Marvel characters used in this story belong to Marvel and are borrowed without permission with no profit made. Visions characters are property of Visions, and they can't be used without prior permission.
#30, October 1999
PREVIOUSLY: Charles Xavier, pretending to be his own twin brother (because Charles Xavier is presumed dead) contacts Senator Robert Kelly and thus begins their work to bring humans and mutants together, their first big step taking place right here. It's been a year since the Avengers and Fantastic Four gave up their lives to fighting Onslaught. Now New York along with the rest of the world is paying their respects. Also, Magneto has just taken up the leadership of X-Men and brought in a new member, the one and only stroopy Maggott! A couple of original Acolytes are there too as the school's new students, along with the brand new line-up of New Mutants!
Visions remembers the dead heroes in:
"Remembrance"
Tom: Forgot
Link: Constantly reminding
"We're on in five, four, three...." the camera man's hand counted down the last digits as Trish Tilby looked straight at the center of camera lens before her, adjusting her hair before finally coming on the air.
"This is Trish Tilby for CBNC, speaking from Central Park, New York, where the whole city is gathered to remember the Heroes who died fighting Onslaught exactly one year ago today. The Avengers, along with the Fantastic Four and Doctor Doom bravely sacrificed their lives to save the world from domination by Onslaught, a mutant terrorist. Since then our world has been a world without heroes. The void is slowly being filled by the surviving X-Men, New Warriors, Spider-Man and new groups like Heroes For Hire. But a lot of work is needed to replace the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, and today we are remembering those heroes, giving them praise and looking forward to a better tomorrow.
"The Heroes Memorial will be held at New York's Central Park today at noon, with thousands of people expected to turn up. It will be aired live all over the world with an expected number of a billion people watching, all paying tribute to the Heroes. The Heroes they have never met but whose actions have altered their lives in some way...." Trish's voice trailed off for as she too, like everyone else remembered how she missed the comfort of having the Heroes around. She knew that the X-Men were there along with the other surviving superheroes, but it wasn't the same. Taking a fresh breath of air she began again.
"The surviving Avengers are going to be appearing as well as the mayor of New York, Senator Robert Kelly, Warren Worthington and members of the Reach Out Campaign, and including a surprise guest speaker. His identity is kept under tight wraps, but according to the campaign leader, Senator Robert Kelly, 'The speaker will be someone totally unexpected.'
"The atmosphere here in Central Park is anxious, people are slowly gathering. We aren't sure what to expect. The ceremony begins in four hours so stay tune."
Xavier's School for Higher Learning, Salem Center.
"That is it for now, my students. I expect you to be ready in civilian clothes in one hour. We can't be late," Charles declared with a small smile forming at the corner of his lips. He looked over them as they slowly got up from their seats and filed out of his study, one after the other. Bobby was keeping to himself lately and was not in his usual joker mode. Charles knew what it was about. Bobby didn't want the team to be lead by Magneto, he like the rest of original X-Men didn't trust Magneto and probably never would. But Charles had known Bobby for ten years and he had high hopes for him. His dissatisfaction would pass with time. Charles had already talked with Magnus assuring him that Robert only wanted the best for everyone.
More of Xavier's concern was the newest X-Man, Maggott. Very little was known about him. No one knew what his powers were, or what his real name was. Magneto had himself vouched for Maggott and his Acolytes accepted him. He was a young man in a need of direction in his life and that was what X-Men had always been about, wasn't it? Charles had to admit the boy didn't take long to settle in his new environment. His behavior reminded Charles of Gambit's when he first joined the X-Men. Right now, as they were leaving the study, Maggott was by Rogue's side, trying to impress her in any way he could. Rogue was obviously not interested but that didn't discourage him. Maggott had yet not learned the secret of Rogue's powers so he was in the dark as to why Rogue kept ignoring him. Xavier found this amusing and had to fight hard to hide the sly grin from his face. Finally, as Rogue was almost out the door she remarked to Psylocke, loud enough for everyone to hear: "I trust Erik with any choice he makes for the X-Men, but letting him on the team?"
Charles looked up at Magnus who had remained in his seat, raising an eyebrow.
"Maggott may not seem like the obvious choice for an X-Man, Charles. But his heart is in the right place," Magneto affirmed.
"That's fine, Magnus. We have certainly taken chances in the past and most of them had been sucessful. What about the rest of the Acolytes?"
"I talked with them last week (last issue for us) and presented the whole situation to them. Major Delgado and Nance decided they will live on their own somewhere, and try to start a family. Anne Marie and Jeremy have decided to stay here for the time being. I offered them scholarships at the school and they gladly accepted as you may know." Magneto paused for a while to think. It seemed that the brainwashing techniques he put them through were finally wearing off (Mags is thinking about the process that Moira MacTaggert revealed to have used on him when he was an infant under her care. Now you know he not only used it on the X-Men in X-Men vol.2 #3, but Acolytes as well). ^At long last,^ he thought to himself. ^That had to be one of the cruelest things I did. It's good that they are coming back to their senses.^
"Yes, they have already been in class once with the rest of the students," Charles spoke, bringing Magnus back to reality.
"Speaking of which, how are the new students fitting in?" Magneto questioned (He is referring to the New Mutants, don't tell us you missed the giant New Mutants #1 last month!).
"Very well, I think. As usual, some are slightly reluctant about what they want to achieve here but for most part, everything is going smoothly. They've already had their first Danger Room session and I've dug out the old blue and gold uniforms. Unstable molecules were something that interested them all."
Both men laughed before Charles continued. "They left for New York City this morning to enjoy some shopping. I would assume, before meeting up with the X-Men at the Heroes Memorial," Xavier announced leaning back in his chair, pressing the tips of his index fingers together.
"It is good to have young blood for the dream, as always, Charles, and I hope they work out for the best for you but I caution you. Don't make the mistakes that I did, don't let any of them slip away," Magneto stated, looking down at the ground in shame.
"You mustn't torture yourself over Douglas, Magnus (Cypher, one of the original New Mutants who died when the team was under Magneto's leadership). It wasn't your fault," Charles assured in a strong, confident voice. "I am sure nothing like this will happen again. I have already arranged insurance for the team," Charles added with a strange expression on his face. Magneto watched his face with uncertainly to his mysterious comment. Xavier only chuckled. (To find out just who this insurance is, check out New Mutants #3, online soon, we're thinking of you, old NM fans especially :))
South America
The woman known as Andrea von Strucker spun around in fury, screaming at the top of her lungs. "IT'S GONE! IT'S ALL GONE! OUR WHOLE PLAN FOR NOTHING!"
"Calm down, Andrea," her brother, Andreass pleaded, hoping it wouldn't bring her fury onto him. She had a very short temper and now that her face was scarred by Magneto, (XMGB #25) she didn't take disappointments easily. They had finally arrived to Magneto's South American base only to find the Maelstrom technology gone. All the work for nothing! They had captured Magneto and returned his memories in order to find the technology, but what they found was an empty base. Magneto had apparently hid the cache somewhere before they could get to it.
To Andreass's surprise, Andrea stopped smashing everything around her and took deep breaths. "We'll let him get away with this one, brother," she answered in-between breaths. "We still beat him in combat and gained his seat in the Hellfire Club. We will get our revenge on Magneto that way if we have to, and the name von Strucker will bring fear once again!"
New York
"I must admit, it's still a big surprise to me that a man as widely known as Charles Xavier had a brother and we never knew about it!" the mayor of New York remarked, looking at Francis Xavier before him with slight suspicion.
"I have tried to lead a low profile life, and allow my brother to take the spotlight, but now that he's gone I felt someone has to step in, and I am glad I can do something to help," Xavier answered very calmly for a man who was lying through his teeth. He truly was Charles Xavier impersonating his own twin brother, a twin brother he never had. After Operation Zero Tolerance, it had been thought that Charles was dead when he in fact was in a coma. After waking up, he decided it would be better to assume a new identity. Now, he was at the Heroes Memorial Ceremony, talking with the Mayor, Senator Kelly, Warren Worthington and Hank McCoy.
"I can only hope that I will be able to finish what my brother began. He deserves it," Francis added. Then from behind came a voice from one of the organizers.
"We will be starting shortly so if there's anything you need to get done, now is the time," he announced, popping his head through the doorway. Everyone headed for the door to make any last minute adjustments. Warren looked towards Xavier knowingly and spoke to him through a telepathic bond they had established long ago.
#Francis Xavier, eh? You're taking a desperate move here, Charles.#
#With the state the human-mutant relations are in now, I assure you, these measures are far from desperate, Warren. I can only hope that it will make a difference this time.#
#We all do, Charles, we all do.#
The excitement and anticipation could be felt in the air as the thousands looked towards the main stage anxiously, awaiting for the guests to arrive. There were all kinds of people here. They all came here to remember the Heroes, their fallen Heroes who gave up their lives defending them, giving them the gift of life while surrounding their own. The excitement was not missing within the ranks of X-Men either, who stood together in a group. Though their main concern was for their professor's life. They watched Xavier, making sure no attempts were made at his life again (Xavier was shot by Stryfe while speaking to the public in Uncanny X-Men #294). The excitement however did not extend to everyone in the group. Iceman had wandered off, mentioning something about needing to split up to be more effective. In fact, he needed time to think on his own. He was still bitter about the X-Men's lack of protest about making Magneto leader of the team. None of them complained or seemed to be bothered with the idea of a known terrorist leading the group. It was as if Magneto was their long time friend, and not some bloodthirsty villain bent on world domination. They seemed to have forgotten that he had tried to kill them on a number of different occasions.
Still, after the first anger passed over Bobby realized he was the only one against Magneto and it didn't look like Charles was going to change his mind, and same went for the rest of the X-Men. Bobby just hopped that the X-Men would survive long enough to find out they were wrong. He would keep an eye out on Magneto though, if no one else would.
Meanwhile Magneto was off on his own as well, wandering through the crowd with thoughts of his own. It had been years since he this close to the humans, just walking through a crowd, listening to their conversations, feeling their excitement. During his conquest to overthrow the human authority, Magneto had long forgotten what it was like to live normal lives. They were individuals, and often he had targeted the wrong people, and it was only now becoming apparent to him why his crusade never achieved anything. People did not understand him, or his cause. And what they did not understand, they ignored or opposed. He needed to make them understand the danger and how to fight it. He needed them to feel sympathetic towards him and mutants if they were to improve relations. For the first time, with Reach Out and with the new direction he was planning for the X-Men, they were heading down the right path, or so it seemed to him. There were obstacles.
One of those obstacles was Robert Drake. From the moment that Erik became the leader, Iceman had been against him every step of the way. Robert, always the one to joke first and think later, surprised Magneto with his attitude. Yet, it seemed that Iceman was firmly set against his role as the leader. This worried Magneto. A team that could not trust each other was not a good team, not a swift, dynamic team that he wanted. He had to solve the problem with Bobby, how he didn't yet know. The old Magneto would force him to accept his position but the new Magneto.... the new Magneto was something else entirely....
"So cherie, one of the Acolytes, eh? Should I watch my back in case you're plotting against me?" Remy remarked with a smirk on his face. He was eyeing Anne Marie with much interest. She and Jeremy had accompanied the X-Men to the Heroes Memorial.
"I don't know, Gambit, you tell me," she answered with a small smile forming at the corners of her lips. She had not felt like this for years, not since she joined her brother's crusade, not since she became one of Magneto's followers. But now, she felt free, wild and ready to live. Suddenly the cause didn't seem very important, she just wanted to be a normal person again. She couldn't explain this change, but she didn't mind it. Even during her days as Magneto's follower, she felt there was always something missing. Could this be it?
Remy laughed out loud and threw his head back, stuffing his hands deep into his pockets. Looking back down at Anne Marie he spoke again, his French accent thick, his voice dreamy and charming.
"It's somet'ing I wouldn' mind tellin' you over dinner, cherie."
Anne Marie blushed, quickly looking down at the ground before looking up again. "Sure, just tell me when," she affirmed in one quick sentence.
Remy, full of confidence, put his arm around Anne and looked up at the sky, taking a deep breath. "Any day cherie, any day."
^This makes me sick,^ Rogue thought looking away from Remy and Anne Marie. ^We're supposed to watch out for the Professor not try to suck each other's faces off. I suppose I didn't notice this much when Remy was putting the moves on me but now I can see how annoying it is when he does it. Not that the new guy is doing much better,^ she sighed looking towards Maggott, who was trying his best with Psylocke. Unlike Gambit he was not quite as successful but it seemed Psylocke was more amused than annoyed.
"Say, bokkie, you're a hang of a doll, with those stems and all, how is it possible that you were once a rooniek? That's hang a of a deurmekar," Maggott declared with a huge grin on his face, leaning against a tree.
She, in turn chuckled to herself. "Dear God boy, what are you talking about? I would answer that question but I have no idea what it is."
"Eina!" Maggott exclaimed, gritting his teeth; usually women fell for his accent, Betsy didn't seem to be the case.
Rogue turned away as Maggott went on to explain what was on his mind. First Remy, and now this. It was giving her chills. She looked around and spotted the other Acolyte, Jeremy staring off into the sky. He didn't seem very confident in himself and Rogue decided against chatting with him. Maybe finding Bobby would be a better idea. He walked off on his own fairly quickly, he probably needed someone to talk to about the whole Magneto problem.
With those thoughts Rogue slowly vanished into the crowd, strolling along slowly. She left Remy, Maggott and the rest behind because she couldn't stand what they were both doing, or more likely that she couldn't be one of those women. Ever since her powers manifested, there came a curse with them. She had not been able to touch anyone without absorbing their memories, and if they were mutants, their powers as well. During battle, she usually used her powers as an offensive weapon but in her normal life, she had to live her life alone, not being able to touch her loved one, who for most of the time had been Remy. Now they were both through with it and she was fine with that, but jealousy twisted inside her when she saw Remy flirting with someone else. Watching him put his arm around Anne like he wasn't able to do with her, it was unbearable....her thoughts stopped as she heard her codename called out behind her.
"Rogue, right?" the voice asked.
Rogue spun around, clenching her fists preparing for an attack of some sort but instead she found a policeman standing there looking at her, bright-eyed.
"Rogue? Ya must have confused me with someone else sugah," Rogue lied though her teeth. It was necessary when you were a superhero.
"No, no I know you. I recognized you; it's the white strip that gave it away. I knew you would be here!" he exclaimed his voice full of excitement.
"Ah'm not quite sure what ya mean," she answered her confidence disappearing.
"I know; you're Rogue. You saved my life few weeks ago from that nutcase, Battery. (in XMGB #27). Since then, I've uh I couldn't forget you. I suppose I just wanted to thank you, and maybe, like to uh...ask you out to dinner to show my appreciation."
Rogue eyed the young man before her carefully. Now she recalled him. She did save him from Battery, she even now remembered making a remark about how cute he was. He had brown, short hair and dreamy green eyes. His smile lit up his whole face, which gleamed with enormous energy. And he was asking her to dinner...her?!!
"Well, uh Ah suppose ya are right, I am Rogue, but don't tell anyone!"
They both laughed for a while, Rogue noticing how cute he was when he laughed.
"So what do you say, Rogue, to a dinner one night, when you're not out saving the world and all?"
"Sure!," Rogue responded, her cheeks blushing slightly. "But Ah can't give ya mah phone number. How about ya give me yoahs an' Ah'll give ya a call."
"Yeah that would be great. My name's Steve by the way," he declared, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pen and a scarp of paper. Scribbling down his number, he gave it to Rogue. "Call me some time. It was a pleasure seeing you again, but unfortunately I have to go now. I think I saw some teenagers smoking pot," he paused as they both erupted with laughter. "And you're probably here for a reason too, so see you later. And call me when you have some spare time," he voiced. He then walked off, waving his hand.
"Ah will! Bye!" And then he was gone. Rogue took a deep breath and pinched herself to make sure wasn't dreaming. She looked down at the paper and there it was, Steve and his number. ^I just got a date. I don't believe this. ^Putting the piece of paper into her pocket she looked up in time for the opening ceremony.
The stage was full with people. On the right sat the remaining Avengers: the Black Widow, Quicksilver, the Beast, She-Hulk, Hercules and Jarvis. All dressed for the occasion, their faces somber at the memory of their fallen friends. Next to them sat the young Franklin Richards, his eyes wet and shiny. The rest of the seats were taken up by the Mayor, Senator Kelly, Warren Worthington, Francis Xavier and the other officials.
As the crowd settled down, the Mayor approached the podium and cleared his throat.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Today is a special day. Today, we remember the departure of the greatest people to ever walk on this planet. The Avengers and the Fantastic Four. They were heroes, ladies and gentlemen; they saved the world countless times and never stood down from the challenge. They died, defending us, and our right to live. And today a year after their noble sacrifice, we, the city of New York and the rest of the world thank them and for always being there. We've expressed our thanks in the best way we could think of," with those words the Mayor of New York turned his head around and announced: "Uncover the statue!"
A giant sheet of cloth was released and pulled down as the crowd of thousands cheered. There it was. A statue. It was about 30 feet tall and 20 feet wide. It was made out of granite and pictured all the fallen heroes in a strike pose, ready to attack, their names printed at the base of the statue in a gold font. They were all there: Captain America, Thor, Falcon, Namor, Vision, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Giant Man, Wasp, Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thing, Human Torch, Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Crystal, Bruce Banner and even Doctor Doom!
"And now, to speak on behalf of the Avengers, Natasha Romanova, the Black Widow!" he declared as the crowd roared with delight.
"Thank you. Thank you on the behalf of the Avengers for this great monument and for your remembrance. The Avengers and FF were truly the greatest heroes the world has ever known. I can only hope that their sacrifice was not in vain, that we will all draw conclusions from it. We don't have many defenders left now, and we should put our trust to those who are here still with us, namely the X-Men. A big part of today's Memorial will be taken up by the Reach Out organization. I can think of no other occasion than this to push forward their cause, the Avengers and Fantastic Four would be proud. In their name, let's make the world better. We don't have many heroes left. We should tolerate these that we still have. Thank you."
The crowd cheered as Natasha sat down, wiping a tear away from the corner of her eye. She was supposed to give a longer speech but she couldn't.
As she sat down, Senator Robert Kelly advanced the podium. "Thank you Ms. Romanova," he addressed Natasha before turning around to face the crowd. "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I must say I agree with Ms. Romanova. With the Avengers and Fantastic Four dead, we need someone to fill the void and while we have heroes like the X-Men, they can't do it if they're not trusted and even more, discriminated. We are taking big steps in that direction with our Reach Out campaign. Already, hate groups like the Friends of Humanity have been banned and declared illegal. We think this is a big step towards peaceful coexistence between mutants and humans. The only difference between humans and mutants is one gene. One, single gene that changes everything. In essence, these people are just like us, everything else about them is the same, it's just this one gene that gives them extraordinary powers. Not many people know this. And that's Reach Out's aim. To educate people about mutants, to teach and show them that their fears are only that, fears. Within a few weeks, we will be starting a tour of seminars all over the nation. And that is only the tip of the iceberg. Like Ms. Romanova has mentioned, I'm sure our heroes would be proud of us giving new hope to those who we've oppressed for so long. During our short existence, we have been backed by various individuals and companies, like Warren Worthington and Stark-Fujikawa, but recently a new partner joined our ranks. I would like to finish my speech by introducing him. So without any further ado, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome... Francis Xavier!!!"
The crowd went silent as the bald man got up from his seat. He was siting behind the podium and not many saw him as he reached the podium. The crowd began whispering nervously. Who was he? He looked exactly like Charles Xavier but he could walk! And Charles Xavier was dead! The whispers stopped as soon as the man opened his mouth to speak.
"Good after noon ladies and gentlemen. My name is Francis Xavier. Most of you may remember my twin brother, Charles, the mutant rights activist, the college professor and the founder and headmaster of Xavier's School For Higher Learning. Most of you would remember him, because he's dead." Xavier paused for a while to let his words sink in.
"Charles was ruthlessly killed six months ago by the agents of Operation Zero Tolerance, simply because he wanted humans and mutants to coexist. He never did anything wrong. He simply wanted mutants to be treated equally with humans. It's an outrage that in a free, democratic country like the United States of America something like that, happens. How can we call ourselves people and yet commit crimes like that?!!" Xavier's voice was loud and sharp, cutting a wound in each listener's morality.
"That is why, ladies and gentlemen, I'm standing before you today. Up until now I have kept a rather low profile, but now my brother is dead. I have come out of the dark to keep my brother's dream alive! To make sure it doesn't die with him. One day we will see the world the way he always dreamed of. That's why, ladies and gentlemen, I am reopening Xavier's School For Higher Learning in Salem Center. The school is going to teach mutation and genetic classes to help people understand mutants better. I also support, with my whole heart the Reach Out campaign. It is a shame that my brother didn't live to see this happen, but his death gave it life and fueled it. I sincerely hope that we can bring about change, because the situation is getting worse and worse with every day. The seeds of hate sown by intolerance are sprouting every day, claiming lives of both the victims, and the offenders."
"We cannot sit back and watch the innocent suffer!" Xavier shouted, slamming his fist down on the podium. By now, the whole crowd was hanging onto his every word in anticipation. "Children. Innocent children slaughtered by hate groups like the Friends of Humanity merely a week ago. I ask you, do your friends slaughter your children?!! These, self proclaimed friends are nothing more than a bunch of racist thugs. How can a friend beat a 10 year old girl to death (it happened off panel between last issue and this one), even if her skin is flaking away?!!! Is she less of a child, is she less frightened just because of that?!!" Anger was jolting from ever word Xavier voiced and the crowd listened to him, mesmerized
"I ask you again. Are these people your friends? Do you want your children to grow up in a world like this?! Do you want your children to end up like the thugs in FOH?! We have to do something, and fast, otherwise our world will plunge into anarchy. And I am proud to be part of an organization that will do so. FOH has already been declared illegal in all states and the men responsible for the death of little Kathy are awaiting trial, a trial that I can promise you will be fair, no exceptions to the fact that Kathy was a mutant will be made. Justice will be achiveve. I also hope this sends a message to all of you out there who want to follow in FOH's footsteps. You won't be treated kindly." Xavier stopped for a second, calming himself down and taking a deep breath before continuing on, in a much softer voice.
"We are proud to call our country free, but not all of us are free. I think it's about time all of us are free and secure. And I'm glad that a organization such as Reach Out exists, especially since it's backed by our government, and I'm glad to see that we have seen our mistakes and are willing to make up for them. It won't bring back my brother, but God knows it might give other people the chance he didn't have. Thank you."
With those words Francis turned away and quickly moved towards his seat. The crowd was silent, everyone mystified by the speech, not sure how to respond. Xavier understood this. If they accepted him now, he had gotten through to them. If they didn't....
Somewhere, far at the back, a single person began clapping with slow, long movement of a pair of hands. A moment later, a second pair of hands joined the first one, and within seconds the whole crowd erupted with a loud applause, echoed by even louder cheering.
Francis Xavier smiled.
Much later, at Xavier's mansion
The X-Men and Xavier returned after the memorial had ended. They were in a good mood, joking amongst themselves, chatting and most of all congratulating Xavier on his amazing speech. As they reached the stairs of the mansion, they noticed something was wrong. The door was ripped out and laid on the floor and there was a light on. Within a second, the X-Men were ready to combat and stormed into the house. Nothing could have prepared them for the sight that met them.
Right there, in the middle of the lounge, sat a woman with long, curly purple hair, wearing a purple spandex costume and balancing the handle of a katana in her palm. "About time X-Men, I was getting bored," she announced in a cold, lifeless tone.
"...Revanche?" were the only words that could escape Psylocke's throat.
DEFINITELY TO BE CONTINUED!!!
NEXT ISSUE:
"I'm still alive!"
Or