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MARVEL 2000 PRESENTS... "GUESTS
and PATIENTS"
Nicole Ridley stepped to the podium and looked out across the stadium to observe the 500 odd African-American teenagers she was about to speak to. Ridley had never been to Chicago, but she had received a warmer welcome here than she had anywhere else in her life. The NAACP had asked her to be the premiere guest-speaker at an event for hopeful young African-Americans. Nicole felt honored to have been asked to the event considering her past and gladly accepted the invitation. Now it was time for her to speak… “Hello everyone. I am very honored to be here today. I have come to find that the hospitality in this city is unparallel. I have been welcomed here with arms wide open. Chicago truly is one of Earth’s greatest cities!” With that an uproar of applause and hoots went up from the teenagers. Binary leaned back from the microphone and smiled. She saw such passion and hope in these young people. There was a fire in them. A fire to change the world. She hoped maybe with her words of wisdom she could guide that flame in the right direction. After the clamor died down Binary spoke again, “I was asked here today to speak to you and maybe impart some wisdom upon you. Well, the smartest advice I can give you is to not take the way I’ve taken. My road has been far too hard and I made it hard for myself. Don’t do the same thing to yourselves. I started off in the streets of Metro City trying to make a quick buck by selling drugs. The money was good, but in the end it wasn’t good enough. I became a junkie myself and allowed myself to be lured into a project for another quick buck. I fought against the Fantastic Four, but eventually found my way to the Avengers. An upstanding man of thunderous proportions gave me a real opportunity and I finally took advantage of it. I got lucky ladies and gentlemen. Real lucky. I don’t expect you all to get by on luck though. I expect you to get by on your God-given talents because I know you have them. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t.” “Why do you think they chose to show up in a taxi?” Quicksilver asked Jarvis as they held the door open for their soon approaching guests. Pietro was by nature an anxious man and having to wait for an abundantly slow taxi was driving him up the wall. He wanted to know what the status of his sister was as soon as possible. “Flying in the Blackbird would have been a bit extravagant don’t you think Master Pietro?” Maximoff huffed, “It would have been quicker…and cheaper.” Captain America laughed as he approached the two men, “Considering the price of gas I think taking a taxi might have actually been the cheaper option for the two.” “You laugh, but my sister lies in a hospital bed in need of the type of examination only Jean can offer,” Quicksilver snapped, breaking the almost joyful mood. It was then that the taxi pulled up and stopped in front of the gates of Avengers Mansion. A tall, slim man made his way out of the taxi from the back door facing the mansion. He was wearing a white, collared, button up shirt. Every button was done except for the top one and he had his sleeves neatly rolled up. Along with the shirt he had tan khakis with what looked like a new pair of Stacy Adams. The most distinguishing trait though was his bright red sunglasses. Before he walked to the gates he helped a red headed beauty out of the taxi. She was dressed in a sleeveless neon orange blouse and a knee high black shirt. Her high heels nearly made her the height of her partner. As they began to walk to the gate Captain America was already there to greet them. “You two have no idea how grateful I am for you agreeing to pay us a visit,” Captain America said a she pressed a button to open up the gates to the abode of the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, but even Earth’s Mightiest needed help sometimes. “When Captain America comes knocking, who can say no?” Cyclops smiled, “Besides you just really needed my wife, but there was no way she was going to get any of Jarvis’ green tea without me being around.” Steve laughed, “So I take it Hank’s given you the full scoop on Jarvis’ skills in the kitchen.” “This is Hank we’re talking about here. When does he ever stop talking?” Jean said as all three began to laugh. “Well, I do think that Jarvis already has some food for you two in the house if you like.” “You and Scott eat. I think I’ll take Pietro with me and get right to work,” Jean said, not letting the two know she could sense Pietro’s overwhelming anxiety.
Jean walked down the hallway to the infirmary with a quickened pace, but it was still a maddeningly slow one for Pietro. He knew Jean couldn’t help it, but he woman was driving him crazy. The least she could was run and soothe his impatience some. “If you don’t pipe down Pietro I’ll have to ask you to leave,” Jean said with intense sternness. Pietro’s eyes widened and for the first time in seven minutes he stopped moving, “You read my mind?!!” “I am not the exact replica of my teacher. Do not mistake me for Xavier,” Jean snapped coldly. It wasn’t the type of person that she normally was, but with Pietro you had to be that way. His leadership of the Omega team had calmed him down some, but he was still the hard head. “Believe me I would never confuse the two,” Quicksilver replied with a tone just as icy. He didn’t like being talked down to, especially by one of Xavier’s golden children. His team of X-Men had fought hard and did plenty of proactive work, yet they were considered the renegade bastards. Jean smiled coolly at Pietro’s comeback,” Good. At least it’s been established you can tell the difference between male and female. But we can sit here and argue all day or we can go and see if I can help your sister.” With that Pietro loosened up, “Fine. I’m just worried about her. This was a mystically induced coma. Her mind could be in Hell for all I know.” That detail hadn’t been given to Phoenix and she swallowed a lump in her throat at the thought of Wanda being trapped on some hellish world. Taking a breath she said wearily, “Maybe you should have called Dr. Strange.” “He was busy. You were our next best bet. Betsy is obviously injured and Exodus…well I flat out didn’t want to call him,” Pietro confessed without shame. The second in command of Genosha being in Avengers Mansion would not blow over well with the American public. Of course Quicksilver quite frankly didn’t like the man no matter how much he had professed to change. “I had heard about Betsy. I need to remind Ororo to send some flowers to the hospital room now that I think about it,” Jean replied as she quickly touched a slender finger to her temple and sent Ororo the reminder. “It was my intention to visit her, but I’m not exactly on good terms with Warren,” Pietro explained as he felt himself getting a little less impatient with this whole affair. He could easily blame it on Jean’s abilities, but something about the woman’s aura was naturally soothing and calm. He was beginning to understand how Cyclops and Phoenix were such a complementary couple. Finally, the two turned the corner and they were in the infirmary. Jean visually examined the injured Avengers members and said, “We’ll save your sister for the end. I don’t want to rush her examination.” Quicksilver nodded, “If we’re going to work from better to worse I suggest you start off with Moondragon.” Jean walked to the bedside of Heather and saw that the completely bald woman was in a serene state. She could almost swear that the woman was fighting back a smile. Taking a deep breath she reached down with a gentle hand and entered into Moondragon’s mind. Pietro watched the world-class telepath with great interest. Her body seemed completely frozen as she became one with his comatose teammate. In many ways the nature of a telepath’s abilities was completely opposite from his own abilities. A telepath had to be slow and methodical in their work. They required concentration and poise. Pietro’s training had been all sound and fury. He always had to be in motion and he could never slow down. It wasn’t in his nature to take his time. Jean saw none of Pietro’s observation as she was immersed in a world of white. She was crying out for Heather and only heard the faintest of replies. Nonetheless, a reply was still there and that was all Jean needed to hear. Pulling herself out of Heather’s mind Jean looked to a curious Pietro and smiled, “Heather will be just fine. Give it a couple of days and she’ll wake up. Now who is our next patient?” “He was brought here only a few hours before the Japan incident kicked off. From all that we can tell he’s completely insane, but we know it was a created insanity,” Pietro said his gaze turning to the far corner of the infirmary where the large isolation room was. It had originally been built for the express purpose of quarantining off Avengers members that were infected with biological agents. It had now become a holding area for an insane Messiah. “I sense a great deal of hesitation Pietro. What’s wrong?” Jean asked. Pietro sighed and looked to the floor as he said, “I’m not sure if I should tell you this or not, but this man has destroyed an entire solar system. I don’t know if he’s the kind of person you’ll really want to help.” Phoenix had to keep her jaw from falling at that point. It wasn’t highly publicized information, but she herself had been responsible for the destruction of a solar system. It had been with entirely good cause, but at the same time those deaths would never be erased from her mind. No wonder this man was insane. To have to carry such a burden would surely push the sanity of anyone. “Take me to him. It sounds like he needs my help the most of all.” “Follow me then. I just hope you’re sure about this.”
Cyclops took a chunk out of the apple and continued to say nothing. Neither man had uttered a single word to each other since Jean left with Pietro. Scott wasn’t exactly sure how to approach Captain America and the feeling was reciprocated for Steve. Both men were leaders, not conversationalists. Saying no to a suggestion from Jean Grey was hard for any man to do though, but honestly Cyclops would have preferred to not be alone with Captain America. It had nothing to do with the man, but with how uncomfortable that man made Scott feel. Steve had no idea where to begin with Scott. He knew the basics of the man and he was sure that Scott knew the basics of him, but this wasn’t a military situation. Besides, the WWII vet was far more comfortable with the art of the fist than the art of the idle chatter. Yet, there was still a burning question that Steve needed to ask Scott. However, he knew that once the inquiry was made the floodgates would be opened. Then Steve would be in uncharted territory and he wasn’t sure if he really wanted to see how far the rabbit hole would go. “That Jarvis knows how to put together a meal. Maybe we can snag him over to do a few meals at Xavier’s,” Cyclops, said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. Despite his deep thought processes Steve managed a smile, “I don’t think Stark would be too keen on that one. He’s already trying to snag Jarvis for the West Coast team. Let him hear the X-Men have had a meal from the man and he’ll flip.” “Just remind him we let you guys have Beast,” Cyclops joked. Steve didn’t even hear the joke as he blurted out what he had to ask, “How did you deal with losing a child?” Scott answered Steve frankly, “In an extremely complicated way. I’ve had two children and not one of them did I ever really get to raise. I guess that’s not really answering your question though. I didn’t deal really. I just threw myself back into the X-Men.” Steve looked behind him at the picture of Luna and Maria playing in Central Park and said, “That’s my little girl. I found her on the streets and adopted her. Thought I’d be able to live a normal life. Be a good dad. I wanted to play the strict dad on Prom night. I wanted to see her get a diploma. I never really got that chance. She’s in the hands of Red Skull and I’ll be damned if I let him corrupt her any further.” “Then you haven’t lost her yet Steve. She can be saved and if you need help doing the X-Men are always there.” Cap shook his head and let a single tear fall to the table. His emotions were ripping him apart. He didn’t want Cyclops to see him lose it, but this was his child. His little girl and that damn bastard had her. He was holding her above his head like some kind of trophy. No child deserved to be a pawn in his games. “That is what’s killing me Scott. I don’t know if that’s really my Maria. A friend told me that Maria is nothing more than a construct created by AIM. I don’t want to believe that. I can’t believe that and I have to wonder, did I ever really have a daughter to begin with?” “She’s your daughter, no matter how she came into existence. Save her and don’t ever let her go after you do,” Cyclops said and then he gave a weak laugh, “Guess I could do with following some of my own advice. I always looked at my own children with a bit of disappointment. I wasn’t really around for either one of them and one of them is twice my age. But, I guess I should have been happy just to have them around.” Then a silence fell between the two men and each realized they had said more to the other in a short while than they had said to any of those close to them in months. There existed a natural kinship between the two men. Both had come from ordinary lives and were thrust into difficult roles early on. America had chosen Steve Rogers to be its leader and Xavier had chosen Scott Summers to be his. Cyclops was finally the one to break the silence, “Why didn’t you call us when The Red Skull attacked Japan?” “No offense Scott, but we had plenty of Avengers there to handle the problem. If anyone is to blame for the failure there it’s me. I rushed off stupidly against Skull on my own. I let it get too personal. I almost wanted to kill that man,” Captain America admitted. “If there’s one thing I always respected about you Captain America it’s that you always find another way.” “Finding another way isn’t always easy, but while we’re on the subject of calling for help why weren’t the Avengers given a call when the race riots happened?” Captain America asked with the tone that an officer would take with a troublesome enlisted soldier. Cyclops eyed Captain America darkly, “Look I know that America is your home turf, but what happened in D.C. was just a personal for me as Japan was for you. My wife and a friend both lost children as a result of those riots. Besides, it’s not like I had you on speed dial. Storm and myself had just been freed from months of imprisonment.” At that point Steve looked very confused, “Weren’t you around for the Sons of Set incident and the Shadow King attacks?” Cyclops shook his head strongly, “Wish I could have been, but no. The guy you saw wasn’t me.” “Well, something has to be done to ensure that riots of that kind never occur again,” Captain America said. “Then why doesn’t your group and others like it speak out for mutant rights? A shout of support from someone like you definitely wouldn’t hurt the cause.” Steve knew this would be one of the tough questions he would have to answer if he started any kind of conversation with Scott. It was a question with a simple answer, but Steve had to delicate about how he worded it. Just as Steve was passionate about his country, Scott was feverishly passionate about his people. “My job as Captain America isn’t to support one group or another. I’m to be a beacon for all Americans and by taking a stance on something as controversial as mutants I risk alienating a large portion of the citizens who look to me as a symbol.” Cyclops was visibly angry with the answer he was given and he only replied a minute later, “It’s people like you who make me the maddest Steve. I can deal with the out and out racists. They’re a stupid lot anyway, but the intelligent folks who say nothing, now that burns me up! People like you are the reason I had to kill Mark Rogers and people like you allowed the race riots to happen!” Captain America rose up from his chair and pointed a finger at Scott as he said angrily, “That’s uncalled for! I’m not an ordinary person. I am a symbol, son. A symbol for a country in turmoil. I don’t agree with mutant discrimination, never have, but I will not go parading around every press conference discussing the issue. It’d be no better if I discussed abortion, stem cells, or immigration. And since you’re so bold son I’d suggest you’d find a way to get on the TV every now and then, rather than blowing up another building.” “Shame on both of you!” Scott and Steve looked to entrance to find a very angry Jarvis standing there. He looked back and forth at both men and finally said, “The two of you are suppose to be leaders, yet you’re arguing about who needs to do what! Get off your own rumps and do it! Help each other instead of rambling on at one another. This world is far from perfect, but it won’t get any better with the two of you acting far beneath the class I know you’re capable of.” Jarvis having finished what he had to say walked out of the room and left the two men to simply stare at each other not really sure what to say. “Feisty guy,” Cyclops muttered. Cap laughed loudly then, “I haven’t seen him rip into anyone like that in months!” Cyclops sighed, “I guess we did have it coming to us. I apologize for what I said. I shouldn’t hold the responsibility for speaking good for mutantkind on your shoulders alone.” “I’m sorry as well. The X-Men do plenty of good work and I know all of you to be good people. Charles Xavier was never a bad judge of character. He saw in people what they could never see in themselves and I’m sorry that he’s gone.” Cyclops replied solemnly, “You and me both.” “One can only hope that your wife and Pietro are faring better than the two of us.” Scott smirked, “Knowing Jean she has the situation under control.”
Jean touched the glass that contained Sequoia and looked to Pietro. She felt a great deal of sympathy for the man so she asked, “Has anyone been in to see him since he’s arrived here?” Pietro shook his head, “People are either mad at him or afraid of him. Jarvis would probably go in there, but Captain America has strictly forbidden it. He’s pretty much been all alone.” “And that’s not going to help the man’s condition one bit. I need to go in there.” Quicksilver zoomed in front of the door and outstretched his arms, “Sorry Jean, but I’m under strict orders. Nobody goes in there.” Phoenix sighed heavily, “Fine. We’ll do this long distance then. Pull up a chair for me to sit in. I’d be lying if I pretended to know how this one will turn out.” Her escort nodded and within seconds had found the comfiest chair in the house and bought it to Jean. With a smile he said, “I didn’t want you to sit in one of these cold steel infirmary chairs.” As Jean sat back in the chair she asked, “So who usually sits in this thing?” “Black Panther. The thing was built with royalty in mind so I’m sure you’ll find it suitable.” Jean eased back in the seat and said, “You need to tell Black Panther when he gets better that I so need one of these!” Pietro smiled, “I’ll make sure to put a sticky note on his head.” Phoenix laughed and then gave Pietro a reminder; “Don’t make any physical contact with me once I go into this trance. If you do you could risk killing me and Quoi.” The Avenger nodded in understanding and Phoenix slipped into the mind of Quoi. Once again, Pietro watched Jean with caution and interest. A few minutes of observation had passed and Quicksilver began to assume that all was well with Jean. So he was almost about to zip off to the kitchen to grab a Sprite when he saw Jean slightly twitch. That twitching quickly turned to violent convulsions and pink telekinetic energy surrounded Jean’s body. The room began to shake and medical instruments were falling off their cabinets. Pietro remembered Jean’s warning and had to fight the urge to reach out to her. All he could do was watch helplessly as Jean raged against whatever was going on in Quoi’s mind. Then just as suddenly as the maelstrom began it ended. Jean awoke and leaned forward, putting her head in both of her hands. Sweat coated her face as she looked up to Pietro and said, “I have never in all my experience made contact with a mind like your friends.” “Were you able to help him? “Unfortunately, no. I can say without any doubt that no telepath can ever hurt nor help Sequoia. Whatever madness is plaguing him, he’ll have to fight it on his own,” Jean replied. “Why? What’s wrong with him?” Pietro asked. “His mind is infinite. Imagine the normal mind as a house with a certain amount of rooms and for me to access your mind I have to open the doors to all those rooms. With Sequoia that’s impossible. For every one door I opened his mind made 100 more,” Jean explained. Hurriedly Pietro replied, “Then I shall suggest to Captain America that he be sent back out to space.” “What?!! You can’t do that! If he stands any chance of recovery he needs to be around people he recognizes and knows,” Jean implored. Pietro folded his arms across his chest and wrinkled up his nose, “He is a danger to everyone here! I don’t want him around causing anyone harm.” Rising out of her chair, Phoenix met Quicksilver’s gaze head on, “He needs your aid. Not your scorn Pietro. Have some decency and if I’m right it wasn’t all that long ago that you were in the same predicament as him.” Being reminded of his own bout of insanity stung Pietro, so he said with all the more resolve, “He has destroyed billions of lives. A murderer like him isn’t worth keeping in this mansion.” “No wonder all the women in your life leave you. You’re as cold hearted as your father,” Jean insulted as she turned from Magneto’s son and she was about to walk out of the room angry until she remembered that she had one last person left to look into. With a complete tone of disgust Jean said, “Take me to your sister.” Pietro wasn’t quite sure what about his logic had set Phoenix off, but he honestly didn’t care. Quoi needed to be sent away and he would tell Captain America so ASAP. Until then thoug,h he wouldn’t waste his breath on Grey. So he quickly zipped over to his sister’s bed and waited for Jean to arrive. Arriving a minute or so later Jean looked down to Wanda and said, “Remember what I told you. No interfering of any kind. I know you’re impulsive and this is your sister, but I’m already at the point where I want to send you across the Atlantic. Don’t make me have to actually do it.” The Avenger remained silent as Jean touched Wanda’s forehead and was once again locked into her telepathic trance.
She-Hulk ducked Andromeda’s punch and tackled her at the mid-section. The two women tumbled to the ground. Jennifer kept her tight grip on the Atlantean and lifted her up into the air. Andromeda wiggled in her teammate’s grasp, but quickly delivered two hammering blows to Jennifer’s shoulders. She had fortunately hit with enough force to cause She-Hulk to loosen her grip. Andromeda planted her feet in Jennifer’s stomach and pushed backward. As she flew from She-Hulk’s arms, she did a back flip and landed on her feet gracefully. “So don’t we have guests today?” Andromeda asked as she ran towards She-Hulk, leaping into the air, and releasing out a kick that was meant to hit Jennifer’s jaw. The green woman caught Andromeda’s foot and flung her across the training room. “Yea, Jean Grey. World’s best telepath at the moment,” She-Hulk answered as Andromeda bounced off the metal wall she was meant to make a nasty impact with. Unfortunately, that didn’t work out and the woman had landed easily on her feet. “Telepaths are dangerous people,” Andromeda said as she charged forward and smacked Jennifer across the face with her trident and then spun her weapon around to take She-Hulk’s feet out from under her. Walters smacked into the ground and Andromeda was on top of her with her trident pressed up against She-Hulk’s throat. Since She-Hulk was unable to speak Andromeda made another comment. “I would say that the whole lot of them should be depowered, but only because Atlantis lacks in telepaths.” She-Hulk sent her knee into the woman’s back as hard as she could and sent Andromeda flying into the nearest wall without her trident. Jennifer quickly rose to her feet and discarded the trident to another end of the training arena. Grasping at her throat Jennifer said, “Oh c’mon telepaths aren’t the evil of the world. We all have powers and they can be abused. No one group should be held more accountable than another.” Andromeda rose to her feet, “So you say, but how many times must a telepath possess a world leader or enslave a team of heroes before the point finally is driven home. Telepathy is quite simply one of the most dangerous abilities on this planet.”
Jack Hart looked across the wreckage of Tokyo and felt he was getting an infinitesimal sampling of the suffering his people were experiencing. He had heard the details from Sersi and knew that his people had been the transgressors. All the same, Ultron, Kang, and Red Skull all fell under the same category. Did they deserve no less a cruel fate than the Contraxians? The Contraxian/human hybrid was walking alongside Shiro Yashida, Japan’s national hero. Jack felt like had had to come here to Japan and be with Shiro. If there was anybody who could understand Jacks’ frustration at the moment, it was Sunfire. Walking in the most devastated areas of the city had become a routine for Yashida, following the days after the attack. He preferred to make his walks alone, but Jack could be quite the persistent fellow. In truth, Shiro appreciated Jack more than he ever had for staying in Japan. He was grateful to Crystal’s efforts as well, but she wasn’t far from home. It was easier for her to be here. Jack was far from one home and the other was in ruins. If anyone had an excuse for not being here it was him. Yet, he was one of the few that was. As they walked through the streets the two Avengers spotted two little girls playing with broken dolls in a burnt out car. Their hair was matted down and their faces coated with soot. They seemed completely oblivious to the world as they entrapped themselves in a game of “house”. Shiro walked towards the car, but as soon as the girls noticed him they screamed and ran as fast as they could down the nearest alley. They left behind their dolls. “Maybe you should have worn your containment suit,” Jack-of-Hearts said. Shiro shook his head fiercely, “No. There is no telling what kind of booby traps Red Skull and Professor Power have left behind. I need to be on guard at all times.” Jack smiled and compliments Shiro by saying, “Well, you are this country’s Captain America after all, so I can understand that.” “Please don’t say that,” Shiro replied sternly. The Avenger looked at his teammate with an expression that was half-confusion and half-shock. Jack just couldn’t fathom why Shiro was so taken aback and asked, “What’s with the snappiness?” “Captain America is not so greatly loved here as he might be in other parts of the world. He is a great hero to be sure, but he was once one of my country’s greatest opponents. The scars of war and defeat never entirely heal,” Sunfire explained as he began to walk down the alley in search of the two young girls. He hated that he had frightened them and wanted to let them know he meant them no harm. Jack nodded in understanding and followed Shiro. He asked Sunfire another question, “So how do you feel about Cap personally?” The question made Shiro shiver. He looked back at Jack with troubled eyes and said, “He is an honorable hero to be sure. Yet, every time I look at him I am painfully reminded of my people’s shame.” At that moment the two found themselves in more emotional sync than they had been since they both found themselves on The Avengers. They were heroes amongst their respective people, but their people had not always been seen in such a positive light. “My people are not villains. They made a mistake by allying themselves with the wrong person, but they should not be condemned as a whole. I feel the same way you do every time I look at Quoi.” Sunfire looked up into the sky and then back down to the ground as he thought of something to say. When it finally came to him he said, “Then let us not worry about our people’s pasts and make sure that better futures are forged for them.”
Jean Grey found herself smack dab in the middle of a very devastated New York City. Cars were strewn about and most of them were on fire. The ones that weren’t were flattened. Looking up into the sky there were cars balancing delicately from the windows of broken skyscrapers. The air was bogged down with the smell of smoke, gasoline, and burnt flesh. With each step that she took Jean heard a crying off in the distance. Something was very wrong in the mind of Wanda Maximoff and Phoenix intended to track down Scarlet Witch to ascertain the problem. Wanda’s mind was clearly here. Jean could feel that much, so Pietro’s worries about any sort of mystical entrapment were without merit. Lifting herself into the air Jean looked across the city to see of any apparent signs of Wanda. It was then that she heard the cry again and turned her attention to the Brooklyn Bridge. Bursts of blue, green, and red energies were seen by the telepath and she quickly zipped her way over there. The firebird surrounded her body as she flew. Jean floated above the bridge and watched the two forces march towards each other. She was floating only a few feet above the opposing forces, yet they seemed completely oblivious to her. Leading both forces were different versions of Scarlet Witch. The Wanda to the left of Phoenix’s bird’s eye of view was the Wanda she was familiar with. Behind her were Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Quicksilver. The Wanda to the right of Jean was garbed entirely in black. Her hair was straight and hung to her lower back. Behind her was Magneto, an elderly woman, Quicksilver in his green outfit, and Vision. Each version of Wanda looked fiercely determined as they marched towards each other. A battle was about to be joined and Jean wasn’t quite sure what she could do. Interfering in the fight was not a sound idea, but she needed to know just what was going on. At that point, Phoenix heard a violent screech above her. Looking upward, Jean saw large dragons of black and red entrapped in conflict. As they hacked and slashed at each other their scales and blood rained down. Calling upon the power of the Phoenix, Jean deflected any stray items that might have been looking to hit her. “Why are you here?” Jean quickly turned around and saw the High Evolutionary floating in front of her. Preparing herself for a fight she replied, “I am trying to help here. Just what is going on here?” High Evolutionary shrugged. “A war. A merging. Something in-between. I haven’t quite figured it our yet, but we must observe. The crystal will grow angry if we interfere.” “What crystal?” Jean asked and the psychic manifestation pointed upward. Following the direction of the finger Jean saw a very familiar item in all its glory. The M’Kraan Crystal! Why the hell is it manifested here? Something is not right, Jean thought as she urgently flew towards the item. As she grew closer to it, the glow of the universally powered jewel began to blind her. Stopping within feet of the jewel she asked, “Why are you here? What do you want with Wanda?” “I AM HERE TO ANSWER WISHES AND RESTORE CONFIDENCE.” Jean continued to press on with her questions. “What wishes?” “YOU ARE AN INTERLOPER. YOU MUST BE EXPELLED!” the crystal roared as it began to vibrate violently. Light lashed out from the jewel and stuck jean I the chest like heavy brick. Phoenix let out a cry of pain and was sent spiraling into the air. She wasn’t the world’s most powerful telepath for nothing though and she was able to steady herself. Jean’s instinct was to respond with an attack in kind, but she held back. “You do her harm by remaining here!” Jean exclaimed. “Her body is weak!” “YOU KNOW LITTLE WOMAN! LEAVE HERE!” Another wave of psychic energy tore through the air and struck Jean head on. The blast threw her out of Wanda’s mind and into the arms of Pietro. “What did you see?” Quicksilver asked anxiously as he caught Jean. Jean grabbed her head, “A lot. Need time to think.” It was then that an emergency alarm began to blare throughout the room. Pietro helped Jean to her feet and said, “Guess we’ve got a situation to deal with.” “It would seem that way,” Jean said using her telekinesis as earmuffs to cut off the sound.
This was Alberto Ruiz’s first Friends of humanity rally. For the past few years he had admired the group and their goals, but was too young to participate. His father was a stinkin mutie lover, even after the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants had attacked his high school. Now that he graduated and was away from home he could do as he pleased. What he was doing at the moment was listening to Dr. Easley Withersby. He was a senior member of the Friends of Humanity and well respected college professor. He was no afraid to stand up to the filthy mutants and their diseased powers. The white-haired professor was shaking an elderly fist in the air as he proclaimed, “Mutants are desecrating this entire planet! They’re a worse plague than any that has ever come to this planet!" A resounding cheer went up from the crowd of about seven hundred. Alberto had found his cause. Helping to combat the threat of mutants was what he was called to do. The filthy animals deserved every ounce of hate that the young man could muster. The professor continued his chorus of hate by saying, “I would rather die before I share my beloved planet with these utterly irresponsible creatures!” A resounding cheer of agreement went up form the anti-mutant crowd. After the roar died down everyone began to notice the abundance of tiny blue bubbles that was interspersed among them. The bubbles had a slight glow to them and one was about to touch a bubble. Then disaster struck. One by one the bubbles began to explode and unleashed concussive energy. People were flung and tossed in every direction. Alberto avoided the chaos by immediately throwing himself on the ground. He felt like he was back at his high school all over again. People were screaming and he was terrified. The friend of humanity had been his last hope to rid himself of that terror. They had already failed him and he wasn’t even an official member of the organization. “You should have let me put acid in those.” Alberto looked up and to his left to see a bubble gum chewing female who looked like she could have walked right out of Beverly Hills. She was wearing blue-tinted sunglasses, a baby blue, tight-fitting sleeveless fleece jacket and shorts that barely touched her upper thigh. The woman had a tan to die for and in any other situation Alberto would be trying to get her phone number. “Bubbles, you always insist on taking the fun out of these events.” The source of that comment was a tall man cloaked in black. His pale, thin face and piercing green eyes were barely visible under the thick hood. Alberto could only imagine how the Florida heat was bearing down on that man. Yet, there wasn’t a single hint of sweat or perspiration anywhere on the man’s body. He walked liked a man who greatly believed in his own self-importance and dared anyone to call him a lesser man. The young man was sure that he was the leader of these murderous freaks. Another woman walked up beside the haughty man. She was wearing a V-cut, sleeveless blue shirt that clung to her voluptuous form like a scared child to his parent. In the space between her breasts there was a glowing white jewel. White wristbands with blue diamonds in the center helped to accentuate her outfit. Unlike the other woman this one seemed to be more muscular and had wild raven hair. She resembled a modern day Amazon. “I have to agree with her. These slabs of meat don’t deserve our mercy. The stench of them sickens me.” The man in black, even as people ran around screaming and terrified, smiled. “Any other day I would agree with the two of you, but we don’t want to piss off our guests before they arrive.” “Too late for that!” With a wicked smile born of deception the devilish leader looked behind him and saw whom he had been waiting for. Captain America and his Avengers. The esteemed heroes his team would destroy. Then the man caught hold of a sight that made his smile vanish. Two X-Men were mingled in with the Avengers. Quicksilver was at the fore of the group and pointed at the black-cloaked man. Angrily he said, “My sister told me about you! You’re Ramses Xavier!” Jean and Scott both tightened up at that name. Ramses Xavier was the cause of Longshot’s insanity and by default the reason Psylocke was gravely injured. The couple was fiercely protective of their friends and Ramses had been the cause of multiple injuries, physical and mental, to many of their friends. Neither had any idea that this day would lead them to this man, but they wouldn’t pass up the opportunity for justice. Ramses bowed deeply before the battle ready team. As he rose he said, “I am indeed Ramses Xavier. A pleasure to meet all of you at last. I had hoped to see some familiar faces, but new company is never something I am against having.” She-Hulk stepped forward and pounded a fist into an open palm. Her face was a snarl of anger as she said, “Just three of them. We can beat these clowns easy and get home in time for dinner.” <Don’t underestimate them! Ramses is a high level telepath and has telekinetic abilities to rival my own. Not to mention he’s hiding something. He’s just too smug.> Alberto Ruiz saw what that something was before any of the Avengers did. Off in the distance he could see a swarm of people who to his utmost horror looked like they had crawled out of a George Romero film. There had to be at least a hundred of them all walking with disfigured bodies and oozing mouths. The young man would have screamed, but it died in his throat before he had a chance to voice. At the lead of the horrific crowd was an emaciated man with ashen skin, sunken black eyes, and cracks all along his flesh as if he was a dried mummy. A dusty brown toga was wrapped around his body as he led the masses like some undead messiah. Ramses laughed as expression of shock spread across the Avenger’s faces. “Where are my manners? I should have introduced to you my fellow Lords of Humanity. Behind me are the two lovely ladies Bubbles and Gemstone. At the fore of that terrifying collection of middle class America is Tombmaker. And of course I can’t forget the last two of my pack…” A bolt of lightning struck down in front of Ramses and out of the smoke of the blast came forth a tiny, blonde-haired preteen holding the hand of a middle-aged Mexican man wearing a dusty suede trench coat and smoking on a cigar. “Arcadia and Timeline.” Andromeda snickered at the group that Ramses had presented. “You call yourselves Lords of Humanity? You are barely fit to be lords over plankton!” Xavier smiled at the feistiness of the Atlantean royal. “Let our actions speak for us Andromeda!” Captain America gripped his shield tightly and proudly proclaimed, “If it’s action you want…AVENGERS ASSEMBLE!!!” That wasn’t a battle cry that Phoenix and Cyclops usually responded to, but they felt Cap’s energy flow through them as he said it. The patriot had a way with words that felt inspiring over commanding. If faith could move mountains then Captain America’s voice could part seas. Cyclops admired that talent and hoped to one day imitate it X-51 registered the spike in heart rate and adrenaline from all of his allies. Captain America’s simple words had proven to be effective. While X-51 was now capable of feeling emotion, he still didn’t understand how to exactly interpret it. Tyrant had neglected to instruct him in the use of his Celestial technology. Yet, having to learn about himself was the most human thing X-51 had done in all of his brief existence. Energy flared around Phoenix’s body and she began to rise into the air. Pink telekinetic power flickered around her body like flames and there was no doubt who her opponent would be. Ramses’ body began to emanate dark violet energy to match Jean’s. As he began to rise into the air he said, “Spare me the trouble and surrender now. I don’t want to harm you in front of your hubby dear.” Jean smiled. “I would have too many friends giving me hell for not beating you into submission.” The two psis could feel each other’s power and though both were loath to admit it, they knew their coming struggle would not be an easily won one. Ramses had trampled many versions of this woman across the Multiverse, but he had always had an army behind him for support. It had been quite some time since had had to depend on his powers alone. His only advantage in this fight was his ruthlessness. That could very well be his only saving grace in this conflict. Truthfully, Jean had no idea just how powerful she was in comparison to Ramses. This entire battle would have to be played by ear, but Jean had encountered her fair share of psis. That experience would be put to the test here today. She was trying to read even the slightest thought from him, but they psi-barriers wouldn’t budge. Ramses was blocking her out totally. One side of Xavier’s face twisted into a grin. “Do you want to give up yet or do you feel the need to continue this pointless exercise?” “Getting to humiliate an overbearing ass is never pointless.” Ramses’ stare narrowed. “Be careful with your words girl. My hand just might not be so merciful to you.” It was Jean’s turn to smile. “My power has been feared for millennia. Planets and civilizations have trembled in fear of it. Your mercy is the last thing on my mind.” “Then it shall not be on mine,” Ramses said as he created a telekinetic field around Phoenix and began to implode it. Sweat was dripping down his face as he struggled against Jean’s telekinesis.
Cyclops didn’t have to time to worry about his wife as he was batting away blasts from the jewels of Gemstone’s body. She was aiming at civilians and Scott was doing everything he could to take care of her blasts. Unfortunately, she could fire off four shots while he was only limited to one. And that disadvantage was going to eventually get someone hurt. Alberto Ruiz quickly found himself in the line of sight of a green blast of energy. He covered himself with his arms and blocked his face. Death was coming for him and just like his brother it would be at the hands of a freak. The blast never came and when Alberto finally unshielded his face he found himself in the arms of Quicksilver. “Saving a bigot is so unbecoming of me,” Pietro said as he placed Alberto a mile away from the battlefield. The young man wasn’t even able to utter a single syllable of a rebuttal before Pietro was long gone. “Thanks for the assist,” Cyclops said as Pietro peeled around a street corner and stood beside the X-Men leader. “Let’s just remind this woman why the Avengers are not to be reckoned with.” Gemstone laughed. “You Avengers do no one any justice. Where were you when my brother was killed for simply being a mutant?” That memory was clearer than any other in the young woman’s mind. It was only weeks after the Pale Riders had wrecked Seattle. She had been living there with her younger brother for about a year. The two of them were at a bookstore when her brother’s powers manifested in the form of a mini sonic boom. The store was wrecked and a few people had some minor scrapes and bruises. Yet, whatever rage those people had still been feeling over the Pale Riders was unleashed upon her 15-year-old brother. They surrounded him and a demon born anger was in all of their eyes. She had tried to get through the mob to save him, but all she received for her efforts was a swift kick to the gut and a subsequent beating. By the time the police had arrived her brother had been bludgeoned to death. “Death with death isn’t the answer! Killing these people won’t bring your brother back!” Cyclops exclaimed. “Killing these people were never the intention! At least not yet! Ramses only wanted to draw you out.” The two were then battered with an array of energy blasts that came from her wrists and chest. Cyclops, well-trained in the martial arts, was able to dodge the blasts. Pietro’s natural abilities gave him more than enough chance to miss the blasts. Finally, getting tired with the whole affair, Pietro ran forward and punched the young woman in the face. She went flying back from the attack and slammed into a nearby car. Cyclops ran forward, grabbed Pietro’s shoulder roughly, and turned him around. “Was that really necessary? She wasn’t a threat needing that kind of force.” Pietro scowled at Summers. “You may feel the need to play nice with these terrorists, but I won’t Summers. I’ve fought too many of them and they don’t need our mercy!” Scott moved himself only inches away from Pietro’s face. “Believe me I’ve heard all about your time as Omega’s leader and how you managed to let so many die on your watch!” “Both of you pricks are annoying as hell!” Gemstone shouted as she knocked both men off their feet with blasts to the chest. She was favoring a leg and a very sore jaw as she moved towards the two men. When she got close enough to Pietro she kicked him in the side. “That’s for punching me bastard!” Cyclops looked up and shot a thin optic blast into Gemstone’s neck. The woman’s head craned back and she fell to the floor unconscious. Picking himself up he groaned from the attack and helped an aching Pietro to his feet. With a smile he said, “Maybe I underestimated her.” Quicksilver eyed Scott with disbelief. “Maybe?”
“We don’t have to do this,” Captain America said as he stood before Timeline. The Mexican man eyed Rogers suspiciously and said,” And just why is that?” “Because you were looking to only injure these people. Not kill. I could see that plain as day.” Timeline threw his head back in laughter. “Don’t think it’s because I didn’t want to, Captain America. People like those bastards killed my lil boy. They killed him because his Daddy was a freak! Believe me I want to kill every last one of them.” Steven sighed. “And just what will that resolve? Do you think your son is going to be proud watching his father slaughter people?” Timeline snarled and yelled, “What do you know about me or my son?!! You don’t know anything!” Suddenly, a shadow was cast upon Cap and he looked up for its source. A car was above Rogers and he narrowly dodged it. The vehicle crashed into the ground and glass went flying in every direction. Timeline saw Captain America rolling away from the impact and said, “That was only a test. I can drop a thousand cars on you if I want.” Captain America quickly rolled to his feet and said, “A guy who can drop cars from the sky. Just my luck.” “Not exactly. I can duplicate anything from my own personal timeline. Any car, person, animal, or item I’ve ever seen with my own eyes I can duplicate. Like a burning brush,” Timeline said as he created a ring of fiery brushes all around Captain America. Smoke began to fill Steve’s nostrils and he began to wheeze from the toxic air. Putting his shield over his face he ran through the flames relatively unscathed. As soon as he put his shield at his side a cougar pounced on him and wrestled him to the ground. With one hand he struggled to keep the deadly jaws of the animal away from him and with the other he was reaching for his shield. Timeline snickered and said, “I made sure to make plenty of visits to the zoo.” “You’re going to need more back up than that to keep Captain America down,” Cyclops said as he blasted Timeline in the back of the head. The mutant slammed into the ground unconscious. Cap finally got a hold of his shield and slammed into the side of the cougar’s face. The animal’s jaw was broken and Captain America quickly jumped to his feet, “I’m just glad he didn’t decide to call up an elephant.” Bubbles had learned one thing from the media. If somebody was green and strong, do anything you could to avoid him or her. Unfortunately, she was being targeted by She-Hulk so she was just going to have to keep out of arm’s length. The task wouldn’t be hard for her to accomplish considering her abilities. “As much as humans have persecuted your kin I would think you would hate them as much as me,” Bubbles said as a flurry of her trademarks surrounded the feet of She-Hulk. The attorney had to wade through the bubbles. She was moving ever closer to the Malibu diva when she said, “Foolish hate never solves anything. Now a good ass beating can work wonders.” Bubbles’ face twisted into a snarl and she snapped her fingers. The hundreds of heavy bubbles around Jennifer’s feet began to glow. She-Hulk knew what was about to happen as soon as she saw Bubbles waving at her. The spheres exploded and the concussive force was enough to send Jennifer hundreds of feet into the air. Bubbles watched with delight as the Avenger slammed into the ground headfirst. Now it’s time to seal the deal, Bubbles thought as she outstretched her arms and bubbles began to op up and grow info full size from her pores. The objects came at She-Hulk with break neck speed. She-Hulk was blanketed by bubbles till the point that her body was no longer visible. Bubbles turned her head as her weapons exploded and covered She-Hulk in acid. Jennifer was quickly awaken as searing pain surged through her body. The large amount of acid quickly ate away at her body and she let loose a blood curdling scream. “Monster!” Quicksilver said as he ran forward and punched Bubbles square in her nose. Bubbles went flying backwards and skidded along the sidewalk. Her vision was blurred and her entire body ached, but she was conscious. Slowly, she rose to her feet and took off her broken glasses. With a scowl that could scare Death, she said, “Oh you are so paying for my next facial!” “There won’t be much of a face left after I’m done!” With the speed of a runaway train Pietro ran forward with the intention of caving the woman’s face in. Instead, he slammed into a wall of bubbles and was cocooned by it. He began to punch and kick wildly at the wall fearing the same fate as She-Hulk. As the bubbles began to glow the Avengers faced his impending doom with just one emotion…rage! This skanky little girl had bested him when he had faced the likes of Onslaught, Bastion, and the Crimson Pirates. The idea of it made him sick. Then a heavenly red light cut through the bubbles and Pietro was free of his prison. Cyclops was smiling smugly at the speedster. Pietro ignored it and looked for Bubbles, but found she had already met Captain America’s shield. “You shouldn’t have been so careless Quicksilver. You could have gotten yourself hurt!” Captain America said as he picked up his shield. Quicksilver protested. “She attacked She-Hulk ruthlessly! She needed to be put down immediately.” “Jennifer will heal from her wounds. Don’t forget whose blood is in her veins. You, on the other hand, don’t possess such traits,” Captain America replied. Pietro huffed. “Fine. But this battle is far from over.”
Andromeda is surrounded on all sides by the suddenly zombified people of the tourist town. She sees elderly, women, and children mixed into the bunch, but they’ve all been transformed by Tombmaker’s touch into monstrosities. Nonetheless, she could not bring herself to do them any grievous harm. Especially, if there was a way to reserve what had been done to them. So with the blunt end of her trident she began to knock back the monsters until she had created enough of a gap for her to charge Tombmaker directly. “Come child and feel the embrace of Tombmaker,” the ashen man said as he spread his arms open like Andromeda was a loved one. The Atlantean would teach him the error of that. When she was within feet of Tombmaker she flipped her trident and was prepared to send three metal prongs into his chest. Before that action could happen a zombie dog came from around a corner and snatched Andromeda’s triton from her. The sudden appearance of the canine threw off her balance and sent her into the arms of Tombmaker. He quickly wrapped his arms around her and whispered. “Welcome to my family.” She began to lose all feeling and her vision faded away. Her throat felt like it hadn’t seen water in weeks and her insides were crunching and twisting. Yet, she felt absolutely no pain and then she felt nothing at all. “Stay still you big toy!” Arcadia yelled as she created fire arrows to reign down on X-51 from the sky. He was moving with speed greater than she had anticipated and was causing her a good amount of aggravation. With the failure of her arrows she created an explosion at X-51’s feet and to her surprise he was still standing. She huffed and clapped her hands creating a sound wave that knocked the robot to his feet. He quickly jumped up and shot a tiny dart at the young girl. Arcadia ducked and changed the dart into a black bat. Pointing at X-51 she said, “ Get it!” The bat charged at X-51, but a simple laser beam from his index finger was enough to incinerate the creature. At this point, Arcadia’s face was flushed red. A flash of realization made her understand what the crux of her problem was. “You’re just like Pinocchio. Time to make you a real boy,” Arcadia said and with a blink of her eye the transformation had been completed. Looking down in wonderment X-51 saw that his hands were flesh. He saw with inadequate human eyes, felt blood flowing through his veins. Breathed in oxygen. Then all too suddenly that brief moment of humanity was gone. Looking with eyes that were once again forged from Celestial technology, he saw that Cyclops had taken down the girl with a non-lethal optic blast. “Guess her hold on you wasn’t permanent,” Cyclops said as he hefted the girl onto his shoulders. X-51 nodded. ::Yes it would seem that way:: “I suggest we see what we can do about this zombie situation,” Cyclops said as he turned away from X-51 and made his way to the swarm of zombies making their way towards a still healing She-Hulk. Never once did he think to look back and see if X-51 was following him. Jean Grey bit back exhaustion and yelled. “Yield!” “Never!” Telekinetic energy raged around the two combatants, but neither was gaining an inch over the other amidst the swarm of power. Both of them were pushing themselves to the limit, but unfortunately for Ramses his opponent had one last reserve of power. Living fire began to emanate itself from Phoenix and her voice took on a seemingly different form. “You have forced me to take this route Ramses. Now suffer!” The flames flared outward from Grey and consumed Ramses. His mind and soul were lit afire by the power and he let out one last scream as he began to tumble through the air. Before he could reach the ground he was caught by X-51, but before the android could return the ground Ramses had disappeared from his arms. Looking across the battlefield Jean saw that all of the other members of The Lords of Humanity were fading away as well and those people who had been zombified were returned to normal. When she landed on the ground she said, “I’m guessing Ramses was prepared in case he was defeated.” Captain America nodded. “I’m glad you and your husband were here today. I have a feeling things might have been much worse with you.” Jean smiled. “Ramses was cocky. Guess he wasn’t expecting to fight a psi of his caliber. We were glad to help.” “It has been my pleasure to speak with you here today. Remember that the future is what you make it and I have faith you all will make it one worth living in,” Nicole said as she stepped away from the podium and moved off to the side of the stage where an elderly black man with ghost white hair was waiting with a grin. “That was spectacular Ms. Ridley! I think you really did get through to them,” the old man said shaking Binary’s hand fiercely. “I was glad to help. I would love to be apart of some other activities down the line to assist kids like those out there.” The old man nodded solemnly and said, “Well, actually I’ve been asked to give you a proposal which will allow you to do that and more.” Binary laughed with excitement. “Come on then! I want to hear it!” “How would you feel about being the NAACP’s sponsored superhero?” Later on that night… Jean sipped at her tea and looked out the window to see which constellation she could spot. Scott came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her and said, “What’s wrong? You’ve been quiet ever since we got back from Florida.” “There is something very wrong going on with Wanda Maximoff.” “Well, why didn’t you mention that to Captain America? I think he would have appreciated knowing that.” Jean shook her head. “No, that would just make the situation worse. I don’t even know what’s wrong honestly. I’m just running off a feeling Scott and then there’s Quoi. That poor being is suffering Scott.” Scott hugged Jean a little tighter. “There’s something else isn’t there? You wouldn’t get this worked up for nothing.” Sighing she said, “I feel some connection to Quoi. He was forced to make a terrible choice like I’ve had to do so many times in my life.” Cyclops could see that Jean didn’t want to give any specifics so he wasn’t going to make an issue out of it. They were home and that’s all that mattered. So tenderly he said, “Everything’s going to be alright Jean. It always works out in the end.” Jean laid the back of her head on her husband’s chest and said, “For all our sakes I hope you’re right Scott.”
Author’s Notes Yes, this took an immensely long time and I’m sorry for that. The issue just kept growing and growing so I had to nip it in the bud eventually to save myself from writing a 30 page story. Though I was only five pages away from that, but hey I still stopped myself. Anyway next issue won’t take near as long to come out. At least I hope so. Now just let me go find some wood to knock on. -Brent Lambert
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