X-Claimer: I do not own any of the characters normally associated with X-
Men: Evolution.
In a foggy mountain valley, an ancient castle stood, erected as if to serve as a solitary sentinel against some foreign invader. Lightning flashed through the sky, making its tall parapets gleam against the black sky. Rain poured down on its roof, the noise echoing throughout the castle's hallways. Up in the keep, two figures were engaged in a terse conversation.
"Are you certain you wish to go through with this?" asked the shorter figure, a wizened old man.
"We have no choice at this point. The threat we face is too great," said the second man, the taller of the two. His deep voice filled the room with a menacing echo.
"You do know that this procedure is irreversible," said the first man.
"I am aware of it, Mindbender," said the taller man.
"Then you can understand, Magneto, why we must test it first. If it does not go exactly as planned, it could kill you, and there would be nothing to stop Apocalypse from destroying the world!" said Mindbender.
Magneto furrowed his brow. When it came to dealing with the threat posed by Apocalypse, he was unwilling to wait for anything. But he recalled how his impatience had caused him to make a grave error back in England. He had been deceived into destroying the second key of Apocalypse's temple, not realizing that the giant spider was actually created to protect against the ancient mutant. He realized that he could not afford a similar mistake, and gave into reason.
"Very well, Mindbender, we will wait. How do you recommend we test this?" he asked.
"I have just the person in mind," said the older mutant, and held up an electronic display pad. It showed a picture of a young woman in her early 20's.
"This will be our test subject," he said. "According to the information we've gathered on her, she does possess the X-gene. That should make her more receptive to the procedure,"
"If she has the X-gene, why haven't we found out about her before? Or Xavier, for that matter?"
"Her gene appears to be recessive. It is likely that she will never manifest any kind of mutant powers," replied Mindbender.
"Very well. Make the arrangements to have her brought here immediately," said Magneto.
"Of course," said Mindbender, and left the room.
Magneto gazed out the window of the castle keep, staring directly into the heart of the thunderstorm. As it raged outside, he felt his anger grow inside of him. He imagined seeing Apocalypse's face against the storm, as if the storm was sending him a message that the world's most dangerous mutant would soon arrive, and there was nothing that could stop it.
"We'll see about that," Magneto growled, clenching his fists. "When this procedure is successful, I will be the most powerful mutant the world has ever seen, and humanity will bow to me, not to you!"
X
On the other side of the world, the weather and the mood was much different as Electra Barrows walked across the campus of her college. She was a week away from graduating with her master's degree in electro-physics. She had spent the last several days nervously preparing for her finals, but now that they were over she was looking forward to unwinding with her friends. They had already made plans for a big party to celebrate the end of their college days. Now as she strolled through campus, she could feel a whole new world opening up to her.
Inside an unmarked van, two men watched a monitor intently. They were observing Electra secretly. One of them, who was kneeling down to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling, growled as he recognized the face on the screen.
"Patience, mon ami," said the second man. His voice had a thick Cajun accent. "She'll come to us soon enough,"
Electra decided to catch a cab into town to pick up a few things for the evening. After a 15 minute cab ride, she was walking through the streets of town. The van barely registered in her memory as she walked past it.
A few moments later, the doors on the back of the van opened up and the two men emerged. The taller of the two stretched out to his full height of over 8 feet to relieve his cramped legs. They began to follow after her discreetly.
Electra navigated through the throngs of people on the sidewalks, unaware of the two men that were trailing her. She made it through the congestion, and as she waited at a corner for the traffic light to change, she felt herself roughly grabbed from behind and pulled backwards. A massive hand gripped her face and prevented her from screaming for help as she was dragged into an alley.
Electra struggled against her assailant but was unable to break free. She lashed out with her foot and felt it connect. She heard a groan and felt the arms gripping her loosen. She tried to run but a massive figure appeared, blocking the entrance to the alley. The man let out a bestial snarl, frightening Electra. She staggered backward and tripped, falling to the ground.
She saw the man who she had just kicked standing over her. He had a scruffy face and very strange looking eyes. They were all black, with only the red pupils showing any kind of color. He leaned down close to her.
"Please, don't kill me!" Electra begged, sobbing. "What do you want?"
"Relax, mon cher," said the man. "We're not going to kill you. You're much more valuable to us alive,"
The giant man was now at his side. "Our employer is very eager to meet you," he snarled.
Electra tried desperately to scramble to her feet, but the first man had pulled out an aerosol can and sprayed its contents into her face. She was quickly overcome by the gas and passed out.
"Pick her up and let's get out of here," said Gambit. Sabertooth ran his tongue over his pointed teeth and scooped up Electra's prone body, and they walked out of the alley.
Inside the van, Gambit picked up a secure phone and made a call. Shortly, Magneto's helmeted visage appeared on the screen.
"She's on her way," Gambit said.
"Were you seen?" Magneto asked.
"Not at all,"
"Excellent," Magneto said, and the screen went black.
Gambit went to the front of the van and started the engine as Sabertooth resumed his cramped position in the back of the van. He hoped traffic wouldn't be too bad on the way to the airport.
X
In a foggy mountain valley, an ancient castle stood, erected as if to serve as a solitary sentinel against some foreign invader. Lightning flashed through the sky, making its tall parapets gleam against the black sky. Rain poured down on its roof, the noise echoing throughout the castle's hallways. Up in the keep, two figures were engaged in a terse conversation.
"Are you certain you wish to go through with this?" asked the shorter figure, a wizened old man.
"We have no choice at this point. The threat we face is too great," said the second man, the taller of the two. His deep voice filled the room with a menacing echo.
"You do know that this procedure is irreversible," said the first man.
"I am aware of it, Mindbender," said the taller man.
"Then you can understand, Magneto, why we must test it first. If it does not go exactly as planned, it could kill you, and there would be nothing to stop Apocalypse from destroying the world!" said Mindbender.
Magneto furrowed his brow. When it came to dealing with the threat posed by Apocalypse, he was unwilling to wait for anything. But he recalled how his impatience had caused him to make a grave error back in England. He had been deceived into destroying the second key of Apocalypse's temple, not realizing that the giant spider was actually created to protect against the ancient mutant. He realized that he could not afford a similar mistake, and gave into reason.
"Very well, Mindbender, we will wait. How do you recommend we test this?" he asked.
"I have just the person in mind," said the older mutant, and held up an electronic display pad. It showed a picture of a young woman in her early 20's.
"This will be our test subject," he said. "According to the information we've gathered on her, she does possess the X-gene. That should make her more receptive to the procedure,"
"If she has the X-gene, why haven't we found out about her before? Or Xavier, for that matter?"
"Her gene appears to be recessive. It is likely that she will never manifest any kind of mutant powers," replied Mindbender.
"Very well. Make the arrangements to have her brought here immediately," said Magneto.
"Of course," said Mindbender, and left the room.
Magneto gazed out the window of the castle keep, staring directly into the heart of the thunderstorm. As it raged outside, he felt his anger grow inside of him. He imagined seeing Apocalypse's face against the storm, as if the storm was sending him a message that the world's most dangerous mutant would soon arrive, and there was nothing that could stop it.
"We'll see about that," Magneto growled, clenching his fists. "When this procedure is successful, I will be the most powerful mutant the world has ever seen, and humanity will bow to me, not to you!"
X
On the other side of the world, the weather and the mood was much different as Electra Barrows walked across the campus of her college. She was a week away from graduating with her master's degree in electro-physics. She had spent the last several days nervously preparing for her finals, but now that they were over she was looking forward to unwinding with her friends. They had already made plans for a big party to celebrate the end of their college days. Now as she strolled through campus, she could feel a whole new world opening up to her.
Inside an unmarked van, two men watched a monitor intently. They were observing Electra secretly. One of them, who was kneeling down to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling, growled as he recognized the face on the screen.
"Patience, mon ami," said the second man. His voice had a thick Cajun accent. "She'll come to us soon enough,"
Electra decided to catch a cab into town to pick up a few things for the evening. After a 15 minute cab ride, she was walking through the streets of town. The van barely registered in her memory as she walked past it.
A few moments later, the doors on the back of the van opened up and the two men emerged. The taller of the two stretched out to his full height of over 8 feet to relieve his cramped legs. They began to follow after her discreetly.
Electra navigated through the throngs of people on the sidewalks, unaware of the two men that were trailing her. She made it through the congestion, and as she waited at a corner for the traffic light to change, she felt herself roughly grabbed from behind and pulled backwards. A massive hand gripped her face and prevented her from screaming for help as she was dragged into an alley.
Electra struggled against her assailant but was unable to break free. She lashed out with her foot and felt it connect. She heard a groan and felt the arms gripping her loosen. She tried to run but a massive figure appeared, blocking the entrance to the alley. The man let out a bestial snarl, frightening Electra. She staggered backward and tripped, falling to the ground.
She saw the man who she had just kicked standing over her. He had a scruffy face and very strange looking eyes. They were all black, with only the red pupils showing any kind of color. He leaned down close to her.
"Please, don't kill me!" Electra begged, sobbing. "What do you want?"
"Relax, mon cher," said the man. "We're not going to kill you. You're much more valuable to us alive,"
The giant man was now at his side. "Our employer is very eager to meet you," he snarled.
Electra tried desperately to scramble to her feet, but the first man had pulled out an aerosol can and sprayed its contents into her face. She was quickly overcome by the gas and passed out.
"Pick her up and let's get out of here," said Gambit. Sabertooth ran his tongue over his pointed teeth and scooped up Electra's prone body, and they walked out of the alley.
Inside the van, Gambit picked up a secure phone and made a call. Shortly, Magneto's helmeted visage appeared on the screen.
"She's on her way," Gambit said.
"Were you seen?" Magneto asked.
"Not at all,"
"Excellent," Magneto said, and the screen went black.
Gambit went to the front of the van and started the engine as Sabertooth resumed his cramped position in the back of the van. He hoped traffic wouldn't be too bad on the way to the airport.
X