|
Post by Gavin McMahon on Jul 26, 2018 6:28:37 GMT -5
Several days ago, I teased that I might have been developing a new series for the X-Verse here at Marvel 2000 and now that it's officially been accepted, I can reveal that series is: X-Men: Mutant Underground. This isn't going to be the standard superhero fair that the X-Men are often associated with, although they'll find themselves drawn to heroics in the name of their duty, the Mutant Underground bolsters a cast of relief workers that are more closely associated with resistance fighters that must compete with political ideologies that threaten their work and the better lives they all hope to lead.
As Dave eloquately summised the general theme of the series: "The Mutant Underground isn’t a superhuman task force, but rather rescuers and resistance fighters. Funded by Worthington Enterprises, which has seemingly gained newfound wealth despite Emma Frost's prior takeover of Archangel's assets, a politically-minded dream is soon thrown askew!"
If there are discrepancies from the canon of the site then don't worry because those are things Dave and I have discussed and they'll be explained, note that I'm saying explained rather than corrected because they aren't mistakes, simply creative decisions.
I think it's only standard that I release a sneak peak of episode one, so here it is: THE TABERNACLE ATLANTA, GEORGIA
He felt hot. It would have been nothing new to the mutant, the skeletal embodiment of living fire, but he found the heat unruly, unmanageable and it was an experience he had long since grown unaccustomed to. It was like the prickly heat that he remembered from the summers before his mutation. New York City seemed to experience its seasons in extremes. Winters were cold enough to freeze the soul, isolating but also carrying a trademark sense of romanticism. Yet, it was the summers when Fever Pitch had been at his best. He’d once believed himself to be a human like every other but his body had transformed and, with it, his mentality had followed. Summer had been the period when he felt most free, when the city was an adventure and he could make anything of his days, of his life. As with so much, and like so many others, that had been stripped from him with puberty. Fever Pitch had never expected sympathy, his fiery form disguised a heart that was as cold as ice.
He wondered if the pain that now surged through his body was a repercussion of the sins he’d committed in his life. Murder. Theft. Terrorism. Fever Pitch had been involved, both directly and indirectly, in more than his fair share of criminal activities. None of what he’d done had weighed heavily on him before he’d awoken minutes ago in an alleyway beside the Tabernacle. He assuaged his guilt with the single-minded belief that he was fighting for the survival of his species, even as he’d watched Gene Nation attempt to destroy another. He’d been drawn inside with a compulsion. He’d no idea why. Even now his eyes, as swollen as they were, looked upon the backdrop of the stage with nothing but disdain for the brand they bore.
“Oooh. Aaah, Oooh. Aaah.”
The room turned to relative darkness, the fiery form of Fever Pitch offering one of the few semblances of light, as Dazzler stepped onto the stage. Alison Blaire was an undoubtedly beautiful, if troubled, woman. Her heart-shaped lips caressed the microphones as she held it close, clasped between her finger-less gloves. During the revamp of her career and her exit from the X-Men, the songbird had maintained but updated her identity for the fanbases the former Disco Diva now hoped to reach. Her music was closer to bubble-gum pop, and she was ranking amongst the princesses of pop in recent months. Her chest carried the familiar sigil, a light flare, of her former costume but her outfit was majorly street level. Clad in a brown leather jacket and tatted jeans, pink streaking through her golden hair, Fever Pitch mightn’t have recognised her had the scene not been so telling.
He'd never thought much of her as a hero or a musician. Yet, his groggy vision was mesmerised by the photonic energy that blasted from her fingertips. It calmed him momentarily, a brief glimpse at the serenity that he felt had been stripped from him . . . but he couldn’t remember how or why.
“Does it fit? Does the image in the mirror match the soul? Jewel of the sea stranded far from home, resting on a heart of coal. Oh, light-fingered mer-girl, torn from that sea foam. Momma didn’t raise no quitter. Her little princess shouldn’t be so bitter.”
Dazzler continued performing one of her most underrated compositions, ‘Light-Fingered Mer-Girl’, as Fever Pitch started squirm. The music, enchanting as it was, made him feel as though he was drowning. Dazzler’s voice seemed to stop and start without rhyme or reason. He rubbed his skeletal fingers in his ears as the surging heat threatened to overcome him entirely. His flames seemed to expand and retract around him, his breathing became difficult and he was starting to . . . sweat? Or as close to sweating as a man composed of fire since they evaporated as soon as it started. Smoke caused the concert-goers around him to cough and choke.
Fever Pitch screamed, long and guttural and thoroughly beyond his control, as he fell onto his knees while holding his head.
The vocals stopped as she made eye contact with the delirious, erratic movements of the fiery mutant. Dazzler stepped from the ledge of the stage, her honey and bubble-gum pink hair shifting around her shoulders. The microphone dropped to the ground, sending a static screech around the Tabernacle. Despite the horrors Dazzler had faced during her tenure as a hero, she approached the burning man with caution so as not to startle him. He was writhing on the ground, holding his head as he made some semblance of groaning. She was amazed that the noise seemed to be caught in his throat but Dazzler was equally as careful not to assume a posture he could misconstrue as immediately offensive.
Slowly, she reached out towards him. “Fever Pitch,” rasped the songbird. “Are you alright? You seem confused, in pain even, and there’s no need for anyone to get hurt.” As she moved to crouch beside him, Dazzler felt the wave of heat rush over her. “Maybe we can take this outside and get you some help.” Still, he gave no response. “C’mon–”
Dazzler was cut short as Fever Pitch swiped at her, his fiery backhand smacking her directly on the chin and landing her on her back. She bounded onto her feet with the skill of a gymnast and stared down on him. Glancing across her shoulder at her stage manager, she gave a curt nod and he started the evacuation process. Meanwhile, she moved back towards her attacker and grimaced. She’d wanted just one comeback tour when she was drawn into some mutant vs mutant shenanigans. Her dream had always been music, never heroics, but somehow it managed to force her back into the game every time she felt like she’d escaped.
“I’m not gonna play nice forever, Fever Pitch,” she scowled, standing over him with her hands at her side and photonic energy expanding from her palms. “I said, outside and I meant it. No-one needs to get hurt for . . . well, whatever your grievance is this time.”
Without warning, Fever Pitched reached out for her as his eyes became fearful and his body exploded. Dazzler had barely enough time to raise a shield of hard-light around herself and those that still surrounded her. Despite her best efforts, the mutant heroine could see people burning in the seconds she managed to hold her ground but the force of the heatwave threw her and those with her through the air as they crashed across the stage and into the nearby wall. The building started to crumble, bricks and dust falling from the roof as she quickly drew another force field around them. Her efforts couldn’t save everyone and as the fire dissipated the full scope of the damage was exposed to her.
Her hand shot to her mouth, the horror overcoming her.
I hope you enjoy this sneak peek and the rest of the series as it's released. This update should include episode one, and episode two has already been submitted to Dave so it should follow. The aim of getting ahead of myself is hopefully so there are no gaps in the release schedule, partially because there's no time for gaps. Time waits for no man, or mutant.
|
|
|
Post by DD Doyle on Jul 26, 2018 8:56:41 GMT -5
Very nice, I like your lineup. Inspired a bit by Gifted maybe? I've always liked when Toad is used in an at least quasi-heroic capacity. At the end of the day he is an abuse victim (go read those early issues when he was working directly under Magneto, some of it is very hard to read once you get the subtext... Mystique didn't treat him that much better, merely downgrading combined physical/verbal abuse to simply verbal), his villainy usually stemming from that and not any actual megalomania or sadism.
|
|
|
Post by Gavin McMahon on Jul 26, 2018 9:17:46 GMT -5
Very nice, I like your lineup. Inspired a bit by Gifted maybe? I've always liked when Toad is used in an at least quasi-heroic capacity. At the end of the day he is an abuse victim (go read those early issues when he was working directly under Magneto, some of it is very hard to read once you get the subtext... Mystique didn't treat him that much better, merely downgrading combined physical/verbal abuse to simply verbal), his villainy usually stemming from that and not any actual megalomania or sadism. There's definitely a lot of inspiration from the concepts behind the Gifted. You'll see elements from the television series incorporated into the series as well as Earth-616 canon through Mutantes sans Frontieres and the Genoshan variation of Excalibur. As for Toad, as you'll see in the first two episodes of the series, I'm leaning very closely to his original canon and playing with his easily malleable and subservient personality traits. I like Toad and I have a fun story in the future for him. He's definitely one of the characters to watch throughout the series, there'll be growth there. I don't intend to use the Struckers and such but elements of the Gifted will be present, just twisted to be more faithful to the story that I'm telling with these specific characters.
Hopefully it turns out to be something amazing since I'm having a blast writing it.
|
|
|
Post by travis on Jul 26, 2018 11:28:25 GMT -5
Like the line up and the team mission.
I'd always toyed with the idea of Warren using his money to help mutants and/or funding a team. Everyone seems to want to give him funky wings, when instead he could be the Tony Stark of mutants.
|
|
|
Post by Gavin McMahon on Jul 26, 2018 14:09:02 GMT -5
Like the line up and the team mission. I'd always toyed with the idea of Warren using his money to help mutants and/or funding a team. Everyone seems to want to give him funky wings, when instead he could be the Tony Stark of mutants. I'm glad people have taken a liking to the line-up. Now all I can do is hope that they enjoy the non-team's interactions! Warren has canonically been a benefactor of a mutant relief organisation, Mutantes sans Frontieres, as seen in 2004's Excalibur. As that occurs after the cut-off of the site, the Mutant Underground is an iteration of that concept. And I'm just fine with his wings remaining feathery.
|
|
|
Post by Gavin McMahon on Aug 16, 2018 17:35:55 GMT -5
I hadn't quite expected both episodes of X-Men: Mutant Underground to be released in the same month but thankfully, episodes 3 and 4 are almost done. I seem to be writing two issues back to back each time for this series hahah. I was wondering what scene to choose, as the third episode has some particularly big developments for Dreamer, but then I decided that this could be a fun one to release early instead. It's the aftermath of Spyke and Athens, Georgia so if you haven't read the first two releases, I recommend doing so. Still, for those of you that have, here's a sneak peek at the immediate aftermath! ATHENS, GEORGIA
“Sarah. We have to go.”
Marrow continued to cradle the broken corpse of Evan Daniels. His blood had stained all her clothing and the gaping holes in his flesh from the expulsion of bone where a never-ending reminder of the horror they had all witnessed.
Kitty scowled. “Sarah.”
“Katya,” rebuked Piotr, taking a rare stance against his girlfriend. “They were friends. We mentored him, no matter how brief. Despite the rush, we can maybe make just a little bit of time so that those who need to can mourn. This isn’t a war zone and another bomber won’t be activated that quickly.”
Dazzler frowned, gaining no reassurance from the words she spoke. “At least we know one thing for certain. This isn’t random and it isn’t just a mutant problem. This is more organised than we could have imagined.” She rubbed her temples aggressively. “That telepath you have, Ruby–”
“Ruth,” Piotr stated.
“Whatever. Ruth, we need to know exactly what she saw when she was in the heads of those men,” continued the musician. “Any detail could help us find out what the hell is going on here and why mutants are getting blown to pieces in any area that has a high footfall of civilians. Why have there been two in Georgia but only one in Massachusetts and Florida?”
“Did you have shows in Massachusetts and Florida?” enquired Kitty suddenly.
Dazzler glared. “You’re gonna say this has something to me now? It doesn’t. I had one in Boston, yes, but I’ve not been to Florida for at least a year so there’s no possible connection to . . .” She trailed off as her thoughts caught up with her. “My grandfather is in Florida. He’s in a senior’s home down there.”
“We think this has to do with Ali?” asked Piotr, his face told them that he was unconvinced. “No offense, zvyozdochka, but you’re simply another celebrity now. You have been for months. Unless there’s something you aren’t telling us, again.”
Dazzler held her hands up. “I’m not holding anything back anymore.”
Marrow panted as she stood and turned towards the musician. “This is your fault.”
“Excuse me?” said Dazzler indignantly.
It seemed like a flash as Marrow bolted forward, grabbing Dazzler by the waist and tackling her to the ground. The musician hit the dirt with an unfeminine grunt, her blonde-and-pink hair shielding the anger that surged across her attractive face. Marrow wasted no time as she balled her fists and punched Dazzler squarely in the face, her head snapping back at a wholly unnatural angle but she rebounded like the girl from Greendale that she had always been. With the fury of a panther in her blue eyes, Dazzler caught Marrow by the shoulders and bounded atop of her, slapping her firmly.
Shadowcat caught Dazzler by the waist and hoisted her off as Colossus pulled Marrow to her feet and restrained her. Dazzler was spitting locks of hair from her mouth as she screamed expletives at the bony-faced mutant who simply glared towards her, holding only a modicum more decorum.
“Ali,” snapped Kitty as she tightened her grip of the struggling songbird. “Calm down.” Her command was stern and filled with reproach. “Compose yourself.”
Colossus stepped in to assist his girlfriend. “We have no way of knowing if this directly involves Ali but we can’t start tearing people apart, Sarah. We don’t strike out against those that are helping us.” His gravelly voice was falling on deaf ears. “I think we need to apologise and move on if we’re to get to the bottom of these tragedies.”
Marrow and Dazzler simply stared at one another, each wanting to strike the other rather than admit they may have overreacted as an emotional response.
“You heard the man,” snapped Kitty.
“Don’t worry,” announced the clinically masked woman as she stormed forward and aimed her rifle. “You won’t need to apologise once we’re done with you.”
The four mutants turned, horrified to find themselves staring down an army.
Hope you enjoyed it!
|
|
|
Post by johncheese on Aug 18, 2018 6:47:36 GMT -5
Really looking forwards to this, it looks as if there is a lot of problems on the horizon for the Mutant Underground
|
|
|
Post by Gavin McMahon on Aug 23, 2018 17:45:39 GMT -5
Really looking forwards to this, it looks as if there is a lot of problems on the horizon for the Mutant Underground I'm glad it's keeping you excited! Believe, "season two" is sketched out so there are plenty more foes in the wings for when these political organisations are dealt with. Well, those that survive the experience will have plenty to deal with at least.
|
|
|
Post by johncheese on Aug 23, 2018 21:42:45 GMT -5
Really looking forwards to this, it looks as if there is a lot of problems on the horizon for the Mutant Underground I'm glad it's keeping you excited! Believe, "season two" is sketched out so there are plenty more foes in the wings for when these political organisations are dealt with. Well, those that survive the experience will have plenty to deal with at least.
Might have to consult with you over an upcoming V4H arc, have a feeling there may be some overlap
|
|
|
Post by Gavin McMahon on Aug 24, 2018 8:37:38 GMT -5
Might have to consult with you over an upcoming V4H arc, have a feeling there may be some overlap Feel free to hit me up in the messages!
|
|
|
Post by Gavin McMahon on Oct 24, 2018 20:05:32 GMT -5
Since there was a mix-up with X-Men: Mutant Underground #3 and its release, I've decided to release a second teaser segment to tide over the gap. Selected specifically because it's from the B-plot and won't give away too much of the issues contents. WORTHINGTON INDUSTRIES MANHATTAN, NEW YORK – THE PRESENT
“I demand a retraction.”
Lydia stormed past the apologetic secretary in the hallway and continued into the office without so much as the standard pleasantries that were expected of people in their position. Warren had sighed upon discovering she’d entered the building. He’d asked Kitty not to draw the attention or wrath of the Heritage Initiative because he knew how influential they had the potential to be and he didn’t need her or the Underground fuelling the fire. However, he was aware that he’d been looking externally to remain detached when he should have been keeping a closer eye on his own business affairs. Before she’d even opened her mouth, Warren knew Lydia’s reason for taking his office like the beaches of Normandy and he was only thankful that, as of yet, Kitty wasn’t involved.
Warren smiled insincerely as he watched the grey-haired woman barge into his office and slam a newspaper squarely on his desk. “Ms Nance, if you have a grievance with one of the Guardians’ stories then I suggest you take it up with the subsidiary and/or reporter in question because there’s nothing I can do about it. I might own them but I own a lot of things and I let them do their job so I can keep on doing mine.”
“You think I don’t see what’s going on here,” she snarled as she folded her arms. “This is clear bias. The only newspaper owned by a mutant and its launching a smear campaign against my organisation.”
He pushed the newspaper back towards her. “The only newspaper that is openly run by a mutant and, as I said, I have no say over the content they produce. That said, I did notice that even the Daily Bugle’s recent articles have been quite scathing of your little . . . what did they call it? Supremacy group? Did you find yourself storming irately into Jameson’s office?” He held his hands up, feigning innocence. “Just out of curiosity.”
Lydia exhaled and flicked her hair. “I won’t deign that argument with a response other than informing you that Norah Winters is and always has been a liberalist half-wit. As for this Harper Simmons, I demand an apology and an interview with someone much more suited than him so that I might vindicate myself from the claims he’s made.”
“I understand the concern of Simmons’ statements but we do live in a country of free speech and, forgive me if I’m wrong, but the article is very clearly earmarked as an opinion piece,” replied the winged businessman. “As I said, I’m than happy for you to be directed to the Guardians offices so that you can speak with Simmons or the editor. This isn’t an issue where I can intercede.”
She stared at him imperiously. “I think you already have. Your mutant agenda doesn’t negate my rights as an American citizen to protect the country that was built on the backs of my ancestors.”
Warren cleared his throat. “I think you’ll find America was built on the backs of the slaves and the graves of the Native Americans, Ms. Nance, and I dare say there were probably a few mutants too. However, I won’t bore you with such a liberalist lecture. Kindly leave my office, I’m incredibly busy.”
“If Kenneth could see you now,” Lydia glowered. “Swanning around like you own the place, like you deserve the privilege that his decades of hard work built. He’d be ashamed to have such a filthy animal at the head of his empire.” Her vitriol fell upon him like an acid wash.
Warren was genuinely taken aback by the words that left her mouth. Lydia Nance was well-received because of her eloquent and composed public persona but he’d heard of the nastier, common side from some of his associates in the business world. It was shocking to witness her complete lack of self-control and hatred first-hand.
He stood to his full height of six foot two inches and stared down at her sternly. “You won’t be asked again, Ms. Nance. Remove yourself before I have you removed.”
She backed away slightly. “You and yours will get what’s coming to you, Mister Worthington. You only have to watch the news to see that this country will soon turn against those that wish to harm its values.”
Hope you enjoy!
|
|