In a world that hates and fears mutants, Erik "Magneto" Lehnsherr proves to make the situation all the much more difficult for mutants across the globe with his extremist acts. Very much so recently, Magneto has announced to his old friend and X-Corporation owner, Charles Xavier, that he has formed a team called the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. His very recent act as leader of the Brotherhood was staging an attack against Tony Stark during the launching of his Jericho missiles. With hatred for mutants on the rise, Magneto is determined to prove that mutants should reign Supreme and superior to humans.

Issue 9: The Brotherhood

Alberta, Canada Alpha Flight Facility – One Month Ago

Logan "Wolverine" Howlett and Carol "Ms. Marvel" Danvers found they were the last ones leaving the Alpha Flight facility, as they often did. All they wanted to do was lock down the facility, leave it in custody and care of the guards that were there, and go back to their cabin to get some sleep. That was if they were going to be able to sleep. Nightmares plagued their minds due to their amnesia that they both suffered through, and they found that sleeping in the same bed together helped them through it better than sleeping alone. Having been dating for at least three months, Logan and Carol found that transitioning from being teammates of eight years to lovers was easier than they thought, because they had a kindred spirit between the two of them where they both were products of experiments done to them against their will. They weren't quite sure what the future held for the both of them, but, they did know that they had something that was good between them. Logan could admit that part of why he fell for Carol was because she was a tough woman who had the balls to not take shit from him; it for sure turned him on. However, they both did sometimes wonder whether or not they were together simply because it was convenient for them and it would be something quick. But, what started off as something quick and convenient for the two of them became something deeper over the course of two months of them being together. They didn't know what it was, but, they sure as hell enjoyed it and they were content with where it was.

Logan rubbed a hand over his eyes as he breathed a deep yawn, Carol's arm snaking around him.

"You ready to get some sleep tonight, love?" Carol asked quietly.

"Yeah, darlin' . . ." said Logan. He kissed her lips softly. "Let's just get to bed. We can trust that these guards can handle babysitting the prisoners . . ."

"Yeah, but, Logan, I don't trust Toad as far as I can throw him," Carol whispered as they locked up the facility together so that they could head back to their cabin for the night. After turning in for the night, both fell asleep as peacefully as two troubled souls could sleep. However, their rest didn't stay uninterrupted.

The shrill ringing of the emergency phone line awoke Carol and Logan instantly. The couple groaned, Carol reaching for her sleep shirt and putting it back on over her head as Logan groaned, reaching for the phone as he noticed the time. It was 3:22 in the morning as Logan reached over for the phone, taking the call.

"Hey bub can ya leave us? We're sleepin' and . . ." Logan started to say, already in a bad mood after having been awoken at three o'clock in the morning.

"Wolverine, you and the others have gotta get down here! We called Proudstar and his brother already! It's Toad . . . he's loose!" shouted one of their guards, Stanley Byrne.

"Byrne . . . if Toad's loose, you can handle it. Yer such a pussy interruptin' my time with my girlfriend like this at this hour!" Logan growled.

"No, Logan! You don't get it! It's Magneto! You know we can't handle him alone!"

"What good would that do me? I'm the one with the adamantium bones he'd kick my ass! You guys have got plastic bullets ya can use against him!" Logan growled as Carol got up from bed, her eyes puffy with sleepiness.

Carol simply grabbed the phone from Logan. "Don't worry, Byrne . . . we'll be there in five minutes!" she said. "Hang in there tight." She hung up the hotline.

"Carol, darlin' the fuck was that for?" Logan snapped.

"You heard him! They cannot handle Magneto on their own!" Carol said as she grabbed her Ms. Marvel uniform. She tossed Logan his "Wolverine" uniform. "Now c'mon, Wolverine, get your ass moving!"

Logan groaned as he got himself out of bed and he proceeded to change into his uniform. Once both he and Carol were changed into their uniforms, he got them both onto his motorcycle.

"Hang on, darlin'. It's gonna be a bumpy ride!" Logan said as he let the engines on his motorcycle rip. He was pretty that he broke the speed limit on his way to the facility, but, at this point, he did not care. As soon as they got to the Alpha Flight base, Logan and Carol jumped off his motorcycle and they made their way into the facility, running into John and James Proudstar, as well Anne McKenzie – Snowbird. From the looks of things, the facility was in disarray, the metal doors broken down and Alpha Flight guards struggling with locking away several of the mutant prisoners, some of them being omega-level class. They instantly knew that it was Magneto's doing, but, they could tell that he had had help from his daughter, Wanda, who could control and manipulate probability, as well as his Brotherhood member Lance Alvers – Avalanche, who could telekinetically tear things apart as well as create earthquakes. However, what alarmed Logan and Carol more was the fact that Byrne was down for the count, clutching a bullet wound that was in his stomach. He was coughing up blood; his eyes clenched shut in pain. He also had a wound in his head. Carol ran over to the guard, crouching down.

"Byrne . . . c'mon, stay with me. Hang in there!" Carol whispered anxiously, but, she knew that there was no saving Byrne, who had a bullet in the brain which was fatal to begin with. She knew that that had to be Magneto's handiwork. "Shit," she whispered as she let out a sigh. She got up and she and Logan made their way over to Snowbird, Thunderbird and Warpath.

"How many escaped?" asked Logan.

"Just Toad," groaned John, shaking his head. "I can't believe this. We leave these guys alone with the prisoners to babysit, and the shit hits the fan. This shows we gotta be down here at night more often."

"Better security is what we need, brother," said James as Eugene Judd – Puck – came forward with Dr. Michael Twoyoungmen – Shaman, both looking beat after having wrestled the remaining omega-levels back into their confinement.

"What I say, Mr. Logan is that we take up Mr. Tony Stark's suggestion of getting better weapons for the human guards," Shaman said.

The Brotherhood House – Present Day

The sighting of torn-up sofas, fast food containers and cups and horrendous smells were almost common to come across when stepping into the house that belonged to Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. The TV blared loudly in the living room-area, and the refrigerator was broken, the smell of sour milk being overwhelming.

Sitting on the couch was Wanda Maximoff – the Scarlet Witch. Her codename was appropriate, considering she had mystical-based powers that allowed her fire hex bolts and manipulate probability. Her long, wavy dark brown hair flowed down her back, and her light brown eyes were as ethereal as the origins of her powers were. Sitting beside her on the ripped up sofa was her twin brother Pietro, who could move at super speeds and had an increased metabolism. His silvery hair resembled his father, Magneto's, and his deep brown eyes resembled his father's as well.

Additions to the group included Toad – Todd Tolansky, who they had just busted out of the Alpha Flight base a month ago, under leadership from Magneto himself. Toad's greenish, scaly skin, glassy eyes, long tongue and amphibious reflexes made him unwanted by anybody that glanced at him. To top it all off, Wanda was the object of his affections, much to her mortification. Another addition was Freddy Dukes – the Blob, who took on a whole new meaning of being obese. His overly-large, heavy body made him super strong, in addition to giving him an increased appetite which meant ordering an abundance of fast food to keep him satisfied. Only Fred Dukes could eat fifty soft-shell taco Supremes from Taco Bell and thirty Big Macs in the span of twenty minutes.

Others included Lance Alvers, a young man who could telekinetically cause earthquakes and tear things apart, Quentin Quire – Kid Omega, and John Allerdyce – Pyro, who controlled pyrokinesis.

Currently, as Wanda was deciding what to watch on television, Freddy was in the process of shoving four Chick-fil-a chicken delux sandwiches, two medium waffle fries and two large chocolate milk shakes down his throat, collapsing down and breaking the chair that he was sitting on. That didn't mean he was done, though. He still had ten McDonald's McChickens, twenty McNuggets, and an M&M McFlurry to go. How he could eat all that crap, nobody understood whatsoever. Pietro was in the process of eating chicken lo-mien from a local Panda Express. However, they were still missing a couple of their members. They were missing Victor Creed – Sabretooth, who came and went as he pleased and often ran off. Their other member that they were missing was Mystique – Raven Darkholm, who could shape-shift into anyone, which made her a deadly force that you did not want to reckon with. However, Raven had said that she was going away for a little getaway with her girlfriend, Destiny, so, who knew when she was getting back?

Wanda let out a sigh. She was hoping that her father would be able to pull through with something and give them some better living conditions soon; because there was no way that they could keep living like this. Tying her hair up into a ponytail, Wanda got up off the sofa to get some air. She took a deep breath as she breathed in the crisp air outside. The wind ruffled her brown hair gently as she tried to collect her thoughts by writing a diary entry.

Diary Entry 18,

As most would know, living in a world that hates and fears you is something that will never be easy. However, I'd say that that is an understatement. Considering the fact that anti-mutant sentiment is on the rise, it's a fight for survival at this point.

The other day, Father had caused quite the scene at Tony Stark's presentation of his "Jericho" missiles, and let me tell you, that probably had sent quite the message to those across the U.S. If that's not a warning message, I don't know what is. Father's obsession with ending humanity had truly started back when Pietro and I's mother had gotten killed in front of us and him. Sure, I was only a little girl at the time, but, I remember it clear as day, almost as clearly as the day that the Maximoffs took me and my brother in, enhancing our genetics to make our powers come sooner than normal. Having an ability to manipulate probability has got more advantages than you think. I can so easily take down an entire building by just simply snapping my fingers. My hex bolts and telekinesis make me a force to be reckoned with. Father made it clear that humanity should fear us, especially with someone like me who has so much potential for her powers to grow on a scale like no other. Truth be told, it's the truth. I'm a time bomb when I am in control.

Father keeps saying he and Mystique have got big plans for the Brotherhood in effort to send Senator Edward Kelly a message from us, gift-wrapped. What he's planning on having us do, I have got no idea, but, knowing Father, it's going to be quite the shocker for Edward Kelly.

Wanda finished writing in her diary, closing the journal up just as she heard the door to the Brotherhood house open. She could hear Mystique, and based on the sound, Raven wasn't in a good mood; however, there was also something in her tone . . . excitement?

"Hi, Raven," said Wanda as she came into the living room. Mystique was in her human form – blonde and blue-eyed and looking even more like Rebecca Romijn than usual. Standing at Raven's side was a teen girl, who looked younger than Wanda by a couple years. The girl had long dark hair which had a streak of white on her bangs, striking green eyes and was wearing a dark green hooded jacket, her hands buried in her jacket pockets. "Who is this? Another new member, perhaps?" Wanda was just happy that finally, there was going to be another girl for her to talk to than just Mystique.

"Yes, Wanda. This is Anna-Marie. I found her just two nights ago down in Mississippi," Raven explained with a smile on her face. "I felt that her mutant powers would make her a rather useful addition to the team."

"So, Anna-Marie, what are your powers?" asked Pietro as he got up off the couch.

"Ah-Ah guess Ah'll have to show you," said the teen in a thick, Southern accent.

"Yes, how about we give them a demonstration, dear?" Raven asked.

Anna-Marie reached over with a bared hand and proceeded to touch John – Pyro, and instantly, Pyro passed out on the ground, but, Anna-Marie seemed to have gained his powers just by touching him. Flames danced off her hands.

"Holy shit! She's rather . . . rogue," said Toad in fascination.

"She can additionally steal people's memories by touching them as well. Perhaps, we can use her. There's potential for her. Her training shall start soon, and we will use her out in the field when the time comes," Raven said proudly, resting a hand on the teen girl's shoulder. She looked proud of her accomplishment of having found another recruit for the Brotherhood. Their ranks were growing, which would further help send the message that they wanted to send to Senator Edward Kelly. "But, tonight, Anna-Marie will be stepping aside . . . we have an announcement to make so Senator Kelly gets the message loud and clear. After tonight, believe me, he will."

X-Corporation Tower – Rec Room

That evening, Scott, Jean, Warren, Candy and Bobby were sitting on the sofas in the rec room. Their first week of living together had gone by smoother than expected. Aside from being awoken by the occasional nightmare, Bobby, Scott and Jean found that they were adjusting to their new lives fairly well. Bobby was leaned on the couch, creating small little sculptures out of ice using his powers. Scott was softly strumming at an acoustic guitar, starting to teach himself how to play, something that he had wanted to do for a long time coming. However, Warren was keeping the news on, wanting to pay attention. He had his arm around Candy. Just as he was about to switch it to Netflix so that they could all watch a movie, something caught his eye.

On the news, the image of Magneto's Brotherhood causing a ruckus in New York City made Warren's stomach turn slightly. The Brotherhood were flipping police cars over and causing a riot in the middle of the city. Blob was causing a great deal of damage by grabbing two police cars at once and throwing them down into a large hole in the ground that Avalanche was creating with the help of Wanda Maximoff.

"Oh shit!" Warren yelled. "Great, this is just great! Brilliant . . . just . . . magnificent!"

Scott, Jean and Bobby turned their attention to the news, their eyes widening at the sight.

"Wait, that's the Brotherhood?" asked Scott.

"Yeah, Slim. Let me tell you, after what the Blob did to my wings; I was hoping to not have to deal with them again!" Warren said shuddering as the sight of Quentin Quire – Kid Omega, telepathically manipulating the police into fist-fighting each other came into view. Kid Omega's purple hair stuck out like a sore thumb. Warren's jaw tightened at the sight. Wanda was firing hex bolt after hex bolt at several cops. Scott's jaw dropped in shock at the amount of damage that the Brotherhood was causing. That was the moment Pietro Maximoff made his presence known, a cocky, self-absorbed smirk on his face. The smug look on his face made him look so arrogant that Scott nearly threw up . . . there was nothing he hated more than a guy who was a complete show-off.

"Tonight we send Senator Kelly a little message from the Brotherhood!" Pietro was saying on the video footage. "There's no stopping the mutants! And we're coming for him next!"

Warren groaned. "Great, this is just great. More problems and more headaches for us," he said.

"Are we going to do something about it?" asked Bobby.

"We do not even know where he's going to hit the senator," said Warren.

"But, Senator Kelly, he's against mutants. Why do we protect him?" asked Jean.

"Because, Jean, trust me when I say that saving a man who hates you, that's exactly what Professor Xavier would want of us. He'd want us to be the bigger people and he'd want us to take the high road," Warren explained. "That's what makes us different from Magneto and his followers. Some of those people they attacked out there? They might not even be anti-mutant to begin with. They of all people do not deserve this."

"You've got a good point there, Warren," Scott said in agreement as he continued to strum at his guitar.

"We should follow this closely; news, radio, social media, everything. I can almost guarantee you the next time they hit, it will show up on Twitter," said Warren.

Bobby, Scott and Jean shared a look with each other. Sure, they experienced the dark, prejudice sides of humanity with all that they had gone through, but, that didn't mean that they blamed all human beings for all of the problems in their lives and everything that went wrong. In fact, Tony Stark, Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan were some of the most decent human beings that they had met. Moira MacTaggart had treated Scott and Jean's wounds and gave Scott his ruby quartz glasses despite the fact that she didn't have to. Ultimately, they knew what the right thing was, and they knew that the Brotherhood needed to be stopped before they caused even more damage than just a few police cars and injured policemen.

Up next: Rogue Recruit