Morlock Tunnels
London, England

The creature known as Caliban stops for a moment.

He places his hand against the wall to brace himself. His breathing is heavy, his lungs drawing in quick gasps of air. His other hand tightly clutches his side. Sweat drips down his face. He looks behind him, his eyes wide with fear. He can hear footsteps coming, and he continues moving down the tunnel.

“Close… home so close…” he lightly mutters.

He keeps his hand on the wall for support, trying to move as fast as he possibly can in his wounded state.

“Callisto know what to do,” he says. He continues moving down, turning the corner at the fork.

A few moments pass, and four men and two women enter the tunnel. One of them, dressed in clothing lined with various interchangeable devices, holds a rifle in his hand. His hair is long and black, and he has a goatee. He bends down and examines the drop of blood that lays there. He touches it lightly, then smiles and stands.

“It’s fresh,” he says. He shifts his rifle to both hands and cocks it. “Ladies and gents, I believe the hunt is on.”

MUTANT MASSACRE

Part I: Enter The Marauders

By Dino Pollard

“Could someone please tell me what the hell we’re doing in England?”

The question comes from John Proudstar, as he and Hank McCoy stand on a street corner in London. Hank looks up at him and adjusts his tinted glasses.

“Logan still has some contacts in the British Secret Service, so he felt here, we could stay under SHIELD’s radar,” he replies. “Plus, if worse comes to worse, we could seek refuge in the Morlock tunnels.”

“What is it with these Morlocks anyway?” asks John. “I heard Ali mention something about it, but nothing really beyond that.”

“Mutants who live in the sewers beneath London,” replies Hank. “Their physical mutations make it impossible for many of them to pass as human, so they have to resort to hiding like animals. They captured Ali and I when we came to London to seek out Allerdyce. To save us, Ali challenged their leader Callisto to a fight and won leadership of the Morlocks.”

“Whoa, really?” asks John. “Wouldn’t have expected that from Ali.”

“You and me both,” says Hank. “On the outside, she seems like she’d be lost without the team… but apparently people can surprise you.”

“Guess so,” says John. “So now what are our options?”

“The hotel we’re staying at should last us for a little bit,” says Hank. “At least until we can figure out our next move. With Gateway with us, we have a bit more autonomy in the world, so that’s good.”

“The Acolytes are gonna be looking for us, man – you know that, right?” asks John.

“I know,” replies Hank. “Now isn’t the time to worry about that, though. I doubt they’ll have the time or the inclination to come after us, though. They’re most-likely too busy trying to avoid SHIELD as well.”

The light turns green and the two cross the street, surrounded by other Londoners. The weather is nice, a sharp contrast from the way it looked when they first arrived the night earlier. As soon as they reach the other side of the street, John looks down at Hank.

“So where to now?”

“Hmmm…” mutters Hank. He looks down at the slip of paper in his hand. “The directions the concierge gave us say the grocery store should be at the end of this block.”

“You’d think Gateway could just teleport us out there,” says John.

“Yes, because a large, glowing portal in the middle of a busy London sidewalk is perfectly inconspicuous and won’t draw the least bit attention,” says Hank with a roll of his eyes. “It’s only a few blocks away from the hotel and a little exercise never hurt anyone.”

“Hey, I can handle it,” says John. “Just wish we could get there a bit faster. Of course, with you here, we’ve gotta take a nice little stroll…”

“Sorry, not all of us can run forty miles an hour,” says Hank. “Now quit bitching – I knew I should’ve had Peter come with instead. He’s stronger anyway.”

“Go to hell,” says John. “He’s only stronger ‘cause he’s got metal skin – that’s cheating.”

In the recreation area of the hotel, Peter Rasputin lays on a bench, the light shining off his metal skin. The metal bar is loaded with as much weight as possible, and perched in the middle of it, his three toes wrapped around the bar, is Kurt Darkholme, a can of Mountain Dew in his hand.

“So Rogue is dead,” says Peter as he lifts the weight. Even with Kurt on it, he seems to do this effortlessly. “Mystique is dead. And the rest of the Brotherhood is held captive who knows where.”

“That about sums it up,” says Kurt.

“And we are working with the X-Men because…?” asks Peter.

“You know as well as I do the Brotherhood wasn’t a place for us,” says Kurt. “You joined to find a way to escape your father. I joined because my mother was the leader and I didn’t have any other choice.”

“But the X-Men…?” asks Peter. “These are the people responsible for your mother’s death, Kurt.”

“No, Charles Xavier killed my mother,” replies Kurt. “And he’s dead, too. Or as close to it as we can imagine. You’re just pissed because you don’t get along with anyone.”

“That’s not true,” says Peter. “The only person I don’t get along with is Proudstar. I don’t have any problems with anyone else.”

“Especially not Wolverine,” says Kurt. He feels a sudden stop as Peter sets the bar down and turns to look at Kurt.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing,” says Kurt. “Scott just mentioned something about the two of you getting along really well.”

“Really?” asks Peter with a raised eyebrow. “What else did Scott say about Logan and I?”

“Umm… that was it,” says Kurt. “Why, is there more?”

“No!” exclaims Peter.

“No?” asks Kurt, a questioning look coming over his face. “There’s something going on, isn’t there?”

“There’s nothing going on,” replies Peter, lying back down on the bench. Kurt looks at him with curiosity.

“I see…” he says. He takes a sip of his Mountain Dew, and then realization hits him and his eyes grow wide with shock as he spits out the soda. “Holy crap!”

“What?” asks Peter.

“You and Wolverine?!” asks Kurt.

“Shut up, Kurt.”

“I didn’t know he was gay…” says Kurt.

“Shut up, Kurt.”

“I mean… he always seemed like this macho, Clint Eastwood-type…” says Kurt. “Never would’ve expect him to…”

“SHUT UP, KURT!”

Kurt looks down at Peter from his perch.

“Relax Peter… nothing wrong with it,” says Kurt. “It’s just… wow.”

“Can we please change the subject?” asks Peter.

“Yeah, sure thing,” replies Kurt. “This is a nice set-up here, isn’t it?”

“I’m surprised you’re willing to risk coming up here,” says Peter.

“Eh, not many people use these rec rooms anyway,” says Kurt. “Besides, this is England – they’d probably think I was a pop culture icon or something.”

Rising up from the floor is Kitty Pryde. As soon as her body comes all the way through the ground, she solidifies her body, and her feet lightly touch down.

“Hey guys,” she says. “What’s going on?”

“Not much,” says Kurt. “Just talking about how Wolverine boned Peter.”

“Kurt!”

“What?” asks Kurt, trying to suppress his laughter.

“Wait… what about you and Logan?” asks Kitty.

“It’s none of your business,” says Peter.

“No, I’m just a little confused,” says Kitty. “I mean Logan… him and I…”

Kurt’s head snaps up and his grin grows even larger, revealing his ivory fangs. He starts to chuckle a little bit and looks at Kitty and Peter.

“What’s so funny now?” asks Peter.

“This is priceless…” replies Kurt. “Each of you… and Logan…”

He starts laughing uncontrollably. Peter sits upright on the bench, setting his feet on the ground. He looks up at Kitty, who’s blushing uncontrollably while trying to avoid his gaze.

“You have to be joking…”

Kitty opens her mouth to speak, but no words come out. Peter lowers his head and shakes it. Kurt’s laughter starts to fade, but the grin remains on his face.

“Well…” he says. “I think I’ll leave the two of you alone. It seems like you have some things to discuss.”

A bright flash of light and a cloud of smoke signal Kurt’s exit as he teleports from the recreation room. He leaves Kitty and Peter both standing there staring at each other as an awkward silence fills the room.

Jean Grey holds the entire planet in the palm of her hand.

Her eyes glow brightly with the flames of creation as the Phoenix avatar surrounds her entire body. The globe turns quickly in her hand, and she scans over it.

“Where are you, Charles?” she asks quietly to herself. “The Shadow King didn’t kill you… I know you’re out there somewhere. But where are you hiding? And why are you hiding from me?”

The globe suddenly stops spinning and it begins to crumble to ashes, which land on Jean’s hand. She looks at the ashes in shock, and then a loud noise startles her.

“Who’s there?”

“You have no place here, young Phoenix. Begone!”

Jean’s eyes suddenly snap open.

She looks around the hotel room and finds herself hovering upside-down in the lotus position. She telekinetically flips herself right side up and lowers herself to the ground. She sits on the edge of the bed and rubs her head. There’s a knock on the door that startles her slightly and she looks up.

“Come in,” she says.

The door opens and Logan, Scott, and Ali enter the room.

“Everything okay?” asks Scott. “Thought we heard you scream.”

“I screamed?” asks Jean, looking at them.

“No luck?” asks Ali. “With the Professor, I mean?”

“Nothing,” replies Jean. “I keep trying to scour the Astral Plane looking for him, but I can’t pinpoint him. I can feel his presence, but… it’s almost like he’s hiding from me.”

“Why would he do that?” asks Logan.

“Since my powers have evolved, it could be that he doesn’t recognize me,” replies Jean. “Or maybe he’s still disoriented from the Shadow King and is still trying to recuperate. Or maybe there’s someone or something blocking us.”

“The Shadow King?” asks Logan.

“No, the Shadow King’s gone, this is something else,” replies Jean. “Did you have any luck getting in touch with Mariko?”

“Not yet,” says Logan. “She’s pretty busy right now, I guess. Can’t seem to nail her down.”

“So we’re staying in this hotel for the immediate future then?” asks Jean.

“That’s how it looks,” replies Logan. “Don’t worry, though – if Mariko falls through, I still got other contacts I can turn to.”

“And with Gateway on our side, it makes it easier to get from place to place,” says Scott.

“We just gotta lay low for awhile,” says Logan. “SHIELD knows we were runnin’ with Magneto, an’ now that he’s outta the picture, they’re gonna come lookin’ for us.”

Deep within the Morlock tunnels, Caliban limps forward. He enters a pipe, making his way through the water. On the other end, he finds the main section. The Morlocks look up when he enters and rush to his side to help him.

“Sunder, help him over here,” says Callisto.

A large Morlock with a bald head helps to carry him over to Callisto, who stands from her seat. Caliban falls on his knees before her and she bends down, placing her hand on his head.

“What happened?” she asks.

Caliban slowly moves his hand from his wound and blood pours freely from it. The Morlocks gasp, and Callisto places Caliban’s hand back over the wound.

“Keep pressure on it,” she says. “What happened to you? Who did this?”

“Caliban doesn’t know, majesty,” he says.

“The humans?” asks Leech.

“No,” replies Caliban.

“Caliban, this is important,” says Callisto. “I want you to tell me what happened to you.”

“Caliban was playing in the sewers, mistress…” begins Caliban. “Then the bad people come.”

“What bad people?” asks Callisto?”

“Caliban… is not sure.”

“Where’s the Healer?” asks Callisto.

The sound of footsteps coming towards the entrance is heard. The man with long, black hair steps into the Morlock chamber. His compatriots follow him in as well. A large, well-built man drags an elderly man behind him.

“Blockbuster,” says the leader. The large man, called Blockbuster, drops the old man on the ground. Callisto rushes to the old man and examines him.

His head is twisted a full hundred and eighty degrees.

“I assume that was the Healer you were talking about,” says the leader.

“You bastard!” spits Callisto. “Who are you, what do you want?”

The leader kicks Callisto in the jaw, causing her to recoil.

“Name’s Scalphunter, babe,” he says. He shifts his rifle and takes aim and fires. Leech falls down on the ground, a bullet lodged in his skull. “These are my associates – Arclight, Blockbuster, Vertigo, Harpoon, and Riptide.”

Scalphunter steps further and the Morlocks all back away from him. He smiles as he surveys all of them.

“We’re the Marauders, we’ll be your executioners tonight,” says Scalphunter. He cocks his rifle. “Any questions?”