Sequels X-Men: The Awakening

[xmenfilesfan05]

So, I'm looking through old notebooks and I stumble across one that I had plotted my own X3 out. This notebook was old, I started plotting the story right after I saw X2 in theaters. I remembered that I had actually typed the first two chapters, and had submitted them to the wrBeta yahoo group. Sadly, I didn't have the original word documents of the two chapters, since I have a new computer. But I read through the twenty pages of plot doodling and realized that I loved the story I had made. I searched through the wrBeta archive and found the first two chapters. I read through them and decided I would continue and finish the story. I made some changes to this first chapter, only because I feel my writing ablilty has improved some since I first wrote it.

I know that many like X-Men: The Last Stand, and I don't have a problem with that. Please don't see this as an attack or an attempt to make a better X3. This is only my idea of what could happen after X1 and X2. I hope you guys enjoy this story.

-xmenfilesfan05

 

[xmenfilesfan05]

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X3: The Awakening

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Chapter 1


Humans and mutants. Together they are mankind. Separately, they are fearful, often dangerous creatures. After the events of Alkali Lake, after the president’s address, many humans have grown new feelings toward those who are different. Many, who didn’t before, now hate them. And many, who hated them, now have a passion. A passion for their destruction and disposal. What are mutants to do but defend themselves? For the men, woman, and children who bear the X-Gene, we must live. Live parallel to humans; learn to trust and love, for if we cannot do that, then humanity will have no chance of accepting our existence in their world, in our world.

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-Charles Xavier


A raptor’s shadow fell against the tops of the trees. Gliding above the thick forest, the red-tailed hawk’s brown wings flapped down effortlessly. The bird moved its head in quick twitches, attempting to search for prey through the roof of the forest. It was no use, even with the hawk’s sharp vision; the impenetrable growth of trees below provided no opening to the ground below. Suddenly, the tops of the pine trees fell away as a clearing opened up unexpectedly in the thick Canadian wild. Through the hawk’s eyes, the sight before it appeared as nothing more than odd, boxy protrusions which often provided a perch for the bird to stare down, looking for mice. To a human, the site would look different. The hawk continued to glide, as it passed over a massive gray building, its roof had been colored to match the bare earth surrounding it. And as soon as the rogue structure had appeared, trees reappeared below the hawk, as it flapped its wings again, driving it forward. The bird knew where it was headed as the sun glinted off of a body of water far off in the distance. It continued to fly. The sun now touching the tops of the trees on the horizon, the bird was soaring over a dull gray lake. Landing on a ragged pine tree, the red-tailed hawk peered down to an animal below.

Something was wrong. She could feel it. An eerie silence, not known to her, filled the air. It was as if the whole forest stood still. No longer did the catbird meow a call to announce it had caught its food for the night. The wind itself seemed to stop and listen. There was no slight swaying within the tops of the very few fir trees left standing. The whole world was staring at her. She heard breathing…then it was gone. She jerked her head to the left, her ears instinctively twisted forward. She looked across the gigantic lake that only a few months ago had been contained behind a dam. Again the breathing hit her ears, and once again it stopped. This time, it was gone for good. She stepped her knobby, front legs apart and slowly lowered her head to the water. She drank cautiously as the cool water slid down her throat. Raising her head up from the water, she looked down. Her reflection, a two-year- old doe with a dull gray coat, jumped and skipped in the ripples of the water.

Something was wrong; it was different this time, and uneasiness in the air. It took the young deer a second to realize it, the sound of paws hitting the dry earth.

Thump. Thump. Thump! THUMP!

She cocked her head slightly. It was thanks to evolution that she could see what was coming. Her ancestors had been preyed upon ever since they came into existence, and gradually the placement of their eyes receded to the sides of their heads giving them a very high advantage against the predators. A cougar, bounding towards her.

She wasted no second in her escape. She bent her legs and sprang forward, opposite the direction the feline was heading. She bounced gracefully, that was how she ran. Not a heavy footfall, but a spring. In this way, she was agile, easily changing directions. But that was not getting her anywhere as the landscape suddenly took a violent turn upward. She had been running long enough to where she reached the hill where the damn had been built into. She suddenly had to struggle to get footholds and pull herself upward. The cougar was steadily gaining on her.

Looking past this wall claiming to be a hill, she saw it…the horizon, the top of the incline. Seeing this as an escape, she burst forward. The trees thickened toward the top. She was running, though it was difficult. She was springing, the way her mother taught her to escape. She weaved in and out of trees. Then her hoof hit loose forest bottom. A combination of dead pine needles and dust flung backward as her back leg shot out from under her. She almost had it. She could feel the flat ground beneath her front hooves. But all of that fell away as she flipped onto her back and slid down the hill. He legs were thrashing wildly as she attempted to twist herself to her belly. And she did. How the cougar wasn’t at her throat, biting into her was unnatural. But she stomped her front hooves into the needles and hoisted herself back up. She carefully staggered up to the top of the hill. And she ran.

But only far enough to realize that there was nowhere to run. She had climbed to the top of a cliff. Not only a cliff, but the one where the damn had been built. She reached the edge and looked down. Shone and metal jutted and twisted out from the side of the rock. The water was forever below. She turned around. No cat. Was it not able to climb with the loose ground? She slowly walked back to where she had emerged from the woods and looked down. With her eyes she only needed to turn her head slightly to see that the cougar was nowhere in the area. It had given up.

A spine tingling roar from behind caused the doe to jump and buck in habit to an attack from the rear. She landed and saw the cougar behind her at the edge of the cliff, pawing the ground. Its claws held the ground tightly. Then, the silence again. It wasn’t caused by the cougar, for the cougar itself looked frightened and confused. Then from below, came a sound…no early sound. A song. Like music. Like the bellowing of a majestic bird. The whole area seemed to glow with a warm light. Then, as quickly as it started, the light and sound ceased. Instantly, a cry sounded. It was voluminous. It clawed at the doe’s brain. She bucked and kicked in agony. She lowered her head to the ground and rubbed back and forth against a rock, attempting to muffle a noise. Yet, no noise could be heard. The woods were silent.

The story was different within the doe’s mind. The cry that started, what seemed ages ago, steadily grew louder. It felt as if her whole body was on fire. Then it stopped. Silence in her head once more. She shook her head and blinked her deep eyes. A growl awoke her from her stance. She flipped her head and saw the cougar, but something wasn’t right. There was a change in the cougar. The doe’s heart was no longer racing. She couldn’t smell the cougar, even though it was circling her closely. Its claws scraped against the rock, but it left no mark. A breeze ran across the lake and up the cliff. The doe’s coat was ruffled, but the cougar’s fur did not move. The cat suddenly flashed, like an image flashes when turning on a television. Its color became dimmer and then brighter. It flashed again.

A steady plume of smoke rose up from the lake below. This seemed to agitate the feline. It flashed repeatedly and then its color darkened until it was as black as a panther. The doe blinked as it stared into the cougar’s eyes. They turned bright yellow and then its right eye flashed to a bright blue while the left eye blurred into a green. The eyes widened, almost in a menacing stare, and then turned completely white. Suddenly, piece bye piece the cat disappeared. The hind legs flashed and went out, followed by the tail. The rest of the cougar vanished without a sound. The deer stood, moving its head side to side. Where had the predator gone? Then, a sound…like nothing she had ever heard before. A voice is what she’d call it. An impulse, a thought, but not her own. It screamed run…RUN!

 

[xmenfilesfan05]

X3: The Awakening
Chapter 2

“Run, run, run, run, run!” he screamed, “keep moving, keep moving!”

Through the glass you could see her. Smooth, flawless, crème colored skin, now drenched in sweat. Her dark hair, once pulled back, was now down and swinging uncontrollably in her face. She was running, her short, stocky body clothed in a tight, leather jumpsuit, made especially for her. Her beautiful, Asian eyes were fierce looking as she vaulted over a barrier that had emerged suddenly from the floor.

Iceman leaned against the window of the Control room staring in at Jubilation Lee. He stepped back and pulled off his gloves. Releasing a sigh, Bobby Drake wiped the sweat off of his brow. He could hear Cyclops screaming at Jubilee.

Rogue was standing in the circular elevator as from behind her shoulder the door squealed open revealing the sub-basement hallway. She stepped out and squinted in the glare of the bright blue hallway. She turned left and stood in front of a circular steel door. The door hissed open automatically, and she walked in the already occupied room.

“Oh, hey Kitty,” Rogue spoke.

Kitty Pryde turned as she zipped her uniform up to the collar, a look of false offense on her face.

“Rogue,” Kitty sighed, “when I’m in the uniform, I demand respect.”

“Oh you do, do you?” Rogue asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kitty placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward, “I do.”

Rogue smiled, “Well then, what do A’h call you?”

“Shadowcat,” Kitty said dramatically, slowly phasing into the floor.

Chuckling, Rogue’s eyes followed Kitty down, “Did Xavier give you that one?”

Kitty quickly jumped out the floor, a frown now on her face.

“No, I did, why?” Kitty turned as Rogue walked to her locker, “What’s wrong with it?”

Rogue opened her locker, pulling a leather jumpsuit out. She turned back to Kitty and smiled. Kitty mouthed the word ‘what’ and gestured with her hand.

“Nothing is wrong with it, honestly,” Rogue laughed, “A’h like it.”

Kitty leaned back, “Good,” she warned.

Kitty pulled on her gloves and walked through the open door. Rogue kicked off her shoes and unbuttoned her pants. She shimmied out of her jeans just as the door clanked shut.

Bathed in the warm glow of the wood paneling, Ororo Munroe and Professor Charles Xavier were watching the television in the media room intently. Ororo pursed her lips and shook her silvery hair off of her shoulders. Xavier adjusted himself in his wheelchair, leaning on his elbow placing his fingers under his chin. The news program was just returning from commercial and the news anchor looked up at the people watching in their living rooms.

“As of yesterday, the number of newly registered mutants has risen from 345 to 678 government officials said. This increase is said to be caused by the rise in the crime rate over the past two weeks. Some mutant allies have gone to say that this increase in crime is caused by the Revised Mutant Registration Act. The Revised Mutant Registration Act was passed in the Senate over two months ago, with a surprisingly unanimous vote. The bill requires that any mutant seen displaying their powers in public, any mutant that shows a physical mutation, or any mutant that commits a crime using their abilities is to be escorted or arrested, followed by registration. Several senators have countered the mutant rights activists in saying that ‘This bill was passed with both human and mutant safety in mind.’ This bill, of course, follows the original Mutant Registration Act, which required all mutants to register. That bill, proposed by Senator Robert Kelly, was never approved by the Senate.”

Ororo placed her face into her hands and sighed. Xavier sat up in his wheelchair and closed his eyes.

“I never thought this would have happened,” Ororo whispered, her voice heavily draped in an African accent.

“None of us did,” Xavier calmly spoke, “But with the resigning of President McKenna and the appointment of his Vice President, everything has changed.”

“For the worse, I’m afraid to say,” Ororo moaned.

Xavier glanced over at Ororo, a small smile on his face, “Things could be a lot worse than this.”

Logan steps in the media room, a beer in hand.

“Yeah, the government could be out there hunting us down,” Logan mumbled as he tipped his head back, gulping his drink.

Rogue stepped out of the locker room, pulling up her glove. She walked up to the control- room door and stared in as it opened. Kitty was leaning up against the glass of the window, looking down into the Danger Room. Bobby was leaning against the wall across from the window. Rogue frowned as the doors opened completely. Bobby was staring at Kitty from across the room.

“See something you like Iceman?” Rogue clucked, crossing her arms in front of her.

Bobby jumped up from the wall turning his head towards Rogue.

“Rogue!” he yelped, “I was just-“

A buzzer sounded in the Danger Room, shaking the control-room, and causing Bobby to jump higher than before. He rubbed the back of his head and closing his eyes he let out a huge sigh. A bench ran the length of the wall and Bobby threw himself down on it, his nerves nearly shot. Rogue sat down next to him, Bobby giving her a wary look.

“Don’t worry about it Bobby,” Rogue whispered.

“I’m sorry,” Bobby said, not looking at Rogue’s face.

Bobby rubbed his sweaty hands on his legs. Rogue looked down at his hands and smiled slightly.

Bobby stared forward, “I’m up next.”

“You’ll do fine,” Rogue assured him, “Don’t worry.”

She moved her gloved hand towards his and grabbed it, her thumb slowly stroking the top of his hand. Bobby grabbed her hand in return and squeezed it. He turned his face towards hers and stared into her eyes. Instead of seeing the love he had seen so many other times, he saw a pain. A sorrow, almost a saddened desire, appeared in her deep brown eyes. He could only imagine why, so many bad things have happened to her. He led her hand to his forehead and he leaned forward, bringing his forehead to hers. Her glove acting as a barrier. He stared into her eyes and she stared right back.

A strong hiss and a click brought both of them out of their stare and Kitty turned her head towards the door. The circular doorway split and slid open. Cyclops stepped in, his hands behind his back, followed by Jubilee. She was a mess, panting heavily, sweat pouring down her face she attempted to tame the tangled mess that was her hair. Cyclops put his hand on Jubilee’s shoulder

“Good job Jubilee,” Cyclops said, his face was stern, “You passed, but there are two things I need you to work on, first is that you need to be more observant. You can’t forget about covering your back, sometimes there won’t be someone there to do it for you. And secondly, I’m a little nervous about your acrobatics, your back handsprings aren’t as graceful as they should be, whose been spotting you?”

Jubilee pointed at Rogue panting, “Rogue has-“

“They get the job done don’t they?” Rogue said, raising an eyebrow.

Cyclops smirked, “Yeah, I guess they do,” he turned back to Jubilee, “good job, go shower up.”

“Yes sir.” Jubilee mumbled as she walked stiff legged towards the locker room.

Cyclops clapped his hands together, making an odd hollow sound with the leather gloves. He pointed at Bobby.

“Iceman, you’re up!” he drilled.

“Alright!” Bobby sighed with a sarcasm meant to be heard.

Cyclops put his hand on Bobby’s back as they stepped out of the control room. Rogue turned her head, watching them as they left. She stared at the ground biting her lip as the buzzer in the Danger Room went off and Iceman’s evaluation began.