DEADLY NEW WORLD

Part II: Exposure

By Dino Pollard

Los Angeles, California

A man walked through the corridors of the hospital, dressed in a clean-cut suit, a briefcase in one hand, and sunglasses covering his eyes. His hair was slicked back, and spiked a bit. The other hand was inside his pocket.

When he found the correct room, he entered to find a cop waiting for him.

“Are you Munroe’s attorney?”

“If I’m not, then why am I cashing his checks?” the man laughed, extending his hand. “Mark Wahl.”

The cop just looked down at the hand, but made no move to shake it.

“I’m Lieutenant Ryan Hunt,” the cop replied. “Your client is waiting inside the room.”

Wahl entered the roomand looked at the black woman with long, white hair lying on the hospital bed, looking at him. Her blue eyes grew wide with joy.

“You got yourself into trouble again, ‘Ro?” Mark asked.

“Trouble found me,” Ororo replied. Mark nodded and turned to face Hunt.

“Well, now we can begin with the ques-”

“I would advise against that Lieutenant,” Mark stated. “My client is still under stressful conditions. You wouldn’t want her to sue the department for emotional distress, would you?”

Hunt looked at Ororo, who had a smug grin on her face.

“We’ll talk once you’re out of here…”

Once he exited, Mark turned to Ororo.

“How’d I do, chere?”

“You were INCREDIBLE, Remy!!” Ororo exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. “You were even able to disguise your accent!!”

“Conning people – it’s a talent,” Remy replied. “So, when can we get de hell outta here?”

Ororo smiled.

“Why do you think I called you?”

He grinned and turned his head to look at the security camera. He picked up a pea off of Ororo’s discarded food, and it began to glow slightly.

“Dis the crap they’ve been feeding you?” he asked.

He then threw it at the camera, causing the lens to explode. Then, he removed his sunglasses, revealing his black eyes with red pupils.

“Let’s get movin’,” he stated, opening the window and stepping out. Ororo followed him.

Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Illinois

“You sure this is the place, Chuck?”

“Cerebro seems to think so, Logan,” Xavier replied, tapping the helmet. “Here’s where we’ll find one of our next candidates-hopefully.”

“So… where is he?”

“Inside the stadium,” Xavier replied. “I’m using the Cerebro system inside the van to try and pinpoint the exact location.”

Logan turned to face Charles in the back of the van, which had some sophisticated equipment installed in it-courtesy of SHIELD. A helmet with wires connected to it rested on his head. Logan looked at the laptop monitor, which ran through a series of codes and brainwave patterns. Xavier then began to strike keys on the laptop.

“I found her,” he stated, sliding the helmet off. “She’s on the stage, so it won’t be too difficult to locate her.”

“Might be a bit tough gettin’ t’ her, though,” Logan said.

“How so?” Xavier asked.

“Check out the poster on the front of the stadium wall.”

Xavier looked out the window and saw it. It had an image of a young, seventeen year-old girl with long, blonde hair. Above her were the words, “Pop Sensation Alison Blaire – LIVE!!”

“Just great,” Logan grumbled, dropping his cigar out the window. “One of our candidates is a pop-star.”

Xavier sighed, and looked at the screen again.

“I’ll see about pinpointing some other mutants…” he stated.

“Why’d you pick her anyway?”

“I’m searching for Alpha-level mutants,” Xavier said. “Alpha-level would be useful against Magneto. Ms. Blaire is one of those mutants.”

Logan sat there for a few minutes, just listening to the hum of machinery and the clatter of keys as Xavier struck them. He then opened the door and stepped out of the van.

“Logan…?” Xavier asked telepathically.

“Just goin’ f’r a walk, Chuck,” Logan replied.

A walk to the back entrance, where a black stretch limo was waiting. There was a security guard blocking the door.

“I can’t let you in, sir,” he stated, putting a hand up. “You’ll have to go around to the front.”

Logan reached into his bomber jacket and pulled out a small wallet. He opened it up and showed it to the guard.

“The name’s Special Agent Logan,” he said. “I’m here on official SHIELD business, bub. Now let me through.”

“I apologize, sir,” the guard said, opening the door.

“No harm, no foul,” Logan said as he brushed past. Once the door closed, the guard switched on his comm-link.

“It’s me,” he said. “Some guy who claims to be with SHIELD just came in. Yeah, he had clearance. Well, I’m just trying to figure out why the hell SHIELD would be interested in a teeny-bopper concert. Yeah, I’ll tell the others to keep an eye on him. Don’t worry, if he goes anywhere near Blaire, we’ll be sure to exterminate.”

Los Angeles, California

Ororo generated a wind pocket beneath her and Remy, and gently lowered them to the ground.

“You gotta be more careful,” Remy warned. “Tonight we got lucky. Y’ gotta keep a low profile, that’s one of the first things I taught you.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice, Remy,” Ororo defended. “It was a raid, there’s no way I could’ve gotten out.”

“And if you just let the cops arrest you, dey wouldn’t know you’re a mutant, an’ you wouldn’t have gotten charged with resisting arrest as well as endangering the lives of others.”

“So I screwed up, it’s not the end of the world…” she muttered. Remy brushed past her to a parked car, and slid in the driver’s side as she got in the passenger seat. He reached inside his coat and pulled out a small metal object of some sort. He inserted it into the ignition and turned it, starting the car.

“Let me guess… you boosted it.”

Remy grinned and pressed a button on the armrest which lowered the car’s top.

“De only way t’ drive, chere.”

He shifted into drive and accelerated.

Tampa, Florida

The young, light-skinned black woman stepped out of the pool, water dripping down her body, covered with a simple, one-piece bathing suit. She grabbed a towel from the railing and ran it over her long, black hair and quickly down her body before placing it on the edge of a lounge chair. She lay down on it, resting a pair of sunglasses over her eyes. Unbeknowest to her were two young men, standing on the pool deck and looking at her.

“Daaaaaaaamn!!!”

“Tell me about it, dude.”

“It’s gotta be illegal to look that hot…”

“I’m gonna do it.”

“Yeah, if you want a death wish.”

“Whaddaya mean?”

“You see how hot she is?”

“Yeah…”

“Well, rumor has it she’s much more conceited than that.”

“We sound like a perfect match then…”

“Mike…”

Mike just walked away, towards the young woman.

“Mike…”

Mike ignored him.

“Mike!”

Mike stepped up to the young woman, his shadow casting over her face.

“Hey.”

She lowered her sunglasses and looked at him.

“I’m Mike,” he began. “I noticed that you were sitting here all alone, and I was wondering if you wanted some company, or maybe if you were interested in going out for coffee or something.”

She continued to stare at him before speaking up.

“I’m Monet.”

“Nice to meet you, Monet…” he began. “So… you interested?”

“Actually…” she stated, sliding her sunglasses back over her eyes and lying down. “You’re in my light.”

Allstate Arena

“ALI! ALI! ALI! ALI!”

The stadium lights turned down, and a burst of light appeared on center-stage. A shapely young girl with long, blonde hair dressed in tight clothing appeared, the light surrounding her as well as her back-up dancers. The music started up, and Alison Blaire began one of the many memorable performances which have made her career.

Logan stood in a corner, arms folded across his chest, watching the entire show. The girl certainly knew how to perform, that much he could tell. He wasn’t particularly fond of the music, though, his preference was rock. Still, kids these days seemed to like it, and Alison had them eating out of her hand as she began singing during the dance routine.

By the looks of it, he would have to wait until the show was finished before he could talk with her. He looked down at his watch and muttered a curse under his breath.

“Great… two hours of this shit…”

He leaned against the wall and folded his arms.

*BREEP*

*BREEP*

“Hey, turn off the damn pager!”

The young man stood, moving to the corridor and reached inside his jacket. He pulled out a small device, similar to a cell-phone, which was the source of the beeping. He placed a hand to his ear.

“Shiner to all units. Scanner confirms our suspicions–Blaire’s definately a mutant.”

{{ Good work, Shiner. Hold your position. Jackson, Cruz, Barta, Ryan move in on my mark. }}

{{ Yes sir. }}

A few minutes passed. The members of the M-Squad waited patiently, grasping their weapons.

{{ Go! }}

“Logan, what are you doing inside?”

“Making sure this wasn’t a complete waste o’ time, Chuck.”

“There’s some interference with Cerebro.”

“What’s that mean?”

“It can only be caused by a similar type of scanner. In other words, we’re not the only ones looking for Alison.”

“I’m movin’ in, then.”

“Logan, don’t risk it!”

“I was trudging through the swamps of Saigon when you were still in diapers, Chuck. I know what I’m doing.”

Before Logan moved closer, he heard a click.

*sniff*

He could smell hatred. Gunpowder. He slowly turned to see a man aiming a pistol at him.

“I don’t think so, freak. That mutie’s ours.”

Logan’s eyes drifted back to the stage.

“Hands over your head now or you’ll be spittin’ gum through your forehead.”

Logan grinned.

“Go ahead…” he challenged. “See if you can nail me right between the eyes.”

“My pleasure.”

*PFFT*

The gun was silenced, perfect for an assassination. These guys knew what they were doing.

Logan went down, his head hitting the floor. Blood began to seep from the wound.

“Lousy muties…” Barta muttered, holstering his gun.

“Hey kid…”

Barta stopped in his tracks and turned to see Logan standing in front of him, the bullet wound closing up.

“Y’ lose something?” Logan asked, tossing something at Barta. It was the bullet–smashed.

Logan punched him in the stomach, but the fist stayed there for a few seconds. Then, Barta felt something sharp.

*SNIKT*

Three foot-long claws shot out from Logan’s hand into Barta’s stomach, piercing his back. Barta’s shirt quickly became stained red. Logan drew his hand out, the three claws dripping with blood.

There seemed to be some sort of commotion on the floor. Alison was told in an emergency to run backstage where her bodyguards were waiting. She was about to put that plan into action before something struck the ground beside her.

“Huh…?” she asked, examining it. It was metal, and it had a flicking green light on it. The light stopped flicking and stayed a solid green, and some sort of energy net shot out from it, trapping the young singer.

“AHH!!” she cried out. She tried to grab the net itself but received only a shock. The sound in the room grew increasingly louder, and she felt herself building up.

Finally, her body exploded with brightly-colored light, disintegrating the device. This caused the energy net to slowly vanish.

The audience watched on in horror at this. The revelation that one of the world’s biggest pop-stars was a mutant.

Alison looked out at her once-adoring public, their faces overcome with shock.

“No…” she muttered, tears streaming down her face. “NO!!”

She turned to run offstage. Her agent would be able to fix this, she knew he could.

But Jackson, Cruz, and Ryan had other ideas as they emerged from their respective hiding places.

“Stay right where you are, mutant!” Jackson ordered, holding up a gun.

“Who are you people?!” Alison demanded.

“You can call us the M-Squad,” Cruz stated, taking aim with his own weapon. “And you’re our first target.”

“Not if I can help it, bub…”

Logan appeared behind Alison, metal claws extended, the light shining off them. He leapt over her, his claws slicing Jackson’s gun as his feet knocked Ryan’s to the side. He grabbed Cruz’s and smashed it over Jackson’s head. Ryan and Cruz both attempted to rush him, but were met with the same fate that Barta suffered.

“C’mon girlie,” Logan ordered, grabbing Alison’s arm. “We gotta run.”

Shiner put a hand to his ear once more.

“Target remains, sir. Ryan, Cruz, and Barta are definately KIA. Jackson seems to just be injured.”

{{ Where is the target now? }}

“They’ve got her…”

{{ Good. }}

“Excuse me?”

{{ This event is going to become a media circus. The world will see mutants for what they really are. In the meantime, I want you to report back to base, Shiner. }}

“Yes sir,” Shiner stated, exiting.

A SHIELD safehouse sometime later

“…I don’t believe this…” Alison muttered. “I never thought this would happen.”

“I’m guessin’ you’ve know for awhile,” Logan said, lighing a cigar. Alison nodded.

“My powers first emerged when I was 13,” she said. “I was able to cover them up, but once I started performing, the sound made me use them. I don’t know why, though.”

“It’s because you can convert sound into light,” Charles noted.

“Huh… that explains a whole helluva lot then…” Alison stated.

“Who else knew about it?” Charles asked.

“My agent, he knew,” Alison replied. “In fact, it was his idea to use the powers for a gimick. That way, I wouldn’t have to worry about slipping up during a show, because we could just pass it off as a light effect. But now… now everyone knows I’m a freak… and it’s gonna be all over the place tomorrow… my career… my dreams… they’re all gone now… just because I was born different…”

She hugged herself and looked down at the floor, biting her lower lip, trying to force back the tears.

“It’s not over for you, Ali,” Charles said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “That’s why we came for you. I want to help you learn to control your powers, so you can use them to make this world a better place for mutants.”

“You can help me?”

Ali looked up at him, her face a mixture of hope and confusion. Charles smiled warmly at her.

“I can try.”

Somewhere outside of LA

The Mustang convertable came to a stop at a train station.

“Hold out your hand,” Remy stated.

Ororo did as she was told. Remy reached into his pocket and placed a wad of cash in her palm.

“Remy…”

“Just t’ help you get back on your feet,” he said with his trademark grin.

“Why can’t I just stay with you?”

“C’mon, y’know I can’t let y’ do that. I taught you everything you’ll need t’ know about being a thief, an’ it’s time for you to go along without this ol’ swamp rat. I’ve gotta stay here, but the cops are looking for you. You’ll be better off on your own. Trust me, you’ll do fine, chere.”

Ororo put the cash in a small handbag. She then moved in close to Remy and the two shared a passionate, goodbye kiss. Then, she left the car, running to the ticket office.

Remy watched her until she boarded the train, and then sped off.

Ororo looked out the window of her cabin, restlessly trying to get some sleep. She reached into her handbag to see how much Remy had left her. When she pulled it out, she also noticed something else lying at the bottom. She pulled it out.

It was a cell-phone with a note attached to it.

‘Ro,

Just in case you ever need to get in touch with me, my number’s in the memory.

-Remy

She grinned and sat back in her seat. Maybe New York wouldn’t be all that bad…