X-Men Omega Headquarters - Australian Outback

{{"All X-Men report to the briefing room!"}} Quicksilver's voice blares from all angles of the technological bunker.

Quicksilver crosses his arms and taps his foot impatiently as the X-Men enter the briefing room one by one, some having just put on their uniforms. "Where are Sabretooth and Pyro?" Quicksilver asks.

"I think I saw them outside," Blink says.

Without flinching and without warning, Quicksilver disappears in a cloud of dust - returning an instant later. Quicksilver has an annoyed look in his eyes. "They're coming."

Pyro and Sabretooth sprint into the room, panting. Pyro is coughing, hauking up some phlegm. "S-slow down.....mate...."

"You need to quit the smokes, Pyro. If you're going to be on the X-Men, you have to be healthy. What if we're on some mission and you fall behind because your air sacks are clogged full of tar?"

"Quit yer whinnin'...bollocks...," Pyro mutters under his breath.

"The hell's the rush for, Maximoff?" Sabretooth growls, crossing his hairy arms.

"This," Quicksilver says sternly while pressing a button on the computer console, activating the large monitor in front of the team. Quicksilver has seen the footage many times now, but watches it again just to show the X-Men how important it really is.

A scene of Gene Nation is shown throwing rocks and bottles at the Sydney policemen, recorded from earlier in the day.

"Well, at least they're humans," Joseph declares. Quicksilver looks at him objectively. "Gene Nation. They're humans."

"Joseph's right," Psylocke agrees. "This is a good thing. Well, except for all the mosh pit violence."

"Ah don't know, Psylocke," Rogue says, still watching the footage. By now, the gale force winds that erupted have knocked over the camera, causing the footage to become staticy, then blank. "Some of 'em are human--"

"--But they have mutants on the reserves," Quicksilver finishes. "We have to keep an eye on Gene Nation now. So far, they've cooperated. They're all currently spending one night in jail. But we can't be too sure."

"These guys aren't criminals, Quicksilver," Archangel says remindingly. "They're just people voicing themselves. They have rights."

Blink squints at the monitor, which has begun replaying the footage. "There...," she says faintly.

"What?" Pyro, the one close enough to hear her, asks.

"I see someone, in the background. He's got blue hair and a white robe," Blink speaks, loud enough for everyone to hear. "But he's only shown for a brief period. That's when the footage goes blank."

Quicksilver presses a button and replays the video at half-speed. He peers at the monitor and confirms it with a nod, "You're right. Computer, zoom in on coordinates 3-4."

A redlined box appears around the blue-haired man, instantly maximizing on the screen. "Enhance," Quicksilver commands, staring at the blurry image. The pixelized image seems to melt away, each sweep producing a clearer image. Finally, the image is enhanced to its capability, revealing a man in about his late-twenties.

"Kinda cute," Blink says with a smile. Joseph gets a jealous look on his face.

"Any takers on who he is?" Archangel asks.

"Well, anyone know what his powers are?" Sabretooth asks apathetically. "No? Okay, he's got wind-powers." He looks at Quicksilver, rolling his eyes. He speaks in a childish tone, "And you said I couldn't cut it."

Pyro slaps Sabretooth on the back, chuckling, "Good one, mate."

Sabretooth cocks an eyebrow, flashing his teeth, "Don't call me mate, Aussie."

"Don't call me Aussie...um...nevermind."

Rogue slaps her fist into her palm, "If only Ah could fix Cerebro, we coulda anticipated this."

"There's no way we could have known there would be an outbreak of violence. After all, there are mostly regular humans belonging to this organization." Psylocke begins.

"No," Quicksilver says immediately. "We all know that can't be true. With power comes an ego. With ego comes..."

"Aggressive behavior," Rogue finishes. Quicksilver meets eyes with the southern belle. Rogue smiles slightly. The other X-Men, especially Joseph, try to seem like they aren't staring at their two teammates.

Quicksilver snaps out of it and relaxes his tensed muscles. He looks towards the floor and says, "We'll keep alert and see if anything with Gene Nation develops. In the meantime, I want you all doing your jobs. Rogue, continue working on Cerebro. Blink, Pyro, Psylocke, Sabretooth, I want you to practice a ground assault. Joseph and Archangel, I want you to practice an arial rescue."

"What are you going to be doing, fearless leader?" Sabretooth cackles.

"Reading up on how to paper-train you. Now get to it, Creed," Quicksilver orders.

Three days later. Sydney, Australia.

*CRASH*

The pharmacy owner is thrown through the glass of his store's entrance. He groans as blood dribbles from his face and forearms. The violator kicks him in the stomach. "How does 'at feel, mate?!" he yells.

"Kick tha' bastard again!" another woman yells. She stands behind a tan-skinned man with red eyes. The woman is dressed in a haulter with leather pants.

The owner, shards of glass protruding from his forehead, looks up helplessly. "What the 'ell are you talkin' about...?"

The man with the shaved head grins wildly. "You bloody bastard. You don' even 'member, do ya?"

"William Marsters. Ring a bell?" another man with red eyes asks.

The shop owner gets a confused look on his face. "I...I uh, he tried to get a job here, an--"

"And what happened?" the woman asks. "You denied him the job! Why?"

"I...I don't know....," the shop owner whimpers.

"Was it because William had green skin? Huh?!" the ringleader of this small mob asks. He kicks the owner in the stomach again. "TALK!"

The owner cradles himself, coughing up blood. "AHRGH! You bloody Nazis...!"

"Ag, no one likes a hypocrite, there, mate," the woman says, her bulk increasing before the shop owner's eyes. "You turned away a mutant for a job...tha's not going to be a good thing, mate."

"Yer gonna burn," the man with red eyes says as his hands begin to secrete acid. "And yer gonna scream."

"Bloody..." the owner shudders. "You're a friggin' mutie."

The skinhead laughs, "I was waiting for you to say that..."

The Base

{{"...was beaten to death this afternoon outside his drug store that was in his family for generations. Hugh Jackson is survived by his wife and newborn daughter."}}

"God," Quicksilver mutters.

"Ah know," Rogue says with her arms folded. She has her sleeves of her gray shirt rolled up and a screwdriver in her hand. She rubs her nose. "Ah think it works now."

Quicksilver turns his head. "What works?"

"Cerebro."

"Well, turn it on, see if it--"

Rogue presses a few buttons, activating the Cerebro program. The monitor blinks, causing the news broadcast to appear as a picture-in-picture box at the bottom corner of the screen. The rest of the monitor displays a list of options. "Cerebro, scan Australia for mutant genes," Rogue commands.

The "Mutant Locator" option highlights, then opens a new blank window.

{{Scanning...}} the computerized voice informs.

Rogue smiles to herself for the self-accomplishment. "That wasn't so hard."

Quicksilver crosses his arms, looking at the screen. Rogue looks at him with longing eyes. "Pietro, I..."

"Gene Nation."

"What?"

"They did this. They had to. They beat a drug store owner to death for not hiring a mutant."

"Ah know, but we cain't be runnin' around playin' Joe McCarthy. Gene Nation ain't all made o' mutants. There are normal people among them. And there are plenty o' mutants around the world. Don't mean they're part of some pro-mutant cult--"

{{Scan complete.}}

Quicksilver's arms slip down to his waist. His brow forms a stern glare. The monitor is displaying a map of Australia, with red dots representing mutants. In the western portion of the continent, there is a solitary dot. On the eastern coast, there is a single location with many concentrated dots. There are other dots, but much too far and between to be considered a threat.

"Ah'm guessin' the one on the left is us...and the other one?"

"Someone's having a party, just north of Sydney."

"Gene Nation?"

"Unless they suddenly moved to Malaysia, yes." Quicksilver presses a large red button on the console. "X-Men, you know where to go!" he shouts into the intercom. He looks at Rogue. "We'll have an intimate dinner for two later."

Rogue blinks, smiling awkwardly. "Ah don't get you sometimes. Ah'll take you up on that."

Quicksilver smirks. "Good."

"Um, you forgot to take your finger off of the intercom button," Rogue observes, laughing a little.

Quicksilver yanks his hand away, clearing his throat. Pyro is the first to come into the briefing room. "Well ain't that grand, ey? Our leader's a natural smoothie."

A portal forms, pouring out Blink and Sabretooth. Psylocke and Archangel melt out of a shadow in the corner. Joseph hovers in through the doorway Pyro walked in a few seconds ago.

Blink giggles, "Rogue and Pietro sittin' in a tree--"

Quicksilver zips in front of Blink, startling her. "Enough."

"...sorry," Blink says meekly.

Quicksilver turns back to his team. "Alright, I think you can see by the map we have laid out that there is some hefty mutant activity in the Sydney metro area. And it's all in one place. Seeing as how Gene Nation has a mutant ringleader of some sort, and that a store owner was beaten to death for not hiring a mutant, this little gathering of mutants must be some kind of rally for their victory."

"More likely, they're hiding out," Pyro suggests. The other X-Men suddenly focus their attention on him. "Y'see, after you commit a crime, you don't want to announce it to the world, so you hide..."

"Well...that's good to know," Archangel retorts. "We don't even need Gambit around. We got our criminal mind right here."

"Warren," Psylocke objects.

"It's alright, gel. I can't forget what I've done in the past for Mystique an' McCoy. Just helpin' out, is all," Pyro says as he lights a cig.

"What do you propose to do?" Joseph inquires.

"You," Quicksilver says, pointing to Joseph, "are staying here, providing recon. Sabretooth, Blink, Psylocke, you are going to infiltrate this rally. The rest of you will come with me as we try to discover if there are any other Gene Nation headquarters based on info Joseph gives us. Psylocke, unless Blink or Sabretooth are in trouble, you stick to the shadows and call us if you need backup."

{{"...Creed and Clarice are in the rally,"}} Joseph explains to Quicksilver via radio earpiece.

Quicksilver retreats to an alley within Sydney's urban area, his finger pressed towards his ear. "Alright, good. Is Besty with them?"

{{"Yes, she confirmed that to me telepathically a few minutes ago."}}

"Is this the base? On 16th and Moreels?" Quicksilver whispers. He glances towards the street, where Rogue, Archangel, and Pyro are trying to divert attention away from Pietro.

{{"Yes, it seems so. Based on the surveillance I hacked into, mutants frequented this place. Cerebro can't confirm any mutant subjects in there."}}

"Alright, good work, Joseph. We'll keep in touch."

{{"What if you need my help?"}}

"Hopefully, we won't. Sometimes the big gun needs to be put on reserve."

{{"Understood. Joseph out."}}

Pietro approaches the sidewalk and is met with questioning eyes.

"Well?" Rogue asks.

"This is the place," Pietro says, raising his brow towards the abandoned factory on the next block.

Pyro exhales smoke as he flicks the butt into a garbage container. He puts his hands into his leather jacket pockets. "Should we knock?"

"This looks weird," Blink says as she hides along with Sabretooth behind a support beam.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"This doesn't seem like a party for just having beaten a pharmacist to death."

Sabretooth puts his shackled hand on Blink's shoulder. "Stay here." He peers into the shadows. "You too, Psylocke."

No answer.

"Women," Sabretooth mutters. He approaches the corner of the support beam and looks into the crowd of mutants, Gene Nation members, circulating around the guy with blue hair and a white robe. The leader steps up to a small stage, behind a podium.

The leader adjusts the microphone, clearing his throat. "Check? Test. One, two. Check. Test. Alright, you're all probably wondering why we are gathered here, without our human brothers."

Blink looks up at Sabretooth, who is still fixated on the Gene Nation's leader. Sabretooth looks back and nods, signaling Blink to deactivate his shackles. As the metallic restraints shift to reveal his hands, Sabretooth extends his retractable adamantium fingernails. He growls, showing his teeth.

"Well?" Blink whispers.

"Quiet," Sabretooth whispers through clenched teeth. "Someone's coming..."

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

Quicksilver waits as a slot is slid open on the door of the old factory, revealing a set of eyes.

"What's the password?" the muffled voice asks.

"Let us in or Ah break down the door," Rogue says.

Wrinkles appear around the set of eyes as the man smiles. "You can't break down this door, love."

Pyro takes out his zippo, flicking the lighter. He controls the flame to shoot out a stream at the slot. The man falls backwards from the inside. Rogue takes the cue and kicks the door in.

Rogue stands in the now open doorway with anger in her eyes. She looks down at the guard.

"Oh, I'm sorry, mates. I didn't know ya were mutants. H-how stupid of me," he stutters.

Quicksilver steps in front of Rogue, glaring down at the man. "Get up."

The man does as he's told. Quicksilver notices he has a custom-made T-shirt with the words "Gene Nation" and an insignia on it. The insignia is the crucifix with two swords intersecting each other. One sword reads superior and the other reads sapiens.

"So, looking to join our cause, mate? Hey, ain't you an Avenger?" the man asks. "Bloody, we could sure use the publicity."

"I'm not here to support a group of hypocritical cultists," Quicksilver says. "Mutants belonging to your group killed a helpless man."

The man smiles, "At least Magneto's got the right idea."

Quicksilver feels a burning in his face. He grits his teeth. "What?"

"Mutant supremacy. 'At's the way to go!" the man yells with a zealous cheer.

Quicksilver grabs the man by his collar, shoving him into a wall. "How could you EVER support someone like him! You're a human! Magneto is a monster trying to oppress you!"

"Pietro," Rogue says, trying to calm her teammate.

Quicksilver's face turns red with anger when the man continues to laugh. "Are you listening to me, dammit?! Why are you supporting him!? WHY?!"

*ZING*

Quicksilver jerks his head to the side and sees a glowing feather sticking out of the wall, just inches from the Gene Nation member's head. Quicksilver turns to see Archangel with his wings manifested.

"Stop it, Quicksilver," Archangel says.

Pyro lights his zippo, forming flame lassos. "Yeah, bloody Jesus. Don't have an aneurysm."

Quicksilver turns back to face the man. Before Quicksilver slugs him, Rogue grabs his forearm.

"Please? Stop," Rogue pleads. Quicksilver relents and drops the man on the floor.

"Get the rest of your brothers and get the hell out!" Quicksilver barks.

The man laughs, wiping his mouth. "You really expect me to do what you say? Where's you badge, ey? Where's your sodding authority?!"

As the man walks backwards, he bumps into Pyro, whose eyes are glowing with flame. "Our authority, mate? Who gives a flying flog?! A man died for no bloody reason. It ain't right."

"Whatever, wanker." The man rolls his eyes, but his attitude is set straight as a wall of fire surrounds him. Pyro stands amidst the fiery storm casually. He's smiling wickedly.

"Don't mess with the X-Men, mate. We get cranky sometimes."

Sweat drips from the man's face. He breathes heavily. "A-alright. ALRIGHT!! I'll get us out of here!"

The flames suddenly extinguish themselves. "There, was that so hard?" Pyro asks. The man takes off running. "Pansy-boy."

Archangel crosses his arms, "Usually, we try to negotiate peacefully. Intimidation isn't our style, John."

"Worked, didn't it? Flogging tight wad," Pyro mutters.

"You uh...didn't let go of my arm," Quicksilver informs.

Rogue smiles, "Ah know."

The two X-Men lean in closer, but are interrupted by a sudden blur of crimson energy. Psylocke melts out of a shadow, appearing in-between Rogue and Quicksilver. She has to tuck and roll to stop her landing.

"Betsy?!" Quicksilver and Rogue shout in surprise.

"Betsy?" Archangel echoes. He rushes over to his girl, crouching beside Quicksilver.

"What's wrong?" Pyro slowly walks up to the group, peering over their shoulders.

Psylocke flicks her hair out of her eyes, panting. "Blink and Sabretooth are in trouble. Gene Nation discovered them. There's no telling what they will try to do to them!"

NEXT ISSUE: Two leaders butt heads as Nationalism concludes! 'Nuff said.