X-WRITERS PRESENTS: X-Force #50 "Riot" by Keanu e-mail: mdfst12+@pitt.edu ============================================== NOTICE 1: X-WRITERS is an electronic mailing list, dedicated to X-Men fan fiction. The owner of the X-characters' copyright (Marvel) has not given permission to use their property. We mean no harm in the use of these characters; we merely mean to have fun. X-Writers is a non-profit group and is not sponsored by any other person, organisation, or slush fund. And no, we aren't a front for a money laundering operation. NOTICE 2: All X-Writer stories may be cross-posted, distributed via e-mail, or any other medium know to human kind (oh, and you aliens can feel free to send it telepathically or whatever). We do ask, though, that the X-Writers and the author be contacted beforehand and credited in full. Trust me, don't make us angry. You wouldn't like us when we're angry. ============================================== WHAT HAS COME BEFORE: X-Force had decided to seek out a new life for themselves away from the mansion. They decided to become freelance mutants-for-hire in LA. But before they make it there, they have to complete a mission as a favour to Xavier... ============================================== "I see you are not daunted by my strength," said Raymond Banks, floating above James Proudstar, also known as the X- Force member Warpath. Next to him lay Siryn, deep in a catatonic state. "What have you done to my friend?" asked Warpath of the large man before him, ready to attack. "She has done it to herself really," replied Banks. "That's the problem with my power. People tend to fear me. Maybe it's just because I am a strong black man in today's society, maybe it's just because I am a mutant, but they are afraid." "Seems more like a mutant gift," answered Warpath. "Okay," answered Banks. "You caught me. But still, they fear what they do not know. Now, what are you doing here. Why are you after my children?" Warpath glanced back at Banks quizzically. He did not quite understand what he was referring to. "What?" he asked. "Do you mean that kid with the horns? He came to us!" "Exactly what an enemy would like to believe," replied Banks. "I don't intend to let you harm another." "Man, you are nuts..." *** Elsewhere, in a darkened room, the other members of X-Force were just beginning to wake from their state of unconsciousness. "Wh-where are we?" Caliban asked his team-mates. They were in a small holding cell. There didn't seem to be a door in or out. After a while with no response, Caliban began to look around the desolate room. It was nothing but four bare walls, a ceiling and a floor. "What was that, Cal?" asked his team-mate, Rictor, who had just begun to shake off his injuries. "I asked where are we. Nobody answered Caliban," replied the large white Morlock. "We've all been knocked out, I guess," answered Rictor. "I assume the guy that got you was the same that got us." Caliban nodded his head in agreement. "Big dark man, yes," he said, "Was that who got you?" Rictor sat up against the wall, "I tell you, Cal, that was the most scared I have ever been. But, I shouldn't have been. I mean, we've fought people like Stryfe and Apocalypse for christ sake!" "Caliban was frightened, too. Caliban does not frighten easily." "Yeah," answered Rictor. "We should wake up the rest of the guys, and see if we can find a way out of here." Caliban scratched his head, "That's going to be hard." *** "Aaaaargh." Banks was yelling in more in frustration than in pain. His arm had a just received a strong smack from a bo stick -- courtesy of Warpath -- but it was the fact that he could not solidly retaliate that was bugging him. Warpath's speed had him buzzing around Banks like an annoying fly, occasionally getting in a solid blow now and then. "Where have you taken my friends?!?" yelled out James, not really expecting an answer. "I am surprised," Banks responded. "It is not often that some one blocks my fear-inducing aura. I am quite impressed. What did you say your name was again?" James was to busy trying to dodge Banks' swift punches to give much thought to answering the question. He was beginning to think this guy was pretty tough. He hit him again in the kidneys, but it didn't seem to have much affect on him. Banks stood about 6'10", and had the build of an NFL line- backer. If his fear-inducing aura didn't protect him, his sheer strength would do just as well. Of course, that was just part of his power, which James was just beginning to understand the full nature of -- and why Xavier wanted this mutant checked out. James was continuing to get in more and more shots on his opponent, he didn't know if it was having any effect at all, but he thought that it was at least worth a try. He didn't seem to want to talk over the situation. "There is a reason I tell my mutant children to fear other mutants," said Banks. "Most of these other mutants tend to perpetuate the myth that all mutants are menaces to society." "Don't you think that that's a tad bit hypocritical?" questioned Warpath. "You say you defend mutants from bigotry, but yet you group them all together and say that they are mainly bad influences." Banks shot back at Warpath with a electrically charged blast. Warpath was beginning to wonder just what limits this man had. Banks tried to defend his position, as Warpath gathered his strength back to crawl off the pavement, "No, I am a mutant. I do not believe that. I give mutants a safe refuge, away from the hatred of the society in which we live. They are guarded by me. They come to me for help." James stopped and dropped his bo staff, hoping to end the needless confrontation. "So what if I said that we needed your help...?" *** Siryn awoke from her slumber on top of a wooden park bench. Across the path from her, she could see James talking to a large black man. "What happened?" she asked, shaking the cobwebs out of her head. She was still a bit groggy. "It's a side effect of my power," replied the black man. "I am sorry if I misunderstood your intentions. My name is Banks, and I wish to help you." "What?!?!" exclaimed Siryn, finally realising that this was the man that had just attacked he a couple of hours earlier. "James, what is going on?" James stood up from his bench, and walked over next to Theresa, "We came to a mutual decision. Banks is on our side. It was just a misunderstanding." "Indeed," continued Banks, "I protect mutants from persecution. I have the power to subdue mutant powers. People come to me for help." "What about your electricity bolts?" asked James. "You know, those things hurt." "Again, I am sorry," answered Banks. "Part of the effect of subduing other mutant powers is the fact that I can take on aspects of them for a time. Some people have wished for their powers to be removed, and I assisted. When I take away a person's power totally, I assume it, as well." Theresa was a bit angered at this last statement, "What gives you the right to take people's powers away? Who gave you the right to play God?" "I don't," replied Banks. "People come to me for help. I do not seek them out. I bid by their wishes, whether or not I agree with them." *** Meanwhile, Caliban and Rictor had managed to awaken the other members of their team. "3...2...1..." BOOM! Another large crash emanated from one of Boomers time bombs, barely denting the wall of the room which they were in. They were beginning to think that it was more of a tomb. "Damn," yelled Tabitha, "No deal. That one barely even made a scratch." "I know," replied Rictor. "I've had no luck with my seismic powers either. Not even a dent. There has to be power dampeners in here or something. I feel pretty weak." "This, uh... how do you say it? Uh... sucks," added Shatterstar. The rest of the team tended to agree, and they were beginning to give up hope that they would ever get out of there until one of the walls rose up in front of them, revealing what appeared to be a large cafeteria. Before them stood the man that had attacked them earlier, with James and Theresa on each side. "Okay gang," yelled out Tabitha. "Battle stations. It looks like trouble!" Warpath ran in front of Banks, and held his hand out, hoping to stop the rest of his team from attacking, "Wait! He's on our side. Just a little misunderstanding, that's all!" "What?" asked Sunspot. "This man attacks us, and locks us up in a prison cell, sedated, and we're just supposed to say that every- thing is OK?" "No," replied Banks, "I don't expect you to agree with my tactics. I was wrong. Please, accept my forgiveness." "Caliban doesn't like the big man," answered Caliban. Theresa stepped forward to block any coming conflict, "It's okay, he said we are free to go. I've agreed not to contact the professor -- Mr. Banks is giving us some money not to. We can go to Los Angeles now." Caliban seemed deep in thought, but finally answered his leader, "OK. Caliban will not kill the big man." *** Elsewhere in the city, young Bertram Thomas walked alone on the street. He is a mutant, and shows it. His skin has a green pigment to it that forces him to hide in cloaked shadows as he wanders the streets of the city, homeless. But tonight, his usual search for food has been disrupted. "Hey!" yelled a young man, from further down the street, "It's that mutie asshole that keeps digging around our trash at night. Let's kick his ass." The young man was accompanied by several others. They were students at a local university and there have been reports of burglaries around campus by many of the local transients. Supposedly, the offender was a mutant. The young man and his friends were out to prove the theory. They ran toward the young mutant, hurling bottles in his direction. Several of them carried baseball bats in their hands, and other assorted makeshift weapons. "That jerk stole my Pearl Jam CD!" yelled one of them. Bertram was not aware that a large mob of people was heading his direction -- he is deaf. "Get the mutie freak!" The leader of the mob jumped on top of Bertram, slamming him to the ground. He began pounding his fists into his skull, until blood started to stream from Bertram's head and on to his assaulters knuckles. "C'mon, Joe, I want a turn," answered one of the men with a baseball bat. "Sure," replied Joe, "Just let me out of the way before you tee off." Bertram cringed at the oncoming pain, his only mutant power was to be able to see in the dark. Not much of a help. But, he did have one alternative. He managed to pull a small device from his pocket, and press the button before the mob continued it's onslaught. *** "You are welcome to stay here a couple of days, until you can get a plane trip out to LA.," said Banks outside of the large building that he owned. It stood about 30 stories tall, and the large blue neon letters read "THE BANKS CORPORATION" at the top. "Thanks for the offer, sir," replied Theresa. "But I'll think we're going to be leaving tomorrow morning." "Well, stay the night then. I put up dozens of mutants in my shelter. It's no bother." Just then, Banks offer of hospitality was interrupted from the sound of his beeper. He picked it up and looked at it. "Damn," he said. "One of my children is in trouble." "What's wrong?" asked Boomer. "I give all of the people that I protect a way to contact me in case they are in trouble -- and Bertram is in trouble," he replied. "I need to check on his location with my computer upstairs." "No problem," interrupted Caliban, "Caliban can track him." "Yeah, Banks," replied Boomer, "Cal is one of the best trackers on the planet. We'll find him." "You would help me?" asked Banks. "After what I did to you?" "Sure," replied James, "We're the good guys, right?" *** X-Force and Banks arrived at the scene only a few minutes later. What had started as a small group of college students has grown in to a full blown riot between the police who were determined to protect the young mutant, and the hundreds of students who wanted a piece of him. The fight had escalated to the point where the police were struggling to hold their ground. "How could this be?" asked Theresa, as the group descended on the scene. "They're humans," replied Banks. "What more could you expect?" James swatted back at a couple of students, armed with baseball bats, "This is not right. All of the students cannot be this mad." "Why not?" asked Banks. "You must have never had a taste of full blown anti-mutant hysteria." "No, not like this. Not hundreds off people all trying to lynch one person. Something is wrong," replied James. The team was having trouble pushing back the on-rushing mob. "Get out of the way, you pro-mutie freaks, or you'll be beaten too!" "What's with the police? They should be on our side!" "Kill the freak! Kill him!" "They obviously have not figured out that we are mutants, as well. I am going to find the officer in charge here, and ask how we can help," replied Banks. He started walking toward the police line, where the cops were struggling against the sheer number of the crowd. He could see Bertram being attended to on the ground, as the crowd encircled them. He was beginning to agree with James. Something was definitely not right, only the college students stood rioting, but there were hundreds of onlookers who did not. What made this happen? *** "Good," replied a figure standing in the secluded darkness of a dormitory roof. "He took the bait. It is only a matter of time before our dear Mr. Banks is taken out." The figure walked forward into the light. It was the Dark Beast. He grinned. "How intriguing," he continued, "X-Force is with him! I had no idea that Xavier knew of the eternal thorn in my side. Well, so much the better. It's two for the price of one." *** As Banks walked back towards the man in charge, he was taken off guard just enough to be blindsided by a stray baseball bat, knocking him to the ground. He was beginning to be trampled by the constant motion of the mob, now chanting "Die Mutie Die!" over and over again. "Banks!" shouted out James, seeing him fall into the sea of bodies and baseball bats. "Shit! We have to get to him!" He looked for the other members of the team, but could not find them in the crowd. He was getting pushed from side to side, but his strength was keeping him basically in place. He noticed Tabitha fighting off a groping student. "Get back," she yelled, pushing him in the chest. She began charging a time bomb to emphasise the point, but James soon grabbed her arm, and pulled he over to him. "What're you doing?" he yelled. "Teaching him a lesson," Tabitha replied. James was shocked, "Are you a complete idiot!?!? Do you want to get killed here?" "I can hold my own," grumbled Tabitha, upset. "Boomer," interrupted James, "Banks fell down over there. He's getting trampled by the mob. We have to help." "Oh, OK!" she sighed, and the two began wading through the gang like they were trying to escape a huge mosh pit. *** Banks was struggling harder and harder to regain his breath. He had gotten the wind knocked out of him when he hit the ground, and the constant pounding of feet on his chest wasn't helping matters too much. Finally, he got to the point where he began to feel he had no choice. "Enough," he yelled out, pushing on one of the members of the mob, he expanded his electric powers outward, knocking several of the group down to the ground. "Shit," yelled one of the people, "He's a freakin' mutie, too! Get him!" And more and more the students began piling on, making it a worse situation than before. He pushed back, using everything he had in his arsenal to defeat them, but they still persisted. "Mr. Banks! Mr. Banks!" yelled James, "Do you need a hand?" "YES!" he yelled back, not having the time to think up a witty reply, so he lowered his head and tried to fly up above the crowd, but they pulled him down with thousands of grappling fingers. "Well," yelled Boomer, "When in Rome..." BOOM! A large blast went off right below the feet of the crowd. "Another one!" yelled someone in the crowd, "The muties! They're all over the freakin' place." *** "Oh dear," muttered the Dark Beast as he peered down from above, "The presence of the junior X-Men seems to be causing problems. My crowd could have taken down Banks alone, but these others are more powerful than I had predicted might be present. I better cut my losses now, and get out of here." He packed up a large attache case holding several vials of liquid in it, several of them reading "mind control serum". He had taken the pleasure of emptying some of them into the university's food supply a day earlier. "Well, at least the drug worked well," he said as he picked up the case and walked towards the door leading to the floors below. "I shall look elsewhere for my test subjects, Banks will still be here for another day." *** The crowd was beginning to back off of Banks and focus their attention on the other members of X-Force. Rictor had managed to knock most of them off balance with a seismic shock wave, but they still kept coming. "I'm beginning to wonder why I doubted you," said Banks to James, "Something is definitely not kosher with this situation. Any rational being -- human OR mutant -- would have been scared off by now. I should have listened to you." "I'll take that as a compliment," replied James, knocking another student back. They crowd was basically under control now, with X-Force and the police working together to get the injured to safety. Of course, they still kept trying to break through, but it was no use. And finally, suddenly, they stopped. Several "What the hell is going on?" 's could be heard in the murmur of the crowd, which began to disperse. And eventually it was quiet once again. "What just happened here, Mr. Banks?" asked the police officer in charge. "I don't know, Johnson. I don't know..." *** A while later, after some needed medical attention, the group had headed back to the Banks Towers, where they sat down to a fine dinner -- Banks' way of showing his appreciation. "Thank you all," Banks praised the team, as they sat around the table, joined by Bertram and some of the young mutants in Banks' protection. "I am grateful. You saved my life. I could have been killed by that mob. I know this dinner is not the best way I can show my gratitude, so I am offering you this." He pulled out a large envelope and handed it to James, who opened it to reveal a check written out for the sum of $10,000. "It's your first month's pay," Banks said. "I could always use some protection for the Banks Corporation, and the mutant children I protect. I could use some good young help." "Mr. Banks," replied James, "I, uh, I don't know what to say..." "I thought we agreed we were going to California," answered Theresa. "We can't accept this." "Keep it," answered Banks. "Think of it as a reward for saving my -- and Bertram's -- life. And think of it as an open offer. I will always be here when you need me. I wish you best of luck in Los Angeles." "Thank you, sir," James replied. Raymond Banks picked up his glass of fine white wine, and held it up. "A toast," he said, "to new-found friends." ============================================== NEXT ISH: Welcome X-Force's new writer, Elizabeth Celeste! I am sorry to have to go, but many other responsibilities left me no choice. I'm sure Elizabeth will do a fine job, and maybe I will be back to write a special here or there. See you all later -- it's been fun! - Keanu, always stretching his limits. ============================================== -- *Marysia* | The Original Holy | "Just love me, fear Keeper of the | Virgin of the | me, do as I say and I Labyrinth Flame | Church of Xbooks | will be your slave." ---------------------------------------------------------- Editor in Chief of x-writers at majordomo@minuteman com Back issues and info at http://minuteman.com/x-writers