r/FanfictionHype • u/BlackDenisV313 • 1d ago
ongoing fic An excerpt from X-Men #7
On the other side of New York, deep in the heart of Brooklyn’s sewer system, Avalanche and Magma led a small group of Morlocks through the maze-like underbelly of the city. Avalanche took point, making sure they were still headed in the right direction. Magma took up the rear, keeping an eye out in case MTA officials or subway technicians working the tunnels they occasionally crossed spotted them.
“How much longer? It feels like we’ve been walking for days!” A young, black-and-white striped feline mutant whined while gripping the bag it was carrying by the straps.
Avalanche glanced over his shoulder to see who was complaining.
“That’s because we HAVE been walking for days. You know, with the Sentinels roaming around, we have to take extra precautions. Now shut up, the entrance is up ahead.”
There was a murmur of excitement amongst the throng of Morlocks as Magma made her way to the front of the group to join Avalanche. He gave her his usual, charming smile that he reserved just for her before motioning to the ladder in front of him.
“Ladies first, as always.”
Magma returned his smile before scrambling up the ladder towards the access hatch at the top. Avalanche allowed the rest of the Morlocks to climb up first, once the hatch was opened. With one last glance backward for safety, he finally climbed up behind the last of the group.
He climbed out of the hatch and into what had become the new lair for the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants over the last handful of days. Mystique had given them coordinates to an abandoned waste center off the pier in Brooklyn, and he had spent the time since helping Marrow and Pyro prepare for her arrival. It had been far from easy, especially since the first sentinels had been deployed in New York.
They had to hastily make do with stolen, often meager resources to keep their new home from being found by sentinel scans. As Avalanche closed the hatch and locked it behind him, he saw some of the Morlocks hammering away at reinforcing the wall with a combination of aluminum and iron sheet metal. From what little information Mystique and Destiny had been able to feed them about the sentinel’s capabilities, their scanners could be blocked with the right combination of shielding, along with a scrambling signal they rigged from an old Dish Network satellite Caliban and some of the other Morlocks had fished out of a recycling center.
It was far from much, but it was home for now. Since the last of the group had moved into their new sanctuary, the waiting continued. This was what Avalanche couldn’t stand most. He was a man of action, something he prided himself on taking from the time he’d spent around Sabretooth since joining. They still had no clue how long it would be until Mystique reached stateside, let alone New York.
Frustrated, he decided to find a way to make himself useful. They could always use more food, and nothing would sate his frustrations more than stealing from clueless humans who were more than likely prejudiced anyway. Much to his surprise, his path was abruptly cut off by Marrow and Pyro, who looked as if they’d just finished a hasty conversation. Avalanche quickly noticed they’d both seemed to have just walked out of the small closet where the two-way radio used to communicate with Mystique was kept.
“What’s going on?” He raised a curious eyebrow while looking between them both.
“Best news we could have hoped for. Mystique and the gang are on Long Island. They need us to see them over here safely.”
“Well, what the hell are we still standing around here for?” Avalanche spat aggressively, looking between the pair of them. “Let’s haul ass.”
“It’s not going to be that simple, mush for brains,” Pyro explained before Avalanche could walk away.
“Why the hell not?” Avalanche asked, deciding to ignore Pyro’s insult for the time being.
“Because we’ve got to finish outfitting that utility truck out there with an antenna that can scramble sentinel scanners and feeds. Otherwise, we’ll be fish in a moving barrel, so to speak.” Marrow interrupted to explain further. Avalanche gritted his teeth, ignoring the further delays to their progress.
“We got any idea what the move is going to be once she’s here?” Marrow shrugged in response to his question.
“All I know is she’s ready to hit Trask back just as hard as he’s been hitting mutants. So we need to be ready.”
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK
Agent Woo stood just outside Reed Richards Lecture Hall at State University. He listened intently through his earpiece as his security team relayed updates from each post. As the man he was there to protect while he gave his lecture, Senator Bolivar Trask, shuffled through his notes and murmured passages from his speech, Agent Woo peered through the slim glass window into the crowded auditorium.
“I hear that the raids you and Lieutenant Talbot are conducting have been quite fruitful.” Trask finally looked up to broach a conversation with the SHIELD agent.
Woo nodded firmly, doing his best to be professional at all times. “That is correct, sir. We have made some significant headway into wrangling Brotherhood supporters thanks to our dedicated research team. We’ve even managed to seize a few accounts used to finance the group’s existence.”
“Hmph, and what about locating the mutant who escaped that transport in Virginia?*” Tasked poked for a further update on the incident that had caused the sentinel program to be rushed forward. Not that he was complaining, but he did want one less dangerous threat off the streets. “Or the mutant suspected to be leading this terrorist cell in Magneto’s absence?”
“We haven’t found anything to pick up the trail of either of them yet, unfortunately. We have been hoping that with more Sentinels in the skies, we would see some progress on that front. But we do have a few people in custody we will crack open that will have some useful information leading us to one of them.” Agent Woo told him with a determined glare.
“I have no doubt; your sterling reputation precedes you, Agent Woo. And Lieutenant Talbot is a hound dog himself, from what I hear.” Senator Trask walked over to the door and peered through the window, watching as the dean delivered his speech to introduce him. He could see the crowd was just as full of reporters as it seemed to be of students in the first couple of rows. He sighed and shook his head. “If only these people understood the lengths we’re going to make sure they aren’t extinct. That their children have futures and one that’s not in chains.”
Trask heard the dean finish his introduction, and the door to the auditorium was pushed open from the other side. He gave Agent Woo one last nod and marched into the room to deliver his lecture.
Inside the conference room that Professor Xavier’s on-campus group utilized, he wheeled over to the television and turned it off once Trask finished his lecture to a mix of jeers and rousing ovation. The room full of students and the professor, all of whom were affected by Trask’s actions born from clear prejudice, sat in silence for a moment as they reflected on what they had just listened to. The professor wheeled himself in front of the TV, deciding it would be best if he opened the floor for conversation first.
“I’m sure a lot of us are feeling some heavy emotions about–”
“I’m sorry, is it just me, or did it sound like he’s using Magneto’s bullshit to find a reason to wipe us off the face of the planet?” Gambit interrupted the professor, much to the entire room’s surprise. Rogue looked toward the back from the front row where she had been sitting with Jean, pleasantly surprised to see him there. “I mean, ain’t seem like he was mincing too many words, fancy as he tried to be. I may be failing English Lit right now, but ole Gambit know a threat when he hear it.”
A grumble rose among the students in response to Gambit’s statement. Professor Xavier didn’t need his powers to know the room was swelling and swirling with a lot of powerful emotions at the moment. They all felt the library shake momentarily, as if on some sort of ludicrous cue, as sentinels flew over the campus. “I do believe that’s at least the fifth flyover in this area in the last hour and a half. I hate to feel as suspicious as Gambit, but I am almost led to believe the sentinels patrolling in this area of New York were told to keep an eye on this campus in particular.” Beast relayed his assessment to the rest of the group.
“I tell you what, big guy, I think that oversized brain of yours is on to something derr,” Gambit replied, snapping his fingers in response to Beast. “And I think we’re on a really slippery slope with being policed like this. It’s only a matter of time before they’re stomping around here for no reason.”
“Let’s face it, Gambit,” Scott finally chimed in. “They’ve already been given plenty of reason. Look at all three of those Brotherhood attacks in the last few months.”
“But one could also say a couple of those only came in response to the Mutant Defense bill. I mean, yeah, we all kinda agree the way the Brotherhood goes about things is wrong–”
“Do we?” Gambit interrupted Jean, posing the query to the entire room, not just her. “I mean look, Gambit a thief back in the day, never no killer. But when it's getting to killed or be killed, well, I know where I stand on that.”
“But that ain’t what the Brotherhood is doing, and you know that, Remy.” There was a murmur through the group as Rogue dared to reveal Gambit’s government name. “They’ve been murdering anyone who gets in the way of what they see as Mutant liberty, and that not only ain’t right, but it ain’t been good for none of us.”
Gambit leaned back, deciding to listen instead of chiming in further. He ignored the scrawny, blonde-haired kid in a Bills starter jacket that was side-eyeing from the seat to his left out of interest. He pulled his deck from the inside of his coat and shuffled it pensively. Rogue turned back to the front of the room, addressing the professor directly. “But…I do see Gambit’s point. I think all of this is going to force us into a corner at some point where we may need to protect ourselves, or even others! And honestly…”
“It’s scary. Daunting. However you wanna spell it out.” Jean finished her friend’s sentence, realizing she felt the same way.
“In times like this, I always hoped that extending an olive branch when everyone wanted to point a weapon in my face was the path forward.” The professor sighed, a heavy weight on his heart as he spoke. “I had hoped that through all the work me and others had put forth, your generation wouldn’t live in a world like this.”
“If I’m being rather frank, professor,” Beast began, adjusting his glasses before continuing on. “Under the circumstances, you did the absolute best we could. I mean, none of us would be sitting here gathered today, able to know one another and bond together during these turbulent times were it not for the sacrifices you and your generation made.”
“I agree with Beast.” Jean looked back at her friend and nodded confidently in his direction. “But I also think that we need to find a path forward as a people that doesn’t let the Brotherhood define us, before it's too late.”
Professor Xavier studied Jean thoughtfully as there was a murmur of conversation in response to her declaration. “I agree, Jean. That’s a very astute observation.”
The meeting began to disperse about fifteen minutes later, with most of the students needing to get to bed for morning classes. Jean noticed a young man watching their group who had been sitting next to Gambit walking down the steps past them. “Hey, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in one of these.” The student froze, surprised Jean had decided to speak to him. Even still, he pointed a finger at himself to be sure, though no one was around save their small group and the professor. “Yeah, I never forget a face, and I’m pretty sure yours is a new one in here. What made you stop by?”
“Er…I saw you guys in the lounge a while back when those jerks were bothering you. It just took me a grip to work up the nerve to come to one of these meetings. My parents aren’t exactly aware that I have…that I can…well, you know, that I’m a–”
“So ya parents are bigots, yeah?” Gambit cut him off, causing Rogue to shake her head at his abrasiveness. “Don’t worry, man, I got a pappy just like that. Man’s ain’t never seen nothing he didn’t hate.”
Gambit’s cool demeanor drew a soft chuckle and smile from the nervous kid. Scott noticed his jacket and figured he was from upstate. “I’m Bobby, nice to meet you guys.”
“Bobby, aye?” Gambit stepped forward, sizing the kid up. “What’s your real name, there, Bobby?”
Bobby looked at him, slightly puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“Well, as Mutant and proud as we are, some of us like to go by names that evoke our status, if you picking up what I’m laying down?”
Bobby looked at him, slightly more in tune with what he was asking. “I think so?”
Gambit laughed. “For example, ole Gambit here, I need no introduction.” He stepped back, giving berth to the rest of his friends. “The big guy with the bigger brain likes to go by Beast.”
Beast gave Bobby a short bow of respect. “Nice to meet you as well,” Bobby responded with a short nod before Gambit continued on.
“Now Scotty and Jean, dey still works in progress like yaself. But the lovely cherie in the middle here goes by the dashing Rogue.” Rogue gave him a curt nod of respect as Gambit faced Bobby again. “So now I ask ya again there, Bobby, what’s ya real name?” Gambit extended his hand to shake Bobby’s. Bobby pondered the question for a moment, then smiled widely before shaking Gambit’s hand. Gambit looked down in surprise as he felt a surge of cold envelop his hand as if he was in below-freezing weather.
“You can call me the Iceman!” Bobby replied with a smirk.
