them hence the tree throwing...and the attempting gouging.
Polaris throws herself out the way. Her powers don't work on wood.
Puzzler sends a stream of jigsaw pieces of herself at the offending trunk, ripping it to pieces before directing them at Sabretooth who shows a lot of agility for a big guy in dodging until he tries and leaps at her.
Puzzler lets herself fall backward so he leaps over her and sends a piece or two of herself right through both knees. Hey, he'll heal in no time! Her cousins won't.
"Alright, enough is enough," Polaris mutters as she pushes herself to her feet. She was dressed fairly casually in jeans and a green hoodie. She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a bag of metal pellets. She floats them into the air. "Victor! You calm down or else!" she warns the feral mutant whose knees had already healed.
"Or else what little girl?!" Victor snarls. He was pissed as hell at having them show up and interrupt his quiet time.
Lorna arches an eyebrow. "Really? You want to push me?"
Victor chuckles darkly. "Do your worst," he dares her.
Polaris' green eyes narrow and off the pellets fly...just as Victor charges at her. The pellets rip into his flesh but don't stop him until he actually manages to reach her and gets one clawed hand round her throat. "One move and I snap her neck!" he warns her brother and cousin who freeze instantly.
Lorna gasps for breath.
Victor draws a claw over her flesh. "Scream for me," he whispers sadistically.
She doesn't.
Chains appear from nowhere and wrap around Victor. Round his neck and arms and legs and pull tight.
"You dare touch my daughter!" a voice roars angrily.
Victor's eyes go wide as Magneto floats into view. Not too far behind him stands Amelia...which explain how Magneto got here. "Erik? You're dead," Victor says.
Magneto growls in a manner Sabretooth himself would be proud of. He tightens the chains. "You see to have forgotten, Victor, just what agreement we had between us," he reminds his old 'comrade'.
"You were dead," Victor points out that that agreement is over.
"And now I'm alive...and find you threatening my daughter. Please tell me why I don't rip you limb from limb Victor?"
Sabretooth knows Erik wouldn't hesitate to do just that. "I wanted to be left alone," is his answer. This is where he came to after Magneto fell to Apocalypse for that very reason. He felt like he needed some time alone where he's most comfortable.
"I don't care," Magneto says bluntly, caring little for Victor's feelings. "We have an arrangement and you will uphold your end of it," he warns. "I want the Acolytes reformed and you will assist them in the task I require."
"What task?"
"You don't need to know the details right now."
Typical. Magneto never gives Sabretooth the details.
"Now...do you agree or do we need have a serious conversation alone, away from the children?" Magneto asks, his threat all too clear.
Sabretooth growls. "Agreed," he says unhappily...mostly because he's not in a position to argue.
"Excellent. Never doubted you for a second," Magneto says in a flat tone that shows that's a complete lie. He releases Sabretooth. "Now I have to get back to the Savage Land," he says with urgency. He doesn't like leaving Sinister alone for a second but Lorna had contacted him and made clear Sabretooth's...how should he phrase it, reluctance to rejoin the cause. He needed to sort that. He strides over to stand next to Amelia. "Before I go Victor two things. One; you will obey my daughter as if I am speaking and two; you ever touch her again we will have our last ever conversation. Am I clear?"
"Crystal," Sabretooth grunts.
"Good. Amelia, home," Magneto orders and she uses her powers and the two vanish in her cloud of green smoke.
That leaves Sabretooth alone with Polaris, Quicksilver and Puzzler. He makes a muttered swear under his breath. Him and the kids. He just knows he is going to regret this.
"Out of the question," an irate sounding Mayoral Candidate Robert Kelly is saying over the phone to his major backer and coincidentally, the leader of the Friends of Humanity; Graydon Creed.
"Something has to be done about this District X!" Graydon is demanding. All those dirty freaks living together, flooding Bayville...makes his skin crawl.
"I agree and something will be done when I'm Mayor," Robert insists. "What I can't have Graydon is my supporters undertaking vigilante acts...at least not ones that big which will not go unnoticed. My opponent, that Kent man would have a field day."
Graydon snorts. "You should let me take care of that traitor," he argues.
Robert sighs. "Democracy, Graydon. You remember what that is, yes? You and I may not like it but in a democracy people are free to express any view they want and any citizen can stand for an election."
"Anyone who stands with those freaks is not a citizen of this great country. Hell I hardly think they qualify to be considered part of humanity any longer."
Robert sighs again. "Graydon...the only aim right now is to win this election. I will not endorse acts that threaten that. Am I clear?"
"Crystal," Graydon grunts before slamming the phone down. That conversation is over. In his home he strides over to his drinks cabinet and pours himself a large one.
"He didn't go for it," one of Graydon lieutenants who is standing in the doorway assumes.
"No," Graydon snaps sharply as he pours the drink down his throat, relishing the burning sensation. "But we're going to act anyway," he says. "Robert's mistaken. He thinks us acting will damage him. It will instead send a message to all decent human beings that we're in a fight for our survival and it will send a message to the freaks and their supporters that their time is almost up."
The lieutenant grins savagely. He likes this idea.
Graydon strokes his chin. "What was the last update from Spears on his gas?" he asks about Guy Spears, supporter, inventor of Pow-R8 a drink which has a component deadly to mutants. After the incident with the Morlocks, Graydon and Spears formed an alliance and Spears was working on purifying that component into a deadly gas.
"Couple of months yet," the lieutenant informs him that it's not ready. "Perhaps before election day if it comes to that.
Hmm, that could be useful. Graydon has half an idea if things do indeed stretch out to election day. Course what he is thinking is making sure to end this long before then. "We're not going to wait that long. We'll just have to do it the old fashioned way. Gather everyone up, arm them up and we'll cleanse that District of its filth."
"Yes, sir...but what about the alien?" the lieutenant asks what they do about Superman. "From what we've observed he can't be hurt."
Damn. Graydon had forgot about the alien creature. "I'll need to think about it. Start making the preparations," he orders.
"Yes, sir."
Graydon goes and sits down and thinks.
"You have a problem."
Graydon shoots to his feet, looks around, his hand reaches into his jacket where he keeps his personal protection. "Show yourself!" he demands.
"No," the voice refuses. The female voice. "You don't need to see me."
"The police will," Graydon points out as he heads for his phone...only to find it gone.
"Sorry but we need to talk privately."
Graydon still can't find that voice's source.
"I can help you," the voice says.
"With what?"
"The alien. Superman. I can get rid of him so you can enact your little plan," she says, her voice dripping with condescension.
"How?" Graydon asks, his curiosity peaked.
"Do the details matter as long as he's not around?"
Well Graydon guesses not.
"I need a little time though. Give me a week."
Graydon chews on that. "It's a little hard to trust you when I can't see you."
"Not important. Graydon, you're a smart, good-looking man," she praises him. "And life is sometimes about making calculated risks. I can assure you that if Superman is around you will fail. You have no means of stopping him. I do. Once he's gone what are the odds you will succeed?"
Better. A lot better. "Why?" Graydon asks. "What's in this for you?" he wonders.
The voice chuckles. "When my father died I promised to carry on his work. I will fulfil that promise...just not quite in the way he or anyone else envisioned. That is all I will say as to why. Now do we have an agreement? You delay for 7 days and I guarantee Superman will be nowhere around Bayville that day."
Graydon's brow furrows. Hard to trust a disembodied voice...but if she can get rid of Superman...it's worth the gamble. "We have an agreement."
"Excellent. I'll send you one message when I'm done and that most likely will be the last communication we ever have. Good night Graydon," she says her farewells...and while Graydon will look for her he'll never find her nor find out who it was.
Who it was stands on the other side of a crack in reality in the Hell Dimension known as Limbo.
The Black Swan chuckles as she closes the crack up. Men. So easy. She's manipulated them all her life. All except Kal-El who is just too stubborn for his own good. Oh well. That'll end soon enough. It'll all end soon enough.
Oh why is probably the question you're asking.
Why did she do that?
She's seen the pattern of things. How it all plays out...and more importantly how to move pieces around to change that pattern. Sometimes it can be what look like very innocuous moves, what can look like very strange, unrelated moves but it all is working toward her goal.
The one known only to herself.
Author's Note: And so Mercury makes her début and helps save Clark from himself. I had this idea for ages of the FOH attacking one of these trucks bringing in mutants and of Clark stepping in and almost going too far. Yes, I know in the comics District X was actually in New York but I decided to move it to where the X-Men are in Bayville. Oh, Patricia...what are you scheming now. The once trusted daughter scheming who knows what...just like Tarot said back in chapter 1. Yes, that line was about Patricia I will confirm here. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; Patricia's scheming gets Clark exactly where she wants him.
