London

“Wolverine.”

Scott Summers looked up from his newspaper. Through the red-tinted ruby quartz sunglasses he wore, he saw his fellow teammate, Jean Grey, looking down at him with her arms crossed. She wore a inquisitive look upon her face. Scott was enjoying a cup of coffee at an outdoor café when Jean approached him.

“What about him?” he asked.

“You told the rest of the team he decided to take a sabbatical,” replied Jean. “I want to know why you lied.”

“You’re the psychic,” he said.

“I already know your answer,” she said. She took the seat across from him at the table without even being asked to join. “But I want to hear it from you.”

Scott sighed and rubbed his forehead. He closed the paper and set it down on the table.

“After we broke off from SHIELD, I thought following Logan’s lead was the best course of action,” said Scott. “I never really trusted Magneto, but I played along since Logan seemed to think it was the best course of action. And then we found out what Magneto was really up to. Then we come here to London and we get mixed up with the Marauders and the Morlocks. And now, Kurt’s in a coma, Hank was tortured, Peter was badly injured, and Kitty’s stuck in her phased state. Plus, we already lost Monet, O, and Rogue before this all happened. I don’t want to see anyone else dead, and I thought Logan made some really bad decisions down there in the tunnels. So I told him to leave.”

“And he listened to you?” asked Jean.

“Logan once said to me that he expects me to take over leadership if anything should happen to him,” replied Scott. “So I did.”

“What makes you think you’re leadership material?” asked Jean.

“Gee, thanks for the confidence boost…” muttered Scott.

“I’m serious.”

“Logan’s been grooming me to take over ever since we came to Avalon. He said he trusted me the most out of everyone.”

“Why you?”

“Just read my mind.”

Jean blinked before she spoke her next words: “So he thinks I’m unstable?”

“Can you blame him for being worried?” asked Scott. “What’s with all this Phoenix stuff anyway, Jean? You change your codename, you start displaying a lot more power than you’ve ever shown in the past, you said you’ve been having weird dreams, and John told me the other day he saw you talking to plants…?”

“When I was fourteen, my sister cut her own throat,” began Jean. “My powers chose that moment to emerge. And I was in her mind when she died. Her depression, her pain—I felt it all. It washed over me in a tidal wave of emotions. After that, things got worse. I started having nightmares. I went into a coma and while I was in that coma, I kept seeing images of war of famine of death. And I was just stuck—forced to watch all of it, forced to feel all of it. But I couldn’t change anything. And there was no release. I wanted to die so badly, just because I knew it would end everything, but I couldn’t. I’m not religious, but if I were, that’s probably the closest thing to hell I could ever imagine.

“I’m not sure if you know this or not, but Charles Xavier was a student of my father’s in college. The two kept in touch afterwards, and at this point, Charlie was working as a psychiatrist. My father also knew he was a mutant and he asked him to help me. Charlie came inside my mind and he helped me purge the demons that were plaguing me. He put mental blocks on my mind and he began training me how to use my powers, just telepathy and telekinesis. He then purged his memories of the knowledge of my powers, just in case something were to ever happen.

“That’s all this is, Scott—my full potential realized. When the Shadow King tried to lock me away, my blocks were removed and it was like I was transformed into something completely different. I was reborn, Scott. That’s why I chose to start calling myself Phoenix. There’s nothing wrong with me. I feel better than I have in years. My eyes are open, I see the world for what it really is.”

“And what is it?” asked Scott.

“I can’t tell you,” she replied.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re not ready,” she said. “But at some point, you will be. And when that time comes, I’ll find you and show you the answers to everything.”

MOJOVISION

Part II: Casting Agent

By Dino Pollard

Alison Blaire stepped onto the sidewalk just outside of Cecilia Reyes’ clinic. She brushed her long, blonde hair behind her ear and looked to her left and right. Satisfied in the knowledge that no cars would strike her down, she quickly crossed the street. She continued down her path, turning a corner into an alley. She glanced over her shoulder again and she knelt down to lift the manhole cover. Before she began her descent into the tunnels, a hand gripped her shoulder. She spun on her heel and quickly delivered a kick to her assailant. Her eyes went wide when she saw who it was.

“John!” she exclaimed.

“Damn… do you have to wear heels?” asked John Proudstar, his hand rubbing the spot on his abdomen where she struk him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know it was you,” she replied. “I’m a little jumpy these days.”

“It’s okay, I shouldn’t have snuck up on you like that,” said John.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah, it only hurts when I breathe,” he replied.

“Oh please, big football star like you took worse hits than that.”

“So sue me, I was trying to milk it,” he said. “You coming from Ceci’s place?”

“Yeah, I went to check on Kurt and Kitty.”

“How are they doing?” asked John.

“Ceci said Kurt’s doing well, she expects him to come out of the coma shortly,” replied Ali.

“And Kitty?”

“No change,” replied Ali. John could detect a hint of sadness in her voice. “Y’know, sometimes I wonder what we’re actually doing.”

“What do you mean?” asked John.

“Okay, well after our ties with SHIELD were broken, we joined up with Magneto,” replied Ali. “Fight the good fight for mutantkind, right? But then we found out Magneto wasn’t who we thought he was. And then we come to London and go up against the Marauders. Now Logan’s gone and we’re on our own. And aside from hiding out in the tunnels, what exactly are we doing?”

“You heard Scott at the last meeting, we’re waiting for Kurt and Kitty to heal up before we make our next move.”

“But what is our next move?” asked Ali. “We were government agents and then we were mutant terrorists. So now what do we do? We’re not superheroes, John, we’re too young to be going through all this. Since I joined the X-Men, I’ve lost more friends than I ever lost in my entire life.”

“So what’s the other option?” asked John. “Go back to the States where we’re wanted by SHIELD? We gotta stick together, because we got no one else. Scott’s doing the best he can since Logan ditched out on us. It’s a new experience for all of us.”

“What a sweet, Kodak moment.”

Ali and John spin around and before them stood a shapely woman with six arms and long, silver hair. Several silver dog-like creatures surrounded her, each of them with their eyes fixed on John and Ali.

“Hi, I’d like to introduce myself,” said the woman. “My name is Spiral, and I’m the head casting agent for MojoVision Studios. Mr. Mojo would like you to audition for an open spot on one of his television shows. We were told to make you an offer you can’t refuse.”

“What the hell is this?” asked John.

“I really don’t think I appreciate your tone of voice,” said Spiral. “Please, we’re all adults here, surely we can make a deal? Mr. Mojo absolutely refuses to take no for an answer.”

“Too bad,” said John.

“As you wish,” said Spiral. “Warwolves, cancel him. But leave the girl alive. She’s the one Mr. Mojo wants to cast.”

Ningxia Hui Province; China

Dr. Ao Jun, the head of the Chinese research facility known as Feng Tu, stepped inside the elevator. He slid his keycard into the slot, confirming his access, and he pressed the button for the roof. As the elevator slowly rose through the shaft, he began to cough. A lifetime of smoking three packs of cigarettes a day had left the sixty-year-old genetics specialist with a blackened lung and cancer.

The elevator came to a sudden stop and the doors opened with a hiss. He stepped forth from them and saw a black helicopter devoid of any sort of identifying labels, with the blades still spinning. Several soldiers stood around the helicopter—guards of the Feng Tu facility. Ao Jun walked past them, the wind from the helicopter giving him a bit of resistance as he approached the chopper. The blades began to slow before deactivating completely. The door to the helicopter opened and an American man in his forties, dressed in a black suit with a red tie, stepped forth.

“Dr. Ao Jun I presume?” the man asked.

“Yes,” replied Ao Jun. “I’ve been expecting you.”

“How’s the progress so far?”

“We’ve been proceeding apace, your Dr. Lang has been invaluable with the samples he provided us,” said Ao Jun. “I’m surprised the General hadn’t come?”

“General Stryker had other business to attend to. Since this is my project, he asked me to come personally and see how things have been proceeding.”

The two men stepped inside the elevator and Ao Jun slid his keycard inside the slot. He then pressed the button for the sub-basement level. The elevator descended, carrying the two men deep into the Feng Tu facility, beneath the surface of the earth.

“I know this project is being undertaken without your government’s knowledge of your involvement,” said Ao Jun. “Are you worried they will discover what you’ve been doing?”

“Right now, the President has his hands full with hurricanes, desert warfare, and Supreme Court nominations. Ever since the capture of Magneto, the mutant issue has been a moot point. Many people have already forgotten about the incident at Liberty Island.”

“So it’s true, your people did find Magneto?” asked Ao Jun.

“What do you know about Magneto, Doctor?”

“Please do not insult my intelligence, sir. The world may have been unaware of Magneto’s escape from your Weapon X program, but not us. Some of his Acolytes attempted to escape from his Avalon base to China. They were captured and interrogated by the military.”

“Well, you heard right—we did find him. Currently, he’s enjoying an all expenses paid vacation at the lovely Guantanamo Bay.”

“You tried containing him in the past and he escaped,” said Ao Jun. “Why not just kill him?”

“Because there’s no fun in torturing a dead man, Doctor. Currently, he’s comatose and we have him locked up in a specially-designed plastic cell, just in case. We’re actually looking forward to his awakening, because then we can begin the torture. SHIELD’s psi-division is hard at work trying to penetrate his mind, but with little luck so far. They keep getting images of family picnics and school plays.”

The elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. Ao Jun exited first and his visitor followed. The two men walked across a metal catwalk towards a large, glass tube in the center of the massive room. The visitor smiled as he looked in at the specimen behind the glass.

“How much longer?” he asked.

“Hard to say how long the incubation period will last,” replied Ao Jun. “However, he’ll be ready soon enough. .”

“What’s that?”

“A nickname some of us have given to the subject,” said Ao Jun. “It means: ‘The Man From Room X.'”

“Clever.”

“Is this to your liking, sir?” asked Ao Jun.

“Yes,” he replied. He turned to face Ao Jun. “Also, I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced, Doctor. My name is Henry Peter Gyrich.”

London

The warwolves pounced on Thunderbird and Dazzler. The two X-Man instantly switched into battle-mode, and Dazzler unleashed a burst of light to blind the creatures. With them momentarily distracted, Thunderbird moved at breakneck speed to incapacitate them, his fists shattering jaws. Dazzler held her own, firing off sound-fueld laser blasts to keep the Warwolves away from her.

“Very nice acting, very natural…” said Spiral from the sidelines, watching with keen interest. Her eyes were suddenly blinded by a bright flash. She lifted her arm to shield herself, and once her eyes readjusted, she saw a bird composed of fire surrounding four individuals. A young man with short, brown hair and a visor over his eyes. A tall, brutish fellow with steel skin. A mixture between animal and man with blue fur covering his body and a pair of glasses. And in the center of the avatar was a young woman with short, red hair and her eyes glowed brightly.

“Hmm… special effects on that scale look very expensive,” muttered Spiral. “Having them for free would halve the budget…”

Phoenix lowered her teammates to the ground, and they came to the aid of Thunderbird and Dazzler in the battle against the Warwolves.

“I picked up your thoughts and thought you could use some assistance,” rang the psychic voice of Phoenix in the X-Men’s heads.

“Jeannie, you’re always a welcome addition to any party,” said Thunderbird.

“Warwolves, back,” said Spiral. The warwolves instantly retreated back to the side of their mistress.

“Already?” asked Thunderbird. “C’mon, I was just getting warmed up.”

“I’m a casting agent, I know talent when I see it,” replied Spiral. “I don’t have time to waste watching a full performance, a snippet is more than enough. I’ll leave the rest up to auditions.”

“Auditions?” asked Beast. “Did I miss something?”

“She’s been talkin’ like that since she got here,” replied Thunderbird. “I think she’s just a few beers short of a six-pack.”

“It’s time to proceed to the green room and there you will begin your auditions,” said Spiral.

“Jean…?” asked Colossus.

“Her mind’s a jumble,” replied Phoenix. “When I try to scan it, I just keep getting a jumble of catch-phrases.”

Spiral’s six arms began to move about in odd motions, and glowing orbs appeared in the palms of her hands. She began to sway her hips and move her legs to nonexistant music. As she danced, she hurled the orbs, one by one, at each of the X-Men. As soon as the orbs struck each X-Man, they vanished in a flash of bright light.

“Welcome to MojoVision Studios.”