SOME OF THE LOGOS, CHARACTERS AND SETTINGS ARE THE PROPERTY OF MARVEL, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Rated M for Mature
Appropriate for readers 18 and over. May contain extreme violence.
Marvel Genesis: Cable, Chapter 5- On The Run
Year- 1990 A.D.
Location- Daily Bugle, New York
Irene Merryweather was a strong, hardworking reporter. She currently works at the Daily Bugle, a large news building where a lot of journalists and photographers are working around the clock. These days, the readers out there would love to hear some great stories coming from a journalist’s mind. In fact, Irene had the potential. She graduated in a journalism school about three years ago, and landed herself a job.
At first, she was quite nervous, when she came to Daily Bugle for her first interview. The reason for her nervousness is because that J. Jonah Jameson had been a rough guy, ever since he started the news business. She heard that several candidates didn’t get the job, or the fact that the amateurs didn’t get what the editor wanted.
She eventually succeeded the interview. Then, she had several tips from one of her staff members to write a good story. Her first story was to identify the real identity of New York’s beloved superhero, Spider-Man. She tried to get the scoop, but couldn’t get anywhere. Instead, she asked her boss whether she could write good stories about the hero, rather trying to reveal his identity. Jonah didn’t like the idea, but then changed his mind.
Jonah never liked Spider-Man in the first place. He intended to bring him down, no matter what happens. He sometimes forces the journalists to take some pictures in hiding places, where Spider-Man could unveil his mask anytime soon. So far, none of the events had taken place. For her part, she had to do something different. She had to meet several people, who got saved by the web-slinger.
It was a tough story, and it wasn’t easy for the amateur like Irene. She had to prove her skills in front of her boss. Or else, she could get fired.
Now, she is currently writing a story of the mutants being discovered by the government. The entire world had never known that these people, who were born with powers, would get exposed to the public. A month ago, she had an interview with Valerie Cooper on the matter.
“So, Valerie...I hear that you were protecting the mutants, so that humans wouldn’t interfere them. What do you make of this?”
“I can’t comment on that. But what I can tell you is that some mutants are not a threat. Yes, there are others out there, who are willing to destroy humanity. But the X-Men are here to save the day. I’m here to represent them.”
“I see. Tell me more about these...X-Men of yours. Who are they?”
“Well...As you know that the X-Men are mutant heroes, who are here to protect humanity and other innocent mutants. I have a file that says the underground mutants known as the “Morlocks” have been killed by a group of mutant mercenaries, who called themselves the “Marauders.” This massacre happened several years ago. A mad scientist who went by the name of “Sinister” had recently been experimenting on humans and mutants.”
“Do you have any evidence to back it up?”
“Yes, I do have it. But I can’t expose that kind of information to the public. It’s part of national security. I’m sorry.”
“I understand. Well then...That’s all I have for now. Thank you, Mrs. Cooper.”
“It was nice to meet you too, Miss Merryweather. Thank you.”
Irene had written of what ever happened on that day of the interview. She has to show this to her boss, thinking that he can print it on the newspaper. She kept typing the keys around, so she could finish it on time.
“Irene!” Jonah called out to her. “Come here. I’d like to speak with you.”
Irene looked over to the boss, thinking of what she had done wrong. She got up from her desk, and went to Jonah’s office. The office was quite big for the famous editor. At a young age, he became a star reporter after revealing the hideouts of the Hydra organization. That time, he had help from the agents of D.A.G.G.E.R. in case, if anything happened to him.
The editor-in-chief threw the paper away on his desk, so that Irene can look at it. It was the picture of the Marauders attacking certain innocent people in Cambodia. She felt horrified by the look of them.
“A friend of mine secretly went to Cambodia to take the scoop of the mutant problem. Guess what, Irene? He got killed. He was a star reporter for Christ’s sake. We were friends back then.”
“Sir...I’m sorry...I...”
“Don’t be sorry,” Jonah stopped her. “Just read it and tell me what you think.”
“Sir?” Irene became confused. She didn’t want to make her boss angry enough to get her fired.
“Do I have to say it again? Read the darn newspaper.”
Irene read it and stared back at her boss. At first, she couldn’t think of anything to say because these Marauders were not just mutants, they were monsters as well.
“Sir...” Irene paused for the moment. “I think this is bad.”
“How bad is it?” The boss said. “The mutants are becoming a problem, Irene. Everyone hates them for crying out loud. Look here, the other article was written by another amateur like you. He said that mutants had destroyed some homeless shelter. A young guy torched up the building with the use of his flamethrowers. Then, a mutant tried to create earthquakes in New York. Then, a big fat mutant has caused havoc on the streets looking for food, and then eating them. What do you think?”
“Well, sir...I...”
“I’ve seen your interview with Valerie Cooper. Yes, I understand the X-Men are saviors. But haven’t you thought of what they can do? Our society is being affected by these...abominations. I want you to change your story.”
“What? Sir...I can’t do that. I thought you said you wanted real news.”
“This is real news. The mutants are being hated by us, humans. Get it in your head. Now, leave me alone.”
Irene couldn’t believe this. She had worked so hard on the interview, trying to get the scoop regarding the true nature of the X-Men, and to see whether they were the good guys. She thought that she could quit this job, but she needed the money to pay her rent.
She walked out of the office, feeling irritated by the boss. It’s no wonder that one of her co-workers hated him. She returned to her desk, staring at her written article. She gave out a sigh, and erased the whole story.
Year- 2000 A.D.
Location- X-Mansion. Salem Center, New York
Cable looked throughput the rooms to see if Jean Grey and the baby were present. There was no telling where they could hide at this very moment. He knows that there were two Marauders left, Scalphunter and Riptide.
He walked towards a door. It led to another hallway. The place was quiet. He tried to hear the thoughts of her mother and himself. At this stage, the baby wouldn’t able to use his powers, not yet. But he knows that his mother can read minds. He tried to contact her, but he was quite worried that the pain from the Techno-Organic Virus would occur. If it were to happen, he could lose his powers in the process. He needed to reserve his psychic energy at all costs.
At times, Cable used his mutant abilities, when they weren’t other options left to defeat the enemy. He had to rely on his military tactics to do the job, most of the time. For that reason, he had to be trained by the Askani Order to become the best and brightest. On the other hand, Nathan Summers used his mutant abilities, not relying much on his tactics. That’s because Nathan never had to reserve or recharge his psychic energy. He was lucky that the virus didn’t infect him.
He ran across the hallway, searching around the area. He felt a déjà vu at an instant. Yes, he had come here several times, trying to change history. Blaquesmith used to tell him, not to tamper with the timeline because it could lead to drastic consequences.
Cable had thought of that theory. If he were to prevent himself from being infected from the virus, there was no way that he could be sent to the far future, and he wouldn’t become the man he is right now. He would have become a different man. There wouldn’t be Nathan Summers, and he also wouldn’t have met Jenskot or the Askani Order.
But the question only remained. What about Apocalypse? Would he still conquer the world? Cable didn’t want to answer that question. There are other ways to defeat him. To defeat him, Cable has to remove the virus from his body. But sometimes, he asked himself the same question over and over again. Why did he come back to the 21st century for? Did he come here to change his destiny?
Cable stopped for the moment. He realized that he was about to make a huge mistake. He only had to come here to save his parents and the baby. That was the mission. That was part of the history. Cable had to go back in time and save the X-Men. He was destined to become a new hope in this timeline and the far future one.
“No, I won’t do it,” Cable said to himself. Even though the old soldier wanted to change his destiny, he couldn’t help thinking that everyone he knows in the 41st century will be gone. He didn’t want it to happen.
He decided to stick with the mission. He continued running, until he heard some screams coming somewhere around the area. He scanned the walls, trying to see through anything that he could notice. There was a single figure lying on the floor.
Cable noticed the door, which lead to that bedroom. He banged the door open, and find that his mother was lying unconscious. The old soldier went closer to her, calling her name several times.
Jean Grey woke up, and saw the old man staring at her. She wondered who this man was. She even read his mind, and the only name came up was Cable.
“Jean,” Cable said. “Where’s the baby? What happened here?” He noticed there was some blood, dripping from some parts of her body. He knew it was the work of Riptide, but wasn’t too sure about Scalphunter.
“The baby...” Jean said slowly in pain. “My son...He’s... been taken by...”
“Don’t talk,” Cable stopped her. “I’ll take you to the med lab. Then, I’ll find your son.” Cable carried her on his arms, and went further ahead of the hallway.
To be continued in Marvel Genesis: Cable, Chapter 6- Danger Calls.
Oh no. The baby has been taken by Scalphunter and Riptide. What will happen next? Find out in the next chapter of Cable.
Log in to comment