Subject: [OTL]: (Marvel/Buffyverse) Neowind: Solidity (PG) Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2003 18:17:06 -0800 (PST) From: Phil Hartman will1@earthling.net Neowind: Solidity by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: They belong to their creators. No money is being made. Etc. (Notes at end) -------------------------------------------------------- 2023 A.D.: -------------------------------------------------------- She was petite, blonde, and well-dressed. The orange skin wasn't that surprising either in the modern day and age. "Good morning, everyone," the tour guide - her nametag read "Sara" - said in a pleasant, Midwestern-accented voice. The tour group murmurred their greetings, looking around momentarily at the faux-marble entrance of the museum before refocusing their attentions upon Sara. "Welcome to the Historaticum Genetica - the first museum to focus specifically upon the history of the hominid sub-species scientifically known as Homo Sapiens Mutatis, or mutants as we're more commonly called," Sara said with a faintly-wry smile. She turned, leading the group of about 20 people - from small children to senior citizens - into the first hall of exhibits. The most eye-catching of the models was a group of yellow-and-black-clad people in their late teens battling a helmeted man in red and purple. "Magneto !" one of the children in the crowd shrieked. "It's all right. That's just a model," Sara tried to reassure the crowd. "This is a recreation of the X-Men's first battle with Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, back in 1980, at Cape Citadel, Florida. Although Magnus, as Lehnsherr was often referred to by his allies and enemies alike, was the first widely-known mutant 'supervillain,' he was more moral than many people believe - he had his own code of honor in combat." Muttering and questioning stares passed among the visitors, but they followed Sara further into the first hall. Exhibits of the X-Men's evolving ranks could be seen, as well as various other scenes from mutant history. "As you can see, most of the early public appearances of mutants before the mid-1990s were in so-called 'superheroic battles,'" Sara said. "Many mutants just wanted to avoid the spotlight, since unpowered humans often reacted violently to what they didn't understand. The early years of mutant history are notably lacking in public appearances by non-costumed mutants." She led the group into a second chamber, where the X-Men and related teams mingled with groups of younger mutants, many of whose first appearances involved yellow and black costumes as well. "The Parahuman Equal Rights Act of 1998 granted mutants the first legal framework of civil liberties in the United States," Sara said. "After the infamous Operation: Zero Tolerance disaster, the U.S. became a world leader in mutant equality. It's a tradition which persists today, despite the disaster of the Lehnsherr Uprising of 2006." Many of the adults in the tour group visibly blanched or shuddered at Sara's closing words, while the children looked nervous, excited or curious. One of the girls pointed to a display of young mutants who wore mostly red and yellow uniforms, and asked, "Are those - ?" "Yes, those are the second New Mutants," Sara said, smiling again. "Before we get to them, however, there is one interesting side-note related to this particular class of students from Professor Charles Xavier's school." Some of the children groaned, but many of the girls in the group beamed as Sara led the group to a display of rather ordinary-looking people that sat across the room from the second New Mutants. "The Slayer ..." one of the girls breathed reverently. "A very popular part of our museum display, complete with equipment and other artifacts generously donated by the Slayer and her compatriots themselves," Sara said, permitting herself a faint grin. She turned to look at the display, which had as its centerpiece a Caucasian woman in her early 20s, wearing a leather jacket, blue jeans and a pink sweater. Her hands contained a stake and a loaded crossbow. "Barbara 'Buffy' Summers is the presumed-human daughter of Scott and Jean Summers, two of the founding members of the X-Men," Sara continued. "She learned that she was, in fact, a Slayer - one of a line of young women who are granted supernatural powers to combat demonic evil. "Buffy, however, turned out to be one of the most remarkable Slayers ever. With her Watcher, Rupert Giles, and her friends in the arguably-famous 'Scooby Gang' - Willow Rosenberg, Daniel 'Oz' Osborne, Xander Harris and Cordelia Chase - as well as the former vampire Angel, Buffy managed to actually destroy the demon Chthon, whose unholy power created vampires more than 20,000 years ago," Sara concluded. "And Buffy and Angel married," another of the girls in the tour group sighed. Several of the boys gagged, but their sisters' glares silenced them. "In fact, Buffy and her friends still occasionally combat demonic activity. It's also believed that Buffy - who at 35 is the longest-lived Slayer in recorded history - is actively training a protege to continue the fight against darkness. However, the protege's identity is a closely-guarded secret, according to unofficial reports," Sara grinned. She turned back to the display of the second class of New Mutants, and her smile flickered when she locked eyes with the cold blue orbs of one of the models. "Many historians consider it unfortunate that the first class of students from Professor Charles Xavier's school who could be able to live unafraid also contained the worst mutant criminal in modern history," Sara said. "Charles Xavier Lehnsherr - the son of Erik Lehnsherr and the former X-Man Marie LaVonne-Lehnsherr-LeBeau - suffered a series of psychological traumas which plunged him into a megalomaniacal state which exceeded even the worst moments of his father's darkest hours. By the time he turned 18, the young Lehnsherr had take up the name -" "Miss, please. These children are too young to hear this," one of the fathers in the crowd asked. "There were horrors during the Uprising that they're not ready to deal with." The children and teens in the tour group complained loudly, and an albino-appearing woman at the side of the protesting father gently placed a hand on his shoulder. They traded whispered words, and the father reluctantly nodded. "I promise to keep things both historically acurate and age-appropriate as I possibly can, sir," Sara said gently. The adults nodded, and the tour guide continued. "The young Lehnsherr took the name 'Abaddon,' after the angel of the Abyss described in the Biblical book of Revelation, in June 2006," Sara said, stopping before a door into the next hall. "He organized a huge army of dissident mutants into the horde of destructive power known as the Onyx Pillar." The tour group walked into the third hall, where several of the parents breathed sighs of relief, despite the unsettling scene at their immediate left. Ruins of early-20th-century architecture served as a backdrop to a clash between two armies. A towering figure in black armor and a cape held a green-glowing sword, blocking the blue-glowing, double-bladed staff of a Caucasian man with short blond hair who was clad in silver armor. Around them, black-armored figures were fighting with a mixture of U.S. armed forces personnel and people in various costumes. "We chose to avoid some of the more ... disturbing aspects of the Lehnsherr Uprising when this display was created. The Battle of Manhattan was chosen as the least unsettling in the series of conflicts which defined the six-month global war between the Onyx Pillar and most of the world's governments," Sara said, relaxing. "As the holo-article in front of the display states, on June 8, 2006, Abaddon gathered the 10-million-member army of the Onyx Pillar and struck at Doomstadt, Latveria. The country's dictator, Victor Von Doom, was overthrown, and executed shortly thereafter. Latveria was enslaved, and used as a base of operations for the Pillar's various assaults around the world. "Fortunately, the loss of life among other countries was minimized by the efforts of various superhuman crimefighters and the U.N.'s counter-superhuman defense force, SHIELD. Latveria, however, was never the same, as the Onyx Pillar's horrific rule left the country a blighted disaster and many of its people savaged or slain." Sara took another breath, then turned to look at the tableau of the Uprising's final conflict. "The Onyx Pillar seemed to deliberately avoid a direct attack upon the United States and its holdings, possibly because of the sheer number of superhuman crimefighters within the U.S. at the time," Sara said. "However, the fall of the asteroid Koryphos on Dec. 30, 2006, which devastated the Manhattan area - with no loss of life, thanks to the efforts of the New Mutant Franklin Richards - seemed to serve as a sign to the Pillar that the time was right to strike at the world's only superpower. It was a foolish mistake, not only because the Pillar's numbers had been drastically cut due to casualties in conflicts around the world, but because they were unprepared for the ferocity of the American defenders." The adults in the group smiled or chuckled, prompting quizzical stares from their children. "On Dec. 31, 2006, the remaining 5 million warriors of the Onyx Pillar left what they called 'New Gehenna,' formerly Doomstadt, and struck at Ellis Island, New York," Sara said, her voice turning grim. "What happened next was nothing short of a military miracle for the U.S. The warriors of the Pillar found themselves facing not only the bulk of the United States armed forces, but also the entire active membership of the Fantastic Four, the Avengers, and all of the various mutant crimefighters among the graduates of Xavier's School, as well as groups such as the New Warriors and Canada's sanctioned superhuman defenders, Alpha Flight. "The Pillar were defeated, and an estimated 95 percent of them died rather than surrender. But most of the Avengers and all of the Fantastic Four made the final sacrifice to stop them, as well as several members of the X-teams. Casualties among the U.S. armed forces were confined to injuries, not deaths, thanks to a mammoth first wave of attacks by the Avengers. Abaddon himself was slain in single combat with Franklin Richards, the son of two members of the Fantastic Four. The Second Heroic Age ended with the dawning of 2007." The tour group went silent, and many of the adults placed their hands over their hearts momentarily. After a time, Sara led them to the next display. It was a futuristic-looking city, complete with gleaming white and steel-grey towers and miniature flying vehicles. "The city of Neohattan was rebuilt from the ashes of the Koryphos strike zone," Sara said, smiling again. "Constructed of advanced materials, Neohattan sits atop the ruins of Manhattan. Many people who were teleported away from Manhattan before Koryphos hit resettled in Neohattan, but it's also known as the cultural center of today's 'gen-vibe' subculture, as well as the headquarters of two of the central groups to the post-Uprising world." One of the buildings - which looked nothing so much like an inverted comma with some kind of free-floating ovoid perched in mid-air above its top - seemed to grow larger as Sara depressed a series of buttons on the railing before the Neohattan display. "The Askani Spire," Sara began. "It houses the majority of the 100,000 members of the Askani Order, a social-aid and, some say, quasi-religious order of humans and mutants whose efforts at rebuilding the world were inspired by one of the heroes of the Battle of Manhattan - the New Mutant Rachel Summers-Richards. She serves as CEO and 'mother superior' to the Order." Another building - one of the steel-grey ones, with a large red X in a circle on the side - moved closer to the group as the Askani Spire retreated. "The Plinth of the eXtranormal Security Enforcers, or XSE," Sara continued. "The XSE are a group of roughly a million mutants who are dedicated to serving as policemen against mutant criminals, and against humans who still carry out anti-mutant crimes. The XSE are overseen by the United States government, and have no global jurisdiction, although talks are underway with the U.N. Security Council ..." -------------------------------------------------------- The tour group dispersed after a quick Q and A, leaving the father who'd protested Sara's discussion of the Lehnsherr Uprising and his wife to chat near the exit. "She was ... polite ... about what happened," the man - maybe 30-something, with a white streak through his brown hair and blue eyes which flickered gold at times - grunted. "Be kind. You were already scarred well before the Uprising," his wife - the "albino" woman - said with a gently-teasing tone. "I think you're just upset about coming here at all." "Like we need reminders of the Uprising," Nathan Summers growled. He and Domino walked back into the transition room, then stopped before the Buffy display. "That IS a good likeness," the longest-serving commandant of the XSE said, allowing himself a rare smile. "It is, isn't it ?" Domino chuckled, putting an arm around Nate's shoulders. "I'm surprised they didn't just blurt out Maggie's name, though. Everyone else seems to know that Buffy's training her daughter to be the next Slayer." "I'm surprised Maggie is so accepting of it," Nate said, shrugging. He sighed again as Domino met his gaze, and he muttered, "Unlike some people who won't accept THEIR duty ..." "Their duty or their parents' wishes ?" Domino chastised, leading her husband towards the exit. "Payne has the right to try and find a life outside of all this." "I know. And I should be grateful Morgan wants to join up," Nate grumbled. "But Payne's - he's so sensitive. And I swear he HATES the XSE. We're the only thing standing between the world and another Uprising - the Pillar ARE out there, no matter what the bleeding-hearts like to spout -" Domino kissed him on the lips and breathed, "Down, boy. It's a Sunday. Leave the work at the office. "Let's go admire how well they modeled your chin ..." -------------------------------------------------------- NOTES: -------------------------------------------------------- This is a third take at the future of the Breeze and Summerswind Arcs ... but this time, I have a firm plan in place to finish everything. More is coming soon ... --------------------------------------------------------