In a world that hates and fears mutants, Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants proves to be an adversary for Professor Charles Xavier, who is making the attempt at fighting for a peaceful coexistence between humans and mutants. Recently, the Brotherhood has recruited their newest member, Anna-Marie D'Ancanto, a young woman who can siphon the energy from anybody that she touches. After using her to gather information out of Warren Worthington III's father and destroying Senator Edward Kelly's home, the Brotherhood plans to take one more step in their plans to prove that mutants should reign Supreme.

The Brotherhood plans to attack Senator Kelly at a press conference being held in a factory owned by Worthington Industries. As the Brotherhood plots this, Warren Worthington III struggles to reach out to his estranged father to warn him of the attack against the senator and presidential-hopeful.

Issue 12: Striking Senator Kelly Part 1

X-Corporation Tower – Warren's Room

Journal Entry 45

I can officially say that my father is the most pig-headed, stubborn, moronic asshole I've ever known in a lifetime. This whole week leading up to Senator Kelly's press conference, I honestly feel as though someone had just tossed me into a sewer, because here I am trying to find some way to help make sure that this anti-mutant senator is safe, and nobody's being the least bit helpful or taking into consideration that I could be helping.

Am I surprised? No, I'm not. My father and mother being anti-mutant . . . it has always put a distance between us. I remember the day that my mutation had manifested. I had been so ashamed, so afraid of what I was becoming due to who my parents were, that I had attempted at harming myself by grabbing a steak knife to actually cut my wings off my back at just the age of sixteen. My parents had walked in on me doing that, and that was what sparked them to try and create the mutant cure. However, I soon came to the realization that having wings was a gift, and I'd decided to take a test flight at four o'clock in the morning. It lit a fire in me and made me realize I did not want to get rid of my mutation. After learning that my parents wanted to use me as their first guinea pig test subject, I was just so disgusted with the both of them. I could hardly believe that my father would want to do something like that. In a lot of ways, I also know part of the reason why my family and I are so strained. It is because for so many years when I was a child, my parents would constantly praise me as their 'perfect son' and brag about me to my aunts and uncles and their employees. They put me on a pedestal, and when I lost that 'perfect' image, it was almost as though they were trying to cut me down. Candy noticed it too from the time that we were little kids swimming in the kiddie pool in the backyard of Worthington Manor.

When I'd refused to take the cure, my parents had thrown me out of the house. They'd driven me off to a hotel with just enough money to last me two nights there, and a small duffel of clothes. When I'd ran out of money to stay in that hotel, I'd ended up on the streets, however, my arrogance and stupidity at the time got the best of me. It had gotten to a point where one day, a group of thugs had actually tried beating the shit out of me when they'd saw my wings. However, my saving grace had been when a group of bystanders had saw what had happened, and they'd gotten me to a hospital. I'd kept on saying I had no coverage for any medicine, but, it was those kind people who had offered to pay for whatever treatments I'd needed at the time. I'd ended up with four broken ribs, contusions on my arms, a split lip, a concussion, and a fracture or two in my wings. Other than that, I was just fine and dandy. And that night, it was like a gift from God when Professor Xavier and Tony Stark had approached me about being employed by X-Corporation. I had never felt relief like that in my life, especially since Hank is older than me by a year, meaning the two of us got along great.

Now, with X-Corporation growing thanks to members like Forge, Scott, Jean and Bobby, I have to say that I have found a new family. Scott and Jean are just awesome and are so much fun to be around. Bobby's the brother I'd never had, but always wanted. But the fact is, they're trying to get me to attempt forgiving my parents. But, it's not easy; when my parents had thrown me out and disowned me, it had hurt. But I also know that Scott and Jean have no parents, and Bobby is probably on the way to being disowned by his own family. Now, with Senator Kelly's press conference on the horizon today at noon, and Mr. Stark accepting an award in Las Vegas early in the morning, the pressure is on. This is considering that we need to save the life of a man who hates and fears us . . . piece of cake . . . no, it's not. But, if my old man doesn't pull his head out of his ass and give me something, then the mutants are fucked.

Warren set his pen and journal aside, running a hand over his face. All week long, he'd failed at contacting his mother and father for any kind of information regarding the press conference. But, at least he was actually trying. Getting up from his desk, he decided to fix himself some food and watch the news, considering Tony was receiving that award that day and it was going to be on at the crack of dawn. After that, they were going to have to worry about the Brotherhood. Warren looked over at Candy, who was sleeping in his bed still. She looked so stunning . . . like an actual angel. Warren walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead gently before making his way into the kitchen to get breakfast before Bobby, Scott and Jean did. That was considering the fact that Bobby was the one with the biggest appetite out of all the inhabitants of X-Corp Tower, and Scott and Jean were still on a weight-gain diet which meant they had to force themselves to eat throughout the day more frequently.

Warren was drinking his coffee as he watched the morning news. He knew that Tony was going to be home in time before Senator Kelly's press conference. Letting out a sigh, he noticed Scott and Jean walking into the kitchen. Over the past couple weeks; they've been on their way to a healthy weight, Jean especially. However, their sleeping issues were still a problem. They both suffered with insomnia which was a result of nightmares. They didn't think people heard them, but Warren heard them loud and clear in the dead of night, screaming in their sleep and waking up sobbing. But he couldn't blame them. In fact, his heart went out to them because after he'd been hospitalized after having gotten attacked by a group of street thugs that had brought nightmares to Warren's sleep too. He didn't tell too many people about that. In fact, Candy was one of the only people that he confided in about that.

"Hey, guys," he said. "In case you're wondering, I still have had no luck reaching my parents. I will have to go to the last resort and actually go to Worthington Industries, because all this right now, is bullshit."

"I agree, it is bullshit, because we do not have parents," Scott pointed out. "So therefor, even if your parents do not make the effort, you should at least try to."

"I know. My situation is bullshit compared to the two of you. You both had it worse than I did," Warren said.

"Considering I had spent my whole entire childhood separated from my siblings due to me being a mental patient, I would give for anything to see them again. It's often a misconception that the Morrison Mental Institution was the first hospital I had been in. No . . . actually, before I got transferred to Morrison, me and my identical twin sister, Madelyne, had been patients at the Mangold Mental Hospital. That one was worse, because we only lasted two weeks in there before we both got transferred to separate hospitals because the staff there had been too afraid to keep us in there. Ever since then, we've been separated," Jean explained as her eyes misted over, remembering her identical twin. "We had this relationship growing up where it was the two of us against the world . . . I loved that, she was like my best friend. And now I don't even know where she is or what's happened to her. I haven't spoken to her in a decade."

"Jean . . ." Warren whispered, having not known that.

Jean swallowed her tears back. "It's fine . . . it's . . . it's been years now," she insisted.

"Still, Jean, you've got a right to be upset," said Scott.

Jean nodded in agreement, and then turned her attention to the news to see Tony on the TV, accepting his Apogee award. She was also aware that that day, the Jericho missiles were scheduled to be given to the army. She turned her head to look at the time. It was 9:30 in the morning . . . only a couple hours left until the Brotherhood hit Senator Kelly. Suddenly, that was when the news coverage switched from Tony to news about Senator Kelly.

"And in other news, Senator Edward Kelly is getting ready to have his press conference today about his presidential campaign. The press conference will be held in Newark, New Jersey at twelve noon in a factory owned by Worthington Industries. With Warren Worthington, Jr.'s Legacy Cure under development and Cameron Hodge of Hodge International, Obadiah Stane of Stane Enterprises and Bolivar Trask of Trask Industries collaborating to work on the mutant-tracking robots called Sentinels, Senator Edward Kelly is adamant about working with Hodge, Stane and Trask to develop a mutant registration to keep mutants in line."

Warren shot up from his seat as soon as he saw Cameron Hodge's picture on the news.

"That son of a bitch," he growled angrily as Candy came into the room, wearing his Pace University hooded sweatshirt, a pair of silky sleep shorts from Victoria's Secret, and knee-high socks. When she saw Cameron's photo on the news, she instantly understood where her boyfriend's point of anger was coming from.

"Wait, that's the guy who was your best friend?" Jean asked as she noticed the photo of the blonde young man wearing horn-rimmed glasses.

"He was, until he stabbed me in the back, but this is low, even for him," Warren spat. "I can't believe that that asshole would do something like this! Oh wait, I can!" He was clenching his fists in anger as Bobby entered the room, shocked to see Warren that angry and upset. "And the cherry on top, he's collaborating with two of our biggest competitors! I mean, Stane and Trask? Are you kidding me?!"

"Well, at least we now know where the press conference will be, so maybe, just maybe, we'll be able to stop the Brotherhood in time," said Scott, trying to be reasonable in this situation as Professor Xavier, Forge and Hank walked into the room.

"You all saw the news too?" Jean asked.

"Yes, and as we know, this matter is rather sensitive considering that Magneto's followers are looking to make a scene," Professor Xavier said. "Tony's on his way back here, so hopefully we can formulate a plan and stop the Brotherhood before it's too late."

"It's best that we get Alpha Flight on the phone then," said Hank as he made his way around the phone lines to contact Carol and Logan.

"Yeah, you know they'd want in," said Warren. "But, besides, how are we going to stop the Brotherhood from attacking the senator? It's not like we can just come in there as we please to see the whole thing happen."

"Well . . . truth being told, Tony and I have been working on something together," said Forge. "When he gets back, I'll show you. The two of us have been doing some . . . side projects this past week to further improve the Danger Room."

"Wait, what exactly, Forge?" asked Bobby.

"When Mr. Stark and Pepper get back, you'll see," Forge said as he went to get his morning coffee.

Hotel Indigo Newark Downtown – Senator Kelly's Hotel Room

For Senator Edward Kelly, being a member of the New York senate seat and a presidential nominee meant that being in the public eye was a given. However, another reason why he was in the public eye was because of his views on mutants.

The anti-mutant senator sat there in his hotel room with his wife, Sharon, and his two children, James and Gabriella as he watched the news coverage of that morning. For most of the morning, it had been covering Tony Stark receiving the Apogee award. Of course, the senator was aware that the genius, billionaire playboy had mutants on his payroll. Hell, the thirty-five-year-old owned a company called X-Corporation, which focused on giving mutants job opportunities. As far as Senator Kelly was concerned, mutants shouldn't even be allowed to have jobs anywhere, because all they did was cause problems. All he had to do was look at Magneto as the prime example of why he was all for a mutant registration. In the past few years, Magneto had done nothing but cause chaos to try and prove that mutants were the superior over humans. It was madmen like that that made Senator Kelly believe in what he believed. As looked over at his wife and his two children, it further motivated him to want to protect them from mutant criminals.

Sharon Kelly walked over to her husband's side and sat beside him, wrapping an arm around his back as she breathed out a deep sigh.

"Edward," Sharon whispered. "You have got to stop watching the news this much."

"I can't stop, Sharon . . . I cannot, and you know why. With this press conference today, I am actually anticipating that the Brotherhood of Mutants is looking for a fight. This is why we must remain vigilante," Edward said.

"Yeah, yeah, I can agree on that," said Sharon softly. "But is this worth it? I mean, do you really want to antagonize them further?"

"Sharon, come on, we cannot just hide in fear; we need to show the Brotherhood that they should just assume they should be under the impression that I should be afraid of them," said Edward as they heard a knocking at the door.

"Senator, the press conference is starting in an hour," said the voice of Warren Worthington, Jr.

"Yes, Mr. Worthington, we should be on the road," Edward said as he got up from where he was sitting with his wife.

"Good luck," Sharon whispered, kissing her husband softly before beckoning him towards the door to meet with Warren Jr. "You know I'll be watching."

"Always," Edward said with a smile.

X-Corporation Tower – Rec Room

Scott, Jean, Warren, Candy and Bobby were in the rec room, waiting for Tony to get back from Las Vegas. They knew for a fact that Beast and Forge were anxious to share something with them, but, they refused to say anything until Tony got back. They just stayed on the couches watching the news quietly. They knew that in an hour from now, the Brotherhood was going to hit Senator Kelly at the press conference which was going to be in a factory that was owned by Worthington Industries in Newark, New Jersey. For Jean, she was nervous about going back there, because while going back to New Jersey should bring back some feelings of comfort, it just brought her more apprehension and nervousness. The last time she'd been there, she was leaving a mental hospital with Professor Xavier and Beast to leave her old life behind. She knew that being back in New Jersey was going to bring back some bad memories for her.

As they continued to watch the news, Tony arrived in the room with Pepper, Forge, Beast and Professor Xavier.

"Hey, guys, I take it you're paying attention to the news?" Tony asked.

"I'm honestly wondering if my father knows about the Brotherhood attacking the senator. I wonder if he even told Senator Kelly. It wouldn't shock me if he didn't because, it's the perfect opportunity to make mutants look even more horrible in the public eye," Warren said. "My father has been known to screw people over, even close friends and family."

"But, Warren, we're going to have to try and do something to stop that from happening, because I don't want to see things get any worse," Jean said.

"Well, if you guys are doing this, and if you're serious, you're going to need something," Tony said. "Forge and I have been working on a side project together. It's down in the Danger Room, and I think that it can only help further. Follow me down there."

Scott, Jean, Bobby, Warren and Candy got up and proceeded to follow Tony, Beast, Forge and Professor Xavier down to the basement, along with Pepper. Forge could hardly seem to be able to contain his excitement as they made their way down there. When they got down to the Danger Room, Tony pressed down on a button that was near the control room, and the wall opened up to reveal mannequins with specially crafted suits, as well as masks to cover their faces.

"Custom-made suits that we made specifically for the Danger Room sessions, made special to accommodate all of your individual needs and biometrics," Forge announced proudly. "Bobby, yours will be allowed to adapt to your ability of controlling your body temperature and the mask will allow you to have thermal vision, allowing you to see the heat signatures of others. Warren, yours will allow for your wings to be out and open no need to keep them strapped down to your back. Hank, yours is made of material that can adapt to any of your needs as far as the physical aspects."

"Forge, this is amazing," Scott said with a grin.

"You can thank the both of us considering we both designed the suits," said Tony. "And those masks should allow you to conceal yourselves while you're out there. This should help. I can almost guarantee you guys that the Brotherhood won't even see it coming. However, I can say this. Hank has got a nickname. I think it's time you all officially got one. Jean, you're Marvel Girl. Scott, you're Cyclops. Warren, yours will be Angel. And Bobby, you will be known as Iceman."

Jean took in the sight of the uniform that was designed for her. It consisted of red pants that were skin-tight, a matching long-sleeved, cropped shirt that had a bright yellow X design on the chest, and yellow boots. It had a mask and cowl that pulled up over her head to disguise her face, while also being open enough to allow her hair to be exposed and flow down her back freely.

"How did we do?" asked Forge.

"It's perfect," Warren said.

"Well, we have the uniforms and the war plane . . . let's go to war," said Hank.

Outside Worthington Industries Factory – Downtown Newark

Outside the factory where Senator Kelly's press conference was being held, the Brotherhood, minus Mystique and Rogue, were in position, ready to attack. Wanda was positioned at the nearby billboard. Pietro being second-in-command to Mystique was the one calling the shots. They had Quentin Quire – Kid Omega, already in position impersonating a police officer to act as their psychic inside the building. Blob, Toad and Avalanche were down on the ground with Pyro.

"How's your trigger finger, sis?" Pietro asked as he watched the limousine carrying Warren Worthington, Jr. and Senator Kelly pulled up. The press and the police were all there for the conference.

"Itching," Wanda said. "Having powers that control probability has its advantages."

"I would say," Toad said in the comms in a flirtatious tone.

"Enough flirting with my sister, Todd," Pietro said, shaking his head in disgust. "Quentin, are you in position?"

"Everybody's in place," Kid Omega said.

"Good . . . today, Senator Kelly is going to get the message. They're no stopping the mutants," Pietro said with a grin on his face. Finally, today was the day for them. They were going to make sure that their message was spread, and, they didn't care how they did it.

Up next: Striking Senator Kelly Part 2