Chapter 53: Day of Heroes
Gavin growled as he and the others were shoved into clear glass cells, and noticed that the Brotherhood and Pack were there as well, but the Acolytes, Coldsteel and Demona were nowhere to be found.
"You really screwed up this time, Mystique." He snapped at the blue skinned woman across from him in another cell. "I was willing to let what happened between us go, but after all this? You'll be lucky if you make it out of this place still intact." He added angrily.
"Yeah, you crossed the line. First you get Gavin to get us out of the Institute, then you impersonate Roxy after giving her to Mesmero, and now we find out you rigged the Institute to blow? What the hell is wrong with you?!" Devin added, feeling just as jaded as his brother was.
"The plan was to have Apocalypse enhance Roxy's abilities to where we could use her against him should he be brought back. And as for the Institute, you weren't all supposed to be in there. My plan was to get Magneto and his Acolytes in there to kill them with the explosion." The shapeshifter growled. This caused the Pack to glare at her angrily.
"Did you literally forget that Damian would've been caught in the blast, too?!" Rogue interjected furiously, causing everyone who didn't know about that to look at her with wide eyes before glaring at Mystique for her folly. They didn't like the sound of that. Period.
"The virus I put in Cerebro was supposed to allow you fifteen minutes to evacuate, and given how well you managed to escape Asteroid M before it blew, I assumed you'd be able to evacuate in that amount of time!" The redhead snapped back. "Let me be clear: had I any other option to kill Magneto, I would not have gone to such lengths at all." She explained curtly.
"Still doesn't diminish that you destroyed our home." Laura snarled.
"Buildings can be replaced. Human lives cannot." Mystique stated. "So we should be grateful that we still have that." Everyone was silent. She did have a point.
Right around that time, the Sever siblings and Fury entered. "Professor, Storm, Beast, Gavin. Come with us, the senate is starting the hearings." Fury told them.
"Please tell me Damian is okay, at least." Gavin practically begged, which no one blamed him for. He was a father fearing for his son's life.
"He's fine. I dropped him off at your mom's place." Johan assured him, causing Gavin to let out a relieved sigh.
"... Good. Let's get this over with then." The pseudo vampire said as he and the aforementioned others were let out of their cells.
(Elsewhere)
At a train station just outside of a town not far from the local dam, Juggernaut was sitting in a train car waiting for the train to stop, but the nap he was taking was soon interrupted by a deputy and the train's conductor.
"He's just been sitting there the whole way here." The conductor told the deputy.
"Hey you! Identify yourself." He ordered the giant man.
Cain Marko glared at the deputy before he got up and put his helmet on. "You wanna know who I am?" He said before he jumped through the car's roof and landed in front of them. "I'm the Juggernaut, bitches." He said before he started walking off, flipping over a police cruiser that was in his way.
"... I'm gonna have to make a call. I think we've got a mutant on our hands." The sheriff said nervously.
(Elsewhere)
Gavin, Xavier, Storm and Beast entered the hall of the senate and immediately they noticed that the Sever siblings were also there, and Trask was there as well, in handcuffs. The second they entered the room, all eyes were on them.
"What is the meaning of this?" The chairman asked in irritation at being interrupted.
"These people are here to make the case of Mutant kind, as well as link this man." Fury explained as he gestured to Trask. "To the terrorist attack on Bayville, and attempted Genocide."
His words caused whispers to go around the room. Everyone wanted to know what the case was, and how they would defend themselves.
"Up first is Ororo Munroe." Fury said as he let Ororo take a step forward.
"Senators, I will make this as brief as I can. We Mutants have lived amongst humans for thousands of years without incident, and have tried to stay under the radar for this very reason. We knew that mankind would want to destroy us as soon as they knew, but we chose to try and coexist as peacefully as possible, though whether that is possible or not now is unclear." The Silver haired woman told the group of officials briefly.
"And yet, according to what was found in the Xavier Institute, it seems like you were preparing for war." The chairman stated as he held up pictures of the ruined danger room.
"Actually, if I may interject." Johan chimed in. "That is actually heavy duty training equipment and security technology, which is necessary for helping these kids control their powers by putting them through life and death situations, a process that has yielded exemplary results." The cyborg explained.
"The equipment was sanctioned by SHIELD years ago, so it was never going to be used for what you're implying, Mr. Chairman." Fury added. This explanation seemed to get them all to calm down a little.
"Ah. My apologies for getting the wrong idea, then." The Chairman said apologetically.
"Next is Gavin Shirakumo, who will present evidence to you all linking Dr. Trask here to the Sentinel attack on Bayville." Fury said as Gavin stepped forward and yawned, his fangs now completely visible.
"Well. To start things off, let me just say that this Trask guy? Is a racist asshole, who would have killed innocent children and infants, just because they're mutants." The pseudo vampire stated, holding up his recorder. "Observe." He said as he pressed play and Trask's monologue played for all to hear.
The recording played and everyone (well everyone who were decent) was of course appalled by what they just heard, and this luckily included many of the senators as well.
"And this man would try to usher a second Holocaust?!" One of the senators shouted, clearly outraged. This man was senator Joseph Jacobs from Nevada, who happened to be the grandson of two Holocaust refugees who immigrated to America during World War Two and was close friends with the Marks family.
"That's exactly right." Gavin nodded as he pulled his hat down. "You see ladies and gentlemen, the way I see it, history is on the verge of repeating itself. How, you ask? Well, take a look at it this way: what do the Holocaust and the Egyptian slaughter of the sons of Israel in the Book of Exodus have in common?" He asked the group of officials.
After a period of silence, he continued. "Answer: Fear. The pharaoh was afraid of the Hebrews because they had grown so numerous that he thought they would one day take over, so he kept their numbers in check and their lands in his control by leaving only the girls. Adolf Hitler also feared the Jews because he thought they would ruin Germany again like they supposedly did after the First World War."
Silence was still there as he then took a pause before continuing. "My point is this: right now, we are at a crossroads. Will the human and mutant races let fear control them and start the cycle of racism and genocide again? Or will we instead try to break the cycle by fostering understanding?... Well, personally I think mankind is better than their mistakes because they know how to learn from them. That's my view on it at least." He finished. With his piece said, he stepped down, and went to stand next to the others that came with him.
Xavier was up next. "Well, I'm not entirely sure if I can necessarily add to that, but I will try. Senators, I will be one to say that it is my belief that Humans and Mutants can coexist with each other peacefully, it is why I created my school in the first place. But more than that I also realize that there are and will be those on both sides that will cause trouble, but I think we can all agree that it is unfortunately unavoidable." The man spoke to the room. "That being said, I think it would be a disservice to the brave men and women who came before us to keep equality away from those solely for the gifts they were given, be they human or mutant. And I think we can all agree on that." He finished.
"Well I think you made your case pretty well, Professor." Katerina smiled.
"Yeah. This should appeal to them quite nicely." Johan nodded.
"We will need time to debate on this." The Chairman said, right before a reporter came in and informed the entire room that an escaped convict named the Juggernaut was making his way to a local dam.
"You have got to be kidding me." Gavin groaned. "Of all the times for Juggernaut to go on a rampage, this is the worst time for it!"
"You know this 'Juggernaut'?" The Chairmen questioned.
"Yeah. We've dealt with him before. Mental attacks on him are the best way to stop him." Gavin replied.
"We need to stop him before he destroys the dam." Johan told the group.
"Help me get the others and we'll go and stop him personally." Gavin said as he and the siblings left with Fury to get the rest of the X-Men.
(Later)
The X-Men all started to leave their cells but the Brotherhood and Pack were all left there, Mystique was the most indignant about this situation.
"Gavin, Scott, I swear if you two leave me to rot here I swear you'll regret it!" The blue skinned shapeshifter yelled at the two as they started to leave.
"Prove it!" Scott called back nonchalantly.
"Suck a cock, Mystique." Gavin retorted as he and Scott left her behind.
(Elsewhere)
The X-Men were now flying at top speed to the dam where Juggernaut was located. Gavin of course got his gear back, so once he had it all he got ready and stood at the drop gate.
"I'll distract him until you guys can land. Devin, Johan. Come with me." He told the two as the gate opened.
"Right behind you." The two in question replied as they followed HYDRA's destroyer.
The three then jumped and the first to reach Juggernaut was Devin, who turned himself into a liquid metal tarp and covered the giant mutant and tried to keep him still as the other two landed. Acting quickly, he converted his chemical makeup into that of mercury, causing Cain's skin to have a severe reaction.
"Gah! This freaking stings!" The unstoppable man yelped slightly.
"Great work, Full Metal!" Johan said as he leapt onto Cain's shoulders and shoved a live grenade in his mouth. "Open wide!" He said as he closed the man's mouth. Cain was forced to swallow it and, the moment it entered his stomach, it exploded. To the man's credit, he didn't get reduced to bloody chunks… Though he was left with the mother of all stomach aches.
"Okay, that actually hurts." The man groaned as he fell to his knees while holding his aching stomach.
Gavin was next, taking a step forward he punched Juggernaut in the stomach causing him to hunch over before delivering an uppercut to his jaw, sending him flying and crashing at the other end of the dam, just in time for the others to arrive.
"All right X-Men, it's time to hero up!" The pseudo vampire called as the superhero team began to charge towards their Goliath sized foe.
Kitty quickly phased him through the ground and trapped him, which Kurt followed up with rapidly teleported and undid the clasps of Juggernaut's helmet when the opportunity presented itself. He only got three of them before the man grabbed him and threw him away. Cain then used his massive girth to get himself free.
"What are you trying to do? Embarrass me to death? You can't stop me! No one stops the Juggernaut!" The man yelled as he charged forward.
"We disagree!" Scott exclaimed as he used a precise blast to knock his helmet off and into the water down below. This was followed up by Gavin using Bloodfallen and his fencing training to distract him while Scott fired off another shot, though Cain wasn't going down. He threw a punch at Gavin which he evaded by turning into smoke, and then pushed through Scott's blast.
"You think that'll hurt me?! I'm RAW POWER!" The man yelled before Rogue used her new flight and super strength to knock him off balance with a dive and curved side kick.
"Alright, Juggernaut, you want it raw? Then take it raw!" Scott said as he tore off his visor and blasted the man at full power. Though this did little to stop him, as Cain just held out his hand and pushed forward as Scott started to weaken, the grabbed him by the face and slammed him in the ground, however, this meant he didn't notice when Laura stabbed him in the stomach. This caused him to yell in pain before Rogue got on his back and started sapping his strength.
Stab wound still healing, Juggernaut tried to punch Rogue, but his right hook was effortlessly caught by Gavin, who was grinning smugly at him.
"What are you smirking at? You just think you're so cute, don't you? Making fun of me like you're better!" The man yelled.
"Bitch, I'm adorable, and I am better." Gavin retorted easily. "Now Stingerella!" He called as Roxy came popping out of the ground behind the giant mutant in her exoskeleton armor before she used her tail and stung him right in a major vein in the center of his shoulder blades. The large man yelled in pain and tried to move but was soon fully paralyzed.
"Alright, Iceman! It's your turn!" Roxy called as Bobby rubbed his hands together and blasted Juggernaut with an ice beam and encased him in a glacier of frost.
"Done and done." The boy smirked as he dusted himself off.
"I'll call Director Fury so he can pick this guy up." Johan told them as he dialed up Fury. Jean went over to Scott and helped him put his visor on, both looking at each other affectionately, which caused Rogue to look away with a sad expression on her face. Gavin saw this and frowned before going over to her and giving her a hug, which surprised her, but she didn't deny it and leaned into his embrace.
(Elsewhere)
Back in the hall of congress, everyone was shocked at what they had just witnessed. Did a bunch of kids take down someone the military couldn't even take down?
"What… What did they just do?" The Chairman asked The Professor and his colleagues.
"They did what we trained them to do: Use their powers for good." Xavier replied.
(Later)
Hours after the X-men had saved the town from the Juggernaut, the President of the United States, Elton Adams, made an official address to the country.
"My fellow Americans, all Americans, human and mutant. Today I speak to you to clear the individuals known as the X-Men of all wrongdoing in the Sentinel attack. The real culprit responsible has been imprisoned and charged with both domestic terrorism and conspiracy to commit mass genocide. Additionally, I have also received word that a new act known as the 'Mutant Equal Rights Act' has just entered congress for debate. Now I ask all of you, to please, treat our mutant neighbors with due respect. Just as they have done for us." The President addressed the nation as the broadcast ended.
In an undisclosed location, Magneto, who had somehow survived the Sentinel falling on him, listened to the broadcast with a small smile on his face. He had initially thought that such an act wouldn't be considered, but as luck would have it, he was wrong. He was also curious about what inspired Gavin to mention two events that hit home to him specifically in his speech?
'I suppose that's something I need to ask him at a later time.' The Master of Magnetism thought as he turned away.
Back at the wreckage of the Institute, everyone was standing there while Amanda was holding Damian and hugging her two boys, thankful they were both alive.
"It's going to take a lot of time and money to rebuild this place." Devin mused.
"I think I can convince Nick to help you out at least a little, right~?" The woman asked her one eyed boyfriend, who rolled said eye in exasperation.
"Woman please." He groaned.
"I'm sure I can get David Xanatos to pitch in as well." The Professor added.
"I sure hope so, I mean we did help him with Oberon." Gavin nodded.
"I still think we should have given Mystique at least some form of mortal injury." Chelsea huffed, getting nods from mostly everyone.
Everyone looked at the destroyed building and thought back to what the shapeshifter had said. Buildings and possessions, those could be replaced. Human lives could not. With this in mind, they all decided something: they would continue to move forward in this new world, for the sake of all Mutants. After all, there was no turning back now. But this was not the end, but the beginning of a new future, one where they would keep moving forward.
Because who were they? Why, the X-Men of course.
Dragon Emperor0: And with that the third season is finally here. Wow, Gavin really put those people in their places didn't he? And citing the Old Testament and recent history? Did not see that coming, and I'm the one writing this shit.
ThermalsniperN7: How that works, I will never know. Anyway, after something this stressful, it's only natural that something happens to relieve the stress from everyone's minds. Am I right?
Dragon Emperor0: You got that right Thermal ol' pal. Brace yourselves people, cuz next chapter Oktoberfest is officially coming to the Institute! *Shipping off to Boston by the Dropkick Murphys starts to play*
ThermalsniperN7: *Sweat drops* Right… But yeah, Oktoberfest is gonna be coming next chapter. See you guys next time!
Dragon Emperor0: In a Drunken Stupor!