Chapter 11: Mutant Mayhem Part I

Chapter Eleven: Mutant Mayhem Part I:

“I had a wonderful time today,” said Gwen as she embraced Peter as they stood on the steps of her house as it was getting closer to dinnertime.

“And without an incident as well, I guess someone decided to through me a bone,” said Peter. “You know, I might actually have a peaceful evening…”

A loud smash echoed from down the street and jerked Peter out of his thoughts and he stepped back from Gwen, before his eyes widened. He saw a large figure, dressed in brown rampaging down the street, not letting anything that got in his way.

“So much for that peaceful evening,” said Gwen as she gripped Peter’s hand. “I guess that means…”

“I’m afraid so, Gwen, get inside where it’s safe, I’ll go get help,” said Peter, as they exchanged a quick kiss before they broke apart. Gwen anxiously watched him run off around the corner, looking over his shoulder to make sure no one was coming. Then she stepped inside, ever so reluctantly, resisting the temptation.

The Juggernaut continued his rampage, smashing everything that got in his way. Buildings, statues, vehicles, all fell way when the Juggernaut got going. People would either scatter or be flattened by the awesome power of the massive Juggernaut.

The Juggernaut felt something bounce off of him. He barely bothered to look, as Spider-Man dropped to the ground and landed with a pained thud.

“Okay, that didn’t work, ow, that really didn’t work,” grumbled Spider-Man as he rose up to his feet, before he turned and sprung up, before he landed right in front of the Juggernaut. “Alright, I don’t know where you’re going, but you’re putting innocent people in…”

Spider-Man was hoisted up off the ground and tossed to the side casually like he was nothing.

“Out of my way, you puny wimp,” grumbled the Juggernaut as he did not even turn or pause a second to watch Spider-Man pull himself up.

“This should slow you down,” said Spider-Man as he raised his arms and shot strands of webbing, wrapping around the Juggernaut and pulled, but his unstoppable enemy continued to walk forward. As a result, Spider-Man was dropped to the ground and the Juggernaut continued to move forward, dragging Spider-Man on the ground with him. “Whoa, stop, don’t…watch out, you’re going to drag me out into incoming traffic.”

“Nothing can stop me,” growled the Juggernaut as Spidey’s webbing finally was stretched and broke off the Juggernaut. Spider-Man looked up, if this man went into the city, there could be no stopping him. In an instant, Spider-Man sprung back up to his feet and landed right in front of the Juggernaut, but the Juggernaut just roughly pushed him down.

“Alright, that’s it, I’m getting sick of getting knocked on my backside,” said Spider-Man as he shot his webbing around a light post before he pulled himself up and began kicking at the Juggernaut but the unstoppable force just casually swatted Spider-Man to the side. Spider-Man swung around and attacked an assault from behind, but there was no guide. He watched as his enemy punched a gate off of the hinges and continued to move forward. Spider-Man swung around from the side and shot a strand of webbing right around the Juggernaut but he continued to move.

“Not going to stop me,” said the Juggernaut as he shrugged Spider-Man off and caused the web head to go for a spin, causing him to land right in a parking lot up to the side. Spying a grocery cart, Spider-Man grabbed onto it, pushing it on a steep hill where the Juggernaut was currently climbing.

“I sure hope this works,” muttered Spider-Man as he put all of his power right behind the grocery cart, as he zoomed down the hill, right towards the Juggernaut, who slowly but surely walked up the hill. With one punch, the cart was knocked off balance and Spider-Man spun, the cart tipping over, right towards a semi truck that came down the hill. Spider-Man shot a line of webbing, pulling himself up onto the semi-truck before he was ran over. Then he ran up it, before he dove right onto the Juggernaut but once again, he was shrugged off. Landing right on the sidewalk, just barely gaining his balance, Spider-Man leapt in front of the Juggernaut and went for a punch but it just impacted the monster’s chest and Spider-Man was shoved off of to the side. “That’s it, no more Mr. Nice Spider-Man!”

Spider-Man shot several strands of webbing, connecting them two posts on either side and then onto the Juggernaut. The Juggernaut continued to move forward, as Spider-Man used even more webbing in attempt to hold back the unstoppable but all that did was strain his supply of webbing. He reached into his belt, pulling out a spare cartridge of webbing and pressed a button on the side and threw it right towards his opponent. The webbing released, covering the Juggernaut in a cocoon but he ripped through the webbing. Spider-Man desperately swung a punch right towards his enemy but it just bounced off his thick body. More punches failed to stop him and Spider-Man was roughly shoved to the ground like he was absolutely nothing.

“What’s the rush anyway?” asked Spider-Man as he winced, watching Juggernaut over turn a parked car.

“Got a little payback to dish out,” grunted the Juggernaut as he overturned two cars at the stoplight, which caused Spider-Man to move in, creating a net of webbing, before he pried the doors open. It was very lucky the people inside the cars escaped with a minimum of injuries.

“Unfortunately for you, all these innocent people are being put in the crossfire and that’s not something your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man approves of,” admonished Spider-Man as he ripped a car bumper off one of the downed cars with a webbing and swung it around, causing it to smash the Juggernaut right in the chest but his unstoppable enemy busted it. “Just who are you anyway?”

“I’M THE JUGGERNAUT, BITCH!” bellowed the Juggernaut as he grabbed Spider-Man and hoisted him up, before he threw the web head down, causing him to land with a thud on a concrete slab. Spider-Man willed himself to his feet, just barely, as he watched the Juggernaut continue his rampage.

“Why do I have a feeling this is going to be a long night?” grumbled Spider-Man.

-

Out at mansion far outside the city, a bald middle aged man sat in a wheelchair, watching the carnage caused by the Juggernaut that had been caused throughout the city on a television located in the kitchen. It was as he had feared, since he had just gotten news within the past hour that the Juggernaut’s containment tank had been failed or rather sabotaged and the Juggernaut was released. The man’s name was Professor Charles Xavier. He was one of the rapidly emerging and growing minority groups on earth, mutants, humans that were born with unique and by the definition of some, unnatural powers. He was a high level telepath, with the ability to read, alter, and control the minds of others, even though he chose to partake in the final two activities unless absolutely necessary as it rarely ended with good results. Xavier had a great deal of knowledge of mutants and created a school, the Xavier Institute. The purpose was to train those students so they could control those unique abilities without harming themselves or others. The gifts they had received could be used for good and Xavier hoped that humanity would in time accept that, even though what little knowledge there was available about mutants had caused many people to panic.

Then there was the flipside, the gifts being harnessed to do harm, and it was a sad realization that many would take that path.

Nevertheless he watched the battle and noticed a figure who was valiantly fighting Juggernaut. Naturally Charles Xavier was one to keep up with the news and he recognized the opponent being Spider-Man, a hero that seemed to be an enigma to some people. The only thing that Charles could determine was that he was not born with his powers, so technically he was not a mutant but still there was some factor that allowed him to obtain what powers he did. Spider-Man was only a mild curiosity to him, but now, as he watched Spider-Man fight his step brother, the hero was in way over his head, beyond anything he was likely to have faced in his life.

“My X-Men, report to the kitchen at once, your assistance is needed,” thought Xavier, sending a message to his X-Men telepathically.

Xavier waited as he sensed his students scrambling to meet him. He awaited patiently, before the door opened, to reveal a young man with brown hair, nineteen years of age, wearing ruby quartz glasses. His name was Scott Summers, codename Cyclops. With the ability to fire optic blasts, he was Xavier’s oldest student and the leader of the X-Men. He lead the way, followed by the other members of his team.

“What’s the cause of the emergency, Professor?” asked Cyclops, adopting a formal tone of voice.

“They say a picture is worth a thousand words,” responded Xavier calmly. “Let the images that unfold before you on screen tell the story.”

“The Juggernaut?” asked a young man, twenty one years of age, named Hank McCoy, code named Beast, a mutant with a variety of skills in acrobatics and strength, putting him beyond the scope of most humans, not to mention his intelligence. “How can this be? I was under the impression that he was locked up, never to torment us again.”

“This is bad,” said the youngest of the group, a fifteen year old man by the name of Robert Drake, codenamed Iceman. As it was obvious by his name, he had the power to create and manipulate ice. “I mean, last time we fought the Juggernaut, we barely got out of there alive. If it wasn’t for Professor Xavier I mean, we would have been crushed.”

“It was a team effort, it took each of you to get the helmet off and render the Juggernaut’s mind susceptible to manipulation but he may anticipate that attack this time and take measures to safeguard the helmet in anyway possible,” said Xavier. “It’s partially my fault, I should have reached out to him, Cain was always a trouble soul…”

“Making excuses for that guy again, eh, Chuck?” asked a short, but vicious looking man with black hair and side burns. He was simply known as Logan, codenamed Wolverine, with a skeleton made out of solid Adamantium and with a healing factor that allowed him to sustain inhumane amounts of punishment. Most of his origins was unknown to him. “If you ask me you should have lobotomized…”

“Logan, you should treat Professor Xavier’s decisions with respect,” interrupted Cyclops, who was always a little unnerved about Logan’s participation on the team due to his incredibly loose ethics and viciousness. He was a loose cannon and a disaster to human-mutant relations waiting to happen. “He has a reason for trying to help his step brother…”

“Problem is said step brother doesn’t want help, so he should be dealt with,” interjected Wolverine as he looked at Cyclops. “So if you want to be a boy scout, well that’s fine. Good look trying to last that way in the real world, bub.”

“Will you two knock it off?” demanded the only female on the team as of this moment, a fiery nineteen year old girl with blazing red hair and green eyes named Jean Grey, codenamed Marvel Girl. Her powers were telepathy, although not as strong as Professor Xavier’s abilities, along with telekinesis. “We have a serious situation on our hands, and you two decide to bicker now of all times. We can have an argument about ethics later, right now we have to worry about containing the Juggernaut. Yes, Logan, contain.”

“Jean is right with this situation, I fear that Cain’s unique powers may prevent anything other than containment regardless of any ethical issue,” said Xavier calmly.

“Is that who I think it is?” asked Iceman his eyes widened.

“My word, Spider-Man,” said Beast in astonishment. “I thought he was merely a legend.”

“Yeah people say the same think about mutants, Hank,” responded Wolverine gruffly. “Kid’s got more guts than brains, taking on the Juggernaut.”

“He doesn’t stand a chance though,” said Marvel Girl as she watched the screen, along with Cyclops as well. Both watched in half awe, half horror, at the fact that Spider-Man was able to hold his own against the unstoppable for this long.

“And that is where you come in,” said Xavier. “Spider-Man is going to need assistance if he hopes to survive this battle with the Juggernaut. Regardless of what his prodigal powers may be, Cain is a force of pure destruction and he has no care for any who he harms.”

“All the more reason to put him down,” growled Wolverine as his claws popped out, ready for a fight.

“Suit up and to the Blackbird in five minutes, sooner if we can,” ordered Cyclops pulling himself away from the battle for long enough to address his team. With little argument, other than the nasty look from Wolverine, the team went there separate ways to do as Cyclops had asked.

-

“Got to stop this guy, somehow,” grunted Spider-Man in frustration, as a barricade made of webbing was only able to stall the Juggernaut for a mere fraction of a second. Throwing all caution to the wind, Spider-Man bounced up and struck the Juggernaut with a punch, that served little purpose. Still, with the unstoppable still tangled, Spider-Man looked over, seeing a bus abandoned, parked on the side of the street, a crazy idea entered his head.

Entering the bus, Spider-Man sat in the driver’s seat. With a turn of his key, he started it up and he turned, before he floored the gas, the bus barreling right towards Juggernaut at full speed. Unfortunately, for Spider-Man, Juggernaut just calmly raised one hand and punched the bus right over. Spider-Man threw himself out of the buss, just before it burst into flames. The arriving police had held civilians back and threats directed towards the Juggernaut, not to mention bullets, had no effect in stopping his path, as he knocked away vehicles and lamp posts. Spider-Man saw as the Juggernaut made his way into a parking lot leading to a factory. The hero swung over right in front of the Juggernaut but once again, he was shoved to the side.

“Quit getting in my way,” grumbled the Juggernaut loudly, as he smashed through the factory, but Spider-Man had an idea, once seeing that it was abandoned. He swung inside, to shoot strands of webbing, grabbing onto the support beams and tugged them with all of his might, pulling several of them loose. He could only do it two at a time, but the warehouse began to crumble right above the Juggernaut, as Spider-Man through a crate to break a window before he swung out just in time, as the entire warehouse collapsed right on top of the Juggernaut.

Spider-Man dropped down, panting heavily, as he looked up, a sudden realization dawning on him, especially since no Juggernaut appeared from the building.

“I can’t believe it has come to this,” thought Spider-Man. “Having to kill him…he’s put so many in danger, sure…but there are still other ways.”

Spider-Man’s horrified thoughts were interrupted, by the Juggernaut smashing through the wreckage, completely and utterly unscathed. Spider-Man looked on in horror, before he jumped forward. A casual swat knocked him out of the air and caused him to land on the ground.

“As if dropping a building on me could have slowed me down,” said the Juggernaut as he continued to move forward. He was not too far away from where he wanted to go. Stepping forward, he knocked Spider-Man for a loop with a huge punch. Another huge punch and Spider-Man was staggered, knocked completely out of the way. The Juggernaut continued his path and Spider-Man turned over, in pain, before he desperately tried to web the Juggernaut’s legs together.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea,” grumbled Spider-Man as he was dragged by the Juggernaut, right towards the same construction yard where he had fought Electro and Sandman in previously. The webs snapped and Spider-Man was sent for a tumble. He looked up, in an attempt to figure out where the Juggernaut was, as he smashed through the fence like it was nothing.

An optic blast blew a small hole in the ground where Juggernaut stood, but the man kept moving, just as the Blackbird landed and the five X-Men exited, as Spider-Man struggled to get back to his feet.

“Ah Charlie sent his little brats to do his dirty work,” grunted Juggernaut as he moved forward, as the X-Men moved into a battle formation. “Out of my way you puny wimps, nothing can stop the Juggernaut.”

“Remember just like we practiced, in the Danger Room,” lectured Cyclops. “We have to slow him down so we can remove his helmet.”

“Only this time it will hurt more,” said Iceman but they moved in for the attack. Cyclops sent in an optic blast right towards the Juggernaut, as Iceman slid down an ice slide. He bounced off the Juggernaut, and Beast dove in, in an attempt to remove the helmet. The Juggernaut swatted him off, before Wolverine dove right at him, claws drawn and swiped at the Juggernaut. They just barely made a dent in the unstoppable force, and Wolverine was thrown into the air, before he was tossed right at Beast. Suddenly, the Juggernaut was levitated a tenth of an inch off the ground.

“Can’t hold him,” gasped Marvel Girl. “The force of his powers too strong…”

She was sent down as the Juggernaut moved forward. Marvel Girl pulled herself as the X-Men regrouped.

“Iceman get in position behind him, everyone else stand back!” shouted Cyclops, as he prepared to pull down his visor. A bright red light illuminated the sky, as the optic blasts caught the Juggernaut with full power, with Iceman icing the ground. The Juggernaut crushed the ice, not even slipping on it, before he rushed forward, hand extended and palmed Cyclops right in the face, causing him to land in the ground, optic beams shooting into the air. Closing his eyes, he rolled to put his glasses back on. “Everyone regroup we need a plan.”

“Plan, who needs a plan, that’s your problem, you think too move,” grumbled Wolverine as he dove up, claws extended and he stabbed them right underneath the mask of the Juggernaut. “Alright, bub, I’m going to remove this helmet, don’t care much if your head is still attached to your body…”

“Out of my way, you puny puke,” grumbled the Juggernaut as he shoved Wolverine to the side, before he stomped on him. Wolverine continued to fight, but the Juggernaut threw him to the ground.

“Wow, really wonderful plan, Logan,” said Cyclops in a bit of a sarcastic tone of voice as Wolverine just grumbled at him. “Maybe we could now try actually working as a team to get the helmet off.”

“We need to incapacitate him somehow, maybe some of this construction equipment can be used to our advantage,” suggested Marvel Girl but suddenly, a figure swung into action.

“Why don’t you let your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man take a crack at it?” asked Spider-Man as he swung in, right at the Juggernaut, going around in circles.

“Surely he can’t be serious,” voiced Beast. “There is no way he can stop the Juggernaut.”

“Kids got guts,” offered Wolverine. “For his sake, I hope they ain’t splattered everywhere after this is done.”

“Should we help him?” asked Iceman.

“If he needs it,” said Cyclops as he got ready, as he watched Spider-Man. “He’s more reckless than Logan is at his most idiotic.”

“Watch it, Slim,” warned Wolverine as Spider-Man ran around to force the Juggernaut off balance, as he webbed a wheel barrow full of bricks and pulled it forward. The bricks smashed into the Juggernaut who didn’t even flinch.

“If a whole building couldn’t stop me, what makes you think those bricks would?” demanded the Juggernaut, as Spider-Man webbed onto a shovel, whacking Juggernaut right in the face to no effect, before he did a graceful back flip and landed on Juggernaut’s back. “Get off of me you little…”

“Ah what’s the matter big guy?” taunted Spider-Man. “Arms too wide to reach me.”

“You can’t hold on forever,” said Juggernaut but suddenly, he found the holes of his helmet webbed off. Spider-Man turned with all of his strength, a quarter of an inch was all he needed to guide the Juggernaut towards a cavernous pit. The Juggernaut continued to move forward, before his legs gave out from underneath him. He collapsed right into the pit and Spider-Man pulled himself out at the last minute. The Juggernaut tried to pull himself up but Spider-Man pulled a lever on a cement mixer. The Juggernaut was completely trapped within the cement and unable to move. “You web crawling whelp, when I get out of here, I’m going to crush you…”

“Yes, I’m sure you’ll try,” said Spider-Man as he slumped, the arms on his costume torn slightly, but at least that was the only damage, as the X-Men walked over. “Don’t know who you all are but thanks for the help.”

“It is us that should be thanking you Spider-Man,” said Marvel Girl, as Beast and Wolverine worked on removing the Juggernaut’s helmet, revealing his face. “As for who we are…well that’s kind of a long story.”

“But in the future, Spider-Man you should leave these matters to people who could be able to easily control them,” lectured Cyclops. “You could have been severely injured, the type of super villains that you fight on a day to day basis is one thing, the Juggernaut is an entirely differently thing entirely.”

“Right I think my body agrees with you,” said Spider-Man but Cyclops just responded by giving him a stoic look and turning his back, as if he was unimpressed that this would be a joking manner. “What’s his problem?”

“Don’t mind Scott, he’s just a bit dedicated to leading the team,” said Marvel Girl choosing her words carefully.

“Yeah, Jean’s only saying that because she has a thing for our fearless leader,” muttered Iceman but this caused Marvel Girl to respond with a look that caused chills to go down Iceman’s spine and he backed off slightly.

“Still, I don’t know much about you people,” said Spider-Man.

“That will be an explanation for the trip back, but first some business needs to be taken care of, Spider-Man,” said Xavier as he wheeled forward, as the Juggernaut looked at him with a hateful expression. “You must learn to let go of your hatred, Cain.”

“Big man using that mind control junk on me, why don’t you fight me face to face, Charlie?” grumbled the Juggernaut, but he was unable to stop the probe into his mind. The Juggernaut was put out.

“This should hold him until the authorities arrive, they are working on a temporary containment until the real thing can be put back online,” said Xavier with a remorseful look as they headed to the blackbird. “Spider-Man, I do invite you with us, for the explanations you deserve and the unfortunate fact that we may need your help soon enough, as I fear the Juggernaut’s release has more to it than meets the eye.”

The X-Men and Spider-Man entered the blackbird. As Spider-Man settled himself in, Professor Xavier turned to the young hero.

“My name is Charles Xavier,” said Xavier. “And to understand my students, first I must explain to you about the ever growing minority subsection of humans known as mutants.”

-

Miles Warren concluded some last minute calculations on the updated version of his serum. Dr. Essex had ordered him to double efforts, after Essex had found out about the accident at the lab. There was still the manner of locating the victim of the bite, but Warren and Essex agreed that the hero known as Spider-Man might hold the key. At least that was the most prominent theory that seemed plausible but there would need to be an opportunity to study the hero up close.

At that point, the door burst off the hinges and flew to the ground with a smash, causing a man dressed in red with a purple cape and helmet on his head, for the express purpose of blocking out telepathic attacks. His name was Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, but he was known better by the name of Magneto, an extremely powerful victim who was the master of magnetism. Five rough figures walked forward. A young Australian man with the ability to control fire, dressed in orange with goggles walked in, named Pryo. A slimy man with greenish skin who had the ability for insane acrobatics and the ability to easily scale walls, along with grabbing things with his abnormally long tongue also walked up. The man was named Toad. Next came a heavy set, thick man, who was virtually unmovable named Blob and a man dressed silver body armor with a helmet with the ability to cause vibrations within the ground named Avalanche. Finally an ugly man with blond hair dressed in black walked in, named Sabertooth, who possessed many of the same abilities that Wolverine did, only with a far nastier temper and less morals as well.

“Professor Warren we have come for that formula that I have heard so much about,” said Magneto as he walked forward with a humorless look. “I believe it holds the key to force humans to evolve to something more superior or perish completely.”

“You can’t have the formula,” said Warren as he walked forward and attempted to open a desk drawer but a wave of Mageto’s hand caused the drawer to slam shut on it. Warren winced, as the pressure continued to keep the door shut.

“We will have none of your common human violence, Miles,” said Magneto as he motioned for Pryo to walk forward. “Now, you best talk or Pryo will be allowed to use more painful methods of interrogation on you.”

“Better do it mate, or it’s going to get real hot in here, real quick,” said Pryo in a warning tone of voice as Warren struggled.

“Want me to rip this little puke apart,” grunted Sabertooth.

“Patience, Sabertooth,” said Magneto calmly. “Ripping him apart won’t solve anything but I think the threat is more than enough to get our Professor Warren talking about his little formula. A fool wouldn’t keep the actual finished product here with such lax security but I do believe there should be some sort of records of experimentation around here.”

“It’s in the filing cabinet,” grunted Warren in pain. “Third drawer from the top, let me out of here, and I can open it, it needs a key. “

Magneto just turned without a word and the metal drawers sprung open.

“A simple challenge really, Toad, Avalanche, search the drawer, if our friend Professor Warren is lying in an attempt to stall for time, then he’ll get to know Sabertooth really well,” said Magneto as he turned to his minion, who gave Warren a nasty, twisted grin.

“Is this what you’re looking for, Magneto?” asked Avalanche as he handed a stack of papers right towards Magneto who looked at them.

“I believe so,” said Magneto as he read through the calculations, fair enough, but riddled with human imperfections. Still, it would serve his plans with little altering. “I had thought there would be more, it seems too simple really.”

“Perhaps that little nerd’s trying to pull one over us, thinking we’re nothing but a bunch of dumb Muties,” grunted Blob.

“I swear, that’s all,” said Warren and Magneto looked at him.

“I believe him, for now, but we’ll see once we run our first tests, if I’m not pleased, then we’ll return,” said Magneto. “And this time, I’ll let Sabertooth loose on you.”

Sabertooth looked towards Warren with a twisted, ugly, grin, as Magneto and the rest of his Brotherhood left, Warren’s hand being released from the drawer at that moment. He walked over, his boss would have to know about this.

“Dr. Essex, this is Professor Warren, and Magneto and his Brotherhood have stolen the formula for the serum,” said Warren in a pained voice.

“All goes as planned then,” said Essex calmly. “Magneto will use the formula on humans in his attempt to transform them into mutants, and depending on the results, I’ll be able to see the effects, before our research is brought to the next level. You have done well Warren, I had expected Magneto to eventually learn of our work and his need to kick start a war with such an act of aggression plays perfectly into our hands.”

-

“Menken, what do you mean the other stockholders have called a meeting a week from Monday?” asked Norman.

“I’m just delivering the message, Mr. Osborn, sir,” said Donald Menken in a hurried, apologetic voice. “There are certain matters that they feel are a concern, the allegations against Oscorp are growing by the moment, but for all the stockholders to rally together in such a manner, they would need someone who has a great deal of influence to go against you…”

“Fisk,” said Norman coolly. Fisk had his eyes on Oscorp for quite some time but Norman Osborn will not give the company up without a fight.

“There is a chance that you might be removed as the CEO, Mr. Osborn,” said Menken nervously.

“A chance that will have to be negated, the name Norman Osborn still commands respect, I will find a way to counteract whatever I’m being accused of,” said Norman calmly as he motioned for Menken to leave. “Now excuse me, but I have work to do.”

“Of course, Mr. Osborn,” replied Menken as he walked off. Norman should have been able to figure out that there was an attempt to takeover his corporation from underneath him but the problem was so occupied in perfecting the formula that he had little time to focus on this. Briefly, he imagined the potential applications the formula could have in dealing with his enemies, but there would be plenty of time to deal with that possibility, right now he had to prepare for the Board of Directors and Fisk’s latest attempt to seize control for himself.

-

Spider-Man arrived, his head spinning. He had read about genetic mutation and had heard the rumors about the emergency of mutants, but this was far beyond anything he had experienced in his life. The fact of the matter was that he could see that once this got exposed to the public, in fact many had known already, but once it was more out in the open, there would be those who would fear mutants. Yet, mutants were just normal people, with special abilities, that could use them for good and bad, as Professor Xavier had rightly pointed out.

“Alarm system,” said Beast suddenly, just not two minutes after they had gotten off of the Blackbird. “We have a bit of a problem, hostile mutant activity.”

“What is it this time?” asked Wolverine.

“Magneto, I’m afraid and his Brotherhood are at it again,” said Cyclops as he looked at the screen. “Magnetic interference, we should have seen this one coming since Juggernaut’s containment unit was messed with.”

“Great, that’s the last person we need to go against right now,” said Iceman. “What’s his game this time?”

“I fear this is another misguided attempt by Erik to start a war between mutants and humanity,” said Xavier.

“Wait a minute, another?” asked Spider-Man.

“There have been a few in recent years, none successful,” explained Xavier. “Still they have exposed a mutants a bit more to the world and while there are some with their eyes and minds wide open, there are others who refuse to accept mutants for the gifts they have.”

“Isolating the incidents of magnetic interference, I believe that we can pinpoint where Magneto has been,” said Beast. “The first incident would be with the Juggernaut, the second one, a research facility belong with one Miles Warren…”

“Warren?” asked Spider-Man in surprise, this was the last thing that came to his mind.

“Yes, he’s specializes in genetic manipulation, with a bit of a shady record,” said Beast but he saw Spider-Man look far off. “You have heard of him, I believe.”

“More than heard of him,” said Spider-Man. “Let’s just say, I wasn’t exactly born with these powers…a genetically altered spider belonging to Warren bit me and that’s about all I can say, but it transferred some of its DNA to mine.”

“But, that’s surely not possible, not without further physical mutation,” argued Beast. “There must be some kind of x-factor that could be causing your genetic alteration to not mutate out of control…”

“Or maybe, X-Gene,” suggested Marvel Girl which caused the other members of the group to look at her in confusion. “Professor, didn’t you say that the X-Gene could be dormant within most humans, that it never activates.”

“Correct, Jean, but we must account that the type of genetic altering that Spider-Man went through, that a dormant X-Gene would not be enough to keep his powers at bay,” said Xavier. “I doubt Spider-Man is a mutant, in the traditional sense of the word either. An accident gave him his powers, an accident that should have by all rights, killed him.”

“Look we can discuss this later, right now Magneto and his little cronies are going to kick start a war,” said Wolverine impatiently.

“Right, I believe Magneto is heading to the ESU campus,” said Beast.

“Whatever he’s planning, the X-Men will stop him and the X-Men alone,” said Cyclops as he looked at Spider-Man. “Once again, this is not a knock on your abilities but rather…”

“Scott, allow Spider-Man to assist you,” said Xavier firmly. “Perhaps he would be the one factor that Magneto did not expect and may allow us to win today.”

“If you say so, Professor,” said Cyclops as Iceman mouthed his words behind him before the team, along with Spider-Man made their way back to prepare for the battle.

-

Harry was on his way home, when he came face to face with Flash Thompson and his friends.

“Hey, Osborn, fancy meeting you here,” said Flash in a would be casual voice.

“Not too fancy, Flash, considering we’re rather close to my house,” said Harry calmly.

“Enough with the small talk Osborn, I want to know where you get off thinking you can ask my girlfriend to the dance,” said Flash in a threatening voice but Harry just stood his ground.

“I was under the impression you two broke up and she seemed rather happy to go with someone who doesn’t have the intelligence of a baboon,” said Harry but Flash reached forward and grabbed Harry by the shirt.

“Did you just compare me to a monkey?” asked Flash.

“Well technically I guess I might have,” said Harry casually. “Hands off the jacket, please, Flash, it costs more than your house.”

“Alright rich boy, you think you’re better than me,” said Flash. “Just because your daddy has money?”

“Not because of that no, but let’s face it Flash, she had to break up with you for a reason,” said Harry. “I didn’t twist her arm…”

“It’s your fault Osborn,” said Flash.

“Yes, because I asked you to bring my dead mother into the conversation Flash,” said Harry, but his voice shook slightly.

“Hey, Osborn, I didn’t know she was dead, perhaps if you wasn’t such an anti-social misfit, I would know some of these things, but you and Liz, that’s just a rebound, she’ll come back to the Flash man sooner or later,” bragged Flash as he stepped back. “Count yourself lucky, Osborn, I’m in a good mood. For all your money, it’s a shame you don’t know anything about the little games girls play.”

“You obviously don’t know too much either, considering you can’t keep a girlfriend,” replied Harry and Flash responded by clenching his fists but he turned without an incident. Harry refused to let anything Flash say get to him. His father was one thing, but Flash Thompson was another.

-

“A new age dawns,” declared Magneto as he turned to his Brotherhood as they approached the ESU campus. “No longer should the inferior Homo-Sapiens rule the planet, rather Homo-Superior will be the race that declares the way that things would be. These humans will become one of us or perish, an unfortunate but necessary truth that both sides of this oncoming war will realize. Still my holy crusade will not be denied.”

“Not if we have anything to say about it, Magneto!” cried Cyclops as he lead the way, with the rest of the X-Men arrived, with Spider-Man following behind.

“Ah yes, the famous X-Men along with…” stated Magneto as he looked at Spider-Man. “Forgive me, but I am afraid we have not been acquainted.”

“Oh, me, I’m just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man,” said Spidey with a grin. “Perhaps you’ve heard of me, I’ve been in the papers quite a bit.”

“Sorry to disappoint but I have too little time to follow the exploits of inferior humans,” said Magneto as he removed the bolts from a metal gate, before he flung it casually using his powers, causing the X-Men and Spider-Man to scatter. “Brotherhood, dispose of these nuisances immediately, we have far bigger plans to carry out.”

“With pleasure, Magneto,” said Pryo as he raised his hand and pulled out a lighter. A flick and huge flames erupted from them, focused towards the X-Men. Iceman moved in, to sent a blast of ice. The ice met fire and it was a battle between the two elements. Pryo pushed hard, but Iceman took the fight right to him.

“Ah, Sabertooth, long time no see,” said Wolverine as he rushed forward. “Can’t say I was looking forward to meeting up with your ugly face again.”

“We’ll see who is ugly after I get through with you, runt,” growled Sabertooth as he rushed forward and punched at Wolverine but Wolverine blocked it. The two mutants got what was basically the equivalent of a bar room brawl, as they traded punches. Meanwhile, the Toad crawled up the wall, before he did a flip over Beast, who landed on the ground, right in time for Avalanche to cause a minor vibration. Rocks erupted from the ground and knocked Beast off balance, as Spider-Man went face to face with Toad.

“You know, you’d be a bit more presentable if you just took a shower,” said Spider-Man as he dove forward and grabbed Toad, but he slipped out of his grip. Two more attempts caused more failures and Spider-Man was unable to get a grip on the Toad, who kept moving.“Guess all the muck does work to your advantage, but this should slow you down.”

Spider-Man shot a strand of webbing towards his enemy but Toad caught the webbing with his tongue, before he quickly jumped and spun around, to wrap Spider-Man up in his own webbing. Spider-Man was trapped, as the battle continued, five on five, with the X-Men against the Brotherhood. Toad leapt right at Beast and knocked him to the ground, as Avalanche turned his attention to Cyclops. An eruption from the ground but Cyclops blasted the rocks with his optic beams. The blast showered Avalanche with debris and allowed Cyclops to move in for a further attack.

“Nothing can move me!” bellowed the Blob as he knocked Cyclops down to the ground. Blob attempted to stomp on Cyclops but he moved around of the way. “I’m the immovable object…”

Blob suddenly found himself about six or seven inches off the ground, thanks to the telekinetic abilities of Marvel Girl. It was quite the strain to keep him up, as Toad continued his battle with Beast on the ground, but with great effort, she manipulated him.

“Guess, I’m nothing then,” said Marvel Girl as she dropped the Blob right on top of Toad.

“Get off me you lump, I can’t breath,” said the Toad in a pained manner but Spider-Man had released himself from his webbing, as Iceman dodged a blast from Pryo, before he froze Blob, just as he got off of Toad.

“That should hold you for a while,” said Iceman.

“And you as well,” said Spider-Man as he managed to web up Toad this time, wrapping him around the tree, as Sabertooth and Wolverine continued their battle off in the dance, the brawls getting more vicious, with visible wounds. Of course, with their powers, the injuries could have been much worse. “Think we should help him?”

“No, I think Logan’s holding his own just fine,” said Iceman as he winced at some of the punches, how brutal they were, but Pryo moved in, holding his lighter cackling like a crazed lunatic.

“Thought you forgot about me, didn’t you,” said Pryo but Spider-Man moved the lighter from his hand with a strand of webbing, just as Cyclops blasted him off of his feet. With another movement, Pryo and Avalanche were both webbed right together.

“Now without your little toy, you’re nothing, really,” said Spider-Man, as he used his spider strength to crush Pryo’s lighter in his hand, causing lighter fluid leak to the ground.

“No, that was one of a kind,” said Pryo but he couldn’t get out of the webbing.

“Recently reinforced that stuff, don’t want criminals slipping out, good thing I did,” said Spider-Man. “And thankfully Toad got to turn the last bit of the old stuff on me, a stroke of luck for once.”

Sabertooth had Wolverine down on the ground and raised his hands, in an attempt to snap Wolverine’s neck, but Wolverine pushed off. He jumped off and plunged his claws right into Sabertooth’s chest. Sabertooth was stunned and Wolverine knocked him back against a tree with a punch.

“Now, ice cube,” ordered Wolverine and Iceman raised his hands to freeze Sabertooth’s body to the tree.

“Very good, you six have defeated the Brotherhood, but consider this a hollow victory,” said Magneto as Wolverine rushed at Magneto in a fit of rage but was stopped in mid air. “Foolish boy, metal bones, Master of Magnetism, do I need to draw you a diagram? I would have thought that Charles would have taught his pet a few tricks.”

He threw Wolverine’s body right at the X-Men but Spider-Man moved in, shooting his webbing but Magneto used a metal gate to block it. A look of glee appeared on Magneto’s face as he flicked his hands and immediately, Spider-Man’s metal web shooters began to crush from the pressure. The other X-Men got up from Wolverine’s body thrown at them but Spider-Man’s web shooters burst, causing his webbing to explode all over them, wrapping up the six heroes.

“Can’t move, can’t even break this stuff,” said Cyclops as he struggled.

“Neither can I,” added Marvel Girl with a strained look on her face, it seemed to no matter how hard she tried or used her powers, they were in quite a sticky situation.

“You weren’t kidding when you said this stuff was tough,” added Iceman, as they were in a tight spot.

“Indeed, thank you Spider-Man for giving me an opportunity to trap my enemies,” said Magneto and Spider-Man looked horrified, if he had not been here, the X-Men wouldn’t be trapped. “Now time to begin the testing, by dream will be set into motion by this time tomorrow.”

Magneto turned, freeing the Brotherhood members one by one. Even with their incompetence, he still needed them for his plans, as he walked off with the X-Men and Spider-Man unable to free themselves. 


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