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#48 January 2010 |
MARVEL 2000 PRESENTS...
X-Men Unlimited #48
Featuring Soldier-X
Written by Frank Bigoski
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Soldier X |
The running young man’s fist extended toward the Filipina woman’s temple as he ran, his incredible meta-human strength being more then sufficient to remove her head from her shoulders. The distracted telepath would have suffered just such an injury if a voice in the back of her mind hadn’t called out in warning. ~”Hit the deck Maria, NOW!”~ The mysterious voice commanded. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agent followed the instruction immediately, narrowly avoiding the lariat like swing.
“Micah, get her!” The Nanny commanded with her voice amplified by her armor, firing off shots from the beams weapons in her armored forearms toward the remaining agents. The human members of the team were pinned down, unable to respond to the violent attack without risk of injury. That however was no worry for Kelly LeStraude. Having made her way back around her targets, as was a common tactic with their old unit, Kelly dug her heels in to the earth hard.
Swinging both her hands down in to the earth with superhuman force, Kelly sent a gigantic shockwave through the asphalt. The boy Micah was toppled just as his next swing toward the pinned down Maria would have connected, and the next stage of the attack was sprung. William went flying through the air like a rocket to collide with the falling boy, wrapping his arms tightly around him and continuing his flight well past the field of Kelly’s vision. Next their newest compatriot took her chance to strike, vaulting in to the air using a long staff as assistance; the former assassin extended a foot to greet the kidney of the Nanny. Hitting the target head on at her right side, Melisel’s blow sent the woman falling, distracting her temporarily from her mental defenses as well. That was enough to give Maria the opening she had needed before, and that voice from earlier again prodded her in her mind.
~”Careful Mari, you know not what she has in store inside her mind.”~ The voice warned, as Maria began her psychic attack. The first thing she had to do was make her way past the memory centers of the brain to reach the conscious center, and then it was simple. “Sleep,” the telepath ordered both aloud and in her mind, and the egg like armored figure soon fell to the earth, her mental control of her technological suit having completely ceased as she fell unconscious.
“Anybody get the license plate number of that bus?” Lance asked groggily as he began to fight his way through the rubble and to his feet. A low chuckle began from the three women who had cooperatively took the Nanny down, and soon became an uproarious laughter shared by the entire team, as the other human agents, and William with an unconscious Micah in tow returned.
“I sure don’t want to be the guy who has to write the damage report for this,” Lance said as he looked around. In response to that comment soon followed the words of Brian Harris, who was busy pulling the Orphan Maker’s unconscious form from his damaged armor.
“Not it!” He called, Erin O’Hare soon adding his own opt out to the mix with an, “Nor I.”
“Damn it,” Larry Tenku swore at the top of his lungs, having just got stuck with the paper work duties as one of the commanding agents for the exercise.
“Now let’s get these four in for medical attention, I’m rather sure the higher ups are going to want to question everyone. And we need to talk to Kev’ before he gets turned in,” William said, the first to mention the negative side of their victory.
“Will’s right people, let’s move.” Agent Harris said, as he pressed a button on his communications headset to contact the S.H.I.E.L.D. team waiting off shore with a prisoner transport vessel. “This is N.S.A. S.H.I.E.L.D. co-op taskforce X-2-3-2-1, requesting prisoner pick up and transport state side do you copy?”
“Roger that X2321, this is PT-109 dash 64, coming in for a landing on your position, what’s the count on prisoners?” The pilot of the vessel responded.
“That will be four captives PT-109-64, we’ve also got injured on the field, and possible dead, send medical evacuation teams in as soon as possible.” Tenku chimed in over his own communications headset.
“Roger that X2321, calling in for Medi-vac as we speak, so how’s the care package?” Another human agent asked, this one a much more familiar voice.
A collective smile passed over the gathered faces of the team as they heard their former teammate Daniel Papavich’s voice. “Kevin’s in one piece, and sleeping like a baby Agent Papavich, good to hear your voice.”
William responded over his own communications line, bringing a smile to the still injured man’s face as well. “Glad to hear it, and thanks, this is PT-109-64, signing out; see you on the ground people.”
As the ashes calmed
after the storm, a lighthearted mood seemed to creep in to the weary
bones of the Soldiers that gathered together on that fateful street in
Kelly LeStraude would be the first to answer, a wide grin crossing over her face. “Home, now that sounds nice, new wardrobes on will for everyone!” The girl joked, making the lighthearted feeling grow even stronger within all of the former agents, and their still currently Federal employed teammates. “I think I’m going to need one, I’m pretty sure fashion’s come a ways in the last few years.”
“You’ve got it Kells just get me home!” Will said with his own chortle of laughter following in short pursuit.
The S.H.I.E.L.D. Helecarrier, six months later:
The young mutant boy named Micah sat watching a figure in a black jump suit repeatedly piston his arms up and down, lifting his bodyweight from the ground, and lowering it back down. Soon the young man was on all fours, though why a child who was as strong as Micah would require mundane exercise like push ups was anyone’s guess. There, in the crouched position, Micah joined his former enemy in the repeated motion of the push up, down, up, down, then up again, for what seemed like hours to the boy. He had never known how entertaining it could be to simply try something new, as he realized now, a smile donning across his face. “Bet I can go longer then you can.”
Micah offered with a chortle of laughter to the former Soldier-X field leader whom he was “competing” with. Erin just began to chuckle himself, from what he’d seen of this boy in the past weeks he was adjusting well to life without the Nanny, who had unfortunately escaped along with Orphan Maker, while en route to the Vault. Having since been taken in to S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, the young man named Micah was put under strict house arrest aboard the Helecarrier, where Erin and some of the others would occasionally visit. The more they came around the more Micah seemed to come out of his shell, Erin pondered, and he wondered how he would have turned out if his parents had been murdered, and he had been kidnapped, by a lunatic like the Nanny.
“Bet you can’t do this!” Erin challenged back, raising in himself in to a hand stand, where he continued to piston his arms up and down in a push up motion.
“Bet I can!” Micah responded, and followed suit in an attempt, which sent him sprawling to his back on the floor. “Best two out of three?” The boy questioned with another laugh, which brought Erin tumbling down in a fit of laughter himself. He was going to miss the kid when he resigned from active S.H.I.E.L.D. duty next month, but hey, it was what it was.
Elsewhere, upstate New York, that same time:
William Bourne stood outside the gate of the Charles Francis Xavier School for the Gifted, with his head cocked to the left, one brow raised ponderingly. What would his life have turned out like if he had taken Xavier’s offer of Board and Education when he was 10 years old? Would he have ever met his new business partner, and romantic interest Melisel A. Black? What about his friendship with Mari’ and Lance? Would any of them have ever come in to contact, if even one of them had chosen a different path in life?
Director Denti had told him once that only the strong survive, but that strength wasn’t always about power, and arms. Sometimes strength was the bonds of friendship, or love, or even faith in one’s self. He had to believe that now, standing in front of these gates, and seeing his future more clearly then ever before.
He would introduce his father’s Corporation to the market publicly in two months time, taking the multi-billion dollar Nanotechnology development firm his father had devised global. The first step, was introducing Bourne Again International to the world through the press, and the second was using the media feed back to spread the word of equal living for Humans and Mutants that men like Xavier had fought for their whole lives. He was no celebrity like Warren Worthington, III, or any of the X-Men, but he was hoping that what they lacked in star power, he and his former teammates could introduce a bit more realism to the idea of human mutant relations, because half of his board of directors were normal humans. “We aren’t X-Men, or an X-Corp, Professor,” William said, as he leaned in to the gate for a few moments, before turning to fly away like a bolt of lightning through the sky. “But we’re mutants, fighting to make a better tomorrow in our own way, and I thought I’d come show my respects.” William said, smiling as an old speech played through his mind, “I have a dream…”
Elsewhere, yet again, this time, San Francisco, CA: Corporate H.Q. of Bourne Again Int., 2 Months later:
Melisel sat calmly behind her desk, with her hand clasped tightly in her lap, it was funny how a few years could change a person, she thought. Just a few years ago she was killing and living day by day in the name of the Rex Illuminous, leader of the Illuminati. But now, here she was, Chief Financial Officer of a multi-Billion dollar corporation which up until recently had only been known as a conglomerate of technology firms, many focusing on research in the medical field of nanotech. She was also ranked 15th in Time Magazine’s “Powerful Women to Watch” list, and currently dating that same magazine’s 10th ranked sexiest celebrity bachelor. Here she was, a literal diamond out of the rough, blazing a new path for herself for the first time in as long as she can remember, without following someone else’s commands.
“My life is my own, and if I can use it to help William with his dream, then that’s what I’ll do,” Melisel said, before standing up from her desk and brushing down the front of her business suit. It was off to the press conference.
Not so far away, the Napa Valley, CA:
Maria Villanueva was shaking in her proverbial boots, and her literal high heels just as much, as she considered the speech she was about to give. She, along with Will, Lance, Kelly, Erin, Melisel, and the former Agents, the new board of directors for Bourne Again Int. were about to reveal their plans for the old vineyard which William had been restoring for the past few months. They were going to open a half way home for humans and mutants who had been harmed by the infighting between the two halves of the human race, and do so without any special training installation, or anything else, this would be a home, not a school, but a place where the inhabitants would be safe, secure, and most importantly: free.
Mari had been building up for this day for weeks now, and her nerves were quite frankly shot. But something in the back of her mind, a quiet voice it seemed like, similar to what she’d experienced during the fight with Nanny and Micah, kept encouraging her to forge on. A soothing, yet still strong and supportive voice, a voice, that if not for its owner’s death years before, Maria could place anywhere.
~”Stay strong Maria, if you show weakness up there it’ll be like Blood in the Water, the media are sharks.”~ The voice of Maddelyne Pryor played out in the back of Maria’s mind. ~”Besides, I know you can do this, and so do you.”~ Maddelyne’s voice said reassuringly.
“Thanks Maddie, I needed that.” Maria said to the empty air, and with that, she walked off toward the stairs that would lead down to the great hall, and the throng of media.
Awaiting Ms. Villanueva in that same building’s main audience chamber:
It was time, Lance had decided. Time to finally take the leap and ask Maria to marry him, after all they had been dating for the better part of six months now, and he’d been in love with her almost as long as he had known her. She was a part of the man he had grown up to be, because he tried to embody everything that she believed separated a boy from a man. He believed in all those same things, and believed that they were the prerequisites for a girl’s passage to womanhood as well.
So here he was, ring in his hand, ready to pop the question to his former teammate, and the first girl he ever fell in love with. A few months ago, when William and the others were still locked up, Lance would have never even considered asking Maria out on a date, because he was too afraid of changing their friendship. But now, with everyone safe and back at home where they belong, it was almost as if his confidence had been given a shot of adrenaline. Rejection didn’t scare him, neither did change, and so he came to where he was, ready to dive in to the biggest change that he had ever made in his life without even a moment’s notice, and he didn’t have a fear in the world.
To the left side of the main portion of the audience hall:
Watching from the sideline, Erin smiled as he looked after his former teammate’s actions. Especially glad to see Kevin adjusting back to having a normal life, though still under watch of S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives, he was basically on a very free form of house arrest. As long as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent had constant visual on him he was fine, and if he attempted to escape he now had a security anklet that would stop his powers should have make the attempt. As good as he could expect to get after the world wide chase he lead the group on, Erin considered with a smile, leaning back against the rear wall of the auditorium where Maria’s and William’s speech would soon begin.
Maria and Kevin had the worst lives out of the group as children, and now with the chance William was giving them with Bourne Again Int. backing them up, they could finally make a difference in the lives of others so that things like their past never happened to anyone else. Whether you are a human who lost their family to a mutant terrorist attack, or a mutant who was downtrodden upon through out their life by humans, then you now had a place to go. A shelter, a home, something to believe in, that was William’s piece of the dream that Charles Francis Xavier spoke of. Just maybe, if those living in the Charles Francis Xavier Memorial Home for Recovery could live in peace between one another, human and mutant alike, then maybe those in the outside world may eventually follow suit.
One thing was for sure, Erin sure hoped things would turn out in just that manner.
In the back of the crowded auditorium:
It was time, the air was almost electric, Brian Harris thought to himself as he was waited out the speech. Everything William had worked for in the last half year was about to come to fruition, and he was proud to be a part of it all. Will had offered him a piece of the dream, and a place to do the work he had joined the H.M.R.D. division of the N.S.A. to do, and that was to help humans and mutants adjust and live together in harmony. During his stint with the N.S.A. however he had done more cracking skulls, working with the H.M.R.D. tactical squad “Soldier-X” instead, and it was almost as though he’d lost sight of that goal. But here he was, back to his roots, back to what he became an Agent for. Something Tenku, and Papavich didn’t know about Harris, was that he had a child hood friend who was a mutant, with the funniest power he’d ever seen. Jackson Mills could glow in the dark, no shooting beams of light from his body, or absorbing radiation, or flying, he could just glow. The Sentinels had killed him during the Zero Tolerance Program. A teenage kid, murdered, more accurately: incinerated where he stood, by a remorseless machine following its ignorant prime directive.
That was why Harris had signed on with Bourne, and left the Agency behind. He knew for Papavich it was do to age, he was starting to get a bit old for a field agent in the N.S.A. and the brass was trying to park him at a desk. Then there was Tenku and his disdain for politics in general. But Harris, his reasons were personal, now he had a chance to help make a difference in the world. He had thought X-Corp would do the job, and considered buying stock in the company during its early days, but after what he’d scene in the press; they did more a job of glorifying mutanity, then unifying the two sub-sects of humanity, in his opinion.
So his mind was made up, he would put his faith in Will and the other kids, as he had so many times, and put his own best foot forward as well, working as a member of the Board at Bourne Again Int. to help forge a better tomorrow.
Elsewhere in the building:
“I’m glad I get to be here for this,” Kevin Malik said to himself as he watched over the ongoing events. William’s speech had the whole room dead in their tracks, and just listening to his words was enough to make you choke up, hearing his stories of tragedy, and triumph, and the quotes from great men of the past, like King, and Xavier. If William Bourne ran for political office, Kevin Malik would vote for him. It was all thanks to Will that he was free, or at the least some semblance of free, to begin with.
The Agents had tried their damnedest to keep him out of custody, but S.H.I.E.L.D. took him off their hands as soon as they’d made state side. If not for William and Melisel getting the cavalry together in the form of their army of Lawyers, he would probably be locked up in the Vault right now. Besides that, if a program like the Xavier’s Memorial Home here in Napa could help stop mutant abuse like what he went through with the Illuminati, then more power to him.
Kevin Malik was one member of the Bourne Again Int. Board of Directors whose faith would never waiver in their leader.
Standing on stage, before the collection of news cameras, just off to the left of the podium:
Kelly LeStraude felt good to be a part of something. It was the first time since she had made the school’s soccer team back in her freshman year of High School that she was really proud to be a part of a group. She had always enjoyed her work with Soldier-X, but that was exactly that, work. This was a passion, something she had a love for, as her own family had all but disowned her, her Father even having gone so far as to cut her out of his will. But her grandfather had left her a sizable inheritance, well over a quarter billion dollars from her own family’s massive corporate holdings, which could be a challenge to William’s own if she had inherited her rightful place in the family business.
That seed money had helped William push this project past the vote with the rest of the Board, those who weren’t family friends, or former teammates. The fact that he had investors ready to throw away their entire livelihoods on a dream was all that it had taken. So here they were today, on the site of a billion dollar facility, with everything from state of the art security technology, to an automated fire control center, and a staff of well trained, thoroughly back ground checked employees ranging from chefs, to teachers, to psychiatrists, and physicians. This facility would help bridge the gap between humans and mutants in a way that Kelly believed not even Charles Xavier could have envisioned, or so she hoped.
“Watch out world, because some changes are on their way.”
So here it begins the last big hoorah.
The stage was set.
The curtains were drawn.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and Charles Francis Xavier’s words played through his head as William Bourne stood stark still at the podium before him, looking out upon hundreds of reporters and corporate business people, dignitaries and socialites alike. If he wasn’t mistaken he even recognized some famous mutants, and human members of the “super powered” community in the audience.
“Here goes nothing.” William whispered to himself as he stepped forward to the stand. Somewhere behind him he heard a quiet laugh, followed by a few supportive words from his significant other, Mel. “Knock them dead babe.”
He was glad he had met Mel’, and had the chance to get to know her so closely after they began working together. He could only imagine how much better her life would have been if she had been raised by a good god-father like Wufei, and that was why this was so important. That was why he needed the world to understand his dream. That was why he’d made a new start when he decided to open Bourne Industrial’s stock to the public, and moved the company to the West Coast. That was why he had along with Mari, Mel, and Kevin ran up the plans for this Home for Recovery. That was why his dream had to succeed.
“I will open with the famous words of a far better man then myself. ‘I have a dream,’” William began, and the crowd hushed before him. From here on out, the ball was in Bourne Again Int.’s court, he just hoped that they could handle it.
Prologue:
In a bar somewhere halfway around the world, two men sat side by side, drinking beers, neither saying a word to the other, though both watched the press conference with great interest. Finally, one spoke up, scratching nonchalantly at his scruff covered chin, the short man smirked toward the other. “Kid’s got a hell of a head on his shoulders their Bub; you have something to do with that?” The scruffy dark eyed man said. Taking another sip from his drink, before gesturing to the bar keep with a wave of his left hand. “One more Jackie, and bring another for my friend here too.”
“I can’t take credit for his mind, nor for his manners,” the other man said, his black trench coat collar raised so that the beard on the lower half of his face grown heavy from months of undercover action without time for simple pleasantries like going to the store for a razor. As William finished his speech, he stepped aside so that Maria could say her peace, as the Xavier Memorial Home would be under her personal jurisdiction; it was time she got on with the show.
“But if my training is still in there, one thing is for certain, this kid’s Dream is going to come true. He might be living the life of a regular old businessman, but we both know that there’re those in this world that won’t like Bourne Again Int.’s ideals. When they come a’ calling, the world will see just how much Soldier is still in side of old Will.”
With that, Carl Denti gave a stiff laugh, and popped the top on his beer, before turning to eye the other man at the bar. “To the future and what the next generation will do with it.”
The other man, whose left hand had sprouted a metallic blade between the upper most knuckle of the middle and ring fingers, sliced the top clean off of his own bottle, before taking a swig from the perfectly smooth lip his claw had made. “I’ll drink to that.”
The times were changing, Wolverine thought, smiling to himself as he took a long drink of the crisp ale. “Good luck kids, you’re going to need it, tends to be hell trying to live life with an X floating over your head.”
FINISH
Yeah, sorry guys, I know. I disappeared again, but suffice it to say I’ve been going through a lot these past 8 or 9 months, and hey, I did finish the story. Though I would’ve liked to draw out the action a bit more, I just don’t have time. I’m back in school, working two full time jobs, I’ve been in and out of the hospital for the past 2/3’s of the year, and I’m dating an awesome girl who just gave birth to a newborn, so I have a step-daughter kind of sort of, and time, yeah, that’s just something I don’t have. So, here it is, the end of the Soldier-X tale, at least as written by my pen/typed by my fingers. Hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it, and hey, if you decide to use one of the old crew, or even the Xavier’s Memorial Home for Recovery in a future issue, just drop me a line so I can check it out, and hopefully give you some pointers so you don’t go too far away from the heart of my O.C.s. Well, until Ewan Macgregor plays Banshee in X-Men 4, make mine M2K.
The Wordy Mouf,
Frank Bigoski
