Disclaimer: X-Men Tales: is loosely based on the X-Men- Evolution t.v. cartoon series, as well as the comicbook produced by Marvel Comics. ____________________________________________________________________
The X-Men are mutants, unfortunate people born with an X-gene that gives them extraordinary powers and abilities which makes them outcasts to those considered "normal" in the world. _____________________________________________________________________________
X-Men cast: (Teachers) Professor-X, Angel, Banshee, Beast, Bishop, Forge, Polaris, Storm, and Wolverine, The White Queen, Dr Mora MacTaggert,
(Students) Cannonball-17, Cyclops-17, Colossus-18, Gambit-17, Iceman-16, Multiple boy-13, Nightcrawler-16, Northstar-17, Spike-15, Sunspot-16, Thunderbird-18, Havok-16 / Amanda-16, Jubilee-13, Karma-16, Magma-15, Premonition (Jean Grey)-17, Rogue-16, Shadowcat-14, Spirit-17, Syran-16, Wolvesbane-15, WeaponX-16 _____________________________________________________________________________
X-Men Tales: -pt33
Title: EMANCIPATED
Pt-1<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
XAVIER INSTITUTE Salem Center, NY
X-students (Rogue, Kitty Pryde, and Nightcrawler) stood outside Med-lab #1, as resident medical physician Dr Mora MacTaggert ran psychological tests on the man claiming to be the long dead mentor of the Institute Professor Xavier, while assuming the body of the X-Men's enemy Mountjoy.
"You don't believe it's true, do you...?" asked Kitty, unclear exactly what her own thoughts were? "Naw..., it CAN'T be true..., can it..?!" she questioned.
"I dunno, gal..., I just live here is all...!" said Rogue, getting frustrated by Kitty's questions.
"Well I for one don't TRUST him..." said Nightcrawler, hanging upside down from the ceiling. "...after what he did to Roberto..., we'd be FOOLS to believe his lies!"
"How's Roberto feeling about seeing Mountjoy again...?" asked Kitty, curiously.
"How do you think he feels...?" asked Nightcrawler, jumping down from the ceiling to sit [Indian style] on the metal sub-basement floor. "Lousy!"
"The way he practically ran through you to open the door for Mountjoy certainly indicates he might still be under his spell...!" surmised Kitty. "I guess the bonds that held them together all those months that Berto was his prisoner hasn't completely dissolved...?"
"The X-Men described MountJoy's powers as that of a mutant vampire..." recalled Rogue, sitting with her back against the Med-Lab wall. "...can anyone ever get over a vampire once you've been bitten...?"
INSIDE THE LAB...
...Dr MacTaggert had Mountjoy tied with restraints as she ran him through a barrage of physical and psychological tests to see if indeed he was WHO he claimed to be. Mountjoy played by Mora's rules, allowing himself to be poked and prodded diligently to prove his true identity. With probes attached to his temples to monitor his brainwaves, she ran him through the Automated D.O.C to inspect his internals, searching x-rays, body temperature, blood type, weight, heartbeat, pulse, --anything that would indicate Mountjoy might be housing another body inside him, or perhaps another telepath like The White Queen [back in chaps-5 & 10 >Reader's Note: Mountjoy Is a mutant vampire with his unique ability to physically absorb his victims like a sponge, then assume their physical appearance and memories at will<].
"I can SENSE your skepticism, Mora..." said Mountjoy, talking in the same calm tone as Charles Xavier, but in Mountjoy's voice. "You can run as many tests as you like..., the results will still be the same..." he said, relaxing casually as the bed he lay on slide automatically into the exam chamber. (((...I am Charles Xavier...!"))) he concluded, telepathically.
"Oh really...?" asked Mora, skeptically. "Then WHY, pray tell, did you take you SO LONG to contact us...?" she asked, fed up with Mountjoy trying to play with her mind. "Professor Charles Xavier was one of the most powerfulest telepaths in the free world..., WHY would it take this long for him to contact the X-Men, the people who mourned him most, to tell them that he was still alive in someone else's body...??"
Blue and red lights began to probe over Mountjoy's body, taking readings of height, weight, density, etc, a mechanical hum vibrating throughout the machine as Mountjoy thought of an answer...
"I had never projected my mind into another person's body before..." he explained, much to Mora MacTaggert's skepticism. "When I felt death coming, I knew I HAD to do something...! I remembered the incident with The White Queen erasing Mountjoy's memories, sending him brain pattern back to infancy...! I know it was immoral, but I wasn't yet ready to die...! I sought out Mounjoy's mind as I lay there dying on that exam table in Colorado...[chap-16, pt-4]..., I found him being taken care of in a mental hospital Emma Frost dumped him in after the battle...[the battle being the "mutant clash" in chap-10]...! There was nothing left of the former Mountjoy, Emma had done a thorough job of attacking his brain, leaving his mind with little to NO function at all! I focused really hard, then transferred MY mental thoughts, patterns, ideas, and self awareness into Mountjoy's mind, just as my body began to die! Then while I was inside Mountjoy, it took weeks for me to learn the basic patterns of his brain that caused functions! It was like an accident victim coming out of a long coma..., I had to learn to talk all over again, to walk, to pick up a cup, to go to the bathroom...! Then once I started to grow stronger in his body, I was able to finally reconnect with my telepathy..., and that's how I got out of the hospital...!"
"Interesting story..." said Mora, stone faced. "...but if you're TRULY who you say you are..., then you would know HOW Charles and I met...?" she asked, believing Mountjoy wouldn't be able to answer that question.
Mountjoy smiled...
"We met in college..." he said correctly, causing Mora to gasp. "...when you opposed my oral exam on Genetic Mutations...!"
"I didn't OPPOSE your theory..." argued Mora, "...I just doubted it existed...!"
"You LAUGHED in the middle of my speech...!" countered Mountjoy, good humored.
"A friend had just told me a funny joke...!" defended Mora, smirking.
"Really...?" asked Mountjoy, skeptically. "What WAS it...?"
"Like I can remember NOW...?" said Mora, trying not to laugh.
Mountjoy made eye contact...
((("I also remember us getting engaged..."))) he thought telepathically, invading Mora's mind. ((("...I remember warm intimate nights in your dorm room, eating take out while studying by candlelight so we wouldn't disturb your roommate, Ashley...!"))) he recalled. ((("I could show you mental pictures also, if you like...?"))) he added, filling her mind with the image of the first time he went down on her, textbooks scattered across the floor as Mora's mini-skirt lay high about her waist while her panties dangled off one foot, Xavier's face pressed deep between her spread legs...
Mora MacTaggert clutched her throat as the old memories of Charles' tongue flickering across her clitoris caused her vagina to moisten today. She could still feel his tongue between her legs, licking and eating her while her roommate lay sleeping just feet away. She had no idea at the time that Xavier had already played tricks with the roommate's mind [she would have slept through an explosion...]. After making Mora cum twice with his oral skills, Charles undid his pants and quietly crawled up on top of Mora, where he slowly inserted his penis, taking her virginity...
"Enough...!" she said aloud, breaking the mental contact and coming back to reality.
((("Does THAT pass the test...?"))) asked Mountjoy, confidently.
Mora sat speechless, knowing Mountjoy was saying things NO ONE but only her and Charles could know about...
"Tricky...verrryy tricky..." she said, laughing at herself for nearly falling for Mountjoy's deceptions. "...if you really DID absorb another telepath, --like you did when you absorbed The White Queen, you could have easily picked that thought from the back of my mind someplace...!"
"I ASSURE you Mora..., I am Chalres Xavier...!" insisted Mountjoy.
"If I discover TWO distinct heartbeats on your sonogram..., or get TWO blood types in your samples..., or detect another person's body in your x-rays..., then I'll know EXACTLLY who you are and what you're capable of doing, mister Mountjoy...!"
Mountjoy said nothing more [silently submitting to Mora's tests], knowing she would need to discover the truth for herself...
Pt-2<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
MANHATTAN, NY
The Blackhawk helicopter flew in quietly over lower Manhattan, hovering low as its teenage occupants scanned the area looking for any signs of their teachers, --The X-MEN! Adrenaline ran high as the students [all post graduates from Xavier's Academy] searched for any sign that their teachers were anywhere afoot.
"They've GOT to be around here somewhere..." said Premonition [Jean Grey], sitting as Cyclops' copilot. "...the signal indicates the SUV is somewhere near, or IN that large warehouse...!"
Scott bought the Hawk in closer, shining bright lights on the building at dusk...
"There's no signs of any activity down there..." he said, giving a visual sweep. "...why don't you give it a psychic scan and see if you pick up on any of the teachers inside...?" he suggested.
"You...you KNOW I haven't been using my telepathy since..., since the INCIDENT...!" said Jean, afraid she might lose control [as she did in chap-25 `PSYCH MADDESS'].
"This is different, Jean..." insisted Scott, pulling rank. "...this is to FIND the X-Men...! We NEED your powers to confirm if they're down there or not...!"
Jean hesitated, underestimating her ability to control her thoughts. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and sighed before focusing her thoughts on any mental activity happening within the building below.
Unlocking the mental security doors to her psychic powers, she began reading the thoughts of someone inside. A male, tall, slim, sensitive..., his thoughts on his `children', and how much he regretted having to KILL THEM. The other male was larger, more vile with his thoughts on how badly he wanted to hurt, murder, and mangle the children until they screamed for bloody mercy! Then she got flashes of the terror in the children's eyes, as the two monsters moved in closer to hurt them...
Scott saw the Blackhawk's instruments starting to go haywire as the helicopter began to circle out of control...
"Jean...! JEAN...!!!" he screamed, trying to get her attention as the Blackhawk's propellers cut through the telephone lines crossing the street, causing power outages as electrical sparks rained down on the road and abandoned parking lot.
Scott was forced to bring the chopper in for a landing as Jean telekinetically relinquished control.
"They're down there, Scott...! ALL of them!" she managed to said, frightfully. "They're being tormented by two men who are threatening to kill them!" then she hurriedly gripped Scott's arm, showing intensity in her green fear driven eyes. "And I think they MEAN it...!"
"Okay X-Men..." said Scott [Cyclops], taking command of the mission. "...saddle up...! It's `clobberin' time'...!" he yelled, stealing a line from The Thing's page.
With The Blackhawk down in the warehouse parking lot, Cyclops, Premonition, Gambit, Cannonball, Thunderbird, Karma, Havok, Northstar, Colossus, and Spirit exited and headed to the draw-gates sealing off the loading dock. Adjusting the intensity of his eyebeam, Cyclops fired a razor thin laser beam into the metal, cutting a straight vertical and diagonal line until the gate fell to the ground in a dusted heap. "Alright people..., keep your eyes peeled..."
"Scott, get down...!" yelled Premonition, shoving her hands forth and causing a telekinetic whiplash that sent Cyclops and Gambit to the floor hard, just as a powerful energy beam shot at them from the darkness inside the warehouse [exploding on contact against a wall across the street].
"That was CLOSE...!" sighed Gambit, kissing dirt.
"AARRHHHHH...!!" yelled the large man known as The Orphan Maker, charging out of the dark with a huge energized axe [which he used to focus his energy signatures].
Colossus transformed from human form [flesh and blood], into organic steel before blocking The Orphan Maker's charge. With his muscles pumped for a fight [wanting to redeem himself after the beating he took from The HULK, >chap-28<], he totally didn't expect it when The Orphan Maker slammed him with the brunt of his axe, sending Colossus careening across the street like an old news paper.
"WHO the hell IS THIS GUY...?!??" asked Cannonball, exploding from a standing still position into the full charge of his namesake, hitting Orphan Maker head on, as he and the big man toppled backwards into the warehouse like two out of control missiles, crashing into stacks of large boxed and concrete.
"I don't know..." said Cyclops, bringing up the rear as he and the others charged in behind Cannonball. "...but Jean indicated TWO men..., let's assume they're BOTH powerful...!"
"Your assumptions would be right...!" said The Nanny, suddenly appearing out of nowhere with the power of fairy dust. Twirling about on one foot [like a prima ballerina], he fly kicked Thunderbird and Northstar into next week, catching the two off guard. The two x-teens fell over a railing and down onto the floor below, knocking the wind from their lungs.
"What the HELL kinda move was THAT. Mon ami...?" asked Gambit, pulling a staff from up his trench coat sleeve, using it as a pole-volt as he leaped into Nanny's chest like an Olympian, sending him reeling backwards like excess baggage. "Or should I call you, Twinkle-Toes...?"
"BASTARD!!" yelled Orphan Maker, seeing his lover accosted.
Slapping Cannonball aside, he leaped out of the debris and landed directly in front of Gambit, swinging his axe in one fluid motion until it sliced through the ground [barely missing the Cajun] and sending an energy source straight through Gambit's body, electrifying him where he stood.
Gambit's painful screams could be heard throughout the warehouse.
Seizing mental control of The Nanny, Karma instructed him to attack his lover. Nanny somersaulted [in dance] across the floor like a beautiful gymnast, then karate chopped The Orphan Maker in several key points that bought him to his knees.
"What the hell'r you doing...?!?" he asked, noting the blank look in his lover's eyes. "I HATE to do this to you babe..." he said, punching Nanny out [and in essence, knocking out Karma as well].
Spirit focused her powers on Orphan Maker's mind, pulling from his deepest darkest fears, the thing that scared him the most. The image of a large man [taller, even more muscular than The Orphan Maker himself] appeared, his anger and rage apparent on his evil face as he raised the buckled end of a leather belt overhead to strike someone.... "NO DADDY..., NO...!!" yelled Orphan Maker, ducking for safety, obviously frightened of his own abusive father. Havok used his moment of weakness against him, hitting him with enough raw energy to power 16 city blocks, which sent Orphan Maker cascading through a brick wall.
"Quickly, while they're both out..., find the X-Men!" instructed Scott, seizing the opportunity.
The X-students began running around frantically, searching for the x-children...
"They're downstairs..." said Premonition, sensing the children's thoughts. "...they're scared, in darkness..., but they're alive...!" she confirmed.
"Where's the basement...?" asked Spirit, looking around for a door.
"If we can't find a door..." said Colossus, coming in late after the first attack. "...we'll MAKE one!" he announced, ramming his fist through the wooden floor and causing a large section to cave in.
"I can HEAR them!" yelled Spirit, looking down into the hole. "We need light!"
Havok walked up to the hole, then jumped down inside...
"Alex...!" called Cyclops, worried his little brother might be walking into a trap.
"I'm fine...!" said Havok, energizing as his body begin to glow, illuminating 90% of the basement in high voltage. "They're here...!" he announced, finding the x-kids trapped in a steel cage. "Oh shit..." he gasped upon seeing them up close.
Cyclops, Spirit, and Jean Grey jumped down into the cellar...
"My god..." said Jean, walking up to the cage. "...they're babies...!"
The students all bared witness as the X-Men lay scattered across the floor, each crying out loud for their mother. "What are we supposed to do now...?" asked Jean, unsure how to return them to normal.
"First thing's first..." said Scott, blasting the lock with his optic-blast. The gate flew open, allowing the students to enter, leaving with two x-babies apiece in their arms. "...let's get the XMen out of here...!"
As the students begin to make their way out of the hole [levitated by Jean's telekinesis], Nanny began to awaken from his somber, feeling his sore jaw where his lover had socked him.
"What are you doing with my babies...??!" he asked, as the students cradled the children protectively. "Give them to me! They're MY children!"
"What can we do...?" asked Spirit, holding baby Banshee and baby Forge in her arms. "We can't fight with children in our hands...!"
("I have an idea...") thought Cyclops, projecting his thoughts through Jean. "We're with DHS..." he said to The Nanny, with Jean using her telepathy to make The Nanny believe he was being confronted by officials in suits. "...we heard reports that these children were being neglected and in danger of abuse...!"
"Nonsense!" said Nanny, not believing a word of it. "I'd NEVER hurt my own children...!"
Cyclops thought...
"The reports were made against the father...!" he recanted. "Has he made threats against them...?"
"Well..." thought Nanny, recalling how his `husband' was poised to fuck Wolverine when he walked in and caught him trying to discipline the children. "...he...he's been under a lot of stress lately..., he didn't mean to hurt anyone...!"
"Nevertheless, we HAVE to take the children back with us to make sure they're okay..." said Cyclops, "...YOU can get them back if our investigation proves there was no neglect! Is your husband unstable...?"
"I've tried taking him in for counseling..." admitted Nanny, "...but he's so stubborn...!"
"Take the children out to the car...!" insisted Cyclops, going on with the illusion.
The Nanny broke down in tears as he watched his children being taken away from him.
"NO...! Don't let them leave here with our kids...!" yelled The Orphan Maker, crawling from up under a pile of collapsed bricks. "They're not DHS..., they're students from that school...! They're trying to steal back our children!"
The Nanny snapped out of Jean's trance, seeing the students for who they were...
"You TRICKED me...!" he yelled angrily, seeing red through the fire in his eyes. "I want my children back, and I want them NOW!!" he demanded.
"I'm comin' baby..., don't worry...!" said The Orphan Maker, rising to his feet as he leaped through the air with his axe in hand, energy crackling from the sharp end as he prepared to bring it down on the x-students' heads [babies and all].
Colossus intercepted, tackling The Orphan Maker in midair, causing him to crash to the ground in a heap of muscle. Both men struggled for the power of the axe, both holding prominent ends as they struggled at a standstill between two superpowers.
Gambit [having come to] rushed over and touched the tip of the axe, causing the entire weapon to glow. A few seconds later, the axe exploded, sending both Colossus and Orphan Maker hurling in opposite directions. Havok passed Beast and Polaris off to another student, then ran over and grabbed The Orphan Maker by the hair [yanking his head back], then placed an energized fist beside his temple...
"HEY..." he yelled, getting The Nanny's attention. "...turn the X-Men back to normal, or I'll blow your husband's head all over this warehouse...!"
"You wouldn't dare..." snarled The Nanny, calling Havok's bluff.
Havok aimed his fist in the opposite direction, blowing a huge hole in the side of the wall. Debris could be seen crashing into the street outside, yards away. A second later, Havok replaced his fist at The Orphan Maker's head, showing The Nanny he meant business...
Everyone watched and waited, unsure what would happen next. Cyclops was the most worried of all, seeing his little brother in a different light...
"Okay..." said The Nanny, giving in. "...just don't hurt him...!"
With the twinkles of his fingers, fairy dust sparkled from his fingertips, floating across the room and cascading the X-Men in silvery matter. Moments later, the X-Men started to grow in size, going from babies to kids, to preschool children, to adolescents, to teenagers and young adults in a matter of minutes. With size and age came a flurry of memories, memories of how they were threatened and mistreated as helpless children in the care of a mentally deranged couple. For some, the memories were too much to hold back. Encouraging Havok to power down and step back, Banshee blasted The Orphan Maker with a sonic scream that slammed the oversized alpha male like a brick wall, knocking him unconscious for the last time.
As for The Nanny...
"All I wanted was a family of my own..." said the young effeminate male, as the X-Men [now fully grown] gathered around him ominously. "...to raise my children as I saw fit, in a loving, caring household! I didn't mean to make anyone angry or unhappy...!"
"You crept unwelcomed into our bedrooms at night to sprinkle us with your...FAIRY DUST..." relived Storm, speaking for all the X-Men. "...only to reduce us to infancy, cage us like animals, and threaten helpless children with brutality and death...!?!! Then you have the NERVE to stand here and say you meant no harm...??!"
Thunder could easily be heard crackling overhead, outside as dark clouds brewed in, looking more like the end of the world to most New Yorkers looking up into the turbulent sky. Lightning eliminated about Storm's clinched fists, as thoughts of revenge coursed through her mind.
"I loved you all as my own...!" pleaded Nanny, tears swelling up in his eyes.
"Then consider your children EMANCIPATED...!" said Storm, shooting Nanny with a 1000 bolts of electricity. The windows all blew out as bright light illuminated through the night, with Nanny's body shaking and convulsing as pure electricity ran throughout his entire body, burning and searing everything it touched.
Agony could be heard in The Nanny's screams...
"Storm..., don't...!" warned Cyclops, nearby.
Storm turned off the electricity, as Nanny stood in a traumatized daze, his clothes completely burned away and his body smoldered with smoke, a vacant look in his eyes before falling back on the floor unconscious.
"You didn't...?" asked Cyclops, rushing to check The Nanny's vitals...
"Didn't what...? Kill him...?" asked Storm, walking away. "I'm not the monster here...!" she said, walking out of the warehouse.
"Police are on the way..." said Emma Frost [The White Queen], looking down at Scott. "I've mentally instructed them to bring the heavy artillery...! They believe The Avengers were involved in this battle, and will immediate take these..., Neanderthals to the proper holding cells...!"
"Good..., so we don't have to stand around here waiting for them...!" said Polaris, as the X-Men began heading for transportation.
"We won't all fit inside the Blackhawk...!" accessed Spirit, counting 18 X-Men for the return trip home.
"There's still the SUV...!" reminded Beast, pointing to the vehicle parked inside the structure.
"I'll drive...!" said Cannonball, taking his friends Gambit, Karma, and Spirit with him on the long drive back to Salem Center County, while the rest of the X-Men [Beast, Forge, Wolverine, The White Queen, Cyclops, Colossus, Thunderbird, Havok, and Jean Grey] boarded The Blackhawk for the commute home.
"Wait..." said Scott, as the doors began to close. "...what about the others...?"
"Don't worry about US, Cyclops..." said Storm, taking to the air, along with Angel, Polaris, Banshee, and Northstar. "...WE have our own mode of transportation...!"
As the X-Men took off out of sight [by air and land], police sirens could be heard closing in on the warehouse, where police found two unconscious bodies which they promptly fitted into iron restraints and boarded in armored cars for transfer to The Vault...
While the X-Men celebrated victory [happy to be once again fully grown], Cyclops [Scott] worried over his biological brother Havok, wondering if he would have gone through with his threat to blow The Orphan Maker's head off? Aware that the two brothers had grown up away from each other in very different atmospheres, Scott sat back with a wary eye, hoping he was worrying over nothing.
Next: CARNIVAL
If you would like to read more XMEN TALES, hit me up @ NPhillydogg@aol.com or message me on my Facebook page under the same name with your questions & comments!