Disclaimer: I own none of the characters from X-Men or other Marvel Comics, I'm just borrowing them for awhile. This was originally posted as part of my X-Men fanfic 'The Genesis Quest' before I decided to spin it off into it's own fiction.
X-Men: Rise of New Alexandria
Zero
The island nation of Genosha was a mess, but it always had been in Val Cooper's opinion. She sighed as the blond haired federal officer sat back in her office, dubiously eying the report put together by her team at the Office of National Emergency, or ONE.
"So let me get this straight," Val said flatly, "someone is building a city on Genosha?"
"Yes ma'am," Jamie Cassidy nodded, the redheaded young woman one of Val's staff and her latest secretary. Val tended to run through assistants fairly fast, demanding hard work and long hours from her minions.
"What's the United Nations saying?" Val asked, frowning.
"As this Osirus was a citizen of Genosha before the Sentinel attacks, he has every right to build on his own property," Jamie said, checking her notes. "However, we have yet to confirm is Osirus is really who he claims he is."
"And after Magneto got killed, the status of Genosha is up in the air," Val muttered. She tapped a pen on the desk, "Do we know what this Osirus intends to do with Genosha?"
"Not entirely," Jamie admitted. "He's on the record as saying that he intends for Genosha to once more be a haven for mutantkind."
"That's going to make things complicated, with the registry act and all," Val muttered, mostly to herself. In the aftermath of the Stanford disaster, the public demanded more accountability for superhumans, leading to the passing of the Superhuman Registry Act. Mutants, already unhappy with the government's handling of the Decimation, were standing against the Registry.
"Maybe we should just let the mutants go to Genosha?" Jamie offered tentatively.
Val thought about it, "It's tempting, but we have a responsibility to the mutants here in the United States. What is this Osirus is pulling something?"
"That's true," Jamie agreed.
Reviewing the files Val sighed, then shut the file with a snap. "I'll have to go to Genosha," she decided, "I have to see him with my own eyes before we can decide what to do."
"Should I make flight arrangements?" Jamie asked.
"Do it," Val agreed, "and thank you."
Jamie left Val in the office as she went out to her desk and fired up her computer. It took only moments to arrange the plane tickets, then she opened up a unique messenger system. "Cooper is on her way, as requested," she typed.
"Well done," was swiftly answered, "we will be waiting."
Sitting back Jamie felt a pang of guilt over sending her boss to Genosha, then shook her head. Val had accepted the head position at ONE with her eyes open, and this was merely one duty that went with that. Hopefully, things would turn out all right...
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Ms. Marvel frowned as she confrontered her superior in Avengers Tower, the blonde putting one hand on his desk as she demanded, "There's a island offering sanctuary to mutants fleeing the registration act, why aren't we doing anything?"
Tony Stark, also known as the hero Iron Man, looked up at her tiredly as he said, "It's clearly out of our juristiction, Carol."
Ms. Marvel shook her head, "We've chased criminals to Genosha before, Tony."
"Only after they attacked the United States," Tony pointed out reasonably. He sighed, "Besides, we have enough on our plate chasing down the renegades."
The 'renegades' was how Tony referred to Steve Rogers' rebel team of Avengers, who operated against the registration act. Worse many were former friends and comrades of both him and Carol, making fighting them very difficult. But fight them they must, for if Tony's team did not bring them in, SHIELD would be authorized to act with lethal force.
"I don't like it," Carol said flatly, "no way a guy like this Osirus just appears out of nowhere, offering to restore the island. There has got to be a catch."
"I don't deny it," Tony acknowledged honestly, "but there's nothing much we can do. Until he actually breaks the law, we can't act."
"That stinks," Carol growled.
"It does, but that's our job," Tony told her, pointedly adding, "And you have enough to deal with on your own, do don't go digging into this."
"Understood," Carol nodded, turning and striding out of the office. Her anger nearly blinded her as she strode through the team headquarters, the woman ignoring friendly greetings as she went out a upper story window and flew off.
It took a while to fly off her anger, but Carol managed eventually. Returning to her mini-Hellicarrier, the heroine walked to her rooms, her expression thoughtful. Taking out her phone she smiled, 'I may not be allowed to look into this, but there's no reason I can't ask a friend to.'
"Hello?" the polite voice asked gruffly, but with a friendly undertone.
"Hank?" she smiled, "It's Carol. How are you?"
"I've been better," Hank McCoy, aka the Beast, answered her, the blue furred mutant sounding a bit down.
Carol winced, knowing how hard the Civil War had hit the X-Men. "I hate to drop something else on your plate, but there's something I think the X-Men need to know," she told him.
"Lay it on me, as the kids might say," Hank said cheerfully.
"You remember the Living Monolith?" Carol asked.
"We used to tangle with him when we were kids," Hank conceded. "I take it he's back?"
"Yeah, Calling himself Osirus now," Carol confirmed.
"That's a interesting choice of names," Hank conceded thoughtfully, "the Egyptian God who returns from the dead..."
"Anyway, he's on Genosha, and is setting up a base of operations there," Carol said before Hank could get distracted and start rambling. "Just thought the X-Men should know."
"Thank you," Hank said, "I'll pass it on to Emma and Scott, they'll decide what to do."
"Just don't wait too long," Carol cautioned, "I have a bad feeling about this."
To be continued...
X-Men: Rise of New Alexandria
One
The room was bare, the walls plain stone, shaped by human hands into a meditation chamber. The golden sandstone reflected the light from a opening in the roof, letting sunlight shine down and bathe the room in it's glow. In a band around the room were pictograms etched in the stone, resembling those of ancient Egypt.
Standing in the centre of the chamber the tall, bald man was bathed in the stellar radiation, his arms extended out slightly and palms turned up. He wore simple white robes, only marked with a golden clasp and a wide necklace of gold, each designed in the Egyptian style. His eyebrows and beard were deep black and his skin tanned, though there was a odd hint of gray in his skin.
Without warning the wall of the chamber blew inward, as if struck by a mighty fist, and a group of figures appeared in the dust. "Surrender, Living Pharaoh!" Cyclops yelled, his hand on the firing stud of his thin gold visor.
"Never," he answered, turning to face them as he identified his foes.
Cyclops, as usual, lead the X-Men as the others fanned out beside him. Angel was aloft, his white wings shining, while the Beast clambered over the rubble with inhuman agility. Beside Cyclops was Marvel Girl, the green and red clad telekinetic sticking close to him, while Iceman stood ready to cast his subzero attacks. Nearby Havok and Polaris took up the rear, the plasma caster and magnetic heroine ever slightly reluctant to do battle.
"Beast, Angel!" Cyclops ordered even as he fired off a optic blast as a distraction, "Use maneuver Epsilon!"
With surprising ease the man blocked the bolt with his stone-like palm, the energy deflecting sideways. But as he was occupied Angel ferried the Beast up to the top of the chamber then tossed him down, right towards their adversary.
"This will inevitably be a smashing impact!" the Beast quipped.
With inhuman speed the Egyptian snatched the Beast from the air, grabbing him on both sides of his barrel like chest. Bones crunched loudly as he brought his hands together, then he cast the bleeding body aside as he simply said, "Next."
"Hank!" Angel cried out in alarm as he dove in at maximum speed with botrh fists clenched, actually managing to drive their foe backwards. However he recovered quickly enough, bringing his hands together to strike a crushing blow to Angel's back, breaking it with a wet snap.
Havok jerked forward, eyes wide with shock as he yelled, "NO!" With a gesture raw cosmic power flowed across the room contained in the focusing waves that were Havok's power, but their foe seemed to simply soak it up.
"Jean, throw him off balance!" Cyclops yelled as he and Iceman poured on their attacks, but he seemed to shrug them all off.
Charging forward the man punched Polaris in the head, his fist emerging from the back side of her skull to splatter the wall with her brains. Havok screamed as he cut loose again, but a swift kick to his solar plexus shut him up, not to mention crippling him.
"Fuck this!" Iceman yelped, turning around and running back out the hole.
Marvel Girl floated up, illusionary fires dancing around her body as she intoned, "I am power and life incarnate, I am..."
"Pitiful bluff," he scoffed as he strode through the fire and blasted her down, even as Cyclops came around behind him, firing away with his optic blast.
"As long as I live," Cyclops yelled furiously as he unleashed his full power optic blasts onto their foe, "the X-Men will never die!"
Shrugging off the concussive energy the man grabbed Cyclops by the throat, choking off any more heroic speeches. "Then you need to stop living," he growled, his grip tightening and breaking Cyclops' neck with a wet snap.
There was a beat of silence, then applause as a redheaded man in a bad suit and bow tie came out of the wall, clapping. "Damn that was cool," Arcade said cheerfully, "and you beat your last time by fifteen seconds."
"What happened to the Iceman?" the man once known as both Ahmet Abdol, the Living Pharoh and the Living Monolith asked curiously.
"My people shot him, Osiris," Arcade shrugged casually as he explained, "he was paid to do a job, and he didn't do it."
"The original X-Men have ceased to be a challenge to me," Osiris admitted as he toweled away the sweat as well as blood and oil from the cyborgs he had just slaughtered in battle, "how soon can you have a new squad ready?"
"Which team?" Arcade asked.
As the head of Murderworld Arcade was a genius in robotics and in replicating superpowers, using traps and killer androids to kill his victims. He usually hired out his services as a assassin, but when Osiris said he wanted to fight X-Men androids programmed to kill him, Arcade was perfectly willing to go along.
"The second," Osiris concluded as he stripped off his fouled clothes and pulled on a clean robe and sandals, "I might as well work through them in order."
"Cyclops," Arcade checked them off, "Banshee, Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm, Thunderbird and Wolverine? Can do, shouldn't be more than a week."
"Good," Osiris nodded seriously, "and do not tell me when you send them out to get me." He smiled faintly, "I want it to be a surprise."
"I like you better and better," Arcade grinned, trotting out of the room as his tech teams moved in to carry out the corpses.
Osiris put his hand on one worker's shoulder as he said, "Treat the bodies with respect. They volunteered for this, to let me test myself against real opponents."
"And the fake Iceman?" the man asked curiously.
"His cowardice overwhelmed him," Osiris answered, "you can do with him what you will."
He bowed slightly, "As you wish."
A few moments later his head lieutenant entered the chamber, her long black hair flowing over her shoulders. "Lord Osiris," the olive skinned woman said mildly, "how do you stand that man? He is utterly disrespectful to you."
"Arcade tried to pat your ass again?" Osiris guessed, smiling fondly at the young woman.
"Indeed," Horus said flatly.
"He is useful to me, Horus," Osiris told her, "and for that I will bear much." He smiled wryly as he added, "I'll talk to him about the ass grabbing."
Once Horus has been a teenager named Akasha Martinez, whom the Living Monolith had influenced with his cosmic powers. Her mind clouded she became a supervillain and enemy of Spider Man, until the hero managed to cut her off from his energies. When he fully returned the young woman had sought him out, and he had welcomed her into his service.
Together they walked out of the meditation chamber into a much more modern facility, gleaming steel walls and polished floors stretching out into the distance. Out the windows a blasted, damaged landscape was visible, but nearer to the building green grass, trees and flowers were beginning to take hold once more.
"Teams have finished demolishing Hammer Bay, clearing rubble left after the Sentinel attack. We're picking up the pace in terraforming irradiated areas of Genosha, though it's rough going," Horus told him.
"And the survivors?" Osiris asked as he looked out over the ruined island.
"Few and far between," Horus admitted. "We've had several former criminals arrive after the disaster, such as Unus and Callisto. We've recruited some and encouraged others to go."
"Good work," Osiris said as they reached the observation deck of his headquarters, the largest building in the city of New Alexandria.
New Alexandria was a modern city, yet it carried traces of the Mideast. The decorations, especially, reminded one of both Egypt and Rome, and it shone like the sun on the shore. Carefully laid out and planned it was a city intended for the future, fitting since it's population was to be mutants and progressive humans.
"Leave me," Osiris ordered her as he gracefully sat on the chair by the edge, looking out at the city, "I need to think."
"Of course, sir," Horus bowed and left.
Osiris looked out over the city, considering how he came to be here...
Once he had been a simple professor, a researcher who believed the Pharaohs were mutants. Reviled and attacked for his belief his own latent mutant power awoke, cosmic energy bolts killing his tormentors but not soon enough to save his wife.
Discovered by a Egyptian cult he became the Living Pharaoh, seeking to bring back the rule of ancient kings. Learning of a connection between his own powers and the hero Havok he kidnapped the boy, triggering his transformation into the Living Monolith. Again and again he sought power and he was repeatedly defeated, his final lost ending with him exiled into space.
There he was found by servants of the high lord Apocalypse, who needed his unique powers. Apocalypse plotted to seize the combined powers of twelve mighty mutants to become the most powerful entity on Earth, and he nearly succeeded too. In the course of that battle he himself was possessed by Apocalypse.. and it was a frightening revelation.
Before, he had known that innocents would die for his cause, and he had been prepared to do what he must. But in Apocalypse he saw something much darker, seeped in evil. Sharing one body he saw the vision of the future Apocalypse wanted, a horror show. Endless war from all over the Earth, unimaginable slaughter as men fought against each other, simply to winnow out the weak and promote the strong, only so that Apocalypse could consume the winners.
When Apocalypse's scheme fell apart and he fled his body, the surviving servants of the Living Pharaoh helped spirit him away. As he healed from the violation of his body and spirit he took the name Osiris, and with it a new path. Instead of wasting time fighting needless battles for power, he dedicated himself to foiling Apocalypse's designs, and guiding his kind, mutants, and humans to a better future.
'And this is where I begin.' Osiris thought, gazing at his city with pride.
When wild Sentinels had attacked Genosha, they devestated the hubs of mutant occupation like Hammer Bay. But here, humans and mutants had fought side by side with weapons provided by their allies, and the Sentinels did not know what to do. That confusion coupled with Osiris' own powers were enough for them to win the day, saving the city and making it a beacon of hope in this ruined land.
As Osirus look out over the city he thought of what might happen, of the X-Men and other heroic teams. That they would come to oppose him he was certain, but what he would do was harder to say. Revenge was sweet, some said, but for him it never lasted.
'Maybe this time it can be different,' Osirus thought, even though he knew it wasn't likely.
To be continued...
Notes: I've always felt the Living Pharaoh had the potential to be a real contender in villainy. He has cosmic energy powers, a army of cultists all over the world, immense wealth and science fiction style weaponry. Yet every time he appeared he got his ass whipped, often by the X-Men but occasionally by much weaker heroes like Spider-Man. In this story I've powered him up a bit by having him access his higher order power to become stone at normal size as well as use cosmic energy more easily.
Rise of the Living Monolith
Two
Eric Savin, the cyborg known as Coldblood 7, leaned carefully on the railing of the ferry as he watched the port at Hammer Bay grow in front of him. The city had been gutted by the Sentinels, but now the people of Genosha were rebuilding it.
Eric's brown hair fell in front of his cybernetic right eye, and he raised his artificial right arm to brush the hair away. He had lost much of the right side of his body to a land mine, and a lot of what was left of him was gutted in the rebuilding process. Much of his memory was recorded on his internal computers rather than his brain, and his past was full of holes.
'Much like the Bay,' Eric noted thoughtfully.
There were great swaths of destruction were Sentinel energy blasts had gouged the ground, and the buildings were gutted and burnt. Hammer Bay had born the worse of the attack, and despite being the main entry way to Genosha it was still mostly ruin and rubble. Still,someone had rebuilt a basic looking dock, and what looked like a decent road stretched inland.
Around him men and women milled about on the boat, many of them on the run from the superhuman Civil War. People who's only sin had been to put on costumes and help people, now on the run from their government and hunted by their supposed comrades. None of them were in costume, but it wasn't hard to recognize the sort of looks your average hero or villain developed.
Casually checking them out her recognized the former villain Firebrand, as well as Leila Davis, the second Beetle. Free Spirit was off on her own, the young woman looking haunted. Her friend Jack Flag had been arrested recently by the Thunderbolts, he figured that wasn't sitting well with her. A heavily, heavily muscled man over to the far end of the boat made Eric think of a soldier, but who he was remained a mystery.
The boat bumped up against the dock and a sailor threw a rope to tie up with. A ramp was extended to the wooden dock, and the passengers hurried to the wooden planks, even as a figure waited to greet them.
"My name is Sister Joy," the woman in a nun's habit nodded to them respectfully, "please, follow me. We have transport waiting to the encampment."
"Sister," Eric nodded as he and the others followed her to the truck. As he watched her he realized there was something off about the woman, not coiunting her blue skin. She moved jerkilly, and there was a odd sheen to her eyes, almost a metal like quality.
"I apologize for the rough transport," Joy said as they sat in the improvised benches along the back of the freight truck, "but we still have limited resources."
"I guess there's still a embargo," the soldier asked, putting his pack in his lap.
"There is, Mr. McIntyre," Joy addressed him politely, "of it you would prefer, I can call you my your codename, Protocide."
The man flinched slightly, "Just call me Clinton, please."
Eric recognized him once he heard the name, and studied the man intently. The man had been given a experimental version of Captain America's super soldier serum, but apparently 'died' of a heart attack. Put in cryogenic storage he was revived by Advanced Idea Mechanics, who convinced him to fight Captain America. He eventually came to his senses and disappeared.
'Guess he's been underground,' Eric decided.
The truck went inland, the road a bit bumpy but not as bad as they had expected. The ruins around them were bad, but there was also signs of ongoing salvage and repair. At one time Genosha had been one of the most advanced nations on Earth, and even in ruins there was a lot of tech to recover from the rubble.
"I understand that Genosha is offering sanctuary for people fleeing the Registration Act," Free Spirit asked, "but what do you want in return?"
"Simply that you contribute to our country," Joy answered simply, smiling. "You can help rebuild, gather salvage, build shelters or any number of jobs we need people to do."
"Or become soldiers," Eric noted cynically.
"Only if you chose to," Joy insisted, looking at him. "We are salvaging computer systems daily, I'm certain your abilities would be useful in repairing them."
Eric nodded slightly as he conceded, "Okay, true."
They rattled to a stop near a professionally set up tent city, built on a plane not fat from where the proposed new capital was going to be. There were men and women bustling about, as well as what looked like kitchen tents and well constructed sanitary facilities.
"What, no buildings?" Leila Davis sniffed, the brown haired woman looking displeased.
Clinton gave her a look. "We're refugees from our own government," he told her calmly, "be happy they're putting us up at all."
Leila pouted and looked away.
Joy hid a smile, then said, "I am sorry for the accomidations. We are building barracks soon, and hope to have residences available soon."
"It's fine," Free Spirit said, the young woman trotting over to the field kitchen.
As the rest of the men and women were met by attendants and were lead off to various tents, Eric moved over to Sister Joy. "Sister?" he asked.
Joy turned, much of her face still hidden by the cloth of her robes. "Yes?" she asked politely.
Eric wasn't sure how to politely bring up what his internal scanners were detecting, so he decided to be blunt. "You're not quite human, are you?" he asked.
Joy stiffened, then relaxed as she sighed softly. Her cassock was pulled back, revealing blue skin, and near her neck and chin it had a odd metallic sheen. "I suppose you would notice," she sighed. "I'm a nanotechnological life form, more or less," she said.
"How...?" Eric had to ask.
"I was created to fight the X-Men some years ago, then destroyed," Joy shrugged, "some time later magneto found traces of me and successfully reactivated me. I've been living on Genosha ever since."
"Must be tough," Eric offered lamely.
"No more than any others' burdens," Joy answered calmly. She bowed her head and said calmly, "I have to go." And with that she was off, moving with a serenity that Eric almost envied.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Osirus was meditating in his solar chamber when he felt the faint rumble. Rising smoothly he slung on a robe as he hurried down the hall, reaching the balcony overlooking the new city. There was a crackle and a wave of air as the second group teleported in, the armored figures spreading out to attack.
"Magistrates," Osirus growled softly even as he ran towards them.
The Magistrates were once the enforcers for Genosha, when humans used mutant slaves to live a life of ease. When a rebellion forced the government out the hard-core Magistrates fled with their equipment and technology, determined to restore human rule once more.
Osirus slowed as he neared them, dressed just in his loincloth and robes, then surprisingly he bowed slightly. "Welcome, Magistrates, have you decided to return peacefully to your former lands?" he asked politely.
One of the soldiers scoffed, all the men wearing heavy armor and carrying massive guns, presumably designed to deal with mutants. "Never, mutie," he said flatly, "we're here to take back what is ours!"
"You're the leader aren't you?" a blond haired woman growled. "We hold you, we can force the gene scum to give us what we want."
"That would be a very bad idea," Osirus told them even as he saw the cover to a sewer access bump up slightly. "Are you sure you won't try things peacefully?" he urged, knowing what was coming for them.
"Get off our land," the leading Magistrate ordered him coldly, "that's the only way this is ending peacefully."
"So be it," Osirus said as the manhole cover suddenly errupted upward, seemingly filled with green tentacles.
"What the hell?" the woman yelped as her weapon was yanked away from her, her gun hitting the ground as another tentacle wrapped around her throat.
As the Magistrates scattered away from the writhing mass Osirus attacked, firing off a bolt of energy and disarming another. As they turned to him he willed his body into stone form, then calmly ripped the armor off another soldier.
Callisto emerged from the tunnel, the tentacles extending from her soldiers from where the mad mutant Masque had reshaped her. The black haired woman snarled as she whipped another soldier back and disarmed a third man.
"Well done, Cal," Osirus grinned as he blasted another sopldier even as the rest cowered, afraid of what he or Callisto might do with them.
"I should have responded faster," Callisto said flatly, frowning as she studied their captives. "A security team is coming, though I wonder what they were doing here."
"Too small a group for a serious raid," Osirus agreed as they looked over the ten troopers, "and they would have attacked me immediately if it was a assassination attempt."
The security team, mostly volunteers or ex-miners with enhanced strength, rounded up the Magistrates as the two watched. "So what was it...?" Callisto mused just as a explosion rang out.
"Distraction!" Osirus cursed as he and Callisto hurried towards the direction of the blast, the camp for the newcomers. They ran as fast as they could, knowing they probably wouldn't make it in time. They rushed up the hill between the city and the camp, then blinked in surprise to see a group of defeated Magistrates and medics rushing around to treat the wounded.
"Well, that was anticlimatic," Callisto noted as they slowed to a trot, walking down into the somewhat chaotic camp.
"Lord Orirus," Sister Joy nodded slightly, the blue skinned woman tending to the burns along a tall, powerfully build man's arm.
"What happened?" Osirus asked, though he rather thought he could guess.
"The Magistrates attempted to attack the camp, but Clinton here and Eric were able to stop them quite effectively," Joy said, nodding towards a cyborg who was looming threateningly over the now badly cowed attackers.
"How did you get hurt?" Callisto asked Clinton curiously.
The former soldier looked rueful as Clinton admitted, "I forgot I didn't have my shield when I charged 'em, took a few extra hits."
"We'll see what we can rig up for you," Callisto offered, impressed.
'Well, it looks like my decision to offer refuge may have been a wise one after all,' Osirus thought, liking the look of both warriors. He felt confident they'd defend their new home, anyway.
To be continued...
Notes: Protocide was a minor Captain America villain, created to be a 'evil Cap' more or less. He was later revealed to be misunderstood, and hasn't been used since as far as I know. Coldblood Seven was introduced in Marvel Comics Present back in the day, and became a minor marvel character, showing up in other series.
Rise of the Living Monolith
Three
Valerie Cooper sat back in the charter plane, studying files as they raced to Genosha. The blond haired woman hated being away from the States, especially with the Civil War heating up. The 'Secret Avengers' headed up by Captain America were refusing to register, and Iron Man was attempting to hunt him down.
Worse for Val was that mutants, her unofficial area of responsibility, were getting involved. The mysterious and powerful mutant Cable had chosen to side with Cap, while Bishop was working with the registration forces. Both men were dangerous, but what really worried her was them pulling their various camps into the war.
But her primary responsibilities were to the government, and she had been ordered to check out Genosha. So Val was flying down, even as she reviewed briefings and got a better sense of the possible crisis there. Apparently Osirus had extended his offer of sanctuary to any superhuman on the run from the registry, which made things even more complex.
'At least I have a good team with me,' Val noted as she looked at the other three figures in the large main cabin.
Hank McCoy aka the Beast was there as a representative of the X-Men. The blue furred scientific genius might resemble a giant cat, but his mind was second to none. And he had experience facing the Living Monolith before, too. Privately Val suspected he might have other reasons to go too, but she didn't press.
Rebecca Black (presumably not her real name) was a SHIELD psi-agent. The black haired woman was born with mild esper talents, and SHIELD had used implants to enhance the abilities. Now she had moderate telepathic abilities along with a telekinetic force burst. She was posing as Val's secretary, and looked quite handsome in the woman's suit she wore.
Val's official body guard was a odd choice in her opinion, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Jack Monroe, the hero once known as Nomad, was looking sharp dressed in a off the rack suit. The brown haired man had been 'killed' earlier this year by the Winter Soldier, but had been saved by a medical miracle. Nanites that had once been used to control him somehow 'jump started' him back to life, and he had been recruited into government service.
And he wasn't happy about it.
"If I knew faking my death would be this boring," Jack complained cheerfully, "I never would have gone along with it."
"You shouldn't talk about it so casually," Rebecca scolded.
"If you can't laugh about your near death,' Hank shrugged, "what can you laugh at?" He looked over at Val, "I understand there's a new complication to our mission?"
"Yes," Val admitted with a frown. "Osirus has extended his invitation to anyone fleeing the Registry, mutant or non-mutant," she said.
"And I take it our lords and masters aren't happy?" Jack asked flippantly.
Rebecca scowled at him, the officer looking straight laced and formal even in her dress skirt. "This will badly undermine the attempt to register superhumans," she said flatly, "and such open defiance will hurt the US internationally."
"Well, to a extent," Hank cautioned, using his paw-like hands to flip through a magazine, "the UK and the European Union are still firmly behind a similar Registry. But smaller nations are now less likely to fall in line."
"Like Wakanda," Val sighed darkly. The Black Panther and his wife Storm had publicaly come out against the Registry, and worse had fought Iron Man over it. It was a nightmare for the various diplomats, and had likely damaged relations with the advanced nation for years.
"So, are there any major players we have to worry about being in Genosha when we're there?" Jack asked reasonably.
"Several," Val sighed, tapping the folders on her lap. "Coldblood Seven has been sighted on the island, as has the false Captain America, Protocide. The cyborg Deathlok has also been rumored to be on the island, but that hasn't been confirmed."
Rebecca blinked, "Protocide... I've heard of him, Clinton McIntyre. And he has the Super Soldier Serum in his veins, right? Why wasn't he in government custody before now?"
"Captain America lost him in their final battle," Val said dryly, "though to be honest I don't think he looked too hard."
"Oh?" Hank asked.
Jack nodded thoughtfully as he remarked, "Yeah, I could see it. Clinton's a man out of time like himself and all."
"Either way having him there complicates a already difficult situation," Val sighed. "If he's taken by a hostile nation they could use him to try to create super soldiers."
"Is there a sanction order?" Rebecca asked flatly.
"Wait just a minute...," Hank yelped, sitting up from where he was relaxing.
"You are not killing a guy just because he could be used by the enemy," Jack was nearly as fast, his expression bleak.
"There is no sanction order," Val said firmly, "nor will there be under my watch." Rebecca looked abashed, while Jack and Hank relaxed a bit. "But one of my jobs appears to be making sure McIntyre's secure where he is."
"Secure?" Rebecca wondered.
"Is he safe there from a snatch and grab from another nation," Jack mused, "and I'll bet we'll be checking to see if the US can grab him too. For national security, of course."
"You're too young to be that cynical," Val told Jack dryly, even though she rather suspected that he was right.
The airport wasn't far from Hammer Bay, and pretty much amounted to a roughly cleared strip of land. Most travel to and from Genosha was by boat from nearby nations, so there hadn't been much urgency to rebuilding the airport. And to be honest it looked like they could use the valuable resources elsewhere.
Val had seen footage of the sentinel attack on Genosha, but this was her first visit to the nation since then. Once Genosha had been the bright light of the region, a industrial powerhouse as well as appearing cultured and refined. Even after Magneto took over the island maintained much of it's gloss, even as mutants flooded in from all over the world.
The sentinels had destroyed all that. Now rubble and wreckage stretched as far as Val could see, roads roughly cut through debris. The survivors lived in the wreckage or in newly build tent cities, trying to build something new in the ruins. But despite all the destruction there was a air of hope. The people digging through wrecked buildings looked happy, and on her overflight of the island she was crops growing and herds moving.
A attractive young woman waited by the landing strip, her long black hair flowing down her back. She was accompanied by a woman with clusters of tentacles for arms, her expression clearly unwelcoming of the three arrivals.
"Val Cooper," the younger woman smiled, "I am Horus. Welcome to Genosha."
"Callisto," the other woman introduced herself flatly. A slight smile teased her lips as she said, "Good to see you, McCoy."
"Indeed, I was glad to hear you survived," Hank shook her offered tentacle briskly.
Val felt a tickle at the back of her brain, and realized Rebecca was contacting her telepathically. 'This Horus is Akasha Martinez,' she informed her, 'minor villain obsessed with the Pharaoh. Dropped out of sight after fighting Spider-Man.'
'Thanks,' Val thought back to her. "Long way from home, Miss Martinez?" she asked, shaking Horus' hand.
"This is my home now," Horus answered evenly. "Come, I will escort you to our first major settlement, New Alexandria."
"Thank you," Val said, mildly disappointed she hadn't thrown the younger woman off.
"So, who the hell are you?" Callisto asked Jack bluntly.
"Jack," he answered her with a smile, "no last name. I do leg breaking, intimidation and occasional daring do. But I don't do windows."
That inspired a slight smile from Callisto, and Horus looked amused. "And this is my secretary, Rebecca," Val introduced her to save time and establish her cover.
"Come," Horus said as she lead them away from the plane, "we have transport waiting."
The battered,open top jeep wasn't an idea transport, but Val decided not to complain. It was certainly better than walking. They followed the road through the rubble as they saw people industriously picking over the wreckage, then they came around a hill and saw 'New Alexandria.' Built inland from Hammer Bay there was the rough layout of a midsized city, with much new construction spreading out from a pyramid like structure at the center of the city.
"I see you're building quickly," Val noted as they passed several partly completed structures, the design making her think of apartments.
"Well, we did have a influx of recent arrivals," Horus smiled slightly as she watched Callisto drive. "They're good workers too, and very eager to settle in here."
Jack snickered while Val and Rebecca glared at him. Clearly he got the point Horus was making, and neither woman liked it. Frowning Val saw the tent city nearby the new construction, as well as the men and women there.
"Is it really safe for them to be out in the open like that?" Val asked.
"The tents are better than the Morlock Tunnels were," Callisto said dryly, "And safe? Just try to mess with them, and they'll kick your ass like they did those Magistrates who attacked us."
"The Magistrates are acting up again?" Hank asked, clearly enjoying the wind blowing through his blue hair.
"They show up every now and then and we beat the crap out of them," Callisto shrugged. "We get decent weapons out of it, at least."
Hank nodded, "I'm glad you find the silver lining in these situations."
As they drove through the new construction the road improved, becoming paved blacktop. The nearer to the Pyramid they got the more construction was completed, as well as more shops and businesses. New Alexandria reminded Val of a frontier town, almost, but with a higher technical base available.
They pulled up to a gatehouse not far from the pyramid, where Horus parked. The attractive young woman got out as she said, "We walk from here."
"Really?" Jack looked around him warily, as did Rebecca. Hank just calmly hopped out of the jeep, stretching out.
"Ah, that's better," Hank sighed.
"Cramped in the jeep?" a familiar voice came from the gatehouse.
Hank froze, then looked at the man inside. "It's been a long time, Ahmet Abdol," he nodded to the bald man within.
Tanned and healthy Ahmet, known to most as Osirus, emerged with a smile. "I'm sorry for sneaking up on you," he bowed slightly, "It is a honor, Val Cooper. I'm sure we have much to talk about."
To be continued...
Rise of the Living Monolith
Four
While the outside of the Pyramid looked like it was made of polished stone, the inside hummed with advanced technology. Metal walls had communication stations with keyboards and IO plugs, and the floors gleamed. The halls were also bustling with people dressed in crisp uniforms, looking rather military in design.
"Your cultists?" Val asked dryly as they followed the former Living Pharoh, now simply calling himself Osirus.
"I prefer to call them followers," Osirus said mildly, "and they are all residents of the island as well. Many have brought technical skills and experience to rebuilding the island."
"And cultists is rather rude, I think," Horus noted wryly.
"Heavens forbid we be rude," Hank McCoy noted.
Jack bit back a laugh as Rebecca rolled her eyes. In her role as secretary she was keeping her mobile device handy, and covertly taking photos of everything. Just in case.
Val ignored the byplay, though she did smile a bit. "I understand the pyramid was built before the Sentinel attacks?" she asked probingly.
"Yes," Osirus nodded slightly, "I defended the building and anyone who reached it." His eyes were shadowed as he added, "There was little else I could do, however."
Rebecca made a note to see if footage survived of the attack. There was little information about Ahmet Abdol's current power levels. All they knew was that he had fought the X-Men, the Avengers and others, allied with Apocolypse then disappeared. Then he reappeared in Genosha, just n time to survive the Sentinel attack.
"The Pyramid is the primary headquarters for our city government," Osirus noted, "such as it is. We're mostly concentrating on getting basic utilities up in the city, as well as organizing salvage and construction efforts."
Jack kept a wary eye out, but didn't like the looks of how many people were armed. Almost everyone wore side arms, and if there was trouble he was gonna be at a disadvantage. Not much of a disadvantage, considering he had been trained by Captain America, but it could get messy. Especially with him guarding Val too.
"What's with all the guns?" Jack asked Horus curiously. "One would think you don't feel safe around here."
Horus gave him a disdainful look. "As I told you, the magistrates have attacked several times. And not all of our people have powers to defend themselves with," she said.
'Not all,' Val mentally noted. So at least some of the cultists did have powers? That was a worrying development, if so.
Osirus turned to look at the Beast as he asked, "I understand that you are working to cure the M-Day effect?"
Hank McCoy frowned slightly, but the biochemist knew that Osrus could have easily guessed that. No inside information was needed. "I am," he conceded as they turned a corner and reached what looked like a lab door.
"So are we," Osirus said as the door swished open and they stepped through, "though in a somewhat more unconventional way."
The lab looked like something out of a modern movie, with glass and steel tables, soothing music and a slightly antiseptic smell. A small, slightly unobtrusive man sat at a bench, his brown hair falling into his eyes as he talked to a lab tech. The only unusual thing about him was the facial scars, almost looking like lightning bolts etched into his cheeks and forehead.
Val Cooper recognized him instantly and stiffened in alarm. "That's Molecule Man," she hissed softly, recognizing him off wanted posters.
"No, that is Owen Reese," Horus corrected the other woman frostilly, "he does not use that other name any longer."
"Come," Osirus lead them outside once again, "let's not disturb them."
Hank frowned up at Osirus, "What does this have to do with mutants losing their powers?"
"As we are both aware, the power loss of much of the world's mutants was triggered by the Scarlet Witch losing control of her powers," Osirus said briskly.
Val very nearly stumbled as they were walking. That was very tightly held information, only the Avengers, the X-Men and the government knew about it. How had he discovered what had happened? It implied a serious security breech, at the very least.
"So you think you can use this Owen guy to fix it?" Jack sounded skeptical, "How?"
"His powers are no where near the scale Scarlet Witch opperated on, but her normal power levels were not that great either," Horus said. "We hope to amplify his abilities with the help of volunteer telepaths and superhumans, and in the process use them to restore the world's mutants."
"And remove his own powers, as he has requested," Osirus added.
Rebecca looked at him in surprise. "Is that true?" she asked.
"Consider his history," Osirus mused as they reached a set of stairs and began to climb, "except for a short period he attempted to be a villain, his powers have brought him nothing but misery. He's lost his freedom, his life and his lover at different times." He shrugged, "No wonder he wants them gone."
Jack warily looked around as they entered a open meeting room, with a long table and chairs, along with a pitcher of water. Sunlight streamed in through a glass roof, or possibly was channelled in somehow. It was comfortable but not hot, and several women were waiting presumably to take orders.
"You realize having Owen here will alarm the world powers?" Val asked coolly as they were waved to seats at the table.
"They're already alarmed just by my being here," Osirus said dryly. He shrugged slightly, "Owen is here of his own free will, and we do not have a extradition treaty with the United States. And taking him by force will be... problematic."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Eric Saven was actually humming to himself as he and a group of strength modified Genoshans hauled up a piece of wrecked computer. The salvage had been pretty good in this section of the ruined city of Hammer Bay, and the rewards would be good for them all.
"Good job, Ester," Eric nodded to the tall, bald headed miner who's team he had joined.
"You managed to keep up this time," Ester teased, her muscles rippling. She wiped some sweat from her brow as they looked at the nearly seven foot tall chunk of computer core and asked, "Any idea what's it for?"
Eric shrugged, "No idea. I could try to bring it online, but..."
"Hell no," Dan Wisner said, shuddering. Last week they had recovered a piece of tech that was from a Sentinel, and it took over nearby machines trying to kill them. If not for a fast response from the security teams, they'd have been killed.
"No, I think we'll leave it to the experts," Eric agreed.
Ester nodded to the rest of the team, "The salvage claim for this is gonna cover meals a few days. Take five everyone."
The rest of their six member team scattered, then Ester and Eric hefted the unit and carried it off, Dan scouting ahead. The smaller man was dating Ester, but he was also a engineering student before his mutant power manifested. He often figured out the best methods of prying the salvage they wanted lose, saving time and effort
The teams at the salvage depot were damn impressed with the computer piece, and aid top dollar in credits. They divided it up by six and Eric took his share and headed off, even as Ester and Dan headed off to pay the rest of the team.
Eric turned back a moment, feeling a pang of envy. Ester was quite a woman, he figured. As he watched Dan's mutant power kicked in and he shifted, form blurring, then a attractive woman walked beside Ester in Dan's place, Dustine. Not the most useful power in the world, but apparently it made Ester happy.
With a sigh Eric headed to his home, then he would decide what to do for the night. The tent city the refugees had been living out of was still there, but he and the others from their wave had been moved into barracks. They were nicely constructed, warm and even somewhat private, with curtains that could be closed around each sleeping cubicle. It wasn't exactly homey, but it would do.
"Hey!" Free Spirit waved as Eric left the barracks dressed in something cleaner than the overalls he wore for salvage work. Cathy Webster was very into the whole 'Captain America' thing with her red, white and blue tights, which was kind of ironic considering she was a American exile.
"Hey Cathy," Eric nodded as they headed to the mess hall, "what's new?"
"Did you hear? There's US government types on the island!" Cathy told him excitedly. "Do you think they're here to take us back?"
'Probably not you, at least,' Eric thought wryly. "No, I don't think so," he said as they got into line, "a few rogue supers aren't enough to go to war over."
"War?" Sister Joy asked, the metal skinned woman helping serve food at the counter. She was a nice lady, in Eric's opinion, even if she was a android. Or something.
"If America tries to take us away by force," Eric clarified to her. "I don't think it's likely, considering the international mess it would cause."
"Very true," Joy noted as she dished up their food. "Wakanda would immediately file a complaint with the UN, as would Russia I think."
"You're well informed," Cathy noted, sounding impressed.
Joy just shrugged slightly. "Enjoy your meal," she said, waving as the next group came up.
Eric and Cathy sat down at one of the tables, talking quietly as they ate. He liked keeping company with women, even though the cyborg body he was in made having any kind of relationship with one pretty unlikely. Still, as attractive as Cathy was, and she was good looking with a lovely face and great figure, there was something unappealing about her.
"Why can't we at least get more TV here?" Cathy sighed as she ate, "I miss Survivor!"
She was just too shallow. "Yeah," Eric agreed dryly, "it's tough."
Cathy clearly caught something in his tone because she gave him a odd look. "Are you going into New Alexandria later?" she asked curiously.
"Probably," Eric admitted, "the new library is supposed to be one of the best in the world." He looked at her wryly as he added, "Maybe you can download Survivor there."
"I never thought of that!" Cathy exclaimed brightly. "What a great idea. Thanks!" she beamed at him cheerfully.
'Oy,' Eric thought.
To be continued...
Notes: Yes, I loathe Survivor and reality TV. Dan Wisner is a real life friend, but no resemblance exists between the fictional character and the real life guy. I think.