Two weeks passed.
Professor Xavier returned from his trip to Muir Island, surprised and more than a little astonished to see his students returned from their vacation in Hawaii. More surprised of course to see their latest addition, but all he did was smile and offer a welcome to the little Lockheed. Living amongst mutants for so many years, in addition to being a powerful telepath, had made it nearly impossible to truly rattle Professor X.
Jean was sick during this time, spending the majority of her time up in her room, often retiring early with complaints of a headache. A keen observer might've noticed it was shortly before Scott arrived home on the days from work, but no one noticed anything out of the ordinary. Except perhaps Scott. That was why, on that Saturday morning, he took her to the gazebo after breakfast to talk.
Jean was, however, not the only student having a rough week. Sarah's nightmares had returned, and though she'd managed to keep herself from wrecking her room every time she had one (an infrequent occurrence during her first few years at the Institute), she still woke up shivering cold, her limbs shaky.
"Why won't you leave me alone," she whispered softly, huddling in her bedcovers, staring out the window at the rising sun.
Every time she had this particular dream, it was always the same. She was back in the Hydra compound, a scared fourteen-year old girl in that hated Hydra uniform. The rain was everywhere, pouring down, making the ground slick and muddy, making the uniform cling to her uncomfortably. And all around were her enemies. Her siblings. Monsters.
Some were fully grown, like her pseudo-brother X24, who stood upright in the red armor-uniform that Sarah had fought him in. It was still covered in the slashes of their fight, ripped to pieces, and his flesh underneath looked positively horrible, terrible wounds still visible. He should've been dead. But he lived.
Around him stood their siblings, some half or wholly dead, some not even fully grown, shambling fetuses and dead babies. Their flesh ran like mud in the rain, but they shambled around Sarah, swarming around her like zombies. Adamantium and bone claws poked from their flesh, through fingers and feet and fists, as misshapen as the rest of them.
They surrounded Sarah, she could not run, she could not fight. She barely had time to scream.
And that was always when she awoke.
"What do they mean?" she asked, rubbing her knuckles as she always did when she nervous. It reassured her, in a strange way, to have the adamantium under her skin. She'd lived with it so long she scarcely noticed anymore. It was part of her.
What did the dream mean? X24 was dead, his body was obliterated by the blast at the Hydra installation. And so had the rest of her siblings, torn up and destroyed in the very same blast. Surely none of them could've survived.
Or could they?
"And in global news, there has been reports of yet more meteors strikes, similar to those that happened less than a month ago. We have here the reports from the Luna space station of several more of these meteors striking the surface of the moon. Apparently the one that struck the uninhabited island of Hawaii slid past the surface of the moon, barely escaping its gravity. We should thank our lucky stars that more didn't. We have here the image…"
Ororo muted the anchor man's voice, peering more closely at the screen. More vibranium? Hank had been testing the small batch they had. Its properties were amazing. It might even be useful in the Danger Room, making course runs that even Logan would find challenging. But that didn't concern her.
What did concern her… was what if someone else got to it first?
Ororo slipped to her feet, walking briskly to Professor Xavier's office to speak with him.
"Jean, is something wrong?" asked Scott, leaning against the rim of the Gazebo's railing, peering over at her curiously.
"Nothing," she replied, her tone light, her stance relaxed. "Just not feeling well these past few days, is all."
"You haven't been feeling well for the past two weeks," he replied casually. "Ever since you came back from your trip to Muir Island. Did something happen Jean? Did you have another power surge?"
"Of course not," she said, her brow furrowing as she peered at him with her green eyes. "I… oh, look, its Kurt and Rogue! Hey guys!" she cried out, waving them over.
"Vhat's up?" asked Kurt, 'porting over onto the railing, clinging to its with his toes. Rogue floated over after him, hanging on the opposite side.
"Nothing important," replied Scott quickly. "Me and Jean were just talking," he said, putting extra emphasis on that last word.
"Oh sorry… we were on our way, weren't we bro?" asked Rogue, not bothering to wait for Kurt's reply before gently grabbing him by the collar and yanking him (gently, they were family after all) into the air to give Jean and Scott some privacy. They certainly didn't get much of it these days.
"Wait, I… oh darn…" grumbled Jean.
"Jean, what is wrong with you? You are not yourself," said Scott.
"Of course I'm not myself!" roared Jean, startling Scott and nearly sending him over the edge of the balcony and down to the rocks like a certain statue of Mystique had once done. The irony of the situation was about to fully impact on him. Jean started crying, and as she cried… she shifted. She changed.
She changed shape.
Pale white skin turned to startling blue. Soft green eyes turned to harsh yellow. Her red hair shifted and grew longer, becoming a much brighter, unnatural color red. And she grew much taller. Her clothes changed as well, becoming black, skin-tight latex halter and skirt, with matching boots and a strap wrapped around her right arm.
Mystique.
"Jean, you… what… what've you done with her?!" shouted Scott. At his yell, Kurt 'ported and Rogue swooped in, shocked by their unexpected guest.
"Answer me!" shouted Scott, grabbing Mystique and threatening to throw her over the balcony. But what he saw next shocked him. So much so he nearly dropped her to the same fate her statue had shared.
She was crying.
"Scott! Stop it!" shouted Rogue as she spotted the same thing. She had no love for Mystique either, but she swooped in and grabbed Scott's arms, restraining him gently. Struggle all he might, he couldn't break her iron-hard grip.
"I could not do it," murmured Mystique, dropping to her knees and sobbing openly. "I can't… it hurts too much."
"What've you done with Jean!" shouted Scott angrily. Rogue's grip was unbreakable, but if he didn't like the answer he's shake his head violently and throw off his shades.
"I did nothing but replace her… that's all they wanted me to do. Keep you all busy…"
"Who?! Who're you working for, Mystique?!" shouted Scott angrily.
"The Circle."
"The Circle are a secret organization that is world-wide, with only one goal," explained Mystique. "Power."
The X-Men were gathered in the control room, keeping a close eye on their interloper. Sarah and Logan stood by the doorway, and their look suggested that if Mystique tried taking even a step towards the exit, there'd only be pieces by the time they were done with her. Ororo and Hank were behind the blue shapeshifter, keeping her away from the computer system. And that left Charles, Scott, Kurt, Rogue, Kitty, Piotr and Bobby watching her from the center of the room.
"They took over the Legacy company three years back when Spears was arrested by you all," continued on Mystique. "They were his board of directors, though they kept their identities secret and hidden. Their true identities, at least. You," she said, turning to regard Scott, "have already met them. Or did perhaps it seem too obvious that they took a liking to you, a 'filthy mutant'?" she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"But… who…?"
"Open your eyes, Summers!" she hissed. "Emma Frost, for one."
"Emma? You can't be…" Scott started to say. Goddamnit, she clung to him worse than Taryn ever had, but this? An evil organization that sounded worse than Hydra? No way, he couldn't believe it.
"The accident was faked."
Scott looked on, stunned, his defense of Emma vanishing like dust in the wind as Mystique continued on, as if she hadn't noticed.
"The Circle set up the accident, rigged the elevator to fall at the precise moment that only Scott and Emma were on it. The plan was to get closer to you, Summers. You've been used."
"But why Jean… if they wanted her why go through me?" he asked, then suddenly regretted it. He knew damn well why.
Mystique did too.
"The Circle craves power in all forms. And Jean is powerful. I cannot say for certain who are members of the Circle, but during my time their, I managed to identify the White Queen, which was Emma… and also the Black Bishop. He goes by the name Jason Wyngarde in the Legacy company. But you know him better as Mastermind. Magneto's lackey telepath."
"What does this have to with Jean?"
"The Circle has become aware of Jean's trouble controlling her mental powers. This, coupled with her, shall we say, love life," she added, glancing meaningfully at Scott. He knew exactly what Mystique meant, and his cheeks flushed. "The Circle used Emma to make this conflict worse, and then Mastermind would find it easier to, shall we say… mold her memories."
"You brainwashed her?!" shouted Scott, rising angrily to his feet. Rogue gently restrained him, holding his shoulder. Reluctantly, he sat back down. But all could see he was very afraid now. Afraid for Jean.
"Now Jean is the Black Queen, and second only to their leader. His identity I have not been able to confirm. They had me replace Jean for the time being, until such time as they deemed fit to reveal themselves."
"Yet you seem to have betrayed them, Mystique," stated Professor Xavier, after a moments thoughts. Nearby, Logan growled. Everyone knew what he thought about betrayal.
"I agreed to do this only because they forced me," replied Mystique haughtily. She crossed her arms across her chest. "They threatened the lives of my children."
"As if you care about us," muttered Rogue.
"I…" started Mystique, her voice instantly softening. But, seeing her efforts would be again futile, she hardened her heart and closed her mouth. "I owe the Circle nothing."
"Then lead us to them. Help us get Jean back," said Scott, standing again. This time, Rogue did not stop him… she joined him. Mystique quickly found herself surrounded by unfriendly faces.
"I do not know where she is. I was taken to her plane after the arrangement, told to fly back here in her form. I know nothing further."
"Then we'll use Cerebro," said the Professor, clicking the control to his wheelchair to guide himself out of the room.
"Everyone, suit up," ordered Scott. "Logan, keep an eye on our guest here?"
The shorter man nodded, barely suppressing a smile. Despite the tension, it was good to see Scott take charge. Whenever he did, things got done.
"Alright then team, move out. Soon as we have coordinates, we go and get Jean back." And to that, no one could argue as they headed to the lower levels to grab their X-Men uniforms.
The X-Men's uniforms had changed over the last two years, Mystique noticed immediately. Black had replaced the former dark blue color, the X symbol was more prominent, and more skin was visible. Each uniform was, as before, custom designed to its owner. Rogue wore thrown over her black uniform Gambit's trenchcoat. Storm had altered the cape that now flowed from her back to her wrists. Beast had finally managed to make a fitting uniform to cover his chest and arms. Iceman had now altered his entire uniform from the standard black to a white and pale blue ensemble. This was quickly masked when he iced up. As she could clearly see, as they gathered before her, the X-Men had changed.
Wolverine grunted behind Mystique in what could only be approval of the fighting force gathered before them.
"Alright team," said Scott. Or as he was now, Cyclops. "Let's move out. Beast, prep the jet. Everyone else to Cerebro."
They found Professor X on their way to Cerebro. Apparently, he hadn't made it that far. He lay on the ground, his wheelchair overturned, unconscious. Shadowcat gently helped him back into his wheelchair as Rogue tipped it back over. Professor X regained consciousness, blinking his eyes awake.
"I… I saw him… I saw into his mind… it overpowered me. I was unprepared," he said slowly. "This Black King Mystique told us of… is a formidable foe. Very powerful."
"Why did he attack you, Charles?" asked Beast.
"No, no…" murmured Professor X. "It wasn't an attack… it was a message. Delivered in an unspeakably brutal way, but he was sending a message… he… he was telling me where they plan to go. What they plan to do."
"Why would they do that?" asked Iceman.
"Because this has been their plan all along," replied Professor X. "Now that they have Jean, they want us out of the way. And I see now…" he started to say, then stopped. He tapped the control on his wheelchair. "Back to the control room. I'll show you."
"They sent me three distinct messages, all at once… more than one of them barraging me. My defenses could not hold from all three, so I was overwhelming," stated Professor X. "But the messages indicated they were attacking three distinctly different places. Here," he said, tapping the screen. "Here… and here. These three spots."
"Divide and Conquer," muttered Cyclops. "They want us to spread out, and they'll probably only be at one of those places. And the unlucky team that goes there gets splattered against the wall before the other two can react."
"Vunderbar," muttered Nightcrawler.
"It seems to be our only option. Unless you, Mystique, have any answers for us?"
The blue shapeshifter shook her head.
Cyclops took a long look at the screen. The first spot indicated was right here, in Bayville New York. The second was up in space, in the orbiting space station Luna. And the third was far, far away in what was formerly the Soviet Union, and now Russia. Near the home of Colossus, no less.
The key to understanding an enemy's moves is to know what they want, thought Cyclops. But what did they want?
"Alright. We'll divide up," said Cyclops finally, after careful thought.
"Uh, question," said Iceman, raising his hand like he was in class. "Isn't that what they want us to do? Shouldn't we stick together?"
"They make it appear like they want us to split up," replied Cyclops, tapping the screen. "This is an invitation. I say we meet them."
"Alright, who goes where?" asked Rogue, folding her arms across her chest.
"I've thought very carefully about this. Beast, Storm, Wolverine. You three will take this spot in Russia and find out what they want there. Take Mystique with you, in case she conveniently remembers anything. Any objections?" he asked darkly to the shapeshifter.
She sneered. "I told you, I have no loyalty to the Circle," she stated.
"I should accompany them," added Colossus. "My sister is near there… perhaps it is her…"
"No Colossus," replied Cyclops. "I need anyone who goes to be focused on the mission. You're coming with my team. Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Rogue, Iceman. You all are with me. We'll be visiting the Luna station."
"X23, you stay here with the rest of the other kids. Guard the Institute and the Professor. And be ready to move in case this area in Bayville is really a trouble zone. Something tells me its just a decoy though."
X23 snapped off a rough salute, nodding.
The teams broke up, each going their separate ways. Most headed for the hangar, Cyclops's team taking the Blackbird (the only one of their ships capable of achieving orbit, as well as providing oxygen to its crew) while Wolverine's grabbed the XM-Velocity and prepared to head to Russia. Professor X and X23 watched them go, as did some of the New Recruits still playing out on the lawn. They had yet no idea what was going on.
But they would soon find out. Professor X had just issued telepathic summons for everyone to meet him in the living room.
As they all gathered there, Rahne stopped, sniffing the air. She could've sworn she caught the scent of… sakura blossoms? Here, in Bayville? Nah, must've been her imagination. She bounded in, taking a seat next to Sam on the couch.
Unnoticed by all at the Institute, the redheaded girl watched as the Blackbird and the XM-Velocity took off into the air. She lowered her binoculars, tapping the communicator attached to her wrist.
"They're on the move. My quarry is still inside."
"Excellent work. She is all yours. I would so hate to interrupt a reunion of sisters."
The Japanese girl grinned, ripping off the communicator and tossing it into the bushes, along with the binoculars. Then, she leapt up and grabbed the back of a passing truck, leaping down from the rooftops where she'd been watching the Institute. Now she had to get to the stage.
And then X23's curtain would fall.
Author's Notes:
X23's nightmare is identical to one she had way back in 'Weapon X24.' Seems she hasn't yet put them to rest, and you'll be seeing why soon enough. Mystique's appearance as Jean shouldn't have terribly surprised anyone who read the last chapter and noticed 'Jean' was acting peculiar. Now you know the whole deal. Mastermind, White Queen, Mesmero, a-yet-unknown Black King (surprise, surprise), and now the infamous Phoenix. And even some Hellions to deal with. Originals, canon? No! Evo lovable's all. Well, okay, my one OC from earlier will be back, and you'll find out who she is. Or rather, what she is. I'd say the X-Men have their work cut out for them. Their new uniforms are, of course, the ones we saw in the scenes from 'Ascension.' I added the custom white and blue to Iceman's despite that we never saw it. I'm also giving new uniforms to the New Recruits, so just wait and you'll see those to. Wolverine's uniform is the same. Next time, Divide and Conquer.
Risty: Stylish? Showgirls wear more than Emma does. Still, no complaints from me. And if you think the Circle is motley, consider how the X-Men are. At least most of my Circle have the same (or similar) powers. That was planned, of course. Glad you're enjoying the plot and character developement.
Pixie Stix Addict: Maybe something like that, but you know Jean. The bitch can't seem to stay dead. And yeah I agree, Emma's better evil. How is Lucas a pervert?! They're the same age (more or less). Mesmero's such a poor fellow. Even clearly abandoned by Apocalypse he stays loyal. Sinister isn't one of my favs either, if for no other reason than he generally has 'Mr.' before his name. The serum? It affects bio-chemistry.
Star-of-chaos: Delicious. And yeah, Mesmero is the lazy and spineless sort, isn't he? Oh but he's crafty, don't under-estimate him. Conjugal visits? From who, Rogue? Its not like they're married, they've barely reached kissing. Catfights later, promise, until then yeah, better bow for Her Majesty.
ViciousAssassin: Ding, ding. You win. You guessed every frickin' one of 'em. Not Lady Deathstrike no. But someone else, and yes its someone with a grudge against X23. Mystique, heck yeah. Glad you're enjoying the plot and the characterization, though it seems I can't slip anything past you unless I outright lie. Ah well.
Sandoz: Actually I stole that from one of the stories about Drizz't. But its still a damn good line. 'course Jean is evil. We hates her, donts we, my precious? We hates Jeanses forever. Gotta love Lockheed, how can you hate a baby purple dragon? And you might not have read 'Weapon X24.' Read that, and you'll probably figure out the girl's identity.
Rogue14: It's not Lady Deathstrike! It's someone equally obsessed with her nails.
SperryDee: Revanche? Who the F is that?! And no, it isn't. Its someone I created myself, so everybody quit panicking it's a canon character or, god forbid, Lady Deathstrike.
Todd fan: You have the dirtiest mind known to mankind! Don't ever lose it!
Oceanbang: Well you know who the girl is now, and it's not Deathstrike. And also the Black King, since I spoiled it for you (Gambit, please). And now you've clearly found out who the Jean-with-Scott really is. Surprised?
X0001: Of course she's a bad guy! What did you expect, that I would make nice-Emma fall in love with Scott and ruin whatever respect I had left for him? Phwesh. In the words of Pyro "Not Bloodae Likely."
UniversalAnimeGirl: Telepaths, definitely. Struck me as appropriate, somehow. Plus it's a nice way to bring some underused Evo characters together. And recall if you will. Lucas is the bad guy, David is the good guy, and they share a body. Ian's kinda-semi-neutral. Yup, you figured it out. Yuriko's clone, not Yuriko herself. Funky shots indeed. And I think Rogue's clothes gain a portion of her invulnerability when she wears them, since she gets blasted or knocked around plenty and they rarely get damaged. As for the necklace, I never noticed one. I'll look into that. Hellion's are definitely different. Apart from my OC and the canon character of Emma, all the characters are Evo. No, no other aliens other than Lockheed. I'm avoiding the whole Shi'ar and M'kron crystal involvement. Cosmic? Nay… biblical proportions. Hope you enjoy the ride.
CrypticIdentity: One, no. Two, yes. Three, no. No Lady Deathstrike. And yeah, while that's the jist of what happened to Rogue, it's a lot more in-depth to her character, and I recommend Annihilation. When you have time, of course.
Tori H.: A lot of characters changed in the transition from comic to Evo. Overall, I've liked them. Evo is my favorite, even stacked up to the comics, TAS and movie versions of the X-Men. You didn't see evil Emma coming? I'm surprised. But shocks are good. Prepare for plenty more.
Lyranfan: That would indeed be difficult. But trust me, Kitty can have both boyfriend and pet. It'll just take some getting used to. Her biggest worry now are enough fire extinguishers. And glad you're enjoying the Inner Circle and its members.
Princess Myra: Pity. I'll warn you a chapter prior then. I don't know a great deal about the club either, other than its prestigious. All I really know is who leads it and that they're all mutants, called the Inner Circle. And yup, it wasn't Jean. I'm not very subtle, am I?
The Rogue Witch: Yeah but most people forget about minor characters. Not I. And no, its not Deathstrike, but someone awfully similar. Yes I know, hussy Emma is better than cutsey innocent Emma, but that side was all an act. Or was it? And of course purple alien space dragons for all. No it's not Jean. As you can see in this chapter, it definitely wasn't her.
Comet-hime: Yeah, seems everyone wants to use him. Poor Day. Glad you liked that Emma and Jean are now wearing matching skin-tight suits. Hopefully it will inspire artwork. And yes, your artwork did inspire that article that you-know-who was reading. Not quite Playmutant but its still rather nice. You did draw a pic of her! With her rival and their big bro between them. Believe me, plenty of descriptions and backgrounds and characters to come. But after you-know-what.