Date: Friday, May 21, 2011, 11:30 pm
Location: Cactus City, Texas
Julius shuddered, a cold dread washing over him at the mention of the Brotherhood of Mutants. He didn't know much about mutants, but their names were a constant presence on the news and social media. The Brotherhood was a notorious terrorist organization comprised solely of mutants, and their leader, Erik Lehnsherr, also known as Magneto, was the master of magnetism.
Julius's mind flashed back to a news report he'd seen—an image of the Avengers struggling, almost defeated by Magneto alone. He remembered the reporter saying that if it hadn't been for the brute strength of the Hulk and the divine might of Thor, the Earth's mightiest heroes would have fallen. It was a distant, almost unbelievable memory, until now.
That distant, abstract threat suddenly became chillingly real. This wasn't some far-off conflict. The same group of mutants that had challenged Earth's mightiest heroes was now, according to Laura, after him. The weight of this realization was staggering.
"Then we should hurry," Julius said, his voice quiet and filled with a sense of dawning reality.
Laura looked at him for a moment, her gaze intense, before giving a firm nod. She reached out and briefly placed a reassuring hand on his arm. "We will," she said, her voice a low, steady rumble. She then slid into the passenger seat without another word. Julius climbed in after her, and with a quiet hum, he pulled the truck out of his driveway and sped away.
The silence that followed was heavy, but it was not awkward. It was a shared quiet, a space for Julius to process everything that had happened. Laura sat beside him, a silent, watchful presence, her concern for him palpable in the stillness of the cab. He wasn't angry; he was just lost. But as he glanced at her, he found a measure of comfort in her unblinking gaze, a silent promise that he wasn't alone in this new, terrifying reality.
The truck rattled down the dark, deserted roads, leaving his old life behind. His bags, long sword, and Glock were the physical remnants of a new, terrifying reality that now existed outside the confines of his quiet neighborhood.
The drive to Laura's home was filled with a heavy, awkward silence. The rhythmic rumble of the truck's engine was the only sound, a stark contrast to the rush of their thoughts. Laura's hands gripped the steering wheel, her focus absolute, but inside, a knot of guilt tightened. She had lied to Julius about everything. His innocent questions, his budding interest, their time together—it had all been part of her mission. She wouldn't be surprised if he now saw her as nothing more than a deception, and she braced herself for that possibility.
Julius, meanwhile, stared out the window, his mind a whirlwind of confusion and betrayal. He was trying to reconcile the quiet girl he thought he knew with the guarded, professional soldier beside him. He still had feelings for her, but they were tangled up in a jarring question: were her feelings for him genuine, or was it all just an act to get close to the person she was actually looking for? The silence wasn't just awkward; it was a chasm of unspoken truths and painful revelations.
The silence in the truck was a suffocating pressure. Julius finally pushed past his swirling thoughts and the personal questions he wasn't ready to ask.
"So why is the Brotherhood after me anyway?" he asked, his voice low. "I'm a mutant just like them."
Laura's gaze remained fixed on the road, her expression unreadable. "They want you to join them."
"Join them? The Brotherhood?" Julius recoiled at the thought, his voice rising in disbelief. "I would never become a terrorist!"
Laura finally turned her head, her stare intense. She reached out and placed a firm, reassuring hand on his arm. "We know you won't. And we won't let them take you."
"Who are you guys, anyway?" Julius asked, his voice now laced with confusion and exhaustion. "You keep mentioning 'we'."
"The names are a little cheesy," she said, her tone flat. "But we are a team called the X-Men. The man who runs the team also runs a school and a safe haven for mutants. That's where we're taking you. His name is Charles Xavier."
"Okay, that's cool, but what's the difference between you guys and the Brotherhood? It sounds like you're both just trying to take me," Julius said bitterly, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, his hands gripping the steering wheel.
Laura, from the passenger seat, stared straight ahead, her expression unreadable. "The difference is everything."
She paused, taking a breath before continuing. "The Brotherhood believes humans are obsolete. That mutants are the next step, and we should take our place, by force if we have to. They want to conquer and be the sole rulers."
She then turned her head to look directly at Julius. "We don't believe that. We fight for a world where we don't have to hide. Where we can live alongside humans without being hated or feared. Our goal is coexistence, not conquest."
The two finally arrived at Laura's place, Julius slowly pulling his truck to a stop beside the beat-up car in the driveway. Only a few hours ago, he had been here picking her up for a date. Now, he was leaving his old life behind and having to flee from a mutant terrorist organization. However, the moment Laura stepped out of the truck, she immediately unsheathed her talons, hissing to Julius, "Fuck! They're here!"
"How do you know?" Julius asked, still in a daze.
At that very moment, Logan and a hulking figure burst through the wall of the house in a chaotic explosion of splintered wood and drywall. Mid-air, the two were a tangle of limbs and fury. Logan's adamantium claws plunged deep into the other man's chest, but at the same instant, the man in the trench coat drove both of his hands under Logan's ribs. The two of them crashed violently onto the asphalt, their bodies hitting the ground with a sickening thud amidst a shower of plaster and debris.
"Besides the claws," Laura said, her voice a low growl, "I also have rapid regeneration and heightened senses. I smelled him." Her eyes flashed toward the fight. "My 'uncle', Sabertooth."
At that moment, Logan and the other man rose to their feet, resuming their fighting stances with a strained ferocity. Julius's breath hitched as he finally got a clear look at Laura's uncle. The man, Sabertooth, was a terrifying sight to behold. He stood impossibly tall, his massive frame straining against a long black trench coat that was torn in places, revealing thick, corded muscle beneath. His face was a mask of primal fury and psychotic joy. He wore a constant, unnerving smile that stretched his features into a demonic rictus, revealing a row of sharp, animalistic teeth. His eyes, small and feral, gleamed with a savage intelligence. Blood stained his teeth and dripped from his mouth, giving him the terrifying appearance of a madman. The scent of blood—both fresh and old—seemed to cling to him, a chilling testament to his violent nature. Every move he made was a coiled spring of raw, untamed power, and his very presence seemed to warp the air around him with a palpable sense of danger.
The scene was a stark vision of David versus Goliath as Logan stood defiantly before his brother, his 5'10" frame looking tiny against Sabertooth's massive stature. The two men eyed each other, their tension a palpable force, when Sabertooth's nose twitched. He caught the scent of the new arrivals, a wide, predatory grin spreading across his face as he looked past Logan.
"Well, well, if it isn't Laura," he growled, his voice a low rumble. "And you must be the mutant Magneto's been looking for." He let out a low, guttural laugh. "Don't you two move a muscle. I'll be with you in a minute."
"No, you're not!" Logan roared, the single expletive a furious snarl as he charged at Sabertooth like a beast, his claws fully extended.
"Yes!" Sabertooth roared back, his own charge a mirror of Logan's feral rage. The two mutants collided with a sickening crunch, a flurry of adamantium claws and bone, tearing into flesh and muscle. Blood immediately soaked the ground beneath them as the brutal fight began in earnest.
"Fuck, Julius, stay here! I'm going to help Logan!" Laura snarled, taking off in a sprint toward the two brawling mutants. But before she could get far, a long, sickly tongue shot out from the shadows and wrapped tightly around her right leg. It yanked with incredible force, pulling her to the side and sending her flying through the air.
"Laura!" Julius cried, his gaze snapping to find the source of the attack. He saw a thin, emaciated man on all fours, his body contorted like a spider. From his mouth, a long, sickly tongue snaked back, the end of it still wrapped around Laura's leg. Standing beside him was a monstrously tall, obese man, his body an undulating mass of flesh that Julius could barely tell was human.
Laura repositioned herself, about to slice the tongue wrapped around her leg, when the mound of flesh lunged forward. The mutant's fist connected directly with her face, a sickening crunch echoing as blood immediately gushed from her nose and mouth.
"Laura!" Julius screamed. Seeing her overwhelmed by two mutants, he ran to the back of the truck and grabbed his new blade. He didn't care that he wasn't a master swordsman; he only needed to do one thing: cut that damn tongue off of her.
Julius took a deep breath, his eyes locked on the two mutants who were now laughing as Laura struggled to get back to her feet. This sight enraged him, and as he exhaled, a gout of fire erupted from his mouth. A new wave of determination washed over him as he thought, They wanted me? Fine. Here I come.