Using their powers to save mankind, the X-men continue to fight for peace in a world that hates and fears them. The ever-growing discrimination and hatred for mutants is on the rise, especially as it gets closer to the presidential election.
With an upcoming election, mutants around the United States of America are facing the ever-growing toxicity in the environment. This is especially with the uprising of an anti-mutant hate group known as the Friends of Humanity, who are determined to use humans' fears of mutants by attacking mutants in the streets.
These attacks have been leading to mutants being arrested by the Mutant Response Division underneath the Wide Awake Project, an initiative enacted by Senator Edward Kelly. However, even Senator Kelly is slowly beginning to have his doubts that this is the right approach when it comes to dealing with the mutant issue.
Issue 54: Beauty and the Beast Part 1
Stark Pharmaceuticals – Research Labs
The following week after The Wide Awake Project, the Sentinels and the MRD were launched put the X-men on edge. For the most part, they were all hesitant to use their powers out in public. Bobby's classmates at school were in particular very cruel, particularly bullies like Flash Thompson and Duncan Matthews. Those classmates were now frequently making threats that they would call the MRD on Bobby or Angelica if they used their powers in school.
Additionally to this, the FOH – whom Kitty revealed to the X-men to be known as the "Friends of Humanity" – were starting to become more violent with their outbursts in public. They were not just resorting to attacking mutant-friendly restaurants and pubs. They were now attacking mutant-friendly clinics and hospitals. Any mutants who even attempted to defend themselves had the MRD called on them, which led to even more mutants throughout New York being arrested. It was being taken too far.
However, there were some like Warren and Hank, who were determined to not allow such bigotry to interfere with their work at Stark Pharmaceuticals. Their latest venture with the company was now including mutant-friendly pain medications that needed to get distributed to the hospitals and clinics in the area. However, Hank and his research assistant, Bruce Banner – who was better known to the world as the Incredible Hulk – were hitting a brick wall.
"Bruce, I must declare that while I do find scientific research to be a much better form of catharsis than ripping the walls apart, I am finding that at this point, I might just result to tearing something into shreds," said Hank with a shake of his head.
"Well, Hank, I would appreciate it if you didn't. We don't want the Other Guy to make any surprise appearances," Banner said as he looked over the data. "Besides, I think that that won't be too healthy for either one of us."
"Indeed, Bruce," Hank said with a toothy smile. "Besides, in an hour, I've got to go down to the eye clinic . . . I am one step closer to finding the cure for blindness on our very first patient."
"You've been working on that for almost two years now, my friend," Banner said, taking his glasses off and polishing them. "If you want a head start over there, I can finish up here."
"Thank you, Dr. Banner." Hank proceeded to walk out of the labs of Stark Pharmaceuticals, wearing a thick trench coat and a hat as he headed towards the Claremont Clinic for the Blind. In addition to doing research for Tony, Hank also found that doing research to help the local eye clinic part time gave him a strong sense of purpose in life. Being twenty-four years old, Hank was quite the intellectual for someone of his age, one of the many reasons why Tony had hired him in the first place. The big, blue, ape of a beast walked into the eye clinic, signing in and pulling on his white lab coat before walking into the medical room, where his research assistant and closest and only friend in the clinic, Alec Bolson, was waiting on him.
"Ah, Alec, I see you are hard at work as usual, my friend," Beast said with a smile.
Alec smiled in return. Being the head doctor of the hospital, he'd taken Hank under his wing when the beast approached him about wanting to expand his horizons in terms of working with medicine. Alec had yet to find a better doctor than Hank McCoy.
"Absolutely, Hank . . . it appears that the treatment is about ready at this point," he said with a smile towards Hank. "Your hard work is paying off, my friend."
"Eureka, Alec," Hank said with a toothy grin, taking his seat at the desk to see the data for himself. As Hank prepared to busy himself with his work, two other doctors from the clinic walked into the room, pointing and gawking towards the big, blue, ape-like mutant sitting so humanely at the desk. Alec, however, was not going to have any intolerance under his watch, and gave them a glare to shoo them off. The two doctors backed out of the room, knowing that if they gave Hank any problems, they were going to be told off by Alec.
"I see that you are indeed correct about this, my friend. The treatment is about ready to test and see if it indeed works," Hank said. "Everything adds up; this operation should go beautifully."
"Well, with your expertise, Hank, I have got no doubts in my mind at all. Your math is always correct. Shall we check in on our patient?" asked Alec with a smile and a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Yes, of course." Beast allowed another toothy grin to appear on his face as he followed Alec into the waiting area, where they could see a dark-haired young woman, no older than twenty-one years old, sitting in one of the chairs listening to music. Hearing the door to the waiting room opening, she took her headphones off.
"Hello?" the young woman, Carly Anne Crocker, asked.
"It's just me, Carly, Dr. Bolson," Alec said to her with a smile.
"Oh, hello, Doctor Bolson. Is Doctor McCoy with you?" asked the young woman in that same voice that made Hank's chest warm.
"Indeed, Carly. We wish to tell you that the treatment is nearly completed and ready to be tested out," Hank said to her.
"Everything is set for the operation, Carly. Your tests look excellent as well. The surgery should go beautifully," Alec said as he watched Hank take Carly's hands into his own. He smiled at the sight. When Carly had started coming around the clinic, Alec had never seen Hank look so happy.
"What will it be like to actually see?" Carly mused. "Do you really think that I will be able to?"
"Dr. Bolson and I have been working on this treatment for nearly two years now, Carly . . . I can assure you that my numbers are undeniably precise and that this surgery will go well," Hank told her reassuringly.
"Like I have said, Hank; your math is always correct. It will work; no doubt about it," Alec said.
"You'll be there, won't you, Hank?" Carly asked him with a smile.
"Have no doubt in your mind Carly. Indubitably, I will be here. I won't miss this surgery for the world," Hank said to her gently. "Plus, it's time for me to be able to see the final results for something that I have been researching for a long time."
Suddenly, that was the moment they could hear a loud crash outside the eye clinic, and they could smell a noxious odor of smoke that started to fill the air. They could hear several doctors coughing as the smell of something burning became worse and worse.
"What's happening?" Carly asked in a panic as Hank forced open a window, grabbing hold of her and carrying her in his arms to get her outside before coming back for Alec and a few of his other co-workers, even the ones that were wary of working with a mutant.
"I'm not entirely sure, Carly," Alec told her once they were all outside. They proceeded to make the attempt at getting themselves to safety, but, that was when they could see a crowd of Friends of Humanity followers standing behind Alyssa Risman and Graydon Creed. Creed and Risman looked on with bitter, hateful glares on their faces towards Hank.
"There he is! One of those mutie freaks from the X-men, with a human girl!" spat Creed, pointing in Hank's direction.
"I am sorry to inform you that your anger is rather misplaced, sir," Hank said in a very calm, pacifistic voice before he turned to Alec. "Get her to safety . . . I will handle this," he said.
"But, what about the MRD?" Alec asked in a serious voice, having heard of the random arrests that had been taking place all over the city. "You do know that if you use your powers to defend yourself, that you will just be falling into a hole that you cannot climb out of."
"That is not nearly my top concern right now, my friend. Right now, get Carly to safety, and make it indisputable that everyone else is protected. These FOH members are not going to care about human casualties. They are making that rather clear," Beast said, not even seeming to care if he got arrested. If it meant saving his co-workers and the patients at the clinic from mutant-hating extremists such as the Friends of Humanity, he was going to do whatever it took. He did not care if some of his co-workers hated and feared him; he was going to protect them as well and be the bigger person.
Alec nodded and took Carly by the arm, guiding her away to safety as Hank proceeded to hold off the FOH, lifting up two of the members and tossing them back towards the crowd of followers that were gathering.
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that," Hank said. "Dr. King," he added calmly. However, the FOH continued to press forward, determined to attack Beast.
"No more mutants! No more mutants! No more mutants! No more mutants!"
The angry crowd of people pushed on, some of them jumping on top of Beast trying to punch him. Beast blocked the attacks, pushing them off his body. However, in the distance, they could hear the MRD approaching.
"Surrender, mutant! Get on your knees, hands behind your head!" shouted one of the MRD officials, going towards Beast to collar him and handcuff him.
He automatically felt the effects of the power-restricting collar, the blue fur from his body slowly dissipating as his hands were locked in giant handcuffs. He was forcefully pulled to his feet and marched towards the vehicles.
"Get in! You're coming with us, freak," spat one of the officers.
Hank didn't say anything as the officers shoved him violently towards the vehicle. He knew that there was no use in arguing the MRD officials since they were acting under the orders of Senator Edward Kelly.
NY MRD Headquarters – One Hour Later
Hank McCoy sat there in his temporary cell. From his understanding, he knew that it was inevitable that he was going to be transferred to the Washington D.C one, where he would be prisoner to Senator Kelly, William Stryker, and their associates.
Closing his eyes, Hank couldn't help but feel the tears filling his eyes. Carly had gotten dragged into the ordeal, and he felt as if somehow, it was his fault. He willed the tears not to fall as the MRD officers stood there, watching him outside his cell with smirks on their lips. The only thing that he requested during his hour at the MRD HQ before being transferred to D.C, was a novel. The least he could do was distract his mind with something else. It would be able to keep him occupied enough to not feel the MRD guards breathing down his neck.
He opened his eyes, focusing his attention on his copy of Animal Farm. He could hear the MRD officials taunting him.
"Well, would you get a load of that? A mutie trying to read," one of them said as the other guard laughed crudely.
"Yeah, and look at the title. Animal Farm; he's just looking at the pictures," another said. "See any old relatives in there, hairball?"
The guards let out another round of laughter, but Hank was determined not to give them anything at all. He continued to focus his attention to the book in his hands, determined to let it roll off his back.
However, Hank could soon feel the presence of Henry Peter Gyrich – Kelly's choice for vice president – outside his cell.
"I'd like to ask you a few questions," he told Hank, who was now in his human form due to the collar blocking his mutation. His full human form was large and muscular, with thick dark hair and blue eyes.
"Another time," Hank said, refusing to look at the man as tears threatened to fall.
"It's your funeral. I'll be back," Gyrich said. However, another officer approached Hank's cell.
"You've been bailed out," the guard said. He unlocked Hank's cell door, and grabbed the mutant roughly, shoving him to the floor.
"Who bailed him out?" demanded Gyrich.
"It was me," said the voice of Tony Stark sternly. Hank's eyes opened to see Tony and Warren there. He rose to his feet, only to be shoved face-first into the ground again before his ribs were kicked. The collar unlocked from his neck, allowing his fur to come back around his body. Warren walked over and gave Hank a hand up to his feet.
"You alright?" he murmured to Beast, leaning a hand onto the older man's arm as he and Tony guided Hank out of the MRD facility.
Hank just nodded silently, but Warren could see through his friend's façade. Warren knew Hank was trying to block everything out of his mind and ignore what was happening. However, the next thing that greeted them were angry protesters, gathered outside the facility.
Looking at their faces, the crowd of people wore masks of acrimony and rage. They were screaming various curses of hatred in Hank's direction, glares in their eyes. Their anger was making them irrational as they wove signs in the air. But the ones that hurt the most were signs with photographs of the X-men defaced. There were several containing Jean's face with words like "whore" and "go back to the mental hospital." There were others containing pictures of Hank, with slurs like "swine" and "brute."
"NO MORE MUTANTS!"
"KEEP THE ANIMAL IN A CAGE!"
"CLEAN UP THE GENE POOL!"
Hank swallowed as he felt a cheeseburger hitting him in the shoulder, along with a tomato.
"FREAK!"
"MONSTER!"
"GO BACK TO THE FREAKSHOW! WE DON'T WANT YOUR KIND AROUND HERE!"
"Ignore them, Hank," whispered Warren, patting Hank sympathetically on the shoulder as they got him to the limousine.
'If only it were that straightforward,' thought Hank as he sat there in silence.
X-Corporation Tower – Kitchen
At the same time while Beast was being released from MRD custody, news footage of the attack on the eye clinic was playing on the news. It had been recorded by cellphone cameras from people who were witnesses, and just stood by doing nothing to help. For Logan "Wolverine" Howlett, this was too much for the feral mutant to bear as he popped his claws out and sunk them deeply into the TV, disgusted. Beast being one of his closest friends whom he trusted the most out of everyone in the X-men, Logan was understandably angered by the whole thing.
"Attacking a hospital for the blind?" he growled out. Jean and Ororo were sitting there, eating a take-out dinner as they watched Logan lose his cool. "Just leave me alone with those stupid shitheads for just five minutes! Just five minutes!" he spat out angrily, a pissed-off glare on his face. He let out an angry roar as his glare darkened.
"Logan!" Ororo said to him sternly as she rose from her seat, Jean following her best friend's lead. "Stop! You know that we can't –!"
"I know, Ro . . . X-men never seek revenge! But, does that mean we just let these fuckers get away with it?" Logan asked her seriously.
"We must not attempt to stir the pot and add to the climate of violence," Storm insisted.
"Climates are yer department, Storm," Logan said to her, the anger still brimming in his voice. "I swear to God, if those Friends of Humanity assholes ever attempt something like this again, I will do something that will make them regret it!"
"Logan, I know you're pissed off right now. You do not think that this is revolting to me, too?" Jean asked in a serious tone of voice as she gave her "uncle" a hard look. She loved Logan dearly; he was one of the other father figures that she had in her life, but that did not mean she was above standing up to him and holding him accountable. "But we have to approach this situation delicately. If we do not, we can and will just make things even worse for us," she added to him, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Delicately, Jeannie?" Logan asked her, narrowing his eyes at her.
He did not buy that a more delicate way was the answer to the problem. For Logan, it was not good enough. He'd lost his patience for intolerance and bigotry a long time ago, especially after he had had his mind wiped and something else got shoved inside. For Logan, it was a lot harder to be optimistic. He did not know how Jean could be so optimistic after having been misdiagnosed with various mental illnesses and shoved in a padded cell like an animal, but it was something that he deeply commended her for.
"The Friends of Humanity thrives on the public hatred of mutants. We cannot help their cause by appearing to be on a rampage, not right now with the MRD and Sentinels out there looking to arrest any mutants who act out of line. Mutants who are just simply using their powers to defend themselves are being arrested even though they are not doing anything wrong! If you go after the FOH and try to kill them, you will be giving them exactly what it is that they desire. How does that make you any different or better than they are?" Jean asked Logan, making a valid point. Jean was already developing a very strong sense of maturity and class for her age, and held herself with poise and grace.
"Alright, Red, for now," Logan told her. "But I'm going after 'em, and if I don't find a kinder, gentler way to shut 'em down, there's gonna be a few less Friends of Humanity around stinking up the planet." He proceeded to walk out of the room, leaving Jean and Ororo standing there, their meal forgotten.
"You recommend we go after him?" asked Ororo.
"No, Storm. Knowing Logan, he's going to want to go at this alone. He always finds some way to figure things out," Jean said softly. That was when Hank arrived into the room, trench and hat on and looking slightly defeated. Jean turned her focus to him, as he seemed gravely frustrated, something that deeply surprised her. "Are you okay?" she asked him gently.
Hank nodded solemnly, unusually quiet as Jean offered him a hug and a sympathetic kiss on the cheek as a friendly gesture. The fact that he wasn't saying anything was what worried her. She knew that Hank didn't have the greatest luck in the world due to his mutation permanently changing his appearance. But he also refused to his image inducer to make him appear as human, because he felt that that meant he was cowering behind something to hide who he was.
"Yes, I am okay, Jean," Hank insisted to her quietly before going off to retire to his room for the rest of the night. But Jean could pick up on his saddened thoughts of, 'Why can't I just be normal?' Jean swallowed to keep her empathetic tears out of her eyes. She did not want to cry at that moment.
Parker Home
Meanwhile, over at Peter Parker's house, Bobby Drake, Angelica Jones, Johnny Storm, Peter Parker and Mary-Jane Watson were sitting around the dinner table with Peter's Aunt May. For the five teenagers, Aunt May was cooking up a storm. This was especially since Bobby and Mary-Jane, who had their own issues with their parents, often came by the Parker home for dinner, especially on week nights such as this.
"Okay, Aunt May, if you keep cooking like this every night, I'm moving in here," Bobby said with a grin on his face as he ate his dinner of roast beef, carrots and peas and mashed potatoes.
"Bobby, you know you are always welcome here any time at all, dear," May said with a smile. Bobby and Johnny were like sons to her.
However, their dinner was interrupted when Johnny called Bobby into the living room. "Dude, you gotta see this! This is ugly!" he called.
Bobby got up from the dinner table and walked into the living room, to see news footage of the hospital Beast volunteered at being attacked by the Friends of Humanity, who had bombed the place. He could also see footage of the MRD officers arresting Hank, even though Beast was merely defended himself. It was a sight that made Bobby feel sick to his stomach.
'Animals!' Bobby thought to himself bitterly. "Okay, now those guys have taken it too far!" he spat angrily. "Are you kidding me? Attacking a hospital for the blind too?!"
"Hey, easy, Bobby," Angelica insisted, resting a comforting hand onto her friend's shoulder to try and calm him.
"No, Angelica!" Bobby said an unmistakable glare on his features. "First, they attack a mall in Chicago. I can take that. They attack a campaign rally for Lilandra Neramani. That I can take. I even took them causing a ruckus at the mall here in Manhattan just last week and kidnapping the youngest member of the X-men! But this? What the hell does Beast do that is so bad? He goes out of his way to help people! He's completely selfless and harmless."
"Bobby, they want to get you upset. They want to get a rise out of you. You win by ignoring them and keeping your head up," insisted Aunt May sternly, like she was lecturing Peter at that moment.
"Aunt May, you don't get it!" Bobby said. "I've taken enough this past year! I've taken practically being disowned by my own family because I am a mutant and I am gay! I've taken a lot of mud being thrown in my face! But when stuff like this happens, or when Flash Thompson or Duncan Matthews tease us, that's when I cannot take it anymore!"
"Bobby, take it from me," said Angelica. "This isn't going to do you any good. I get it, you're over it. I'm done too. But, right now, you cannot allow this to get you to this point. Seriously, I do not even recognize you right now! This isn't you!"
Bobby breathed a deep sigh, closing his eyes. "I know, Ange, I know . . . I'm sorry. It's just, I've had enough," he said.
"I think that we all have had enough after seeing something like that happen on the news," Peter said. "Come on, Bobby, let's just eat right now and worry about this some other time, alright?"
Bobby nodded in agreement with Peter, and they all proceeded to head back into the dining room. However, that did not mean Bobby was any less upset than he already was. He couldn't help but worry about Beast at that moment, suddenly feeling as though he couldn't even stomach any food.
Senator Edward Kelly's House – Westchester, New York
'This is taking it beyond too far,' thought Senator Edward Kelly as he sat on his living room couch in his home in Westchester, watching the news report of the Friends of Humanity attacking an eye clinic that X-man, Hank McCoy, volunteered at part time.
The senator once again felt a feeling of discomfort as he watched this. The fact that the MRD seemed to be taking advantage of this and arresting mutants who were simply defending themselves against the Friends of Humanity was something the senator could hardly stomach. If anything, this was just making the presidential nominee feel even more hesitant about using the Sentinels and the MRD when he became president of the United States.
Letting out a sigh, he continued to watch the news replay the same story. Every day, it seemed to be the exact same thing: the Friends of Humanity attack a mutant-friendly place of business, mutants defend themselves using their powers, and the MRD collared and arrested those who were fighting for survival. It was bringing serious doubts to the senator's mind. Of course, he had said that the MRD was supposed to arrest mutants who acted out of line. But from what he could see, these "Friends of Humanity" were the real criminals that needed to be arrested. But the cops were not doing anything because of the anti-mutant laws that were in place throughout the United States.
'What have I gotten myself into?' the senator thought as he switched off the TV to turn in for the night. 'Am I just making things worse than they already have to be? Am I just doing harm to innocent people . . . no, mutants are not human, right? But they are living and breathing. Is this right?' Making his way into his bedroom, he noticed his wife, Sharon, had fallen asleep rather quickly. But, he fell asleep uneasily. At first, the MRD and the Sentinels being used to keep mutants in line seemed like the right thing to do. Now, he was not so sure anymore as to what was the right thing to do about the mutant problem.
Outside Lobdell Veteran's Housing – Hours Later
'I hope that this works,' Logan thought as he walked along to the Lobdell Veterans building – the base of the Friends of Humanity. After having rescued Kitty from them the previous week, he now knew of their base of operations. He figured that that could be useful. It turned out to be more useful than Logan could have ever hoped it could be.
Wearing his typical street clothes, as well as a pair of dark shades and a baseball cap, Logan took stock of his surroundings He noticed trash cans filled to the top with garbage, as well as a balcony above the building. He smiled to himself.
'Delicately,' he thought, going over to life up a trashcan and throwing it, letting out a yell to make it seem as though he was yelling in pain. He was willing to try Jeannie's approach, the "kinder, gentler way."
He understood that Jean wasn't about war; she was about peace and fixing people. That was just the kind of person she was. She saw all the good in people and loved unconditionally, and wanted to fix people due to the fact that she had been broken almost her whole life. But, Logan was looking at it from the harder, more ingenuous viewpoint that you couldn't fix everyone and save everybody's life. But, Logan also admired Jean's sense of innocence that hadn't been tainted despite years of being a mental patient. She was a pure sweetheart, but her talent for empathy made her more vulnerable, because people liked to take advantage of the good in others.
Logan proceeded to jump up onto the balcony of the building, and he jumped down, allowing his body to crash into the pavement below as he feigned a shout of pain. Before he knew it, members of the FOH took the bait, and came out to see what was going on. Upon seeing Logan lying on the ground, the two men went over to him in concern.
"Sir, are you okay?" one of them asked.
"Mutant . . ." Logan groaned out.
"Come on, let's get him inside," said the second member, and they proceeded to support Logan up and onto his feet. Logan internally smiled; this was by far the best plan he ever came up with.
'I think Jeannie's idea of approaching this delicately might just be more effective than I'd first thought,' Logan thought as the two FOH members led him inside the HQ to "safety." Little they knew, they had a mutant with them, and if Logan found anything on them, then they were in for a rude awakening.
Up next: Beauty and the Beast Part 2