THE OMEGA MUTANT

Part II: Foreign Soil

By Dino Pollard

Deep within the back alleys of England, specifically a small venue which tonight is being used as a concert hall. Certainly not as majestic as some of the others around England, but it gets the job done. And the concert goers certainly don’t mind the smaller space.

Two of them, however, aren’t interested in the concert. They’re here for entirely different reasons. One of them is a bulky young man with long, black hair and tinted glasses. The other is a young, slender woman with long blonde hair. Both are dressed in similar uniforms—leather uniforms worn underneath a leather jacket.

“Y’know, I’m kind of glad Magneto paired us up,” says Dazzler.

“Why?” asks Beast.

“We’ve been worried about you,” replies Dazzler. “Ever since Monet’s death, you’ve barely spoken to anyone.”

“My life, my choice,” says Beast. “We’re here to do a job, Dazzler. Not discuss our personal lives.”

“Yeah, but if you ignore this, then it’ll just keep building,” says Dazzler. “And that could be dangerous.”

“I’m perfectly fine,” says Beast. “Monet’s dead. I get that. I accept it.”

“We shouldn’t be dealing with this sort of thing, Hank. I mean, hell, we’re not even old enough to drink.”

“She knew the risks when she accepted Xavier’s offer,” he replies. “And when we’re in the field, the name is Beast.”

“God Hank, if you bottle it up, it’s just going to get worse,” says Dazzler. “You have to talk about what happened.”

“No I don’t,” replies Beast.

“All you’re doing is repressing your emotions,” says Dazzler. “You’re going through a tough time right now, and you’ll want friends to get you through it. If not, you’ll just…”

“I’ll just what?” asks Beast.

“I dunno… explode or something,” replies Dazzler. “You’re only human after all.”

“No, I’m not,” says Beast. “I’m a mutant. And so are you. We’re superior to humans.”

“That’s Magneto talking.”

“He’s right.”

“Says who?” asks Dazzler.

“Doesn’t matter,” replies Beast. “Let’s stick to the task at hand. Magneto said this is the area where he pinpointed the mutant signature.”

A tear in time and space opens up on the island of Muir Isle—a gateway if you will. Six figures stand revealed once the portal closes. The man at the head of the group, dressed in leather with a red cape and helmet hovers slightly above the ground. He motions towards a small complex in the distance.

“Welcome to Black Air,” says Magneto.

“What’s the plan?” asks Wolverine.

“We level it,” replies Magneto.

“Actually, that’s not the best idea.”

The voice comes from the shadows. The lit end of a cigarette glows in the darkness, and a man steps out from the shadows dressed in a black trench coat, slacks, and a white shirt and tie. His hair is short and black, and slightly shaggy. His face is unshaven. He drops the cigarette on the ground and steps on it as he steps closer to the X-Men.

“Don’t look so surprised,” he says. “I was downwind, so Wolverine couldn’t pick up my scent. As for Ms. Grey’s telepathy, all the agents of Black Air have psi-scramblers installed into their brains.”

“You seem to know our names, so why not tell us yours?” asks Phoenix.

“Pete Wisdom, pleasure to make your acquaintence,” he replies. “Oh, and don’t look so surprised that I know who you are, Black Air has detailed files on you people.”

“How would they get those?” asks Cyclops.

“From your former employers,” replies Wisdom.

“Which means SHIELD,” says Wolverine.

“Right on the money, mate,” says Wisdom. “I also know why you people are here. Okay, I don’t, but I have my assumptions. Since you X-Men are now running with Magneto, and after you took out Weapon X, I think it’s fairly obvious that you’re going after Black Air next. Trying to shut us down, eh?”

“You gonna stand in our way, Bond?” asks Thunderbird.

“Bond, eh? If I had a nickel for every time I heard that crack…”

“Thunderbird poses an interesting point,” says Magneto. “There are six of us and one of you. Do you honestly think you can stand up to us, Mr. Wisdom?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, mate,” says Wisdom. “Because someone’s already doing your job for you. Right now we’ve got a jailbreak. One very powerful mutant with quite a temper is running around Black Air somewhere, playing a game of cat and mouse with us.”

“Looks like this’ll be an easy mission, then,” says Wolverine. “We can just let this mutant do our work for us.”

“Not that simple,” says Wisdom. “Once Proteus is finished with Black Air, he’s not gonna stop. And he doesn’t distinguish between mutants and humans.”

“So what?” asks Cyclops. “You saying you want our help?”

“Bright boy,” replies Wisdom. “What do you say, lady and gents?”

“We’ll do it,” says Wolverine.

“Need I remind you who’s in charge here, Logan?” asks Magneto.

“I am, Mags,” replies Wolverine. “The X-Men are still my team, and they’re still under my command, which means back off. You’re just along for the ride. Plus, Wisdom’s right. If this guy goes nuts, then we’ll have to take him out anyway. Better to do it with Black Air’s help.”

“I like him,” says Wisdom. “Follow me, we’re holed out in a fallout shelter not far from here.”

“What are we doing here?” asks Dazzler as her and Beast approach a small warehouse.

“Our mystery mutant is inside,” replies Beast.

“How do you know?” asks Dazzler.

“One of Magneto’s telepaths back in Avalon is pointing me in the general direction,” replies Beast. “Come on.”

He opens the door and moves inside. Dazzler follows behind him. The sound of loud music strikes the two of them the instant they enter. The place is crowded and dimly lit, with a band playing up on stage. Punk rock music blares through the speakers, and the fans slam against each other in a mosh pit near the stage.

“THE TELEPATH SAYING ANYTHING ELSE?” shouts Dazzler.

“WHAT?” asks Beast.

“THE TELEPATH, IS HE SAYING ANYTHING ELSE?”

“NO, HE CAN ONLY POINT ME IN THE GENERAL DIRECTION.”

“WHAT?”

“NEVERMIND.”

The two move through the crowd, trying to find any traces of who the mystery mutant might be.

“DO WE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS MUTANT?” asks Dazzler.

“NO,” replies Beast.

“SO WE’RE FLYING BLIND THEN?”

“BASICALLY.”

The music begins to die down slightly, and the frontman on stage grabs the mic.

“That’s it f’r us, mates. Stick around, though, the Pyros are up next an’ they feckin’ rock.”

The house lights came up as the band began to pack up their stuff.

“Thank god for that,” says Dazzler.

“I take it you don’t like punk?” asks Beast.

“Nope,” replies Dazzler. “I used to be a pop singer, remember?”

“That’s right,” says Beast. “Almost forgot.”

“Seems like most people have forgot…” mutters Dazzler.

“Mmmm.”

“I mean, I miss it, sometimes, ya know?” she says. “But you can’t change the past. That part of my life is over, right?”

“Yes it is,” says Beast.

“So… uh, do you like this kind of music?”

“I prefer classic rock.”

“Like the Beatles?”

“Beatles, Stones, Aerosmith, Queen,” replies Beast. “That sort of thing.”

“I liked that song Aerosmith did for Armageddon,” says Dazzler.

“I thought it sucked.”

“Oh…” says Dazzler. “It looks like the next band is setting up.”

“Yup.”

“You’re not very talkative, are you?”

“Nope.”

Dazzler sighed, then felt a hand touch her shoulder. She turned around.

“Hmm?” she asks. Standing in front of her were two men. One had spiked hair that was dyed blue, the other had a red mohawk.

“Hey, aren’t you that singer from the States?” asks the one with the mohawk. “Britney Spears, right?”

“Ugh, no,” replies Dazzler with a disgusted look. “I didn’t sleep around to get my record deal.”

“Nah, she’s not that one, she’s that other one,” says the one with spiked hair.

“Oh right, the mutant one,” says the mohawk. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“What do you mean?” she asks.

“Bird like you doesn’t belong in a place like this,” he replies. “Why don’t you take your pop shite back across the pond?”

“Leave her alone,” says Beast, coming up behind Dazzler.

“An’ who the hell are you, monkeyboy?” asks the one with spiked hair.

“Someone you don’t want to mess with,” replies Beast.

“Think you’re tough fatboy?” asks the spiked one.

“No, I think you’re an idiot,” replies Beast. “C’mon Alison, we have better things to do.”

“That’s right, walk away you feckin’ pansy.”

“You know, I just had a thought…” says Beast. Before Dazzler could ask what Beast’s thought was, he had already backflipped from his spot and driven his feet into the face of the spikey haired guy. The one with the mohawk watched in shock, and then looked over at Dazzler.

“Mutants!” he exclaims. “The lot of ’em!”

Beast’s attack on spiked hair, and mohawk’s cry caused the other patrons to take notice, as well as the band onstage. Security began to come onto the scene.

“I don’t like the looks of this…” says Dazzler. “Maybe we should leave.”

“I concur,” says Beast.

“Where do you two think you’re goin’?” asks a security guard as he approaches.

“Hey, those two over there started it,” replies Dazzler. “It was all in self-defense.”

“Bollocks!” says the one with spiked hair. “He attacked me!”

“They’re mutants,” says the one with the mohawk.

“Hey, let’s settle down here,” says one of the band members onstage. He has spiked blonde hair, black jeans, and a black t-shirt with the Sex Pistols logo on it. He jumps off the stage and walks over to them. “What say we just let them go?”

“Hell no, they’ll come back with more mutants!” says the one with the mohawk. “Probably level the whole fuckin’ place!”

“Nah they wouldn’t,” says the band member.

“Of course they would, they’re mutants,” says the one with the mohawk. “Didn’t you see what they did in New York? One of ’em threw th’ bloody Statue of Liberty into the ocean by her lonesome!”

“You got a problem with mutants?” asks the band member. His hand reaches into the pocket of his jeans, and he pulls out a small zippo lighter. He opens it and turns the wheel. Once the flame appears, it instantly leaps from the lighter at the guy with the mohawk and catches his jacket.

“What the hell?!” he exclaims. “He’s a mutant, too!”

The security guards look over at the band member, whose smile abrubptly fades from his face.

“Oh shite…” he mutters.

“Running away would be good now,” says Beast. He grabs the band member and Dazzler by the waists and leaps over the crowd of people blocking them from the exit. Security begins to force their way through the crowd, and before Beast opens the door, he looks over at Dazzler. She nods and raises her hands. Her light powers are fueled by sound. And from the moment she and Beast entered this place, she’s been soaking up all the sound around her.

“Close your eyes,” she tells the band member. He does so, and Dazzler unleashes a brilliant burst of light that blinds everyone in the crowd. Her eyes as well as Beast’s are protected by the use of special contact lenses which automatically filter out the bright lights her body is able to generate. The lenses were given to them by SHIELD, and once the X-Men broke free, they felt no need to return them.

“Let’s go,” she says and the three run out. They sprint through the alleyways and down several sidestreets.

“This way,” says the man. He takes the lead of the group into the middle of the street. He lifts open the manhole cover and looks at the two of them.

“You have got to be kidding…” says Dazzler.

“Now’s not the time to worry about your fashion sense,” says Beast. He grips her and drops her into the sewer, then takes the manhole cover from the man. The man jumps in next, and Beast follows, covering up the manhole behind him.