This one is mostly a flashback. We'll get back to the action afterward, but now that Caliban's been revealed, I think it's time to reveal his involvement in a few of the running sub-plots. Oh, and excuse the grammar.
Chapter Eight - Through the Eyes of Caliban
The sun was brighter than usual that day. The temperature outside had been higher than it had been in twenty years, so it was understandable that the students protested the daily outdoor exercises. Reluctantly, the instructors had agreed. There were five students lined up in the foyer of the Xavier Institute after their lesson in the gym, dressed in form-fitting black outfits, all identical. Warren Worthington was the first, a young man who stood to inherit billions, and due to this, was rather carefree and unconcerned with little things. His blonde hair was long and wild, and his costume had to be slightly modified; two holes were made in the back to allow his feathery, bird-like wings to fit through. Though he rarely lived up to his namesake, he was codenamed Angel.
The second was Hank McCoy. He was the oldest of the group, being a college student, but few noticed it. He was large in size with hands and feet larger in proportion to the rest of his body. He didn't wear gloves or boots with his uniform, but his black hair was neatly combed. The Beast was the smartest of the group, but easily the least mature.
The third was a young girl named Ororo Monroe, born in New York but raised in Africa. Her cloud-white hair worn slightly past her shoulders contrasted with her dark skin, but only added to her exotic beauty. Though mature and level-headed, Ororo was a pessimist and having the most powerful gifts among the students, could be a little arrogant. The others joked that she was always trying to run the show, but in all honesty, none could think of a better leader among them than Storm.
The fourth was a black-haired girl named Callisto Guccione, a kind but idealistic girl who preferred talking to fighting, though her powers lent themselves far more easily to the latter. Callisto wore her hair short, but this didn't take away from her beauty. The boys in the group were almost as willing to follow her as they were Storm, but they all agreed that though Callisto believed in her ideals and would fight to the end to defend them, she didn't always make the best decisions. As a statement to her idealistic nature, she refused to be branded by codename.
The fifth member of the team was a tall, lanky man known only as Caliban. His skin was gray and by all appearances, he looked like the living dead. Caliban had been raised in an orphanage and suffered much abuse for his mutant appearance. A small amount of kindness would ensure that Caliban became a friend. However, his days of tolerating the cruelty of others were over, and Caliban could be vengeful and almost cruel himself to his enemies. He lamented that his mutant power didn't lend itself very easily to combat. He longed for a power that could be useful to him, something that would make him truly feared. The others felt that Caliban took the first part of the codename Bloodhound a little too seriously.
That day, the team assembled before the team of instructors. Raven Darkholme, codenamed Mystique; Jason Wyngarde, codenamed Mastermind; and the man known only as Forge. Mystique and Forge wore outfits similar to those of the students, only with plates of silver armor attached (a tradition which would continue to be upheld by future X-Men instructors), though Mastermind was more comfortable wearing a cheap suit.
"Okay, class," Forge said. "Good work today. Beast, you need to work on your speed, and Bloodhound, your weightlifting skills are slipping. Other than that, I have no complaints. Class is officially over, you're all free to run out and get yourselves killed." The students scattered, chatting amongst themselves and telling each other about their plans. "Okay, you two, Magneto wanted to see us after class. I hope it doesn't take long, I want to get to work building that big gym Xavier designed." The big gym, of course, would later be called the Danger Room.
"I'm glad you're all here," Magneto said, standing in an early version of the war room. The table in the middle of the room had no hologram projectors, nor consoles, and the walls were rather bare, awaiting installation of the many monitors and switches that would eventually occupy them. Magneto had already begun to wear his traditional outfit when he founded the Xavier Institute. "Especially you, Jason and Raven. I wanted to discuss the possibility of your children developing mutations."
"I'm sure it will happen," Mystique said.
"Yes, your children have a good chance of being born with the X-Factor gene. I wanted-"
"To discuss enrolling them at the Institute? I had thought about this. Call me a hypocrite, but I'm not sure I would throw my children into all of this. I'm not sure these kids are ready for this."
"There is always room for improvement, yes, but I want you to see this from the perspective of someone who knows what goes on here."
"Erik, this Institute is still in the experimental stages. Half of those kids still don't know what they're in for, and I'm not sure this training will be all too successful."
"She may have a point," Mastermind said. "They're growing frustrated with the training. Ororo still has little outbursts. What if, in her frustration, she were to decide against her training and use her gifts against humanity?"
"I've considered that possibility, Jason, but I'm sure it won't come to that. If at least three of our students graduate from their training, that will be enough to keep the Institute open and begin recruiting for the next class, which may very well include your children."
"You know, all this talk of kids," Forge interrupted, "I don't have any, so I'm gonna go work on those designs." Forge left the room, a little dejected. Mystique watched him go, knowing why he felt that way and wanting to comfort him. She turned her attention back to Magneto.
"...I am going to enroll both of my children here," Magneto said. "I'm considering adding dorms and keeping our students here full time."
"Here? It's too... cold," Mystique said. "Metal walls don't make for a very friendly environment."
"I have faith in our abilities as teachers," Mastermind told them. "I have faith on the kids' abilities as students. I'm willing to stay on the faculty for another class, and if either of my children develop mutant abilities, I will consider bringing them here."
"Thank you, Jason..." Magneto raised his hand. A small metal flask drifted out of Mastermind's jacket and into Magneto's hand. "But if you're going to be a member of my staff, you should keep your habits outside."
"I'm sorry. I really can't help it... you know how hard it is to raise two children alone..."
"I know it as well as you do, but I don't look for short-term solutions to my stress."
Elsewhere in the city of Bayville, Warren and Callisto sat on a park bench, watching pigeons eat bread crumbs thrown out by an elderly man. Warren's wings were hidden by a heavy coat that helped conceal them.
"...Not that I need to worry, I've got billions coming to me."
"You're so immature," Callisto smiled.
"Callisto, Warren, I didn't expect to find you here," Caliban said to them as he strolled by. "It's hot. Aren't you bothered by that coat?"
"No, not at all," Warren said nervously. Callisto eyed Caliban cautiously.
"You seem to be sweating. Are you sure it's no trouble?"
"I'm fine, Caliban, thank you for your concern," Warren continued angrily.
"Callisto, is the heat troubling you? I was on my way to get a snowcone, perhaps you could join me?"
"No thank you, Caliban," Callisto declined politely.
"Suit yourselves. But it is awfully hot for an overcoat." Caliban continued on his way. Warren scowled at his back.
There was a knock at the door of the Wyngarde residence two days after the staff meeting. Mastermind lived in a small house in an older suburb of Bayville, a three bedroom house with only one story and no garage. Mastermind had been sitting at his chair in the living room, reading a newspaper while his young son Todd, no older than five, jumped around with a toy airplane. His seven-year-old daughter Jean was yelling at him to stop being so annoying. She was not actually a Wyngarde; Mastermind had adopted her shortly after the death of his wife.
"Daddy, there's someone at the door," Jean said.
"I'll get it." Mastermind set his newspaper down and went to answer the door. Mystique stood there, her usual blue skin changed to a normal tone. "Ah, Raven, welcome."
"Thank you, Jason. I brought the kids with me." Mystique had her own children, Kurt and Marie, ages five and four respectively. Todd ran to them, happy to see his friends, and together the trio ran off to play. With nothing better to do, Jean followed them, if for no other reason than to make sure they didn't go into her room and touch her things. "Jason, we need to talk about the students."
"Caliban."
"Oh? You know, then?"
"Yes. He was almost attacked yesterday. I went into his mind briefly when he ran back to the Institute."
"If you've been in his mind, you know what he plans to do."
"No, I didn't see any immediate plan to do anything."
"He bought a gun yesterday." Mastermind put his hands to his chin, concerned. "I'd tell Erik, but I don't think Caliban needs his brand of discipline right now. I already talked to Forge about this, and he agrees that we need to have a talk with Caliban outside the Institute."
"I doubt he would listen to us. He's seen the dark side too many times. Maybe Callisto can talk him out of this?"
"That won't work. If Callisto pays more attention to him, he might get the wrong idea, and when he sees her with Warren again, it'll all have been wasted. It needs to be us... you, Jason. You've been down that road."
"...And I don't need you to remind me. I can't say I regret doing it. I gave them what they deserved." Mystique shifted in her seat. Mastermind looked out the window, then at Mystique. "Look at me, Raven. I'm not a handsome man, I know that. She knew that too, but she didn't care. She loved me for who I was... there are so few people in this world who are as kind and accepting as she was. What kind of men kill a woman like that, just because she's married to a mutant? They weren't men at all, they were the monsters. I don't regret what I did."
"But Caliban didn't lose anyone. He's frustrated. He doesn't want justice or revenge, he wants to respect, and if he can't have that, then he'll settle for fear. He doesn't have the benefit of being able to fool others into seeing other things, he'd be putting himself at greater risk."
"I'll talk with him," Mastermind reluctantly agreed. He stared at the floor for a few moments. "Where are my manners, you're a guest in my home. Would you like something to drink? Coffee?"
"Coffee would be nice." A few minutes later, Mastermind returned with a cup of coffee. He had brought a bottle of whiskey as well. "I... Jason, are you...?"
"I just need a little confidence, that's all." Mastermind took it straight from the bottle. He set it back down on the coffee table and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. Mystique looked at the bottle and noticed that it was half empty.
"Jason, you need to stop this," Mystique said sternly.
"I don't need to stop anything. I can make anyone see or feel or smell or see or taste or touch or see anything, but it doesn't work on me. I can't fool myself into believing it, so this is what I have to do." Mastermind took another swig. He hadn't noticed that he'd said 'see' three times. "So how are the kids?"
"Jason, give me that!" Mystique took the bottle away from him. "What's the matter with you? You have two children! What kind of example are you showing them? It's been three years, Jason, it's time to move on!"
"I have moved on, I just need a refresher every now and then... hell, you have to know what this is like, you're a single parent, too... come to think of it, you never said anything about your husband, or whatever he was... their father and all... so you never tell us anything but you still like to judge me..."
"Again?!" Jean screamed, walking into the living room. "Daddy, you promised you would stop!"
"It's not a habit or anything... I just need to relax, that's all..."
"You promise and promise and promise but you don't want to stop! I'm tired of this! Don't you care about us anymore?"
"Of course I care... who are you to tell me I don't care?! YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME?!" Jean ran to her room, crying, and slammed the door. Mastermind was too tired to get up, and too tired and drunk to stop Mystique from dumping the rest of the bottle's contents down the sink in the kitchen. He grumbled to himself.
"Callisto, have you ever thought about ending it all?" Caliban asked in the locker room after a training session. He was putting his uniform away and Callisto had just finished changing in one of the stalls.
"What?"
"It's the same thing every day. We're mutants, they're not... they hate us for it, want to kill us for it. Have you ever thought about getting them first?"
"Of course not," Callisto said, clearly disgusted by the idea. "I want us to be equals. Neither of us should kill the other."
"You're naive, but you won't let go of your principles. I like that." Callisto shrugged and put her uniform away. Warren was waiting at the exit, and she ran to meet him. Caliban stayed behind, watching them.
Forge was sitting in one of the offices, tinkering with a small radio. Caliban walked in and took a seat without saying a word. Forge looked up, a little surprised. "Hey. What's up?"
"Forge, where was Mastermind today?" Though he wasn't very close to any of the teachers, Mastermind was the one Caliban could relate to most. Neither was particularly attractive, and Mastermind had offered Caliban some guidance and gave him confidence about his appearance.
"He's out sick, nothing to worry about."
"He can't be sick. I saw him driving this morning. Where is he?"
"I'm gonna level with you," Forge said, looking out into the hall to make sure nobody was coming, "But you have to promise me you won't tell anyone. Anyone."
"I promise."
"His daughter ran away from home last night. He's been running all over town trying to find her. Magneto's helping him out."
"I can help," Caliban said hopefully.
"Sorry, buddy, but she's not a mutant. At least, if she turns out to be one, we won't know for a while. They're looking for her the old-fashioned way.
"There must be some way I can help."
"Sorry, but they're doing all they can. There's not much any of us could do."
"I see... thank you, Forge."
Ororo idly twirled a cloud over her head as she lay on the roof of the Xavier Institute. She didn't feel like going home, so she decided to hang out there. The sun was hiding behind some clouds, but she didn't have enough control over her powers to do anything about that. Caliban appeared on the roof after her cloud dispersed.
"It's a gloomy day," Caliban said to her.
"I'd fix that, but I need some more of this training Magneto keeps talking about. I hope that big gym Forge is working on is finished soon." There was a moment of silence between them. They rarely talked, but Ororo felt it was a waste not to make some conversation. "So what's going on, Caliban?"
"Ororo, do you ever wish you were born normal?"
"Never. I'm happy with who I am. Is something wrong?"
"I can't hide from them. When they see me, they know what I am. I can't even defend myself. A little boy threw a rock at me this morning. I didn't think people so young could be so hateful."
"You're better than them."
"Better than humans?"
"No, better than those who judge you by your appearance. I'm glad you haven't stooped to their level. Believe me, even I've thought of doing that."
"You, Hank, Callisto... few see you and know that you are mutants. I am obvious. Warren... he can do both. He is mutated like I am, but he can hide in plain sight. He's not a good person, but he has so much more than I do. Why?"
"He's not a bad person, Caliban, he's just a little snobby. He doesn't hate you."
"But he does. He treats me like I'm nothing. I try to be his friend, but he doesn't want me to."
"Just give him time. We're all still getting used to this whole mutant thing." Ororo made another cloud. "But don't let other people bother you. Just be yourself."
"Thank you, Ororo. You are a good friend." Caliban smiled, and Ororo returned it. "Ororo, would you like to have a hamburger with me? I mean... as a friend."
"Sure."
"Fascinating," Hank said, standing in the control room of the unfinished "big gym" a week later with Forge. None of the metal compartments had been entirely finished, so they were left open with tons of mechanical equipment exposed. Magneto was in the gym itself, moving equipment around with his mutant powers. No console had been added to the balcony control room, but blueprints and random electrical equipment were laid out on the counter where the console would eventually sit. Forge's right arm was in its toolbox mode, though he wasn't doing anything in particular with it, instead looking over the blueprints. "Forge, I've never seen anything like this."
"It's nothing yet. We're still in the first stage of it, with basic robotics. We still need to get the lasers up and running, then we've got the advanced robotics, the hologram generators, and I'm trying to get Magneto to agree to a gravity changer and a nullification device."
"A nullification device? To prevent us from using our powers?"
"Yeah. You might get into some situations where your powers won't do you any good, so I think we need to work on some basic non-powers training, keep you kids on your toes."
"I see... when will this be completed?"
"We're hoping to get it done in about four months, but we'll need to run trials on it and test out the equipment and all of that should take... oh, about a year." Magneto drifted up from the gym onto the balcony. "I've got most of the specs for that hologram machine up here, I just need to put it on paper."
"Good. Hank, would you like to see the arms in action?"
"Oh, absolutely!"
"Flip that switch to your left."
"To my left, right... there's nothing-"
"Your LEFT."
"Oh, sorry." Hank flipped a switch on the counter and the arms below began to move- some smashed the floor with their weight, some cut into the air with blades, some tentacles whipped around at invisible targets. "This is all so remarkable... but it seems a little dangerous for teenaged students, don't you think?"
"What's going on in here?" Ororo asked, walking in. "What in... this is what you're going to pit us against?"
"Your gifts will help you." Magneto flipped the switch and the arms all returned to their uncovered compartments along the walls. "You won't have to worry about this just yet."
"Right, I look forward to practicing in the big bad danger room." Magneto considered her words for a moment. "I thought you guys were out looking for Mastermind's daughter."
"We found her. She's staying at a friend's house, and refuses to come home. Her friends' parents think it's best that she stay with them until Mastermind can keep his habits under control."
"Poor girl," Ororo said.
Caliban watched Warren walking across the street near a fairly crowded shopping center. He was accompanied by Callisto, on their way to get something for Magneto... Caliban hadn't been asked, so he didn't know what it was.
"They are weak," the man next to Caliban said. His face was concealed under a baseball cap and sunglasses, as well as a high-collared jacket. "They're as bad as the humans."
"They can't be so bad. They are my friends."
"Are they? What kind of friends treat you like this? They don't think any more highly of you than those roaches who threw things at you. Look at yourself. You're hideous. Look at the Angel, the winged man. He's a handsome man. Callisto is gorgeous. They can at least pretend they are human. But you? No, you can't even hide, like they can. Everyone on this street knows what you are. Everyone on this street hates you for it."
"I don't want to be a mutant."
"It's not your choice to make. Those mutants want to live with these creatures. They're lesser mutants. Not like you and I."
"I want to live with humans. I don't want them to hate me."
"They will always hate you, and they will always hate Warren and Callisto, when they know what they really are. Why would they ever accept you? They won't. You'll never earn their respect, and the only other way out of this is fear."
"I know... I want to, but I don't..."
"You're superior to them. It's your right. You should be able to do whatever you want with them. It's not their decision anymore, it's not their world. We're going to decide things from now on, and you will be the first."
"I will." Caliban drew his gun from his pocket and aimed it forward. "I won't be the freak." Caliban pulled the trigger. The bullet hit a telephone pole where Warren was walking, and startled, he dropped his coat, took Callisto, and flapped his wings. "He will."
"IT'S A MUTANT!" A man below screamed. Before the crowd became rowdy, Warren flew out of their sight.
"Now is your chance, Caliban. They're not watching." A smile grew across Caliban's face. He aimed his gun at the crowd, and the smile widened.
Magneto, Forge, Mystique and Mastermind arrived at the scene an hour later wearing their street clothes. Mastermind created the illusion of four police officers. "Let me through, Bayville Police!"
"Sir, this is a tragedy," a younger officer told Magneto, who was disguised as the lieutenant. "Ten dead, seventeen injured."
"How did this happen? Do you have any leads?"
"We have a witness, but he's frightened." The officer led them to Caliban, who cowered under a bus stop bench.
"That will do, Jason." They changed back to their real appearances, startling the young officer. Mastermind knelt down to Caliban, who shook uncontrollably, his eyes wide and alert.
"Caliban, what happened here?"
"Someone tried to kill Warren and Callisto... they flew away... I was walking out of the restaurant, and they attacked me... some people came to defend me, I don't know who they were... and everything went out of control..."
"Search his mind," Magneto ordered.
"I won't be able to. He's in shock, his mind will be confused and sensitive, if I go in, it may damage him. What he needs is medical care and some time to calm down."
"There he is! He's the one who did it! Filthy fucking mutant!" They turned around to see a man on a stretcher being taken away. "FUCKING MUTANTS ALWAYS START THE FIGHTS!"
"We'd better-" Mystique stopped when she looked back under the bench. "...He's gone. Jason?"
"I'm on it... I don't sense him anywhere..."
"Fucking mutants, you all deserve to die!" the man in the cap and sunglasses said to him. Magneto grabbed him by his collar. "Every last one of you!"
"Where is he?"
"I'm not telling you!"
"Forge." Forge turned his arm into its toolbox mode and fired up his drill. "You were saying?"
"They took him to that old warehouse on 23rd, they're gonna keep him there, then make an example out of him at town square tomorrow-" The moment he finished Magneto threw him onto the pavement. He lifted a car out of a nearby parking lot and reshaped it into a bowl-like shape. They all climbed in and were on their way.
"Thanks, Mystique," Ororo said into her cell phone. "Caliban got captured, they're on their way to get him back." She was in the foyer of the Xavier Institute with Hank, Warren and Callisto.
"I hope he's alright," Callisto said. "Why didn't we see him there? We could've picked him up before that riot started."
"I panicked," Warren said. "I didn't think anyone else was there."
"You could've at least taken a look around, it's not hard to spot him!"
"Callisto, don't blame me for this! If you had wings, you would've done the same thing!"
"Shut up!" Ororo yelled. "You sound like an old married couple. I'm going to go arm the defenses." Ororo left the others alone in the foyer. After a few minutes, the silence was broken when Caliban walked in, beaten and bruised.
"Caliban, you're okay!" Callisto ran to him. "We need to get you to the infirmary..."
"How did you get past the Institute defenses?" Hank asked.
"I didn't. I was here before they were armed."
"Oh. Then you must have been here for a few minu-"
"Hank, please, he's hurt, you can ask your stupid questions later."
"No, he's on to something," Warren said. "You had to have been here a few minutes, Ororo went to arm them." Caliban didn't bother answering his question. He took a rock he had concealed in his jacket and struck Hank in the head. Taking a switchknife, he jumped on the dazed man and started cutting into him. Warren pulled him off and socked him in the face. Angered, Caliban kneed him in the stomach and pushed him against the wall. While Warren was trying to recover, Callisto jumped on Caliban's back and tackled him to the ground.
"Get... OFF!" Caliban struggled, but he was pinned. He rolled with all his strength and pinned Callisto under him. "You disgrace yourself, Callisto.. you want to force people to accept you..."
"There's no reason they shouldn't!" Callisto replied, struggling against him.
"If we can't be accepted, we should save everyone who does, and kill anyone who doesn't!" Caliban punctuated his statement by stabbing his switchknife into Callisto's right eye, covering his face with spray of blood. He jumped off the screaming Callisto just as Warren had recovered.
"Caliban, you son of a-" Caliban kicked him in the face and knocked him against the wall. Warren elbowed him in the face and then punched him in the stomach. He took the switchknife Callisto had just pulled out and flew at Caliban.
"Hey, hold it, what happened here?!" Ororo screamed. Hank was unconscious, covered in longs, bleeding cuts, and Callisto was on the floor with a bleeding eye. Caliban was on the floor from Warren's beating and Warren hovered overhead, carrying a knife. "Warren, what in-"
"It's not what it looks like! It was Caliban!"
"Like hell it was!" Ororo created a strong wind that pinned Warren to the ceiling with a loud bang and knocked him out. She let him fall against the metal floor and went to check on Callisto. "Callisto, are you alright?"
"Ororo, no... Caliban..."
"What?"
"It was Caliban..." Ororo turned to the spot where Caliban was, but he was gone. She heard his footsteps down the hall and caught up to him easily and pinned him against the wall with her own strength and without much effort.
"Who do you think you are, Caliban?!"
"I'm a mutant, Ororo... they were, too. They wouldn't accept me... the only way to make things right would be to punish them for it... they got what they deserved!"
"They're still alive, Caliban!"
"No... the crowd on the street. It was me... Magneto went the wrong way and I came here..." Caliban kicked out of her hold and started down the hall. "It's too late!" he yelled back. "I'm starting a new life! I've made a deal with someone!"
"Who, exactly?" Magneto asked. Caliban slipped and fell on his back in surprised. Magneto was blocking his way. The panel on the floor rose and lifted Caliban up and pushed him to his feet. He was now looking Magneto in the eye. "You are going to pay dearly for this, Caliban."
"I don't think so." A quick and powerful headbutt knocked Magneto onto the floor. "I thought you were supposed to be powerful."
"I am!" Magneto yelled further down the hall. Caliban looked at the floor and saw only Mystique. The metal panels on the floor, walls and ceiling all flew in to contain Caliban. Mastermind stepped behind him and placed his hands on the sides of Caliban's head.
"Mastermind... what are you doing?"
"I'm going to see what you've been up to, Caliban."
"You're going to stun me, aren't you?"
"When I'm done, yes."
"I thought you were different, Mastermind... you're like everyone else... you want me to be like all of you, you want to punish me for being superior."
"I assure you, there is nothing superior about you." Mastermind's eyes became blue and he concentrated. Caliban blinked. "Argh... egh... AAAGH!" Mastermind's eyes became white for a moment and he collapsed.
"That does it!" Ororo yelled. She created a wind so powerful that it tore a hole in the ceiling. The metal panels surrounded Caliban were pulled out, almost as if sucked out, by the powerful wind. Magneto took Mystique and Mastermind's hands, using his own magnetic power to keep himself grounded. Caliban held tightly to Mastermind's foot, struggling against the pull of Ororo's fury. The tear in the ceiling grew wider and the pull greater, and Caliban felt Mastermind's shoe slipping. It was pulled out through the hole and he quickly took hold of his foot, but then his sock slipped. He tried to grab Mastermind's bare foot, but the wind only intensified. Magneto was having a hard time just staying put.
"Ororo, stop this!" Caliban cried. She hadn't even heard him over the howl of her wind. Her eyes had grown white with rage. Finally, the pull was too much and the wind took hold of Caliban, throwing him towards the sky. Ororo stepped into her own wind tunnel and flew up to the sky to meet him.
"I'm not done with you!" she screamed.
"Ororo, have mercy!"
"If you had any yourself, you wouldn't be here!" Ororo waved her hand towards the sky and clouds gathered above the twister that contained Caliban. Bits of metal from the shredded roof of the Instituted scraped him as they flew around him, leaving small but precise cuts everywhere on his body. The clouds above him darkened and flashed.
"No, please! NO!" Caliban looked up at the growing storm and saw only a blue flash as a powerful bolt of lightning struck him, but didn't fade. The lightning raged on from the storm as if the storm's energy was focused entirely on him. His screams were drowned out by the crackling and booming of the air as the continued lightning burned it. The electricity was still surging down when Ororo was thrown back by a powerful explosion. Her concentration was broken and the lightning faded. The clouds disappeared and the wind stopped.
There was nothing to cushion Ororo's fall. She had exhausted herself in her anger and could do nothing. With her last ounce of strength, she created a gust of wind to soften her landing on the cold, metal roof. When she did, she looked up at the cloud of smoke in the sky, all that remained of Caliban. She kicked herself for having trusted him. How could she have been so blind?
Four weeks had passed since Caliban turned against his allies. Forge had made a prosthetic eye for Callisto. It had worked as a bionic eye at first, but it just didn't feel right, and Callisto preferred just having one normal eye rather than two working eyes with conflicting degrees of fidelity. Hank's wounds had healed, though he now bore large, unsightly scars all over his chest and upper arms. Ororo, feeling that she couldn't trust anybody anymore, left the X-Men entirely. Mastermind had seen a short funeral and a quick burial. Jean Grey could not be reached to be invited.
"I know that this will be hard for you, Todd," Mystique explained to the orphaned Todd Wyngarde at the Brotherhood of Bayville Boarding House. "But your father had told me that if anything were to happen to him, I would be his first choice as a foster mother. It's the least I could do for him."
"Hey, what's Todd doing here?" Scott asked. Scott was Mystique's oldest, though he was adopted, and preferred to stay at home. At only nine years old, his eyes were becoming a red color, and so he already showed signs of a growing mutation.
"He'll be living with us from now on, Scott."
"Fine by me. Come on, I'll get you all set up in your room." Scott led Todd upstairs. Todd seemed to bound up the steps. Mystique had to raise an eyebrow at that. Jean's current guardians had refused to allow Jean to live with her, and being a mutant, Mystique didn't think she had any chance in a legal battle. Until she was ready, Jean would live away from her brother.
It would be a decade before the truth about Mastermind's death was revealed. An outside force had protected Caliban's mind and shocked Mastermind's brain. He slipped into a coma, though this same outside force had used Mastermind's own power to make it appear as if he were truly dead. Mastermind was taken, and the coffin that was lowered into the grave was empty.
Some time later, Ororo's sister was killed during a robbery. Though the robbers had no idea she was related to a mutant, they were known mutant haters, and Ororo's distrust for humanity grew stronger.
There was no physical change in Caliban when he was exposed to the Cyttorak gem. In fact, he didn't feel any sort of change at all. He sat in a small white room with six other people, mostly scientists. One of them was Viper.
"How do you feel?" Viper asked.
"The same..." The same outside force that had surrounding his mind to protect him from Mastermind had teleported him in time to avoid Ororo's powerful lightning. He bore many, many scars all over his body, but he was otherwise unharmed. "What was I supposed to feel?"
"Change, I'd wager. Concentrate for me, would you?"
"I will..." One of the scientists scanned Caliban with a handheld device.
"Madame... it appears to have cured him."
"Cured? How can that be?"
"It's detecting no mutant life signs."
"I am... cured? But I look the same..." Caliban looked at his ugly gray hands. "What is the point if I look the same? I can still sense... you are a mutant." Caliban pointed to one of the scientists.
"It appears you have picked up a unique little gift, my young friend. I have big plans for you." On Viper's signal, a door was opened. Father Stryker stepped in, flanked by two black guards, similar to the green guards Viper often used. "Father Stryker, I would like you to meet Caliban."
"Filthy pondscum, that's all this thing is to me. Why do you show me this?"
"Because, Father, he happens to be your son." Stryker's face went pale. He looked at the ugly, scarred, gray man sitting there. Yes, it all made sense now. The infant he had tried to dispose of...
-------------------------------
Magneto stood with his own team near a row of newly-opened metal spheres in the middle of the desert. The night air had chilled it considerably, but it was still dry and warm. Several yards from the spheres was a heavily guarded fence, and beyond it, a heavily guarded military base. His team consisted of Warren Worthington, Robert Drake, Lance Alvers, Kate Pryde, Callisto, and of all people, Evan Daniels.
"We have no time to lose," Magneto said. In a moments' time, the fence was down and the team rushed in.
Those of you who've read AoA:AR, here's some trivia for you:
Alternate Reality: Toad and Jean Grey are Mastermind's children. They hate him, though it's never specifically stated why.
Legacy of Apocalypse: We learn that Mastermind was an alcoholic and hinted that he might've been a bit abusive.
So there you go, in AR he abused them as children. When Apocalypse recruited him, he outright abandoned them. The only thing that's different is that in AR, Jean was his biological daughter (adopted by the Greys), and in LoA, Jean is a Grey by birth (adopted by Mastermind).
And, in reverse:
Legacy of Apocalypse: While Magneto, Mystique and Mastermind (THE M SQUAD!!!!!!!!) are discussing their children, Forge gets upset and leaves. Mystique knows why.
Alternate Reality: Forge explains to Mystique that a side-effect of his mutation is that he is sterile.
So, having met beforehand in LoA, Mystique already knows this.
Now then, on to the usual questions...
What is Magneto doing? Why is Evan there? Wh... uh... crap. I spent so much time writing that backstory that I didn't have time to do much of anything. Okay. Well, dwell on those questions.