Westchester, New York, September 27th 1963
"So it's confirmed then, professor?"
A bald man in his late 30's, dressed in an imacculate business suit, and sitting in a wheelchair, stared silently at the bulky computer console concealed within the oak desk he was sitting in front of, watching as the panels in front of him lit up in sequence. Closing the lid back over the computer, he wheeled himself over to the large window that allowed daylight into his office. Outside, the grounds of the Xavier mansion stretched out, showing the colors of early fall. Behind him, a teenager wearing a pair of red sunglasses along with a blue suit and yellow vest walked up, following his gaze.
"I'm afraid so, Cerebro has confirmed my suspicions" Professor Charles Xavier said to his student "It has detected a new mutant in New York City, and based on what it could tell me about the co-ordinates, it appears the Avengers unknown recruit is a previously unidentified mutant."
Scott Summers, only recently known as the mutant Cyclops, looked uncertain "Are you sure, professor? It couldn't be picking up one of the other Avengers?"
"I'm afraid not, Scott" Xavier said as he turned his chair around and began moving out of the room "This Mr. Sunshine is the only member of the group who is not a previously established hero, and none of the others have ever been detected by Cerebro, so they cannot be mutants."
"But how can he be a new mutant?" Summers said as he followed his mentor out "You said that mutant powers usually activate at the onset of puberty, and that guy has to be, what, atleast 30?"
"I said that the mutant gene USUALLY activates at puberty, Scott. As much as I have studied the human genome, even I do not know everything there is to know about mutation and it's functions. Not to mention as revolutionary as Cerebro is, it's still in it's infancy as a technology, there could be any number of reasons for why this man has previously avoided detection. What concerns me is that there is now a mutant who has already made himself a very public figure, even if the public does not know the source of his abilities. I fear that the public is not ready to know about the existance of mutants among them."
Summers nodded "So, what are you going to do? Ask him to resign from the Avengers? And have him join the X-Men instead"
Xavier shook his head "No no, even if he did, he's already made himself publically known, for good or ill. However, I feel that a meeting to explain what he is, might be beneficial..."
....
"Okay big guy, try it out!"
The Hulk gives the massive chair Stark has just finished putting together in the living room a suspicious glare, giving it an inspective poke for good measure "WHY YOU MAKE HULK A CHAIR?"
"Well, it was actually Sunshine's suggestion, and I know you're not happy about being stuck inside Bruce so much" Hulk gives a derisive snort "-BUT, I figured that if we make the mansion a bit more Hulk-friendly, it'd be easier for you to live here." Stark pats the chair, which makes a loud clanging noise "Under the upholstery and leather, this chair is pure reinforced steel and concrete, and it's even got a Hulk-sized cup holder!" He points at a large, metal circle attached to the arm rest.
I nod "That was also my suggestion."
Hulk looks at us like he still expects this to be some cruel prank, but finally decides to give the chair a chance, and slumps into the seat. He leans back, and realizes the chair isn't about to turn into firewood like most other furniture he's tried in his short lifetime. He grins appreciatively "HULK LIKE!"
"Glad to hear it, big guy! We're working on a Hulk-sized bed too, one that you can use both as Bruce AND Hulk, so no more sleeping on the floor for either of you! Now, if you'll excuse me, I got some repairs to do on the Iron Man armor, so try not to burn the mansion down while I'm out. Later!" Stark walks off, leaving me and Hulk alone in the living room. I yawn and stretch, walking over and flipping on the TV to a random station before slumping down on the huge leather couch.
Note to self, suggest TV remotes to Tony. And something to make the picture quality not look like ass. I mean, I'm old enough to remember tv antennas from my own time, but the ones back here in the 60's, ugh...
It takes me a few minutes before I realize the Hulk is watching me "...yes? Want me to change the channel?"
"....WHY GLOWY MAN ALWAYS HELP HULK?"
"What do you mean?"
"ONLY RICK EVER WANT TO HELP HULK BEFORE. EVERYONE ELSE HATE HULK, EVEN PUNY BANNER HATE HULK! ROSS CHASE HULK EVERYWHERE HULK GOES. BUT GLOWY MAN NOT SCARED. GLOWY MAN SAYS HULK SHOULD BE PART OF TEAM. GLOWY MAN SAYS HULK SHOULD HAVE ROOM. GLOWY MAN STANDS UP TO ROSS. WHY?"
How to put this "...because what happened to you isn't right, Hulk. What, just because you're big and powerful and scary, that means you don't have a right to your own life? You and Bruce both have a right to exist, but that's never going to happen if you have to be on the run for the rest of your lives, and for that to stop, someone has to be willing to stand up and say No to General Ross, and everyone else like him. We have to stand up and tell him that all his stupid medals and titles and uniform does not mean he gets to run the whole world. Because you're a person, Hulk, and so is Bruce."
Hulk leans back in his chair, thinking "BANNER HATE HULK..."
"Bruce doesn't hate you, Bruce is SCARED of you, both on a primal level becuause you share his body, and because he's afraid of you hurting someone when he's not in control. You're essentially all the parts of himself he wants to pretend don't exist. You're the part of Bruce Banner that wants to tear down the world for hurting him." I'm not sure it still applies or not, but I do remember what happened to Bruce's parents in the comics, and so far, I haven't heard anything that contradicted it. "But you're also your own person now, and... well, he'll have to learn to accept it. I believe you have great potential for good, but even if you didn't, you deserve freedom as much as anyone else."
"...HULK NEEDS TO THINK. HULK LIKE TO BE ALONE NOW."
I nod "I'll go out for a while, see you later tonight buddy!"
....
Asteroid M, Earth Orbit
"You're certain of this information, Mastermind?"
"As certain as Xavier himself would be, Magneto" Mastermind said, giving a sadistic grin "Even with that mutant-detecting contraption of his, he hasn't seen through my illusions, getting close enough to gather information is simple as long as he doesn't realize I'm there. I overheard him talking to the Summers boy, that beatnik on the Avengers is definetly a mutant."
Magneto gave his subordinate a distasteful look, he never cared much for Wyngarde, the man was a sociopath through and through, but his abilities made him far too valuable to cast aside, and he needed as many fellow mutants as possible for his future plans.
Rising from the metal throne that overlooked the massive panoramic window taking up much of the wall in his chamber, giving him a perfect view of the Earth below, Magneto floated up towards the window, staring out into the vast empty space beyond. "Hmmph, typical Charles, knowing him, he's already on his way to try and get this Mr. Sunshine on his side. Not that I can blame him, light manipulation as a mutant power has quite a lot of potential..."
"So, what do we do, try to get to the guy first?"
"Indeed, Mr. Sunshine would make a very valuable addition to the Brotherhood Of Evil Mutants, though the fact that he has already made a place for himself among those pathetic metahuman "heroes" is unfortunate."
"Maybe he could be useful as a mole against the Avengers? He didn't seem all that fond of the government in that interview they made."
Magneto nodded "It's an intriguing possibility. At any rate, we need to move quickly, Charles won't be wasting any time. Put the rest of the Brotherhood on standby, if things turn violent, I want them to be ready."
Mastermind bowed and quickly made his way out of the room. Magneto turned back towards the window, looking towards Earth.
"You'll see that I'm right, Charles. You'll see...