X-Men: The Human/Mutant War

Chapter Two

Part One- The Fantastic X-Men

Magneto pointed at the hologram of a young, emaciated African-American man with a bald head being mostly covered up by a dusty blue sweat cap. Looking at the hologram from their seats were Rogue and Gambit. "This mutant was identified in The Jerusalem prison camp just yesterday. His name on the grounds is Quiet Bill. He's a mutant capable of opening dimensional gateways."

"So you mean like going to other worlds?" Gambit asked, holding the hand of his wife just tight enough to let her know he loved her.

"That's exactly what I mean. And in three days time he's due to be delivered directly to Cairo to The Shadow King. If I had to take any kind of a guess, Farouk is probably going to make him into a new vessel," Magneto, waving a hand to make the hologram fade away. Conversing power was always paramount in all of The X-Men's bases.

"That sounds all bad," Rogue said. "If Farouk had that kind of power he could dwarf The Human High Council and The Wakandan Confederacy. He'd be able to tap into potentially unlimited resources."

Magneto nodded, his face stern as always. The years had been kind to him, preserving his youth and keeping him with a robust body. Demands of war and running The X-Men had provided Magneto with a vigorous amount of exercise. It also didn't hurt that his daughter's control of probabilities saw his body healed and renewed to a far greater degree than a normal person's should be able to.

"That is exactly why we can't allow this mutant to fall into The Shadow King's hands. I need the Ruby Squad to go in there, rescue this mission and get him to me for delivery to Asteroid M."

Gambit's expression darkened. "That's Jerusalem mon ami. You know how heavily guarded that place is. I may be a thief, but breaking into would require more than a few hours notice. I would need weeks to plan it out right."

"We don't have weeks," Magneto said. "But you will have a distraction."

"Well don't keep us in suspense sugah, what is it?" Rogue asked, getting the feeling that she wasn't going to enjoy Magneto's answer too particularly. The man only made personal appearances when he knew the missions could very likely get a whole team wiped out. He seemed to have the stomach for dishing those kind of missions out more than Cassandra.

"More intel indicates that this particular prison is going to suffer an attack from Ronan in a day's time."

Gambit let go of his wife's hand and jumped up from his seat. "Are you serious? That's your distraction! Sending me up against a guy who wants us dead!"

"He doesn't know you're coming. His mission is entirely different from yours. The Inhumans are not too happy with The Shadow King and we're going to use it to our advantage. Avoid Ronan, get Bill and get the hell out of there. That's how you succeed in all of this."

Gambit's fists clenched. "You make it sound so easy. What if Shadow King has gotten whiff of this Ronan attack and is prepared for it? What if he sends your son there?"

Magneto's cold face cracked for just a moment, showing the broken hearted father underneath. But just as fast the leader of the X-Men returned. "Pietro has made his choice. In the unlikely event he does get involved then treat him as you would any soldier of The Shadow King's. Indiscriminately."

Part Two- The Council

Alexander Pierce needed a drink after the meeting he had with The Council. He walked into his office with a glass of bourbon in his hand and waiting in his seat was The Captain. Pierce sighed, glad it wasn't some assassin, and closed the door behind him. He drunk some of his brown liquid and said, "You could try to make an appointment like everyone else Rogers."

Rogers completely ignored the request. "How'd it go? They agree to the use of The Red Widows?"

"Yes, though it was like pulling teeth to get Stark and Osborn to see my point of view on it. Luckily, I didn't even end up needing their votes. It appears Maria worked in our favor again," Pierce said, glad to have someone else who was former S.H.I.E.L.D. on The Council. Maria was a great deal more popular than him and had been able to finesse their fellow Council members before Pierce even arrived.

"Good," The Captain said, rising up from Pierce's chair. "General Fisk needs the help and I can't spare The Avengers for it."

"I'm sure Wilson will appreciate you thinking about him," Pierce said, finishing off his bourbon. "I can't believe I'm actually even having to convince anyone of the importance of winning The Savage Land. It'll give us weapons capable of matching The Wakandan Confederacy blow for blow."

"Fury has made sure that's not exactly public knowledge. If Farouk or Sinister or The Inhumans knew that's what we were fighting for in The Savage Land then all holy hell would break loose down there. It'd be a bloody free for all. The Wakandans are as happy to keep the secret as we are. So for now we keep this war between us."

Pierce could see how that would be troublesome, but there could also be an opportunity in it. "What if we did make it public knowledge and pulled back? Let the other three kingdoms tear at each other's throats and we swoop in on the leftovers?"

"We're soldiers Pierce. We're better than that."

Pierce shrugged. "Maybe you're right. So have you heard about The Ultron Project?"

Rogers frowned. "First The Sentinels, then the Iron Men and now this. We're relying too much on talking metal. I don't like it Pierce."

"Neither do I. Too much potential for error, but people are tired of their brothers and sisters dying in this war. Stark, Osborn and the others are pouncing on this. And stand to make a tremendous amount of money from it."

"This war should be run by the military. Keep these damn businessmen out of it," The Captain said.

"I agree with you. We need to set them up for a fall, but one that doesn't hurt the war effort. I have an idea in mind if you still have some time," Pierce said, having a seat and pressing his thumb against the ID scanner on his desk. Once confirmed, his drawer popped open and he pulled out a thick manila folder.

Rogers looked at the folder and smiled. "Taking down that smug bastard Stark is always something I have time for."

"Good. Because I've discovered he has connections to something called The White Sky Room."

Part Three- The Uncanny X-Men

"I'm tired of hunting my own kind," Moonstar said to Sabretooth, bending down to slide a knife into one of her combat boots.

Sabretooth had just come back from his bar business with Candy Southern and Moonstar was the first of his team he had told about what she said. "We do what we're told Dani. Mags and Cass have a plan. We dismantle Sinister first and we stand a better chance of bringing the rest to account."

Moonstar moved a string of hair from out of her face, the cool air of Chicago blowing into the underground base. "Do you really believe that Creed? If his best friend and her twin brother wasn't working for Sinister, do you really think we'd be putting so much effort into stopping him?"

"The White Sky Room is making mutants like factory pieces. We can't just let that keep going. Personal motivations or not."

Sabretooth knew what it was like to be exploited as a weapon. The former government agency known as Weapon X had made it their personal mission to make mutants into a private army. Creed was one of many mutants taken into their custody and molded into living weapons. True enough, Creed probably owed his survival in this world to that training, but he would have rather been given the choice.

"Why not try and use The White Sky Room? Make them our allies. We could use some more X-Men and it's hard to argue the effectiveness of Omega White and Omega Black," Moonstar said, putting in the code on a numeric pad to close the door to the underground base.

"Could you try and not tell everyone that?" Sabretooth said, shushing the younger X-Man. "I want to be the one to tell them. Some things just shouldn't be broadcast."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Moonstar said and looked around her. "So are you turning it for the night or you staying up to keep me some company?"

Creed wasn't crazy. He knew that Danielle was sweet on him. Normally, he wouldn't argue with having her for company. Everyone had needs, but Danielle was someone teetering on a ledge. Since the X-Men rescued her from Neverland, he had always wondered if they should have ever made her one of them. Danielle was good at what she did, knew her powers well and there were times even he was scared of what she was capable of. But it was for that reason he doubted her place here because of that level of competency mixed with a tinge of unpredictability.

"I need to read Candy's dossier. If we're really going to be taking on these guys then I need to know exactly what we're going to be dealing with here. Every detail," Sabretooth said.

"Sounds like the Weapon X talking," Moonstar said, leaning up against a support beam. She smirked at Creed. "You still need to show me some of those moves."

Sabretooth had little doubt that Danielle would catch on to anything that Weapon X taught him. She may not have his augmented senses or feral strength, but the girl was tough. Anyone that could walk out of Neverland and not be completely insane was a testament to the word.

"We'll get around to it," he said and then walked off.

Part Four- The Shadow King

Princess Ororo stood on the balcony, her hands gripping the marble rails as she looked out into the Cairo sunset. She could see and feel it all. The current of the wind, the temperature of the air, the percentage of humidity, the atmospheric pressure; all of it was open to her like a child flipping through a book. Every day since she was a small child, her Father had pushed her to explore her powers more and make herself into a better person.

The Shadow King, like any good Father, doted on his daughter, but he also had been working to shape her into someone who could lead his empire. She needed to be a beautiful knife, capable of cutting down people with her smile and her lightning. Such were the needs of a monarch, especially when their kingdom was besieged by war. Sinister and The Inhuman Nation were determined to tear down the paradise her Father had built. At least The Human High Council and The Wakandan Confederacy had the sense to leave them in peace.

"You could try and come to bed. I promise I'm not terrible company," Forge said, stepping out onto the balcony from their bedroom.

The Princess turned to her husband and laughed at his nakedness. "It's not even night yet and you would have me lay with you."

Forge shrugged. "How many chances do we have? The war rages and you know your Father needs me out there as much as possible."

Ororo knew her husband loved her and he was right, their time together had been growing shorter and shorter with the war becoming more intense as of late. But there was another part of Forge's request that wasn't just loving husband, but also dutiful soldier. The Shadow King wanted Storm to have a child, another potential heir to his throne in case of the worst happening. Ororo did not agree with his decision to make use of her body like some breeding pen.

Forge frowned. "Look, I know you don't want one. That's ok with me."

"My Father is under a lot of pressure. He has enemies knocking at his door so I can see why he would be a bit paranoid. But I'm not going anywhere and neither is he."

Forge moved forward and hugged his wife at her waist and kissed her one time on the neck. Sunlight bathed them. "He's privy to things we aren't. He sees the bigger picture here. So maybe there's something out there that really does have him worried. Maybe some new mutant or who knows what?"

Princess Ororo bit her bottom lip and sighed. "Well all of this might be a moot point anyway."

"Why?" Forge asked, his eyebrow perking up in turn.

"Because I think I'm pregnant."

Part Five- The Council

Montague Hale drummed his fingers across Lord Shingen's desk. "I thought you were supposed to be making things happen for me. Why haven't The Sons of the Serpent been allowed to enter this war yet? My people want a piece of all that gear S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Avengers are getting."

"Yes, you have many wants," Shingen smiled, taking a sip of his hot tea and letting the steam travel up his nose. The peppermint aroma was invigorating. "But what you want does not always match up with reality."

Montague pushed his lips to one side of his face and sat back in his chair. The 40-something, African-American sat his hands on his lap and clasped them together. "So what is the reality Shingen? That you can't live up to your promises?"

Shingen sat down his tea and with reflexes too quick for someone his age, he had a sword at Montague's throat. "I am a man of my word Mr. Hale. I intend to get your people into this war, but there is a matter that has to be taken care of first."

Montague's neck tensed against the blade of the sword. He barely wanted to speak. "And what's that?"

Shingen pulled back the weapon and sat down in his seat. He gave Montague a polite smile and took a sip of his tea. "We need to kill Alexander Pierce."

Author Note: If you ever want to know who any of these characters are just drop me a PM and I'll make sure to include bio links in the next chapter.