In a world that hates and fears mutants, Professor Charles Xavier and his business partner, Tony Stark, own X-Corporation, a company that they hope to use to secure the futures of mutants across the United States. Professor Xavier has already adopted and recruited two new members: Jean Grey and Scott Summers, two orphaned teens who come from unfortunate circumstances. Professor Xavier has enlisted the help of his ex-wife, Dr. Moira MacTaggart, to help Scott and Jean and see the extent of their abilities.
Issue 3: Second Chances
X-Corporation Tower – Medical Laboratory
For the next hour or so, Scott and Jean found themselves in the medical labs of X-Corp Tower, being examined thoroughly by Moira MacTaggart, who additionally wanted to run some tests on them to figure out their mutations. Jean was the first one to be examined, and according to Moira, Jean's psionic abilities were growing at a rather rapid pace and at a scale that was unimaginable, which meant that she would need extensive tutoring from Professor Xavier. After Jean's examination was completed, Scott was next; however, part of his examination meant Moira observing his optic blasts.
Moira proceeded to take a sample of blood from Scott to run a DNA test. Once that was completed, she proceeded to speak.
"Alright, Scott, from what I can tell, lad your mutation allows ye to harness solar energy and release it from your eyes in the form of an optic energy blast, just from what Xavier told me," Moira said. "I would have to, as part of the examination, see your powers first hand to see if Hank and I can come up with a solution where ye would be able to see."
"Yes," Scott said. "I've been blind for so long, I think it's high time that I'm allowed to see, for once."
"And from what I can tell, your mutation is out of control because after that plane crash ye were caught in, ye ended up getting permanent brain damage. This could be a reason why." Moira continued feeding Scott fluids through an IV.
That was the moment Tony came into the room with Warren.
"How's it looking, Doc?" asked Tony.
"From what I can tell, Scott has permanent brain damage. This is what makes his mutation so out of control to the point where he cannot see," Moira said.
"Well, thankfully we have the resources here. Besides, if you need to examine the blasts, the basement is reinforced steel," Tony said. "Nothing down there will be destroyed, as far as I know."
"Are you sure one hundred percent, Mr. Stark?" asked Scott. Scott being seventeen years of age, he had a maturity to him that belied his being a high school teenager. He was extremely polite and from what Tony could tell Scott was a great kid. He could only assume that it came from Scott being the son of a military pilot.
"Absolutely, Scott; but, I have to say this about your parents, I just want to thank them for their service to this great country," Tony said.
Scott nodded. It felt good that at least someone was acknowledging the fact that his parents had been war heroes. He couldn't help but get a little bit emotional when he thought about his mom and dad.
"Alright, I think it's time that we examine the strength of these blasts," Moira said.
Warren nodded and proceeded to help Scott off the examination table in the med lab, and he, Scott, Moira, Tony, Hank and Jean proceeded to make their way down to the basement. The basement was where the professor's computer Cerebro was located, as well as Forge's workshop space and a secluded section that Forge was working on called "the Danger Room" due the fact that the basement was so vast in space. They got into the elevator and made their way down to the basement of the building.
When they got there, they could hear Forge tinkering away in the area that he'd made his workshop. According to Forge, he was working on power inhibiting collars that would be safe for people to wear long-term, something that was vital. This was especially since X-Corporation worked with Canadian-American mutant team Alpha Flight, a team that arrested criminals – mutant and human alike – in the Canadian and Northern American areas and shipped them to Rikers Island where they were adding a mutant wing in the prison for mutant prisoners. Some of those prisoners included the King Pin himself, Wilson Fisk, who had just gotten arrested for supplying out-of-date medicine to people who were suffering from sickness and just getting sicker by taking the medication. Wilson Fisk was a lot more dangerous and corrupt than most mutants, and he didn't even have superpowers. It was extremely essential and a very dangerous job, which made the power dampeners all the more important. It was something that could very well potentially help make mutants look a lot better in the eye of the public. However, that didn't mean they did not have to put up with the wrath of Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson who did his own fair share of mutant bashing, blaming mutants for every single problem in the world. But J.J Jameson was the least of Tony Stark's problems, especially since Jameson was in a way viewed as crooked by most of the people of New York.
"Alright, Scott, the first step towards understanding one's mutation is actually learning the extent of it. Only then, we can begin the process of teaching you how to control it," said Professor Xavier. "So I want you to actually take your bandages off so we can have a look at what we're dealing with. What I would like you to do is face the wall that is right in front of you. It is all reinforced steel so not too much damage will be done at all."
"This place had been used as a bomb shelter, Slim," Tony said. "So you've got nothing to worry about at all."
Scott hesitantly took his bandages off his face. Jean got a look of Scott's face . . . he looked so young with his eyes tightly shut, but, it did strike Jean that he was young, the same exact age as her. They'd be seniors in high school at this point, at least. Jean proceeded to place her hand on the boy's shoulder to reassure him that she was behind him.
"You can open your eyes, Scott. There's nothing to fear," said Hank.
That was the moment Scott's eyelids opened, and the instant that happened, a burst of concussive, red beams of light shot out of his eyes. Jean's jaw dropped open. Tony's eyes grew wide. The kid was the definition of a living weapon. He had two bazooka guns behind each of his eyes, complete raw power.
"Holy shit," whispered Tony as Forge came out of his workshop to view what was going on. Forge even seemed startled by Scott's power. That was the moment Scott's eyes slammed shut.
"How much damage did I cause?" Scott asked.
"Just a dent in the wall . . . nothing that cannot be fixed, from what I can tell," said Tony.
"Holy cow!" Warren exclaimed.
Jean's jaw was still dropped open in shock. She could hardly believe her eyes.
"Okay, this is . . . this is something different," said Forge.
"You bet your ass it is," Tony said.
"Language!" Beast said.
"Wait, wait, wait, let's take a moment to take in the fact that the big blue beast just said "language"?!" asked Warren.
"I know, it just slipped out," Beast said. "Moira, I would suggest we make our way back up to medical labs and we start collecting some data immediately."
"I can agree with that, lad," Moira said as she, Professor Xavier and Beast made their way out of the basement. However, once they were in the elevator, Xavier had something to ask of Moira.
"Moira, I just . . . I need to ask you. How is David doing?" Professor Xavier asked.
"His powers are growing on a scale unlike anything I've ever seen before, probably more so than Jean's from what I can see. I mean, he has the power to essentially have anything that his heart desires," said Moira. "But, I am happy to see Rahne keeps him rather high spirited. She's been a great addition to our family."
"I am still trying to come up with some sort of way to help David, but, he's the first class-five mutant I've ever encountered Moira," Professor Xavier said. "I just feel that I could be doing more for him."
"C'mon, Charles, ye can only do so much, luv. David knows that too, he understands. Besides, he knows ye love him, and he knows that ye will always be there. He is twenty-three years old he's only had his powers growing out of control since four or five years ago," Moira explained. "So therefore, ye need to stop feeling so much guilt, because David doesn't blame ye at all."
Xavier sat there, taking in the words of his ex-wife. However, even though Moira's words brought him a little bit of comfort, he still felt a sense of guilt over feeling as though he wasn't there enough for his son. But, he was a busy man due to running a company with the prodigal son of Howard Stark. And even though he didn't have a lot of time, he made that time for his son. David was worth it.
"Just, when you get home to Muir Island, be sure to tell him that I'll be there as soon as possible," said Xavier. "He may be legally an adult now, but, that does not mean that he isn't just an adolescent. He's my kid."
"Of course," Moira said.
X-Corporation Tower – Jean's Room
Jean Grey found herself in her new bedroom in the X-Corporation Tower. The fact that this place in Manhattan was going to be her new home after years of living in a mental hospital, it felt unreal to her. For once, she wasn't going to be sleeping on a cot in a cramped, cold environment. However, she also knew that new clothes for her were in order, which were going to be given to her by Tony's assistant, Pepper Potts. Additionally, Jean was soon enough going to have to start tutoring with Professor Xavier in order to learn to control her telekinesis. She sat there on her bed, taking it all in. It felt overwhelming to her.
That was the moment Jean could hear someone at the door, and she saw Scott coming into the room, still blindfolded by his bandages keeping his powers at bay.
"Hi, Scott," said Jean as he made his way to sit on her bed.
"Hey, Jean." Scott smiled at her and Jean returned the gesture despite Scott not being able to see.
"What a day the two of us had?" asked Jean, closing her eyes.
"Yeah. If you told me yesterday that today, I will be going off to live in a building owned by Tony Stark and for once have a stable environment to live in, I would have told you you're crazy." Scott reached his hand over to Jean. Jean took Scott by the hand and gave it a squeeze, smiling slightly. She had never felt this comfortable around anyone before. For the longest time, Jean's interaction with others meant electric shock therapy and being drugged every few hours every time she heard a voice or if her telekinesis flared up. She valued being intimate with others and being close to other people. She had been isolated for years, so to be able to have a social outlet where she could be around others her age, it was something that she had never thought would happen.
"I know," Jean said. "But, besides, how's Xavier, Hank and Moira's progress going?"
"Well, Moira says based on the data she collected, that my blasts shouldn't be able to penetrate ruby quartz rock," Scott said. "They're planning to make that material into some glasses for me. Of course; Stark's paying for it to happen."
"He's a character," Jean said. "But, I did get a peek inside his head. He's dealing with his own demons as well. Though don't tell him I did that. I'm pretty sure he'd rather keep his thoughts private."
"As do I," Scott said.
"Yeah," Jean said in agreement. That was when Warren walked into the room.
"Hey guys," said the winged mutant. "How're you settling in?"
"We're doing fine," Jean said. "Xavier said I should start training with him soon."
"Yeah, and you guys are going to have to work on getting a GED since you missed so much of high school, and soon enough, you two will be put to work to ensure that you guys actually have a job. I already know when I graduate college this winter; I will be working finances for this business. I mean, I have no choice I have to make a living for myself because for one thing, I have a girlfriend who might end up being my fiancé since I have the ring already. Besides, it's not like my parents are going to allow me anywhere near my dad's company. They would not want a mutant disgracing the family business," Warren said, the bitterness evident in his voice.
"Well, I never put much thought into a career because I never thought I'd be given a chance like this," Jean said. "But, I would want to make my mother proud and get a PHD."
"Yeah, and my dad having been a military pilot before he died, he'd be happy to see me go for a career in the Air Force, or a career in engineering," Scott said. "And my mother, she was a scientist for the military. She was brilliant, could have probably been viewed as a genius in a sense. She'd want me to follow in Dad's footsteps. I mean, if me and my brother playing with model fighter planes in front of episodes of G.I Joe on the TVat ages five and three had any indication at all, the two of us, we had soldier DNA in our blood from the moment we were born. In fact, Dad; he'd teach us the basics of CQC and he'd make us wrestle with each other, and mother would be like, "Christopher, they're not soldiers. Can you treat them like children?" But Alex and I, we didn't care. We loved it." Scott smiled at the memory.
"Well, if you plan to enter the military, good luck, because for the most part mutants are not allowed to serve in the military in the U.S. You can thank President Osborn for that because he says it's too expensive to provide mutants health care through the military, or something like that. I say it's bullshit; though I can't keep up with politics . . . it is hard enough needing to deal with anti-mutant sentiment. But, Scott, if you're interested in anything close enough to the military, one of our partners is this Canadian-American merger team of mutants called Alpha Flight which helps transport criminals to Rikers. Or, even better, you could work as an agent for SHIELD; nothing would please Director Nick Fury more especially since he's fond of mutants. SHIELD is essentially a secret CIA in a sense, but, Fury's got a couple agents that happen to be mutants," Warren said.
Scott and Jean took this in. The fact that they still had potential to have careers meant a lot to them.
"Yeah, yeah I can actually see that working," said Scott.
"Agreed," Jean said.
"Besides, Slim," said Warren in Scott's direction. "You should be able to see soon enough."
"Nothing would make me happier," said Scott.
"Believe me, I can see why, especially since you have spent so many years blind," Warren said. "But, you both are going to have to go through some training sessions with old friends of Xavier's. I mean, I call them training sessions from hell, but, believe me, it's necessary. You're additionally going to need extensive amounts of tutoring to catch up in terms of education. Though luckily, Hank, he's a great teacher and can teach you more high school math in the course of two months, guaranteed. This company, it's not a school by any means, but, it's the next best thing, because you're getting a start at having a career, at being able to have a steady payment once you get a college degree after graduating. This company, it almost guarantees that for you. However, Tony, Xavier, Pepper and Hank are actually looking to make online schooling an option here . . . it's in the works and it should be here as an option in the next three months or so or at least, that's what Tony says."
"Yeah, that's great," Jean said, an optimistic smile appearing on her face as she looked over at Scott. Scott smiled in return, as though he could sense Jean's happiness over the situation. Finally, after years of isolation, Scott and Jean were finally being given a second chance. Not everybody had an opportunity to have second chances like this, and they were forever grateful. Suddenly, that was the moment lights began to flicker throughout the tower, going on and off.
"What was that?" asked Scott.
"Probably something going on down in Forge's workshop. He's been hard at work at building a special training area for us mutants. He calls it the Danger Room and he's planning on putting it down in the basement since its vast enough down there for that," Warren explained.
X-Corporation Tower – Tony's Workshop
Over in Tony's workshop area, Pepper was currently going over his itinerary for the next day. After having been successful with recruiting Scott Summers and Jean Grey, Tony felt very tempted to celebrate this win with scotch; however, Pepper wasn't having it.
"Okay, Tony, so tomorrow, you've got a conference in Nevada with Rhodey about providing the U.S Marine Corps with the newest missile that Stark Industries has been developing with Forge and Hank," Pepper said as she listed off everything that needed to get done. "So, therefore, you cannot afford to be late to this conference . . . again."
"Yeah, yeah, Pepper, I know, I know," Tony said as Xavier and Hank came into the room.
"Alright, well, Moira is going back to Muir Island to build Scott his glasses, as well as sleeping goggles and a visor with different settings on it – as you requested to her, Tony," Hank said. "She should be back in about two days or so."
"Good to know," said Tony.
"However, Tony, are you one hundred percent sure about these missiles that Forge and Stark Industries have been building? Because there's always the chance that these weapons could get into the wrong hands, especially since these are weapons you only have to fire once," said Xavier. He had been wary about these plans ever since Howard Stark had come up with the concept when Tony was fifteen. However, Howard had been the one to insist that the missiles get built and supplied to the Marines, so Tony was continuing to fulfill that.
"Yes, one hundred percent," Tony said. "That's how Dad did it, that's how America does it . . . it'll work . . . it will work."
"But aren't you aware that one of your competitors, Trask Industries, is planning on working with Stane Enterprises to build mutant-hunting robots called Sentinels?" asked Hank. "If you want to talk about a weapon that can very well potentially be in the wrong hands, I think that that is a good place to start. President Osborne is insisting that those things will be used to hold mutants accountable, but, we all know that he and Senator Robert Kelly and Senator Henry Gyrich are hoping to push for a Mutant Registration Act to force mutants to register underneath the government and expose themselves. This could very well be a danger to not only your companies, but, also us!"
"Yes, Beast. I know, I know," Tony said. "But, McCoy, I cannot just shut down the weapons manufacturing area of Stark Industries just because they can potentially be put in the wrong hands. I mean, what is there for us to worry about?"
Suddenly, that was the moment lights all around Tony's workshop started to flicker uncontrollably.
"Friday, what's going on?" Tony asked.
"I am picking up a strong electromagnetic interference in the area," Friday said. "I believe these actions to be hostile."
"That can only mean one thing," Pepper whispered, dread evident in her voice.
That was the moment a man came floating in, an ominous cloak and helmet residing on him as he controlled the metal objects around the room.
"Erik," whispered Charles as he turned to face the man's direction.
"In the flesh, Charles," said Erik Lehnsherr as he made his way further into the room. The man known now as Magneto stood before them, a bitter, cold, hard expression on his face. His expression was hardened after years and years of cruelty from humanity and having to see the worst of it all. "I see you all have been busy."
"Indeed. It's been a while, old friend," said Xavier as Hank and Pepper guarded his side.
"Certainly, and I also see that you, Mr. Stark, have been working on trying to give mutants employment," said Magneto.
"I'm securing their futures, thank you very much," Tony said.
"Yes, but, Mr. Stark, you and your father have been blinded, always have been blinded to the fact that humans and mutants can never live together in peace . . ." said Erik.
"You may see it that way. I know you've suffered," Pepper said.
"Ah, this must be the lovely Pepper Potts," said Erik. "I see you are buying into this too."
"Well, last I checked I am Stark's employee," replied Pepper.
"Well then, Mr. Stark you might want to take Xavier's advice in canceling the manufacturing of your missiles," Magneto said in an ominous tone.
"No, not gonna happen old man," Tony declared. "Your threats are empty at best, Mags. Remember? My old man; the most generous thing that he did was fund your and Xavier's trips to third world countries! So therefor, your threats are empty. They mean nothing to me."
"Are they now? Because ever since last time we've encountered each other, I've actually formed up my own little club, the Brotherhood of Mutants, and, better yet, it includes my own two children, Wanda and Pietro Maximoff," said Magneto.
"Erik, I know you feel responsible for Magda's death, but, attacking humanity will not fix that," said Charles.
"How do you know, Charles? You know, not all of us can be you, working with a billionaire and having a good relationship with your ex-wife and your son from that previous marriage," said Erik in a bitter, angered tone. "Have you ever stopped to take a look at the world outside here? These humans, these Homo sapiens, they cannot even make peace with each other! I know for a fact you have teens here now. If you are going to teach them anything at all, Xavier, teach them fight; otherwise they might as well hide in X-Corporation Tower for the rest of their lives . . . pathetic!" That was the moment Magneto proceeded to back out of the room and leave, leaving Pepper, Tony, Xavier and Hank there in unease.
"Should we be worried? I mean, the man's almost as eccentric as me," said Tony.
"That's what makes me worried, Tony," Xavier said. "Right now, with Magneto, we should keep a close eye watch, especially if he's implying what he implied to us about the missiles that are being revealed tomorrow in Nevada."
"Agreed," Hank whispered, deeply startled.
Up next: Enter Magneto
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