Ah, so you've come back for more?! FOOLS! You bring this torture onto yourselves! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... Oh, and excuse the grammar.
Chapter Two - X-Force and Beast
Wolverine, the man called Logan, sniffed the air carefully. He motioned to his team to stop. They all crouched on the battle-scarred ground.
Wolverine and X-Force moved through a recently-destroyed city in the northern United States. Wolverine motioned for his team to hide behind large chunks of concrete that littered the ground. Three tanks treaded along the wreckage a mile away from them.
"They're coming. Stay sharp. Cannonball, I'm gonna need your power, so stay ready."
"You sure it's them?" Pietro Lehnsherr asked. Pietro, known as Quicksilver by his teammates, had developed a grudge against his father Magneto, though he never told anyone exactly why. Pietro kept his silver hair swept back, though his super-speed almost ensured that it stayed that way. The first member of X-Force, Pietro was Wolverine's recognized right-hand-man.
"Yeah. Humans don't have a pleasant smell."
"As long as you're sure."
"Cannonball, now!" Sam Guthrie, a young man wearing thick protective armor with a helmet that covered his entire face, flew out of his hiding spot in a blast of blue energy at high-speed. He hit the lead tank head-first with such force that it left a large cratered dent on the front and even warped the main cannon. Humans dressed in fatigues began to climb out of the tank. Before any shots could be fired, Cannonball took one of them out with a jet-powered tackle.
"Now! CHARGE!" Wolverine commanded. One of Wolverine's other loyal recruits, a young black-and-red-eyed man named Remy LeBeau, took three metal pins from his coat, lining them between his knuckles much like Wolverine's claws, and charged them with explosive power. He flung the hot pins at the second tank and dodged some of the flying wreckage. Gambit was joined by Pietro, who followed the bombing by running between the tanks and kicking up tons of soot from the city's wreckage. Blinded the human soldiers decided to fire in every direction. Only two mutants on the field were able to use a sense other than their sight to find they way around. The first was Wolverine, the second was Rahne Sinclair, Wolfsbane. In full wolf-form she jumped on a soldier's back and pushed him to the ground, biting at the back of his neck. Wolverine preferred a quicker but no less vicious method. Extending three bony claws from his knuckles, Wolverine grinned sadistically before jamming them into a second soldier's chest.
"What about the guys inside the other tank?" Pietro asked.
"Get 'em out here." Gambit set a charged pin down on the hatch of the third tank and let it blow. Once it was open, Wolfsbane jumped in. The others waited as growls and screams echoed from the tank.
"So what's up after this, you guys wanna get somethin' to eat?" Gambit asked. Wolfsbane pulled a bleeding soldier out of the hatch as Pietro dashed inside to get a second one out. He pushed him towards Wolverine, who caught him by the arm and helped him stand up properly. As soon as the soldier was steady, Wolverine showed him a full set of claws.
"Alright, bub. Trask send you?"
"What's it to you, mutant?" Already, Wolverine's patience had ended. Rather than confirm his suspicions, he decided he's just accept them as fact and stabbed the soldier.
"Trask's on the move, then. Tanks were headed west, so we go west and see what we find."
"West?" Pietro was hesitant.
"West, kid. Got a problem?"
"No… not at all…" Pietro looked away. Wolverine pressed a button his belt. Moments later, a small aircraft of some sort descended and hovered nearby. The side hatch opened and everyone climbed in. Wolverine closed the hatch behind him, and once everyone as seated and strapped in, made his way to the cockpit.
"What did you find?" the pilot asked. This was Mastermind, a well-groomed older man wearing a military uniform. His hair was kept short, but not too short, and his face was kept clean and shaven. This did not obscure the fact that he was an unattractive man, but at least he appeared dignified. Mastermind could very easily make himself appear handsome, but for reasons unknown, he chose not to. Oddly, his irises seemed to have a permanent blue glow to them.
"Trask's headed west."
"West? Ah, then he is…?" Wolverine nodded. "I see… and Quicksilver?"
"Doesn't looked to thrilled about it, but it's not too big a problem if he's willing to go along with it."
"Good, good. His involvement in this matter is crucial."
"I know that. Remember whose idea it was?"
"Right. Then we'll just be heading west now."
-------------------------------
Mystique walked through the doors of the Xavier Institute carrying two suitcases, followed by her four children, all carrying their own baggage. Though entirely metal and contained underground, the Xavier Institute was still a very clean and sterile place.
"Quite a place," Scott said and set down his bags. He took a cigarette from his jacket and held it out in front of him. He pressed a button on his glasses and the right shutter opened slightly and released a needle-thin beam that lit the cigarette. "I could get used to living here."
"No smoking," Wanda said. She waved her hand and Scott's cigarette went out. If his glasses hadn't obscured his expression, Wanda would've gotten the evil glare of her life.
"With that exception, make yourselves at home," Magneto said. "But first, allow Wanda to show you around."
"Tour, huh? I'm game," Todd said. Scott, Todd, Kurt and Rogue followed Wanda down the metal hall.
"Not a bad piece of ass, either!" Kurt said. Todd and Scott laughed.
"So tell me, Magnus," Mystique said to the white-haired mutant, "What do you have planned?"
Further down the hall, Wanda showed the siblings around the dormitory chamber with seven doors. Due to the limited space, they would have to share a room with one other person. Alex sat up against the wall next to his door.
"Bro," Alex said. Scott's eyes narrowed.
"Bro. I didn't know you were here."
"Well, I am. Hey, we just got our sleeping arrangements moved around. My room's free for another person. How about we catch up?"
"Sorry, but no."
"Hmmm… you two biological brothers?" Todd asked.
"Yeah… biological. Don't worry, Toad. You and Kurt are still my main bros."
"Anyone in this room?" Rogue asked. She pointed to the first door on the right.
"Actually, that's my room," Wanda said, "But I don't have a roommate, so you can stay here if you'd like."
"Sure, why not?" Rogue opened the door and threw her suitcase on the second bunk.
"Okay, okay, I'm in this one then!" Kurt pointed to the one next to Rogue's. Freddy stepped out of the room and grinned.
"Sorry, this room's all full. Me and Jean'll be sleeping here."
"I see…" Freddy moved aside and Jean stepped out. "Ah, and who might this be?"
"What do you care?"
"I'm Kurt Darkholme! A pleasure to meet you!" Kurt took Jean's hand, bowed, and kissed it, ignoring Jean's expression.
"Right… Todd?" Jean looked past Kurt to where Todd sat on his suitcase.
"What the-?! Jean?! Aw, what th' hell's going on here?!"
"Something going on?" Scott asked. "…Old girlfriend?"
"Worse." Todd didn't finish before he opened a random door and hopped in. Inside, Kate Pryde screamed 'HEY!', but it seemed that the room was now Todd's home.
"Okay then, I'll just take this room." Kurt walked past Alex and set his stuff down. Alex shrugged and stayed where he was. Scott opened another door and found that it was empty.
"Hey, I call this one."
"Sorry, Scott, that's your mom's room," Wanda told him. "She and my father each get a room to themselves."
"Aw, really? Bummer. What's left?"
"Well, Forge's room is still open." Scott opened the door, but there was nobody inside.
"I guess I'll have to take it. Doesn't mean I'll like it."
"So we're all set, then. Our first training session starts tonight at eight."
"Eight? Aw, no good. The guys and I, we're going out tonight."
"Sorry, Scott, but you'll have to stay here."
"What the fuck?!" Scott protested. "Geez, you think just because you're Magneto's daughter you can push us around?! You know what? Fuck you and fuck your X-Men! I'm outta here!"
"Scott, wait!" Scott ignored her and walked down the hall. He lit a cigarette in his own style and exhaled in Magneto's face as he walked towards the dormitory with Mystique.
"Your son has an attitude problem."
"I know." Mystique didn't bother going after Scott.
"Wanda, go after him."
"No," Mystique said. "Don't bother. I know Scott, and I know that you can't force him to do anything. Either he wants to or he doesn't."
"Perhaps you should have been more stern in your discipline, Mystique."
"Oh? And what about your son? Off on some reckless crusade with a group of mercenaries? Yes, I should've come to you for parental advice sooner." Magneto didn't respond. As Mystique walked down the hall, Magneto motioned for Wanda to follow Scott.
"Oh, Mystique, there's one thing I should mention…" Forge walked up to Mystique carrying a baby in a blanket.
"Oh no… not this! Anything but this!"
"May I remind you that I helped saved your children from the Juggernaut, Mystique?"
"I… argh! Alright! I'll take care of the baby, since I'm obviously the best parent in this building."
-------------------------------
Scott rode his black motorcycle down one of the many abandoned streets in New Zealand. He had no real place to go, but he would rather wander around in an unknown place than be forced to take orders against his will. Though Scott was loyal to his family. he valued his independence more than anything.
Scott glanced through his red glasses to his rear-view mirror. He noticed another motorcycle following him. He couldn't identify the rider through the helmet, but he could tell that it was female by her figure. He then realized who it was and accelerated.
"Stubborn boy," Wanda muttered to herself and gave chase. Scott made a sharp and sudden turn into another street. Wanda rode right past him, but slowed down slightly. She looked to her right as she passed the next street and saw Scott riding by. She turned to follow him and sped up on the next street. Scott noticed her and stopped suddenly. Wanda sped past him before realizing that he had turned around and gone the other way. She cursed to herself and turned around to follow him.
Scott reached into his jacket and took a smell metal pipe with a curved edge. He attached the curved end to his left lens and opened the shutter. His beam was channeled through the pipe to fire behind him. Wanda waved her hand to dissolve the beam before it struck her. The lens-pipe served as a sort of hindsight mirror for Scott and he had seen her move. He opened the shutter several times to release a volley of optic blasts firing back at Wanda like a miniature machine gun. A wave of her hand was enough to dissolve most of them, but there were too many for her to take one-by-one. Several came very close, but she was able to avoid the stray blasts with quick reflexes, but she was beginning to find it difficult to keep her bike in control as she swerved to avoid the blasts.
Scott stopped firing and turned at the next street. Wanda started to follow, but halfway into her turn, she was hit head-on by a strong optic blast. She flew several feet off her bike, which crashed into a ruined building and exploded.
"Stupid girl…" Scott had stopped in the street, and his trap had worked. He slipped his glasses back on and revved his bike.
Slowly standing up, bruised but not seriously injured thanks to her leather-padded suit, Wanda pointed her fingers at Scott's bike, and the engine suddenly failed. The bike buckled and Scott fell off. Wanda released the bike and it rode off on its own.
"Alright, you've got me now. What do you want?!"
"Scott, we need you. You're a strong mutant."
"Save it! You're as crazy as your old man!"
"Where do you think you're going, Scott? Do you think you can find some other place around here that'll take you in? Maybe those glasses are giving you tunnel vision. Take a moment to look around you. There's nobody here! NOBODY! If you're not going to come back with me, then you're going to be all alone!"
Scott swallowed his pride and helped Wanda up. "Alright, but I'm only doing this for my family. Got it?"
"Yeah… I'll call for a ride." Wanda took a radio from her belt, but a random bolt of electricity shorted it. A young man clad in black stood behind them, his hand charged with electricity.
"Berzerker," Wanda said. Berzerker's face had no emotion. He fired another bolt, which Scott destroyed with an optic blast.
"You know this creep?"
"Sort of… watch out. He never travels alone." A fireball nearly hit Scott's head, fired by a young, tanned girl also dressed in black. Magma fired three more, but they dissolved in the air thanks to Wanda's powers.
"So if you've met these guys before, tell me, how'd you escape?"
"My father was with us last time…"
"But not today," a large, furry man informed them. The Beast was a gray, gorilla-like man with human features, wearing a pair of black pants. He motioned to Berzerker and Magma to hold their fire. "You're outnumbered."
"Oh?" Wanda looked around. On top of a building, a completely black young man glowed with yellow energy. Across from him, on top of another building, a large metal man crossed his arms. They made no other movements.
"You're coming with us," Beast said. He snapped his toes. Colossus and Sunspot jumped down, and together with Magma and Berzerker, closed in on them.
What is Pietro so afraid of? What past connection do Toad and Jean have? Just what does Beast want with Scott and Wanda? Ah, more questions! MORE QUESTIONS?! MWAHAHAHA... wait I already did that.
Chapter Two - X-Force and Beast
Wolverine, the man called Logan, sniffed the air carefully. He motioned to his team to stop. They all crouched on the battle-scarred ground.
Wolverine and X-Force moved through a recently-destroyed city in the northern United States. Wolverine motioned for his team to hide behind large chunks of concrete that littered the ground. Three tanks treaded along the wreckage a mile away from them.
"They're coming. Stay sharp. Cannonball, I'm gonna need your power, so stay ready."
"You sure it's them?" Pietro Lehnsherr asked. Pietro, known as Quicksilver by his teammates, had developed a grudge against his father Magneto, though he never told anyone exactly why. Pietro kept his silver hair swept back, though his super-speed almost ensured that it stayed that way. The first member of X-Force, Pietro was Wolverine's recognized right-hand-man.
"Yeah. Humans don't have a pleasant smell."
"As long as you're sure."
"Cannonball, now!" Sam Guthrie, a young man wearing thick protective armor with a helmet that covered his entire face, flew out of his hiding spot in a blast of blue energy at high-speed. He hit the lead tank head-first with such force that it left a large cratered dent on the front and even warped the main cannon. Humans dressed in fatigues began to climb out of the tank. Before any shots could be fired, Cannonball took one of them out with a jet-powered tackle.
"Now! CHARGE!" Wolverine commanded. One of Wolverine's other loyal recruits, a young black-and-red-eyed man named Remy LeBeau, took three metal pins from his coat, lining them between his knuckles much like Wolverine's claws, and charged them with explosive power. He flung the hot pins at the second tank and dodged some of the flying wreckage. Gambit was joined by Pietro, who followed the bombing by running between the tanks and kicking up tons of soot from the city's wreckage. Blinded the human soldiers decided to fire in every direction. Only two mutants on the field were able to use a sense other than their sight to find they way around. The first was Wolverine, the second was Rahne Sinclair, Wolfsbane. In full wolf-form she jumped on a soldier's back and pushed him to the ground, biting at the back of his neck. Wolverine preferred a quicker but no less vicious method. Extending three bony claws from his knuckles, Wolverine grinned sadistically before jamming them into a second soldier's chest.
"What about the guys inside the other tank?" Pietro asked.
"Get 'em out here." Gambit set a charged pin down on the hatch of the third tank and let it blow. Once it was open, Wolfsbane jumped in. The others waited as growls and screams echoed from the tank.
"So what's up after this, you guys wanna get somethin' to eat?" Gambit asked. Wolfsbane pulled a bleeding soldier out of the hatch as Pietro dashed inside to get a second one out. He pushed him towards Wolverine, who caught him by the arm and helped him stand up properly. As soon as the soldier was steady, Wolverine showed him a full set of claws.
"Alright, bub. Trask send you?"
"What's it to you, mutant?" Already, Wolverine's patience had ended. Rather than confirm his suspicions, he decided he's just accept them as fact and stabbed the soldier.
"Trask's on the move, then. Tanks were headed west, so we go west and see what we find."
"West?" Pietro was hesitant.
"West, kid. Got a problem?"
"No… not at all…" Pietro looked away. Wolverine pressed a button his belt. Moments later, a small aircraft of some sort descended and hovered nearby. The side hatch opened and everyone climbed in. Wolverine closed the hatch behind him, and once everyone as seated and strapped in, made his way to the cockpit.
"What did you find?" the pilot asked. This was Mastermind, a well-groomed older man wearing a military uniform. His hair was kept short, but not too short, and his face was kept clean and shaven. This did not obscure the fact that he was an unattractive man, but at least he appeared dignified. Mastermind could very easily make himself appear handsome, but for reasons unknown, he chose not to. Oddly, his irises seemed to have a permanent blue glow to them.
"Trask's headed west."
"West? Ah, then he is…?" Wolverine nodded. "I see… and Quicksilver?"
"Doesn't looked to thrilled about it, but it's not too big a problem if he's willing to go along with it."
"Good, good. His involvement in this matter is crucial."
"I know that. Remember whose idea it was?"
"Right. Then we'll just be heading west now."
-------------------------------
Mystique walked through the doors of the Xavier Institute carrying two suitcases, followed by her four children, all carrying their own baggage. Though entirely metal and contained underground, the Xavier Institute was still a very clean and sterile place.
"Quite a place," Scott said and set down his bags. He took a cigarette from his jacket and held it out in front of him. He pressed a button on his glasses and the right shutter opened slightly and released a needle-thin beam that lit the cigarette. "I could get used to living here."
"No smoking," Wanda said. She waved her hand and Scott's cigarette went out. If his glasses hadn't obscured his expression, Wanda would've gotten the evil glare of her life.
"With that exception, make yourselves at home," Magneto said. "But first, allow Wanda to show you around."
"Tour, huh? I'm game," Todd said. Scott, Todd, Kurt and Rogue followed Wanda down the metal hall.
"Not a bad piece of ass, either!" Kurt said. Todd and Scott laughed.
"So tell me, Magnus," Mystique said to the white-haired mutant, "What do you have planned?"
Further down the hall, Wanda showed the siblings around the dormitory chamber with seven doors. Due to the limited space, they would have to share a room with one other person. Alex sat up against the wall next to his door.
"Bro," Alex said. Scott's eyes narrowed.
"Bro. I didn't know you were here."
"Well, I am. Hey, we just got our sleeping arrangements moved around. My room's free for another person. How about we catch up?"
"Sorry, but no."
"Hmmm… you two biological brothers?" Todd asked.
"Yeah… biological. Don't worry, Toad. You and Kurt are still my main bros."
"Anyone in this room?" Rogue asked. She pointed to the first door on the right.
"Actually, that's my room," Wanda said, "But I don't have a roommate, so you can stay here if you'd like."
"Sure, why not?" Rogue opened the door and threw her suitcase on the second bunk.
"Okay, okay, I'm in this one then!" Kurt pointed to the one next to Rogue's. Freddy stepped out of the room and grinned.
"Sorry, this room's all full. Me and Jean'll be sleeping here."
"I see…" Freddy moved aside and Jean stepped out. "Ah, and who might this be?"
"What do you care?"
"I'm Kurt Darkholme! A pleasure to meet you!" Kurt took Jean's hand, bowed, and kissed it, ignoring Jean's expression.
"Right… Todd?" Jean looked past Kurt to where Todd sat on his suitcase.
"What the-?! Jean?! Aw, what th' hell's going on here?!"
"Something going on?" Scott asked. "…Old girlfriend?"
"Worse." Todd didn't finish before he opened a random door and hopped in. Inside, Kate Pryde screamed 'HEY!', but it seemed that the room was now Todd's home.
"Okay then, I'll just take this room." Kurt walked past Alex and set his stuff down. Alex shrugged and stayed where he was. Scott opened another door and found that it was empty.
"Hey, I call this one."
"Sorry, Scott, that's your mom's room," Wanda told him. "She and my father each get a room to themselves."
"Aw, really? Bummer. What's left?"
"Well, Forge's room is still open." Scott opened the door, but there was nobody inside.
"I guess I'll have to take it. Doesn't mean I'll like it."
"So we're all set, then. Our first training session starts tonight at eight."
"Eight? Aw, no good. The guys and I, we're going out tonight."
"Sorry, Scott, but you'll have to stay here."
"What the fuck?!" Scott protested. "Geez, you think just because you're Magneto's daughter you can push us around?! You know what? Fuck you and fuck your X-Men! I'm outta here!"
"Scott, wait!" Scott ignored her and walked down the hall. He lit a cigarette in his own style and exhaled in Magneto's face as he walked towards the dormitory with Mystique.
"Your son has an attitude problem."
"I know." Mystique didn't bother going after Scott.
"Wanda, go after him."
"No," Mystique said. "Don't bother. I know Scott, and I know that you can't force him to do anything. Either he wants to or he doesn't."
"Perhaps you should have been more stern in your discipline, Mystique."
"Oh? And what about your son? Off on some reckless crusade with a group of mercenaries? Yes, I should've come to you for parental advice sooner." Magneto didn't respond. As Mystique walked down the hall, Magneto motioned for Wanda to follow Scott.
"Oh, Mystique, there's one thing I should mention…" Forge walked up to Mystique carrying a baby in a blanket.
"Oh no… not this! Anything but this!"
"May I remind you that I helped saved your children from the Juggernaut, Mystique?"
"I… argh! Alright! I'll take care of the baby, since I'm obviously the best parent in this building."
-------------------------------
Scott rode his black motorcycle down one of the many abandoned streets in New Zealand. He had no real place to go, but he would rather wander around in an unknown place than be forced to take orders against his will. Though Scott was loyal to his family. he valued his independence more than anything.
Scott glanced through his red glasses to his rear-view mirror. He noticed another motorcycle following him. He couldn't identify the rider through the helmet, but he could tell that it was female by her figure. He then realized who it was and accelerated.
"Stubborn boy," Wanda muttered to herself and gave chase. Scott made a sharp and sudden turn into another street. Wanda rode right past him, but slowed down slightly. She looked to her right as she passed the next street and saw Scott riding by. She turned to follow him and sped up on the next street. Scott noticed her and stopped suddenly. Wanda sped past him before realizing that he had turned around and gone the other way. She cursed to herself and turned around to follow him.
Scott reached into his jacket and took a smell metal pipe with a curved edge. He attached the curved end to his left lens and opened the shutter. His beam was channeled through the pipe to fire behind him. Wanda waved her hand to dissolve the beam before it struck her. The lens-pipe served as a sort of hindsight mirror for Scott and he had seen her move. He opened the shutter several times to release a volley of optic blasts firing back at Wanda like a miniature machine gun. A wave of her hand was enough to dissolve most of them, but there were too many for her to take one-by-one. Several came very close, but she was able to avoid the stray blasts with quick reflexes, but she was beginning to find it difficult to keep her bike in control as she swerved to avoid the blasts.
Scott stopped firing and turned at the next street. Wanda started to follow, but halfway into her turn, she was hit head-on by a strong optic blast. She flew several feet off her bike, which crashed into a ruined building and exploded.
"Stupid girl…" Scott had stopped in the street, and his trap had worked. He slipped his glasses back on and revved his bike.
Slowly standing up, bruised but not seriously injured thanks to her leather-padded suit, Wanda pointed her fingers at Scott's bike, and the engine suddenly failed. The bike buckled and Scott fell off. Wanda released the bike and it rode off on its own.
"Alright, you've got me now. What do you want?!"
"Scott, we need you. You're a strong mutant."
"Save it! You're as crazy as your old man!"
"Where do you think you're going, Scott? Do you think you can find some other place around here that'll take you in? Maybe those glasses are giving you tunnel vision. Take a moment to look around you. There's nobody here! NOBODY! If you're not going to come back with me, then you're going to be all alone!"
Scott swallowed his pride and helped Wanda up. "Alright, but I'm only doing this for my family. Got it?"
"Yeah… I'll call for a ride." Wanda took a radio from her belt, but a random bolt of electricity shorted it. A young man clad in black stood behind them, his hand charged with electricity.
"Berzerker," Wanda said. Berzerker's face had no emotion. He fired another bolt, which Scott destroyed with an optic blast.
"You know this creep?"
"Sort of… watch out. He never travels alone." A fireball nearly hit Scott's head, fired by a young, tanned girl also dressed in black. Magma fired three more, but they dissolved in the air thanks to Wanda's powers.
"So if you've met these guys before, tell me, how'd you escape?"
"My father was with us last time…"
"But not today," a large, furry man informed them. The Beast was a gray, gorilla-like man with human features, wearing a pair of black pants. He motioned to Berzerker and Magma to hold their fire. "You're outnumbered."
"Oh?" Wanda looked around. On top of a building, a completely black young man glowed with yellow energy. Across from him, on top of another building, a large metal man crossed his arms. They made no other movements.
"You're coming with us," Beast said. He snapped his toes. Colossus and Sunspot jumped down, and together with Magma and Berzerker, closed in on them.
What is Pietro so afraid of? What past connection do Toad and Jean have? Just what does Beast want with Scott and Wanda? Ah, more questions! MORE QUESTIONS?! MWAHAHAHA... wait I already did that.