Back to GatefoldVolume 2
Issue #1 by Stuart Fairchild August 2017 |
It had been a few months since she had met them – a squabbling band of mutants which hid their almost familial bond underneath their repeated bickering. She had grown to respect the group if not like them for what they were, and more importantly, what they had evolved into. It was their constant search to delve into the dark, deep secrets the Byron Agency, an organization focused on researching and expanding on the mutant genome no matter the cost, which led her to the very spot she was standing.
The jet engines had cycled down, now allowing conversation to take place in the hangar which they had now occupied. The grounds crew secured the wheels as the side panel of the jet opened, revealing the automatic ladder touch down with the jet’s passengers.
“Margaret!” Jubilee shouted as she was the first person seen exiting the jet with her signature shades and yellow trench coat. “This plane is totally awesome. Thank you so much for inviting us here.”
Petra could do nothing but smirk at the excitement of not only Jubilee, but also the wide eyes of the passengers that followed not named Monet St. Croix.
“Petra simply invited us to Monaco on official Trust business,” said M. “The jet just happened to be one of the many holdings we absorbed when we took over Byron Agency.”
“As usual Monet is correct, Jubilation,” Petra replied, her Dutch ascent masking her disappointment to the untrained ear. “I also wish that this was intended to be a visit of pleasure rather than business.”
“Ever since we were allowed out of our cages, I know nothing else but business.” The dark haired X-23 barked.
“There was the time when we had to go to Muir Isle,” Hope said jokingly.
X-23 rolled her eyes, as she understood the attempt at humor by her colleague. “Now I know why Jono left.”
“Ixnay on the Onojay subject,” Jubilee whispered aloud.
An annoyed look appeared upon the face of M as she stared momentarily at the group and then focused on Petra. “What do you have for us, Margaret?”
“To be honest…I do not have a clue,” Petra answered. “It is the reason I asked you to come here. It is like nothing I have ever seen.
=x=
The door opened with a chime of bells, a gush of cool air rushing in after two men that had just entered the diner. All eyes turned, fixed on the two standing there – one a tall African-American man with a huge smile and the other a bushy haired man wrapped tightly as if it was the middle of winter.
“Aren’t you a little overdressed for this time of year?” The waitress asked aloud.
Synch simply chuckled. “My friend has been battling a cold. I’m a germaphobe. All we need is a pair of Pepsis.”
The waitress simply nodded. “Take a seat wherever you like. I will be with you in a minute.”
“Why did we come in here?” Chamber asked, his British accent echoing within the head of Synch. “I do not have the need to eat since I have no bloody mouth. I don’t actually blend well in such an environment.”
“We had to get off the street, Jono,” Synch replied. “We are strangers in a small town. That never works out.”
“You have always been somewhat chuffed, Everett. When did you start thinking being a mutant was a curse?”
“It has nothing to do with being a mutant,” Synch scoffed. “I was talking about me being a black man in some small town in the middle of nowhere.”
Chamber brow furrowed. “Since we are here just for appearances, I’m going to pretend to go to the loo. I will even wash my hands.”
“You do that.”
Chamber slowly moved out of site as the waiter approached, placing the two drinks on the table.
“You two need to get out of town,” the waiter whispered.
The warning caught Synch off guard but remained calm as he sipped his drink. “-Why?”
“The town isn’t what it seems,” he answered. “Weird things happen here at night.”
“My friend and I dig weird things,” smiled Synch.
The waiter simply smiled, revealing a half smile for appearances. “I can tell you more when I get off in two hours.”
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Synch returned the smile, waving off the waiter.
Chamber reappeared in a huff, crashing down in the chair in annoyance. “How long do we have to stay here, Everett?”
Synch’s appearance became very serious. “We have to leave – now!”
“-Now?”
“-Now!”
=x=
“What is that thing?” Jubilee’s ability to overstate the obvious even had difficulty finding the simplest term to describe which stood in front of her.
“It’s a giant black box,” X-23 uttered, her disbelief echoing throughout the gutted, cylindrical cavern which housed the object and now the team. Each horizontal side was held firmly by immense clamps as the pressure of the hold held the object in place midair as the floor of the room seemed to blend into the darkness below.
“Well…I could have told you that,” Petra said as she continued on the many catwalks which layered themselves around the object.
“What does it do?” M asked as she took flight into the air, circling the perimeter of the object.
“There was no specific data on this object,” answered Petra. “This cavernous room wasn’t even on the blue prints of the building. Outside of the facility just existing, anything inside these walls is pretty much blank.
“I have seen this thing before,” Hope mumbled as she approached the object slowly. “- at least it feels as if I have seen it.”
Hope continued to inch closer to the box, trying to recall any memory of the device. It was an eerie feeling, the need to know what that connection was, but it seemed to call to her louder and more powerful as she approached, until she couldn’t resist but touch it.
And then it was gone.
=x=
Paige Guthrie stood with her arms crossed, staring at the wall which stood before her. She was silent, much like the room itself, but something was stirring inside her thoughts.
“How are we today, lass?”
The voice produced a sudden rage within Husk. Her eyes sparked with rage, igniting an instinct to grasp her skin, ripping it off into small shards revealing a fiery furnace of flames.
“Let me out of here, Moira!” Husk screamed. “Let me out of here!”
Moira MacTaggert stood silently on the other end of the see-through wall. Her heart reached out to the young Guthrie girl – so young and innocent, her future just waiting for her to claim it. And yet, fate brought her to Muir Island, a research facility alone in the ocean.
“How is she doing?”
Moira searched for an answer for her son. One would be the best answer and the other would be the true answer. “I do not know, Kevin. I just do not know right now.”
Kevin MacTaggert knew what it felt like to be in Husk’s situation. He had spent years under observation as Proteus, then the reality warping mutant. He was part of a selective club to have been a ‘resident’ of Muir Island. Back when he was so alone and angry he saw Muir more like the Island of Misfit Toys rather than a place of help. History dictated that is how many others felt too.
Proteus placed a hand upon the wall, Husk unable to see him or his mother. “Hang in there, Guthrie.”
“You taking a liking to her, Amigo?” a voice asked seemingly out of nowhere.
“I do not know what you are talking about, Angelo.” Proteus responded with a sadness in heart.
The gray, long skinned mutant laughed. “These eyes see very well, Amigo. If you want to keep it quiet than keep it quiet. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Proteus gazed strongly at Skin. “If it doesn’t matter than why are you here, Angelo?”
“Don’t get loco, hombre!” Skin replied sharply. “I’m only here to see Paige get better. That means to see if your mom can do her thing.”
“My mom is one of the leading geneticist in the world. If she can’t help Paige than I doubt anyone can.”
“Hope is the only thing I have left.”
=x=
It was almost like a dream. A familiar haze hovering in her mind as if it was a faint memory, a memory which did not allow to see who was talking, but the conversation itself a vital part of something.
“How are the test subjects?” Someone asked.
“Excellent,” someone else spoke aloud. This one carried a softer voice. More caring compared to the rigid one. “23 is stable and 5 is off the charts. Her baseline is higher than I expected.”
She could hear the condescending laugh. “Knowing her genetic makeup I expected nothing less.”
“Hmm…her brainwaves just spiked.” The voice said, the sound of monitors now a gigantic roar which began to wash out the conversation. “Do you think she knows we are talking about her?”
“Not from the platform.” There it was again – a distinct change in sound. There was no outside noise yet the voices were softer as if they were in the distance. “Also, we have not established individuality in their coding.”
“Maybe some have evolved.”
“Until I code into their matrix they are just a blob of cells that look human.”
“-Hope.”
“What?”
“I think I will name her- “
“-Hope!”
“Monet?” Hope gasped, the visions which tried to reveal themselves all but gone as they morphed into the reality of M looking down closely upon her face as she grasped her body. “What’s happening?”
“You touched the object and then it lit up like a Christmas tree,” Jubilee interrupted. “It started to squeal some random light show and then it seemed to have teleported away. You were frozen like a statue for like three hours.”
“Did anything happen when you touched it?” asked M.
“I feel…fine,” Hope answered, thinking of an inventory list of her abilities both physically and mentally. It was then her eyes sprouted wide, her body tensing in disbelief. “It’s gone.”
A concerned look appeared on all that where around as M asked, “What are you talking about?”
“I cannot sense the astral plane,” she said with near tearing eyes. “I can’t access my telepathy.”
The situation had taken a turn for the worst as M contemplated the options. None were great but she knew something had to be done.
“Petra, does this area have camera recordings?” M asked with urgency in her voice.
“Of course -”
“Good, get all you can and bring it with us?”
“Where we going?” Jubilee asked.
“Hope’s telepathy is gone. The object in question has disappeared. Our options are not many,” answered M. “Unless you have Reed Richards on speed dial, I don’t see any other place but Muir Isle to take Hope.
=x=
Jason walked out of the diner, the cool air becoming borderline cold as the air smacked him instantly, causing him to nestle within his sweater. He kept quiet, looking down at the pavement, hoping not to be noticed.
“Where you going?”
The voice echoed within his head, causing him to look around though nothing appeared in the area. He noticed the voice, yet did not see the man to whom it belonged.
“Stay cool. Turn at the next alley.”
Jason could do nothing else but listen. A voice speaking in his head was just as unusual as what he was seeing in the town. He fixed his head back down to the pavement and turning at the alley as told.
“Did you crap in your pants when you heard it?” Chamber asked, his voice echoing in Jason’s head now too, as both Synch and him appeared from the shadows.
Chamber appeared first, his hands both resting in his jacket pockets. If he had not blown a cavity within his chest to his lower jaw, these ominous introductions were things that would have caused Chamber to smile with delight. Synch followed with a rainbow aura surrounding his body from his mutant power activating.
“You…mean your friend’s voice?”
“What else would I be talking about?”
“Excuse my friend,” Synch said. “He can be a little ornery. Now can you tell us what is happening here?”
Jason merely shrugged, uneasy of sharing the information he had seen. “People go missing here at night. Not just any people though – mutants.”
“I guess that is why he did not freak when your voice popped in his head,” Chamber commented to Synch.
“Are you a mutant, Jason?” Synch asked.
“No,” he replied. “My sister is though. She went missing a few weeks ago,”
Synch was visually curious. “Anything else you can tell us?”
“It’s the police,” Jason said with an uneasy tone just mentioning it aloud. “I have no evidence, but when they arrive people go missing and then people start acting like nothing ever happened.”
“I guess we have to get arrested,” Chamber said.
X GAMES
Hello everyone and welcome back to Generation X. Just wanted to say I hope I do a good job on the upcoming series and I especially hope anyone that reads the series likes it. To be honest, I did not pitch the series. David pitched the series to me and he made it very difficult for any writer to turn down as he sought to expand the sites X-titles. I consider myself more of an Avenger guy, but like I said, David made it very difficult to turn this offer down.
The series picks up from where the series ended, but I factored in a time jump to account for the gap since the series previously ended until now. I hope it isn’t too confusing as I continue some stuff and weed out others. So, if you read this issue, feel free to leave any comments or questions in the forums.
The jet engines had cycled down, now allowing conversation to take place in the hangar which they had now occupied. The grounds crew secured the wheels as the side panel of the jet opened, revealing the automatic ladder touch down with the jet’s passengers.
“Margaret!” Jubilee shouted as she was the first person seen exiting the jet with her signature shades and yellow trench coat. “This plane is totally awesome. Thank you so much for inviting us here.”
Petra could do nothing but smirk at the excitement of not only Jubilee, but also the wide eyes of the passengers that followed not named Monet St. Croix.
“Petra simply invited us to Monaco on official Trust business,” said M. “The jet just happened to be one of the many holdings we absorbed when we took over Byron Agency.”
“As usual Monet is correct, Jubilation,” Petra replied, her Dutch ascent masking her disappointment to the untrained ear. “I also wish that this was intended to be a visit of pleasure rather than business.”
“Ever since we were allowed out of our cages, I know nothing else but business.” The dark haired X-23 barked.
“There was the time when we had to go to Muir Isle,” Hope said jokingly.
X-23 rolled her eyes, as she understood the attempt at humor by her colleague. “Now I know why Jono left.”
“Ixnay on the Onojay subject,” Jubilee whispered aloud.
An annoyed look appeared upon the face of M as she stared momentarily at the group and then focused on Petra. “What do you have for us, Margaret?”
“To be honest…I do not have a clue,” Petra answered. “It is the reason I asked you to come here. It is like nothing I have ever seen.
=x=
The door opened with a chime of bells, a gush of cool air rushing in after two men that had just entered the diner. All eyes turned, fixed on the two standing there – one a tall African-American man with a huge smile and the other a bushy haired man wrapped tightly as if it was the middle of winter.
“Aren’t you a little overdressed for this time of year?” The waitress asked aloud.
Synch simply chuckled. “My friend has been battling a cold. I’m a germaphobe. All we need is a pair of Pepsis.”
The waitress simply nodded. “Take a seat wherever you like. I will be with you in a minute.”
“Why did we come in here?” Chamber asked, his British accent echoing within the head of Synch. “I do not have the need to eat since I have no bloody mouth. I don’t actually blend well in such an environment.”
“We had to get off the street, Jono,” Synch replied. “We are strangers in a small town. That never works out.”
“You have always been somewhat chuffed, Everett. When did you start thinking being a mutant was a curse?”
“It has nothing to do with being a mutant,” Synch scoffed. “I was talking about me being a black man in some small town in the middle of nowhere.”
Chamber brow furrowed. “Since we are here just for appearances, I’m going to pretend to go to the loo. I will even wash my hands.”
“You do that.”
Chamber slowly moved out of site as the waiter approached, placing the two drinks on the table.
“You two need to get out of town,” the waiter whispered.
The warning caught Synch off guard but remained calm as he sipped his drink. “-Why?”
“The town isn’t what it seems,” he answered. “Weird things happen here at night.”
“My friend and I dig weird things,” smiled Synch.
The waiter simply smiled, revealing a half smile for appearances. “I can tell you more when I get off in two hours.”
“We wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Synch returned the smile, waving off the waiter.
Chamber reappeared in a huff, crashing down in the chair in annoyance. “How long do we have to stay here, Everett?”
Synch’s appearance became very serious. “We have to leave – now!”
“-Now?”
“-Now!”
=x=
“What is that thing?” Jubilee’s ability to overstate the obvious even had difficulty finding the simplest term to describe which stood in front of her.
“It’s a giant black box,” X-23 uttered, her disbelief echoing throughout the gutted, cylindrical cavern which housed the object and now the team. Each horizontal side was held firmly by immense clamps as the pressure of the hold held the object in place midair as the floor of the room seemed to blend into the darkness below.
“Well…I could have told you that,” Petra said as she continued on the many catwalks which layered themselves around the object.
“What does it do?” M asked as she took flight into the air, circling the perimeter of the object.
“There was no specific data on this object,” answered Petra. “This cavernous room wasn’t even on the blue prints of the building. Outside of the facility just existing, anything inside these walls is pretty much blank.
“I have seen this thing before,” Hope mumbled as she approached the object slowly. “- at least it feels as if I have seen it.”
Hope continued to inch closer to the box, trying to recall any memory of the device. It was an eerie feeling, the need to know what that connection was, but it seemed to call to her louder and more powerful as she approached, until she couldn’t resist but touch it.
And then it was gone.
=x=
Paige Guthrie stood with her arms crossed, staring at the wall which stood before her. She was silent, much like the room itself, but something was stirring inside her thoughts.
“How are we today, lass?”
The voice produced a sudden rage within Husk. Her eyes sparked with rage, igniting an instinct to grasp her skin, ripping it off into small shards revealing a fiery furnace of flames.
“Let me out of here, Moira!” Husk screamed. “Let me out of here!”
Moira MacTaggert stood silently on the other end of the see-through wall. Her heart reached out to the young Guthrie girl – so young and innocent, her future just waiting for her to claim it. And yet, fate brought her to Muir Island, a research facility alone in the ocean.
“How is she doing?”
Moira searched for an answer for her son. One would be the best answer and the other would be the true answer. “I do not know, Kevin. I just do not know right now.”
Kevin MacTaggert knew what it felt like to be in Husk’s situation. He had spent years under observation as Proteus, then the reality warping mutant. He was part of a selective club to have been a ‘resident’ of Muir Island. Back when he was so alone and angry he saw Muir more like the Island of Misfit Toys rather than a place of help. History dictated that is how many others felt too.
Proteus placed a hand upon the wall, Husk unable to see him or his mother. “Hang in there, Guthrie.”
“You taking a liking to her, Amigo?” a voice asked seemingly out of nowhere.
“I do not know what you are talking about, Angelo.” Proteus responded with a sadness in heart.
The gray, long skinned mutant laughed. “These eyes see very well, Amigo. If you want to keep it quiet than keep it quiet. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Proteus gazed strongly at Skin. “If it doesn’t matter than why are you here, Angelo?”
“Don’t get loco, hombre!” Skin replied sharply. “I’m only here to see Paige get better. That means to see if your mom can do her thing.”
“My mom is one of the leading geneticist in the world. If she can’t help Paige than I doubt anyone can.”
“Hope is the only thing I have left.”
=x=
It was almost like a dream. A familiar haze hovering in her mind as if it was a faint memory, a memory which did not allow to see who was talking, but the conversation itself a vital part of something.
“How are the test subjects?” Someone asked.
“Excellent,” someone else spoke aloud. This one carried a softer voice. More caring compared to the rigid one. “23 is stable and 5 is off the charts. Her baseline is higher than I expected.”
She could hear the condescending laugh. “Knowing her genetic makeup I expected nothing less.”
“Hmm…her brainwaves just spiked.” The voice said, the sound of monitors now a gigantic roar which began to wash out the conversation. “Do you think she knows we are talking about her?”
“Not from the platform.” There it was again – a distinct change in sound. There was no outside noise yet the voices were softer as if they were in the distance. “Also, we have not established individuality in their coding.”
“Maybe some have evolved.”
“Until I code into their matrix they are just a blob of cells that look human.”
“-Hope.”
“What?”
“I think I will name her- “
“-Hope!”
“Monet?” Hope gasped, the visions which tried to reveal themselves all but gone as they morphed into the reality of M looking down closely upon her face as she grasped her body. “What’s happening?”
“You touched the object and then it lit up like a Christmas tree,” Jubilee interrupted. “It started to squeal some random light show and then it seemed to have teleported away. You were frozen like a statue for like three hours.”
“Did anything happen when you touched it?” asked M.
“I feel…fine,” Hope answered, thinking of an inventory list of her abilities both physically and mentally. It was then her eyes sprouted wide, her body tensing in disbelief. “It’s gone.”
A concerned look appeared on all that where around as M asked, “What are you talking about?”
“I cannot sense the astral plane,” she said with near tearing eyes. “I can’t access my telepathy.”
The situation had taken a turn for the worst as M contemplated the options. None were great but she knew something had to be done.
“Petra, does this area have camera recordings?” M asked with urgency in her voice.
“Of course -”
“Good, get all you can and bring it with us?”
“Where we going?” Jubilee asked.
“Hope’s telepathy is gone. The object in question has disappeared. Our options are not many,” answered M. “Unless you have Reed Richards on speed dial, I don’t see any other place but Muir Isle to take Hope.
=x=
Jason walked out of the diner, the cool air becoming borderline cold as the air smacked him instantly, causing him to nestle within his sweater. He kept quiet, looking down at the pavement, hoping not to be noticed.
“Where you going?”
The voice echoed within his head, causing him to look around though nothing appeared in the area. He noticed the voice, yet did not see the man to whom it belonged.
“Stay cool. Turn at the next alley.”
Jason could do nothing else but listen. A voice speaking in his head was just as unusual as what he was seeing in the town. He fixed his head back down to the pavement and turning at the alley as told.
“Did you crap in your pants when you heard it?” Chamber asked, his voice echoing in Jason’s head now too, as both Synch and him appeared from the shadows.
Chamber appeared first, his hands both resting in his jacket pockets. If he had not blown a cavity within his chest to his lower jaw, these ominous introductions were things that would have caused Chamber to smile with delight. Synch followed with a rainbow aura surrounding his body from his mutant power activating.
“You…mean your friend’s voice?”
“What else would I be talking about?”
“Excuse my friend,” Synch said. “He can be a little ornery. Now can you tell us what is happening here?”
Jason merely shrugged, uneasy of sharing the information he had seen. “People go missing here at night. Not just any people though – mutants.”
“I guess that is why he did not freak when your voice popped in his head,” Chamber commented to Synch.
“Are you a mutant, Jason?” Synch asked.
“No,” he replied. “My sister is though. She went missing a few weeks ago,”
Synch was visually curious. “Anything else you can tell us?”
“It’s the police,” Jason said with an uneasy tone just mentioning it aloud. “I have no evidence, but when they arrive people go missing and then people start acting like nothing ever happened.”
“I guess we have to get arrested,” Chamber said.
X GAMES
Hello everyone and welcome back to Generation X. Just wanted to say I hope I do a good job on the upcoming series and I especially hope anyone that reads the series likes it. To be honest, I did not pitch the series. David pitched the series to me and he made it very difficult for any writer to turn down as he sought to expand the sites X-titles. I consider myself more of an Avenger guy, but like I said, David made it very difficult to turn this offer down.
The series picks up from where the series ended, but I factored in a time jump to account for the gap since the series previously ended until now. I hope it isn’t too confusing as I continue some stuff and weed out others. So, if you read this issue, feel free to leave any comments or questions in the forums.