Back to Gatefold
Issue #6 by Cory Wiegel
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Six months ago…
Formerly a beautiful ocean side city espoused with the most advanced and sophisticated architecture of its time, Hammer Bay had become war ravaged in recent years beyond repair. Reconstruction was a complicated task as the island nation of Genosha possessed resources that were in flux at best and scarce at worst. The battered buildings and burnt out vehicles littering the streets were a somber reminder that war was always right around the corner for the world’s first mutant-led nation.
The woman known to some personally as Beatrice, but to others more professionally as Domino, raced across the city’s rooftops with a sniper rifle strapped to her back. A mutant herself, Domino had pale white skin and a black birthmark of sorts over her left eye, and the uncanny knack of being in the right place at the right time. She leapt from one building to the next, dropping some two dozen or so feet, but gracefully falling into a roll from which she recovered harmlessly into a sprint.
When she reached the end of the rooftop, Domino dropped to her knee and positioned her sniper rifle on the building’s ledge. Peering through its scope, she took aim at a rundown facility’s eastern wall. After a moment, the beeping on her wrist watch sped up rapidly.
“Any second now…” she mumbled to herself.
It was then the wall exploded in a bright ruby red blast, throwing several identical looking men in identical looking uniforms out of the building in the process. Debris such as bricks and mortar scattered among their unconscious bodies in a cloud of dust, obscuring their fallen forms.
“Bingo.”
When the dust cleared, a man with brown hair and a golden visor emerged from the gaping hole and scanned the area. Domino smiled and pressed the button on the radio piece in her ear.
“Scott Summers,” she said. “As I live and breathe. You’re late.”
The man shot a glance up to Domino, then sprinted across the debris and bodies several yards out into the open. He turned around to face the building and took a defensive position.
{{ Look alive, Domino! We’ve got incoming, }} he replied. {{ And don’t forget, it’s Cyclops in the field. }}
Domino grinned mischievously as she readied her rifle for the incoming assault.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Formerly a beautiful ocean side city espoused with the most advanced and sophisticated architecture of its time, Hammer Bay had become war ravaged in recent years beyond repair. Reconstruction was a complicated task as the island nation of Genosha possessed resources that were in flux at best and scarce at worst. The battered buildings and burnt out vehicles littering the streets were a somber reminder that war was always right around the corner for the world’s first mutant-led nation.
The woman known to some personally as Beatrice, but to others more professionally as Domino, raced across the city’s rooftops with a sniper rifle strapped to her back. A mutant herself, Domino had pale white skin and a black birthmark of sorts over her left eye, and the uncanny knack of being in the right place at the right time. She leapt from one building to the next, dropping some two dozen or so feet, but gracefully falling into a roll from which she recovered harmlessly into a sprint.
When she reached the end of the rooftop, Domino dropped to her knee and positioned her sniper rifle on the building’s ledge. Peering through its scope, she took aim at a rundown facility’s eastern wall. After a moment, the beeping on her wrist watch sped up rapidly.
“Any second now…” she mumbled to herself.
It was then the wall exploded in a bright ruby red blast, throwing several identical looking men in identical looking uniforms out of the building in the process. Debris such as bricks and mortar scattered among their unconscious bodies in a cloud of dust, obscuring their fallen forms.
“Bingo.”
When the dust cleared, a man with brown hair and a golden visor emerged from the gaping hole and scanned the area. Domino smiled and pressed the button on the radio piece in her ear.
“Scott Summers,” she said. “As I live and breathe. You’re late.”
The man shot a glance up to Domino, then sprinted across the debris and bodies several yards out into the open. He turned around to face the building and took a defensive position.
{{ Look alive, Domino! We’ve got incoming, }} he replied. {{ And don’t forget, it’s Cyclops in the field. }}
Domino grinned mischievously as she readied her rifle for the incoming assault.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL – PART ONE”
PREVIOUSLY IN NEW X-MEN #5: After intervening in the Brotherhood’s attack on Muir Island and saving the research team’s work on the Mutant Genome Project, the X-Men were confronted by Abigail Brand and the X.S.E., an international mutant police force. Together, they secured the island and launched an investigation into the Brotherhood’s attack and Cyclops’s involvement with them. When Brand informed Beast that the X-Men’s services were no longer needed, he demanded that they work together to bring Cyclops and the Brotherhood to justice. Reluctantly, Brand agreed...
# # # # #
Now.
In the hangar bay below the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, Dr. Henry “Hank” McCoy – the blue furred simian-man known as Beast – watched as a small blue and gold jet coasted to a stop. As the engines powered down, its pilot opened a hatch on the door and stepped out. A young blonde haired man in an X.S.E. uniform with a black jacket on stepped out, smiling.
“Good afternoon, Alex. I see that the X.S.E. spared no expense in getting you here.”
“They’ll be teleporting us as soon as S.H.I.E.L.D. sends over their technicians to work out some kinks,” Alex Summers, code named Havok, said as he shook hands with Hank. “How have you been, old friend?”
Hank took a breath then smiled tiredly. “Sufficed to say… busy.”
“I can tell.”
Alex patted Hank on the shoulder and walked passed him, looking around the hangar bay.
“Nice job on the remodel, by the way.”
“Welcome to the new Xavier Institute for Higher Learning,” Hank said proudly, gesturing about. “Or its basement, I should say.”
“Thanks,” Alex said with a chuckle. Hank pointed to the elevator and the two began walking toward it.
“So, how has the X.S.E.’s investigation been going?” Hank asked.
“Ah, you know. They’ve just been confirming what we already know,” Alex said with a sigh. “Scott was definitely on Muir Island with the Brotherhood when they attacked, but we’re not sure what role he played in the assault.”
“What of the members Brand detained on the island?”
“Our telepaths are still working on them with S.H.I.E.L.D. interrogators, but their mental defenses are pretty tough to crack,” Alex explained. “We haven’t gotten anything more useful than what we got from Fatale’s interrogation back on Muir Island.”
“I see…” Hank nodded his head slowly. They reached the elevator and he pressed a button on the wall, opening the door. They stepped in and the doors slid shut behind them.
“What’s new on your end?” Alex asked as the elevator promptly started upward.
“Oh, Jean’s been regularly scanning the entire planet with Cerebro for Cyclops and the Brotherhood,” Hank said then shook his head. “Sadly, we haven’t had much luck locating them. She can fill you in on the particulars.”
Alex nodded his head. “Right.”
The elevator came to a smooth stop then the doors slid open in the main foyer. Teenage students in prep school uniforms raced across their path, chatting and laughing loudly.
“Well, here we are,” Hank said as they stepped out. “Hope you survive the experience…”
# # # # #
Then.
Cyclops adjusted his visor and unleashed a thin but wide optic blast, sending three of the identical men flying into a nearby building’s wall. They violently vibrated on impact and then slumped over visibly stunned, but three more identical men seemed to rise out of them. Almost immediately they scattered and began picking up pricks and mortar from the demolished wall to use as weapons.
Each one of them was a duplicate of Jamie Madrox, a mutant with the ability to make copies of himself and will them to do his bidding. He was once a hero and agent of the U.S. government, but in recent times found himself allied with Magneto and his Fallen Angels.
As bricks flew from their hands towards Cyclops, he readjusted his visor and fired several small optic blasts with pinpoint accuracy. The bricks exploded on impact, but they were only meant to be a distraction, as Cyclops realized when a Madrox rushed him with a pipe. He nimbly leapt out of the way of a downward strike, then took hold of the pipe and redirected it back into the Madrox’s forehead. A duplicate automatically appeared behind on impact. Cyclops dropped the pipe and lunged at the two.
“We can’t do this forever, Domino,” he said as he put one Madrox in a headlock and used him as a human shield, then blasted the other Madrox away with an optic blast. “How’s it going up there?”
From the rooftop, Domino continued to search the battlefield, the electronic scope on her rifle analyzing each identifical face as she passed over them, but there was no response.
{{ I can’t get a lock on Madrox Prime, }} she finally replied. {{ Either he hasn’t made an appearance in this little gang-bang yet or this portable Cerebro isn’t doing its job right. }}
“Give me a smoke screen then,” Cyclops said as he threw the Madrox into two others running towards him. As they fumbled to catch their fellow dupe, Cyclops blasted all three of them away several yards. “We’re going t have to thin them out as much as we can if we want a clean extraction. Madrox should have a limit to how many duplicates he can make, so we’ll take them all out if we have to.”
{{ Coming right up, hoss. }}
Cyclops wiped the sweat from his brow and quickly scanned the streets, making a note of where each conscious and unconscious duplicate was even as they gathered weapons and moved into positions to attack him. This knowledge would come in handy for what came next.
Suddenly, the duplicates began to charge at him for a collective attack.
{{ Head’s up! }} Domino said in his ear. A loud “poof” echoed through the streets as she shot a grenade from the rooftop towards her partner’s feet. He dived out of the way behind the charred remains of a car, then covered his ears and took a deep breath.
The grenade exploded, blanketing the area in a dense cloud of smoke. Madrox’s duplicates began coughing and hacking violently. They frantically scrambled about within the cloud, covering their eyes and faces as they tried to escape the smoke. It was then ruby quartz light rose up from within the smoke, but it went unnoticed by those about to fall…
# # # # #
Now.
Originally a spacious attic, the floor plan of the Xavier Mansion had been redrawn during each renovation and reconstruction to allow for a greenhouse to make up its top floor. It was occupied and tended to by Ororo Munroe, the X-Man known as Storm, since the inception of the X-Men. However, as she was on indefinite sabbatical from the school, Alex found that the headmistress has since found other uses for it… namely as a classroom.
“Well, look at what the cat drug in,” Jean Grey teased as she watered some rhododendrons. The students chuckled and giggled amongst themselves as Alex walked into the greenhouse, doing his best to ignore the flirtatious glances from a pair of young girls.
“Hey Jean,” Alex greeted.
“Hank told me you were coming. Where is he?” Jean asked.
“He had to take a meeting,” Alex explained. “Told me he’d give me the grand tour later, though I’ve got to say, not much has changed…”
Jean cocked her head to the side. “We may be the next step in evolution, but we’re still human. Nostalgia’s inherent,” she said. “How was the trip?”
“It was good, thanks,” Alex replied, soaking in the atmosphere. “I've got to say your students are doing quite a nice job with this place. Does Ororo know?”
“Well, yes and no,” Jean said with some reluctance. “I told her I would take care of it when she left a while back, but I don't think she really foresaw us re-opening the school like this.”
Alex nodded and smiled. “I'm sure she'd love it.”
Jean made a face as if she wasn't so sure. It was then the bell rang. The students quickly grabbed their books and bags before heading straight for the door.
“Great job, everybody,” she said. “Thanks for cleaning up so quietly. See you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Ms. Grey!” a student said on her way out of the greenhouse attic. Jean waved at her and several other students on their way out. When they were alone, she turned back to face Alex.
“Ms. Grey, huh?” he said with a half-hearted smile. Jean nodded somberly.
“Yeah... Scott's been gone for a while now without as much as a word home, then the attack on Muir Island, so...”
“Moving on?” Alex asked.
“Trying to,” Jean said as she stood up and dusted her hands off. She walked up to him and hugged him. “We're still family, though, Alex. Don't forget that”
Alex’s smile became more sincere. “How could I?”
The two released each other’s embrace.
“So, have you spoken to Lorna at all?” Jean finally asked. Alex cleared his throat.
“No, uh, not quite...” Alex said, rubbing the back of his head. “Hey look, I hate to change the subject, but Hank told me you had been using Cerebro to search for Scott and the Brotherhood. I was wondering if we could go over the search results.”
Jean hesitated for a moment, sighing softly.
“Sure…”
# # # # #
Then.
As the smoke settled across the street, Cyclops released the last Madrox duplicate from a chokehold. The dupe collapsed at his feet, unconscious.
Cyclops took a deep breath. Before he could relax, he felt the air shift behind him and heard a rustling noise. Cyclops spun around just in time to see another Madrox dart out from behind a white van parked in the street. Right before he could spear tackled Cyclops to the ground, a gunshot rang out and Madrox suddenly tumbled to the ground, unconscious. Cyclops looked down at him, awe-struck, as he saw a tranquilizer dart sticking out of Madrox’s throat.
{{ Missed one, }} Domino chimed in his radio.
Cyclops looked up to the rooftop and gave Domino a half-hearted thumbs-up.
“Thanks,” he said flatly.
{{ Don’t mention it. I’ll do it for you, }} Domino said coyly. {{ Hey, I think that was Madrox Prime. }}
Cyclops shook his head and knelt down beside Multiple Man, looking over his tranquilized body.
“What happened to you, Jamie?” he muttered in disappointment.
{{ I’m going to say a horse tranquilizer to the thorax, }} Domino joked.
Standing back up, Cyclops rolled his eyes behind his visor. “You know what I mean.”
{{ Maybe when he wakes up you can ask him? }} Domino said playfully. {{ With a dose like that, he should wake up in oohhh, I don’t know. Let’s say three we -- }}
A loud whistle interrupted Domino’s rant as a plasma ball crashed into the ledge underneath her rifle, exploding on impact. Cyclops whipped around just in time to see rubble fall from the building’s ledge and a cloud of dust obscure the strike zone.
“DOMINO!” he screamed.
When the dust cleared, Cyclops could make out Domino’s fallen form atop the sunken roof of a car parked beside the building she was atop of, but she was prone and covered in debris. He made a mad dash toward the battered car to check on her. Before he could reach her, he heard the same whistling noise again then a plasma ball exploded into his back, sending him crashing into the car’s fender.
Cyclops groaned as he slowly rose to his hands and knees. His back ached from the surprise attack and his forehead was dripping in blood from a gash after hitting the car. Struggling to stand, he turned to face the source of the attack. A young woman with short blonde hair stood in front of a group of men and women. She was Meltdown, they were the Fallen Angels, and Cyclops was in big trouble.
“Next one will kill ya, handsome,” Meltdown said, cocky as ever. “Tread lightly.”
# # # # #
Now.
“Thanks, Mr. Drake,” the dark haired girl said with a warm smile. “You’re the best.”
“Just uh, doing my job, Sarah,” Bobby Drake, also known as Iceman, said with a nervous smile. Sarah quietly hugged her books to her chest and turned away from him, slowly but deliberately walking out of his office. He made it a point not to notice.
When she walked out into the hallway, Alex walked in after her with a grin on his face. He made sure she was gone before he said anything.
“Wow. Look at Mr. Drake,” Alex joked as he sat down in front of Bobby’s desk.
“Psh, don’t look at me,” Bobby scoffed. “Teenage girls are perverts.”
Alex rolled his eyes. “Ah, come on. I’m sure it’s just an innocent crush.”
“No way, man. Yoga pants, sexting, older guys, Bratz dolls, ugh…” Bobby threw his hands up in the air and spun around in a circle in his chair. “I’m not exactly a prude, but this generation’s doomed.”
Alex shrugged. He couldn’t exactly argue with him but that was mostly because he didn’t care. Bobby shared a similar sentiment about Alex’s visit to the mansion.
“So, what’s up, Al?” Bobby asked. “Here to debrief us or something on the Muir Island attack?”
“Not really. I was actually hoping you could fill me in on a few things,” Alex said.
“Oh yeah?” Bobby raised a brow. “Like what?”
“Like Scott,” he said.
“What about him?”
“Why do you think he’s working with the Brotherhood?” Alex asked. Bobby gave him a skeptical look.
“Who said I think he’s working with the Brotherhood?” he replied.
“Seriously?” Alex said in disbelief.
“You ask me, I say the only way to know for sure is to find him and ask him,” Bobby said. He leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. “How’s that going, by the by, Mr. Liaison?”
Alex gave Bobby a look, not taking too kindly to his passive-aggressive attitude. It was then he caught a glance at a picture hanging on the wall in Bobby’s office.
It was the Xavier Institute’s very first class photo of the original five students. Dressed in their original blue and yellow uniforms, Scott stood in the center with Bobby on one side and Jean on the other, smiling. The other two students, Warren and Hank, were at opposite sides of them.
Bobby glanced up at the picture, then back at Alex.
“Earth to Havok,” he said, waving a hand in front of his face. “Anything else, buddy?” he asked. Alex didn’t answer. He just stood up from the chair and turned away, walking out of Bobby’s office.
The picture told Alex everything he needed to know.
# # # # #
Then.
“Domino’s down! We need an extraction now!” Cyclops yelled into his radio before going on the offensive. As the Fallen Angels charged toward him, he adjusted his visor and unleashed a powerful optic blast into the street in front of them. The asphalt and concrete beneath them began to sink into the sewer and the mutants scattered.
While Anarchist and Meltdown struggled to keep from falling into the sewers, Metallique stretched her liquid metal body to step out of the trench and Orphan levitated with ease over the ground as it collapsed. Feral, the cat-like woman, was obviously the most nimble of the group. She bounded over the sunken street towards Cyclops with a speed that betrayed her lithe frame.
Cyclops fired an optic blast to repel her, but Feral dived below the attack, tucked and rolled, then leapt back up at him with a swipe of her claws. Cyclops barely managed to block the swipe from ripping off his face with his forearm, but he cried out nonetheless then blasted her at point blank range. Feral tumbled away from, but before Cyclops could recover Metallique struck him with a massive hammer made from one of her shape shifting arms.
He doubled over from the blunt force and Metallique raised her other arm, shaped into that of a battle axe, over his head. Before she could drop it down on him, Cyclops fired an optic blast into her knee. Her fluid metal form gave way and she collapsed on one side. He rose up quickly and unleashed another blast into her body, causing her to scream out she was pulverized into the street.
Gripping his bruised and battered side, Cyclops shuffled away from Metallique’s liquid form as she began to reconstitute herself, but was shocked at a sudden movement in front of him. Anarchist appeared in front of him and raised his hands up to unleash an acidic blast. Cyclops instinctively blasted him in the gut, dropping him to the street instantly, then sprinted away to try to find a more open area to assess the battleground and mount a defense.
It was then an eerie calm fell over the streets. Cyclops huffed and heaved as he looked over the battlefield, taken aback by the sudden silence and inaction.
Every member of the Fallen Angels was frozen in place. Anarchist was keeled over from the optic blast to his gut, his face frozen in pain. Feral was in mid lunge towards Cyclops with claws bared, teeth clenched. Metallique’s arms were in mid-transformation as she recovered. Orphan had somehow maneuvered behind him, ready to take him down with a palm strike. Even Meltdown’s plasma orbs and discharges were stuck in midair, seemingly defying physics.
“Hello, Mr. Summers,” a man’s voice broke the silence.
Cyclops looked up and saw a man with blonde hair and a golden tan descend toward the street from the sky. He wore silky white robes with a golden trim.
“I’m not sure if we’ve been formally introduced,” the man said with grin. “Call me Deus.”
# # # # #
Now.
“Teaching auto shop?” Alex said from the doorway of the garage. The skunk haired young woman looked up to him from beneath the motorcycle.
“Hardly,” Marie Charleston, usually known as jut Rogue, said with the roll of her eyes before going back to work. “Logan’s been in a bit of a funk lately. Thought I’d try’n surprise him by tunin’ up his hog.”
Alex nodded and crossed his arms, looking around the garage before he looked back to her. “Hunh. I never took you for much of a gear head. Country girls are just full of surprises, huh?”
“Nah. Just absorbed a mechanic when Ah went home t’ visit a while back,” Marie explained. She finished tightening a bolt and put the wrench aside, then stood up to face her visitor. “So what’s up, Alex? How’s the G-Man life been treatin’ ya?”
The two hugged briefly.
“Can’t complain, though I don’t know if I’d call myself a G-Man…” Alex said as they released each other. Marie smirked at him.
“Could always go back t’ bein’ an X-Man,” she said with a wink.
“Gee,” he frowned. “Whatever happened to once an X-Man always an X-Man?”
Marie bit her lip. “Sometimes Ah wonder just how many folks’re still subscribing to that mantra...”
Alex cleared his throat, stepping away and putting his hands in his pockets. Marie was different from the others. They’d known each other longer and in a different way from their time in Australia.
“As you know, that’s sort of the reason why I’m here.”
“Scott,” Marie said pointedly.
“Yeah…”
Silence fell between the two as they settled on the implications of what went unsaid. After a moment, Marie looked down to her greasy gloves, peeling them off of her hand one by one. She then looked back up to Alex and put her hands on her hips.
“What can Ah do t’ help?”
# # # # #
Then.
“I know who you are,” Cyclops said through gritted teeth.
“Oh, good. That should save us a little bit of time then,” Deus said as he observed the state of Cyclops’s battle. “You’ve gotten yourself into quite a situation here, haven’t you?”
Cyclops ignored his taunts. “What are you doing here?”
Deus simply smiled at him.
“I’ve had my eye on you for quite some time, Mr. Summers,” he said as he paced around the former X-Man, looking over the Fallen Angels. “I couldn’t just leave you to suffer Magneto’s… lackeys…”
Cyclops rolled his eyes behind his visor. “I’m touched.”
“Watch your tone, nullifidian!” Deus scowled. “You’re only moments away from certain demise.”
“Are you threatening me?” Cyclops narrowed his eyes. Deus’s scowl turned into a warm smile.
“Merely stating the obvious,” Deus explained as he gestured to all of Cyclops’s foes.
“Get to it, Deus.”
Deus nodded his head, somewhat impressed.
“How pointed of you. I wouldn’t expect anything less from a leader of your caliber,” he said before pacing about again. “I’m forming a new Brotherhood of Mutants and I want you at my side.”
“Pass,” Cyclops said flatly. Deus was shocked.
“Dare I ask why?” he asked in disbelief. “I’ve saved hundreds of mutant lives with the Resurrection Wave. Now our people worship the ground I walk on. They look to me for guidance and leadership. We’re going to inherit this world together, friend.”
“Do you think playing God with mutant lives makes you some kind of savior?” Cyclops scoffed.
“Do you think wearing blue and yellow spandex makes you a hero?” Deus snapped.
Cyclops eyed Deus carefully, gritting his teeth. Deus’s eyes lit up.
“Oh yes, I know about your internal struggles, Scotty boy,” he said with venom his voice. “Your mentor’s dead and so is his dream. It was dead when the X-Men split in two. Or was it dead the moment you killed Mark Rogers. Or maybe it was dead when Apocalypse impregnated your estranged wife? It’s so hard to pinpoint when such a transgression occurs.”
Deus looked upon Cyclops with pity, sighing. He extended his hand.
“It’s time to make up for your sins. All will be forgiven in due time, brother. Just take my hand.”
Cyclops looked at Deus’s hand, then back up to him and shook his head.
“There’s no way in Hell I’m joining you, Deus.”
“Hmph. As you wish,” Deus said as he levitated back into the air. His eyes lit up while he gestured a hand across the battlefield. “But one way or another you’ll be my puppet, Mr. Summers.”
Cyclops immediately checked his surroundings, his blood running cold as he saw the Fallen Angels unfreeze in place and suddenly become alert. Multiple Man and his duplicates began to stir and awaken, slowly rising to their hands and knees. They all collectively turned their attention towards Cyclops as if they were possessed by some unknown force.
“Now DANCE!”
# # # # #
Now.
On the eastern edge of the Xavier family estate, the man known only as Logan stood on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. He faced the sun as it set over the horizon, a cool wind blowing through his hair. Even standing up wind, he detected the scent of the man approaching before he said anything.
“Logan,” Alex called out to him with a smile. “As always, you are one hard man to find.”
Alex continued further up the cliff, eager to meet up with the man he once called a friend.
“Stop,” Logan growled, stopping Alex cold in his tracks. His expression shifted as carefully eyed his former teammate. Logan didn’t bother to turn and face him. “I know why you’re here. Why you’re really here.”
Alex found himself at a loss for words.
“Just go.”
Alex put his hands in his jacket’s pockets. He turned away from Logan and started back down the cliff.
“Take care of yourself, Logan,” he said somberly.
Logan continued to stare into the horizon as Alex walked away. When he was gone, he closed his eyes and thought carefully about what he would do next.
# # # # #
Then.
Deus’s body seemed to fade away as he laughed maniacally, seemingly unnoticed by the Fallen Angels as they surrounded Cyclops and prepared to go on the offensive. Cyclops adjusted his visor and tried to take note of every opponent’s position on the street.
“Domino, wake up!” Cyclops yelled as he readied himself. She failed to respond. “Domino -- ?!”
Before Cyclops could check on his partner, he felt a Madrox dupe slam into his back and wrap their arms around his torso. He groaned and braced himself, then strategically threw an elbow strike back under the dupe’s nose. It broke from the impact, gushing blood. Cyclops then struck him with another elbow strike to the jaw, knocking the dupe to the ground.
He felt the air shift and immediately looked to his right, catching a metal pipe as it swung towards his face. The dupe gripping the pipe struggled against him, but Cyclops twisted the weapon from his hands and smashed him in the mouth, busting out the front of his teeth in the process. As the dupe keeled over and covered his bloodied mouth, Cyclops smashed the pipe into the back of his neck, dropping him to the street.
Cyclops spun around toward the sound of running and instinctively unleashed a wide optic blast. The continuous force beam propelled Anarchist and the two other duplicates into a nearby building. Unrelenting, he marched towards them while continuing to release a wide stream optic blast, pulverizing the three of them against the concrete. They groaned in agony as bones throughout their bodies snapped under the pressure of his power. He ceased the stream and let them collapse.
Before he could move on to his next target, Cyclops felt a sharp pain in the middle of his back and cried out. Orphan had jump kicked him in the back and knocked him onto his hands and knees, then kicked him in the ribs, breaking one impact. Cyclops rolled with the kick, paralyzed and unable to catch his breath. Orphan picked him up by the collar of his black jacket and drew back a palm, ready to strike him in the temple with a killing blow. Cyclops unleashed an optic blast and nimbly moved his head to the side of it. Orphan then readied a strike again, but Cyclops’s blast ricocheted off a street lamp and bashed Orphan in the back of the head. He dropped Cyclops to the ground as he collapsed over him.
Cyclops struggled to breathe as he rolled Orphan’s stunned body off of him.
“D-Domino…” he groaned as he shuffled to his feet, turning to look towards her.
He didn’t get the chance to check on her before a Madrox duplicate rushed him. Cyclops barely side-stepped the dupe, then used his momentum to toss him aside. A fiery plasma ball struck him in the shoulder, the searing pain causing him to drop to his knee. He twisted and fired an optic blast towards his attacker, Meltdown, but he was too slow and missed. She leapt out of the way and chucked another plasma orb into him. It exploded into his chest and he screamed.
Cyclops forced himself to his feet as a Madrox duplicate ran up and tried to punch him. He blocked the attack with his forearm and then countered with a right cross, repelling the dupe. It didn’t matter, though. Another dupe leapt on him and put him in a headlock, then another dived at his legs and wrapped his arms around them, then another grabbed his right arm. As much as he struggled against them, the duplicates continued to swarm him and dog pile him, followed up by the Fallen Angels who unleashed a flurry of attacks on his restrained form.
“DOMINO! DOMINO!” he yelled in agony as they overwhelmed him. “DOMINOOOO!!”
# # # # #
Now.
The War Room.
{{ Please hold for Director Abigail Brand, }} a female agent said on the room’s central monitor.
Alex nodded and leaned back into his chair at the briefing table, making himself comfortable. The agent’s image disappeared and was replaced with a blue and gold X.S.E. logo. After a few moments, a green haired woman with dark sunglasses appeared on screen, her demeanor cold and composed.
{{ Hello Havok. It’s good to hear from you. }}
“Hey Abigail,” Alex said. “I’m calling from the X-Men’s briefing room. How’s the connection?”
{{ Give me just a moment, }} Director Brand replied. He watched her type something into her computer. The monitor blinked when she finished. She looked back up and nodded. {{ Okay, the line’s scrambled. They shouldn’t be able to monitor anything from either end. }}
Alex sat up. “Okay. I’m ready when you are.”
{{ Where are we with your former teammates? }}
Alex took a deep breath before beginning.
“It’s just as we expected. It’s going to be hard getting Beast’s team on the same page as us,” he explained, then paused for a moment. “Well, most of them, anyway. Wolverine’s always been a wild card, but Rogue’s definitely got a hard on for my brother. We might be able to utilize them.”
{{ What’s the hang-up with the others? }} Brand asked pointedly.
“What, you mean his ex-wife and two of his oldest friends?” Alex asked with a bit of a laugh. “You know just as well as I do that they were a long shot. It’s just too personal for them.”
Brand seemed annoyed.
{{ Right. So, in your opinion, can we rely on them to help bring Scott Summers down? }}
Alex frowned and shook his head. “I really don’t think so.”
Brand leaned back into her chair and clasped her hands together.
{{ Then it looks like we’re going to have to find a team that can… }}
TO BE CONTINUED…
NEXT ISSUE: After a brief respite, Deus and the Brotherhood of Mutants move on to the next phase of their plan! What role does Cyclops play in their war on the Xavier Institute and humanity at large, and will the X-Men be prepared for what happens next? Find out!
MAKE WAY FOR… NEWMANIAM!
Feedback is as feedback does.
Any love, hate, or meager shrugs can be sent to [email protected]!
Last month, I rewrote and released ICEMAN #23 after something like ten years of its original release. Long story short, the original issue was lost in the DigitallyMystic Crash of ’04. This month, I finished NEW X-MEN #6 after a significantly shorter hiatus (something like three and a half years). Nonetheless, that’s quite a long time in the fan fiction world to leave a title lingering. I’ve written some short stories for MARVEL 2000 since then, but I’ve otherwise been distracted with my personal and professional responsibilities including getting the site back on its feet. I’m happy to report that I’ve been able to free up time in my schedule and dedicate it to writing again. It’s been a lot of fun and I’m glad to be back. Hopefully this will be the start of a nice, long, productive streak. Wish me luck!
Cory Wiegel
December 27th, 2014
# # # # #
Now.
In the hangar bay below the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, Dr. Henry “Hank” McCoy – the blue furred simian-man known as Beast – watched as a small blue and gold jet coasted to a stop. As the engines powered down, its pilot opened a hatch on the door and stepped out. A young blonde haired man in an X.S.E. uniform with a black jacket on stepped out, smiling.
“Good afternoon, Alex. I see that the X.S.E. spared no expense in getting you here.”
“They’ll be teleporting us as soon as S.H.I.E.L.D. sends over their technicians to work out some kinks,” Alex Summers, code named Havok, said as he shook hands with Hank. “How have you been, old friend?”
Hank took a breath then smiled tiredly. “Sufficed to say… busy.”
“I can tell.”
Alex patted Hank on the shoulder and walked passed him, looking around the hangar bay.
“Nice job on the remodel, by the way.”
“Welcome to the new Xavier Institute for Higher Learning,” Hank said proudly, gesturing about. “Or its basement, I should say.”
“Thanks,” Alex said with a chuckle. Hank pointed to the elevator and the two began walking toward it.
“So, how has the X.S.E.’s investigation been going?” Hank asked.
“Ah, you know. They’ve just been confirming what we already know,” Alex said with a sigh. “Scott was definitely on Muir Island with the Brotherhood when they attacked, but we’re not sure what role he played in the assault.”
“What of the members Brand detained on the island?”
“Our telepaths are still working on them with S.H.I.E.L.D. interrogators, but their mental defenses are pretty tough to crack,” Alex explained. “We haven’t gotten anything more useful than what we got from Fatale’s interrogation back on Muir Island.”
“I see…” Hank nodded his head slowly. They reached the elevator and he pressed a button on the wall, opening the door. They stepped in and the doors slid shut behind them.
“What’s new on your end?” Alex asked as the elevator promptly started upward.
“Oh, Jean’s been regularly scanning the entire planet with Cerebro for Cyclops and the Brotherhood,” Hank said then shook his head. “Sadly, we haven’t had much luck locating them. She can fill you in on the particulars.”
Alex nodded his head. “Right.”
The elevator came to a smooth stop then the doors slid open in the main foyer. Teenage students in prep school uniforms raced across their path, chatting and laughing loudly.
“Well, here we are,” Hank said as they stepped out. “Hope you survive the experience…”
# # # # #
Then.
Cyclops adjusted his visor and unleashed a thin but wide optic blast, sending three of the identical men flying into a nearby building’s wall. They violently vibrated on impact and then slumped over visibly stunned, but three more identical men seemed to rise out of them. Almost immediately they scattered and began picking up pricks and mortar from the demolished wall to use as weapons.
Each one of them was a duplicate of Jamie Madrox, a mutant with the ability to make copies of himself and will them to do his bidding. He was once a hero and agent of the U.S. government, but in recent times found himself allied with Magneto and his Fallen Angels.
As bricks flew from their hands towards Cyclops, he readjusted his visor and fired several small optic blasts with pinpoint accuracy. The bricks exploded on impact, but they were only meant to be a distraction, as Cyclops realized when a Madrox rushed him with a pipe. He nimbly leapt out of the way of a downward strike, then took hold of the pipe and redirected it back into the Madrox’s forehead. A duplicate automatically appeared behind on impact. Cyclops dropped the pipe and lunged at the two.
“We can’t do this forever, Domino,” he said as he put one Madrox in a headlock and used him as a human shield, then blasted the other Madrox away with an optic blast. “How’s it going up there?”
From the rooftop, Domino continued to search the battlefield, the electronic scope on her rifle analyzing each identifical face as she passed over them, but there was no response.
{{ I can’t get a lock on Madrox Prime, }} she finally replied. {{ Either he hasn’t made an appearance in this little gang-bang yet or this portable Cerebro isn’t doing its job right. }}
“Give me a smoke screen then,” Cyclops said as he threw the Madrox into two others running towards him. As they fumbled to catch their fellow dupe, Cyclops blasted all three of them away several yards. “We’re going t have to thin them out as much as we can if we want a clean extraction. Madrox should have a limit to how many duplicates he can make, so we’ll take them all out if we have to.”
{{ Coming right up, hoss. }}
Cyclops wiped the sweat from his brow and quickly scanned the streets, making a note of where each conscious and unconscious duplicate was even as they gathered weapons and moved into positions to attack him. This knowledge would come in handy for what came next.
Suddenly, the duplicates began to charge at him for a collective attack.
{{ Head’s up! }} Domino said in his ear. A loud “poof” echoed through the streets as she shot a grenade from the rooftop towards her partner’s feet. He dived out of the way behind the charred remains of a car, then covered his ears and took a deep breath.
The grenade exploded, blanketing the area in a dense cloud of smoke. Madrox’s duplicates began coughing and hacking violently. They frantically scrambled about within the cloud, covering their eyes and faces as they tried to escape the smoke. It was then ruby quartz light rose up from within the smoke, but it went unnoticed by those about to fall…
# # # # #
Now.
Originally a spacious attic, the floor plan of the Xavier Mansion had been redrawn during each renovation and reconstruction to allow for a greenhouse to make up its top floor. It was occupied and tended to by Ororo Munroe, the X-Man known as Storm, since the inception of the X-Men. However, as she was on indefinite sabbatical from the school, Alex found that the headmistress has since found other uses for it… namely as a classroom.
“Well, look at what the cat drug in,” Jean Grey teased as she watered some rhododendrons. The students chuckled and giggled amongst themselves as Alex walked into the greenhouse, doing his best to ignore the flirtatious glances from a pair of young girls.
“Hey Jean,” Alex greeted.
“Hank told me you were coming. Where is he?” Jean asked.
“He had to take a meeting,” Alex explained. “Told me he’d give me the grand tour later, though I’ve got to say, not much has changed…”
Jean cocked her head to the side. “We may be the next step in evolution, but we’re still human. Nostalgia’s inherent,” she said. “How was the trip?”
“It was good, thanks,” Alex replied, soaking in the atmosphere. “I've got to say your students are doing quite a nice job with this place. Does Ororo know?”
“Well, yes and no,” Jean said with some reluctance. “I told her I would take care of it when she left a while back, but I don't think she really foresaw us re-opening the school like this.”
Alex nodded and smiled. “I'm sure she'd love it.”
Jean made a face as if she wasn't so sure. It was then the bell rang. The students quickly grabbed their books and bags before heading straight for the door.
“Great job, everybody,” she said. “Thanks for cleaning up so quietly. See you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Ms. Grey!” a student said on her way out of the greenhouse attic. Jean waved at her and several other students on their way out. When they were alone, she turned back to face Alex.
“Ms. Grey, huh?” he said with a half-hearted smile. Jean nodded somberly.
“Yeah... Scott's been gone for a while now without as much as a word home, then the attack on Muir Island, so...”
“Moving on?” Alex asked.
“Trying to,” Jean said as she stood up and dusted her hands off. She walked up to him and hugged him. “We're still family, though, Alex. Don't forget that”
Alex’s smile became more sincere. “How could I?”
The two released each other’s embrace.
“So, have you spoken to Lorna at all?” Jean finally asked. Alex cleared his throat.
“No, uh, not quite...” Alex said, rubbing the back of his head. “Hey look, I hate to change the subject, but Hank told me you had been using Cerebro to search for Scott and the Brotherhood. I was wondering if we could go over the search results.”
Jean hesitated for a moment, sighing softly.
“Sure…”
# # # # #
Then.
As the smoke settled across the street, Cyclops released the last Madrox duplicate from a chokehold. The dupe collapsed at his feet, unconscious.
Cyclops took a deep breath. Before he could relax, he felt the air shift behind him and heard a rustling noise. Cyclops spun around just in time to see another Madrox dart out from behind a white van parked in the street. Right before he could spear tackled Cyclops to the ground, a gunshot rang out and Madrox suddenly tumbled to the ground, unconscious. Cyclops looked down at him, awe-struck, as he saw a tranquilizer dart sticking out of Madrox’s throat.
{{ Missed one, }} Domino chimed in his radio.
Cyclops looked up to the rooftop and gave Domino a half-hearted thumbs-up.
“Thanks,” he said flatly.
{{ Don’t mention it. I’ll do it for you, }} Domino said coyly. {{ Hey, I think that was Madrox Prime. }}
Cyclops shook his head and knelt down beside Multiple Man, looking over his tranquilized body.
“What happened to you, Jamie?” he muttered in disappointment.
{{ I’m going to say a horse tranquilizer to the thorax, }} Domino joked.
Standing back up, Cyclops rolled his eyes behind his visor. “You know what I mean.”
{{ Maybe when he wakes up you can ask him? }} Domino said playfully. {{ With a dose like that, he should wake up in oohhh, I don’t know. Let’s say three we -- }}
A loud whistle interrupted Domino’s rant as a plasma ball crashed into the ledge underneath her rifle, exploding on impact. Cyclops whipped around just in time to see rubble fall from the building’s ledge and a cloud of dust obscure the strike zone.
“DOMINO!” he screamed.
When the dust cleared, Cyclops could make out Domino’s fallen form atop the sunken roof of a car parked beside the building she was atop of, but she was prone and covered in debris. He made a mad dash toward the battered car to check on her. Before he could reach her, he heard the same whistling noise again then a plasma ball exploded into his back, sending him crashing into the car’s fender.
Cyclops groaned as he slowly rose to his hands and knees. His back ached from the surprise attack and his forehead was dripping in blood from a gash after hitting the car. Struggling to stand, he turned to face the source of the attack. A young woman with short blonde hair stood in front of a group of men and women. She was Meltdown, they were the Fallen Angels, and Cyclops was in big trouble.
“Next one will kill ya, handsome,” Meltdown said, cocky as ever. “Tread lightly.”
# # # # #
Now.
“Thanks, Mr. Drake,” the dark haired girl said with a warm smile. “You’re the best.”
“Just uh, doing my job, Sarah,” Bobby Drake, also known as Iceman, said with a nervous smile. Sarah quietly hugged her books to her chest and turned away from him, slowly but deliberately walking out of his office. He made it a point not to notice.
When she walked out into the hallway, Alex walked in after her with a grin on his face. He made sure she was gone before he said anything.
“Wow. Look at Mr. Drake,” Alex joked as he sat down in front of Bobby’s desk.
“Psh, don’t look at me,” Bobby scoffed. “Teenage girls are perverts.”
Alex rolled his eyes. “Ah, come on. I’m sure it’s just an innocent crush.”
“No way, man. Yoga pants, sexting, older guys, Bratz dolls, ugh…” Bobby threw his hands up in the air and spun around in a circle in his chair. “I’m not exactly a prude, but this generation’s doomed.”
Alex shrugged. He couldn’t exactly argue with him but that was mostly because he didn’t care. Bobby shared a similar sentiment about Alex’s visit to the mansion.
“So, what’s up, Al?” Bobby asked. “Here to debrief us or something on the Muir Island attack?”
“Not really. I was actually hoping you could fill me in on a few things,” Alex said.
“Oh yeah?” Bobby raised a brow. “Like what?”
“Like Scott,” he said.
“What about him?”
“Why do you think he’s working with the Brotherhood?” Alex asked. Bobby gave him a skeptical look.
“Who said I think he’s working with the Brotherhood?” he replied.
“Seriously?” Alex said in disbelief.
“You ask me, I say the only way to know for sure is to find him and ask him,” Bobby said. He leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. “How’s that going, by the by, Mr. Liaison?”
Alex gave Bobby a look, not taking too kindly to his passive-aggressive attitude. It was then he caught a glance at a picture hanging on the wall in Bobby’s office.
It was the Xavier Institute’s very first class photo of the original five students. Dressed in their original blue and yellow uniforms, Scott stood in the center with Bobby on one side and Jean on the other, smiling. The other two students, Warren and Hank, were at opposite sides of them.
Bobby glanced up at the picture, then back at Alex.
“Earth to Havok,” he said, waving a hand in front of his face. “Anything else, buddy?” he asked. Alex didn’t answer. He just stood up from the chair and turned away, walking out of Bobby’s office.
The picture told Alex everything he needed to know.
# # # # #
Then.
“Domino’s down! We need an extraction now!” Cyclops yelled into his radio before going on the offensive. As the Fallen Angels charged toward him, he adjusted his visor and unleashed a powerful optic blast into the street in front of them. The asphalt and concrete beneath them began to sink into the sewer and the mutants scattered.
While Anarchist and Meltdown struggled to keep from falling into the sewers, Metallique stretched her liquid metal body to step out of the trench and Orphan levitated with ease over the ground as it collapsed. Feral, the cat-like woman, was obviously the most nimble of the group. She bounded over the sunken street towards Cyclops with a speed that betrayed her lithe frame.
Cyclops fired an optic blast to repel her, but Feral dived below the attack, tucked and rolled, then leapt back up at him with a swipe of her claws. Cyclops barely managed to block the swipe from ripping off his face with his forearm, but he cried out nonetheless then blasted her at point blank range. Feral tumbled away from, but before Cyclops could recover Metallique struck him with a massive hammer made from one of her shape shifting arms.
He doubled over from the blunt force and Metallique raised her other arm, shaped into that of a battle axe, over his head. Before she could drop it down on him, Cyclops fired an optic blast into her knee. Her fluid metal form gave way and she collapsed on one side. He rose up quickly and unleashed another blast into her body, causing her to scream out she was pulverized into the street.
Gripping his bruised and battered side, Cyclops shuffled away from Metallique’s liquid form as she began to reconstitute herself, but was shocked at a sudden movement in front of him. Anarchist appeared in front of him and raised his hands up to unleash an acidic blast. Cyclops instinctively blasted him in the gut, dropping him to the street instantly, then sprinted away to try to find a more open area to assess the battleground and mount a defense.
It was then an eerie calm fell over the streets. Cyclops huffed and heaved as he looked over the battlefield, taken aback by the sudden silence and inaction.
Every member of the Fallen Angels was frozen in place. Anarchist was keeled over from the optic blast to his gut, his face frozen in pain. Feral was in mid lunge towards Cyclops with claws bared, teeth clenched. Metallique’s arms were in mid-transformation as she recovered. Orphan had somehow maneuvered behind him, ready to take him down with a palm strike. Even Meltdown’s plasma orbs and discharges were stuck in midair, seemingly defying physics.
“Hello, Mr. Summers,” a man’s voice broke the silence.
Cyclops looked up and saw a man with blonde hair and a golden tan descend toward the street from the sky. He wore silky white robes with a golden trim.
“I’m not sure if we’ve been formally introduced,” the man said with grin. “Call me Deus.”
# # # # #
Now.
“Teaching auto shop?” Alex said from the doorway of the garage. The skunk haired young woman looked up to him from beneath the motorcycle.
“Hardly,” Marie Charleston, usually known as jut Rogue, said with the roll of her eyes before going back to work. “Logan’s been in a bit of a funk lately. Thought I’d try’n surprise him by tunin’ up his hog.”
Alex nodded and crossed his arms, looking around the garage before he looked back to her. “Hunh. I never took you for much of a gear head. Country girls are just full of surprises, huh?”
“Nah. Just absorbed a mechanic when Ah went home t’ visit a while back,” Marie explained. She finished tightening a bolt and put the wrench aside, then stood up to face her visitor. “So what’s up, Alex? How’s the G-Man life been treatin’ ya?”
The two hugged briefly.
“Can’t complain, though I don’t know if I’d call myself a G-Man…” Alex said as they released each other. Marie smirked at him.
“Could always go back t’ bein’ an X-Man,” she said with a wink.
“Gee,” he frowned. “Whatever happened to once an X-Man always an X-Man?”
Marie bit her lip. “Sometimes Ah wonder just how many folks’re still subscribing to that mantra...”
Alex cleared his throat, stepping away and putting his hands in his pockets. Marie was different from the others. They’d known each other longer and in a different way from their time in Australia.
“As you know, that’s sort of the reason why I’m here.”
“Scott,” Marie said pointedly.
“Yeah…”
Silence fell between the two as they settled on the implications of what went unsaid. After a moment, Marie looked down to her greasy gloves, peeling them off of her hand one by one. She then looked back up to Alex and put her hands on her hips.
“What can Ah do t’ help?”
# # # # #
Then.
“I know who you are,” Cyclops said through gritted teeth.
“Oh, good. That should save us a little bit of time then,” Deus said as he observed the state of Cyclops’s battle. “You’ve gotten yourself into quite a situation here, haven’t you?”
Cyclops ignored his taunts. “What are you doing here?”
Deus simply smiled at him.
“I’ve had my eye on you for quite some time, Mr. Summers,” he said as he paced around the former X-Man, looking over the Fallen Angels. “I couldn’t just leave you to suffer Magneto’s… lackeys…”
Cyclops rolled his eyes behind his visor. “I’m touched.”
“Watch your tone, nullifidian!” Deus scowled. “You’re only moments away from certain demise.”
“Are you threatening me?” Cyclops narrowed his eyes. Deus’s scowl turned into a warm smile.
“Merely stating the obvious,” Deus explained as he gestured to all of Cyclops’s foes.
“Get to it, Deus.”
Deus nodded his head, somewhat impressed.
“How pointed of you. I wouldn’t expect anything less from a leader of your caliber,” he said before pacing about again. “I’m forming a new Brotherhood of Mutants and I want you at my side.”
“Pass,” Cyclops said flatly. Deus was shocked.
“Dare I ask why?” he asked in disbelief. “I’ve saved hundreds of mutant lives with the Resurrection Wave. Now our people worship the ground I walk on. They look to me for guidance and leadership. We’re going to inherit this world together, friend.”
“Do you think playing God with mutant lives makes you some kind of savior?” Cyclops scoffed.
“Do you think wearing blue and yellow spandex makes you a hero?” Deus snapped.
Cyclops eyed Deus carefully, gritting his teeth. Deus’s eyes lit up.
“Oh yes, I know about your internal struggles, Scotty boy,” he said with venom his voice. “Your mentor’s dead and so is his dream. It was dead when the X-Men split in two. Or was it dead the moment you killed Mark Rogers. Or maybe it was dead when Apocalypse impregnated your estranged wife? It’s so hard to pinpoint when such a transgression occurs.”
Deus looked upon Cyclops with pity, sighing. He extended his hand.
“It’s time to make up for your sins. All will be forgiven in due time, brother. Just take my hand.”
Cyclops looked at Deus’s hand, then back up to him and shook his head.
“There’s no way in Hell I’m joining you, Deus.”
“Hmph. As you wish,” Deus said as he levitated back into the air. His eyes lit up while he gestured a hand across the battlefield. “But one way or another you’ll be my puppet, Mr. Summers.”
Cyclops immediately checked his surroundings, his blood running cold as he saw the Fallen Angels unfreeze in place and suddenly become alert. Multiple Man and his duplicates began to stir and awaken, slowly rising to their hands and knees. They all collectively turned their attention towards Cyclops as if they were possessed by some unknown force.
“Now DANCE!”
# # # # #
Now.
On the eastern edge of the Xavier family estate, the man known only as Logan stood on a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. He faced the sun as it set over the horizon, a cool wind blowing through his hair. Even standing up wind, he detected the scent of the man approaching before he said anything.
“Logan,” Alex called out to him with a smile. “As always, you are one hard man to find.”
Alex continued further up the cliff, eager to meet up with the man he once called a friend.
“Stop,” Logan growled, stopping Alex cold in his tracks. His expression shifted as carefully eyed his former teammate. Logan didn’t bother to turn and face him. “I know why you’re here. Why you’re really here.”
Alex found himself at a loss for words.
“Just go.”
Alex put his hands in his jacket’s pockets. He turned away from Logan and started back down the cliff.
“Take care of yourself, Logan,” he said somberly.
Logan continued to stare into the horizon as Alex walked away. When he was gone, he closed his eyes and thought carefully about what he would do next.
# # # # #
Then.
Deus’s body seemed to fade away as he laughed maniacally, seemingly unnoticed by the Fallen Angels as they surrounded Cyclops and prepared to go on the offensive. Cyclops adjusted his visor and tried to take note of every opponent’s position on the street.
“Domino, wake up!” Cyclops yelled as he readied himself. She failed to respond. “Domino -- ?!”
Before Cyclops could check on his partner, he felt a Madrox dupe slam into his back and wrap their arms around his torso. He groaned and braced himself, then strategically threw an elbow strike back under the dupe’s nose. It broke from the impact, gushing blood. Cyclops then struck him with another elbow strike to the jaw, knocking the dupe to the ground.
He felt the air shift and immediately looked to his right, catching a metal pipe as it swung towards his face. The dupe gripping the pipe struggled against him, but Cyclops twisted the weapon from his hands and smashed him in the mouth, busting out the front of his teeth in the process. As the dupe keeled over and covered his bloodied mouth, Cyclops smashed the pipe into the back of his neck, dropping him to the street.
Cyclops spun around toward the sound of running and instinctively unleashed a wide optic blast. The continuous force beam propelled Anarchist and the two other duplicates into a nearby building. Unrelenting, he marched towards them while continuing to release a wide stream optic blast, pulverizing the three of them against the concrete. They groaned in agony as bones throughout their bodies snapped under the pressure of his power. He ceased the stream and let them collapse.
Before he could move on to his next target, Cyclops felt a sharp pain in the middle of his back and cried out. Orphan had jump kicked him in the back and knocked him onto his hands and knees, then kicked him in the ribs, breaking one impact. Cyclops rolled with the kick, paralyzed and unable to catch his breath. Orphan picked him up by the collar of his black jacket and drew back a palm, ready to strike him in the temple with a killing blow. Cyclops unleashed an optic blast and nimbly moved his head to the side of it. Orphan then readied a strike again, but Cyclops’s blast ricocheted off a street lamp and bashed Orphan in the back of the head. He dropped Cyclops to the ground as he collapsed over him.
Cyclops struggled to breathe as he rolled Orphan’s stunned body off of him.
“D-Domino…” he groaned as he shuffled to his feet, turning to look towards her.
He didn’t get the chance to check on her before a Madrox duplicate rushed him. Cyclops barely side-stepped the dupe, then used his momentum to toss him aside. A fiery plasma ball struck him in the shoulder, the searing pain causing him to drop to his knee. He twisted and fired an optic blast towards his attacker, Meltdown, but he was too slow and missed. She leapt out of the way and chucked another plasma orb into him. It exploded into his chest and he screamed.
Cyclops forced himself to his feet as a Madrox duplicate ran up and tried to punch him. He blocked the attack with his forearm and then countered with a right cross, repelling the dupe. It didn’t matter, though. Another dupe leapt on him and put him in a headlock, then another dived at his legs and wrapped his arms around them, then another grabbed his right arm. As much as he struggled against them, the duplicates continued to swarm him and dog pile him, followed up by the Fallen Angels who unleashed a flurry of attacks on his restrained form.
“DOMINO! DOMINO!” he yelled in agony as they overwhelmed him. “DOMINOOOO!!”
# # # # #
Now.
The War Room.
{{ Please hold for Director Abigail Brand, }} a female agent said on the room’s central monitor.
Alex nodded and leaned back into his chair at the briefing table, making himself comfortable. The agent’s image disappeared and was replaced with a blue and gold X.S.E. logo. After a few moments, a green haired woman with dark sunglasses appeared on screen, her demeanor cold and composed.
{{ Hello Havok. It’s good to hear from you. }}
“Hey Abigail,” Alex said. “I’m calling from the X-Men’s briefing room. How’s the connection?”
{{ Give me just a moment, }} Director Brand replied. He watched her type something into her computer. The monitor blinked when she finished. She looked back up and nodded. {{ Okay, the line’s scrambled. They shouldn’t be able to monitor anything from either end. }}
Alex sat up. “Okay. I’m ready when you are.”
{{ Where are we with your former teammates? }}
Alex took a deep breath before beginning.
“It’s just as we expected. It’s going to be hard getting Beast’s team on the same page as us,” he explained, then paused for a moment. “Well, most of them, anyway. Wolverine’s always been a wild card, but Rogue’s definitely got a hard on for my brother. We might be able to utilize them.”
{{ What’s the hang-up with the others? }} Brand asked pointedly.
“What, you mean his ex-wife and two of his oldest friends?” Alex asked with a bit of a laugh. “You know just as well as I do that they were a long shot. It’s just too personal for them.”
Brand seemed annoyed.
{{ Right. So, in your opinion, can we rely on them to help bring Scott Summers down? }}
Alex frowned and shook his head. “I really don’t think so.”
Brand leaned back into her chair and clasped her hands together.
{{ Then it looks like we’re going to have to find a team that can… }}
TO BE CONTINUED…
NEXT ISSUE: After a brief respite, Deus and the Brotherhood of Mutants move on to the next phase of their plan! What role does Cyclops play in their war on the Xavier Institute and humanity at large, and will the X-Men be prepared for what happens next? Find out!
MAKE WAY FOR… NEWMANIAM!
Feedback is as feedback does.
Any love, hate, or meager shrugs can be sent to [email protected]!
Last month, I rewrote and released ICEMAN #23 after something like ten years of its original release. Long story short, the original issue was lost in the DigitallyMystic Crash of ’04. This month, I finished NEW X-MEN #6 after a significantly shorter hiatus (something like three and a half years). Nonetheless, that’s quite a long time in the fan fiction world to leave a title lingering. I’ve written some short stories for MARVEL 2000 since then, but I’ve otherwise been distracted with my personal and professional responsibilities including getting the site back on its feet. I’m happy to report that I’ve been able to free up time in my schedule and dedicate it to writing again. It’s been a lot of fun and I’m glad to be back. Hopefully this will be the start of a nice, long, productive streak. Wish me luck!
Cory Wiegel
December 27th, 2014