Author's Note – I do not own any of the characters, Marvel and DC do.

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Chapter Fourteen

Outcry

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"…and with the leaking of this news, there has been a rise in anti-mutant sentiment." The reporter stated over the noise of the mob. Behind him, the large, chanting crowd waved signs with legends like 'Choose To Be Human' and 'No More Mutants'.

"The very existence of this Cure has brought many mutants out of hiding in the hope that the powers and changes that have disrupted their lives can be reversed, allowing them to live without the fear of harming others. Earlier today, Doctor Frank McCoy, teacher at Bayville High, gave this statement."

The picture changed to show the newly-named Beast standing before the school gates with a crowd of cheering pupils behind him.

"Although I too would once have sought this treatment, I have come to realise that my enhanced physical abilities mean that I can do more to actively protect all those around me." He said with a smile. "Although I do have to spend more money on shampoo and hair conditioner…"

Beast paused for the laughter to die down. "As I was saying, although there are downsides to my mutation, I believe that how it allows me to help other people more than outweighs the negatives. This does not mean that I am against this Cure, for I have come across certain powers that are indeed hazardous to both the one wielding them and to those around them, no matter how much the person in question tries to control them. However, the choice must be the made by the one with the powers. Trying to force someone to take the Cure gainst their will seems to me to be too much like the now-discredited eugenics philosophy espoused by the Nazis. The choice must not be forced. It must be made of their own free will, without outside pressure, or it will not be a Cure, but a curse."

"That was Doctor Hank McCoy, code-name Beast." The newsreader said as the screen returned to showing the newsroom before the screen switched off.

Magneto turned and glared at his son. "You failed. Why?"

"Wanda was there!" Pietro yelped.

"Wanda?" Magneto repeated in surprise. "She has control of her powers now?"

"Yeah." Pietro shuddered. "She's got telekinesis, held me in mid-air."

"Telekinesis?" Magneto asked. "Interesting, her primary power is probability manipulation. I wonder how telekinesis fits into it…. Ah, of course. She must manipulate local probabilities to create a telekinetic effect. Impressive."

Pietro nodded. "Yeah, the others simply backed her up, but Toad has a staff and he looked like he knew how to use it."

"Probably Gambit's doing." Magneto replied. "I still don't know why he abandoned us for my old friend. Not that it truly matters."

"My lord." Chrome said from the doorway and Magneto glanced at him. "I apologise for interrupting, but I believe that these people may prove to be viable allies."

Pietro moved to one side of the room as a man and a woman walked into the room, the man looking round curiously.

"Nice place." He admitted. "So, you're Magneto, right?"

"I am."

The mutant grinned and the spots on his skin suddenly erupted outwards into short spikes before retracting once more. "Name's Quill, I can fire my spikes like darts and I lead the Omegas. This is my second, Arclight."

"Concussive blasts that only destroy what I want them to, although I'm limited to inorganic targets." Arclight said quietly as she accepted Magneto's extended hand briefly.

"It is an honour to meet you both." Magneto said, waving one hand to warp the metal floor upwards into a trio of chairs. "Please, be seated."

"Nice." Quill said in admiration. "Chrome over there said you were going to destroy this so-called Cure."

"It is a great threat to mutantkind." Magneto said, causing both Quill and Arclight to nod in agreement. "Perhaps the greatest threat ever. At the very least, I intend to lead my Acolytes against the place where they are making it."

"The Omegas'll join ya." Quill offered. "Plus all the groups linked to us. There's over a hundred of us Omegas alone."

Magneto smirked. "So, are you aware of where this thing is being made?"

"Angel Island. They have it on the west side of Ayala Cove, built partially into the ridge." Quill snarled. "Getting to it will be a problem. They have patrol boats."

Magneto paused as Chrome held out a tablet computer for him to look at, then he nodded.

"I believe that I can help out there. There are two places that you need to have your people meet up. The first will be at the southernmost point of Kell Cove. All those with enhanced speed or maneuverability should go there, as well as those who are better in support than direct combat, healers and suchlike."

"And the others?"

"The ones who are effectively tanks on the battlefield? Or those like Arclight who can act as artillery?" Magneto said with a slight smile, taking the pad from Chrome and holding it out so that the two Omegas could see it. "As they will be the first wave, they should meet me and my Acolytes here."

Quill's eyes widened and he whistled.

"I think I see your plan. Are you certain that you can…?"

"Please, I levitated an entire asteroid until the lift generators could be built." Magneto scoffed. "This will be easy in comparison."

"When do we move?" Arclight asked.

"We need to gather our forces first." Magneto stated. "Have the first wave filter into San Francisco and book into various hotels and motels over the course of a week while the second wave do the same near Larkspur. Once all are in position, we can use hired or purchased coaches to move our troops to where they need to be in order to launch the assault."

"I like it." Quill smirked. "But how will the word be given?"

Magneto held up a small mobile phone with a smile.

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Hank McCoy waved at the cheering pupils as he strode onto the pitch, clad in the Umpire's outfit. Moving to his position behind the batter and the backstop, he nodded to the other two umpires. The First-base umpire nodded back with a grin while the third-base umpire simply scowled at him. The batter grinned while the pitcher looked somewhat disconcerted.

"I don't think that he is someone who likes mutants at all." Xavier said quietly, indicating the third-base umpire and Principal Kelly nodded.

"I agree, but at least he's professional about it and won't let it interfere with the game. Good thing you outfitted Ray with that power-dampner for this, though."

"Yes, although I have no idea as to how electrical powers help at all with Baseball." Xavier agreed with a smile.

"Oh, stop worrying, you two." Martha half-scolded with a smile. "If only we had something like that for Clark, he's never got to play baseball."

Kelly stared at her. "What happened?"

"Jonathon threw the ball and Clark hit it so hard that it exploded." Martha reminisced. "The bat wasn't much better, all that was left was where he had been holding it and a couple of extra inches. John mounted it on a plaque as a joke, but…"

"Maybe he can play on Venus." Xavier suggested, earning on odd look. "Imagine Baseball played with Kryptonians."

Martha giggled as Kelly shook his head.

"You know," She said after a moment, "You could ask Clark to make some Kryptonian-style baseballs for you to sell in that shop you're planning."

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"My Lord and Master." Sinister said, bowing deeply.

"Enter, my Seneschal. How goes your plan?"

"Magneto has taken the bait, Mesmero did his job perfectly." Sinister gloated. "The group known as the Omegas are, even now, rallying all their allies to them and prepositioning themselves for the strike. We will be able to watch from the mansion I have acquired at the end of St Bernard's lane, it has an unparalleled view, even discounting the surveillance systems currently being installed."

"A chance to view those who may be worthy of inclusion in my new army." Apocalypse rumbled, a smirk playing on his lips. "My Seneschal, your skills have only grown in the centuries that I have slumbered."

"I am concerned about the Avengers, though." Sinister admitted, only to pause as Apocalypse laughed.

"Worry not about them. They shall be busy soon enough. I still remember how to contact the Mad Titan, he will prove to be a suitable diversion for them. Retrieve one of the copies of the Infinity Gauntlet for me. It will suffice to spark his interest, as well as that of his enemies, and should he somehow manage to acquire all six of the Infinity Gems, I shall take them from him and use them to make him believe that he still has them for a while."

"Yes, My Master." Sinister bowed. "It shall be as you command.

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"What are Infinity gems?" Mesmero asked curiously. "I've never heard of them before."

"They are ancient relics, each one being the manifestation of an aspect of the universe." Sinister said as he lifted down a metallic gold-tinged gauntlet from a shelf, leaving nine more behind. "Each is a different colour and can only be wielded by a being of great power, greater than either of us."

"So… what are they?"

"The six are Mind, Power, Reality, Soul, Space and Time." Sinister replied. "The Mind is the manifestation of the subconsciousness of all the beings in the galaxy, Power is the manifestation of ell energy and is also known as the Tesseract, Reality is the fulcrum of the multiverse and its very presence begets change, Soul is the manifestation of sentience, Space is the loci of the universe whilst Time is hyper-chronocity. If all are used together with the true Infinity Gauntlet, the user becomes almost a supreme being, able to control all of reality with a single whim."

"Then why does Apocalypse not use it?" Mesmero gasped.

"He did, thousands of years ago." Sinister sighed. "But using the Gauntlet takes a certain toll, our Master is the only being who has used the Gauntlet without being stopped and who did not wish himself out of existence, thus undoing all the changes. If it is used beyond a certain point… it becomes intoxicating."

"How… how many have used the Gauntlet?"

"Our master knows of at least six, all of whom either grew bored with being truly omnipotent and erased themselves from the multiverse or used it for too long and were destroyed by the being known as the Living Tribunal for going beyond the bounds of the permissable. The power the Gauntlet grants is a subtle trap created by one who predates even the Celestials, nothing more, nothing less."

"And the true Gauntlet…?"

Sinister shrugged. "Acts as a slight buffer, whereas these fakes do not. The fakes also allow our Lord to summon the Infinity Stones to him and the True Gauntlet should he wish to."

Mesmero whistled in shocked admiration.

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"General Zod."

"Prime Minister." Zod replied, shaking the hand of the leader of Isreal. "Odd greeting custom."

"It dates back several centuries and was a way of showing that neither party has a dagger concealed up their sleeve. Now, it just shows that both parties are willing to be honest with each other."

"Interesting." Zod allowed. "I expect that you were wondering why I asked to meet you and your cabinet."

"I think that you can take that as correct." The Prime Minister agreed with a slight smile.

"If you will allow me, I have a small presentation. May I?"

At the nod of the Prime Minister, Zod reached into a pocket and pulled out a small holoprojector. Placing it on the table, he activated it and a spherical image appeared.

"New Krypton, known to you as Venus. Over the last few months, we have used a World Engine to change it so that its climate is now a match for Earth. Already, we once of Krypton can walk on its surface without need of masks and within a month, the same will be true for you of Earth.

"However, our numbers are limited to such a degree that building a viable society for ourselves is next to impossible, even with our advantages.

"In other words, we need help.

"And this is where you come in. As you can see, we have two main continents, Izh-Taro and Afaro-Dita, named after two of Rao's Champions. Izh-Taro was the champion of defensive warfare and Afaro-Dita was the champion of loyal supportiveness, aiding those who fought on the front line against the Dark."

"So… you are asking us if we are willing to abandon our homeland and move there?" One of the ministers asked and Zod grinned.

"The second part is accurate, but I see no reason for you to abandon your homes…"

Zod looked round at the confused expressions and his smile widened.

"Let me tell you about an interesting piece of technology from Krypton, the Bubble Drive…"

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Authors Afternote – Yeah, I kind of nerfed the Infinity Gauntlet slightly, its original overpowered state made no real sense to me, unless it was a test of some sort.
Why else would the Infinity Gems be placed where they could be found…?
Why else would they even exist…?