Post by thejellyfish on Sept 23, 2015 23:08:11 GMT -5
Astonishing X-Men #9
Pilgrims
by thejellyfish
Subbasement Hangar, Xavier AcademyPresent Day
‘C’mon, you stupid thing,’ thought Kitty Pryde as she attempted to screw a nail into the Blackbird, however, the nail came out of the socket and slide off of the wing and onto the floor.
“So, how does a wing just fall off a plane?” asked a sarcastic, male voice from below her. Kitty turned to see Julian Keller standing on the ground below the plane.
“Apparently, you let Professor Kurt fly,” she replied with a huff. “If Doug were awake and Hank wasn’t making sure his muscles didn’t atrophy, we’d have this done in no time, but… the building stuff was always more his thing, you know?”
Julian flew up to meet her. “Hey, he’ll wake up. Sometime,” he said with a reassuring pat on the shoulder with one of his metal hands. “Xavier wants us upstairs. Some people have arrived and he wants to make sure none of the students see them before tomorrow morning.”
“Ugh, seriously? It’s too late-“
“Hey, if you can work on the Blackbird at two o’clock in the morning, then I think getting visitors is fair game.”
“Fine,” said Kitty with an annoyed look. She grabbed onto Julian’s arms. “You wanna go the quick way up? I promise to phase this time.”
Julian sighed and grabbed onto Kitty’s arms and began to fly upwards towards the entrance of the school.
Amazon Rainforest, Brazil
Same Time
“She’s gotta be ‘round here somewhere,” said an annoyed Roberto da Costa. “Keep looking, guys.”
Kurt Wagner crawled around from one of the trees and flipped onto a branch. “Just who is zhis woman to you? I do not believe you have told us,” he said as Megan Gwynn landed behind him and sat down.
“It is a long story, mi amigo. The short version is that getting married at twenty isn’t always the best idea,” replied Roberto.
“Whoa, wait a minute you’re married?” asked Megan, the shock audible in her voice. However, before Roberto could answer, a ruffling sound was heard below them.
“I’ve smelt someone!” yelled Hank McCoy from the ground.
‘Why is that still weird?’ asked Megan to herself before following the rest of the group closer to the ground.
Suddenly, a large, spiky rock shot out of the earth and stopped the party in their tracks.
“Who are you and why have you come here?” asked a loud voice in a threatening tone.
“Amara, it’s me. Your husband,” Roberto yelled back as he stepped out from behind the rock.
“Oh, you,” she replied angrily. Roberto simply sighed in response.
“C’mon hon, don’t play angry with me. I know that if you really wanted to be free of me, you would have signed the divorce papers when you had the chance.”
“Should ve be listening to zhis?” asked Kurt as he looked at both Hank and Megan. Megan shrugged in reply.
“Just… tell me what I did wrong. I will do better. And if you want nothing to do with me, that’s fine too. But, if you want me gone you have to come back with me so we can sign the divorce papers.”
A tall, blonde haired woman walked out of a cave and headed straight for Roberto. She had supermodel good looks and a wry smile on her face. She was dressed in a dirt stained, dark blue t-shirt, dirty khakis, and brown boots. Her clothing did not match her looks at all, yet didn’t take away from her beauty. Upon reaching Roberto, she slapped him in the face.
“You know what that was for,” she said as Roberto rubbed his face. She sighed. “I will return with you and your friends, weigh my options. I don’t want to give up what we have if it can be saved.”
Roberto instantly perked up. “Good, then it’s settled. Megan, fire up the portal!”
“Ugh, not again.”
Foyer, Xavier School
Meanwhile
Julian and Kitty landed in the hallway on the other end of the foyer and opened a crack in the door. They could hear Ororo, Remy, and Xavier in the foyer talking to six people.
“Jean, it is so good to see you again, child,” said Xavier as he hugged a red haired woman.
“Likewise,” she said as the hug ended and she stood in a line with the other six people.
The first person in line was a woman about Doug and Megan’s age, with auburn hair that had a white streak in it. While everyone else seemed to stand at attention, she placed a hand on her hip and obviously eyed Remy up, before blowing him a kiss. Remy grimaced in response.
“Did she just…” said Kitty incredulously.
“Really?” asked Julian.
“What?”
“I thought you were over Remy.”
“I am,” she shot back, her voice too fast and too shrill for her claim to be actually true. “It’s just, y’know, that’s so… forward of her.”
“Mhmm.”
The next person in line was another redhead woman, who looked a bit younger than the one that hugged Xavier. She was also stood next to Jean, which illustrated just how similar in looks the two were.
“Sisters?” asked Julian.
“Duh doy,” replied Kitty.
The next person in line was a large, metal man. He stood with his hands behind his back, as if any sudden movement could destroy something in the room.
“How the hell is that possible?” asked Julian.
“What?” asked Kitty in reply.
“That dude must be seven feet tall, that doesn’t happen.”
“He’s a mutant and he’s made of metal. He can be whatever height he wants.”
Julian paused. “That doesn’t make sense.”
“Shhh.”
The next person in line was a shorter, blonde male. He curiously looked around the room as he took in his surroundings, seemingly amazed that the school - let alone Utopia - existed in the first place.
“Something familiar about that guy,” said Kitty.
“What do you mean?” asked Julian.
“It’s just... he looks like someone we know.”
“I can see that.”
The next person was another male that a rather silly looking visor on his face, which was also marked with a serious look.
“Oh my god, look at that guy’s glasses. They look so dumb,” said Julian, barely stifling a laugh.
Kitty began to chuckle as well. “You’re right. Why would someone wear something like that?”
“Who does something like that?” Julian asks, wiping his eyes. He paused for a bit, collecting himself. “Hey, that vibe you got from the blonde one? I get it with him too.”
“Really? Maybe they’re brothers. Doesn’t explain why they look like someone we know, however.”
Julian shrugged in response as the door opened fully all the way and Ororo Monroe stood before them.
“Would you like to join us?”
Julian and Kitty sputtered in reply.
Xavier smiled upon seeing the pair enter the foyer. “Ah Jean, I’d like you to meet two of the newest members of the X-Men,” he said as he motioned to Julian. “This is Julian Keller; he’s a telekinectic, and a rather powerful one at that.”
Xavier then motioned to Kitty. “This is Kitty Pryde; she can phase through solid objects, much like a ghost. They were part of the first class to graduate.” The Professor sighed. “I wish you could meet all of them, but Megan isn’t here at the moment and Doug is… indisposed.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” said the woman in question. Kitty looked at Remy and saw him look at her in disappointment and then cross his arms.
“I’m Jean, former student of Xavier’s too. This is X-Factor. Rogue, Scott, Piotr, Rachel, and Alex are my fellow teammates,” she said as she motioned to each of her teammates. Rogue being the one with the streak in her hair, Scott the one with the visor, Piotr standing there made of metal, Rachel was the other redhead, and Alex was the blonde one.
“We need a place to lie low for awhile and I thought this would be a perfect place,” Jean finished.
Remy looked a bit flabbergasted at the new information presented to the group. “Now look, I don’ know if we can fit all y’all in this here school,” said Remy. “Some of ya? Sure, no problem, but all of y’all’s a different story.”
“Remy has a point, the school is simply too small to accommodate for both our students and your team,” said Ororo. “We have houses available in town, if any of you wish to live away from the school.”
“Is the town secure?” asked Scott. “Can anyone harm us here?”
“The town was reestablished as a sovereign nation two months ago. We call it Utopia.” Xavier paused. “I wanted it to be a nation for Mutants, but Remy decided it would be better fit if we allowed all types of people to enter, humans included,” replied Xavier.
“A nation for outcasts,” added Remy.
“It’ll have to do, but for the record, let me just state that I think it’s a bad idea to allow non-mutants into this Utopia. Our team doesn’t have the best track record with humans.”
“Ours too, but mutants ain’t the only ones that need saving, homme,” replied Remy.
Suddenly a bright flash of light appeared in the foyer as Megan, Roberto, Hank, Kurt, and an unknown woman appeared. “We’re baAAHH,” yelled Roberto at the six strangers standing in the foyer.
“Ah, you’re back. Perfect timing!” said Xavier excitedly. He motioned over to X-Factor. “This is Scott, Jean, Alex, Rogue, Piotr, and Rachel. They are members of the team known as X-Factor.” Piotr shifted from his metal form to his human form, deciding that any potential danger had passed. His height changed from seven feet to just over six feet. Julian and Kitty were stunned.
“Never heard of ‘em,” said Megan with another huff as she placed her hands on her knees.
“Da, you would not have heard of us. We were a secret before now.”
“Well, we’re probably still a secret, big guy,” said Rogue in a southern accent. “Ah’m jus’ glad we’re outta that base. Wide open skies and cute guys,” she said with a wink at Remy.
Roberto chuckled, leaned into Remy, and whispered, “Oh amigo, you are so in the shit now.”
Danger Room, Subbasement
Meanwhile
“Argh, I can still fight dammit!” yelled an annoyed Betsy Braddock as the simulation around her ceased, revealing the stark white walls of the Danger Room.
“Report to the medical facility. You are injured,” said the computerized voice of the Danger Room.
“I can just fix it here-“
“Report to the medical facility,” interrupted the computer.
“Fine,” said Betsy as she exited the Danger Room and gave the computer the two-fingered salute as the doors closed.
The medical room was quiet, apart from the faint beeping of the equipment that was used to keep Doug alive while he was in his coma. It was also empty, apart from Doug. ‘I’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way, it seems,” she thought.
She sat down on a table next to him and grabbed her right arm with her left and, with the aid of her telekinetics, set her right arm back in place. She yelped in pain, but quickly regained her composure.
“Unh,” moaned the younger man from beside her. “B- B- Bet- Betsy?” he asked, throat dry from not using it for three months.
Besty looked at him in shock and reached out to the professor with her mind. 'Professor, you need to come to the med room now. Doug’s awake!’ she thought.
‘We’re on our way, Betsy. Make sure he awakens fully,’ replied the Professor.
It didn’t take long for the Professor and the rest of the X-Men to enter the med room. They were followed by six people that Betsy did not recognize. As Hank set about making sure Doug was in fact awakening, Remy approached Betsy.
“Get away from him,” he whispered threateningly.
“I wasn’t doing anything, luv, if it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t know he was awake,” she replied with a huff of annoyance.
“Don’ call me ‘luv,’” said Remy. “Jus’ stay away from my brats. I- We can’t trust you after what you’ve been doin’ behin’ our backs.”
“Ok, fine. I won’t overstep my bounds with you. We do need to talk, however. I’ll be waiting for when you decide when that time is,” she said as she walked out of the med room.
Remy walked over to where Doug was now sitting, joining Kitty, Julian, Megan, Ororo, Xavier, and Hank. The three younger X-Men, Xavier, and Ororo were exchanging pleasantries with their newly awoken friend, while Hank fiddled with the IV drip.
“Heh, ‘V has come to,’” said Julian with a smirk.
“What?” asked Doug, throat still dry.
“Nothing. You’ll figure it out soon, I guess.”
“So, how long ‘fore ya get outta here, kid? Kurt broke the Blackbird,” said Remy.
“And it has been hell trying to get it operational again,” added Kitty.
“He can go up to his room now, but I’d recommend not leaving it until the weekend. Megan will just have to teleport us for a few more days,” replied Hank, eliciting a whisper of ‘Thank God,’ from Megan.
Suddenly, Roberto, Amara, Kurt, and all of X-Factor burst into the room. “You guys have to see this,” he said as he turned one of the monitors onto a news broadcast, showing hazy footage of the Acolytes tearing through Brooklyn. The footage went on before Abyss sucked the camera into his wormhole, causing the footage to turn to static. The footage then cut to a woman on another city block away from the destruction.
“Well, Travis it seems as if the Acolytes are searching for a young woman named Lorna Dane. It is unknown what this young woman’s ties to the group are, if there are any at all,” said the reporter as a picture of Lorna Dane appeared on the screen. Lorna looked just like your average eighteen year old girl, other than the fact that her green hair was its natural color.
“The Acolytes made quite a buzz three months ago when they attacked the headquarters of The Purifiers, a private military company created by Reverend William Stryker, as well as the attack and kidnapping of the Australian hero known as Manifold, which the X-Men attempted to stop. Does Lorna Dane have any connection to these events?” asked Travis, the anchorman sitting safely at his desk.
“It does not seem so, Travis, however rumor from people in the area seems to suggest that she is a mutant,” replied the reporter. “We’ll give you all at home updates as they come to us.”
“No time ta suit up team, we’re goin’ in,” said Remy. “Pixie, get the portal ready.”
“I’m taking my team with you,” said Scott. “We have to make sure that girl is extracted safely.”
“Well, I can’t take all of ya, so pick who’s going,” said Megan, annoyed at how many times she’s had to teleport over since Kurt broke the Blackbird.
“We’ll split up. Jean, Colossus, and I are Team One,” said Scott. “We’ll provide backup for the X-Men while Team Two stays here.” Scott’s voice was commanding and practically booming within the med room.
“Kurt and I will stay here to accommodate Alex, Rachel, Rogue, and Amara, Scott. Kitty, you and Julian move Doug up to his room,” said Ororo. Remy nodded in acknowledgement.
“Okay, y’all ready for this?” asked Remy as Megan opened up the portal to a street in the middle of Brooklyn.
Brooklyn, New York
A Moment Later
“Oof. I’ve got you, malen'kaya feya,” said Colossus as he caught Pixie, who had passed out from exhaustion. He then laid her down in the alleyway they landed in. The group could hear the sounds of the Acolytes tearing through the city from one direction and they headed off to get a better view. They could see the Acolytes scan their surroundings. Frenzy stood atop a car, Unuscione floated above the battlefield, Scalphunter and Forge took cover behind a parked taxi, Abyss sucked random things into his chest portal and then shot them out into the air, while Manifold stood at the back waiting to be called forth to aid the rest of the team.
Suddenly, a young woman stepped out from her hiding spot. She had green hair. “You want me?! You’ll have to get to me first!” she yelled as she pulled every piece of metal from the surrounding area around her, wrapping herself in a cocoon. Carmella immediately went about trying to pull apart the orb, but with every piece stripped away, a new piece was added.
“What do you all know about the Acolytes?” asked Beast as the members of both teams hid behind a wall.
“We know that Frenzy has super strength, so Colossus would be best for combating her, and Carmella Unuscione is no match for Jean,” said Cyclops. “But, the other four are where it gets tricky. I have no ideas for how to fight Manifold, Forge, or Scalphunter, and Abyss is dangerous because he’ll pull whoever fights him into his chest.”
“I’ll raise ya on that. Big guy,” said Remy. Colossus insisted on being called by his codename. “Big guy, you shift into your metal form and take on Forge and Scalphunter. They won’ be able ta hurt ya wit’ their guns. Beast, if you distract Abyss, I think Jean can block up his portal wit’ a telekinetic bubble.”
“And what about the rest of us, Gambit?” asked Sunspot.
“You, me, and Cyclops’ll jus’ play it by ear, mon ami.”
“’Play it by ear?’ A mutant life is at risk and you wanna ‘play it by ear?’” asked Cyclops in a rage.
“There’s other people hidin’ out here, we have ta keep them safe too.”
“Scott, they know more about these people than we do, I say we go for it,” said Jean, lightly touching Cyclops’ arm.
“Okay, so we all agree on the plan of action?” asked Beast. Everyone nodded their heads, even Cyclops, albeit his was reluctant.
Sunspot flew out and met Carmella, distracting her from her mission of tearing apart Lorna’s cocoon. He fired a blast of plasma energy at her and missed. Cyclops followed up from below with a blast from his eyes and took her out before refocusing on Frenzy.
Colossus took on both Forge and Scalphunter, pushing them back inch by inch. Every shot from Scalphunter’s gun bounced off of him and Forge’s energy firing guns had no effect. He swatted Scalphunter away with one hit, causing Forge to run away.
Beast hopped from car to car as Abyss pulled each one into his chest portal while Jean flew in behind Abyss and closed up his portal. A car that was already flying towards him was unable to enter the portal and instead knocked him back.
Gambit pulled out his bo staff from his coat and extended, charging for Frenzy. Cyclops shot another blast at the woman, knocking her off balance, before Remy came up and swung for her head. She managed to catch the staff with her hand. Gambit and Frenzy engage in a short tug-o’-war match before Gambit charged the staff with kinetic energy, let go, and kicked her away. The staff exploded in her hand and she was left with minor injuries.
Shortly after, portals appeared below the Acolytes and they fell through before Manifold disappeared. Gambit picked up his staff where it lay when Pixie landed by him.
“So, what’d I miss?” she asked.
The cocoon surrounding Lorna fell apart now that the danger had past and she collapsed to her knees. Beast ran over to her and helped her up. “Thanks,” she said. Then, she hugged him tightly. “Thank you so much.”
“It was our pleasure, Lorna,” said Jean.
“How do you kno-“
“The news,” said everyone at the same time.
“I know you guys – well, some of you at least – you’re the X-Men. You fought Magneto in Central Park five years ago. I was there, before I got my powers. You guys saved my life,” said Lorna, star struck from meeting two of the heroes that saved her life five years ago.
“It seems your actions five years ago inspired someone,” said Jean to both Gambit and Beast. “It was very brave, what you did,” she added as she put her hand on Lorna’s shoulder.
“Nah, all I did was hide. You guys did all the work.”
“Yes, but the other people in the area would not have had the time to escape if you didn’t distract the Acolytes when you did. You’re a hero, Lorna.”
Remy guided the group out of the streets before the news crews got to the site of the battle. Once they reached the alleyway they landed in, they found a secluded spot and waited there.
“Oi Rusky, what did you call me earlier? When I fainted?” asked Pixie.
“Malen’kaya feya. It means ‘little fairy’ where I’m from,” replied Colossus.
“I like it,” said Pixie with a smile and a thumbs up to the large man. Beast quickly got everyone back on track.
“Do you know why the Acolytes would target you?” asked Beast. “It can’t be because of your abilities, you seem to just be a regular telekinetic, no offense.”
“None taken, those aren’t my powers though,” replied Lorna. “I’m not a telekinetic.” She hesitated.
She reached out with her hand and grabbed the lid to a metal trash can and crushed it into a ball, then stretched it back into a somewhat flat shape. “I’m like him. I can control metal.”
‘Oh my stars and garters,’ thought Beast, his eyes going wide.
“There’s a place we can take you, you’ll be safe from those who want to harm you,” said Cyclops with a look of worry on her face.
“Utopia? I’ve wanted to go since it got declared a sovereign nation,” asked Lorna, excitement dripping from her voice. Cyclops’ face dropped a little, forgetting that X-Factor didn’t have a place of their own to take her.
“Yes, we can train ya ta use your power there and, if ya want, you can even join the X-Men,” said Remy with a smile.
Lorna brushed her green hair behind her ears. “I already know how to use my powers, my mom helped. She also made me take self-defense lessons. I can defend myself.”
“Speaking of your mother, we’ll have to ask her if it’s okay with her if you can come with us,” said Sunspot.
“My mother?” Lorna asked sadly. “She’s dead.” She looked down towards the ground and frowned.
“Well then, I guess it’s settled,” said Remy. “Pixie. One more portal?”
Pixie cracked her fingers. “One more portal comin’ right up, boss.” She outstretched her arms and called forth the magical energies.
“Sihal Novarum Chinoth!”
Next: Hate