Mutant Town

The mutant called Bliss rested her head on the countertop, her fingers picking at the label on her beer bottle. The door to the bar opened and she could hear a chittering noise accompanied by footsteps. They each sat on either side of her, one of them appearing somewhat normal despite his odd skin condition. The other, however, resembled a giant cockroach.

“Why do we always gotta come to this dive?” asked Bliss.

“’Cause the Ritz was booked,” said Tar Baby. “C’mon girl, this is Mutant Town. You think we got much choice about where we can go?”

“I hear >hrk!< Genosha, they got nice bars. And none of >hrk!< turn away freaks,” said Litterbug.

“We’ll be there soon, big guy,” said Tar Baby. “Just waitin’ on our travel documents.”

“This better work, took us months to scrape together that cash,” said Bliss.

“Have some faith,” said Tar Baby.

Bliss waved Tar Baby off with a gesture. “Don’t start with that mutant god bullshit again. So sick of hearing that messiah crap.”

“All I’m sayin’ is you should think about it. All those miracles, who’s to say Jesus wasn’t a mutant?”

“Please, if there is a god, he’s got a grudge against mutants,” said Bliss.

“Or he’s >hrk!< testing us,” said Litterbug.

Bliss shot him an angry glare and pointed a finger in his face. “Don’t you start, too. I get enough of it from him.”

“Bobby!” said Tar Baby, calling out to the bartender. “Can we get two more MGDs?”

“Sure thing, Tar,” said the bartender. The tentacles that served as his arms extended and pulled two bottles from a refrigerator on the ground. They slid them over to the two mutants and Tar Baby left a few dollars on the top.

“You guys see him yet?” asked Bliss.

Litterbug shook his head, which actually caused him to turn most of his body.

“Said he’d meet us here around ten,” said Tar Baby.

“Yeah, well it’s quarter to eleven now,” said Bliss. “So where the fuck is he?”

The door slammed open. Bobby instantly turned towards it, a tentacle reaching under the bar for the shotgun he kept there. A man dressed in raggedy clothes with tall, spiked hair and a patch covering his right eye and bruises lining his face. Bobby relaxed as the man walked past him towards the other three mutants.

“Jeez Erg, can you take it easy? Thought the Friends of Humanity were bangin’ down the door.”

“Shut your mouth, octo-boy and just get me a goddamn whiskey,” said Erg. He sat next to Tar Baby, not even looking at his fellow Morlocks as Bobby served the drink. Erg picked up the glass and drained it with one gulp, then slammed it back down.

“Ease up, man. We should be celebratin’ right?”

“Oh yeah? And just what the fuck are we supposed to celebrate?” asked Erg.

The three Morlocks looked confused. “Y’know…our passage to Genosha,” said Tar Baby. “You met with that guy, right? Got us our visas and booked us on a boat?”

“He said no dice,” said Erg.

“What do you mean?” asked Bliss.

“You deaf or something?” asked Erg. “We can’t go to Genosha. The UN’s watchin’ too closely, so all travel there is heavily restricted. He said you wanna go to Genosha, the price has gone up.”

“It took us months to get that much!” said Bliss.

“Think I don’t know that?” asked Erg.

“You >hrk!< it back, right?” asked Litterbug. “The money?”

Erg glared at Litterbug with his eye. “I didn’t go into that meeting looking like I called Thor a sissy.”

“He wouldn’t >hrk!< it back,” said Litterbug.

“No. Bastard said it was his compensation for doing the legwork,” said Erg. “Wouldn’t be surprised if he used it to book his own passage.”

“So that’s it, we’re fucked. How’s squatting in some leaky building any better than living in the Tunnels? The hell we supposed to do now?”

Erg paused and slowly rose his head. A smile began to creep over his features. “I’ll tell you what we do—we fight back.”

“Fight back?” asked Tar Baby.

“America doesn’t want us here, they made that pretty damn obvious. And the country that’s supposed to be all about mutant rights and sanctuary, their sign now reads ‘no vacancy.’ So you know what we gotta do? We gotta take a page from the X-Men’s book. And I’m not talking Xavier, I’m talking Havok. He’s got the right idea.”

“Whoa man, not so sure I like where this is going,” said Tar Baby.

“Tar, think about it. All our lives, we been kicked around by both races. Humans forced us to live in the goddamn sewers and mutants tried to massacre us because they thought we were useless freaks. And I’m sick of it. Aren’t you? Hell, even Magneto turned his back on us, he’s too busy sucking off those flatscans at the UN in exchange for whatever scraps they throw him. It’s time we strike back.”

“What >hrk!< in mind?” asked Litterbug.

“Time for a new nation,” said Erg. A Gene Nation.”

STATELESS

Part I

By Chris Munn, Hunter Lambright, and Dino Pollard

Xavier Institute
Breakstone Lake

Kitty Pryde walked out onto the grassy fields surrounding Breakstone Lake. She watched as a young woman swam in the waters and Kitty came closer, sitting on the small pier. The girl stopped and began to bob in the water, looking up at Kitty with bright, blue eyes.

Before she died, Illyana Rasputin had been Kitty’s best friend. Even after Illyana had been returned to the state of a young girl and all memory of her time with the New Mutants was erased, the pair still remained close. Recently, Illyana was mysteriously brought back after her brother had a near-death experience. At first, she was a young girl but she had rapidly aged in a matter of a few months.

Illyana swam over to the pier. <“Something you needed, Katya?”> The question came in Russian.

“No, I’m—” Kitty paused. <“Sorry, Russian good not so. Not use much.”>

“So I see,” said Illyana. “Fortunately, my English is still good.”

“We haven’t had much time to talk since I got back. And…since you…”

“Returned from the dead?”

“…right,” said Kitty. “It’s just…I hear a lot of students talking. Everyone seems a bit…”

“They think I’m creepy and weird. Yes, I know.”

“Is there anything I should know about? Where you were all this time? And how you came back?”

“In time, you’ll know.” Illyana smiled and there was something about it that chilled Kitty to the bone. Kitty slid back slightly on the pier. She didn’t know why, she had known Illyana for years. And in that time, she had never been put off by the girl, not even when her demonic side came to the fore. But now, even looking as innocent as ever, there was something…off.

Her grin grew wider. <“Hello, Piotr.”>

<“Good morning, little Snowflake.”>

Kitty practically jumped from her seated position, turning to face Peter Rasputin. He wore a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt and held a sketchbook under his arm. Both he and Kitty offered each other slightly awkward smiles.

“I think I should go,” said Illyana. She allowed herself to sink down into the water, creating a teleportation disc below her which briefly illuminated the lake. Once the light was gone, Kitty offered Peter a sheepish glance.

“Katya—”

“Look…we don’t have to make a thing about this, right?” she asked. “I mean, it’s been a long time since…And it’s not like we haven’t been involved with other people since then. And I just…I dunno, I…let’s just…forget it, okay?”

“Okay,” said Peter. “But…I was just going to tell you it’s nice to have you back.”

“Oh…” said Kitty. “Well…that’s good. I’m happy. That I’m back. You know.”

“Of course,” said Peter.

“…I think I’ll go get some coffee,” said Kitty. As she walked off, she mumbled under her breath, “and see if I can find a way to phase my foot out of my mouth.”

Detention Area

Raven Darkholme heard the sound of a buzzer indicating that someone had arrived. She sat up on the cot that served as her bed and looked out at the indestructible glass that served as the door to her cell. A woman dressed in a green uniform with white trim approached. Her hair was auburn with a white streak in it and her green eyes held a deep contempt.

“Brought yah some food,” said Rogue. “Maybe you’ll do us all a favor an’ choke on it, Raven.”

She pushed a button by the side of the glass and a slot extended. Rogue placed the tray on it and it slid inside the wall, extending to the other side of the cell. Mystique picked up the tray and looked over the scrambled eggs and three strips of bacon.

“Thank you,” said Mystique. “It’s good to see you again, Anna.”

“You don’t get to call me by that name.”

“I get the feeling you’re upset with me.”

“That’s one way of puttin’ it. Just how did yah think I’d react when y’ tried to commit genocide? I know you weren’t a saint, but you were never crazy.”

“McCoy tells me it’s a tumor,” said Mystique. “He said it’s responsible for my rash actions and that it’s killing me.”

“And that he’s gotta fight with the UN to try an’ get another extension before turnin’ yah over. Ah know the whole story,” said Rogue. “But there’s somethin’ you don’tknow.”

“And what’s that?” asked Raven.

“Since I left the X-Men, I’ve been doin’ a lot of deep cover work. A big part of that? It was cleanin’ up your mess. Ah’ve been searchin’ for an’ shuttin’ down those Brotherhood cells you set up all over the world. An’ lemme tell yah, it sure as hell wasn’t fun.”

“I see,” said Mystique. “Would it make a difference if I told you I’m sorry?”

“What do you think?”

Mystique nodded. “I suppose that’s the way it has to be. Just don’t forget that I will always be your mother.”

“Not to me,” said Rogue. “Now if you’ll excuse me, think ah need another shower.”

Danger Room

Sean Cassidy stood in the observation hub, watching as Neal Shaara went to work below him. The Danger Room’s holographic generators made the area resemble a spaceship of some sort. Neal creeped through the area and suddenly, the lights went off.

Shiva generated a burst of energy in his palm to illuminate his path. He continued to move through, taking note of his surroundings. Up in the observation hub, Sean heard the computer speak the phrase “Access Granted” and looked over his shoulder to see Forge entering.

“Missed you at breakfast,” he said.

“Neal an’ I got up early, said he wanted to resume our training sessions,” said Sean.

“How is the new guy?” asked Forge as he looked down through the glass floor.

“He’s definitely got promise,” said Sean. “Yeh recognize the scene?”

Forge concentrated and sifted through his memory. “Is that…the Starjammer?”

“That it is, boyo.”

Forge smirked. “The Warskrulls. Please tell me you didn’t fill the kid in.”

Sean grinned.

“You sly, Irish bastard,” said Forge.

“Don’t yeh forget it. Watch.”

As Neal took another step, a massive, green arm tore through the corridor. Neal used his powers to fly back. The form of Ch’od, although partially transformed into a Warskrull, emerged. Shiva threw his hands forward and unleashed a burst of superheated plasma. The blast knocked Ch’od back, but didn’t stop his assault.

Neal failed to notice the form of the Hepzibah Warskrull drop on him from the ceiling, wrapping her legs and arms around his body. The Corsair and Raza Warskrulls attacked next and soon, Shiva found himself overwhelmed by the odds.

“Looks like the kid’s in over his head,” said Forge.

“Aye,” said Banshee. “I’ll shut down the sim—”

Forge put a hand on Banshee’s shoulder. “Not so fast. Why don’t we show him how it’s done?”

Banshee smiled and moved his hand to another switch, which lowered a section of the glass from the hub into the Danger Room. Flying from the platform on sonic waves, Banshee flew towards the Warskrulls, first causing the Warskrulls to collapse to their knees by emitting a frequency that only they could detect.

Forge was out next, removing various compartments from the pouches on his uniform and assembling them into a large blaster that he used to blow off Ch’od’s head. He separated it into smaller handheld blasters and used them to engage Hepzibah while Banshee dealt with Corsair and Shiva focused on Raza.

Within moments, the Warskrulls were defeated and the words “Simulation Complete” were spoken by the computer as the scene began to fade from existence. The Danger Room returned to its normal state and Shiva punched the wall.

“No worries, kid. We’ve all gotten our asses kicked by the Danger Room at some point or another,” said Forge.

“Figured after all this time being here, I’d be better at this,” said Shiva.

“Don’t sell yourself short, laddie. The young ones aren’t the only students here—we’ve all gotta push ourselves harder.”

“Just frustrating is all,” said Neal. “Feel like I haven’t come nearly as far as I should have.”

“You’ll get there, boyo. Especially now that I’m back t’ put you through yuir paces again. No more McCoy coddlin’ yeh.”

Private Laboratory of Professor McCoy

Cecilia entered her husbands laboratory to find him glued to a microscope as a printer went to work off to the side. “When was the last time you ate?”

“Thursday,” said Hank.

“I’m serious.”

“Don’t worry, I have some students coming to my office in a few hours to discuss a curfew violation,” said Hank. “Maybe I’ll eat one of them.”

“You’ve been locked in here for days, I thought one of the reasons for assembling this new team was so you wouldn’t do everything yourself.”

“It is, and I’ve let up significantly, in fact.”

“So why the shut-in act?”

Beast pushed off against the wall, his chair rolling over to the printer. He took out the papers as they emerged and handed them to his wife. “Take a look at that.”

Cecilia read over the report which bore the X-Corporation’s logo in the upper lefthand corner. “What’s this all about?”

“A new drug that’s been making waves on the west coast, known as Rave. Causing a lot of unrest in some of the mutant communities out there, and it’s something that the X-Corporation is evidently worried about. Jan sent that report over, wanted my input on it.”

Cecilia adjusted her glasses as she scanned over the print-out. She shrugged her shoulders. “There’s not much in here. Just vague accounts.”

“Precisely,” said Hank. “No one’s sure where it comes from or even what the full effects are. Jan was able to get a sample to me and I’ve been running tests on it, trying to get to the bottom of this phenomena.”

“Hank, I understand you’ve got a lot going on. But we barely see each other anymore. And it’d be nice if we could have breakfast together.”

“I’d love to, sweetie. But I just have a lot going on right n—”

Cecilia walked over to him and laid her hands on his shoulders. “Please. I need you.”

Hank sighed and pulled back from the microscope. He picked up his glasses and placed them atop his prominent snout. He knew exactly what she meant by that—time was growing short and she was scared. And truthfully, he felt the same way, probably why he had been so busy locked in his lab.

“Okay,” he said. “I suppose the X-Corporation can wait or they can turn to some other big brain.”

Later that night, Ever lay in his bed, tossing and turning. Thoughts plagued him, thoughts of the situation. Most of the friends he had made since coming to the Institute had now left and although this new team was welcoming, he still felt like he was out of place. His eyes opened and he whispered to himself, “you should not be here.”

That was when he picked up on a familiar presence and he rolled off his bed as a massive arm shot through the wall. Security alarms blared through the Institute and Ever stood in time to find the form of his former Gene Nation teammate, Hemingway, towering over him.

“Ever, now you come home,” he said. “We have new path! New plans! New leader!”

“New leader?” asked Ever. From behind Hemingway, Tar Baby, Bliss and Litterbug followed. Ever shut his eyes and the four mutants froze in place.

“Now, what is the—” Ever stopped as he felt a new presence and as Erg took a step inside, he froze in place as well. “Didn’t expect that.”

{I know you can hear me, Ever.}

Erg’s thoughts, focused and strong, and Ever heard them loud and clear. {What do you think you’re doing, Erg?}

{Just listen to what I have to say. We didn’t attack you.}

{Funny, I seem to remember Hemingway punching a hole into my wall.}

{He’s a bit…enthusiastic. We don’t want to hurt you, Ever. We want you to come with us.}

{What do you mean?} asked Ever.

{Your people need you back, Ever. The X-Men, you think they’re gonna fight for mutant rights? At this point, they’re only interested in saving their own ass. They’re not standing up to the UN for refusing Genoshan visas. They’re not helping the people suffering in Mutant Town. Face it, buddy—you’re wasting your time with them.}

By the time the X-Men gathered to the source of the alarm, Hemingway and Ever had already departed. Hank moved into the room and nodded to Peter. The Russian shifted into his Colossus form and moved towards the front, acting as crowd control to keep the students from rubbernecking.

“What happened here?” asked Rogue.

“Ever’s gone,” said the Beast. “And…” He paused and moved towards the large hole in the wall, sniffing around it. The other X-Men watched as he went through the motions, examining the area.

“Hank?” asked Cecilia.

“I just received a psychic message,” said Beast. “Gene Nation’s back, but we’ve got an inside man.”