Alex stood in the center of a near-empty street, looking down the road at a deserted city. Where hundreds once lived, there was now no one. The people who had resided here did not even bother to take their cars when they had left. What happened here? he wondered. He removed his new leather jacket, jeans and boots. There's no sense in melting another set of clothes, he thought as he let his cowl fall to the ground. Placing his belongings by his motorcycle, Alex "Havok" Summers walked down the pavement to get a better look at the town.
Several days had passed since leaving the Xavier Institute, and Havok was now in the Arizona desert. Trees were a sight that had vanished some time ago, and the eighteen year-old deeply missed them. Another thing he missed was the presence of people. Being on the road for so long was rather lonely, so the absence of any citizens bothered him more than it otherwise might. After some further investigation, he found a single occupied building – which happened to be a pub. He stepped inside, catching the attention of everyone within.
There were six of them, four men and two women. All were in peak physical shape, and wore identical uniforms (blue with scattered, orange patterns. One of them spoke to Alex. "Hey, pretty boy!" Havok glanced at the man who had spoken; not particularly dangerous look. "How'd you make it this far? Why don't you get out of town while we're in a sporting mood?"
Alex was unused to hearing threats, but it didn't bother him. "You're responsible for what happened to this town?" he asked, gathering the strength his voice portrayed. "What did you do to scare everyone away? Come in with an army of guns?"
The man who had spoken looked at him with disbelief. "Did you hear me, boy?" He must not have been accustomed to being defied. "You had your chance; that cheesy jumpsuit ain't gonna save you from us. Time to die." He raised his hand; an energy beam lanced out.
Alex felt like a car had struck him. He was thrown outside through the closed door, and well into the street. Thankfully, the suit did protect him, and absorbed some of the damage. Havok got to his feet, and returned to the bar entrance. This time, white rings, originating in his abdomen, were flowing through the suit. He released some the cosmic energy, a stream of plasma heading towards the man who had shot him. The man immediately fell unconscious. "The name's Havok, not 'boy'." When three others tried to get up to fight him, they were soon knocked unconscious by another blast of plasma. "Anyone else want to take a crack at me?" No one answered. "Good."
He looked at the two remaining conscious people, the two women. "Do either of you know where all the people are?" They stared back at him silently, afraid to move. "Who are you people? What's your allegiance?" There were still no answers. "All right, have it your way," he said in resignation. "Maybe the state police will know what to do with you." Havok smiled and shrugged before sending plasma their way. After they both hit the ground, he found a payphone and dialed 911.
… … …
By the time the state troopers arrived, he was back in his jeans and leather jacket. Because of his age, one of the officers suggested he go through college and join law enforcement. "I appreciate the offer, but I'll have to decline. Y'know, I really don't want to know what happened here. There was a group of mutants here that thought they were gods, and they deserve whatever they get." Alex glanced to the side, and saw the criminals being loaded into an armored van. "I'd like to avoid being around criminals for as long as possible, so howsabout you let me go and pretend we never saw each other."
The man laughed, despite rumors of police officers not having a sense of humor. "So you don't like courts, son?" Ordinarily, Alex would be required to give a statement and testify against the mutants. "All right, you can leave." The blond-haired teenager began to walk away, but turned when the officer called out. "You could also be a real hero! Like Captain America. Any idea what you're going to do in life?"
Alex nodded. "Pretty good idea. I'm off to Never-Never Land." The officer smirked. "Southern California. So long." He heard "good luck" as he mounted his 'cycle and drove off.
… … …
Alex woke up with morning sun in his eyes, reflected off the engine on his motorcycle. Well, it could happen, he thought, remembering the dream. A car roared by, the noise causing him to look around. He was on the side of the road, having slept in the sand alongside his ride. His black jumpsuit was the only thing he had on. My wallet was in my jacket pocket after all, he thought while snorting a laugh.
There was some truth in his dream. He was in the desert, and was heading towards southern California. The name of the university eluded him as he prepared for the rest of his trip.
