Okay in the original graphic novel it was a senator that was revealed to be a mutant, but nothing more was done with that. I just had a thought what would happen if a powerful public figure was revealed as a mutant. Here's my version. I made up this guy and any resemblance to anyone real is not intended.

The Fall and Rise of Congressman Shore

Congressman Kenneth Shore thought there was an order to the universe. More specifically he believed in order. Nearly all thirty-five years of his life he had dedicated himself to preserving that order. His place within that order was to serve the American people, just like his father had done when he was a Senator. He had been the perfect Republican Congressman, with a doting well-groomed wife and bright loveable six-year-old daughter. There was even talk of him running for the Presidency in future elections.

Then that damned Stryker and his crusade blew everything to hell.

After the fiasco at Madison Square Garden his people rushed him to a hospital where he was checked out. Physically he checked out clean, except for the minor fact that he was now a mutant.

A mutant? How the hell could he be a mutant? Mutants had powers, abilities and appearances that shunned them from the rest of society. Many were dangerous. Oh of course there were always a few unfortunates that weren't, but many of them were. But that was no reason to kill them. The only reason he went to that Sunday Service of the Damned was that his party wanted someone to keep an eye on Stryker. To make sure he was someone the Republican Party could support.

Well that was never going to happen now. No one with any connection to his party was going to touch Stryker or any of his people with a ten-foot pole despite any feelings about mutants. A person willing to kill someone, well hundreds of people on national television was not really the image his party wanted to convey.

He never really hated mutants particularly. He had actually felt sorry for them. He thought that they needed help and treatment for their condition instead of being tormented. Mutations were diseases that weren't their fault. You don't blame a person who has cancer or MS for the evils of society. The thought that mutants should be exterminated was absurd to him. They should get treatment, yes. Go to clinics where they could get medicine and be isolated until their powers were under control if not eliminated, most definitely. Be rehabilitated so that they could be productive members of society and lead somewhat normal lives. That's all mutation was. A disease.

A disease he now had.

After the incident he was rushed to a hospital where several tests were performed on him. The doctors told him that the X-Gene was dormant in his body and that he should go home and get some rest. When he went home he saw his wife Karen at the door, worried. "They told me what happened," She informed him.

"That damn nutcase Stryker is a maniac," He grunted. "Could have killed us all."

"They said only mutants were affected," She was looking at him suspiciously.

"Well they made a mistake obviously," Shore told her. "I mean come on Karen! Do I look like a mutant to you?"

"Nobody knows what mutants look like these days," She pointed out. "That's the point of the Registration Act."

"Look," He decided to level with her. "It turns out I have some kind of dormant mutant gene in my body. Emphasis on the word dormant. I am not a mutant."

"But you have a mutant gene?" She was shocked.

"It came as a surprise to me too," Shore grunted. "Anyway it's over and no one needs to know about this."

Or so he thought.

The following morning proved otherwise. He didn't feel well that night so he went to be early. His wife decided to sleep in the guest quarters so not to disturb him (at least that's what she claimed.). He went right to sleep. He woke up to the sound of screaming. He saw his six-year-old daughter staring at him yelling her head off. Then his wife and the nanny ran in and they screamed.

He couldn't figure out what was wrong until he caught a glance in the mirror. His skin and face was covered with hard gray lesions. And they were growing. But the most shocking thing of all that his blue eyes had suddenly turned black and red.

And then he screamed.

By the time he had been secretly rushed to the hospital he had grown at least two feet taller, his hair turned black and now his skin had hardened into a heavy gray rocklike substance. "What the hell is happening to me?" Shore shouted after they examined him.

"I'm afraid your…mutation is kicking in," The doctor who had examined him the other day coughed politely.

"What are you talking about? You told me that damned X-Gene I had was dormant?" Shore snapped.

"It was, until now," The doctor looked at his notes. "You're the fifth case I've seen today. And there are even more reports coming in of other sightings. From what we understand it had something to do with what happened at Madison Square Garden."

"Are you telling me," Shore glared at him. "The only reason I am turning into a rock is because I went to that damned church service from hell?"

"Apparently yes," The doctor told him. "From what we gather in Stryker's bid to eliminate mutants with active X-Genes he accidentally triggered the X-Gene in those who had dormant X-Genes."

"Meaning…?"

"All the people in the entire city of New York and in a few surrounding counties who had dormant X-Genes are now active carriers."

"In other words we now have a god damned epidemic on our hands!" Shore shouted. "Can't you people stop this?"

"I'm sorry," He shook his head. "There's just so little we know about mutations."

"This isn't happening," Karen shook her head. "This can't be happening to us."

"There is a chance your daughter might possess the X-Gene," The Doctor said. "I'm afraid for safety's sake we're going to have to do some tests."

"Oh my god…" Karen staggered. "Are you saying that my husband passed on this disease to our daughter?"

"HOW THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW?" Shore shouted.

"Technically, mutations are not diseases," The doctor told them.

"Doc I got some kind of shingles over my entire body and I'm gray!" Shore shouted. "Do I look healthy to you?"

"I understand you are in shock right now…" The doctor said calmly.

"Shock? Shock? Oh no I am not in shock. I am furious!" Shore roared as he leapt off the table and threw a chair into the wall. "I'LL SUE HIM! I'LL SUE THE BASTARD FOR EVERY PENNY HE HAS!"

"Who?" Karen was horrified.

"REVERNED ANTI-LOVEJOY! WHO DO YOU THINK?" Shore roared. He sat down and ran his hands through his hair. "That bastard is going to pay for what he did to me! Call my lawyers! I need them now!"

"I'm afraid that's not a good idea sir," His aide coughed.

"Why the hell not?" Shore snapped.

"Sir we can't exactly make this public now can we?" His aide said. "Think of your reputation."

"Well what the hell am I supposed to do? Put on some makeup and contacts and pretend like it's a really big zit?" Shore snapped.

"Ken…we think it's best that you stay out of the public eye," Karen said evenly.

"Obviously!" Shore groaned. "I can't let the voters see me like this! This is not happening to me!"

"I'm afraid it is," Senator Colino, one of the top men of his party walked in. "My god Ken…"

"I know…" Shore groaned.

"They told me you changed…" The Senator stepped back, revulsion clear in his body posture.

"That is the understatement of the freaking week," Shore grumbled.

"Maybe you should leave," Senator Colino said to Karen.

"She can stay," Shore sighed.

"No, I want to go," Karen looked at him. "I want to get as far away from you as I can."

"What are you talking about?" Shore asked. "I may be a rock but I'm not exactly contagious!" He took her hand but she pulled away.

"I can't even touch you…" Karen shuddered before she left.

"Karen! Karen!" Shore shouted.

"Ken control yourself!" Colino admonished. "The poor woman is in shock for crying out loud!"

"She's in shock? Have you taken a good look at me?" Shore snapped. "I can't go out in public like this!"

"I'm sorry Ken I never would have asked you to go if I knew…" Colino sighed.

"That I'd end up looking like Plymouth Rock?" Shore snapped. "Well I did! Now what am I going to do?"

"We can never let the voters see you like this that's for sure," Colino said. "We'll say you have an illness. Not related to the attack on Stryker."

"Why the hell not? I want to sue the bastard! Don't tell me you're thinking of protecting him?"

"Of course not! We don't want to be associated with him in any way! But…"

"But what?"

"Well you can't exactly continue your duties as you are now can you?" Colino looked at him. "We have to hide you someplace. At least until your replacement wins the election."

"What do you mean exactly?" Shore asked.

"How do you think it's going to look to your constituents if they see you in this condition?" Colino snapped. "Don't worry, I know just the place to hide you."

And that was how he ended up in this place. An armed military escort took him to the Pit like he was some sort of criminal. The tests they ran on him were not as annoying as he expected them to be but he still didn't like it.

"A lot of mutants have been through a lot worse," General Hawk told him in the med bay when he complained. "Trust me, you were lucky to be brought here."

"Let me guess," Shore grunted. "A friend of a friend called in a favor?"

"Something like that yes," Hawk sighed. "The Misfits have been officially assigned to protect you."

"You know I was once on a committee looking into whether we should cut the budget for GI Joe…" Shore chuckled.

"I know," Hawk nodded.

"As the kids would say, irony sucks," Shore sighed. "Three days ago I was a respected Congressman. Now my party is treating me like a leper. I'm about to lose my seat and my family. Not to mention my body is behaving in ways that I have no clue about."

"Pretty frightening isn't it?" Hawk asked. "Now imagine a kid going through this."

"General the last thing I need right now is a lecture of mutant rights and how they are treated!" Shore snapped. "Hell I'm living it right now! I never really hated mutants or anything! I didn't even want to go to that damned…" He broke off. "What's the use. It's all freaking over anyway!"

"No Congressman, for you it's just beginning," Hawk said. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Shore asked as they walked down the hall. "More tests?"

"Not exactly," Hawk sighed as he opened a door. Inside were the Misfits and a blonde man in a strange outfit.

"Congressman Shore," The man grinned. "Call me Psyche-Out. I'm the resident shrink. Welcome to group therapy."

It was then Shore realized he hit rock bottom.

After a while he started listening to their stories. It appalled him how many of them were treated. "Your family disowned you?" Shore asked Lina. "Just like that?"

"Yeah it really hit me hard," Lina sighed. "I even…I even tried to kill myself."

"They were jerks," Fred growled. "Not worth dying over."

"I'm a lot better now," Lina said. "I mean here I have a family. It's just sometimes I do miss them even if they don't want me anymore."

"I was lucky in a way," Angelica sighed. "My dad still wanted me, he just couldn't take care of me. Course if that stupid doctor hadn't turned me over to that lab…"

"I had no idea," Shore shook his head. "Of course I've heard rumors but I didn't know…"

"You can't really know unless you lived it," Lance told him. "Have you heard about a place called Moreaussseau?"

After he heard about it Shore was sick and outraged. "Are you telling me our own government has been covering up these places for all these years?" Shore gasped.

"Unfortunately yes," Psyche-Out told him. "Human experimentation and genocide don't exactly make good press. Especially in election years."

"This is all unbelievable…" Shore shook his head. "Like something out of a bad science fiction movie."

"Yeah, well the press has come up with some pretty good plots," Wanda grunted. She held up a newspaper. "See this?"

"Senator Colino expresses sympathy for Stryker…" Pietro scoffed. "I read it!"

"What? Let me see that!" He read the paper. "I don't believe this! That double crossing… Even after what that maniac did to me they're still trying to get on his good side?" Shore shouted. "That's it! I won't take this lying down!"

"So what do you want to do about it Shore?" Psyche-Out asked.

"I'm not just going to go quietly," Shore snarled. "God help me I don't know what I'm going to do but I'm not going to just step aside and let them get away with this."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"How are you feeling?" Lina asked Shore.

"I'm about to out myself in front of the world, how do you think I'm feeling?" Shore sighed nervously. He was dressed impeccably in a suit and tie. "I'm amazed the Joes allowed me out."

"Well they never said exactly how long we were to keep you at our base," Roadblock grinned. "And technically the Misfits are protecting you."

"You know you are going to make a lot of enemies by letting me do this," Shore sighed.

"Not like we don't have any," Shipwreck shrugged. "Besides I'll bet most of the people you tick off with your speech will already be mad at us. What's one more reason?"

"It's very brave of you to do this," Lina told him. "Good luck."

"I'm going to need it," Shore grunted as he looked at the reporters crowded outside.

"We are here with the breaking news that Congressman Kenneth Shore of New York is staging a press conference. It's been rumored that the Congressman's health has deteriorated since the events at Madison Square Garden. There is another one that the Congressman himself is a mutant," Trish Trilby reported. "Wait here he comes now…Oh god. I think that's him. Apparently there might be some truth to those rumors. He's about to speak."

"Good Evening," Shore cleared his throat. "Believe it or not I am Congressman Kenneth Shore. Three days ago I attended the Reverend William Stryker's Sermon in Madison Square Garden. I went there, ignorant of the fact that I was carrying a dormant X-Gene. Stryker's attack activated my dormant X-gene as well as the dormant X-genes of over a hundred and twenty nine people in the city of New York. As a result of this change, my body has undergone a radical biological transformation, which you can see for yourself. This change transformed me into a mutant."

He paused for the crowd to murmur and die down. "My mutation is self apparent, my skin has become extremely hard and rocklike. My eyes have changed color as well as my complexion. Other than that there have been no other changes. Still as you can imagine it has been quite a startling experience to say the least."

"I have discovered quite a few things these past few days, besides my obvious condition. The most shocking of all is how little we know about mutations and how they occur yet how quickly people are to attack those who possess these differences. Therefore I am announcing that I am bringing a class action lawsuit against the Reverend William Stryker on behalf of all his victims of the Madison Square Garden Assault."

"Are you stepping down from your seat?" Trish called out.

"Unless the voters of New York tell me otherwise I will not be resigning my position," Shore replied. "I am however considering changing parties."

"Do you still support Mutant Registration?" Another reporter asked.

"To be honest I'm still not quite sure about that myself," Shore replied. "Perhaps if I had known my body contained an X-Gene this could have been avoided. And yes people do need to know if they are in danger. However...I am not quite sure I like the fact that I need to be catalogued and possibly incarcerated just because of an accident of birth. Or in my case a vicious, unprovoked attack."

"So you have no other powers then?" Another asked.

"Unless you count a new sense of moral outrage no," Shore sighed.

Suddenly two 'reporters' whipped out pistols. "DIE MUTIE FREAK!" They shouted as they fired. A bullet hit Shore but he wasn't hurt due to his thick rock skin. Wanda and Pietro quickly disarmed the attackers. Still several members of the press scattered and fled.

"Good thing I have my own bulletproof vest…" Shore grunted as he examined his suit. "Who are those guys?" He indicated the two attackers quickly being taken away.

"FOH," Lance grunted. "They wanted to make an example out of you."

"Somehow they must have gotten a heads up," Angelica said. "You know with all the rumors and all."

"I knew politics was a dangerous game but this is ridiculous…" Shore groaned.

After giving a statement to the authorities Shore and the Misfits went inside his office a few hours later. "Nice to see it hasn't been destroyed," Shore sighed. "Yet. But I'll bet there are a hell of a lot of angry letters and e-mails."

"Congressman," His secretary walked in with a smile. "Welcome back."

"Thanks Betty," Shore sighed. "Let me guess, everyone else resigned?"

"Pretty much," Betty shrugged. "I'm not leaving though. What you did just now…That was probably the bravest thing I've ever seen on the Hill."

"Well it's nice to see I have one friend left," Shore sighed.

"Actually there are a few others that are pretty impressed with your speech," Betty told him. "Ralph Nader wants you to become his running mate for President."

"Oh god just what I need…" Shore rolled his eyes.

"There's someone else to see you as well," Betty grinned. "I'll go get her." She left the room.

"So you think you still have a chance staying in office?" Angelica asked even though she knew the answer.

"Oh I'll be voted out," Shore sighed. "I don't need any polls to tell me that."

"Well at least you'll go down in history as the first open mutant Congressman," Wanda said. "That's got to be worth something."

"My father always did want me to go down in history," Shore laughed. "But I don't think he had this in mind."

"What about your family?" Pietro asked.

"My wife has just filed for divorce," Shore sighed. "And to be honest I'm relieved. One good thing about this is that she's decided for me to have custody of my daughter."

"You mean…?" Wanda's eyes opened.

"Her family convinced her that Sharon would be better off if she lived with 'her own kind'," Shore snorted. "Karen was not happy that the test came back positive. I don't know what she'll do yet but she is a mutant or will be."

"So she's dropping her just like that," Lance's voice was bitter. "Yeah we know the drill."

"She almost sent her away to some clinic overseas she heard about," Shore scoffed. "But when she found out that it was backed by Striker well…"

"I can imagine…" Lance's fists grew tighter. "We've heard about places like that. They're all really quack jobs. People who just want to use them for super soldier projects or 'cure' 'em by killing 'em slowly."

"Well it's being shut down as we speak," Shore said. "Called in one of my last few favors to make sure of that. Even Karen couldn't do that to her so…"

"Daddy!" Shore's daughter Sharon ran in. She leapt in his arms. "Wow you're arms are hard."

"Hi kiddo," Shore smiled. "You're not scared of Daddy anymore?"

"Nope," Sharon shook her head. "The nice lady 'splained to me that you're still my daddy. You just look different."

"Our nurse Bree talked with her," Cover Girl explained. "She's good with kids."

"Well that's something," Shore sighed.

"So what are you going to do when your term ends?" Wanda asked.

"I've been talking to a few of my friends who have decided to stick by me," Shore said. "Mutants still need a political voice. You might say I'm forming a special interest group."

"Well I guess you don't need us anymore," Althea said. "Good luck Congressman."

"I'm gonna need it," Shore nodded. "And thanks."

It was odd. His career was practically over, but he felt more alive then he had been in a long time. He had a new purpose, a new passion.

It was a new beginning.

Next: More at what the Misfits were doing when Proteus was attacking. And what happens with Bill? What's his story? Find out in the following chapters.