ROAR OF THUNDER

Part II: Wake-Up Call

By Ryan Krupienski

Deep in the heart of Burton Canyon, Colorado, there sits a small log cabin. Recently, it has served as the headquarters for the villains-turned-heroes known as the Thunderbolts. And even more recently, it’s had visitors, specifically the X-Men.

Just seconds ago, the female X-Man known as Phoenix was sent hurtling to the ground after a blast of energy erupted from the Thunderbolt known as Moonstone. Now, the X-Men and the Thunderbolts are gathered around her. Cyclops is at her side, fearing the worst, but he’s about to learn that he needn’t fear at all.

“Oh… my head…” Phoenix says, as she sits up.

“Jean, you’re all right!” Cyclops rejoices, taking his wife in his arms.

As Cecilia Reyes and Beast tend to Phoenix’s injuries, Hawkeye leans down next to Cyclops. “Cyke, I’m sorry… this shouldn’t have happened. This whole thing got out of hand,” he says.

Cyclops turns to Hawkeye and replies, “It’s just as much my fault. If I had given you a chance to explain yourself, maybe this fight could have been avoided and Jean wouldn’t have been hurt.”

“What do you say we all go inside, and we can talk this out?” Hawkeye suggests.

“Sounds like a plan,” Cyclops says. He helps Phoenix to her feet, and they, along with the rest of the X-Men and the Thunderbolts, head inside the cabin. Jolt grabs Moonstone’s arm, keeping her outside.

“Hallie, what is it?” Moonstone asks.

“You almost killed her, Karla! And you don’t even show any remorse about it! I thought you were a good person, I thought you cared if you hurt people!” Jolt cries, upset at the one she once looked up to.

Moonstone sighs. “Hallie, it was an accident, I swear! You don’t really think that I’d try to kill someone, do you?” she says, trying to act remorseful.

“I… I really don’t know what to think anymore… I’m going inside,” Jolt replies, as she rushes towards the cabin door.

‘This is not good,’ Moonstone thinks to herself. ‘I need to establish a control of sorts over Hallie, she’s the one on this team that everyone will trust and listen to. I keep messing up like this, and I can forget about controlling her or the Thunderbolts.’

Moonstone takes off her headpiece, revealing her blue eyes and her long, blonde hair. She starts walking slowly towards the cabin door, then stops. She can hear Jolt’s words in her mind. ‘I thought you were a good person…’

‘Being a good person won’t get me anywhere, Hallie. I’m not selfless, I’m not remorseful, I’m not lovey-dovey. I’m me. And an injured redhead mutant isn’t going to change that. I look out for me, and me only. Everyone else is either my pawn, my enemy, or of no concern to me.’

Moonstone walks in the cabin and closes the door behind her.

Minutes later, inside the Thunderbolts’ cabin…

“Here you go,” Songbird says, as she hands a cup of tea to Phoenix.

Phoenix sits on a soft couch, and takes the cup of tea. “Thank you,” she replies. She takes a sip of the tea, which is quite hot. All of a sudden, she hears a voice in her mind. “What…?”

Cyclops looks at her with concern. “Jean, what is it?” he asks.

Phoenix hears more voices. In an instant, she knows what’s going on. She puts the tea down and turns to her husband. “Scott, my telepathy… it’s back!” she exclaims, hugging him. “I can hear your thoughts inside my mind again!”

Moonstone walks over to Phoenix. She’s slightly uneasy, seeing as how she’s about to apologize, something she’s never done… EVER!

“Look, I just wanted to say… I’m sorry. I don’t know why my powers got out of control. I’m glad you’re not seriously injured,” she says. ‘I could care less,’ she then thinks to herself.

Phoenix looks Moonstone in the eyes, and in an instant she knows the woman’s lying. But she decides to play along. “It’s okay… I guess I shouldn’t have tried to crush you with a telekinetic bubble,” she replies.

“Okay, so, no hard feelings? We can just put this behind us?” Hawkeye asks, hoping the answer is yes.

“There’s nothing I would like more at this moment,” Cyclops says, rising from the couch and shaking Hawkeye’s hand.A few feet away, Jolt looks at Moonstone, and feels sorry for what she had says outside.

‘Karla apologized. And I was such a jerk outside! I shouldn’t have been so hard on her,’ Jolt thinks. At the moment, Jolt would kick herself if possible.

‘I don’t know what you’re up to, Moonstone, and I won’t invade your mind to find out, but I will find out. There’s something not right about you, something I can’t trust,’ Phoenix thinks.

“Well, now that we’re all chummy, why don’t you Thunderbolts get to explaining about Robinette?” Shadowcat says. She’s sitting next to Colossus on another couch.

“That’s what I intend to do,” Hawkeye replies. “Now, what I was trying to say before…”

“I have a better idea. Instead of making this a long discussion and wasting time talking about it, why not have Jean read Hawkeye’s mind to find out the truth?” Psylocke suggests, interrupting Hawkeye.

Psylocke looks at Phoenix, then at Hawkeye. “Well?” she inquires.

“Betsy, with all due respect, that may not be a good idea. Jean just got her telepathy back, and she’s not in full control of it yet,” Cyclops says.

“No, Scott, I’m up to it. That is, if Hawkeye is okay with it. I won’t read his mind unless he agrees to it.”

Hawkeye nods in agreement. “I’m all for it. It’ll get you all the facts you need, and I won’t have to explain it all in a long, drawn-out conversation,” he says. “I’m ready when you are.”

“You might want to sit down. Come sit next to me,” Phoenix says. She motions for Cyclops to move, and he does. Hawkeye comes and sits next to her.

“Here we go.” Phoenix closes her eyes, as Hawkeye feels a slight tug at his mind. She continues this for a few minutes, with the other X-Men and Thunderbolts watching silently, then stops.

“Get everything you were looking for?” Hawkeye asks, rubbing his forehead.

“Yes, I did,” Phoenix replies. She turns to Cyclops, who’s standing with Beast and Cecilia. “They didn’t destroy Robinette. They were trying to save that town. The Masters of Evil set them up,” she informs.

Now Cyclops feels like an even bigger jerk. He didn’t even give Hawkeye a chance to explain. And it turns out Hawkeye was going to tell the truth. Cyclops just wanted to bring the Thunderbolts in, as a start for his new direction for the X-Men. And now he begins to wonder if his new proactive approach to saving the world is really as good an idea as he previously thought…

“So, we’re off the hook?” Charcoal asks anxiously.

“Yeah, we are, Charlie,” Hawkeye responds.

Charcoal sighs with relief.

“Charlie? That your real name?” Archangel asks, looking at Charcoal.

“Yep, it is,” Charcoal responds, reverting to his human form – that of a teenage African-American boy.

“Huh…” Archangel says.

Hawkeye turns his attention back to Phoenix. “Well, I’m sure you want to get some rest, Jean. You can go into the bedroom and take a nap, or…”

Phoenix smiles. “No, Clint, but thank you. You don’t have to worry about me,” she says.

“Well, what happens now?” Songbird asks.

“How about you tell us about this new cadre of Masters of Evil. Perhaps we can lend you a helping hand, and maybe some feet as well,” Beast jokes.

Hawkeye lets out a little laugh. “Glad to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor, Hank,” he says.

“Moi? Lose my sense of humor? As if!” Beast replies. “But seriously… let us help you, Hawkeye. The X-Men aren’t limited to fighting people like Sabretooth or Magneto.”

“He’s right. Please, Hawkeye, let us help bring in the Masters of Evil,” Cyclops says.

Hawkeye thinks for a moment, and turns to the rest of the Thunderbolts. “What do you guys say?” he asks.

The other Thunderbolts nod, indicating that they’re fine with the X-Men helping them out. Hawkeye turns to Cyclops. “Looks like the answer is yes, Cyke.”

“Great. So, why don’t you start by telling us about them,” Cyclops replies.

Hawkeye takes a deep breath. “Okay, here goes nothing…”

Meanwhile, inside the peak of Mt. Charteris, in the Colorado Rockies…

“WHAT?!” The Crimson Cowl slams her fist down on the control panel in front of the monitor she stands before. That monitor was linked to a surveillance camera hidden in the Thunderbolts’ cabin, meaning she’s just seen what happened between them and the X-Men.

Dragonfly, Joystick, and Sunstroke come rushing to the Cowl’s side, but soon after wish they’d stayed away.

“What is it, Cowl? What’s wrong?” Sunstroke asks.

The Crimson Cowl turns swiftly around to face her three henchmen, her eyes glowing bright with fury. “THAT’S WRONG!” she yells, pointing to the monitor.

Dragonfly’s faced is struck with amazement. “The X-Men?! And the Thunderbolts?!” she exclaims.

“Yes, Dragonfly! It seems our ploy in Robinette did not work as well as I’d hoped. If not for the mind-witch, Phoenix, the X-Men and the Thunderbolts would still be at each other’s throats! But no, now they intend to find us and thwart our plans!” the Cowl says angrily.

She breathes heavily, and begins to calm down a bit. “We must get to Chicago before the X-Men return there – Cyclops’ team are now operating out of that city. Sunstroke, Joystick, gather the rest of the Masters and tell them we are leaving in a half-hour. Dragonfly, prepare my craft for departure. And do not forget our… special… device.”

The three Masters do as they’re ordered, and quickly scurry off. The Cowl once again turns to the monitor. “You won’t stop me again, Thunderbolts. Not even with the aid of the X-Men. I will get what I want, and you will not be able to do a thing about it. Get in my way, and you shall surely die!” she says. She clicks off the monitor, and goes off to prepare to depart the base.

Back at the Thunderbolts’ cabin, Hawkeye has just finished filling the X-Men in on the Masters of Evil. Too bad he’s left out the part about there being forty of them, but alas, he’s none the wiser…

“We don’t have any way of tracking them, Cyclops. They just appear randomly, usually at mints and banks,” Hawkeye says. “For now, it seems all they want is money. Lots of it. But you know super-villains, they always want something more.”

“That’s for sure,” Cyclops replies. “But as for tracking them down, well, Hank has his Shi’ar tracking device which can lead us to them, since it probably picked up their energy signatures as well.” Cyclops turns to Beast, who’s leaning against the wall across the room, his arms crossed.

“It may take quite a while to decipher the signatures, Scott, seeing as how it’s a somewhat smaller and less powerful device. We have a full-fledged unit back at the estate, and it’d definitely unscramble the signatures faster,” Beast replies.

“Good point Hank.” Cyclops stands up. “Hawkeye, we’ll be going back to the estate. Why don’t you and the Thunderbolts come along,” he says.

Hawkeye has no problem with that. “Sure, why not,” he replies. “So, when we do leave?”

“Right now,” Cyclops says, as he turns and helps Phoenix up. “Let’s go, everyone,” he says, motioning for everyone to follow him.

The X-Men and Thunderbolts all exit the cabin, and follow Cyclops to the X-Men’s aircraft, which is cloaked.”

Deactivate cloaking,” Cyclops orders. Within seconds, a large aircraft is visible.

Cyclops pushes a button on his control pad, and the ramp of the plane lowers. “Alright, everyone in,” he says.

The X-Men walk in normally, while the Thunderbolts move in, looking around at the aircraft, which is equipped with technology that they’ve never seen before.

“Whoa… what is all this?” Atlas asks, looking around the craft in wonderment at all the ‘cool gizmos’.

“Why don’t we have a seat and I can tell you all about it,” Beast replies.

The X-Men and Thunderbolts strap themselves into the seats running along the sides of the plane, as the ramp closes up. Hawkeye and Cyclops sit in the two pilots’ seats in the cockpit.

“Computer, set a course for Chicago, back to the estate,” Cyclops commands.

“Acknowledged. Prepare for take-off,” the computer replies.

“Chicago?” Hawkeye says, puzzles. “I thought you guys had a big mansion in New York…”

“The other X-Men do, Hawkeye. There’re two teams of X-Men… we sort of had a falling out with Charles Xavier, so now my team’s operating out of Warren’s Chicago estate. I’ll explain more on the way,” Cyclops answered.

“We’re lifting off now!” Cyclops shouts to the ones behind him. The sound of his voice is drowned out by the roar of the engines.

The afterburner fires up, and the plane takes off into the sky, towards the city that will have an unpleasant surprise waiting for them.

Onboard the massive ship of Crimson Cowl, headed towards Chicago…

“Cowl, we’ll be arriving in just a few minutes,” Dragonfly informs her leader.

“Excellent, Dragonfly. What of the smaller crafts?” Cowl replies.

“The craft carrying Klaw’s faction of the Masters has arrived and landed near the tower. The second craft, carrying Sunstroke’s faction, is descending now,” Dragonfly says.

The Cowl’s eyes narrow with evil delight. “Give me visual, Dragonfly. I want to see what’s happening,” she commands.

Dragonfly obeys, and punches some keys on the control panel before her. Seconds later, the large screen in front of her shows the scene of the Masters’ crafts at the Sears Tower. People scurry about, running for their lives as the Masters of Evil emerge from their ships.

“We are preparing for descent now, Cowl,” Blackwing says.

The ship stops in mid-air, and begins to slowly lower to the ground. A minute later, it lands, crushing vehicles and sides of buildings in its path.

“Let’s go!” the Cowl commands, as she gets up and heads out of the ship. Dragonfly, Blackwing, and Shockwave follow her. Minutes later, they stand outside, on top of the ship. A platform lifts up beneath their feet, and they are lifted hundreds of feet into the air, to the top of the Sears Tower.

Once at the top, the Cowl finds a large holographic projector waiting for her. “Excellent. Now it is time to deliver my message,” she sneers.

Back on the X-Men’s aircraft, the Thunderbolts and the mighty mutants are about to arrive in Chicago.

“We’re approaching the city limits now,” Cyclops informs the assembled heroes. “We should be arriving at the estate in just a few minutes.”

The X-Men and the Thunderbolts sit in their seats, waiting to arrive at the hangar bay of the Worthington Estate. Phoenix feels a sudden jolt of panic in her mind, and looks up towards the cockpit to see out the window.

“Scott,” she calls out, “something’s not right. I’m feeling the panic of many, many people running through my mind. Something’s going on down there… near the Sears Tower.”

Phoenix, Beast, Shadowcat, Moonstone, Jolt, and Atlas all rise out of their seats and walk towards the cockpit. They look out of the front window from behind the two pilot seats, and see three massive ships perched on the ground around the Sears Tower.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but those ships look like they belong to the Masters of Evil!” Jolt exclaims.

“I think you’re right, Jolt, unfortunately,” Hawkeye says. “Quickly, Cyke, we gotta land this bird. Get us to the Sears Tower, stat!” Hawkeye gets out of his seat and prepares the Thunderbolts for battle. “Get ready, guys and gals…”

“Computer, activate auto-pilot. Set a course for the Sears Tower,” Cyclops commands.

“Auto-pilot activated,” the computer responds.

The X-Men and Thunderbolts all gather by the ramp, ready to leap off into battle. “Phoenix, Songbird, you two will be responsible for lifting us all safely to the ground,” Cyclops says. “After that, we find the Masters and take them down.”

Cecilia’s stomach knots up at the thought of what’s about to happen. ‘I’m no battlefield operative! This isn’t my thing,’ she thinks. ‘Keep it together, girl. Your friends need you right now – don’t lose it!’

The plane arrives at the Sears Tower, and the ramp lowers. The wind threatens to suck all of the heroes out of the hatch, but thanks to Phoenix’s telekinetic shield, they all stand their ground.

“Get ready people, we’re going in!” Cyclops shouts. He and Phoenix jump out of the plane, along with Beast, Colossus, Shadowcat, and Cecilia. Phoenix encases them in a telekinetic bubble, and lowers them to the ground. Archangel holds Psylocke and flies them both to the ground. Songbird constructs a sonic platform and takes her teammates down. The aircraft flies off and cloaks itself, as the X-Men and Thunderbolts regroup down below.

“They’re here, Cowl! The Thunderbolts and the X-Men are here!” Dragonfly exclaims.

The Crimson Cowl stands at the top of the Sears Tower, victoriously looking at the ground far below her. The Masters of Evil – HER Masters of Evil – now surround the tall building, as the city’s citizens continue to run in panic, trying to flee from the villains. “They are too late, Dragonfly. Activate the holographic projector. It is time my message be delivered to this city,” the Cowl orders.

Dragonfly activates the holographic projector, and a large image of the Crimson Cowl appears above the Sears Tower.

Down below, on the ground…

The Thunderbolts and X-Men look up into the star-filled sky, and see the large holographic image of the Crimson Cowl.

Beast is in awe. “Oh my…” he starts.

“Stars and garters, Hank?” Cyclops asks.

“Oh no, Scott. This goes beyond stars and garters!”

All of a sudden, a blast knocks the two teams off of their feet. They quickly get back on their feet, and see a large group of villains facing them.

“Good evening, Thunderbolts and X-Men. I am Klaw, these are my associates, the Masters of Evil,” shouts Klaw, standing not too far away from the heroes.

“There’s more of them!” Songbird exclaims.

“Your attempts to foil the Cowl’s plans will not succeed. As you can see, you are outnumbered, forty to fifteen,” Klaw says. A smile forms on Klaw’s face, as he prepares to give the Masters their orders. “Masters of Evil – KILL THEM!”

Atop the Sears Tower…

“HEAR ME, CITIZENS OF CHICAGO! I AM THE CRIMSON COWL! YOUR CITY IS NOW BEING HELD HOSTAGE BY MY MASTERS OF EVIL! A LIST OF DEMANDS HAS BEEN SENT TO YOUR GOVERNMENT, AND IF THEY ARE NOT MET, THIS CITY SHALL BE DESTROYED, AND ALL ITS INHABITANTS SHALL DIE!”

NEXT ISSUE: Roar Of Thunder Part 3! The X-Men and the Thunderbolts vs. the Masters of Evil! But how can they hope to win, especially when the Masters outnumber them forty to fifteen?! Plus, the Crimson Cowl enacts the final phase of her plans, Citizen V shows up, four of our heroes are captured, and one of the X-Men undergoes a startling metamorphosis!