Summary: Issues #21-22 & Annual #2 - Humanity's Sanction. The X-Men's final showdown with Graydon Creed and the Friends of Humanity!

Notes: This was actually a part of the annual but I decided to separate them here, thought it would be good for there to be a break of sorts between the two.

Cast: Phoenix, Beast

Original Post Date: December 2001

Disclaimer: The X-Men belong to Marvel Comics and are used in this story solely for non-profit entertainment purposes.

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"Ten O'Clock News"
Humanity's Sanction Epilogue

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"Good evening, everyone, I'm John Wei, and welcome to UBC news at ten. Our top story tonight - anti-mutant terrorism in America. Just days ago, on the outskirts of Seattle, Washington, a gruesome battle between the outlaw mutant X-Men and the organization known as the Friends Of Humanity errupted, resulting in casualities on both sides and mass destruction that is estimated as spreading over nearly a square mile of land.

The events took place right outside of Seattle at an abandoned psychiatric hospital. Formerly the Weissman Institute For The Criminally Insane, the hospital was formed in the late 1890's, and was shut down in 1967 after losing its funding from the federal government. Details are sketchy at the present time, but authorities have confirmed that the Friends Of Humanity moved their operation into the building no less than eight months ago, and converted a mass portion of the building's interior into holding cells for mutants. Reports indicate that the Friends' operation was not sanctioned by any government agency, and all parties involved with the illegal kidnapping, abuse, and murder of the mutant captives could be facing sentences of life in prison.

However, the story gets deeper, darker, and more puzzling. Over the past month, reports of human-looking robots have been coming in all across the nation, and after the events in Seattle came to a close, authorities have been able to confirm that the reported entities are in fact Prime Sentinels, the machines once used by the defunct Operation: Zero Tolerance to hunt down and capture mutants. The Friends' use of OZT technology has led investigators to believe that there may have been a prior connection between the two organizations, dating all the way back to Graydon Creed's presidential campaign in 1996.

Speaking of the former presidential candidate, local police were shocked to find him among the many dead bodies sprewn about inside the building. In late 1996, Graydon Creed was assassinated on live national television while giving a campiagn speech, and the killer was believed to be a mutant. The coroner who examined the body at the scene determined that Creed had been dead for less than an hour, raising many questions about his supposed death five years ago. Mutant rights activists are out to prove that Creed in fact faked his own assassination as a means to strengthen anti-mutant sentiment and moved on to secretly work with the Friends Of Humanity, an organization he formed, behind the scenes.

Up until days ago, the nation was completely oblivious to the organization's operation, save for the outlaw mutant group known as the X-Men. The mutant team carried out an assault on the Friends Of Humanity headquarters which ended less than thirty minutes before local authorities arrived. Among the mutants was former Avenger and world-renowned geneticist Henry McCoy, who spoke on behalf of his fellow mutants to authorities and the press. Apparently, the X-Men learned of the Friends' activities through a sister organization that had been investigating the disappearance of mutants for the last several months. The X-Men and several of the freed mutant captives reportedly left the premises very soon after Seattle police arrived, and one eye witness claims the group took the body of a dead mutant, possibly one of their team members, with them.

Investigators are still sprawled all over the large crime scene, and have said it will take several more days to determine the approximate number of casualities. However, the estimate at this time is well over two-hundred, and some are afraid the death toll could reach as high as five-hundred once the bodies have all been collected. Mutants that did not leave the scene and that were gravely injured were rushed to Seattle hospitals for medical attention, close to three dozen total. And as for the Friends Of Humanity, about eleven members of the organization have been arrested so far, and Seattle police are busy looking for any fugitives that may have gotten away.

These events have caused an uproar across the nation, with anti-mutant sentiment dropping to an all-time low. Over the past two years, America's attitude towards mutants has slowly been changing - it started in late 1999 when the X-Men and the fugitive Thunderbolts collaborated to take down the super-human Masters Of Evil, who were responsible for the bombing of the Sears Tower in Chicago. The X-Men were also involved in stopping a few random bank robberies in Chicago, and responsible for negating the threat of mutant terrorist Magneto once again, also in 1999. Now, with the Legacy Virus cured just months ago - reportedly by mutants - and with the recent anti-mutant terrorism, the general public is feeling more sympathetic towards the genetically gifted.

Authorities will be investigating the Friends Of Humanity's entire operation for months to come, and don't see that investigation ending anytime in the near future. But there is no question that countless mutants have been the victims of prejudice that is almost comparable to the Nazi's treatment of the Jews back during World War Two. It is uncertain where we go from here, and what the long-term effects of this act of terrorism will be, but there is no doubt that the nation will have its eye on its mutant population for the time being. For even more reports on the recent mutant happenings, and to let us know what you think of all this, please log on to www.ubcnews.com.

And when we come back - Susan Miller has your five-day forecast..."

*CLICK*

Jean Grey sets the remote down next to her on the plush leather couch, sighing contently while still staring at the black television screen. On her other side sits her longtime friend Henry McCoy, in all his blue-furred glory; she turns to look at him and they lock eyes as Jean places her hand on top of his, and smiles warmly.

"Can you believe it?" Jean says. "Everything they just said... about us, about mutants... they're not scapegoating us, making us out to be the bad guys, like they always have. Even in the newspapers..."

"I know," Henry replies with a nod, "I've seen the headlines. It's been nothing short of amazing. But we still have a long way to go, Jean, I hope you realize that."

"I do, Hank, I do," Jean answers. She moves her gaze down to her right hand, locking her eyes on her wedding ring, her smile fading slightly. "We have a lot of things to do. We have to get all these new students situated... figure out what we're going to do with the likes of Unuscione and Forearm... have a burial for Marrow... find out where Charles and Scott have gone off to..."

Henry places a consoling hand on Jean's shoulder, and she looks up and into his eyes once more. "Don't worry, Jean," he assures, giving his friend's shoulder a gentle squeeze, "we're going to find them. Scott will be back, and you'll be a family again. He loves you and Rachel more than life itself, there's no way he can stay away for long."

"I... I know. Thank you, Hank," Jean says softly, and she leans in to plant a friendly kiss on his blue-furred cheek. She pulls back and then rises from her seat on the couch, heading out of the room.

"Off to bed, then?" Henry asks, as he too stands up.

"No, I'm just going to go sit in Charles' study for a while," Jean replies, walking up the steps leading out of the room. "Good night."

"Good night, Jean," Henry says. He follows Jean's lead and exits the room as well, heading in the opposite direction towards the grand staircase.

Jean quietly makes her way to her former teacher's study, careful not to make any noises that would wake the mansion's residents. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but considering the events of the past few days, everyone is extra tired and as a result turning in earlier than usual.

Jean arrives at the door to the study and uses her telekinesis to open it, and seconds later to turn on the small lamp atop the wide mahogany desk at the room's center. As the door closes behind her, Jean makes her way to the desk and sits down in the plush leather chair behind it. She once again employs her telekinesis and opens the bottom drawer on the left side of the desk, and narrows her eyes as they move from tab to tab of the many manilla folders inside. She finds the one she wants, and lifts it out, setting it on the desk in front of her.

"Alright, Charles," Jean says softly to herself as she opens the folder before her, "let's see about this mutant rights charter of yours..."

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Continued in #23, "The Domino Effect"