And now, we'll find out just what is going on, plus a shed some light on a certain character's past. I don't own X-Men, but Project: Alpha is my creation. And like I said in the summary, this fic is AU-ish, so they know about the Savage Land, and other stuff that they didn't really touch on in the show.
Chapter 7: Alpha
"Ugh... Did anyone get the license number of that truck?" Morgan mumbled, as he finally regained consciousness.
"So, you're finally awake."
Morgan looked around, and tried to get up, only to find that he was strapped to a table of some sort. He would have just shadowed his way out, but the room was flooded with light, almost painfully bright. At the edge of his vision, he saw a figure approaching. He could tell the figure was female from the way she walked.
"Where am I?" Morgan said.
"Now, now, is that any way to address your creator?" the woman said, leaning over Morgan and allowing him a good look at her face. Her features were framed by black bangs, and she peered at him with bright blue eyes. He couldn't place it, but something about her was disturbingly familiar.
"What do you mean, "creator"? Who the hell are you?" Morgan demanded.
"Haven't you ever looked in a mirror?" the woman asked.
Morgan's eyes went wide with shock, and he realized what was so familiar about her. It was something he saw in the mirror every day. Sure, her features were much more feminine, but the similarity was uncanny.
"What the hell is going on here?" Morgan said, feeling very scared and confused.
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Back at the mansion...
"How's the professor?" Scott said to Beast, who was checking on Xavier.
I'm quite fine, but thank you for your concern, said a voice in Scott's head.
"Fortunately, it was only a mild tranquilizer in the dart. Just enough to put the Professor back to sleep before he could sound the alarm," McCoy said, placing a furry hand on Scott's shoulder.
"Well, whoever they were, they sure knew what they were doing. If Kitty hadn't woken up Storm, who knows what else they would have done," Scott said.
"Indeed. But now is the time to focus on more pressing matters. One of our students was taken by last night's intruders. Gather the rest of the X-Men, and meet me in the briefing room in half an hour." Xavier said. "I'm going to use Cerebro to attempt to locate our missing student."
Half an hour later...
"X-Men, as Scott no doubt informed you, one of our students was taken last night. While I was unable to get an exact coordinate, I have traced his signature to Antarctica, specifically the area known as the Savage Land," Xavier explained to the X-Men who were gathered in his presence.
"The Savage Land? What would they be doing there?" Scott asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I do not know, Scott. But I would think that you will find out once you arrive there."
"Professor, the Savage Land is huge! It could take us weeks to find him!" Scott protested.
"Unfortunately, his mutant signature was being obscured by something, and it prevented me from getting a lock. I will continue my attempts, however," Xavier replied, his head bowed. "Prepare the Blackbird for launch, and gather a team. Depart as soon as possible."
"Of course Professor. We'll bring him back," Scott said, nodding, and leaving the room.
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The SavageLand
The woman chuckled at Morgan's expression. "The look on your face is priceless," she said, walking over to Morgan's left side. He winced slightly as she pressed a small needle into his arm, and withdrew a small sample of blood.
"Please, just tell me what's going on," Morgan pleaded.
"Very well. I suppose you, of all people, deserve to know. Did you ever wonder where your remarkable abilities came from?"
"I have an X-gene. So what?"
"You see, that is what is so remarkable about it. While you do possess the X-gene, it was not inherited," the woman explained.
"What do you mean?"
"Normally, the X-gene is passed down through the father's side. In your case, you are the first male in your bloodline to have it."
"And how do you know?"
"I know because I created you."
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Elsewhere...
"Hey. Guard. I would like some water," Maxis said through the bars of his cage.
"What's that? You'll have to speak up," the guard said, drawing nearer to the cage. He pulled a small bottle of water out of his belt, and took a sip from it, making sure that Maxis could see it.
"I said, I require some water," Maxis repeated, narrowing his eyes at the arrogant man before him.
"Oh, did you want some water?" the guard said. He drank the rest of the bottle, and then tossed the empty at Maxis. There were barely a few drops left in it. "Enjoy," he said with a cocky smile, and turned his back.
"Oh yes, how funny. Now give me some water untouched by you," Maxis said.
"Watch it, or I'll spray you right in the face," the guard said, whirling around, and withdrawing a small spray canister from a holster on his belt.
"When I get out of here, I will kill you myself," Maxis growled, staring straight at the guard, and flashed a fanged smile.
"Yeah, sure," the guard scoffed, and walked away.
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The Blackbird...
"Everyone ready?" Scott said, glancing back out of the cockpit. Storm, Logan, Kitty, Kurt, and Jean had all taken their respective seats in the cabin of the jet.
"Kid, just take off," Logan said gruffly.
"Alright, fine. All systems check out, let's go," Cyclops said, engaging the engines of the Blackbird, and rocketing out of the hangar.
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Meanwhile...
"You are completely insane," Morgan said to the woman.
"Am I? Deny it all you want, but you saw the resemblance between us. God created man in his own image. I thought it fitting to do the same."
"If you created me, as you claim, then where the hell do my parents fit into all of this? Why didn't you raise me?" Morgan asked.
"I never had a chance to. Did you ever wonder about what your parents did before they had you?"
"They had some government job. I never really asked."
""Government job", indeed. Your parents and I, the three of us, all worked on the same project. It was titled Project: Alpha because of what it was made to do. It was designed to create the ultimate warrior through genetic manipulation of an embryo. While modifying an adult could result in total cellular breakdown thereby killing the test subject, modifying the embryo had no such flaws. There was no risk of killing a subject, because while organic, an embryo is not truly "alive". Unfortunately, most of the experiments ended in failure, save one. Did you know that your mother is sterile? She is incapable of becoming pregnant through normal means. But our experiments allowed her to carry that one remaining embryo. Created from my one of my own eggs. And right now, I'm speaking to the final product of our experiments," she went on, her brown eyes locking with Morgan's blue ones.
"So what, I'm your biological son, and my mother was just there to give birth to me? And that still doesn't explain what I'm doing here, or why I've never met you before in my life," Morgan said, dismissing her words.
"Because, Morgan, the project was closed down before you were born. Your parents and I were separated. But now, after sixteen years of hard work and underground research, Project Alpha will be resurrected. Your genetic structure is the key. You are the key to the success of the project. We've gathered dozens of samples of mutant DNA. Combined with the knowledge gained from studying your genetic code, we will finish our dream of creating the ultimate warrior."
"Fine, I'll play along, crazy lady. Why can't you just use your own DNA? If what you said about my birth is true, than we'd have a good deal of genetic material in common."
"While it's true that we share genetic markers, we are not identical. It must be your DNA that we use," she explained.
"And then what happens? If your little experiment succeeds, then what? You going to take over the world or something?"
"Take over the- Oh, heavens no. What do you take us for, some sort of comic-book villains? We will create the ultimate warrior, but not the ultimate conqueror. The end result will be the ultimate defender. One who fights to protect those in need. There are thousands of people out there, human and mutant alike, who would do this world harm. Wouldn't it be lovely to be recognized as the creators of a savior?"
"You have on hell of a god complex, lady. But you've forgotten one little detail," Morgan said, smirking.
"Oh? And what's that?" the woman said, leaning over him.
"You cast a shadow."
Suddenly, the woman's own shadow began writhing and twisting, and undid the restraints on Morgan's arm. She recoiled from the table, but it was too late. The young man had already undone the other restraints, and was on his feet. "Guards! Restrain him!" she shouted, and nearly half a dozen guards flooded in from the multiple doors in the room. Thinking quickly, Morgan grabbed a small tool from a nearby shelf, and hurled it at the light switch.
"Oh god," the woman remarked, as the room was plunged into total darkness.
So, just what is Morgan going to do now that he's completely in his own element?
And did anyone catch the X3 reference in the chapter?
Yeah, I know the whole genetic manipulation thing is complicated, but think about it. Is it any less convoluted than any of the other storylines that they put in the comics? Seriously. Morgan's more of a miniature Captain America in terms of backstory.
Well, as long as you keep reading, I'll keep writing, at least until I run out of ideas and my head explodes.
Until next time,
Stay Snazzy!