Sensational X-Men
Issue #11– Xavier's Secret – Part One
Space – The X-Men
"We're all waiting for you" Sage's voice came in over the comm.
"I'll be there in a minute," Forge said as he sat staring at the screen in his room.
Forge had a lot happen to him recently but this had to be the biggest shocker. After following the great Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men into space they ended up battling Apocalypse along with Magneto and his Brotherhood. That battle led to Magneto's base exploding and Forge and present company finding themselves stranded in unknown space with no idea where they were, how to get home or where their other friends and team members were. It was just him and his odd band of X-Men.
One of the twists was that his new team of X-Men also had members of Magneto's Brotherhood. Through it all he, Polaris, Banshee, Sage and Dazzler, who they had found as part of a bounty hunter collective with no memories and calling herself Spark, had managed to maintain a civil partnership with Mystique, Blob and Avalanche. In their quest to find the others and a way home they came across a strange looking younger man stranded on a planet. To their shock he appeared to be a mutant from Earth.
Munoz, like Dazzler had no memory of anything that had happened to him or who he was before he and his friends had arrived here in space. Taking their ship's black box in hopes of discovering some answers, they set out on a quest to find his other mutant friends. While getting caught in the middle of a world at war they found Suzy and eventually escaped the world and then went to Nnamuab, where they escaped a crime boss and rescuing the rest of Munoz's friends from him.
Having already detected mutant signatures along with evolution-based powers from Munoz and time-based powers from Suzy, they knew the others would have powers too. Petra demonstrated earth-based powers already and Kid had already been the first to display his energy-based powers. Forge wasn't sure what powers Océana or Marko had but by looking at them you could see mutations, one looked fish-like and the other had pure white eyes with no color in them at all. They would all be tested, but after they dealt with the black box.
Once they had gotten back, Sage had been able to retrieve the data from the black box from Munoz's ship. Sage had told him that it contained their mission log but it also had something more. It somehow had contained a link to Xavier's personal computer database and saved an additional file that revealed socking information but also ended leaving more questions about their founder, Charles Xavier.
Sage had Forge watch it first before showing it to anyone else. Forge was shocked, as was Sage who had been part of Xavier's secrets. No too long ago they had discovered that Tessa, of the Hellfire Club had actually been a spy of Xavier's all these years. When Charles had first formed the X-Men, Sage was one of the original recruited the same time as Beast. Instead of introducing her onto the X-Men he had instead asked her to join the Hellfire Club as a spy for him to keep an eye on the Black King, Shaw.
That was nothing; soon they had found out that Xavier had his on Protocol's and mutants working secret Ops on behalf of him and mutant kind. Forge and Mystique had at one time been a part of that, he a supplier of technology and her, a forced operative. This kind of game and secrets had become a norm and necessity for the greater good of mutant kind, but what was on this black box could change everything about Xavier and the X-Men.
Forge had asked Sage if they should reveal this information or destroy it. Forge thought they all might be better off but Sage felt the new mutants deserved to know their past, but they couldn't do that without revealing all. Plus, there was information that would have an impact on their good friend Sean, the Banshee. Forge decided that Sage was right and it was time to let another one of Xavier's secrets out, no matter the consequences. So Sage had gone to assemble the others.
"Here we go," Forge mumbled as he transferred the data to the conference room and went to join the others.
"I still don't know why they get to be in here," Polaris said as Forge walked in.
"We are a part of this team now and have every right to know what is going on," Mystique said.
"I don't know much, but they did risk their lives to help us. We've no issues with them seeing this," Munoz said on behalf of is friends.
"As much as I may agree with you, Lorna, I think they should see this. If we are going to be stuck together for a long time I think that we need to bond as a team, despite our difference," Forge said.
"I second that," Dominic said winking at Sage.
"Plus, we could get some insight from them that we might miss," Sage said rolling her eyes at Avalanche.
"The black box has you six's mission recorded and what happened. We also realized that it had linked with Xavier's computer and we have a file leading up to your mission and connected to the original X-Men and another file that your ship had somehow maintained a link for a time after your mission and downloaded some interesting data before cutting off," Forge said.
"We're going to start from the beginning, work our way through your mission and end with this additional secret file of Xavier's," Sage said.
"Keep in mind, what you're about to see will not only be revealing great relief for you guys but will also be shocking to the rest of us. Computer, play Geneses," Forge said as the computer began playing.
"Xavier Log: Genesis: I've decided that it's time to become proactive with the threat of evil mutants. After what I've already discovered, come across and threats like my old comrade Magnus I know I need to do something. There are other mutants out there and I need to find them first and train them.
"With the help of the research and mutant detecting devise Magnus had helped me design I've located and recruited my first group of students. There are five of them. I originally had seven but one refused and I was unable to persuade her and the other I've decided to put her skills to good use as one of my first spies. For now, these main five are more than enough and most important to have under my wing.
"Scott Summers has great energy based powers but is unable to control them. I've given him special glasses to help in his control. Jean Grey has potentially very powerful mental powers while young Bobby Drake has control over the elements of cold. Both Henry McCoy and Warren Worthington III may be slightly different in power base, one with wings the other beast-like in strength and agility they hold potential and they were on the list.
"I'm still not sure what I'm doing or how to handle everything I've got but I know the bigger picture is gathering these mutants and training them. I know this could be bigger than I can handle so I've got my old friend Moira Kinross…I mean MacTaggert to help me pick up what we first discussed those many years ago before I went off to the war and she went off and got married.
"Until I get things off the ground five is enough to work with and still keep the school's true nature secret from the public. I also don't want to lose the others, so Moira has agreed to take the others in. On Muir Island she has set up a secret lab were she will not only train but monitor and run tests of a different nature on her students. This way we can learn more and keep these kids safe from other interested parties.
"Moira still doesn't seem like she wants to be a part of this, but like me, she feels obligated to do this. So, she'll take guardianship over her six students while their siblings become my X-Men," the computer reported.
"That's where that file ends. It indicates that it links to other logs pertaining to the original X-Men and their missions. The black box doesn't have those files just the one you heard. I believe it's because it is related to the files pertaining to their mission," Sage said.
"Quite boring if you ask me," Fred Dukes yawned remembering how Charles and his X-Men had tried to recruit him many years ago.
"Not really, did he say siblings?" Mystique asked eyeing Forge.
"Are you saying that we're not only a secret team of this Xavier but are also related to your original team of X-Men?" Kid asked.
"Moira never said anything to me about having a group of students herself and that they were related to Xavier's students," Sean said scratching his head.
"Alex never mentioned having another brother. I know there was talk once of a third brother but that was speculation," Polaris said.
"What you're going to hear next will not only answer your questions but shock you too," Forge said.
"Yes, this next file is another of Xavier's logs. It seems Charles mentally followed the students every move and logged it and it was saved into the black box. The black box just recorded the take off and landing of the mission and then the trip here into space. I've set up this sequence to splice the two together to get the whole story," Sage said as she played the next file.
"Xavier Log: Deadly Genesis: My biggest fear has come true, my X-Men have been captured and I fear are near death by the island, Krakoa. There's a small chance that they can be saved but there isn't much time. I must send in Moira's secret mutants. From the reports she's given me they have trained well and I believe are ready even though she doesn't. In the end she let's me send them.
"The first is Gabriel Summers codenamed Kid Vulcan. When I found him and Scott at the Orphanage he had not developed his powers yet. I knew the potential was there so I left the younger brother with Moira. Like his older brother, he became a leader of his team and has energy based powers. Seems he can manipulate and tap into energy sources, which include fight, heat, force and electricity.
"The second is Barbara Drake codenamed Petra. My original plan was to give these secret mutants new identities and was going to call her Petra Kristensen but Moira forbid me to mess with people's minds so I gave up the idea. Also, Bobby's parents had decided to let her go to Moira's school for potential mutants. Petra soon developed her powers. Like her brother they were elemental based but she controlled the earth.
"The third is Suzanne Grey codenamed Sway. Now her parents did forbid her to come with me when I came for Jean. At this point I had been at the last stop of recruitment and didn't want to miss out on the potential Suzanne may have if she was anything like her sister. So I erased her from their memories and changed her memories into the persona of Suzanne Chen and installed an image inducer into her body to permanently look a different race. I felt guilty about that but her powers over time proved me correct.
"The fourth is Armondo Munoz codenamed Darwin. When I had recruited Henry, I had read his father's mind. It seems he had a secret affair with a woman named Amelia Munoz. After I left I went and visited the woman and saw Henry's younger brother had mutated. She let me take him and send him to Moira. It seems now that his skin wasn't the only mutation. He seems to have evolving based powers.
"The fifth is Wendy Worthington codenamed Océana. Wendy was just a few years younger than Warren and developed her powers at the same time as I recruited Warren. Since Warren's mutation was easier to hide than his sisters, I sent her to Moira. Her webbed hands and feet, scales and gills allowed her to breathe and survive under water. Moira thinks she might be able to control marine life too.
"The last is Zan Marko codenamed Spirit. Zan is also my half-brother. Before my mother had died she had given birth to Zan. Zan was different and later I found out that he was actually my real brother. While I had powers of the mind he had powers over the soul. It seems he ages slower due to is soul power. So he had been conceived by my mother right before my dad had died, but by the time his soul entered a fetus it was that of my step-dad.
"Genetically he is Marko but soul and mutant power-wise he is Xavier. Due to his pure white eyes and slow aging my step-father had sent him away. I had finally gotten back in touch with him when I formed my X-Men. When he came I was surprised to see he only looked like he was in high school when he was a tad bit older than that. Since he had developed no other powers at this time I sent him to Moira. Now, he can command spirits and some kind of soul power he invokes with a touch.
"With great desperation I gave these Secret X-Men one of my personal jets and sent them to their death. As their jet touched down I reached my mind out to them to follow their moves. I couldn't talk to them or help them in any way. It took all my power to defy Krakoa enough just to be with them watching. As powerful and trained as they were, Krakoa took them out in no time.
"It pained me that there was nothing I could do. The minute they stepped foot off he jet rock like creatures attacked them. They were lucky with the first wave. Kid Vulcan hit them with electrical energy blasts; Sway slowed their movements, while Petra pushed them back into the ground. They had soon made it to a clearing where Sway pulled up a phantom vision of the past to see what happened and where the X-Men had been taken.
"They soon found Cyclops, which made me happy to sense him again. They got him free from his tree prison and used Sway's powers to find the path to the others. They soon came upon the X-Men's jet and Petra rose up barriers to protect them for the time being. To their surprise, the island was starting to drain their powers. They feared they would be powerless like Cyclops and debated about getting him off the island and returning for the others.
"According to Scott and Sway they knew the others were not too far and they made Scott stay behind with the jet and fly it above the island to radio me while the Secret Mutants quickly moved to get the others before their powers drained completely. That proved to be fatal for the Krakoa had learned and was waiting for them. It lashed out with great anger and took them out fast in a giant earth-like monster form.
"Sway tried to slow the creature but one swat tore her chest open as it did to Océana with its other claw. I felt the pain as the two mutants had gone down. Kid Vulcan and Petra pushed their powers to try and tear the creature apart. Krakoa had been hurt and mustered all its energy and sent a fiery incinerating blast at them all. I still can hear their screams in my mind as they died.
"Scott made it back and is devastated. He is not coping with the fact he watched a group of fellow students die along with his brother. This kind of travesty could ruin my school and what I could do with it to help mutant and human kind, so I did something I never thought I would do. I used my powers to alter Scott's memories so he would never remember what happened at the island.
"I made it so Scott would believe he escaped the island and had just gotten here needing help to save his friends. As for the Secret Mutants and his brother Gabriel, I erased them from his mind. He would never know they existed or that he had a brother who died saving him. I didn't stop there, by the time I was finished Moira and I were the only ones who would ever know these six had existed. They died and I made them cease to have ever existed. No one, even their families would ever recall that they had been born.
"Moira is furious with me. I should erase her memories, but as always she is the one person I can't being myself to do that too, plus I still need her. I have to send in another team and demanded Moira give me the names of the others she had discovered from the list. It took some debating but she finally caved in knowing that we could still save the others and not let her kids have died in vain. With this list, I will now quickly recruit a second wave of X-Men," the computer reported.
"I can't believe this Charles did that. I know he thought us dead but to erase our lives like we have no meaning. It horrifies me," Kid Vulcan said gritting his teeth.
"As much as I've always respected Charles, I'm not sure I can stomach the man after that," Polaris said.
"I know, to think what he put Moira through. No wonder she held such hidden anger for the man," Sean said.
"We're not done yet folks," Sage said.
"Yes, what you're about to see was pulled from the jet's recording. It shows how you all survived and ended up here," Forge said as he instructed the computer to continue playing.
"Darwin Log: Ship's recording: I've made it back to the jet with the others. It's a miracle we all survived and I still can't believe we did it. Just as the islands breath went to kill us my powers shifted to protect me from the blast. Kid tried to warp the energy but it was Petra opening the ground below us that saved us. As we hit the ground below Petra sealed the opening up top.
"Everyone was badly injured and all near death. They all would have died if it were not for Spirit. He used his powers to command their spirits to remain in their bodies. This would keep them alive for now till we found a way out of here. Knowing how badly our injuries were Sway stopped time for everyone causing their bodies not to fade but it also masked us from the island itself making it think it had killed us.
"I don't know how long I'd been passed out but thanks to my powers I was soon able to move freely and became strong enough to tie roots around my friends and drag them back to the ship. I don't know how much time had passed but soon I managed to get us all back to our ship. I've placed them all into the med tubs in the back of the jet and hope they are enough to heal their wounds enough till I get us home.
"Darwin Log: Ship's recording: I'm back after power being cut off. Something's happening to the island, it appears as if the island is being blasted off into space. The ship is badly damaged but I've managed to get off the island and trying to pulls us free from its pull and head back into Earth's atmosphere. We've not gotten this far only to die again.
"Something seems to be happening. The island has exploded and created some kind of wormhole. I'm trying to keep clear but the strain is tearing the ship apart. I fear I may end up failing my friends. I can't break free! The wormhole is pulling us in!!" The computer reported.
"That's were the transmission ends," Sage said.
"That must have been the point where we got sucked in and ended up in this area of space waking up with no memories," Petra said.
"I'm kind of glad to finally know who I am and where I came from, even if it was my brother who did those things," Spirit said hating a man he wished he remembered.
"Guess everyone has a dark side," Dominic laughed.
"It appears so. Seems Frost wasn't the first person to kill her students. Only difference is, she didn't try to cover it up," Mystique smirked at Forge.
"For once, I'm finding hard to defend the man," Forge whispered looking away from Raven.
"It's almost like watching a movie. I can't believe all that had happened to us," Sway said.
"So did those X-Men ever get rescued or did they die with the island?" Océana asked.
"Yes, they survived and I was part of the rescue team," Sean said.
"The last of the data we have talks about that mission and you're recruitment," Sage said.
"No point in seeing that, we all pretty much know how that turned out," Polaris said.
"Actually, you might want to see this, especially you Sean. There's a little more to you're recruitment then you realize," Forge said.
"I think everyone should finish seeing this," Sage said.
"I agree, plus I'm interested in what this list is that Xavier seems to be referring to," Mystique said bringing up a point they hadn't paid attention to.
"Computer, play Second Genesis," Forge commanded.
Epilogue
Unknown Hidden Base – The Horsemen
Ozymandias paced back and forth. He wasn't sure he could go through with what he was asked to do. For as long has he has served and prayed for release from Apocalypse, the thought of freedom did scare him. The Horsemen of Apocalypse were all but one away from being complete. His master was working on the final horseman now. He was totally distracted.
This would be the time to act. He was torn on what to do. If he refused to do it, he would face His wraith but if he did do it he would face Apocalypse's wraith. Either way, he could lose even though each master had guaranteed him great power. Only difference, the other promised him freedom. Could he betray his long time master? He always preached survival of the fittest. This would be an ultimate test and honorable battle for Apocalypse.
"I'll do it," Ozymandias said as he grabbed the devises he had been given and went to plant them in the base and in specific areas outside. Hopefully he wouldn't get burned like the others in the coming Storm.
First: Read Mutant Generation Force Issue #12 for Xavier's Secret – Part Two
Next: Be back here for issue #12 – "Choices"
NOTE: The Storm is Coming. See my profile for more details.
