THE OMEGA MUTANT

Part I: Picking Up The Pieces

By Dino Pollard

My name is Logan. I don’t have a first or a last name—I’m just Logan. I’m a mutant with a healing factor, enhanced senses, and unbreakable claws. I’m also an agent of SHIELD, a top-secret espionage agency. Combine the CIA and the KGB and you start to get a vague idea about what we are.

Or… at least I used to be an agent of SHIELD.

That was before SHIELD arrested me on the grounds of treason. I’m trying to figure out what I did that was so treasonous. I saved an FBI agent and a college student from a psychopath, and I’m a traitor.

The room I’m in is completely dark. Pitch black. My arms are bound behind my back, and I try to extend my claws, but can’t. That means these shackles must be made of adamantium or something just as strong. The room is designed specifically to cut me off from the outside world. My senses are useless in here. Not surprised, SHIELD knows everything about me. So that means they’d know how to contain me.

Suddenly, I hear something. A… humming noise. It’s very low, I can barely make it out. Then, the room suddenly lights up like a supernova. The sudden blast of light nearly blinds me.

{{ Hello Logan. }}

That voice. It’s on an intercom, so that means he’s not here in the room with me. Still, I’d recognize it anywhere. I open my eyes and I see a tall, dark-skinned man with short black hair and an eyepatch over one eye staring at me from behind a window. Glass is probably bulletproof or something.

“Fury,” I say. “Care t’ tell me what I’m doing here?”

{{ Awaiting trial. }}

“Trial for what?” I ask. “We both know I’m not a traitor. This is all a set-up by the Shadow King.”

{{ So I’ve heard from your associates, }} he replies. {{ Doesn’t matter. There’s no proof that this Shadow King even exists. The X-Men have joined up with Magneto and they killed Xavier for good measure. }}

“Magneto?” I ask. “I thought he was comatose.”

{{ Was being the operative word. }}

“So what do you expect from me?” I ask.

{{ Information on the X-Men’s current whereabouts. }}

“Just use that mutant tracking device Xavier whipped up.”

{{ We’ve tried, but it seems as if Cerebro’s useless right now. }}

“We never set up any private safehouses behind your back if that’s what yer asking. And as for friends and relatives, your boys at SHIELD are supposed to know those guys better than me.”

{{ I want you to help us, Logan. }}

“With what?”

{{ Obviously with finding the X-Men and eliminating Magneto. }}

“What about the kids?”

{{ We’re willing to grant them leniency. We think one of Magneto’s followers infiltrated the X-Men. }}

“Who?”

{{ Storm, Nightcrawler, and Rogue are the most-likely suspects. With Storm and Rogue dead, we feel Nightcrawler is the only other one who poses a problem. Get rid of him and Magneto and the rest of the kids go free. }}

He’s full of shit and I know it. Weapon X is involved in this somehow, which means they’re part of the US government. Probably a faction of SHIELD as well. And that means Fury’s been lying to me for years.

“What about Weapon X?”

{{ What? }}

“You said Weapon X apprehended the X-Men,” I remind him. “What’s their role in all of this?”

{{ I don’t know what you’re talking about, Logan. }}

“Bullshit. What kind of game are you playing, Fury?”

{{ I’m just doing my job, Logan. You’d do the same thing in my position. }}

“How long has Weapon X been a part of the government?”

He looks down, and coughs slightly.

“I was right, you’ve been full of shit ever since we first met.”

Someone else enters the room with Fury. I stare at him, and suddenly, I realize I’ve been set up from day one.

“Bishop…?”

{{ It was for your own good that you didn’t know, }} says Fury. {{ You were too volatile under Weapon X, and we felt that you would be of better service to us in SHIELD. So, we used Bishop to stage an escape. }}

“So all the time, I was still being controlled by the same people?!”

{{ That’s right, }} says Fury. {{ Sorry Logan, but it had to be done. Be thankful, Wraith originally wanted you dead after you botched the Castro op. But I wasn’t ready to give up Uncle Sam’s prized super soldier. }}

“You sonnuva bitch!”

I run towards the glass and slam into it with all my weight. Just as I thought, nothing happened. Stuff must be strong as hell.

Then, the entire ship begins to shake. I can hear an explosion over the intercom, and Bishop and Fury both run out of the viewing booth. I’m trying to figure out what the hell’s going on, and then I hear something.

“Logan!”

I turn and see a young woman with her head sticking out of the wall. It’s Kitty Pryde. Not sure if this is another set-up or not. She walks into the room with me.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“Getting you out,” she replies. She solidifies and places her hands on my arm. Then, my shackles fall to the ground.

“Not a bad trick,” I say. She pulls me with her towards the wall.

“Hold your breath,” she says. I do and we walk through the wall. Bullets start flying through us. Soldiers are firing at us.

“Stay intangible,” says a voice. I look to the source and I see a teenage kid, probably no more than seventeen, with short, blonde hair standing on one side of us. The soldiers are on the other. Next to him is a demonic-looking guy with pitch-black skin. The blonde kid extends his arms, and a large energy blast emits from his hands. It goes through us, and takes out the oncoming soldiers.

“You two okay?” asks the kid with black skin. He’s Nightcrawler. One of the X-Men.

“Just fine, elf,” I reply. I look at the blonde kid and he smiles.

“Remember me?” he asks.

“Little Summers, right?”

“You might say that,” he replies. “Call me Alex, or Havok.”

“Havoc?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he replies. “With a K.”

Typical kid…

“What’s the deal here anyway?” I ask.

“Long story,” says Nightcrawler. “But we’ve gotta get going before…”

“All of you freeze.”

Fury and Bishop are standing behind us with their weapons aimed. Summers begins charging up again, but I grab his arm.

“Don’t,” I warn him. “All you’ll do is make the black guy stronger.”

“So what do we do then?” asks Havok.

“Get behind me,” I reply. I step forward, and before I can release my claws, the entire structure shakes again. The wall tears open, and a man in black and navy armor with a crimson cape and helmet floats there.

“Looks like Fury wasn’t kidding when he said you guys hooked up with Magneto…” I say.

The guns fly out of the hands of Bishop and Fury. They’re crushed in midair, and then they fall to the ground. Metal parts tear from the walls and bind the arms of Fury and Bishop. They float in midair, and then they drop to my feet.

“The man responsible for your years of slavery,” says Magneto. “Do what you wish to him, with my blessing.”

I look down at Fury, and my claws pop out. I lift up my hand, and bring it towards his face. At the last moment, my claws retract and my fist strikes him. His nose shatters and his head rocks back. I pull his face close to mind and stare him directly in his good eye.

“Just remember how close I came to killing you…” I tell him.

I stand up and look at Magneto.

“Let’s go,” I say.

He raises an eyebrow at me in surprise, but nods his head. I feel something begin to grip my body, and suddenly, I’m lifted off the ground. We begin to float out of the structure, and I see where we were. Looks like a flying carrier ship of some sort. Something outta Star Trek or some shit like that. Really makes me wonder exactly how much Fury has kept from me over the years.

“Gateway,” says Magneto. I’m not sure what he means, but then, the sky in front of us tears open, a golden portal of some sort. Magneto flies us through it, and on the other side, we’re in an empty room of some sort. I see an Aborigine man sitting cross-legged with his eyes shut. The portal closes, and his eyes open up once more. He stands up and walks over to us.

“About damn time,” he says. He gives me an’ Kitty each a once-over before turning his gaze back to Magneto. “I’m guessing the mission was a success?”

“Yes,” says Magneto. “Logan, Katherine, this is Gateway. Our resident teleporter.”

“Yeah, whatever,” says Gateway. “I’ll be in my quarters if you need me, Mags.”

He snaps his fingers and a portal appears behind him and swallows him hole. I look at Magneto and I grab his cape.

“Just what the hell is going on here?” I ask.

“Come, I’ll show you,” he replies. He walks towards the door, and Nightcrawler and Havok follow. Kitty and I exchange a glance, and then we walk after him. No one says anything as we enter what seems to be a large foyer, with a large staircase leading down. Magneto floats a few inches above the ground as opposed to walking, he seems to like showing off his power. We follow him down the stairs and he approaches the main doors and turns to us with a smile. The doors open to reveal a tropical paradise.

“Welcome to Avalon,” he says.

The weather’s nice and warm, and I can feel a light, tropical breeze coming in from the water. I breathe the air into my lungs, and I take a light sniff. It’s then that I realize there’s something… unnatural about this place.

“Where are we?” I ask. “In terms of geography.”

Magneto smiles at me before replying.

“In the heart of Antarctica.”

“What?!” exclaims Kitty. “You gotta be kidding… it’s too hot, and I don’t see any snow at all.”

“Years back, Xavier, Darkholme, and I made plans to create a paradise for mutants. Obviously, a location easily accessible to humanity would not serve our purposes very well. We all understood that we would be under attack from those who did not understand what we were trying to accomplish. So rather than play into their hands, we began work on Avalon. After our… seperation, I continued the plans.”

“Terraforming,” I say. “But how? Where’d you find the tech?”

“I have my resources, Wolverine,” he replies. “Just as you have yours.”

“I’ll be honest,” I say. “I appreciate you busting me out of SHIELD and all, but that doesn’t change the fact that there’s something about you that rubs me the wrong way, Lehnsherr.”

“If you’re referring to our first meeting, you should know that I was not in my right mind,” he says. “I was being manipulated by the Shadow King.”

“I saw what you did back there,” I say. “Whatever the Shadow King did to you, he only worked with what was there to begin with. You’re still a bloodthirsty sonnuva bitch.”

“Are you calling the kettle black, Logan?”

Hmph… bastard’s got a point there.

“Enjoy your time in Avalon, Wolverine,” says Magneto as he begins to rise into the air. “But I have a task to undergo, and I would like you and your X-Men to assist me. I would like to see you in the citadel in approximately one hour.”

I look over at Kitty, and she seems just as surprised as I am. Then I look at Nightcrawler and Havok.

“Heh… welcome back,” says Kurt.

“Hey four-eyes, whaddaya lookin’ at?”

“Huh?” asks Scott Summers. He turns his head to see a young, Asian woman approach him. “Meltdown, right?”

“Nah, that’s just some corny name Weapon X gave me,” she replies. “Call me Jubilee. Everyone else does.”

“Gotcha,” he says.

“So who’s in the picture?” she asks, motioning to the small photograph in his hand.

“Maggie,” replies Scott.

“That the chick you’re boinking?”

“What?” asks Scott.

“Are you banging her?”

“That’s not really any of your business.”

“Fine, whatever,” she says. “So, what’s her deal?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, how come she’s not here?” asks Jubilee. “What are her powers anyway?”

“Oh, she’s not a mutant,” replies Scott.

“She’s not?” asks Jubilee. “You’re dating a flatscan?”

“Huh?”

“A flatscan is another name for human,” says Jubilee. “Geez, don’t you know anything?”

“I guess not…” says Scott.

“But I mean… damn, a flatscan…” says Jubilee. “Isn’t that like, beastiality?”

“No…”

“Whatever dude,” says Jubilee. “Seems kinda weird if you ask me.”

Her name is Jean Grey. She also goes by the codename Psyche. She was with the X-Men when they were first formed, and that’s how the two of us met. She’s a good kid, but as I recall, not very adept with her powers. So you can imagine my surprise when I find her in a room surrounded by floating books.

“Hey Logan.”

I slowly walk up behind her.

“How’d you know it was me?”

“I’m psychic.”

“And I’m immune to psis, remember?” I ask.

She looks up at me and just offers a sly grin. Her eyes are… weird. They’re all red, they sort of remind me of the eyes of a bird.

“Looks like they broke you out successfully,” she says.

“What’s with your eyes?” I ask. “And since when can you do all this with your powers?”

“Call it an… evolution,” she replies. “I’ve had some changes since the coma.”

“Looks like…” I say.

“Come on,” she says. “Magneto wants to see us.”

The room we’re in is surrounded by monitors, and there’s a large, circular table in the end. When Jean and I walk in, we can already see the rest of the team seated around it. Cyclops, Nightcrawler, Thunderbird, Dazzler, and Beast. Magneto is also there, of course.

“So what’s the deal?” I ask.

“Mutant signatures in the United Kingdom,” replies Magneto.

“So what?” asks Beast. “Mutants are all over the world, why should we care about the British ones?”

“I have gathered intelligence of a mutant containment facility in Scotland,” replies Magneto. “Not all that dissimilar to Weapon X.”

“So we gotta shut it down?” asks Thunderbird.

“Yes,” replies Magneto.

“So what’s the plan?” asks Nightcrawler.

“This facility is known as Black Air,” replies Magneto. “We are to go to Scotland and investigate. I also have evidence of a powerful mutant in England. I want Beast and Dazzler to track him.”

“And the rest of us go to Black Air while you sit here on yer ass?” I say. “Are we just here to do your dirty work, Mags?”

“Not at all, Logan,” says Magneto. “I will accompany you.”

Across the world, in Scotland, alarms blare throughout the facility known as Black Air. Soldiers in specially-designed armor rush through the corridors towards the source of the alarm. They arrive there and find one of their fellow soldiers on his knees, facing a door.

“Get up,” the commander orders. “Get out of the way.”

“It’s too late, Commander…” he says.

“What do you mean?” asks the commander. “Just step aside, and let us through.”

“Too late…”

The soldier still doesn’t move. The commander pushes him out of the way and stands to the side of the door. He looks over at the numerical keypad used to open the door, and finds it destroyed.

“What is this?” he asks.

“Too late…”

The commander kicks the door open and rushes inside the small room. He glances from side to side, and finds that the cell is empty. He walks over to the soldier who he found standing in front of the door and holds him against the wall.

“What’s going on, lad?” he asks. “What happened to the Omega Mutant?”

“I told you, Commander, it’s too late,” replies the soldier. He closes his eyes, and when he opens them, they glow a bright green.

“Too late for you blokes, that is.”

Elsewhere in the Black Air facility, a woman paces in her laboratory.

“What’s going on out there?”

“Just a moment, doctor, I’m gettin’ a transmission right now from one o’ our boyos down there.”

“Well, what’s he saying?” she asks.

“Oh no…” he replies. “Dr. MacTaggart, we’ve got a wee problem…”

“What is it, Cassidy?”

“Proteus is loose.”