Chapter 31: Mojovision!
Disclaimer: I do not own any Marvel characters or logos.
Without warning, Scott bolted into the room, closely followed by his girlfriend. Both mutants were red in the face and looked as if they had just run a marathon before their arrival. The male mutant's shirt was torn in several places and his jeans heavily wrinkled and stained with sweat. Jean Grey was in a similar rugged state, her normally neat hair tangled and messy. Needless to say they appeared to be very tired from the day's festivities.
The professor leaned forward with an apprehensive expression, his hands folded nearly on his desk. "Have you discovered any signs of Ororo, Laura, or any of the missing students?"
The couple exchanged glances, Cyclops shaking his head solemnly as they approached their superior's desk. "Logan and Beast are still out searching the grounds, but so far they haven't turned up anything more than we did."
"Did you check the Danger Room?" the headmaster questioned with a frown.
Jean frowned. "I know it sounds weird, but Wolverine says that he found some unfamiliar scents in the forest around the spots where every else just disappeared. We did find several burn marks on the trees and a handful of uprooted plants and torn branches, so we think like there was some kind of fight that broke out in the woods."
"Logan doesn't recognize any of the scents he's discovered so far." Cyclops added in quickly.
Professor Xavier closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "If that is the case, it would appear Magneto and the rest of our known enemies have nothing to do with this abduction."
"Laura warned us that HYDRA might eventually come looking or her. Maybe they were behind these disappearances." The female psychic glanced at their teacher and then her boyfriend, although the latter seemed just as clueless about this particular matter as she was.
"I find that to be doubtful…" the bald telepath looked up to see that they were both confused and decided to elaborate on his prior knowledge. "According to some information that Logan received from Nick Fury after the recent events in New York, it would appear that HYDRA has moved the bulk of their operations outside of the United States for currently unknown reasons."
Cyclops looked even more stumped by this new puzzled than before. "So then who could it be?"
"Don't be so naïve about this, Scott." His girlfriend exhaled with dismal expression. "There are loads of people out there who hate mutants, and by now pretty much everyone in the country knows what this institute was built for. For all we know, the culprit could have been someone who had a grudge against mutants."
Professor Xavier shook his head despondently. "It is more likely that whoever kidnapped the others possessed the means to fight against super powered individuals, which means that our adversary is far more dangerous than an ordinary group of anti-mutant protesters."
"Not to mention that Laura was with them when this happened." Scott added with a twinge of worry in his voice. "She has all of Logan's powers and was purposely trained to be a super assassin. You guys remember that night she snuck in her and knocked us all out. Anyone who could abduct her without leaving behind a few body parts has to be as dangerous as they come."
"That is not entirely an understatement." Charles replied with the tiniest of nods.
The door creaked loudly as Wolverine entered the room. "You got that right…" he stepped over to the others and sat down on a wooden chair sitting in front of their leader's desk.
Their group fell silent for a moment as they waited for him to say something, but the animalistic mutant was still thinking about the incident. Although he worked to hide it, the disappearance of so many people had him worried on the inside. He always had a soft spot for several of his fellow mutants, although despite having known her the shortest amount of time, he was especially bothered by Laura's disappearance.
It wasn't just because she shared his genetics, but also because he felt responsible for her well being. Wolverine was hardly a parent, although he still felt guilty at having promised her a better life only for this to happen to her. The child had been through so much suffering that it seemed almost cruel, although at the same time he understood who and what she was. With her skills he also knew that X-23 was the most likely to survive whatever was happening to them.
The quiet faded as the professor cleared his throat. "It's good to see you have returned. Have you and Beast finished investigating the school grounds for evidence?"
"All the other students that were training were called back to the mansion and sent to their rooms for their own safety." Although no one passed any comments, they could see that Wolverine was much grumpier than usual. "Even though I couldn't track down Storm or the missing kids on the actual grounds, Hank suggested that we start looking in other places."
Jean considered this for a second before glanced over at her teacher expectantly. "That might not be such a bad idea. What do you think we should do, professor?"
The old telepath nodded. "Since we have no other option right now, I believe that this would be the best course of action for us to take." He paused for a moment before addressing the next issue to Logan. "Speaking of which, where is Beast now?"
Wolverine scratched the back of his head. "Hank told me to run back here and pitch the idea, although he said he'd make a few more rounds before coming back to the mansion. He seemed bluer than usual, since he couldn't leave the institute to actually search for himself."
The others were well aware of Beast's insecurities about his physical appearance, although it was more in line wit the fact that he could not walk around in public without causing panic and unrest among the human population. Although each of the mutants knew this, they chose not to push the subject any farther. Growing tired of sitting around waiting, Logan rose from his seat.
"Would I be correct to guess that plan to attend to this matter personally?" their leader asked.
"No use in sitting around." Logan zipped the front of his jacket and headed over to the door.
Charles Xavier raised an eyebrow at his old friend. "So, what exactly do you have in mind?"
"I'm just gonna ride around town on my motorcycle for a while and see if I can catch a whiff of anything that might help us figure out what's going on. Who the Hell knows? Maybe the freak that kidnapped everyone was somewhere in town today."
"Maybe we should come with you." Cyclops shifted around and began to stand up.
"I'll be faster on my own." Logan replied dismissively. The feral mutant noted their sour expressions. "You guys gotta stick around in case whoever nabbed Kitty and Nightcrawler shows up again. With Storm missing in action, me searching the town, and Hank playing in the woods, someone should be here to protect the school."
Scott prepared to say something else, but was pulled back into a sitting position by his girlfriend. They realized that he had brought up a good point, and neither could find a reason to argue.
"That might be for the best, considering that we have no idea what exactly is going on as of this moment." The professor added his agreement, effectively setting it in stone. Sitting back in his seat, he relaxed his shoulders, attempting to find a source of comfort in knowing that they were doing everything they could. "Good luck, Logan."
"Yeah…" the feral mutant shrugged off the comment and stepped through the door. "All right! I'll be gone for a while, so call if you guys get any useful leads."
"We'll make it a top priority." Professor Xavier replied courteously as they watched the doors to the office slam shut behind him.
Meanwhile…
X-23 woke up with an irritated groan, gently shaking her head to clear away the sluggishness that came with her current state. Due to her mutant powers, the Weapon X clone remained on high alert all of the time and was completely unfamiliar with these lethargic feelings that had suddenly taken a hold of her. It took almost a minute to finally come to her senses, but once she had, the situation only made her tense up.
She was sitting alone in an empty room along with several other people, all of who were unconscious except for her. The walls of their prison were comprised entirely of a strange metal with an unfamiliar scent, but to make matters worse there seemed to be no door leading in or out of the room. Upon closer inspection, she recognized her cellmates as mutants from the Xavier institute and silently began to wonder how they had all ended up in such a place.
Sitting along the wall were the unconscious forms of Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Storm, Iceman, and that Jubilee girl she had met earlier that night. X-23 sniffed the air, quickly discerning that they were all alive. She hadn't really established a deep bond with any of her new teammates, but seeing them like this made he blood boil as the events of that night came flooding back to her. They had been attacked out of nowhere, although the other events were still blurry.
"Argh!" she cried out savagely, shooting out her claws and planting them into the nearest wall.
At first it looked as though she had punctured the metal, but after a moment the walls resonated with an electrical shock, sending her flying across the room with a high-pitched scream. Her body gave off the smell of burning flesh, but thanks to her rejuvenation powers there was no sign that she had been injured by the feedback. It was clear that the room was made to keep them from escaping no matter what the case.
Rushing over to Kitty Pryde's limp form, the Weapon X clone gave her a series of violent shakes, causing the intangible girl to moan softly. "Wh-What happened… I feel like someone dropped a car on me."
"Get up!" X-23 ordered with a stern glare, her words not leaving any room for argument.
The other girl blinked a few times before realizing that she was lying on a cold metal floor, her focus slowly settling on the feral girl standing in front of her. Kitty wasn't overly familiar with Wolverine's reclusive female copy, but seeing a familiar face did give her someone to talk to. Before she could even voice her own input, the Weapon X clone seized her by the back of her shirt and rough yanked her into a standing position.
"Major overkill… Was that really necessary?" Shadowcat groaned, her eyes widening in shock as she observed the strange metallic walls and the windowless room. "What's going on? Where are we? Where are the others?" she blurted out frantically.
"Just look around you!" the feral mutant made an impatient gesture towards their companions lying passed out on the floor.
Kitty Pryde let out a scream of shock as her eyes adjusted to the dingy light and she finally caught sight of her teammates. They remained unmoving with Nightcrawler face down on the floor, Jubilee laying across Storm's lap, and Bobby was lying flat on his back in the corner. Kitty immediately ran over to her friends, pushing Kurt into a sitting position, nudging the others in an attempt to wake them up.
After a moment Kurt opened his unnaturally yellow eyes, looking just as surprised as the two girls were just minutes ago. "Someone care to explain what's going on to me?" he asked Kitty.
To his surprise, it was X-23 who answered. "We will assess the situation later."
The blue-skinned teleporter gasped as he realized what was going on and quick helped Kitty. Seeing that the others were trying so hard, X-23 joined her attempts to wake their teammates, although she was much less gentle. As they continued to inspect the bodies of their teammates, Wolverine's clone placed a hand over Iceman's chest, feeling the steady rise an fall for a moment. Once she was certain he was only asleep, the animalistic girl punched him lightly in the stomach.
"I'm up! What time is it!" Bobby bolted into an upright position with a bewildered expression.
A groan from his left caused the two girls to look over in surprise as Storm opened her eyes. The weather witch's long white hair was tangled and messy, giving her an uncharacteristically dirty appearance that was a stark contrast to her usual composure. X-23 poked Jubilee's body with the toe of her shoe, eliciting a painful wince from the Chinese American. Seeing that both of their remaining teammates were awake, Kitty took her hand and helped her to her feet.
"I think that's all of us." Shadowcat glanced around, the weight of their current situation suddenly returning. "Looks like someone's trying to keep us trapped in this place, although I can't say I know where here is exactly."
Storm stood up with some difficulty, quickly focusing the group's attention onto herself. Being a teacher as the Xavier Institute, it was her responsibility to take charge of the students at times like this. "I remember that we were attacked by a group of odd assailants while participating in an exercise in the woods on the school grounds. Does anyone know anything else?"
Kurt exchanged a glance with the others and shrugged. "Not sure, really… All I remember was some creepy woman with metal arms jumping out at me, then I woke up here."
"Maybe the new girl would care to explain what she knows about this." Bobby pointed at X-23 accusingly, a realization coming to him. "Didn't Wolverine say that that his clone was being chased by some crazy syndicate in New York? I'll bet it was them that attacked us!"
"I guess that makes some sense." Kitty replied with a shrug before turning to face the feral mutant. "You know them better than us. Do you think it was those people?"
Laura looked slightly bitter at being referred to as a clone by Iceman, although she didn't let it bother her for long before answering the other girl's question. "HYDRA would have simply killed the rest of you and claimed me if they really wanted to."
"I suppose that's true as well." Storm agreed with a puzzled expression. "Still, there is no solid evidence either way, therefore we cannot rule out the possibility."
X-23 sniffed the air again and shook her head. "I was created, born, and raised in several of the organization's bases. I have also been on several missions over the years that took me all around the world, yet these metal walls do not smell like anything else I've ever encountered before."
Jubilee dusted off her yellow coat and sighed. "That doesn't sound good! My first day back at the institute, and we've already been beaten up and captured. I guess expecting things to settle down around here was too much?"
"If one thing is certain, it is that whoever captured us is no friend of mutants!" the oldest member of their group deduced calmly, gently running a finger through her long ivory locks. "We must find a way to escape and contact Professor Xavier."
"I've got that taken care of!" Iceman boasted loudly, causing the others to look up in surprise.
Without a second thought, Bobby turned his body to ice and began firing off blasts of ice at the surrounding walls in an attempt to freeze the alloy into a more brittle density so that they could smash through it with ease. After a minute or so of focusing his beam into the far wall of the prison, the others realized that all he was doing was making his teammates uncomfortably cold. Not only was the ice not building up, but the wall remained completely untouched by his assault.
"Hmmm…" Bobby stroked his chin. "I figured there might've been a scratch at least."
"Maybe I can phase us all through the wall with my powers?" Shadowcat began hesitantly.
"Don't bother with that. I already tried my claws, but there appears to be some kind of protective force field covering these walls. I survived due to my regenerative abilities, but making any direct contact would only result in your own death." X-23 explained to the others.
Kitty turned to her blue-faced friend. "Hey Kurt, maybe you can teleport us out of here?"
"It's not a good idea if I can't see where I'm going." Nightcrawler shook his head regretfully. "If I can't see where I'm going or haven't been there before, we could end up inside of the wall or accidentally land into an even worse situation."
Jubilee rolled up the sleeves of her jacket with a grin. "All right guys, let me have a shot at it!"
Their teacher was about to suggest using her own powers first, but due the size of the prison cell and the close quarters she understood just how dangerous it would be. After a moment of careful consideration, she nodded her approval. "Very well, but be careful."
The yellow-clad mutant cracked his knuckles and pushed the pink visor on her forehead so that it covered her eyes, before casually moving into the proper position. Once everyone was out of her way, Jubilee held out her hands in the direction of the opposite wall, causing several multi-colored sparks and balls of energy to shoot from her fingertips.
The resulting series of explosions showered the room in brilliant flashes of light and color, but her powers seemed no more effective than Bobby's had been only moments ago. "Well that was a bust…" she lowered her hands and sighed.
"Don't let it get you down, it was still a good try." Kitty patted her shoulder and smiled encouragingly.
Bobby groaned. "Excuse me for being a downer, but that's not really helping anyone."
The blue-skinned teleporter shot a finger over his shoulder at the younger student. "For once I agree with ice-boy." He looked around at the others and shrugged. "Anyone got any ideas, or do we just wait here until whoever kidnapped us comes back."
Jubilee shivered to herself. "For all we know that could be watching us right now."
"Enough of this banter!" X-23 cut in, her gaze hardening in annoyance. "We have to get out of here, and I fail to see how dwelling on the situation will help us."
Storm closed her eyes for a moment or two as if praying for patience before speaking out to her students. "Since it seems we cannot escape this prison, perhaps it would do us well to assess the situation as it is." She stated, earning a murmur of agreement from the others. "To begin with, did anyone see the assailants that captured us in the forest?"
The mutants shifted uneasily as they strained to remember their last memories before waking up in this prison, although from their uneasy expression it didn't seem like they were getting much from it. It had happened so quickly that they were unable to react the enemy's presence. Had it been a fair fight they may have been able to combat the enemy, but as it was they were all caught completely off-guard.
"Whoever it was somehow managed to evade my senses." The Weapon X clone spoke up.
"Good job pointing our the obvious." Bobby replied in a sarcastic tone. "I don't remember seeing anyone either, but repeating it doesn't really help us out of this jam."
Storm sighed at his brashness and stepped between them. "She has all of Wolverine's powers and was trained to use them to the fullest extent possible, meaning that anyone capable of sneaking up on her would have to be incredibly skilled and most decidedly dangerous."
X-23 let out a feral scowl before composing herself. "That's exactly what I was trying to say."
"I heard from Scott and Jean that Magneto did some recruiting and has some new followers. Maybe we were attacked by them." Kitty suggested with a puzzled look.
Kurt raised a three-fingered hand in the air to get the attention of his teammates. "I saw something before waking up here. A strange woman with too many arms jumped from the bushes, although I don't remember much after that."
Iceman folded his arms with a confused look. "Sounds kind of messed up, though I don't see how knowing this helps us right now. Do you remember anything else about his lady?"
"She just didn't even give me a chance to react before launching that sneak attack." The blue skinned mutant looked deeply disconcerted by how easily he had been taken out. "Next thing I knew there was a sharp pain in my side and then everything went dark."
"The same thing happened to me!" Jubilee interjected quickly.
"And me!" Kitty added with an equally confused expression.
Their teacher wracked her mind for any relevant information before coming to her conclusion. "Now that you mention it, I also remember feeling a very similar sensation before we awoke. Although it is clear that they wanted to capture us, it seems strange that this enemy wouldn't have brought the others here as well."
Bobby cocked an eyebrow confusedly. "Just what do you mean by that? Are you trying to say that we aren't good enough to be captured by these creeps?"
"I think she means that it was only those of us who were training in the woods that were kidnapped." Shadowcat glanced around at the group again and nodded to affirm it. "I don't see anyone who was skipping class or hanging out inside the mansion, so whoever grabbed us probably wasn't picky."
Kurt let out a low groan. "Since we were in the woods, it sounds like they snatched whoever was easiest to ambush. That doesn't sound like something Magneto would normally do."
"It isn't…" Storm replied with a sharp expression. "Since Scott, Jean, and Logan have not been captured along with us, I also doubt this has anything to do with the enemies they made on that mission in New York. Whoever came after us was probably aiming to collect mutants, although for what reason remains to be seen."
A loud metallic clang shook the entire room. "What's going on?" Kitty glanced around wildly at the others, pressing her hands against the wall in an attempt to brace herself.
"The entire room feels like it's moving!" Jubilee lost her footing and tripped and fell backwards, only to be land on top of Bobby. "Get off me!"
"Careful where you step." The icy mutant shot back playfully. He gently helped the Chinese American mutant back to her feet as they glanced around in the darkness.
It only took a few seconds or the movement to stop, but the mutants still remained shaken by the sudden motion. After several seconds of waiting for something else to happen, Kitty Pryde swallowed the lump that had begun to form in her throat and let out an exhausted sigh causing Storm to copy her gesture. X-23 seemed tense as usual, although she had long grown used to adapting to unforeseen difficulties and was probably the least panicked of the group.
Iceman coughed twice as he felt the air being pressed out of his lungs. "Hey… Jubilee! Can't… … breathe!"
"Oops… Sorry about that!" She opened her eyes and realized that she still had her arms wrapped around Bobby before shoving him away with a look of disgust. "Yuck! Care to explain to me how long it's been since you took a shower?"
"This coming from the girl who spent half a year sleeping on park benches and stealing food to stay alive." He jabbed her in the shoulder with his index finger before smiling. "Besides, you must've enjoyed it seeing how hard you held onto me."
Jubilee folded her arms and turned away from her classmate to hide a small blush that had begun to form in her cheeks. "That was just the drama of the moment. Don't get used to it, Bobby!"
Before either of them could resume the argument, the walls around them fell away to reveal that they were standing in the middle or some type of arena. Shadowcat screamed, causing Kurt to jump as the group took in their new surroundings. Storm's eyes widened in shock, although even the weather witch was too stunned by this sudden development to place her feelings into words. Bobby, Jubilee, and Laura looked around anxiously, realizing that this new place was unlike anything they had ever seen before.
This strange arena was completely constructed out of metallic chrome, the bright lights lining the walls coming from a series of gigantic orbs that somehow hovered in the air without any support. The central part of the stadium like structure where the X-Men were standing looked as though it was encased in a giant bubble of some kind, most likely made to prevent their escape, and several large monitors also covered the walls of the structure.
"Where are we?" Kitty took a step back in fear, only to bump into something fuzzy.
Nightcrawler felt her hand touch his shoulder. "I don't know, why don't we ask them!" he pointed a three-fingered hand at the surrounding crowd presiding over them from the bleachers.
The sound of thunderous applause coming from the stands made the mutants realize that they were not alone, but instead of people, the seats were occupied by thousands of creatures varying in size, color, and form. Some looked like blobs, and others were unspeakably disfigured, but if one thing was true, these gruesome spectators were without a doubt some of the ugliest creatures that any of them had ever laid eyes upon. This was even true by the standards of mutants.
Iceman stuck out his tongue and cringed with a look of disgust, discreetly moving a little closer to his teammates. "What kind of place do you suppose this is?"
"Don't know, but we probably don't wanna find out!" Kitty replied with a note of anxiety.
Before the group could deliberate, several of the monitors flashed on, revealing what may have been the most hideous face any of them had ever seen. His flabby face, dull sickly yellow skin, bulbous red eyes, and leering grin made them sick to their stomachs, but even more apparent were a series of metallic wires that around his eyes and mouth.
When the being spoke, his voice was loud and boisterous and seemed to come from everywhere at once. "Humans of Earth please do not be alarmed! Unless you find it surprising that you are about to become the stars of my newest show. Then in that case, be very alarmed!"
"Ewwwww, yuck!" Shadowcat placed her hands in front of her mouth.
Nightcrawler's yellow eyes widened in terror. "What in the world is that thing supposed to be?"
"Ugly, that's what it is." Jubilee concurred with a pronounced look of disgust.
The being on the screen above their heads shifted around suddenly as if he had heard their complaints, the camera zooming away a little bit to reveal his obese gut and flabby arms. Folding his arms in amusement, the nasty creature looked insulted for a moment before breaking out into a laughter that echoed throughout the entire arena, his infectiously disgusting chortle causing his audience to do the same. X-23's let out a series of feral growls as if she would have liked nothing more than to rip them all to shreds with her claws.
Suppressing this primal feeling, the young assassin stomped forward and spoke directly to their captor. "Would you care to explain why you brought us up here?"
"Hello, anybody home!" The creature on the monitor tapped the screen with his fist as if he were looking at them through a window. "Like I said before, you and your simple-minded friends have been brought here to be the stars of my newest form of entertainment to the masses!"
As he said this a chorus of cheers erupted from the audience, prompting Storm to step forward with an indignant expression. Gently nudging Wolverine's clone aside, the weather witch glared up at the hideous figure. "You mean to say that your cohorts attacked my students and dragged us here for the sole purpose of becoming your personal entertainment."
"Apparently they can be taught!" their unwanted host screamed sarcastically, his hands rubbing together in a vindictive manner. "I've been watching Earth for quite some time, and you mutants are precisely what I need to boost my entertainment ratings eleven billion fold! On this exciting installment, your superpowers will be put to the test as you fight for your lives in a never-ending, super fantastic, no-one survives, battle royale!"
Iceman clenched his fists and grit his teeth. "You've got no idea who you're messing with, pal!"
Kurt suddenly looked less frightened and more infuriated. "Just who do you think you are doing this to us? Last time I checked we've never even met you before!"
"So, it would seem that some introductions are in order. I am the being known as Mojo! And this… is… Mojovision! The most popular form of entertainment in the entire Mojoverse, thank you very much." He added this last detail in with a note of pride.
Storm stepped forward challengingly. "So you expect us all to attack each other without any rhyme or reason just for your own sick pleasure? What kind of creature are you?"
"You make it sound so selfish… I'm only giving the people what they want. Am I right folks?"
The viewers in the stands cheered loudly, their enthusiastic cries deafening to the X-Men. Mojo reveled in the joy of his fans, and seemed satisfied with their response. Reaching off screen, the gelatinous monster took a handful of worm-like creatures in his fist before shoving the squirming prey into his large mouth. The juices from their slimy dead bodies began dripping down his face, forcing Kitty and Jubilee to wretch and look away from the disgusting display.
"You are mad!" Storm called out to the enemy before addressing the crowd. "Please, there has to be something else you can do for entertainment than force innocent people to harm each other."
Her cries were immediately met with a series of loud boos from the audience. "I don't think your helping the situation." Jubilee replied as the audience began tossing food at them. If it weren't for the barrier, they would have been showered in garbage.
"In any case…" their host straightened up before screaming out. "Let the carnage begin!"
"Get real! You can't make us fight each other!" Iceman screamed at the man on the monitor before turning to the others. "What do you guys say we blast our way out of this dump!"
Bobby and Jubilee raised their arms and fired off an interesting combination of colored energy and ice, but her attacks did not damage to the surrounding barrier. Storm joined her students on the front lines and shot a stream of lightning from her hands in a valiant effort to escape, but their flurry of attacks proved just as futile as they had on the prison walls only minutes ago. Their escape attempts only served to entertain the audience, whose cheering had grown even louder.
"It looks like all we're going is giving those creepazoids some free entertainment." The yellow-clad Chinese American folded her arms and glanced sideways at her teammates. "Anyone got any other bright ideas?"
Kitty Pryde clenched her fists and stepped forward bravely. "Maybe I can give it a try."
"Are you freaking nuts? That force field would probably roast you alive if you tried phasing through it!" Bobby interjected with an uneasy expression.
Their teacher acknowledged this statement with a stiff nod, her ivory hair shifting as she turned to face the others. "What about you, Kurt? Perhaps you can teleport through the force field and emerge on the other side."
"I've been trying to do just that for the last minute or two, but it feels like that strange energy dome somehow has the ability to interfere with my powers! Bottom line, this freak doesn't want us going anywhere."
Mojo's maniacal laughter filled their ears, his face now taking up the entire monitor. "Oh, so you were trying to escape." He began sarcastically, the camera zooming out to reveal the upper half of his body. "I'm sorry, but your attempts were so comical that most of us figured you were simply trying to put on a show for the crowd… You know? So our studio audience and the folks at home could get a better look at those crazy superpowers!"
Storm glared at the monitor again. "How many times must I tell you? No matter what you do, we will not fight for your entertainment! Now let us out of here, or suffer the consequences!" Although she wasn't entirely sure what they could do, she kept a brave front for her students and refused to back down.
Their captor knew this as well and obnoxiously laughed off her threat. After taking a moment to compose himself, the madman leaned forward so that his face filled the screen again. "Very well, my disagreeable little subjects! It's a shame you don't want to cooperate, but since you seem so adamant about killing the ratings, it appears I have no choice but to force the issue!"
"Why don't you come down here and say that!" Bobby shook his fist challengingly.
"Spiral… Begin the games!" Mojo called off screen to someone that they could see due to the camera's angle. "And as for you!" The evil entertainer bore down on the X-Men with an insane smile, his giant red eyes bulging with excitement. "It's a pity you won't be around for much longer, but at least we'll get a chuckle or two!"
Jubilee quivered slightly at the thought although after a moment her gaze hardened. "Hey lard bucket! Care to tell us what you have in mind?"
"Yeah, what's going on now?" Kurt screamed with a frightened expression.
Rather than answer them, Mojo waved his hands around mockingly. "Make certain to put on a good show for the folks! I wish you all luck, and bid you adieu!" With this said, the monitor above their heads flashed, his image twisting around before disappearing from the screen seconds later.
The scene fell silent as the X-Men stood in the center of the arena, none of them daring to speak as if they were afraid their words would provoke some terrible event. X-23 snarled like a predator ready to pounce as the other heroes drew slightly closer together in anticipation of what could happen next. Laura on the other hand had been taught that groups of people standing close together were easier to kill, and chose to stand her ground as the others moved in.
Before any of them could defend themselves, the mutants felt themselves being swallowed up by a strange light that quickly engulfed their bodies. The blinding flash rendered them immobile for a brief moment, but by the time they were able to see again, the group noticed something was horribly wrong. Storm glanced at her hand and saw it fading away into the light, her students screaming in fright when they realized that the same thing was happening to them as well, and in a matter of moments, they had vanished from the arena.
Up in the control room, Mojo placed a hand to his head as if he were listening to the amazement and awe coming from the audience. "Simply brilliant!" he cried out, throwing his flabby arms into the air in a grandiose gesture. "It won't be very long before Mojovision becomes the most popular form of entertainment in all of existence!"
"Per your orders, the humans have been separated and transported to the predetermined locations." The multi-armed woman bowed her head respectfully in his direction, purposely ignoring her master's over-the-top and unnecessary commentary.
"Let the festivities commence." A malicious glee emanated from villain as he spoke. "Since those goody goodies refused to fight each other, let's see how they deal with the others…"
Meanwhile…
The president of Pow-R8 Company had been aimlessly walking the halls of his factory for several hours, looking unusually anxious despite the fact that the building in question belonged to him. For the last week or so, he had been hosting several guests in his establishment. They were much less than model citizens, but due to the circumstances he had been given little choice in the matter and had affectively become a prisoner in his own business place.
At the same time, he couldn't really complain much about the arrangements. In an attempt to make some extra profits, the drink had been secretly marketed as an anti-mutant formula in the underground, meaning that any potential business partners he made through this new connection were bound to be a little less than reputable. The Pow-R8 owner was pleased to discover that a famous philanthropist from Manhattan had agreed to pay big money for his recipe, only to find out that the wealthy businessman was much more than he appeared on the surface.
Finally tired to wandering the halls like a custodian, the chairman paused outside of the door leading to the company's research and development wing. He hesitated for a moment before turning the doorknob, stepping into a church-sized room moments later. While the room had originally been made to mix and test new batches of his company's beverages, his guests had made several changes to the equipment.
The large vats and cylindrical tanks used for mass production were still present, but now they were filled with a slimy green substance that he assumed was not edible. The walls were covered with a series of complicated monitors and computer terminals, and the tables were covered with beakers and flasks containing several different chemicals, many of which were supposedly too dangerous to touch with human hands. After rounding a large tank of another mysterious fluid, the Pow-R8 Company president caught sight of a familiar figure wearing a blue suit.
Although the man had his back turned to him, he could still see that half of the man's face and one of his hands were deformed. "Doctor… May I speak to you for a moment?"
"If you must…" Herbert Landon replied with a note of irritation. He placed the beaker back onto the table and returned a test tube of green liquid to the rack. "This had better be important, as I was just in the middle of a scientific breakthrough."
Despite the other man's horribly disfigured face, the executive did not back down. "I was just wondering how long he intends to use my facilities. I know that the Herbert Foundation forged a partnership with Pow-R8, but due to recent circumstances, there are certain risks that come with your company's continued affiliation."
The mad scientist sneered at his unwilling host. "You would have to take this particular matter up with my superior, although something tells me that he will not be happy to learn that you are dissatisfied with the arrangements."
"Now, see here! This is still my factory, and I cannot allow myself to be seen with common criminals no matter what the case is. Furthermore, I…"
"Care to repeat that last part." A third, much deeper voice emanated throughout the room.
The Pow-R8 Company's owner almost jumped out of his skin as he heard this, not even daring to turn around as a series of heavy footsteps approached. The door behind him opened seconds later to reveal the imposing form of Wilson Fisk. Despite having lost most of his assets after his operations were crippled in Manhattan, the crime lord still looked as large and impressive as ever with his trademark white suit, jewel-topped walking stick, and expensive Italian shoes.
"Good evening, Mr. Fisk." the executive acknowledged his second guest with a note of fear.
Kingpin placed a hand on the smaller man's shoulder and spun him around so that they were facing each other. Although he looked irritated, he spoke calmly. "I couldn't help but overhear your complaints about our current business ventures. Perhaps you would you care to explain these grievances to me like a man instead of whispering behind my back like a piece of vermin."
"I suggest you both take it somewhere else and leave me to my work." Landon added hastily.
"Please, follow me." The crime lord motioned towards the door he had just emerged from.
Wilson Fisk led his benefactor into the room that had been set aside as his personal study for the duration of their stay in the facility. It was a reasonably large room, although empty for the most part save for filing cabinet, a series of mysterious wooden crates, and some furniture. The two men each took a spot on the opposite side of the table with the larger man pouring them both glasses of champagne as he sat down. The Pow-R8 president hesitated for a moment before taking a sip, earning an amused smile from his guest.
"Oh come now, there is no reason to be so distrustful of me." The Kingpin took a sip of his own glass as proof before letting out a deep mirthless chuckle. "You're no good to me dead, as I still require you to act as the public face for this company. Had I ever placed a contract on your life, it would have been all too easy."
The other man took a sip of his drink before setting down the glass. "As I was saying before, Fisk Enterprises may have bought out my company, but the police confiscated your assets before our deal could go through. Allowing you to muscle your way into my business was a mistake."
"Anyone who agrees to serve the Kingpin in any capacity must do so with the knowledge that the contract can never be broken. You work for me now, and you must never forget it."
"Just harboring your men could cost me everything if the authorities grow suspicious. Since the incident in New York, the government has been routinely inspecting every company that was affiliated with yours." The Pow-R8 chairman replied, his composure slipping slightly. "Per our agreement, you were given the anti-mutant formula."
"On paper perhaps, but during our initial transactions, it was made abundantly clear that your factory would be the main means of production once Doctor Landon had perfected the formula."
His unwilling affiliate bolted upright, his hands shaking slightly. "This was before your criminal empire was revealed to the world. Understand that I can no longer take the risk that comes with such a dangerous partnership. I would be ruined if the government discovered that Pow-R8 was housing your team!"
The Kingpin tightened his grip on his wine glass, causing it to shatter, although he fought to keep his tone as neutral as possible. "When I first proposed such a generous deal for this company, you accepted it knowing all of the consequences. It is simply a matter of business, and you understand where we stand in this regard."
"And what if I choose to tell the police about this?" the smaller man leaned forward nervously as if daring his enemy to play his hand.
Being much older than the young businessman, Wilson Fisk had dealt with countless adversaries in the business world, the majority of which were much more clever than the man sitting before him. Rather than get angry with the CEO for threatening to betray him, the Kingpin found his audacity to be highly amusing.
"You do realize that the corporate merger resulted in staff changes." He began craftily. "Keep in mind that anyone around you could be working for me, and ask yourself if the cost of betrayal is worth your life. Not to mention that your business would be ruined due to our affiliation with several wanted criminals and anti-mutant groups."
The younger businessman considered the Kingpin's words for a minute before realizing that he could do nothing to stop what had been set in motion. His company had been completely taken control of by Wilson Fisk, and he was technically being held hostage in his own facility while being used as a puppet to control a company that was no longer his. If he tried to report this to the police, they would arrest him as an accomplice, because technically speaking he had agreed to everything that was happening now.
With a defeated expression, the Pow-R8 Company president sunk his head in defeat. "You've planned for every consistency, haven't you?" he asked, not bothering to make eye contact with the evil man.
"I see that you are not entirely unintelligent." Wilson Fisk replied with a satisfied smirk "So long as you cooperate, I can guarantee that your business will continue to thrive, and see to it that you are fairly compensated. Do we have a deal?" he extended his hand.
He hesitated for a moment before accepting the handshake, his expression hardening bitterly. "There's no point refusing, seeing how either way it goes, you still win!"
"You should have expected as much… I am the Kingpin!" he boasted with finesse, almost crushing the other man's hand in his vice-like grip.
A man wearing a black suit and glasses suddenly entered the room, his style of dress indicating that he was one of the Kingpin's personal aides. The newcomer was carrying around a stack of papers under his arm, and seemed slightly hesitant to interrupt his master's business meeting. "I apologize for interrupting sir, but we have urgent news that you may want to hear."
"We were just finishing up… What could be so important that you chose to disrupt me at any rate?" the large crime lord queried.
The thug nodded sternly before reading off of the top paper in his stack. "Our computer team claims that someone managed to hack our mainframe computer back in Manhattan and steal all of the our data. We also have reason to believe that HYDRA was behind the incident with Silvermane at Crime Central."
"What? So I was correct to assume that those lowly snakes had a hand in ruining my empire!" the Kingpin bellowed, his fist splintering the back of the chair he had been gripping seconds ago.
His servant cowered in fear upon seeing the boss's anger, but continued with the report as he set the papers down on a nearby desk. "The full information concerning this matter can be found in these files that we managed to recover while searching the…"
"Just get out!" Wilson Fisk jerked his hand towards the door, causing the two other men in the room to exit without so much as another word.
The Kingpin seethed angrily at the thought of HYDRA using the information they had stolen from him, his fury growing more by the second. After several minutes of restraining his anger, he planted his fist through the wall, causing a shower of plaster to drop down from above. Although pointless, the display seemed to bring him back to his senses long enough to realize that there was no point in beating himself up over something that had ultimately been out of his hands. It was sure to take some time to rebuild his criminal empire to full strength, but he had been beating worse odds his entire life.
Sitting down a couch to the back wall of his makeshift base of operations, Wilson Fisk looked up just in time to see his head scientist enter the room. The mutated man looked positively ecstatic, a stark contrast to his more predominantly cynical behavior. Herbert Landon was typically a bitter angry man, but in this moment he seemed drunk with a vindictive sense of joy.
"I've done it… At last I've done it! My life's work is finally complete after all these years!" he declared triumphantly, his yellow eye bulging in excitement. "With the basis laid down by the Pow-R8 formula, my anti-mutant serum has at long last been perfected!"
The Kingpin was greatly pleased by this stroke of good news in the face of his previous misfortunes. "Marketing this formula to the world as a revolutionary development in the crusade against mutants could ultimately compensate for the resources that were confiscated by the government when my operations were exposed by Spider-Man and his friends."
"That and more…" Herbert Landon rubbed his clenched his clawed hand. "First we must find a living test subject to use to ensure that this serum works as I have envisioned, and I know just where to find one!"
The made scientist pressed a button below one of the screens in the room, causing the image of a mansion to appear on the monitor. His superior leaned in to take a closer look, although he was not entirely aware of the point that Landon was trying to make. "Would you care to elaborate?"
"This building you see before you is known as the Xavier Institute, and is located in Bayville, just like the Pow-R8 Corporation where we are now. The media has done several reports on it as a school for the gifted… Namely, young mutants."
"How very convenient for us, wouldn't you agree?" Wilson Fisk stroked his large chin pensively, his neutral expression changing into a smile. "I want you to dispatch units to infiltrate this school grounds and capture a test subject. You must be as discrete as possible, less we attract unwanted attention to ourselves."
"I'll get on this as soon as possible." the mad scientist replied with a sense of eagerness, his form slipping from the room to make the preparations.
Herbert Landon re-entered the laboratory, his heart racing with anticipation at the idea of finally seeing his ambitions come true. He had worked for the Kingpin for years as a way of getting the money and backing to achieve his goals, but if everything turned out well, he would soon bring about the end of mutant kind forever. Years ago he had a friend who suffered because he was mutant, but he would solve that problem. Mutants could no longer suffer if they were all dead…
Note to Readers: All right, not my best work, but it's been a while since I've updated this story. Hope you guys liked it assuming anyone is still reading this story. Sorry for any typos or errors in spelling and grammar, but as usual it's usually pretty late when I work on this story.
I introduced Mojo as being completely insane. His comic character was portrayed as such in the cartoons, and the comics made him out to be an absurdist parody of the entertainment industry. Hope I got the message across and did him justice. Also, I added a little bit about the Kingpin's group this chapter, seeing how he will return one more time before this story is over. HYDRA will probably stay in the background for a while, but Magneto will probably be seen again once the arc with Mojo is over. A lot of things are happened in this story, although a lot of it won't be explained until the sequel, if I ever get around to writing it, that is.
In any case, it's been a while so if anyone is reading and is able to, please REVIEW. It would be good to see if anyone still cares about this story, seeing how I haven't updated it in so long. I really need the support at this point for motivation. Don't know when then ext update will be, but I hope it won't take me nearly as long as this one did. Admittedly I'm working on several different stories so I skip around. If you like DC comics and cartoons, look at my profile for some cool stories about those characters.