Breaking Down

Ororo and a team of X-Men followed Evan in the sewers. The team consisted of Scott, Jean, Kitty and Kurt. "You really think they're going to listen to you?" Evan asked.

"Why not?" Kurt asked.

"How would you like it if you were asked to leave the Institute because it was more convenient?" Evan asked.

"What do you mean 'leave'?" Callisto asked as she and the other Morlocks appeared from the shadows. "This does not sound promising Spyke. We allowed you to contact the X-Men because we thought they would help us."

"And we will," Scott told them.

"So you'll help us fight?" Tommy asked.

"It's…not that simple," Scott told her.

"According to the law Spears has the right to create Power 8 as well as dump the residue from the chemicals into the sewers," Ororo explained. "Because the toxic levels are non existent."

"To humans!" Caliban snapped. "What about us?"

"So we're just supposed to give up and die simply because of a human law?" Callisto asked bitterly.

"No," Jean said. "There's a better way. We're working on a formula, an antidote. Something that will make Power 8 harmless to mutants. We just need some time."

"How much time are we talking about?" Callisto folded her arms.

"Two maybe three weeks," Jean said.

"And what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Feral snarled.

"You're going to have to move out of the tunnels," Ororo told them.

"Leave the tunnels! Leave the Alley? No! They can't mean that!" Several Morlocks shouted in protest.

"I told you they weren't going to like it," Evan said to Ororo.

"It's only for a few weeks or so," Scott explained. "Until then you're more than welcome to stay at our mansion."

"Stay? With you?" Callisto barked. "Do you really expect us to live among humans out in the open?"

"Well what other choice do you have?" Jean asked.

"Yeah we do it," Kitty remarked. "Okay it's not exactly a picnic but we manage."

"Oh yes the little pretty one has a point," Feral sneered. "But then she looks human. She can hide amongst the crowd if she has to."

"That's a luxury some of us don't have," Lucid told her. "You're not like us. You can go anywhere. Do anything you want…

"Uh excuse me but you're not really very observant are you?" Kurt asked. "I mean look at me. I use an image inducer to hide my appearance if I have to. Watch," He showed them. "The Professor can make some for you all if you want. We just want to help."

"We don't need help from any topside pets!" A mutant named Tar Baby snarled. "We know all about you blue one. Follows a human female around like a trained monkey!"

"Well it's better than dying here in this place!" Kitty snapped.

"Oh look who's passing judgements," Feral snarled. "It may not be clean down here but we prefer this filth to the trash you live with above!"

"Perhaps you are all too deluded and naïve to understand this," Callisto said sternly. "But we prefer to live with grime on our bodies rather than human intolerance and loathing in our souls. This is our home! We will not run!" The other Morlocks agreed vocally.

"Evan tell them!" Ororo pleaded. "Listen to reason!"

"Reason?" Evan glared at her. "You mean why we should allow the humans who drove us underground to drive us away even further? To chase these people out of the only home they have ever known or ever will know? To allow people who spit on us and refuse to let us buy groceries in the store or even walk down the street in daylight to kick us down even further! No way!"

"But Evan…" Ororo started.

"This is why I left!" Evan snapped. "You think that just by rolling over and trying to make the norms happy that everything will be all right? Well it doesn't work that way! It's not all right!"

"Evan…" Ororo pleaded.

"You people just sit there in your big mansion without a clue going on what's happening in the real world!" Evan shouted. "You make all these speeches about everybody getting along and coexisting with mutants but when it all comes down to it you haven't done anything right! I mean look at how things have gotten worse within the past few years!"

"Yeah you all make a mess and then hide in that fancy pants mansion while the rest of us real mutants suffer!" Cybelle shouted.

"He's right!" Feral snarled. "Cowards all! Like my so called sister and Berzerker!"

"That's not true!" Ororo shouted. "All we've ever done is to try and help mutants!"

"Yeah and you've done a bang up job so far!" Evan told her. "You want to help, help us fight!"

"We can't do that," Ororo said.

"Then what good are you?" Evan glared at her.

"You are way out of line Evan!" Scott snapped.

"The name is Spyke, Cyclops!" Evan snarled at him. "And if you'd bother to take a look around you you'd see that you're the ones who are out of line!" Several Morlocks took up an offensive stance in their position.

"I told you going to them would be a waste of time!" Feral snarled. "Why don't you flatscan lovers go back topside where you belong?"

"I really thought you people would help us," Evan glared at them.

"And I thought you knew us better than that," Scott glared back. "You can't just…"

"What? Protect our home? Or our lives?" Evan interrupted. "But it's perfectly okay for humans to hunt us like animals and murder us?" Several Morlocks agreed.

"Spyke the law is on Spears' side," Jean tried to reason with him.

"You mean the human law," Callisto snarled. "There is only one law down here, survive! By any means necessary!"

"Evan I can't let you do anything rash!" Ororo shouted.

"Or what?" Evan looked at her. "You'll send me to my room?" A chorus of laughter emitted from the Morlocks. "I'm right and you know it!"

"There are several different kinds of right," Ororo looked at him sadly. "I wish I'd taught you better than that."

"Oh you did teach me," Evan said. "Most of all how to fight when I have to. And that's what I plan to do."

"I think you'd all better leave," Callisto spoke to them. "Now."

"If you cross the line Spyke," Scott warned. "We'll stop you."

"Try," Evan growled.

The X-Men left to a chorus of jeers. When they were gone Callisto asked Evan. "Now what? It was bad enough when the topsiders were against us, now we have the X-Men too?"

"Don't worry," Evan told her. "I think I've got a plan. In a few days, Spears will be out of business, permanently."

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"I don't like what I'm hearing Xavier," General Hawk frowned. He was with the Misfits in the X-Men's war room along with Lifeline and Airtight. The X-Men were there as well.

"I don't like saying it," Xavier folded his hands. "But the Morlocks refuse to listen to reason. They're determined to fight."

"I knew the Porcupine had a hard head but this is ridiculous," Logan snorted.

"You know what really bites?" Kitty sighed. "Part of me wants to join him."

"I know Half Pint," Logan sighed. "A lot of us feel the same way. But you all know how tense things are and things will get worse."

"It's like the incident in China all over again," Jean said.

"There is one bit of positive news," Beast said.

"We could use some," John said.

"Thanks to the sample of Power 8 Mr. Spears…donated to us," Hank smirked. "We've been able to break down the molecular composition of the formula."

"Lifeline and I are pretty close to creating an antidote," Airtight told them. "With Beast's help we may be able to come up with an antidote within a week."

"That's not soon enough," Hawk frowned. "Trinity's pretty good at figuring things like this out. We're going to need all the help we can get. Something tells me time is not on our side."

"I have a few colleagues I can refer to," Lifeline remarked. "They specialize in toxins and antibodies."

"Get on with it," Hawk nodded. "Now. If we can create a shot of some kind to neutralize it, we can inoculate all of you so that the formula won't have any affect on any mutants."

The three of them left. "Now are you sure you couldn't convince the Morlocks to move for even a few days?" Hawk asked.

"We tried everything short of knocking 'em out and dragging 'em here," Logan grunted. "They didn't wanna listen."

"I don't get it," Pietro shook his head. "You'd think they'd be happy to leave the sewers for a bit."

"I'm afraid its more than that Pietro," Althea told him. "This is about pride and territory, not just survival. The Morlocks are proud, a little too proud for their own good."

"Can you blame them?" Thornn looked at them. "Me and Ray were one of them. We may not have had much but what we did have was unity and safety. Everything else was taken away from us. If they let a jerk like Spears drive them out, they lose it all."

"Yeah you can only push people so far until they start to push back," Ray growled.

"I can understand how you feel Berzerker but openly attacking Spears isn't the answer," Scott shook his head.

"He's right," Lance grudgingly agreed. "People are still freaked out about what Magneto did in Washington a few days ago. How do you think they'll react if they hear a group of mutants attack a building right now?"

"This is gonna end up real violent real fast if we don't do something," Logan said.

"We have no choice," Xavier sighed. "We have to stop the Morlocks from attacking Spears' plant."

"You mean defend the guy who wants to poison us?" Logan growled. "Perfect!"

"And I was afraid we wouldn't have anything to do this week," Pietro quipped.

Next: Things really heat up as the Morlocks attack! But what happens will change the lives of the X-Men forever! Again!