Of Mutants and Monsters:
In the world of Remnant there exist a special kind of human, people who are born with inexplicable powers over the world around them. However, despite their inherent abilities, they are so few in number that the world as has almost unanimously cast them out to the edges of the 4 corners of the planet. There were some, for a time, who wished to harness this power for their own ends, for mutants these people commonly were known as villains and only further increased tensions between the two races. But for one man, the world is simply as shitty as it has always been. Being a mutant doesn't make a difference, life still finds a way to screw you over...
0-0-0-0
Empty beer cans littered the floor around the coffee table, the drab apartment cloaked in darkness as the sole occupant lazily flicked through the channels on his day off. Oh how he wished he could enjoy it, but all that happened to be on the TV was the ongoing, and heated, debate about the new mutant bill that was supposed to be passed by the Vale congress. Jaune DeMarco -nee Arc- grimaced as he switched to a news station conducting an interview with the world's foremost "mutantologist" Dr. Richard Pierce.
"So, Doctor," the lavender haired newswoman asked. "Can you take us back to the roots of your mutant study? What are some of the facts the common person should know about this bill?"
The good doctor fixed his tie and leaned his head forward. "Well my dear, it is important to note that despite a population of 2 billion on Remnant, only about .02%, or rather, 400,000 have the unique genetic code for the mutant "X-gene" as it has been called. Among these 400,000, there only exists around 178,000 who have tapped into their potential powers."
"And why is that doctor?" Lisa Lavender asked politely.
"Well," the Dr. Pierce began, rubbing his shiny head. "From what we have gathered, there needs to be a sufficient adrenal shock or something close to it to awaken these dormant powers. So while 400,000 people possess the necessary genes for mutant abilities, most go through life without experiencing a sufficient shock that could awaken their powers."
"Isn't that what Doctor Markel attempted to recreate 7 years ago?" the anchorwoman questioned.
Dr. Pierce suddenly got very quiet, nervously fiddling with himself before clearing his throat. "Yes, that... detestable woman did attempt to take a batch of unawakened mutants and try to artificially awaken their powers through the use of her "experiments". Luckily, she was caught and her program was shut down before she could do any lasting damage to the population."
"And what would you say was the motive behind-"
The doctor cut her off, face bright red. "Please Ms. Lavender, we're here to talk about the bill not Markel so let's try and stay on topic."
The interview devolved into the usual slew of legal jargon and political garbage that Jaune had already been subjected to numerous times before. He flicked the channel with a grimace that grew wider as the next channel displayed, what Jaune thought, was the most punchable face in human history. On the screen, a skinny, dark skinned man sat dressed in an expensive suit as he spoke with the several hosts of Channel 7's "Real Talk" segment of news.
"Ok folks now here to talk to us about the new "Mutant Bill" is Reverend Thomas Jacobson. Reverend Jacobson-?" the stunning host introduced before passing the conversation to the man in question.
"Good to be here Hank, and yes I have come on here today to talk to you about the importance of this bill. As many of you know I am the head chairman of the Association of Citizens Concerns on Mutants, or the ACCM for short, and let me tell you about this bill." the distinguished "Reverend" began, staring intensely into the camera. "The fact of the matter is that these mutants are an inexhaustible threat to our society, in the past 40 years mutant-related terror attacks have been proven to be the deadliest terrorist attacks in human history. There is virtually no accountability or safeguards against the mutant threat, and furthermore the government has no way of cataloging or identifying Vale's mutant population."
If there was one person on Remnant that Jaune would not mind taking a swing at, it was this massive dickhead. Reverend Jacobson was, at some point, a reverend in a middle-of-nowhere town that had some very strong opinions on the growing mutant population. He called their powers "demonic" and nearly incited a riot at the Anti-Mutant rally in San Plaza last year. But it was only when he earned some major clout as the new chairman of the ACCM that he became a really big thorn in the mutant community's side, his lobbying is what go the bill into congress to begin with and by this point his organization was the forefront of the anti-mutant movement.
What made it even better was that there was almost no opposition, any pro-mutant groups were either bullied in disbandment or else thrown aside in every major news outlet around the world. There wasn't so much as a single "pro-mutant" senator in the entirety of congress, only ones who were lukewarm on the issue and considered it to be not their problem.
Just then, the shriek of his landline alerted the slightly intoxicated Jaune that someone was bothering to call him. Stumbling over he picked it up and answered with a sigh, rubbing his temple wearily.
"Hello?" he mumbled.
"Jaune? It's me, Harley dude!" the voice on the other end sounded frantic. "Are you watching this right now? They might as well be calling for our blood! If this law gets passed and it gets out that we're mutants, we'll need to flee the country or something!"
"Relax Harley, we're going to be fine." Jaune didn't sound to sure or even very interested in that statement if his tone was anything to go by.
"You don't sound too sure about this dude." Harley claimed from the other end of the line causing Jaune to sigh again.
"I-I know Harley, look I'm a little buzzed, I'm tired of this stupid shit, and I don't see a way out. What do you want me to say?" Jaune asked, voice dejected and devoid of much in the way of hope.
"I- What do we do? Should we leave? I heard that guy -Adam, you know the one, has been recruiting mutants and trying to build a safe haven or something. Maybe we could try and get in contact with him?" Harley asked, voice crackling with static, a sure sign his powers were going haywire.
"Go ahead Harley, honestly I'm too tired to try and leave. If they want my head let 'em come, you'll see me on the news soon enough I suppose." Jaune answered bleakly, rubbing his face with his hand.
"I-I can't just leave you here bro, not after all the shit we went through in that hellhole. I refuse." Harley argued back, his electricity no doubt wavering under his emotions. "Look, why can't we just pack our shit and get out of here? Not like anyone will come after us, you know? Who cares about two mutants anyway?"
"Look... Harley... I'll call you back." Jaune ended the conversation, to exhausted to try and talk things out anymore.
Yes, exhausted was a good word for it. After all the beatings and torture, after being forced to unlock his power and then be vilified for something out of his control, after being sold off by his family to make ends meet he was exhausted of it all. If the hungry mob wanted to come and string him up after that damned bill was signed, let them come he'd be waiting with an arsenal unlike they had ever seen.
Flicking the TV on he turned to yet another news station idly wondering how ironic that there were so many news station that didn't display actual news. This one was different however, instead of footage of the anti-mutant protests or some president of some anti-mutant organization there was a fast strikingly familiar to him. His sharply angled face and bright red hair would give him away anywhere: Adam Belladonna, nee Taurus, leader of the New Expansion. A group of pro-mutant supporters and mutants themselves vying for inalienable rights.
"Earlier today Adam Belladonna, leader of the New Expansion group, made a statement about the upcoming mutant bill to be passed today in congress." an offscreen voice said, the footage of the mutant ringleader gaining sound.
"Brothers, sisters!" he began, throwing his arms wide. "Today Vale, and the world by extension, is at a crossroads of the future for both humans and mutants. The decisions made today will inevitably change the course of this organization henceforth. And while I wish I was secure in the knowledge that our peaceful group will stay that as we join hands with the rest of humankind in creating a golden age, I have doubt in my heart. Let it be known that the New Expansion will defend its rights and the rights of its people so long as even one of us stands, make no mistake, we are willing to go to extreme measures to let our voices be heard."
The audio faded out as the narration came back, the camera changing to an interview between two people; an anchorman and a "leading mutantologist".
"Mr. Brock, what would you say this statement conveys?" the handsome anchor asked.
"Well Steve I think it's obvious to you and to everyone. Ugh, Adam Belladonna is completely willing to get violent for all his talk of peace and "golden ages". If this bill gets signed I think there will be some serious concern for the average about how the mutant community will react. I would say to expect some serious backlash and I know that's got a lot of the government on edge."
As much as Jaune hated to admit it, the man had an excellent point. Despite the commotion brought about by today there was an overlying ominous silence to it, everyone waiting for congress to just say it. Just say that the bill had been signed- and then, then all hell would break loose. Jaune himself wasn't super worried over what the government might try and do to him. Even if he didn't buy into preemptively striking humanity for his own safety, he had no fear that any normal human and their normal human weapons could overpower him.
With another mind-rending sigh, Jaune thought back to Adam and how things were before they all got free from that camp. Whispered warnings that his therapist gave him were shooed away as Jaune remembered the long nights, and days, of that horrid place...
0-0-0-0
San Martino Air Force Base, 5 years ago...
Even in the night the screams still laced the air, pained moans and suffering cries ebbing up from within the bowels of the otherwise pristine cell block the young kids sat in. They ranged from as young as 11 to almost 18, a single pale-haired boy of 15 huddled in the corner of his cell, the bulletproof glass window giving him a clear view to the red haired kid across from him.
They were all told that they were going to advance humanity, that they would be the next stepping stone in protecting Vale from foreign threats. What an absolute load of bullshit, they were there to be tortured plain and simple. Every time he sat through that speech and saw the reassured faces of those young kids a piece of him died away, knowing it would only be perhaps an hour before their first "operation".
Perhaps he was tired from the day, I mean, how could he not be? 7 straight hours of torture doesn't work wonders for the body, even if Dr. Markel and her abomination of a mutation kept him in good physical shape.
"I can't believe this bullshit..." the red haired kid muttered from across him, the air stiflingly quiet. "All because of some stupid fucking genes..."
"Shut up," Jaune said, despite the hypocrisy of his own words. "You know they always go after the talkers first."
"Whatever, not like they can do much more to me now..." the kid said, pulling his knees close. "Not that it matters but... Adam."
It was a long time before Jaune had the guts to respond. "Your name?"
"Aye."
The two sat in silence, not wanting to push their luck any further. It would 7 more months before they were free, before the event known as "Trigger Day" happened and their mutations simultaneously activated...
0-0-0-0
She's still out there... A traitorous part of his mind reminded him, not that it was wrong though. Dr. Angela Markel, the San Martino Butcher sometimes called The Angel of Death. Officially she was somewhere in a undisclosed cell rotting away, forgotten by the rest of the world, and while Jaune liked that idea, he knew better than to trust the government. Someone of that caliber and that much of an expert of mutants being tossed aside? Not fucking likely.
Even so, his mind getting back on track, maybe Harley had a point. Maybe it was time to skip town and go to the place he was actually wanted, he had kept his mutagenic secret hidden away for years, never letting anyone he knew get close enough to find out. But even so, he had grown tired of pretending to be something he wasn't, tired of pretending any amount of force was actually enough to hurt him.
Last year he had gotten so close to being found out when that car back into him, he had to damn near run out of the hospital before the doctors found nary a scratch on his body. If they found out about his mutant abilities, he'd never be able to return there without fear of being killed in a drug-induced sleep right on the operating table. Shaking his head of those thoughts, Jaune quickly dialed a number and let it ring once... twice... thrice-
"Hello?" a prim voice asked. "You've reached The New Expansion hotline, if you're calling about the Mutant Bill or you would like to make a donation-"
"I need to speak with Adam Beladonna, please." Jaune asked, the voice going silent for a moment before humming.
"I'm afraid Mr. Belladonna is not taking calls at this time-"
"Tell him it's from Jaune, and I wanted to talk about joining up." the voice was silent for a moment before giving in and patching him through...
"-Jaune? My secretary told me it was you but I never thought..." Adam trailed off, an old habit of his.
"Yeah T, it's me. I was wondering if you're still accepting people for that little mutant colony of yours?" Jaune asked, involuntarily crossing his fingers.
"For you? Sure, if you can get a ticket to Patch consider yourself as good as gone buddy." Adam replied lightly, no doubt fiddling with a playing card like old times. "I actually just got an app from Harley, can you believe that?"
"Yeah, he called me earlier about getting out while the going's getting good. I assume you let him in?" Jaune asked, packing up some essentials for his trip.
Adam gave an offended scoff. "Of course my old friend, you didn't think I'd leave anyone from the camp out to dry would you? In fact, everyone who's still alive is here, save for you of course, and Harley but..."
"Yeah don't worry, I'm packing up now. You said Patch right? I'll get in at San Jose Airport I'll need someone to pick me up." Jaune commented lightly, filling his suitcase with his toothbrush and money he kept around. "Ooooor, you could have Blake just 'port me there."
Adam laughed lightly. "Oh gods Jaune, you know what she'd do to me if I made her send a portal all the way to Northern Vale? She'd gut me."
"Assuming she hasn't already, being married with you, I imagine you'll be just fine." Jaune chuckled, cracking into a smile in what felt like weeks. "Look I get it, I got things to do and bosses to tell I quit, I'll keep you on speed dial in case things get bad. Ok?"
"Ok, can't wait to see you here. We'll get some drinks." Adam promised before saying his goodbyes and hanging up.
Getting out of the country was a little harder, the only flight leaving today was at 9 PM and was over 900 lien! Despite the pain of clicking "I accept" Jaune was at least comforted by the fact he'd get to tell his smug prick, mutant-hating boss he could go fuck himself in his fat fucking ass. Not wanting to delay that golden hour he quickly rang his boss and was greeted by his grumpy and gruff voice.
"Jaune? The hell are you calling me for? You're not due 'til tomorrow ya idjit." his boss politely reminded him.
"Yeah, about that, well you see I'm actually quitting that shithole you call a gas station and I can honestly say with the utmost pride and sincerity: Go fuck yourself you fat fucking pig." and with that, he hung up feeling a little bit more free for once.
Later that day...
Jaune couldn't say he was really surprised, the mutant bill was, of course, going to pass but seeing it pass was still something to behold. Even in his shitty apartment he could hear the raucous crowd of regular humans chanting and shouting their victory. Normally Jaune would have been pissed, but instead he had a flight to catch. Running outside with his bags he quickly began to flag down a taxi before he felt someone strong grip his shoulder.
"Lots of bags there kid, you going somewhere?" an obviously inebriated man asked him, the stench of alcohol soaked into his stubble.
"I got business I need to be getting to sir, have a good day." Jaune politely answered, shaking off his hand and turning to leave. It wasn't two steps before the man grabbed a handful of his shirt this time.
"Business? Or maybe you're some mutant freak trying to get out?" the drunken man asked with predatory snarl.
Jaune felt a pang of fear and knew in that instance it passed onto his face. For the man's expression turned into feral victory as he howled out that there was a mutant over here, and even in the roaring of the crowd the people around him heard it clear as day.
Fuck me this isn't good, what do I do? Jaune asked himself frantically, there was no way he'd make it to his flight now. He needed to get back to his apartment and have Blake port him to Glenn Haven.
"Fucking mute!"
"Kill him!"
"String him up!"
"Abomination!"
Were just a few of the phrases being tossed around him as the crowd converged. Metal objects, rocks, and even their own fists being prepared to be made into weapons. Despite this obvious disadvantage, Jaune didn't feel scared of the people around him -no, he'd fight off this entire crowd with ease especially with them using blunt tools like that. But instead it was a fear of finally being found out, of no doubt having his face plastered around the city as people would inevitably go hunting for him. Everyone would know his secret, everyone would know why "Weird Jaune" was so weird.
"Sir, I'm asking you nicely to let go. If you don't I'll need to defend myself."
"You hear that boys?!" the drunken man roared to the crowd encircling them. "He says he's gonna "defend" himself if we don't back off. Let's show him how tough he really is!"
The crowd surged forth and Jaune pressed his hand against the man's chest before flinging him across the street with practiced ease. A portion of the mob hesitated at the show of strength, while other (more intoxicated) ran forward to attack. A middle-aged man wielding a baseball bat brought it down onto Jaune's head, expecting the young mutant to simply crumple to the ground.
Instead the bat connected and Jaune's head jerked down, and yet the man did not so much as wobble. Instead, the blonde man looked up with almost disappointment in his eyes before pressing his fingertips onto the man's chest. There was almost a ripple of force down his arm before it connected with the attacking man and sent him flying will all the force of car across the street and into a nearby shop.
This time, the crowd hesitated in its entirety. Many no longer quite so brave at the prospect of facing down a mutant, but to their credit they may have had a chance had it not been Jaune they were fighting. You see, Jaune's mutant ability placed him in a much higher caliber in the mutant food chain, he was what was commonly referred to as an "Alpha" mutant. A mutant with abilities far exceeding most normal mutants, and a potentially country-destabilizing threat to Vale.
Jaune had the ability to absorb and release and type of energy projected at him, from electrical to kinetic, he could absorb it with his nigh-infinite reserves. He could use it to keep himself young, rested, strong, fast, and durable all at once. The energy never dissipated so any force applied to him would be saved until he used it later on in the future.
"Fuck me, the monster's tougher than he looks." he heard one man comment frantically to his companion.
At his words the crowd took a step back almost in tandem. Deciding to end this without too much bloodshed, Jaune raised his foot ominously above the concrete, pausing to let the fear soak in to the crowd around him before bringing it down. The effect was immediate, the road around him buckling under the force of the stomp as a shockwave of epic proportions threw the gathered crowd.
The rest of the mob, now noticing the fight seemed to form something akin to battle lines as they tried to surround him. He could see police and riot squads advancing from behind the crowd to capture him. Deciding it was time to switch to plan B, Jaune leaped into the air and landed on the balcony of his apartment, awing the spectators below and most likely feeding a media frenzy.
He dialed the number as quick as possible and it picked up on the second ring.
"Jaune-?" Adam began only to be cut off.
"Adam! Look there's a mob outside that knows I'm a mutant, I need you to get me out of here now!" Jaune shouted to him, lifting him coach and placing it against the front door of his apartment.
"Jesus- Jaune, where are you right now?" Adam asked, the sound of shuffling papers and muffled shouting coming from the other end.
"In my apartment, just have her open a portal in the living room." Jaune answered, hearing his friend shout for his wife to open a portal.
It was nary 30 seconds later before A) the door began to buckle and shake as a vicious assault poured in from the other side and B) a swirling black and purple mass appeared in his living room. Deciding to go with option B Jaune jumped through it to find he was now in a comfortable looking office surrounded by guards and two familiar faces.
The portal closed behind him as Blake Belladonna nearly collapsed under the weight of the fatigue placed on her. Her husband intercepted before that could happen and soon the three sat in the lobby of the New Expansion Headquarters, Blake lying on a sofa as her husband stroked her hair.
"Thanks Adam, I didn't mean to tire Blake out like that." Jaune began only to be stopped.
"Don't worry about it, she was adamant about getting you out of there." Adam murmured before devolving into a silence.
"Jesus, when did this all get so fucked up?" Jaune asked, mostly to himself. "How can these people really be trying to exterminate us?"
"Fear Jaune, fear is what it is. They fear us because we're better than them, because we could rule the planet and have them beneath us they fear that idea so much that they'd rather kill us all instead." Adam answered, still stroking his wife's hair. "People fear what they don't understand."
"...Aye, well, I think we've all earned a long rest." Jaune commented, running a hand through his hair.
"Yes, I'll have someone escort you to your room." Adam told him getting up and facing his old friend again. "Welcome to Glenn Haven, the first Safe Haven for mutants..."