Back to Gatefold
Issue #5 by Cory Wiegel
|
“FATE OF THE GENE – PART CONCLUSION”
PREVIOUSLY IN NEW X-MEN #4: The X-Men -- Beast, Phoenix, Iceman, and Wolverine -- fought through dozens of members of the mutant terrorist group known as the Brotherhood of Mutants and rushed into Muir Island’s server building, where a virus had been activated that would steal and destroy all of the research center’s data. Worse, the room was rigged with C4 Explosives and set to blow. They were able to stop both threats simultaneously, only to then be ambushed by a mysterious, green haired woman and a squad of men decked out with highly sophisticated weapons and body armor. What came after that was a bit of a surprise…
# # # # #
Muir Island Research Center.
Muir Island, Scotland.
“Doctor McCoy… It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” the woman said with an authoritative tone. “My name’s Abigail Brand. We’re with the X.S.E.”
Beast’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. His teammates were equally taken aback.
“The X.S.E.?” he said, raising a brow.
“The X-Factor Sanction Enforcement,” Brand explained matter-of-factly. “I’m its Director and Interim Field Commander until we’re fully established.”
Phoenix raised a suspicious eyebrow. “X-Factor Sanction Enforcement? Don’t you mean Xavier’s Security Enforcers?”
“Not quite,” Director Brand replied as she began to pace slightly. “Your old friends, Bishop and Shard, have briefed us on the organization they were members of in the future. I assure you the initials are merely a coincidence. Our mission statement differs significantly, and besides…” She trailed off and cocked her head to the side slightly, then looked to the X-Men. “One would hardly find that name appropriate, all things considered.”
Wolverine growled at that last comment. “I don’t think I like your tone, lady.”
Director Brand smiled coyly.
“Trust me, Wolverine. I didn’t mean anything by it. You’re bleeding, by the way,” she said, nodding slightly at his torso before turning to face her team.
Wolverine first looked to the back of his hands, but then then at the large spot of blood beginning to form on his uniform over his ribs. His teammates were somewhat perplexed and taken aback by this, but chose to keep their attention on Director Brand.
“Stand down, men,” she said to the soldiers. “These clearly aren’t our targets.”
The men loosened up their stances and relaxed their weapons, falling out of formation.
“We haven’t time for formalities or banter, Director Brand,” Beast finally spoke up, shaking his head. “Our teammates are -- “
“Being assisted by X.S.E. trainees and S.H.I.E.L.D. ground forces on loan to our organization,” Director Brand interjected, completing his sentence for him with a hint of condensation in her voice. “In fact, I’m willing to bet they’ve already successfully dispatched the Brotherhood’s remaining forces and secured the island.”
“That’s right, Director,” a voice said from the corridor behind Director Brand.
She and the X-Men looked to a woman entering the server room in full S.H.I.E.L.D. garb. Aside from her trendy eyeglasses, what was most notable about her appearance was her jet black hair and the hot pink stripe in her bangs.
“Heh, geeze. What’s up with the hair, ladies? It’s like a support group for defective Revlon products in here all of a sudden,” Iceman mused with a snicker before looking to, and elbowing, Phoenix playfully. “And to think we useta tease Jean about being a ginger.”
Director Brand and the new arrival glanced at Iceman, clearly not amused, and then faced each other. Phoenix rolled her eyes and sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“What is it, Agent Hand?” Director Brand asked.
“We’ve rounded up everyone that we could and have secured the island. The X-Men’s allies are outside being debriefed as we speak,” Agent Victoria Hand stated. She took out a small PDA and lifted it up to Director Brand, showing her a photo. “Now we’re beginning to look for survivors and we’ve found one that you’ll want to speak with.”
Director Brand took the PDA from Agent Hand and looked at it.
“I see…” she said, her eyes widening slightly underneath her green sunglasses. She looked to Beast and smiled. “What do you say, Doctor McCoy? Care to take a little walk with me?”
# # # # #
The battered sliding doors to the research center’s central laboratory opened with the sound of depressurizing air. Director Brand and Agent Hand walked in with the X-Men following behind them, each one surveying the ransacked and utterly destroyed room. The mixture of disgust, anger, and horror left them each unsettled in their own ways.
A handful of bodies in white lab coats laid about the rubble and debris, covered in blood and dark burns. A large, gaping hole where the Brotherhood had entered and likely exited was front and center in the lab, allowing the morning light to peak in. X.S.E. agents were spread about the laboratory, surveying the damage for clues.
However, two agents in particular were standing around a middle-aged brunette woman who sat on a large piece of rubble.
“Moira!” Beast exclaimed upon her seeing her. Doctor Moira MacTaggert looked up to him when she heard his voice, suddenly surprised and relieved to see him and the others. He quickly crossed the room to reach her and the rest of the X-Men followed behind him.
“Oh, Hank,” Moira groaned as he rushed to her side and the two embraced. The X.S.E. agents backed away, giving the two some space. She looked up to the others and breathed a sigh of relief. “What a blessing it is t’ see you all.”
“We came as quickly as we could,” he assured as they released their embrace and he sat down beside her. “Are you alright? Were you harmed at all during the assault?”
“No, I dinnae think so,” she replied, shaking her head and hanging it low. “I’ve got a sickening headache, but I should be fine all things considered.”
Beast looked to his teammates and nodded to them to give them some space. Iceman and Rogue spread out amongst themselves to look over the destruction of the laboratory, whereas Phoenix and Wolverine stepped back and simply watched the two as they spoke.
“What happened?” Beast asked. Moira closed her eyes for a moment, thinking back to when it all started, and then opened them when she was ready.
“I was working late in the lab with some junior researchers when I stepped out t’ get some coffee,” she started to say, taking a deep breath before she continued. “There was an explosion an’ the Brotherhood attacked out of bloody nowhere. I tried to alert the security team, but they were unresponsive, so then I rallied all the staff I could in the panic room when they came for me…” she said before trailing off.
Beast nodded to her, allowing her time to collect her thoughts. After another moment, she took another deep breath and continued.
“They drug me back here and one o’ them, a woman, was going to shoot me,” she said, a part of her reliving the fear. “God help me. I thought I was a goner for sure, but then I just… blacked out… an’ then these X.S.E. people found me an’ woke me up.”
Beast looked on, taking in everything she was telling them.
It was then one of the X.S.E. medics walked over to Agent Hand and handed her a sealed, plastic bag. He whispered something to her and she nodded, then he walked away. She looked down to the bag and then looked to Beast, clearing her throat to draw his attention.
“Excuse me, Doctor McCoy,” Agent Said to Beast, lifting up the bag for him to see. “But when they found her this was sticking out of her neck.”
He narrowed his eyes onto the bag, then took a pair of glasses out of a pocket on his belt and put them on as she approached him. She passed the bag along to him, which he promptly examined with an inquisitive eye.
It was a tranquilizer dart.
“Someone should conduct a full toxicology test on her,” Beast finally said, perplexed. He looked to Moira and held up the bag. “Do you remember being struck by this?”
Moira studied the bag for a moment, but then took off her glasses and closed her eyes before rubbing the tension out of her forehead. She shook her head, feeling confused and at a loss by everything that’s happened. It was too much for her.
“It’s alright, Moira,” he said, putting a reassuring arm around her shoulder. “Trust me. We’ll get to the bottom of this. Just do your best to get some rest.”
With another deep sigh, Moira leaned into Beast. He handed the bag back to Agent Hand, who walked off to speak more with the medics and field team.
A sound of depressurizing air caught Moira and Beast’s attention and they looked up to see the doors to the laboratory slide open. A young woman and a silver haired man rushed into the room with a sense of urgency, startling nearby X.S.E. agents.
“Mum!” Rahne called out, running across the lab to her. Joseph wasn’t far behind.
Beast quickly stood up and moved away from Moira’s side, allowing her to be joined by her two children. The three embraced and began talking rapidly about how relieved they were to see each other. Moira almost immediately noticed and commented on Joseph’s appearance, but he did his best to downplay the sudden change as they spoke.
Wanting to give the family time alone, Beast walked over to the X-Men, particularly Phoenix and Wolverine. Wolverine leaned closer to him with arms crossed and touched the side of his nose, sniffing the air for emphasis.
“No mistake. He was here,” he muttered quietly, referring to the one man whose potential presence had the team on pins and needles ever since they learned of the Brotherhood’s siege on Muir Island. Scott Summers, also known as Cyclops, had certainly been there with them, but why? And did the X.S.E. know about it?
Considering these questions, Beast nodded slowly to Wolverine and looked to Phoenix, who only glared back at him coldly. She knew that Wolverine was right. Worse, she knew exactly what both men were thinking. Beast took a deep breath and looked about the laboratory, wondering if other forms of evidence of Cyclops’s presence had been uncovered.
It was then Director Brand finished talking with a group of X.S.E. agents and made eye-contact with Beast, waving for him to come over to her. He nodded back and then looked to Moira, Rahne, and Joseph before approaching them slowly.
“I’m sorry to leave you like this, Moira, but we have to check on the rest of the island and continue our investigation,” Beast said with a half-hearted smile. He reached a hand to her and she took it gently. “I promise to come see you when we’re finished.”
Moira nodded understandingly. “Think nothing of it, Henry. I’ll be jus’ fine in time…”
Beast squeezed her hand briefly, then turned to Director Brand and walked across the lab to her. They were joined by Phoenix and Wolverine.
“What is it?” Beast asked her, point blank.
“We found and detained a member of the Brotherhood in the living quarters,” Director Brand replied matter-of-factly. “They’re being a little… resistant to our telepath’s inquiries. We’d like your help getting some information out of them.”
Phoenix nodded understandingly. “Lead the way then.”
# # # # #
Director Brand and the X-Men walked through a gaping hole in the security building, where Iceman and Tom Corsi had previously battled members of the Brotherhood sent to decimate the security force. Several X.S.E. agents were scattered about, busily trying to restore power and sort through the rubble for anything that could be salvaged.
Tom Corsi stood at one end of the room, talking with a couple of agents, when he noticed the arrival of Director Brand and the X-Men. He broke away from the agents and walked towards the group of new arrivals, nodding to them.
“Thanks for getting here so quickly,” he said, waving to a corridor at his left. “Come with me. We’ve found someone who may be of use to us.”
“Who would that be?” Beast asked as they followed him to a secure room. Tom took a security card out of his pocket and slid it on a keypad, then typed in a security code.
“One of the Brotherhood’s lieutenants,” he said as the door opened.
Tom led the group into the interrogation room. It was divided in two by a wall with a large two-way mirror at the center, allowing the team to see a muscular woman strapped down to a chair and being interrogated by an X.S.E. agent. The X-Men recognized her immediately. She was dark skinned with short and spiky electric blue hair.
“That’s Fatale,” Phoenix observed, making note of her injuries. Her forehead was wrapped in a bandage, and bruises and marks covered her body.
“That’s right,” Tom said. “We found her beaten and unconscious in Wolfbane’s living quarters. She sustained a pretty bad head injury, but the medics say she should be fine.”
“So Rahne did this to her?” Phoenix asked, a measure of concern in her voice. “I’m sorry, Tom, but I have a hard time believing that.”
Tom took a moment to choose his words correctly.
“Well, she says she did, but we have reason to believe she isn’t remembering things correctly,” he said with a measure of skepticism. “For starters, Fatale’s injuries aren’t consistent with the kind of maiming a mutant like Wolfsbane could dish out.”
Director Brand didn’t care much for speculation and got straight to the point.
“I’m not as concerned about how she ended up left behind him as I am for what she can tell us,” she said bluntly. “Besides, aren’t there security cameras throughout the compound? Let’s just check them to see what happened.”
Tom shook his head. “We already thought of that,” he replied. “Someone hacked into our databases and erased everything.”
“It must have been Hard-Drive,” Beast said, stroking his chin. “He had access to all of Muir Island’s computer databases when he in the server room.”
“Whatever the case may be, we should focus on why we’re here,” Director Brand said. She walked over to an intercom positioned on the wall and pressed a button. “Agent Watanabe, could you take a break for a moment?”
The X.S.E. agent turned to the mirror and nodded. He walked away from Fatale and to the door out of the holding room, which opened electronically when Director Brand pressed another button on the intercom.
“This is Agent Sean Watanabe. You can call him ‘Brass’ in the field,” Director Brand said as the man with dark hair and a muscular, albeit short, frame walked up to the group. “He’s been heading up field interviews and interrogations on this mission.”
“It’s an honor to finally meet the X-Men,” Brass said, first shaking hands with Beast and then Phoenix. “I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d ever get the chance.”
Phoenix paused a moment as she unconsciously detected something in Brass’s mind.
“You’re a telepath,” she said, picking up on his latent powers. Brass nodded.
“That’s right.”
“Heh, nice,” Iceman chirped up from the back. “So that makes, what? Two or three mutants out of the whole X.S.E. crew so far? Glad to see you guys are doing things so much differently from S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Brass glared at Iceman and scowled at him slightly, but Rogue quickly elbowed her teammate in the side. She then reached out to shake Brass’s hand and smiled flirtatiously.
“Ignore him, sugah,” she said, rolling her eyes. “He cracks stupid jokes when he’s bored.”
“And drunk,” Iceman added with a grin.
“And breathing,” Wolverine growled from the back of the room, visibly annoyed.
Beast ignored the banter and flirting, instead choosing to put the focus on their captive.
“What have you learned from Fatale?” he asked. Brass shook his head.
“Not a whole lot, unfortunately,” he explained. “She has some pretty tough mental defenses, likely set up by another telepath, and she hasn’t been very cooperative at all. I could crack her defenses, but it would take a few days and some… alternative interrogation techniques… but we thought you could help speed up the process.”
Phoenix nodded. “Give me just a moment.”
She closed her eyes and reached out with her telepathy, doing a quick scan of Fatale’s mind. It only took a few seconds to conduct a complete evaluation. When she opened her eyes she turned to Beast with some reluctance.
“This is the Grey King’s work,” she stated. “I can remove his barriers, but it’ll take some time. It wouldn’t be days, but it could possibly take a few hours.”
Brass seemed impressed. However, Beast had other ideas in mind.
“Rogue, perhaps you could speed things up even more?” he suggested. Rogue shrugged slightly and took off her gloves.
“Ah’ll give it a shot.”
“Let her in and stay with her,” Director Brand said to Tom. He and Rogue walked over to the door entering the holding room. Tom hit a button on the intercom, waited for the door to unlock, and then opened it for Rogue. She walked in and he followed, prompting an almost immediate response from Fatale when she saw them.
“Aww, shit…” the mutant terrorist grumbled.
Rogue smiled mischievously as she paced around Fatale.
“Shoulda played nice an’ told Agent Watanabe what he wanted t’ know,” she said before she placed both of her hands on the sides of Fatale’s head. Fatale let out an elongated gasp as Rogue used her powers to absorb Fatale’s memories. The process caused Fatale’s head to slump forward out of Rogue’s grasp, rendering her unconscious, and Rogue closed her eyes and winced a bit, seeming a bit uncomfortable.
Director Brand, Agent Watanabe, and the X-Men watched on. After a moment, Rogue opened her eyes and nodded to Tom, who turned to the mirror and knocked on it. Director Brand pressed a button on the intercom and opened the door, allowing the two to come out.
“Did it work?” Brass asked with some eagerness.
“It’s all a lot more muddled than Ah’d like, but Ah did get some info outta her noggin that may be helpful,” Rogue explained, although appearing somewhat disoriented. She shook her head. “Never quite been like this before…”
“Alright. Let’s go into another room and go over what we can then,” Brass said before looking to Phoenix. “Then maybe Mrs. Summers and I could take a shot at it together?”
“Ms. Grey, actually,” Phoenix corrected. “And that sounds like a good plan to me.”
Brass nodded and led the two out of the room, leaving Director Brand, Tom, Beast, Wolverine, and Iceman alone to consider their next move. After a moment of silence, Director Brand made a decision and turned to Beast.
“Doctor McCoy, could I speak with you for a moment?”
# # # # #
Director Brand and Beast stepped out of the interrogation room, continuing down the corridor a ways to gain a bit of privacy from the others.
“I wanted to thank you for everything that you’ve done today,” Director Brand said when they came to a stop. “However, I think we can take it from here. This is officially an X.S.E. matter now. You should all go home and get some rest.”
She could tell her words stunned him.
“Come again?” Beast asked, his eyes widening in disbelief. Director Brand stood firm. “We can’t simply ignore what happened today and sit on our hands. I’ll never allow it!”
“This is a law enforcement matter,” she stated firmly. “It doesn’t involve you.”
“That’s absurd!” Beast shot back, his temper flaring. “These are our friends… Their family, their home! There’s millions of dollars of research into the mutant genome involved in what we do here, backed by government and private grants. This is research that can possibly change what we believe is the course of human evolution!”
Director Brand crossed her arms and looked away, shaking her head at such pretension. Beast stepped into her line of sight and looked her straight in the eye, putting emphasis on his words. “Director Brand, I am by no means exaggerating when I say that the very fate of our genes rests on the work done by these people and threats posed by the Brotherhood.”
She unfolded her arms and stood up straight, trying to maintain her composure.
“I know these were your friends and colleagues, but you’re technically only private citizens… vigilantes at worst!” she shot back at him. “This is a law enforcement matter and we can’t have the X-Men involved. Can you imagine the implications involved?!”
“Are you forgetting what happened here today? If it wasn’t for our intervention, countless more people would have died mere hours ago!” Beast continued. “Everything the Xavier Institute and Muir Island have done in the name of mutants and mankind would have been lost, and in the hands of terrorists for God knows what purposes, no less!”
Director Brand clenched her fists, his preaching getting the best of her. “You have to look at the bigger picture, Dr. McCoy!” she said, shoving a finger at him. “The X.S.E. is an international law enforcement agency with full backing from the United Nations. Sanctioned mutants policing mutants is the most progress we’ve made in years! If we don’t continue to play by the rules, if we enlist the aid of vigilantes, then it undermines everything we’ve set out to accomplish!”
“Then deputize us!” Beast roared, throwing his hands in the air. “Let us do what we’ve been doing for years but have never been recognized for, then take all the credit you want for it, for all I care! It doesn’t matter a bit to me. Just let us try.”
With a frustrated groan, Director Brand turned from Beast and moved away from him. He looked away as well, wanting to collect himself before their heated argument turned to something else. After a moment, he finally looked back to her.
“You know that I’m right,” Beast said simply.
“We can protect your research,” she replied matter-of-factly. “We can protect your school.”
Beast approached her and once again stepped in front of her, making eye contact.
“I have every bit of confidence that the X.S.E. will one day be prepared and equipped to handle situations like this in the future, but that day isn’t today and it may not be soon enough,” he said, pleading with her. “We should work together in finding the Brotherhood and stop them before any more innocent lives are lost.”
Director Brand shook her head and looked away again. She considered what he said for a moment. Despite the audacity of his tone, she knew he had a point, and faced with such a daunting task so early in its inception the X.S.E. really needed a win.
“Hmph. Alright, Dr. McCoy,” she finally said. “I’ll see what I can about ‘deputizing’ you all for the time being, but it’s going to come on one condition…”
# # # # #
Across the island, the X-Men had assembled in the recreation room of the living quarters. The X.S.E. was still stationed and moving about the island, but as far as they could tell this was the most secluded area for them to meet. Beast was the last to join the team, strolling across the room from the entrance to join the team at the other side.
“Thank you for gathering so quickly, everybody,” he said, taking off his glasses and rubbing the lenses clean on a piece of cloth. “I know there’s a lot to be done on the island before we leave, but I think it’s important to gather our bearings before pressing forward.”
“Yeah, but geeze,” Iceman said while shaking his head. “Where do even start?”
“How ‘bout the ginormous ruby quartz elephant in the room?” Rogue asked in a snarky voice, hunching her brows. The team already knew who she meant.
“Scott,” Phoenix breathed his name, drawing the attention of her teammates. She looked down. “After the battle with the Grey King, I detected his presence on the island, so I know for a fact he was here. He left on a helicopter with several others before I could stop him.”
Wolverine nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, and I picked up a fresh scent all over the island,” he added. “Slim was definitely gettin’ around with the Brotherhood. That’s for sure.”
“The question is why?” Beast said as he finished cleaning off his glasses and put them back on his nose. “Furthermore, what do we do with the knowledge that he was here? It doesn’t appear that Abigail Brand knows about his involvement…”
Phoenix shook her head. “I conducted surface scans of the X.S.E. agents as we moved around the island,” she said. “They have significant telepathic shielding, but nothing I couldn’t peak through. I’m pretty certain they don’t even know he was here.”
“Tom did say that most of the surveillance videos ended up getting erased by the Brotherhood before anyone could take a look at ‘em,” Iceman said with some confidence, but then he looked at Rogue. “What about Fatale?”
“Ah didn’t pick up anything ‘bout Scott on her mind,” Rogue answered with a nonchalant shrug. “Can’t say for certain, but the lady’s noodle seems pretty cooked an’ she ain’t talkin’ to anyone, so Ah’d say the cat’s not quite outta the bag yet…”
“Maybe we oughtta keep it that way for now then, eh?” Wolverine suggested reluctantly. “Until we find Slim and ask ‘im a few questions ourselves, anyway.”
“Agreed,” Beast was quick to say. “Brand is already uneasy enough about working with us to combat the Brotherhood. If she finds out a former X-Man is involved in the Brotherhood’s activities then she may shut us out completely and that could make things very difficult. That means this information can’t leave the five of us.”
Phoenix, Iceman, and Rogue all nodded in agreement.
“So what’s our next move then?” Phoenix asked.
“After we’re finished here, I want to return to the institute and begin searching for Cyclops and the Brotherhood immediately,” Beast answered. His brow then furrowed uncomfortably. “Unfortunately, there’s a bit of a catch that may… complicate matters... Abigail Brand and the X.S.E. are only allowing us to pursue the Brotherhood if we allow a liaison to join us.”
Wolverine scoffed and shook his head.
“Screw ‘em, Hank. We don’t need the government involved in what we’re doin’ here. There’s no tellin’ what kinda intel they’ll pick up on us or how they’ll use it in the future.”
“It’s not that simple, Logan,” Beast replied.
“You seen how slowly they got out here, and when they finally did they barely lifted a damn finger!” Wolverine said. “We can track the Brotherhood down and put a stop to ‘em before the X.S.E. even knows what’s going on.”
“You may be right,” Beast said reluctantly. “However, the X.S.E. is a legitimate organization intent on allowing mutants to police mutants with full support of the United Nations. It may be a fairly new organization, but they may very well be a positive step in mutant/human relations. We should support that and avoid butting heads with them if at all possible.”
Wolverine growled slightly, still not quite sold. The others were a little more open.
“Alright, well it’s not like they’re being totally unreasonable or anything, right?” Iceman said, looking about the room. “So who’s our liaison? That Victoria Hand chick?”
“Actually, she’s not even a mutant, let alone a part of the X.S.E.,” Beast explained. “She’s actually a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant overseeing the training and development of the X.S.E.”
“Then who are we lookin’ at?” Rogue asked. “Who’s joinin’ the team?”
Beast hesitated a moment, but one person already knew. Phoenix gasped slightly and sat up as she sensed the arrival of another person in their proximity. It was then there was a knock at the open doorway of the recreation room. The team looked towards the direction of the knock and saw a tall, blonde haired man they all knew standing there in an X.S.E. uniform.
“Hey everybody,” Alex Summers, also known as Havok, said as he walked into the room. “Sorry for interrupting, but they said you would be in here waiting for me…”
THE END
NEXT ISSUE: Havok rejoins the X-Men as an X.S.E. liaison and returns to the Xavier Institute for the first time in a very long time. However, many things have changed with him and his former teammates. Will their reunion be a pleasant one? Plus, more on Deus and the Brotherhood of Mutants!
# # # # #
MAKE WAY FOR… NEWMANIAM!
Feedback is as feedback does.
Any love, hate, or meager shrugs can be sent to [email protected]!
I’ll be the first to admit there are a lot of talking heads in this issue. However, I felt this would be a great place to the action down, let everyone catch their breath, and move the plot forward to the next. Hopefully there were enough new mysteries and intriguing plot developments to keep you all interested. Everything’s coming into place, I’ve got a nice groove going, and it feels like the next arc will be even better than this one. Seriously!
Enjoy the ride.
- Cory W.
April 20, 2011
# # # # #
Muir Island Research Center.
Muir Island, Scotland.
“Doctor McCoy… It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” the woman said with an authoritative tone. “My name’s Abigail Brand. We’re with the X.S.E.”
Beast’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. His teammates were equally taken aback.
“The X.S.E.?” he said, raising a brow.
“The X-Factor Sanction Enforcement,” Brand explained matter-of-factly. “I’m its Director and Interim Field Commander until we’re fully established.”
Phoenix raised a suspicious eyebrow. “X-Factor Sanction Enforcement? Don’t you mean Xavier’s Security Enforcers?”
“Not quite,” Director Brand replied as she began to pace slightly. “Your old friends, Bishop and Shard, have briefed us on the organization they were members of in the future. I assure you the initials are merely a coincidence. Our mission statement differs significantly, and besides…” She trailed off and cocked her head to the side slightly, then looked to the X-Men. “One would hardly find that name appropriate, all things considered.”
Wolverine growled at that last comment. “I don’t think I like your tone, lady.”
Director Brand smiled coyly.
“Trust me, Wolverine. I didn’t mean anything by it. You’re bleeding, by the way,” she said, nodding slightly at his torso before turning to face her team.
Wolverine first looked to the back of his hands, but then then at the large spot of blood beginning to form on his uniform over his ribs. His teammates were somewhat perplexed and taken aback by this, but chose to keep their attention on Director Brand.
“Stand down, men,” she said to the soldiers. “These clearly aren’t our targets.”
The men loosened up their stances and relaxed their weapons, falling out of formation.
“We haven’t time for formalities or banter, Director Brand,” Beast finally spoke up, shaking his head. “Our teammates are -- “
“Being assisted by X.S.E. trainees and S.H.I.E.L.D. ground forces on loan to our organization,” Director Brand interjected, completing his sentence for him with a hint of condensation in her voice. “In fact, I’m willing to bet they’ve already successfully dispatched the Brotherhood’s remaining forces and secured the island.”
“That’s right, Director,” a voice said from the corridor behind Director Brand.
She and the X-Men looked to a woman entering the server room in full S.H.I.E.L.D. garb. Aside from her trendy eyeglasses, what was most notable about her appearance was her jet black hair and the hot pink stripe in her bangs.
“Heh, geeze. What’s up with the hair, ladies? It’s like a support group for defective Revlon products in here all of a sudden,” Iceman mused with a snicker before looking to, and elbowing, Phoenix playfully. “And to think we useta tease Jean about being a ginger.”
Director Brand and the new arrival glanced at Iceman, clearly not amused, and then faced each other. Phoenix rolled her eyes and sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.
“What is it, Agent Hand?” Director Brand asked.
“We’ve rounded up everyone that we could and have secured the island. The X-Men’s allies are outside being debriefed as we speak,” Agent Victoria Hand stated. She took out a small PDA and lifted it up to Director Brand, showing her a photo. “Now we’re beginning to look for survivors and we’ve found one that you’ll want to speak with.”
Director Brand took the PDA from Agent Hand and looked at it.
“I see…” she said, her eyes widening slightly underneath her green sunglasses. She looked to Beast and smiled. “What do you say, Doctor McCoy? Care to take a little walk with me?”
# # # # #
The battered sliding doors to the research center’s central laboratory opened with the sound of depressurizing air. Director Brand and Agent Hand walked in with the X-Men following behind them, each one surveying the ransacked and utterly destroyed room. The mixture of disgust, anger, and horror left them each unsettled in their own ways.
A handful of bodies in white lab coats laid about the rubble and debris, covered in blood and dark burns. A large, gaping hole where the Brotherhood had entered and likely exited was front and center in the lab, allowing the morning light to peak in. X.S.E. agents were spread about the laboratory, surveying the damage for clues.
However, two agents in particular were standing around a middle-aged brunette woman who sat on a large piece of rubble.
“Moira!” Beast exclaimed upon her seeing her. Doctor Moira MacTaggert looked up to him when she heard his voice, suddenly surprised and relieved to see him and the others. He quickly crossed the room to reach her and the rest of the X-Men followed behind him.
“Oh, Hank,” Moira groaned as he rushed to her side and the two embraced. The X.S.E. agents backed away, giving the two some space. She looked up to the others and breathed a sigh of relief. “What a blessing it is t’ see you all.”
“We came as quickly as we could,” he assured as they released their embrace and he sat down beside her. “Are you alright? Were you harmed at all during the assault?”
“No, I dinnae think so,” she replied, shaking her head and hanging it low. “I’ve got a sickening headache, but I should be fine all things considered.”
Beast looked to his teammates and nodded to them to give them some space. Iceman and Rogue spread out amongst themselves to look over the destruction of the laboratory, whereas Phoenix and Wolverine stepped back and simply watched the two as they spoke.
“What happened?” Beast asked. Moira closed her eyes for a moment, thinking back to when it all started, and then opened them when she was ready.
“I was working late in the lab with some junior researchers when I stepped out t’ get some coffee,” she started to say, taking a deep breath before she continued. “There was an explosion an’ the Brotherhood attacked out of bloody nowhere. I tried to alert the security team, but they were unresponsive, so then I rallied all the staff I could in the panic room when they came for me…” she said before trailing off.
Beast nodded to her, allowing her time to collect her thoughts. After another moment, she took another deep breath and continued.
“They drug me back here and one o’ them, a woman, was going to shoot me,” she said, a part of her reliving the fear. “God help me. I thought I was a goner for sure, but then I just… blacked out… an’ then these X.S.E. people found me an’ woke me up.”
Beast looked on, taking in everything she was telling them.
It was then one of the X.S.E. medics walked over to Agent Hand and handed her a sealed, plastic bag. He whispered something to her and she nodded, then he walked away. She looked down to the bag and then looked to Beast, clearing her throat to draw his attention.
“Excuse me, Doctor McCoy,” Agent Said to Beast, lifting up the bag for him to see. “But when they found her this was sticking out of her neck.”
He narrowed his eyes onto the bag, then took a pair of glasses out of a pocket on his belt and put them on as she approached him. She passed the bag along to him, which he promptly examined with an inquisitive eye.
It was a tranquilizer dart.
“Someone should conduct a full toxicology test on her,” Beast finally said, perplexed. He looked to Moira and held up the bag. “Do you remember being struck by this?”
Moira studied the bag for a moment, but then took off her glasses and closed her eyes before rubbing the tension out of her forehead. She shook her head, feeling confused and at a loss by everything that’s happened. It was too much for her.
“It’s alright, Moira,” he said, putting a reassuring arm around her shoulder. “Trust me. We’ll get to the bottom of this. Just do your best to get some rest.”
With another deep sigh, Moira leaned into Beast. He handed the bag back to Agent Hand, who walked off to speak more with the medics and field team.
A sound of depressurizing air caught Moira and Beast’s attention and they looked up to see the doors to the laboratory slide open. A young woman and a silver haired man rushed into the room with a sense of urgency, startling nearby X.S.E. agents.
“Mum!” Rahne called out, running across the lab to her. Joseph wasn’t far behind.
Beast quickly stood up and moved away from Moira’s side, allowing her to be joined by her two children. The three embraced and began talking rapidly about how relieved they were to see each other. Moira almost immediately noticed and commented on Joseph’s appearance, but he did his best to downplay the sudden change as they spoke.
Wanting to give the family time alone, Beast walked over to the X-Men, particularly Phoenix and Wolverine. Wolverine leaned closer to him with arms crossed and touched the side of his nose, sniffing the air for emphasis.
“No mistake. He was here,” he muttered quietly, referring to the one man whose potential presence had the team on pins and needles ever since they learned of the Brotherhood’s siege on Muir Island. Scott Summers, also known as Cyclops, had certainly been there with them, but why? And did the X.S.E. know about it?
Considering these questions, Beast nodded slowly to Wolverine and looked to Phoenix, who only glared back at him coldly. She knew that Wolverine was right. Worse, she knew exactly what both men were thinking. Beast took a deep breath and looked about the laboratory, wondering if other forms of evidence of Cyclops’s presence had been uncovered.
It was then Director Brand finished talking with a group of X.S.E. agents and made eye-contact with Beast, waving for him to come over to her. He nodded back and then looked to Moira, Rahne, and Joseph before approaching them slowly.
“I’m sorry to leave you like this, Moira, but we have to check on the rest of the island and continue our investigation,” Beast said with a half-hearted smile. He reached a hand to her and she took it gently. “I promise to come see you when we’re finished.”
Moira nodded understandingly. “Think nothing of it, Henry. I’ll be jus’ fine in time…”
Beast squeezed her hand briefly, then turned to Director Brand and walked across the lab to her. They were joined by Phoenix and Wolverine.
“What is it?” Beast asked her, point blank.
“We found and detained a member of the Brotherhood in the living quarters,” Director Brand replied matter-of-factly. “They’re being a little… resistant to our telepath’s inquiries. We’d like your help getting some information out of them.”
Phoenix nodded understandingly. “Lead the way then.”
# # # # #
Director Brand and the X-Men walked through a gaping hole in the security building, where Iceman and Tom Corsi had previously battled members of the Brotherhood sent to decimate the security force. Several X.S.E. agents were scattered about, busily trying to restore power and sort through the rubble for anything that could be salvaged.
Tom Corsi stood at one end of the room, talking with a couple of agents, when he noticed the arrival of Director Brand and the X-Men. He broke away from the agents and walked towards the group of new arrivals, nodding to them.
“Thanks for getting here so quickly,” he said, waving to a corridor at his left. “Come with me. We’ve found someone who may be of use to us.”
“Who would that be?” Beast asked as they followed him to a secure room. Tom took a security card out of his pocket and slid it on a keypad, then typed in a security code.
“One of the Brotherhood’s lieutenants,” he said as the door opened.
Tom led the group into the interrogation room. It was divided in two by a wall with a large two-way mirror at the center, allowing the team to see a muscular woman strapped down to a chair and being interrogated by an X.S.E. agent. The X-Men recognized her immediately. She was dark skinned with short and spiky electric blue hair.
“That’s Fatale,” Phoenix observed, making note of her injuries. Her forehead was wrapped in a bandage, and bruises and marks covered her body.
“That’s right,” Tom said. “We found her beaten and unconscious in Wolfbane’s living quarters. She sustained a pretty bad head injury, but the medics say she should be fine.”
“So Rahne did this to her?” Phoenix asked, a measure of concern in her voice. “I’m sorry, Tom, but I have a hard time believing that.”
Tom took a moment to choose his words correctly.
“Well, she says she did, but we have reason to believe she isn’t remembering things correctly,” he said with a measure of skepticism. “For starters, Fatale’s injuries aren’t consistent with the kind of maiming a mutant like Wolfsbane could dish out.”
Director Brand didn’t care much for speculation and got straight to the point.
“I’m not as concerned about how she ended up left behind him as I am for what she can tell us,” she said bluntly. “Besides, aren’t there security cameras throughout the compound? Let’s just check them to see what happened.”
Tom shook his head. “We already thought of that,” he replied. “Someone hacked into our databases and erased everything.”
“It must have been Hard-Drive,” Beast said, stroking his chin. “He had access to all of Muir Island’s computer databases when he in the server room.”
“Whatever the case may be, we should focus on why we’re here,” Director Brand said. She walked over to an intercom positioned on the wall and pressed a button. “Agent Watanabe, could you take a break for a moment?”
The X.S.E. agent turned to the mirror and nodded. He walked away from Fatale and to the door out of the holding room, which opened electronically when Director Brand pressed another button on the intercom.
“This is Agent Sean Watanabe. You can call him ‘Brass’ in the field,” Director Brand said as the man with dark hair and a muscular, albeit short, frame walked up to the group. “He’s been heading up field interviews and interrogations on this mission.”
“It’s an honor to finally meet the X-Men,” Brass said, first shaking hands with Beast and then Phoenix. “I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d ever get the chance.”
Phoenix paused a moment as she unconsciously detected something in Brass’s mind.
“You’re a telepath,” she said, picking up on his latent powers. Brass nodded.
“That’s right.”
“Heh, nice,” Iceman chirped up from the back. “So that makes, what? Two or three mutants out of the whole X.S.E. crew so far? Glad to see you guys are doing things so much differently from S.H.I.E.L.D.”
Brass glared at Iceman and scowled at him slightly, but Rogue quickly elbowed her teammate in the side. She then reached out to shake Brass’s hand and smiled flirtatiously.
“Ignore him, sugah,” she said, rolling her eyes. “He cracks stupid jokes when he’s bored.”
“And drunk,” Iceman added with a grin.
“And breathing,” Wolverine growled from the back of the room, visibly annoyed.
Beast ignored the banter and flirting, instead choosing to put the focus on their captive.
“What have you learned from Fatale?” he asked. Brass shook his head.
“Not a whole lot, unfortunately,” he explained. “She has some pretty tough mental defenses, likely set up by another telepath, and she hasn’t been very cooperative at all. I could crack her defenses, but it would take a few days and some… alternative interrogation techniques… but we thought you could help speed up the process.”
Phoenix nodded. “Give me just a moment.”
She closed her eyes and reached out with her telepathy, doing a quick scan of Fatale’s mind. It only took a few seconds to conduct a complete evaluation. When she opened her eyes she turned to Beast with some reluctance.
“This is the Grey King’s work,” she stated. “I can remove his barriers, but it’ll take some time. It wouldn’t be days, but it could possibly take a few hours.”
Brass seemed impressed. However, Beast had other ideas in mind.
“Rogue, perhaps you could speed things up even more?” he suggested. Rogue shrugged slightly and took off her gloves.
“Ah’ll give it a shot.”
“Let her in and stay with her,” Director Brand said to Tom. He and Rogue walked over to the door entering the holding room. Tom hit a button on the intercom, waited for the door to unlock, and then opened it for Rogue. She walked in and he followed, prompting an almost immediate response from Fatale when she saw them.
“Aww, shit…” the mutant terrorist grumbled.
Rogue smiled mischievously as she paced around Fatale.
“Shoulda played nice an’ told Agent Watanabe what he wanted t’ know,” she said before she placed both of her hands on the sides of Fatale’s head. Fatale let out an elongated gasp as Rogue used her powers to absorb Fatale’s memories. The process caused Fatale’s head to slump forward out of Rogue’s grasp, rendering her unconscious, and Rogue closed her eyes and winced a bit, seeming a bit uncomfortable.
Director Brand, Agent Watanabe, and the X-Men watched on. After a moment, Rogue opened her eyes and nodded to Tom, who turned to the mirror and knocked on it. Director Brand pressed a button on the intercom and opened the door, allowing the two to come out.
“Did it work?” Brass asked with some eagerness.
“It’s all a lot more muddled than Ah’d like, but Ah did get some info outta her noggin that may be helpful,” Rogue explained, although appearing somewhat disoriented. She shook her head. “Never quite been like this before…”
“Alright. Let’s go into another room and go over what we can then,” Brass said before looking to Phoenix. “Then maybe Mrs. Summers and I could take a shot at it together?”
“Ms. Grey, actually,” Phoenix corrected. “And that sounds like a good plan to me.”
Brass nodded and led the two out of the room, leaving Director Brand, Tom, Beast, Wolverine, and Iceman alone to consider their next move. After a moment of silence, Director Brand made a decision and turned to Beast.
“Doctor McCoy, could I speak with you for a moment?”
# # # # #
Director Brand and Beast stepped out of the interrogation room, continuing down the corridor a ways to gain a bit of privacy from the others.
“I wanted to thank you for everything that you’ve done today,” Director Brand said when they came to a stop. “However, I think we can take it from here. This is officially an X.S.E. matter now. You should all go home and get some rest.”
She could tell her words stunned him.
“Come again?” Beast asked, his eyes widening in disbelief. Director Brand stood firm. “We can’t simply ignore what happened today and sit on our hands. I’ll never allow it!”
“This is a law enforcement matter,” she stated firmly. “It doesn’t involve you.”
“That’s absurd!” Beast shot back, his temper flaring. “These are our friends… Their family, their home! There’s millions of dollars of research into the mutant genome involved in what we do here, backed by government and private grants. This is research that can possibly change what we believe is the course of human evolution!”
Director Brand crossed her arms and looked away, shaking her head at such pretension. Beast stepped into her line of sight and looked her straight in the eye, putting emphasis on his words. “Director Brand, I am by no means exaggerating when I say that the very fate of our genes rests on the work done by these people and threats posed by the Brotherhood.”
She unfolded her arms and stood up straight, trying to maintain her composure.
“I know these were your friends and colleagues, but you’re technically only private citizens… vigilantes at worst!” she shot back at him. “This is a law enforcement matter and we can’t have the X-Men involved. Can you imagine the implications involved?!”
“Are you forgetting what happened here today? If it wasn’t for our intervention, countless more people would have died mere hours ago!” Beast continued. “Everything the Xavier Institute and Muir Island have done in the name of mutants and mankind would have been lost, and in the hands of terrorists for God knows what purposes, no less!”
Director Brand clenched her fists, his preaching getting the best of her. “You have to look at the bigger picture, Dr. McCoy!” she said, shoving a finger at him. “The X.S.E. is an international law enforcement agency with full backing from the United Nations. Sanctioned mutants policing mutants is the most progress we’ve made in years! If we don’t continue to play by the rules, if we enlist the aid of vigilantes, then it undermines everything we’ve set out to accomplish!”
“Then deputize us!” Beast roared, throwing his hands in the air. “Let us do what we’ve been doing for years but have never been recognized for, then take all the credit you want for it, for all I care! It doesn’t matter a bit to me. Just let us try.”
With a frustrated groan, Director Brand turned from Beast and moved away from him. He looked away as well, wanting to collect himself before their heated argument turned to something else. After a moment, he finally looked back to her.
“You know that I’m right,” Beast said simply.
“We can protect your research,” she replied matter-of-factly. “We can protect your school.”
Beast approached her and once again stepped in front of her, making eye contact.
“I have every bit of confidence that the X.S.E. will one day be prepared and equipped to handle situations like this in the future, but that day isn’t today and it may not be soon enough,” he said, pleading with her. “We should work together in finding the Brotherhood and stop them before any more innocent lives are lost.”
Director Brand shook her head and looked away again. She considered what he said for a moment. Despite the audacity of his tone, she knew he had a point, and faced with such a daunting task so early in its inception the X.S.E. really needed a win.
“Hmph. Alright, Dr. McCoy,” she finally said. “I’ll see what I can about ‘deputizing’ you all for the time being, but it’s going to come on one condition…”
# # # # #
Across the island, the X-Men had assembled in the recreation room of the living quarters. The X.S.E. was still stationed and moving about the island, but as far as they could tell this was the most secluded area for them to meet. Beast was the last to join the team, strolling across the room from the entrance to join the team at the other side.
“Thank you for gathering so quickly, everybody,” he said, taking off his glasses and rubbing the lenses clean on a piece of cloth. “I know there’s a lot to be done on the island before we leave, but I think it’s important to gather our bearings before pressing forward.”
“Yeah, but geeze,” Iceman said while shaking his head. “Where do even start?”
“How ‘bout the ginormous ruby quartz elephant in the room?” Rogue asked in a snarky voice, hunching her brows. The team already knew who she meant.
“Scott,” Phoenix breathed his name, drawing the attention of her teammates. She looked down. “After the battle with the Grey King, I detected his presence on the island, so I know for a fact he was here. He left on a helicopter with several others before I could stop him.”
Wolverine nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, and I picked up a fresh scent all over the island,” he added. “Slim was definitely gettin’ around with the Brotherhood. That’s for sure.”
“The question is why?” Beast said as he finished cleaning off his glasses and put them back on his nose. “Furthermore, what do we do with the knowledge that he was here? It doesn’t appear that Abigail Brand knows about his involvement…”
Phoenix shook her head. “I conducted surface scans of the X.S.E. agents as we moved around the island,” she said. “They have significant telepathic shielding, but nothing I couldn’t peak through. I’m pretty certain they don’t even know he was here.”
“Tom did say that most of the surveillance videos ended up getting erased by the Brotherhood before anyone could take a look at ‘em,” Iceman said with some confidence, but then he looked at Rogue. “What about Fatale?”
“Ah didn’t pick up anything ‘bout Scott on her mind,” Rogue answered with a nonchalant shrug. “Can’t say for certain, but the lady’s noodle seems pretty cooked an’ she ain’t talkin’ to anyone, so Ah’d say the cat’s not quite outta the bag yet…”
“Maybe we oughtta keep it that way for now then, eh?” Wolverine suggested reluctantly. “Until we find Slim and ask ‘im a few questions ourselves, anyway.”
“Agreed,” Beast was quick to say. “Brand is already uneasy enough about working with us to combat the Brotherhood. If she finds out a former X-Man is involved in the Brotherhood’s activities then she may shut us out completely and that could make things very difficult. That means this information can’t leave the five of us.”
Phoenix, Iceman, and Rogue all nodded in agreement.
“So what’s our next move then?” Phoenix asked.
“After we’re finished here, I want to return to the institute and begin searching for Cyclops and the Brotherhood immediately,” Beast answered. His brow then furrowed uncomfortably. “Unfortunately, there’s a bit of a catch that may… complicate matters... Abigail Brand and the X.S.E. are only allowing us to pursue the Brotherhood if we allow a liaison to join us.”
Wolverine scoffed and shook his head.
“Screw ‘em, Hank. We don’t need the government involved in what we’re doin’ here. There’s no tellin’ what kinda intel they’ll pick up on us or how they’ll use it in the future.”
“It’s not that simple, Logan,” Beast replied.
“You seen how slowly they got out here, and when they finally did they barely lifted a damn finger!” Wolverine said. “We can track the Brotherhood down and put a stop to ‘em before the X.S.E. even knows what’s going on.”
“You may be right,” Beast said reluctantly. “However, the X.S.E. is a legitimate organization intent on allowing mutants to police mutants with full support of the United Nations. It may be a fairly new organization, but they may very well be a positive step in mutant/human relations. We should support that and avoid butting heads with them if at all possible.”
Wolverine growled slightly, still not quite sold. The others were a little more open.
“Alright, well it’s not like they’re being totally unreasonable or anything, right?” Iceman said, looking about the room. “So who’s our liaison? That Victoria Hand chick?”
“Actually, she’s not even a mutant, let alone a part of the X.S.E.,” Beast explained. “She’s actually a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant overseeing the training and development of the X.S.E.”
“Then who are we lookin’ at?” Rogue asked. “Who’s joinin’ the team?”
Beast hesitated a moment, but one person already knew. Phoenix gasped slightly and sat up as she sensed the arrival of another person in their proximity. It was then there was a knock at the open doorway of the recreation room. The team looked towards the direction of the knock and saw a tall, blonde haired man they all knew standing there in an X.S.E. uniform.
“Hey everybody,” Alex Summers, also known as Havok, said as he walked into the room. “Sorry for interrupting, but they said you would be in here waiting for me…”
THE END
NEXT ISSUE: Havok rejoins the X-Men as an X.S.E. liaison and returns to the Xavier Institute for the first time in a very long time. However, many things have changed with him and his former teammates. Will their reunion be a pleasant one? Plus, more on Deus and the Brotherhood of Mutants!
# # # # #
MAKE WAY FOR… NEWMANIAM!
Feedback is as feedback does.
Any love, hate, or meager shrugs can be sent to [email protected]!
I’ll be the first to admit there are a lot of talking heads in this issue. However, I felt this would be a great place to the action down, let everyone catch their breath, and move the plot forward to the next. Hopefully there were enough new mysteries and intriguing plot developments to keep you all interested. Everything’s coming into place, I’ve got a nice groove going, and it feels like the next arc will be even better than this one. Seriously!
Enjoy the ride.
- Cory W.
April 20, 2011