CHAPTER 3 OF THE PHOENIX AND THE WOLVERINE.
IV
Wolverine stood frozen in place by Jean's telekinectic power as he watched her regard the young mutant girl who was frozen in a mid leap.
He saw the metallic claws and resisted the urge to scream and curse; this smelt like Stryker's work all over again.
He was determined to get to the bottom of this; even if he had to kill to do so.
"Now that you all are now awake; I expect you have questions."
Wolverine could move his eyes to see Q Junior rubbing his hands in glee.
"There's a lot that has happened while you were asleep; welcome to the 24th century."
First he had to get free.
"Jean...please release me." Wolverine tried to keep his voice as calm as possible; the last thing he wanted was to awaken the other part of her.
"Oh sorry Wolverine," said Jean as she turned back to him and he suddenly realized he could move " and she's already awake."
Wolverine stayed still; he didn't need to be a psychic to know that Jean was talking about the dark part of her.
"She's called the Phoenix," said Jean in a distracted tone as she continued to observe the still frozen girl.
"Uh hello," called Q Junior; drawing Wolverine's attention.
"You," snarled Wolverine as he walked up to the EMEH hologram; he wished he could physically wring the hologram's neck.
"What is going on here and who is that?" he pointed back at the frozen girl in mid flight.
Q junior looked at the angry xman and chose his words with care.
"She's a mutant just like you and...she has your DNA."
Wolverine looked ready to explode. "What did you say ?" he asked in a deadly voice.
"I'm going to release her," said Jean; startling Q junior and Wolverine.
"Excellent!" said Q Junior happily.
"Not such a good idea ! " shouted Wolverine at the same time.
Jean looked at the two males; one organic and the other a computer matrix.
"Yes it is; someone or...something brought us here for a reason and she is entitled to any information that is available."
Q Junior nodded while Wolverine shook his head.
"She just tried to kill you Jean."
Jean looked at him for several moments; he was the first to look away.
"I know the risk Logan."
She turned back to stare into the frozen girl's eyes.
"Child; we do not wish to harm you; we just woke up like you did. I am about to release you...but if you make any attempt to attack Wolverine or me...or Q Junior. I will put you back in that pod. Is that understood ?"
Q junior and Wolverine were wisely silent while Jean was communicating telepathically with the mutant girl child.
After what seemed like an eternity Jean moved out of the way and 'unfroze' the girl.
The mutant child completed the leap and turned once in the air before hitting the floor rolling; then she turned in her bent position to face all three of them; her claws still extended.
She stared at them for several seconds; breathing heavily.
Wolverine could smell anger...and fear.
That forced him to relax and not to extend his claws. Finally the girl's gaze settled on him and her eyes widened in surprise and some sort of recognition. Then her eyes narrowed in dark suspicion.
"Logan; you better say something."
Wolverine did not look at Jean as her mind left his.
"Laura...Jean is right; we are in the same position as you...we mean you no harm. We are just as keen to find how we got here and how to get back home," he paused "Q Junior was just about to share some information with us; would you like to join us ?"
The girl stared at them for a long time; then began to straighten up as the claws retracted slowly.
Wolverine was not fooled for a second; he knew how fast they could be extended again; he had an almost identical set himself.
Laura Kinney aka X23 spoke for the first time since she woke up.
"Okay," she said in a calm voice keeping a wary look on Wolverine.
Wolverine still kept his eyes on her as he spoke to Q Junior.
"Junior; you're up."
IV
5 minutes later.
It took some doing but Q junior was able to convince them to sit down on stools which rose out of the white pristine floor.
Q Junior watched as Wolverine placed himself between the two women when they sat down. Jean seemed amused by his protective manner.
While Wolverine restrained himself from looking at Laura before she was tempted to claw his eyes out.
"Alright Q Junior; we're seated," said Jean; she had several questions she wanted to ask ; like what year it was exactly.
She thought Q junior had said '24th century;' but she must have misheard that.
Q Junior's opening words corrected her at once.
"The Earth year is 2382 and as I said earlier we are approximately 5 months away from the Milky Way Galaxy...if we take a direct route.
As I also said before my designation is Q Junior; I am an Emergency Medical and Engineering Hologram beta ," he paused " EMEH for short."
This was said for Laura's benefit; she had been truly asleep when he introduced himself to Dr Grey and Wolverine much earlier.
"Just skip to the relevant parts," growled Wolverine darkly.
For the first Jean saw a look of annoyance cross the Hologram's face.
"What exactly would you like me to skip? The immediate aftermath of the Alcatrez Incident ? Laura Kinney's background history," the girl sat up straighter "or your own background history before you lost your memory ?
Q Junior glared at a stunned Wolverine and waited for his response.
The xman stared at the hologram; then glanced at the two females on either side. They were also glaring at him.
"Fine...please continue."
"Thank you," said Q Junior stiffly before producing an object that looked like a TV remote controller. He moved to the left side and pointed the remote to the space directly before the 3 seated nervous mutants.
A holographic projection of a huge white screen came up; on it was Jean's face; with streams of data running on the left side of the screen.
"I'll start with Dr Jean Grey; I will state only relevant information; each of you will be have full access to your individual records."
The tension reduced a bit.
Q Junior continued. "Dr Jean Grey; born November 6th; 1979; aged 27years at the time of her disappearance in 2006 at the Alcatrez incident.
Occupation; a medical doctor and research analyst; she was in charge of the medical facility at the Xavier Institute For Gifted Youngsters and also did accident and emergency shifts at the nearby St Mary's Hospital."
"Her abilities are telekinesis and telepathy; power levels...vary from moderate to extremely high."
Jean watched him intently; wondering how much information was going to be shared with the others.
She was relieved when Q Junior moved on to the next person.
"Wolverine; also originally known as James Logan Howlett; born in northern Canada in the year 1833."
Jean glanced at Logan ; the xman's gaze was riveted on the screen in-front of him. Q Junior kept talking.
"His biological brother is or was also a mutant; known as Sabertooth or Victor Creed," Wolverine turned to stare at Q Junior.
"They both served in the Civil War as Union soldiers; then in World War One and Two as US soldiers in the US Army; then in Vietnam as US marines.
Certain events in Vietnam led to both of them joining a mutant team that was working for a then Major William Stryker in 1973...I shall not go into detail as to what operations they went on."
Q Junior hurried on as he saw a murderous look appear on Wolverine's face .
"It's best if you read it yourself sir," the last word had the mutant staring at the hologram in a bit of surprise.
Q Junior felt like kicking himself for calling Wolverine 'sir.'
Now; he would have to keep reminding himself to say it each time he addressed the former xman.
"Anyway; as I was saying; due to certain work ethics...Logan aka Wolverine left the team and shortly afterwards Logan started a relationship with Kayla Silverfox.
However; in 1979 certain events led to Logan going back to work for a then Colonel William Stryker..."
"Why did I go back ?" interrupted Wolverine; he wanted to know what kind of hold Stryker had on him at the time.
Q Junior stared at him. "It is a pretty personal reason sir."
"I want to hear it," demanded Wolverine in a deadly tone.
Q Junior regarded him for a few seconds then answered.
" Colonel Stryker asked you to rejoin him in August 1979 and you refused...so he secretly had Sabertooth; your brother ; fake Silverfox's death thus giving you the incentive to seek out the Colonel."
"Why?"
All three turned to face Laura Kinney; who had spoken for the first time since the presentation started.
"Stryker was keen to get genetic material from Logan and also try out an adamantium skeletal bonding procedure.
Many of his previous subjects had died horribly and he also wanted a mind controlled killing machine. He was sure Logan would be the perfect candidate."
Q Junior paused as Logan ran a hand through his hair; he could hear him muttering. "This is insane."
"Go on," said Jean; the Phoenix was fully awake now and paying close attention.
It was also telling her that the information was very important.
The Phoenix may be a psychopath but her instincts were never wrong.
Q Junior spared one more look for Logan and continued.
"In September 1979 the genetic material was collected and the adamantium bonding was a success; but the attempt to brainwash Wolverine was a complete unmitigated disaster as the subject escaped; cutting down any guards who tried to stop him," Q junior stopped when he saw the brief smile that appeared on Laura's face. It had been there for barely a second.
Logan noticed the hesitation and looked at Q Junior and a now expressionless Laura Kinney.
" What ?"
"Oh nothing, " said Q Junior wisely as he continued talking .
"Logan who was now known as Weapon X; eventually found out that he had been tricked by his brother and Stryker and he also confronted Silverfox who had been coerced in tricking him."
"How was she coerced?" asked Jean.
"Kayla Silverfox was an empath and also a low level telepath; her younger sister, Emma was also a mutant with the ability to change her skin to diamond hard consistency.
Stryker kidnapped her sister to collect genetic material which he wanted to use to make a super soldier. She was one of scores of mutant children held captive for experimental purposes."
"Jesus Christ," muttered Wolverine. He didn't want to believe what he was hearing; but some gut feeling told him that it was real.
William Stryker was certainly capable of such.
Laura Kinney said nothing; she was already regretting the single question she asked and the brief smile that Q Junior had noticed.
For a computer program he was damn too observant.
Q Junior resumed his presentation. "Stryker ordered Sabertooth to terminate Silverfox; Wolverine stopped him and helped her free the mutant children who were still alive.
However; the already collected genetic material had been used to augment and change another mutant.
This brainwashed individual who went by the name Deadpool was ordered to terminate Wolverine ; Silverfox and the children."
Q Junior paused he looked a bit tired.
"Summary of it all is that Sabertooth came back and helped his brother defeat Deadpool.
The children escaped but Silverfox was shot in the process.
As Wolverine tried to get her to safety; Colonel Stryker shot him in the head with 3 adamantium bullets."
Q Junior looked at Logan.
"Sir; you lost consciousness and Silverfox bled to death a few feet away from you...I believe when you eventually awoke; you had lost your memory due to the brain damage cause by the adamantium. I am sorry for your loss."
There was silence for a long time.
"October 12th 1979; that's the day my memory starts...there was a dead woman not far from me...and a guy who came up to me...he said...he knew me.
I didn't know who he was...I could not recall my name...so I told him to get lost and I walked away."
Jean looked at Logan; he looked awful; Laura's expression was still but Jean could sense what she was feeling.
Understanding...and concern?
"Q Junior; we need a break. Is there some water we can drink ?" asked Jean.
"Of cause; let me show you how to get some," said Q Junior as he walked to a table which had appeared silently behind the 3 mutants.
On it was a box like device with smooth sides; it looked like a micro-wave without the door.
The looks on Wolverine and Laura's faces changed to identical expressions of suspicion. Jean wondered if they realized how alike they were in behaviour.
"This is a replicator; it can be used to synthesize food and water or certain drinks. Please note that any alcohols synthesized will not have the same effect as the alcohol of the 21 century. What would you like?"
In the end; all 3 humans wanted water; he watched as Wolverine told the females to wait while he 'checked out' the water.
Q Junior hid a grin as Wolverine waited for any 'disastrous' effects; when nothing happened; he nodded at the females to drink.
They both gave him a wry look as they sipped their glasses of water.
Q Junior showed them how to activate the device for future use then they returned to their seats.
"Well what happened next in Mr Logan's life is history...he met Professor X and the rest of the Xmen and certain event's led to the Alcatrez Incident: which I will explain fully later."
He waved the remote and the face on the screen changed to show Laura Kinney's face.
Logan felt the girl tense up beside him and his senses went into hyper-alert mode.
Q junior started talking.
"In 1990; Colonel William Stryker recruited Dr Martin Sutter; Dr Zander Rice and Dr Sarah Kinney to re-start the Weapon X program.
However due to the fight between Logan ,Sabertooth and Deadpool in 1979; the surviving material was badly damaged; thus the 1st 22 attempts at cloning Logan did not succeed.
Dr Sarah Kinney had a new idea of combining Logan's genetic material with a female embryo. The idea was rejected and she then decided to do it on her own.
This 23rd attempt was a success but Dr Kinney had to act as the surrogate and carried the foetus to term; a baby girl was born on January 30th 1993; her designation was X23; but her mother's name for her was Laura Kinney."
He paused for the information to sink in.
Laura turned slowly to see Jean and Wolverine staring at her.
Logan was in shock; while Jean just looked at her with sadness; the telepath had known a bit of what Q Junior just revealed.
When Jean first became aware of Laura's mind; certain images had jumped out. Jean could have found out more if she delved deeper but she resisted the temptation and decided to wait.
"Laura Kinney's guardian met her death on May 3rd 2006 in a... questionable accident and in the following week; Laura underwent a full skeletal adamantium bonding."
"It was not an accident; she was murdered," said Laura in a voice that seemed on the verge of screaming.
"I am also sorry for your loss," said Q Junior solemnly.
"It was from that period that you were taken. You may be pleased to know that in June 2006 Colonel William Stryker drowned when a water dam wall he was chained to collapsed."
"Are you certain?" asked Laura coldly.
Logan looked at her. "Yeah; the last time I saw him he was securely wrapped from head to tail in a thick chain attached to an about-to- collapse dam wall."
Laura stared at him for a while. " You did that?"
Logan grinned coldly. " You have Magneto to thank for that."
The xman had been fairly certain it was Magneto's work; his stench had been all over the place.
Laura allowed a small smile to appear on her face. " Then I am pleased...for now."
Q Junior shook his head minutely; the human's capacity for bloodshed was astonishing and...worrying.
"Q Junior," called Jean who had been watching him closely " there must be a reason you have shared this information with us."
The hologram turned to her. " Yes; there is," he paused then picked his next words with care.
"3 of you will be on the ship for a while and I hoped knowing a bit of each other will make the trip back to Earth easier...but before I show you the rest of the ship. I have to give you a brief 'history' of what occurred in the last 376 years."
He waved the remote again and Laura Kinney's face was replaced with a date and a picture of a bridge connected to an island.
Jean and Logan recognized it at once.
"On October 11th 2006 The Worthington Alcatrez Mutant Research Institute was attacked by a large group of mutants led by Magneto...and Dr Jean Grey; this group was stopped and subsequently defeated by a much smaller group of mutants which consisted of Storm; Wolverine; Beast; Kitty Pyrde; Iceman and Colossus."
Laura gave Wolverine and Jean an interested glance as Q Junior showed scenes of devastation around the Institute.
"The cause of the battle was the 'Mutant Cure'; at the end; Wolverine aka Logan and Dr Jean Grey disappeared; a search went on for years by both friends and government officials and their bodies were never found.
In that same year; DrHank McCoy became the 1st mutant to be a US ambassador to the United Nations."
A picture of a blue furred large mutant in a suit appeared to be addressing delegates at the UN.
Logan's eyebrows rose. " Way to go furball," he said approvingly.
Even Jean smiled at the comment.
"In 2008; it was eventually discovered that the 'Cure' did not work and that the mutants who had been treated eventually recovered their powers."
The next pictures showed 2 groups of protesters in the streets; humans demanding for mutants to be caged or destroyed and the second group was of mutants demanding to be addressed as equals.
"At this point; the United States was close to breaking point and the unrest had spread to other countries."
"No shit Sherlock," said Logan bitterly as he took in the scenes of rioting and destruction. The hologram kept talking.
"Senators; political figures and world leaders started calling for global registration and control of mutants."
Jean closed her eyes briefly wondering which idiots had been behind that idea; Laura looked on silently with a hard gleam in her eyes.
"But there was another faction at work. In 2012 the Eugenics war began.
Military companies had been working on creating superhuman soldiers who were not mutants; they were simply faster; stronger and more intelligent.
There were valid reports that these 'super-human sentinels or eugenics' were created to 'solve the mutant problem'.
However; these super soldiers then decided that the rest of the world was beneath them; be they human or mutant.
They turned on the humans who created them...and the humans had to turn to the mutants to save them. The war lasted 4 years.
The Mutant Registration Act was finally thrown out of the senate in 2022."
Logan exchanged a relieved look with Jean.
" How many died?" asked Laura in a detached voice.
Q Junior gave her an odd look. " 37 million lives were lost."
Jean and Logan stared at him in shock.
Somehow; they knew that death toll included both humans and mutants.
"Things got worse when in 2049; World War III broke out.
This time; it was between factions of companies that controlled entire countries; it involved nuclear weapons and biochemical warfare," Q Junior became silent as he showed screen after screen of mushroom clouds; starving and dying refugees; desolate landscapes and destroyed cities.
"It lasted till 2053; by that time the death toll was over 600 million; and countless others were affected adversely by radiation poisoning."
Jean's right hand covered her mouth; she felt like she was about to be sick.
"That's impossible," whispered Wolverine.
The hologram who looked like a teenager stared at him with solemn mature eyes.
"Sir; I'm afraid it's not."
Q Junior waved the remote again and the screen changed to show a slim pretty woman with deep red shoulder length hair ; dark blue skin and green eyes. She was wearing a grey skirt suit.
"Annabella McCoy-Burton; she became the 1st mutant and 2nd female president of the United States in the year 2061. At this time; many of the survivors of the war and more of their descendents had the mutant gene. Possibly due to the fallout from the WWIII."
Wolverine and Jean stared at the image in shock; even Laura blinked several times to be sure of what she was looking at.
"That's furball's kid? You have got to be joking," said Logan.
Q Junior grinned. " I kid you not; she was president and she is one of his descendents. 2 years after her inauguration; Zefram Cochrane was the first human to invent the wrap drive; a faster then light propulsion system.
This drew the attention of a Vulcan Research Team who were passing by and they initiated 1st contact."
The picture of President McCoy-Burton changed to show a wizened slim man dressed in furs and shaking hands with humanoids with pointed ears and expressionless faces.
" You mean aliens?" asked Logan when Q Junior paused.
The hologram clapped mockingly. " Very good sir; yes aliens."
"This changed everything for Earth; the Vulcans became their 1st allies and in 2161 the United Federation of Planets was born.
Its headquarters is on Earth and as of today 2382AD; it has over 180 member planets and 1000s of colonies."
The next screens showed the headquarters of the Federation; the huge ship building yards and ships.
"The Federation is a peace keeping armada and its main goal is to seek out new life and explore; but they do have their enemies...I believe I will leave that bit for you to read and study to your heart's content," concluded Q Junior as he switched off the remote.
He turned to see the 3 mutants staring at where the screen had been. It was several moments before a word was said.
"Provided; that what we just saw is not a pile of horse dung; there still remains the question as to why are we 3 in this place...and this time," said Wolverine.
To his surprise; Q Junior smiled.
" I would have been concerned if you completely believed all I just showed you. It is all very true ; I had to tell you so as to help prepare you for what you will see on your way back home and on Earth."
Q Junior looked at the roof. "Computer; your designation is now Xavier; please restore the medical bay to its original state once we leave it."
"Acknowledged Q Junior," said the electronic male voice.
"Why did you pick that name ?" asked Jean.
Logan gave her a worried look; she sounded odd.
Q Junior looked at her for several seconds.
"That is for you to find out Dr Grey," his look included the other two " that is for all of you to find out...and you will not do so without exploring the ship."
"We're free to leave this room?" asked Wolverine sceptically.
Q Junior smiled mysteriously. "Please follow me; I expect that by now; you would want more comfortable outfits."
He began to walk towards a wall on his right which opened as he approached.
Laura looked at Jean and Logan ; then followed the hologram.
The 2 former xmen hesitated for a few seconds before going after her.
Hi everyone; the timeline took a lot more than I thought.
Anyway; for everyone who knows the 'Star Trek Timeline' I shifted the Eugenics war from 1992 -1996 to 2012-2016 and made the super soldiers=human sentinels.
Wish me luck with the next chapter...especially when The Battleship Galactica meets The Xavier...I hope!
Have a great week!
