In a world that hates and fears mutants, Professor Charles Xavier struggles to fight for peace and to secure the freedom of mutants everywhere. Meanwhile, his old friend, Magneto, has formed the group known as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, a team that stands for anarchy and extremism. Additionally to having his two children, Wanda and Pietro as part of the team, his shape-shifting recruiter, Raven "Mystique" Darkholm has brought in the newest recruit named Anna-Marie D'Ancanto, a Southern mutant with ability to siphon the energy and power out of anyone that she touches.
Issue 10: Rogue Recruit Part 1
Biloxi, Mississippi – Four Days Ago
The sounds of loud dance music and screaming, drunken, partying teens filled the beaches of Biloxi, the waves of the Gulf Coast crashing onto the shores. Parties like this were almost common for students of Kinberg Regional High School, so when sixteen-year-old junior Anna-Marie D'Ancanto found out she had been invited, it was an invitation she could hardly refuse at all.
Wearing her signature green hooded jacket over a black t-shirt with a pair of ripped jeans, Anna-Marie breathed in the smell of salt water that filled the environment. Her long, dark hair was tied back in a ponytail as she sipped on a plastic cup of Angry Orchard Rosé hard cider, taking in the refreshing taste of the wine cooler. She found herself socializing herself with her usual group of girlfriends, which consisted of the rebellious kids in her grade. Growing up having a bad relationship with her father, Owen, Anna-Marie found it easier to rebel against him rather than walk in the straight line he had wanted her to live in. Her green eyes looked up from her Instagram account to meet the image of her crush, Cody Robbins, the star of the school's football team. He was older than her by a year and was a senior, and was considered to be one of the most popular boys in the grade above her. He and Anna-Marie had a very obvious connection between one another that was if he wasn't blinded by cheerleaders and the girls' soccer team, then he would take time to realize that.
Anna-Marie found herself glancing at Cody . . . his sandy hair, his light brown eyes, his perfectly toned body . . . he looked like a model that could be walking the runway for New York Fashion Week.
"Anna-Marie . . . sugah!" a voice called out to her. Her best friend, Risty Wilde, was snapping her fingers in front of her face.
Rogue snapped out of her day dream session of staring at Cody to bring her attention to Risty. "Yeah, Risty?" she asked.
"Anna-Marie, you've been crushin' on Cody Robbins for months, sugah! Now's your chance, gal!" Risty pointed out to her.
"Risty, you know Ah can't," said Anna-Marie with a smile, despite the fact that she was the biggest flirt out of everyone in her junior class.
"C'mon you're the most flirtatious outta of all of us! Just go up to him and make you're move! He invited ya to this party for a reason and he gets red around the ears whenever he speaks to you. So, he obviously must love you!" Risty said with an enthused grin on her face, brushing her layered black hair out of her icy blue eyes. "So just do it!
"Okay, alright, alright, Risty! God, you're so embarrassing!" Anna-Marie said with a roll of her eyes as Cody came over to her, a smile on his face.
"Hey, Anna-Marie, you wanna dance?" Cody offered her.
Anna-Marie nodded, grinning widely at her crush as Cody took her by the arm. The song "Hit the Floor" by Linkin Park came over the speakers and blared loudly. The two proceeded to get close to each other, Anna-Marie's heart melting as Cody's lips came closer and closer to her. Lord, how she just wanted to kiss him right then and there.
Then, that was the moment it happened. Anna-Marie, the rebellious, tough black sheep of her family found her heart softening as Cody leaned in closer to her. She stood on her toes and pressed the lightest of a kiss against Cody's lips. However, that was when she felt something strange coming over her . . . it was like a surge coming over her. Opening her eyes, they widened as she noticed something was off with Cody. He seemed to be suffocating and his skin was growing paler and paler. Bright blue veins seemed to be sticking out on the boy's skin as Anna-Marie broke off of him. It was almost as though her kissing him had sucked the strength right out of Cody's body. She felt nothing but shock coming over her as all of the party-goers surrounded her, pointing and whispering.
"Oh mah God . . . she's a mutie!" someone yelled.
"What did you do to him?" shouted one of Cody's friends.
Anna-Marie felt her eyes starting to sting as she felt another one of Cody's friends grabbing the exposed skin of her hand, which led to him weakening as well. Anna-Marie just screamed in horror, unable to contain her fear knowing what she was . . .
The Brotherhood House – Present Day
Anna-Marie found herself sitting on her bed in the Brotherhood House, listening to the radio. Apparently, Pietro had caused quite the scene in New York City. The young woman did not know exactly what these people were going to have her do, but, she did know at this point she was so desperate for anything, that she'd do anything to survive. It was a matter of survival for her at this point . . . she had no other place to go, and that woman, Raven, had been kind enough to offer her a meal and a place to stay. Though Anna-Marie didn't know exactly how long she was going to be sticking around these people known as the Brotherhood of Mutants.
After having escaped from the horrific party she had been invited to days ago, Anna-Marie had resulted to just running away. She knew that her father would not take her being a mutant too kindly. So, she had just resulted to sleeping outside a train station in Biloxi, covering herself with a few newspapers when Raven found her and offered to take her in as her ward.
The sixteen-year-old high school junior took in her surroundings of her new living environment. The house was filthy and it clearly could use improvements and upgrades, but still, now it was home. Anna-Marie found herself wearing gloves that Raven had given to her to cover herself with. She was still wearing the same clothes she had worn to that horrendous beach party that had ended horribly. Worst of all, she could still feel Cody inside her head, as though she had his memories and he was screaming at her inside her mind. Tears filled Anna-Marie's eyes as she thought about Cody and the fact that back in Biloxi, she had been referred to as a "mutie" and a "freak" by her peers, including Risty. She hung her head low, feeling the shame and sickness sinking in.
That was the moment she could hear the Brotherhood returning from having wreaked havoc in the city. She could hear the kindly woman known as Raven entering her room.
"Anna-Marie, how are you doing, child?" Raven asked her.
Anna-Marie just shook her head. "Ah-Ah don't know. Ah just . . . why do mah powers feel like such a burden . . .?"
"They always feel like a burden at first, Anna-Marie," Raven whispered as she sat beside the confused, saddened teen. "But, I promise you, these powers that you have are special gifts, young one. I can teach you how to use them. There's potential with you, dear child. You just do not know how much potential you have. You can be so glorious; so powerful, when mutants are finally free. You won't have to any longer deal with being hated; with being treated as though your powers are a curse to mankind."
"Can . . . Can ya help meh?" Rogue asked.
"Yes, darling child. Yes I can. Training is in order. I can show you how you can use your powers to your full advantage; how you can become better than great," Raven whispered. "Now, Anna-Marie, I believe your codename in the Brotherhood shall be . . . Rogue."
Anna-Marie nodded. "Yeah," she whispered.
"We shall begin your training fairly soon. When we are ready for you to be out there, we will for sure let you know. You will know when the time comes," Raven assured her gently. "Though, it's coming sooner than you think . . ."
X-Corporation Tower – Tony's Office
Journal Entry 10
Last night was pure proof that there are mutants out there determined to make things worse for us all.
When good old Magneto had showed up banging down my door, basically sending me the message that he was going to make my life hell, he had meant it. Now, he is sending his followers, The Brotherhood, to cause even more of a ruckus through New York City. I remember back when that Fred Dukes kid, Blob, had screwed up Warren's wings . . . Warren had spent hours in the med bay with injuries that could only happen to a bird. Well . . . that's a given because the kid is a walking bird, practically.
All I know is that the Brotherhood, they mean business now that they are planning on hitting Senator Edward Kelly. But, when they're planning on hitting him, we honestly do not know. But, it is something we should keep an eye on. Mags and his followers only add more fuel to the fire by making Senator Kelly hate mutants even more. If they wanted to give President Norman Osborn one more reason to launch the Sentinels, they just did. All I can say is that I hope and pray that things do not get much worse than they already are. Alpha Flight has a lot more important things to do than just chasing Magneto and his goons around. Carol Danvers and Logan Howlett are in the process of weight-training Scott, Jeannie, Warren and Bobby with the big blue Beast's assistance.
Next Friday, I have an award that I have to accept in Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace, and coincidentally, that's the same exact day that my Jericho missiles get distributed to the U.S military. Let's just hope and pray that Magneto doesn't screw that up for me either. I'm also very aware that that is the same day Senator Kelly is having a press conference, though I do not know where exactly it will be. All I know is that that press conference will be the perfect opportunity for Magneto's Brotherhood to attack the Senator . . . that would only encourage for more Sentinels to get built. Great . . . more problems for me . . . oh joy.
Tony closed off his journal entry of that day. After having witnessed the Brotherhood's attack on New York City the previous night, he knew that that wasn't just a message for Senator Kelly. It was also a message that they were sending to him. Those kids in the Brotherhood truly were punks more than anything.
Tony sipped at his second cup of coffee that morning as he read the newspaper. He didn't know why he bothered with the news. It only added more stress onto his middle-aged mind. He sometimes forgot that he was a thirty-five-year-old, but, he truly was in many ways the adult, considering X-Corporation Tower was becoming a home to four teenagers and two young men in the their early twenties, with Bobby being the youngest out of everyone that lived there.
Tony rubbed at his eyes, feeling a migraine coming over him as he drank his coffee. However, that was the moment he heard a knock at the door of his office. He was expecting to see Pepper, but, what he saw instead was Scott.
"Good morning, Mr. Stark. Headache?" Scott asked him.
"Yeah, it's just this whole thing with the Brotherhood is leaving me more stressed than usual. Magneto's building himself an army," Tony said.
"Well, I can think of something that would help that headache ease up. Forge and Hank's Danger Room is officially completed and Logan and Carol will be training us down there in ten minutes," Scott said.
"Yes, that makes me happy, Scott. Glad to hear that." Tony was genuinely glad about that, considering Forge and Hank had been working on that Danger Room for the past few months or so. "I will be down there. I'm very curious to see how this Danger Room works."
Scott nodded with a grin on his face and proceeded to head off to the basement for his morning workout. He was glad that they were having more options for physical training than just the weight room. Once Tony finished his coffee, he proceeded to head down to the Danger Room himself. When he got there, he saw exactly what Forge and Hank's blueprints had looked like for all those months.
The Danger Room took up a good percentage of the basement, meaning that Forge and Hank's workshop would have to be moved upstairs, but, Tony couldn't be more pleased with what he was seeing. The Danger Room was a full-fledged obstacle course, with paintball guns, laser trip beams, sentry guns and holograms. The area that used to be Forge and Hank's workshop got transformed into a control room area. How the big blue Beast and Forge had managed to get the whole Danger Room put together so fast, Tony had no idea, but, he was pleased with it. However, the Cerebro room stayed where it was: towards the back of the basement where it was connected to the war room. Tony knew that this would help with further training Scott, Jean, Bobby and Warren. He looked to see the kids were ready, hungry and eager to get training. Carol Danvers and Logan Howlett stood there in their Wolverine and Ms. Marvel uniforms. The fact that Carol and Logan were on their way to transforming these kids into full-fledged soldiers was something that amazed Tony. Scott and Jean having time in the weight room and eating three meals a day were helping them pack on more weight, and Jean no longer looked like the undernourished, scared, scrawny redhead that Tony had met days ago. In fact, she actually looked a lot more confident, eager to learn. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail to make it more manageable for her, and Scott had switched out his ruby quartz sunglasses for his visor with the different settings on it which would allow him to fire his optic blasts efficiently. It would be his first time testing it out, and Scott looked excited to start.
"Alright, I can say this, Beast, Forge, you two did it," Tony said, nodding his approval.
"Yeah, finally, after months of making blueprints of the Danger Room it's finally come together," Forge said, proud of his work.
"Alright, let's get into the control room and see what this room can do," said Hank as he, Tony, Forge and Professor Xavier went into the control room to start the simulation. Hank put the simulation on the beginners setting, and it was on.
The sentry guns immediately started to fire, Carol and Logan taking charge as Warren flew up and into the air, dodging the paintballs that were firing his way at his wings. Scott fired at the sentry guns with perfect precision and aim, coloring Carol impressed. Scott Summers truly was Christopher Summers' son. He carried himself like a soldier and it was almost as though he just knew what it was that he was doing. It was like an instinct to him.
Jean was already starting to get a handle on her powers after at least three telekinetic training sessions with the professor a day, to the point where she could use her telekinesis to creating shielding around herself and tear things apart. She used her telekinetic shielding to block the paintballs that were aiming at her concentrating her mind and sending out telepathic commands to Bobby so that he could freeze the guns that were aiming at him. The way that they were all working together was one of a tag team. And Logan and Carol couldn't be more pleased as they watched. These kids truly were filled with so much potential to use their powers for something, and Logan and Carol felt honored to be the ones to train them.
Scott, Jean, Warren and Bobby continued with working together, Warren dodging paintball after paintball. After having faced a humiliating defeat by the Blob on the Pace University campus months back, Warren was determined to not allow anything damage his wings ever again. And so far, Warren was doing well in the Danger Room, managing to even keep up with Scott.
Finally, once the simulation ended, Scott, Jean, Warren and Bobby were sharing a round of high-fives with each other, celebrating their first victory in a Danger Room session and having actually worked as a team. Logan and Carol smiled at the sight of it . . . kids just being kids.
"Alright, everyone, that's good for today," Tony announced through the speaker.
"At least we know now that this room will come useful," said Logan. "Furball, you've done it again."
Bobby chuckled at Logan's comment of calling Beast a "furball", but, Hank didn't seem the least bit amused. He let out a low growl.
"If you wanna talk about furballs, Logan, you should meet Rahne Sinclair, Moira's adoptive daughter. The kid can turn herself into a werewolf," said Forge as he looked around at the destroyed Danger Room. "Wait, wait a minute . . . I just realized something. You guys just tore this place apart. That means extra work for me, needing to put it back together."
"Don't tell me you're complaining about that Forge. You essentially made this to be our own personal playground," pointed out Warren.
"Yeah, a playground that makes that scene from that movie with Famke Janssen's character losing her shit look like a trip to Disneyworld," quipped Jean.
"Wait, you saw that movie?" asked Scott.
"Yes, and it sucked," Jean said. "And that was the third movie in a trilogy."
"Well, at least we can all agree that the third movie is always the worst," Scott said as he and his friends made their way out of the basement.
"Not all the third movies; that one movie Sophie Turner did was really good. Rotten Tomatoes never knows what they're talking about anyway," Bobby said.
"Good point," Jean said in agreement. "Besides, I call the showers first!"
"Don't use up all the hot water, Jeannie," Warren said. "I've got classes and after that I've got a date with Candy tonight!"
"Well, when's the wedding, War?" asked Scott.
"Don't know yet; I haven't even proposed to Candy yet, but, that might change tonight. I got the ring at least a month ago, I'm just waiting for the right moment," Warren said.
"Well, you don't want to wait too long, buddy, otherwise it'll be one day too late," Scott said.
"What bumper sticker did you get that quote off of?" Warren asked Scott.
"Believe it or not it's actually lyrics to a song by the band Skillet," Scott said a grin on his face.
"Wow, who knew that our fearless leader with a stick up his ass is soft?" Warren joked.
Scott elbowed him in the chest. "Shut up!" He rolled his eyes, laughing.
Worthington Industries – Warren Worthington, Jr.'s Office
Worthington Industries was always a very high-stress place to work, which was to be expected when it would be considered one of the top companies in the world.
For Warren Worthington, Jr. and Katherine Worthington, this company was their whole life. However, they also knew that they were not going to be alive forever to continue the family business, which was part of why they had groomed their one and only son, Warren Worthington III, to one day take over the company. However, their son was also a mutant, something that Warren Jr. was disgraced to have learned.
When Warren III had told his father that he was a mutant – or more like Warren Jr. had walked in on his son attempting to cut his wings off of his back with a knife at the age of sixteen, Warren Jr. had decided to take it upon him to work with Worthington Pharmaceuticals to develop a cure for mutant powers. He would never know if they were successful with their Legacy Cure, because his son had refused to take the cure. As a result, Warren Jr. kicked his son out of the house and cut him off from the family business. Now, Warren Worthington, Jr.'s soul goal was to distribute the cure as an option for mutants that wanted it. And part of his goal would be completed through supporting Senator Edward Kelly in his presidential campaign. He was the main financial backer behind Senator Kelly's campaign, and he could not afford to have his son screw that up for him by showing off his powers to the whole entire world.
As Warren Jr. proceeded to start leaving his office so that he could head to Worthington Pharmaceuticals to check on the progress of the Legacy Cure before going home for the evening, that was the moment he heard a crash in his big, office window that gave him a full view of New York. He turned his head only to see the group of mutants known as the "Brotherhood" there in his office. His jaw dropped open in shock before trying to rush for the phone lines to call for security, though Quicksilver beat him to the punch, standing in front of the phone and having him cornered as Wanda disabled the phone line.
"Nice work, sis," Quicksilver said in a cocky voice.
"What do you want?" Warren Jr. asked.
"We want your ear. We want Senator Kelly's itinerary for next week," said Mystique as she stepped around with Rogue, who was still wearing her dark green jacket and gloves.
"No . . . no, I won't give you anything!" Warren Jr. shouted.
"Yes, you will, not that you have too many choices," Mystique said, her blue skin standing out more than usual as she took another step forward. Warren Jr. found himself backing up right into Avalanche and Toad, who held him in place, Toad using his extra-long tongue to wrap around his wrist while Avalanche had him by the shoulders tightly.
"LET ME GO, YOU FREAKS!" shouted Warren Jr., glowering at them with a look of such hatred and disgust, but, Mystique didn't even flinch. She just gave him a cold, emotionless glare.
"You're in no position to be giving us orders, Warren Jr.," Mystique said in a voice that was disturbingly calm. She turned to Rogue, who was still standing at her side, loyal to the woman who had offered to take her in. "Now, Rogue," she said, her yellow eyes flashing over Warren Jr.
Rogue just simply took off one of her gloves and walked over, despite the fact that she was hesitant to do this. Was this right? She didn't know, but she would do what she had to do, because she owed Mystique. Scarlet Witch gave her a pointed look, pushing the girl forward a little more using her hexing powers. Everyone in the Brotherhood was looking to her to do what she had to do. When Raven had said that her time to use her powers would come soon, she had definitely meant sooner than Rogue could anticipate. Rogue finally threw her hesitation out the window, and pressed her hand to Warren Jr.'s forehead. She could feel his energy surging into her, as well as his memories of Senator Kelly's itinerary. Rogue instantly let go as she saw the older man pass out on the floor.
"Ah've got it," she whispered.
"Good job, Rouge . . . really good job," Raven praised with a smile on her face. Rogue could feel Avalanche and Pyro patting her shoulders in the form of congratulations. Rogue was already on her way to becoming a full-fledged member of the Brotherhood, and this was just only her first mission, on the first day at that, too.
Up next: Rogue Recruit Part 2
We are officially at the halfway point, muties, meaning there are only ten more issues left! Be sure to review, follow and favorite for more issues to come! Excelsior!-
DC-MarvelGirl 1997