Chapter Text

ISSUE 1: WAR BREWING

CHAPTER 1 – THE LEGION RISES

While the City of Metropolis sleeps, the gleaming spire that is LexCorp Tower overlooks the buildings of the city below it, harboring dark secrets. Inside, Lex Luthor stands in front of his floor-to-wall office window, looking out and watching city lights glint off glass and steel. He stares outward in silence until the phone on his desk lets out a long BEEEEEEP, followed by a low and calm voice.

RECEPTIONIST
“They’re here, sir.”

Lex turns away from the window and walks towards an elevator inside his office. He presses the call button to summon the elevator. It arrives with a DING, and the doors slide open.  Inside is a futuristic design with sleek steel floors and ceilings, and clear glass walls on three sides, revealing the city outside. Lex steps into the elevator and turns to face the panel. It’s filled with buttons numbered one through three hundred. Beneath them, a massive green button marked only with the LexCorp logo glows a vibrant green. Lex presses it, and the elevator plunges past the lowest floor, accelerating into the depths of the Earth. Beyond the glass walls, the world vanishes. Darkness consumes everything. Finally, the elevator comes to a stop, the doors open, and Lex steps out into a long corridor, lined with doors on the left and right, that stretches toward two enormous steel doors. Standing in front of them is Doctor Doom, adorned with Latverian armor, a flourishing green cloak, and a metal mask.  He stands with his arms folded. His armor radiates energy, magical glyphs pulsing faintly beneath its surface. As Lex Luthor approached Doctor Doom, his cybernetic implants activated and scanned Doctor Doom reflexively. He observes Doctor Doom’s tech, magic, and kinetic defenses.  Doctor Doom raises a brow, and in a fed-up tone, he bites at Lex Luthor saying:

DOCTOR DOOM
“Still don’t trust me, Lex? How many times will you scan me upon our greetings? It’s getting tiresome.”

Lex Luthor deactivates the cybernetic scanning and replies to Doctor Doom defensively:

LEX LUTHOR
"Paranoia keeps me alive. Are you ready to do this or not, Victor?”

Doctor Doom uncrosses his arms and nods his head in agreement with Lex Luthor. As they push through the steel double doors, Doctor Doom whispers to himself: 

DOCTOR DOOM
“Time to remake this world.”

The two step into a massive coliseum-like auditorium, deep underground. Thousands of villains crowd the interior, from low-level thugs to titans of evil. Some are sitting impatiently, most are wandering, shouting, fighting, or gloating. Above the massive crowd hovers a drone, buzzing quietly, broadcasting the gathering to villains in every corner of the globe. Just down the hall, behind one of the doors in the long corridor, eight villains sit comfortably, viewing the feed of the broadcast. The Mandarin, Black Adam, Ra’s al Ghul, Norman Osborne, General Zod, Apocalypse, Sinestro, and Baron Zemo all sit at a steel table, watching a screen in eerie silence.  By now, the crowd has begun to notice the entrance of Doctor Doom and Lex Luthor; they settle into a silent obedience, made from both respect and fear. In the quietness, the only sound to be heard is the subtle buzzing of the camera drone. Doctor Doom steps forward; he has no microphone, no need. He speaks to the crowd with a booming, commanding voice:

DOCTOR DOOM
“Everyone. Look where you stand. Look at those beside you. Misfits. Criminals. Outcasts. Villains. For too long, we have existed like insects, trapped in webs spun by heroes and gods.”

He pauses, scanning the crowd, letting his words hang in their minds. Then he says with strength in his voice:

DOCTOR DOOM
“Today, we reject isolation. We reject weakness. We unite not in chaos… but in purpose.”

Lex Luthor steps forward beside him. His stern, calculated voice cuts through the ears of the crowd.

LEX LUTHOR
“From now on, we work for something greater. Not revenge, not survival. Dominion. Strategy. Legacy. Together, we will bring order to a world addicted to false saviors. A new world... under one Legion…”

He turns toward Doctor Doom and smiles. Doctor Doom waits; the crowd of villains before him shakes with violent anticipation. As the crowd nearly erupts from impatience, Doctor Doom thrusts his metal fist into the air. It crackles and glows with dark magic and tech energy, glowing a glorious, blinding green and yellow. With a booming, earth-shattering war cry, Doctor Doom screams

DOCTOR DOOM                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
“…OF DOOOOM!”

The crowd explodes in celebration. Gunfire spits into the air, causing chunks of the concrete ceiling to fall into the crowd.  Roars of laughter and madness echo through the chamber. Some villains cheer. Others fight from pure excitement. In darkness, the Legion of Doom is born of madness and unity alike.

CHAPTER 2 – FOUNDATIONS

A vast laboratory stretches upward like a cathedral. Whiteboards, science equipment, and quantum tech are sickeningly organized into a rigorous harmony. Stretched thin across the lab is Reed Richards, wearing a buttoned-up lab coat with the Future Foundation symbol on it.  He contorts himself in absurd knots of stretched limbs, multitasking across an enormous digital whiteboard covered in equations. He writes intently, deep in thought… Which is abruptly interrupted by the door to his lab swinging open, and Sue Storm walking in with a tray of food.  Lovingly, she scolds Reed.

SUE
“You missed lunch again, genius.”

Reed untangles himself with practiced fluidity, retracting into his natural shape. He walks in front of Sue, smiles, takes the tray of food, and gives her a hug. After stepping back from the hug, he looks at Sue and says with appreciation in his voice:

REED
“Thanks, honey. What would I do without you?”

Sue chuckles and slaps her hand onto Reed's chest playfully. With a smile, she teases him.

SUE
“Probably teleport yourself to death out of boredom.”

They both erupt into joyous laughter. Hearing the laughter from the hall, Ben Grimm and Peter Parker enter the room, both wearing Future Foundation lab coats and goggles, with scorch marks all over them. Peter asks Reed and Sue jokingly:

PETER
“What are you two giggling about?”

Reed looks Peter and Ben up and down. Noticing the clear scorch marks on their lab coats, he throws the question straight back to Peter.

REED
“The better question is: what happened to you?”

Ben begins breaking out into laughter before Peter even speaks.  Mid-laughter, Ben spits out the words he can.

BEN
“You’re gonna love this, Reed… laughter  Pete and Johnny tried… laughter  To upgrade the Fantasti-Car engine using… laughter  get this… laughter  Johnny’s farts!”

He burst out in a rocky fit of laughter, the sound echoing in the high-ceilinged lab as Sue and Reed join him with chuckles. Peter lowers his head into his hand and sighs.  With embarrassment and disappointment in his voice, he groans:

PETER
“He’s really enjoying this one.”

Ben continues to descend into his fit of laughter, through the BWAHAHAHA’s, Ben squeaks out one last detail.

BEN
“They said they were… laughter  ‘PLASMA ADJACENT!’”

Reed and Sue fully erupt in laughter with Ben. Even Peter eventually cracks a smile.

CHAPTER 3 – THE CALL

Reed, Sue, Valeria, Johnny, Franklin, and Ben, the whole Fantastic family sits at the dinner table in their dining room, joined by Peter Parker.  They twirl and chomp bites of Ben Grimm's famous spaghetti bolognese. In between bites, Peter shows his gratitude towards the family.

PETER
“It’s really nice of you guys to have me over every Friday. As per usual, Ben surprises me with more great cooking.”

Valeria and Franklin look at each other in agreement, both their plates fuller than the rest. Valeria looks to Peter and makes her stance on Ben’s cooking clear.

VALERIA
“Uhhh, actually, Uncle Pete, I think Uncle Johnny cooks waaaaay better. Uncle Ben puts all that nasty green stuff in his food.”

Reed cracks a smile, he jokes, and teaches an important lesson in tandem.

REED
“That ‘green stuff’ will help you grow into a genius, like Mom and me. Don’t eat it, and well… you become Johnny”

Johnny looks up from his plate of spaghetti, sauce surrounding his mouth. He mocks offense at Reed as he wipes the sauce from his face.

JOHNNY
“Wow. Harsh, Reed.”

Valeria and Franklin both begin hastily devouring Ben’s cooking. Eager to avoid the fate of their thick-headed uncle. The whole table is filled with light and laughter. A happy family. Suddenly, a strange ringtone cuts through the joy. Sue groans and rolls her eyes. She looks at Reed and scoldingly says:

SUE
“Really? At dinner? Those guys never give you a break.”

Reed softens, placing his hand on Sue’s.  He apologetically says:

REED
“I know, Sue, I'm sorry... but the world could be in danger.”

Ben pushes his seat back, face covered in distrust and frustration. He voices his concerns.

BEN
“Yeah, sure. Or Stark wants more resources…”

Reed sighs at Ben. Then he looks to Peter and says:

REED
“I’m sorry, Peter. Hopefully I’ll be back before dessert.”

Peter leans back uncomfortably, scratching the back of his head, he says reassuringly to Reed:

PETER
“It’s okay. Anything you guys need, I’m here.”

Reed takes one last bite of his dinner, wipes his mouth, gets up, and walks towards his office. The ringtone continues as he enters and closes the door behind him.

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ISSUE 2: ILLUMINATI

CHAPTER 1 – SUMMON

Reed Richards stands alone in his lab, staring at a desk drawer. The obnoxious ringtone blares from inside it. He opens it, reaches inside, pulls out a Stark-designed wrist bracelet, and silences the ringtone. It’s sleek, but bulkier than his usual work. While strapping it onto his wrist, he mutters to himself quietly.

REED
"Cutting edge… for Tony."

He aims his wrist forward. The device lights up with gaudy blue energy and opens a flickering, rectangular, blue portal. A mix of brute-force tech and finesse. Reed steps through, and the portal closes behind him.

CHAPTER 2 – SIGNAL

The portal spits Reed out into a vast, circular stone chamber, carved deep into the crust of the Earth. Dim light reflects off obsidian-like walls. At the center of the room sits an oval, eye-shaped stone table with 10 chairs. Each is engraved with a unique symbol representing its owner. 

• Iron Man (Arc Reactor)
  
  

• Batman (Bat Symbol)
  
  

• Black Panther (Panther Fang)
  
  

• Martian Manhunter (Green circle with red X)
  
  

• Doctor Strange (Eye of Agamotto)
  
  

• Professor X (X-Men X)
  
  

• Emma Frost (White Diamond)
  
  

• Vision (Soul Stone)
  
  

• Mr. Terrific (T-Sphere)
  
  

• Reed Richards (Fantastic 4 Logo)
  
  

All ten members arrive simultaneously, stepping through separate portals. They say nothing. Each sits in their chair. From the table, a small needle and a retinal scanner rise in front of each member. One by one, they prick their fingers and scan their eyes. Their chairs blink green as the system verifies their identities, except for Vision, whose forehead-embedded Mind Stone is proof enough of his identity. The chamber lights brighten slightly, and the meeting begins. T’Challa, the Black Panther, wearing his vibranium Black Panther suit, speaks first.

BLACK PANTHER
“So, who pressed the emergency summon… and why?”

Batman, wearing a black and gray batsuit, leans forward and answers, his voice is calm but firm:

BATMAN
“Friday and Brother Eye both detected a signal broadcast globally last night. It originated from LexCorp.”

Tony Stark, wearing his classic red and gold Model III suit, gestures toward the center console and speaks through his helmet with a metallic voice:

TONY
“It’s encrypted beyond anything I’ve seen. We’ve cracked alien languages, symbiote dialects, even time-locked data… but this? This is something else. Terrific, Fantastic. I need you both on this with me and Bats. We need to know what it means.”

Reed Richards and Mister Terrific nod in agreement, both hurriedly on board to get ahead of a man as dangerous as Lex Luthor. From the far end of the table, Emma Frost speaks out, unimpressed.

EMMA
“So all you needed was two of us? We’re all running nations, saving continents, rebuilding futures. You summoned us… to organize a group project?”

The temperature in the room seems to drop, and tensions spike. Martian Manhunter, wearing his original suit, scolds Emma.

MARTIAN MANHUNTER
“You call yourself important and claim to care about saving the world, yet you have no idea what it means when Lex Luthor sends a message to the entire planet. He doesn’t do anything without a reason; he moves only when he’s already ten steps ahead.”

Emma glares back but says nothing while leaning back defiantly in her chair and crossing her arms. Batman clicks at a small num-pad on the table in front of him.  After clacking in a numerical code, the ceiling illuminates with blue light in the shape of an eye. The blue ceiling eye projects a map of Earth with a cartoon graphic of the encrypted broadcast being sent out all over the planet.  Batman looks away from the projected screen and looks around to the members of the Illuminati. In a low and serious tone, he says:

BATMAN
“We cannot underestimate Lex Luthor, not now, not ever.  We have no way of telling what he is up to until we crack that message, but we won’t be caught unprepared.” 

CHAPTER 3 – STRATEGY

Reed Richards presses the keys on his own num-pad, and the projected screen changes from the map of the Earth to a blank white screen. Reed looks upwards to the ceiling and speaks, but not towards someone in the room.

REED
“Then let’s not waste time. Brother eye, log the following discussion as Strategic Coordination Session number three thousand, two hundred, and forty-three.” 

The entire group looks up at the ceiling, brother eye answers in an emotionless, deep, robotic voice, the lights flickering with every word.

BROTHER EYE
“SCS number three thousand, two hundred, and forty-three is initiated.”

Everyone looks back down at each other, and preemptive measures stir in their mind. Black Panther leans forward first and says:

BLACK PANTHER
“I will reach out to my War Dogs and international operatives to keep them on the lookout for any Luthor or LexCorp activity from now on.”

Charles Xavier places his hand on Emma Frost’s shoulder and speaks with calm, compassionate determination.

CHARLES XAVIER
“Emma and I will search neural networks for disturbances. If the council allows it, I will calibrate Cerebro to detect post-hypnotic patterns and subliminal triggers. If Lex is tampering with any minds, we’ll know it.”

Emma Frost looks at the group. Cracking a reluctant smile, she reassures her allegiance to the group after her brief outburst by saying:

EMMA FROST
“If anyone starts chanting ‘hail Luthor,’ we’ll know why.”

Brother Eye types the plans of the members onto the blank screen, turning it from an empty white void to an international security checklist. Doctor Strange looks down at it and says with a resolved, calculated voice.

DOCTOR STRANGE
“Then the physical and psychic front are covered, while the tech-savvy among us decipher the code, I will scour astral fault lines for any mystical meddling by Luthor. If he threatens the safety of this realm, the full might of Karmar-Taj will descend upon him.”

Then everyone turns to Vision, the mind stone pulses on his forehead. As a silent observer, he has spent the meeting consumed by statistical calculations and probability.  In a cold, low tone, he informs the group of his analysis. 

VISION
“I have been preparing to simulate near-future crises using geopolitics, mass psychology, and villain pattern modeling. If Lex wants to destabilize the world, I’ll try to predict where it begins so we get there before him.” 

Brother Eye types in the last of the plan to the table screen, fully consolidating their tactical recourse to possible villainy from Lex Luthor. Iron Man stands up and opens a semi-unstable, rectangular blue portal.  Batman, Reed, and Mister Terrific stand up with him. Reed looks out at the group and says to them with cold uncertainty:

REED
“We know what we all have to do, but don't mistake planning for security. Be on your toes; we don’t yet understand the scope of what we are dealing with here.” 

The entire room silently nods and stands up.  Batman, Reed, Mister Terrific, and Iron Man all step through the same portal together, Emma and Charles step through one portal together, and Doctor Strange, Vision, and Black Panther step through their own individual portals.  As all the portals close behind them, the room darkens besides the pulsing blue light of Brother Eye on the ceiling.

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ISSUE 3: DRASTIC MEASURES

A colossal chamber carved into the sunken, domed skull of the Legion of Doom's underwater fortress. Rust-black walls pulse faintly with red light. Two massive circular windows, the eyes of the building, peer out into the ocean depths, where mutated marine life swims eerily past.

The obsidian war table in the room seats Lex Luthor at the head, arms crossed. Seated beside him to his right is Doctor Doom, silent, unreadable. Seated to his left is Apocalypse. Filling the rest of the table in, from closets to Lex to the farthest is Black Adam, General Zod, Ra’s al Ghul, The Mandarin, Sinestro, Baron Zemo, Norman Osborn

The room hums with unspoken power. Lex cuts through the silence with a casual, terrifying directive. 

LEX LUTHOR
“When the war ends, and it will end, we’ll need to decide what remains. Territories. Populations. Power vacuums. But before we ca—”

Ra’s al Ghul leans forward, eyes sharp. Interjecting to cut Lex off, he speaks with a grand ego.

RA’S AL GHUL
“Let’s not pretend this is some afterthought. The world won’t divide itself after we send it to ruin. We should all make our claims now. I want to rule Gotham… and I need the head of the Bat.

Zod narrows his eyes at Ra’s; he growls his words at him with militaristic scolding.

ZOD
“You can keep your pretty revenge and dirty alleys, Ra’s. I want the skies. All airspace under my control. The atmosphere must belong to New Krypton.”

Black Adam chuckles, insulted at the audacity of Zod’s claims. 

BLACK ADAM
“You Kryptonians, always so eager to claim the heavens... I’ll settle for the Kahndaq, and whatever remains of the Middle East.”

Sinistro grows bored with the conversation. While yawning and folding his arms, he says with casual cruelty:

SINIESTRO
“Must we waste time on this? As long as the strength of my corps grows from their delicious fear, my conquest will look beyond the borders of this planet.”

The Mandarin scoffs at Sinestro's lack of care towards the plunder of the planet and resumes the witless squabble for land and revenge.

THE MANDARIN
“Yes, yes, we get it, you're from space. I've worked a long time spreading my influence and growing in power. Asia belongs to me. I have assets buried beneath it. Armies you haven’t even noticed. And the legacy of Stark must be burned where it began."

Norman Osborn slams his fist against the table in anger. He points an antagonistic finger at The Mandarin and speaks with such ferocity that his spit lands on the table in front of him. 

NORMAN OSBORN
“You’re not getting Stark alone! Not that easy. You didn’t earn that. You didn’t survive him like I did. I want New York, what's left of Stark Industries, and I need everything Spider-Man holds dear.”

Apocalypse stirs in his seat with annoyance. He rolls his eyes at Norman Osborn while speaking regally.

APOCALYPSE
“Claim your corners. I require no borders. I will shape what’s left of humanity into something worthy of survival.”

Ra’s al Ghul raises a brow with suspicion. He looks to Apocalypse and, with defensive fury in his voice, he says:

RA’S AL GHUL
“You will not interfere with the direction of my species, Mutant.”

Apocalypse leans back, a soft smirk cracks in the corner of his mouth. Coldly, he reminds Ra’s of his evolutionary position.

APOCALYPSE
“Your species is obsolete. The world has evolved, without you.”

Ra’s and Apacolyse stare vicious daggers at each other from across the table. The tension could implode into chaos. Then Baron Zemo breaks the silence suddenly, with an eerie calm, he says:

BARON ZEMO
“Take all the land and subjects you like.”

All heads turn towards him as he continues talking.

BARON ZEMO
“I don’t want territory. I want ruin. I want the Justice League weeping. I want the Avengers turning on each other. No death will satisfy me unless it’s by their own hands.”

Black Adam throws his arms up and snorts with an abrupt, uncontrollable laugh, but quickly it falters back into seriousness. He questions Baron Zemo in a confused manner. 

BLACK ADAM
“You… Don't want to rule? Anything?” 

Baron Zemo leans forward and looks Black Adam directly in the eyes. With dead seriousness in his voice, he says softly. 

BARON ZEMO
“No. I want to watch the world’s greatest protectors choke on the morality they used to stand on.”

General Zod leans back in his chair, crosses his arms, and chastises Baron Zemo.

ZOD
"Small goals for a man with no empire."

Baron Zemo looks to Zod with scorn in his eyes, delivering a cutting blow to his Kryptonian ego.

BARON ZEMO
“An empire of a dead civilization is nothing compared to glorious vengeance done right.”

The table erupts with tension again. Zod pounces for Zemo as Ra’s and Apocalypse ready themselves to go to blows. But, before a single action more, Doctor Doom slams his metal fist onto the obsidian table, blasting it straight through it, causing pieces to crumble to the ground.  The entire room freezes at the echoing sound.  Doom rises from his seat and disciplines the group with a voice cold like metal.

DOCTOR DOOM
“Before a single city is taken. Before a single body hits the floor… You fight over scraps, like animals.”

Silence. Even the mutant creatures beyond the glass windows seem to be still. The group retakes their seats, firing hateful glances at each other, but nothing more. Lex gestures his hands towards them all and speaks with a serious tone.

LEX LUTHOR
“Thank you, Victor. Someone had to say it.”

He lowers his arms by his side and continues speaking.

LEX LUTHOR
“We will have it all, my friends. The cities. The skies. The seas. But not now. Not in pieces.”

Doctor Doom gestures his arm, and a hologram projector activates behind Lex, showing multiple images of heroes all over the world. The Legion of Doom looks up at the images, reeling with hate at every hero they recognize.  Lex and Doctor Doom speak in alternating synchronization, telling the inner circle members their true plans for world domination.

DOCTOR DOOM
“This world’s heroes are predictable. They will respond to every single crisis, but they can only do so many things at once.”

Lex Luthor stands from his seat at the head of the table and begins circling the group like a shark as he speaks calculatedly.

LEX LUTHOR
“We break them with overload. End-of-the-world after end-of-the-world.”

Doctor Doom gestures towards the screen again, and the images of heroes switch to live feeds of city streets. Metropolis, New York, Los Angeles, Central City, all hustling and bustling with innocent people. Doctor Doom looks back at the Legion of Doom and continues to speak coldly. 

DOCTOR DOOM
“They’ll save some. But not enough to survive what comes next.”

Lex has now circled back to the head of the table. He bends over and places his hands flat on the table, looking into the eyes of every member seated, in a low, terrifying tone, Lex reveals the truth behind the plan.

LEX LUTHOR
“And when their nerves are frayed, their ranks thinned, their hope exhausted, then we really strike.”

Doctor Doom gestures to the screen again, and it shows armies of doom bots, cultish fanatics, pure villainy. Doctor Doom stands up next to Lex and says:

DOCTOR DOOM
“Armies made from technological war machines and masses of villains alike will sweep across nations to make the world ours in a single stroke.”

Everyone in the room but Doctor Doom and Lex Luthor gasps and smiles with impressed looks on their faces. Norman Osborne grins and claps his hands while speaking to stroke their egos.

NORMAN OSBORN
“Burn down the world to create an opening, just genius. I wouldn't expect anything less from you two.”

Baron Zemo cracks a devilish and dark grin as his thoughts of excitement force him to burst out saying:

BARON ZEMO
“And in the smoke, the heroes will tear each other apart for failing to save it.”

Lex Luthor looks around the room and speaks with a calm, powerful, and deadly certain voice.

LEX LUTHOR
“So divide the spoils in your heads. Draw maps on your egos. But the real war hasn’t started yet. When it does… the world won’t even realize they’ve already lost.”

The Legion of Doom’s revelation hangs in the air with solemn quiet. Together in strength and villainy, they are certain that they have already won.

Chapter Text

ISSUE 4: LOST SIGNAL

CHAPTER 1 – CODEBREAKERS

Inside the cavernous scape of the Batcave, darkness is pierced through with soft blue light from a dozen screens. The Batcomputer, Stark tech servers, and Reed Richards’ quantum interface all glow simultaneously, a techno cathedral beneath Wayne Manor. Batman sits rigidly, typing into the Batcomputer with surgical precision. Mister Terrific sits hunched over a keyboard and monitor, typing furiously as T-Sphere’s float around him listlessly. Tony Stark lounges in a mobile diagnostic chair, flipping through algorithm windows with two fingers. Reed Richards is contorted in a bizarre shape, feet on the ceiling, torso bent downward, arms extended across a quantum display, his eyelids droop down with extra sag from exhaustion. They’ve been decoding the LexCorp message for twenty-nine hours, with no breaks. Their toiling seems endless. Tony Stark throws his arms up while crying out in frustration.

TONY STARK
“Dammit! This signal’s got more dead ends than a Gotham alley.”

Reed stretches his head from where he is working to right in front of Tony’s face. Concerned, he says:

REED RICHARDS
“And none of them point to anything conclusive.”

Batman looks up from the Batcomputer with dark circles under his eyes, a 5 o’clock shadow, and says with exhaustion in his voice: 

BATMAN
“Then we keep digging. And we don't stop until we make a crack.”

Tony and Reed nod in agreement with Batman and get back to work at their stations. Meanwhile, Mister Terrific’s monitor lights up, flashing green. His senses being dulled by the extreme exhaustion caused him to delay his reaction.  After staring lifelessly at the screen for a few seconds, he jumps up in shock, saying: 

MISTER TERRIFIC
“Uh… guys? We finally got something here.”

Reed instantly stretches the top half of his torso over to peer at the data logs zooming down Mister Terrific's screen. A wide grin sprawls across his face as he proclaims:

REED RICHARDS
"Fantastic, Terrific! You found something. This must be what they were trying to bury. Coordinates. Where do they lead?"

Batman clicks on the keyboard of the Batcomputer precisely, and the screen flips to show a satellite image of a desert. He looks back towards the teams and says:

BATMAN
“Already traced it. A lab in the Nevada desert. Owned by Oscorp.”

Tony narrows his eyes, scanning the image displayed on the Batcomputer. He cocks his head to the side and wonders:

TONY STARK
“Osborn? That doesn't make sense. Lex and Norman in a room together? They’d collapse under the weight of their own egos.”

Reed retracts himself fluidly back to his normal shape and size in front of Tony, crosses his arms, and tells it how it is.

REED RICHARDS
“The why is moot, Tony. We need to find out what, now.”

CHAPTER 2 – INTO THE WASTELAND

4 HOURS LATER:

Above the cool night sands of the Nevada desert, the Batplane slices through the upper atmosphere at supersonic speed, cutting through clouds and landing in front of a small white building with a garage door with the Oscorp logo painted on it.

Inside the rocketing Batplane, each of the four prepares in silence. Mister Terrific calibrates his T-Spheres. Iron Man flips the helmet down on his Model III armor and asks:

TONY
"Are we doing the ‘quiet infiltration’ thing or just knocking politely?"

Batman’s pilot seat rolls back from the cockpit and pivots toward the team. He looks to Tony and says in a cold, calculated voice:

BATMAN
"Scans show no lifeforms. The facility's cold. We’re going in as we please."

CHAPTER 3 – THE HOLLOW LAB

The inside of the lab is total blackness. No power, no noise. Just the echo of footsteps outside, then–

BOOM! The steel door detonates inward. A swarm of T-Spheres flows through the smoke, scanning every inch with soft blue light. Iron Man, Batman, Reed Richards, and Mister Terrific enter, but inside the lab is… nothing. The tables are bare, vials are empty. Computers are covered in a carpet of dust. There’s no resistance, no puzzle, no secret tunnel. It’s just a lab. Mister Terrific’s eyes gloss over white; he enters the point of view of one of his T-Spheres to scan the room himself. Again, nothing. With severe disappointment, he says:

MISTER TERRIFIC
“This…This can’t be it. My T-Spheres aren’t picking up anything.”

Iron Man picks up a dusty microscope and scans it while saying:

IRON MAN
“You guys picking up anything? Chambers, illusions, signatures?”

Reed Richards brushes his fingers across a section of dust and puts it in a small vial he pulled out of his pocket. He places a mechanical lid on the vial that pokes into it and scans the makeup of the dust. He takes the lid off and pulls it apart by two opposite sides. Nanotech perfectly forms a rectangular frame, and the gap fills with a hologram screen that projects the result of the test. Reed reads them out loud.

REED RICHARDS
“Dust mites, insect fragments, and small fungi. Just more nothing. We aren't even picking up an energy residue. This place wasn't just abandoned. It was scrubbed clean before they left.”

Mister Terrific begins walking towards the exit in a huff. He turns back to his team and says in a miffed tone:

MISTER TERRIFIC
“We got no chambers, no illusions, and no signatures of any damn kind. This was a bust, man. Lex is just wasting our damn time.”

The team nods and follows him. As they exit, Batman says sternly: 

BATMAN
“If Lex is trying to throw us off the scent with Osborn, then we must be close. We need to get back to the Batcave and decrypt the rest of that message."

The team walks in silence back toward the Batplane. The wind kicks dust over their boots as the sun rises over the horizon. All of a sudden, Batman stops. The other continues a few steps without noticing. Hurriedly, Batman speaks quietly but loud enough to warn his team

BATMAN
“Everyone, stop. Get down now.”

Before the team can react, Batman THWIPS a smoke bomb towards the ground at their feet, enveloping everything in a thick gray fog. Then BANG! A gunshot rings out across the desert, whizzing towards the team.

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ISSUE 5: SHOT IN THE DARK

CHAPTER 1 – THE GLINT ON THE HORIZON

30 SECONDS EARLIER:

Batman walks silently outside the Oscorp lab in the Nevada desert, watching the dunes shimmer under the rising sun. Iron Man, Reed Richards, and Mister Terrific follow a few paces behind, headed for the Batplane parked a short distance away. Suddenly, something shifts in the distance. A thin shimmer, barely perceptible, bends across the distant horizon. Nearly half a mile out. Heat distortion at the wrong angle and shape. Has to be Cloaking tech. Batman hurriedly speaks quietly but loud enough to warn his team:

BATMAN
“Everyone, stop. Get Down.”

His fingers flick down to his utility belt, and he drops a smoke bomb to the ground. WHUMPH! The fog engulfs them. Suddenly,  BANG! a high-powered rifle fires. The bullet whizzes through the smoke and punches straight through Mister Terrific’s shoulder, causing him to let out a painful yell. He stumbles. Blood leaks down his shoulder. Batman yells out to the group with a certain tacticality:

BATMAN
“The smoke will last thirty-four more seconds. Someone has us pinned. No cover, no known allies. We need to move Mister Terrific now.”

CHAPTER 2 – PINNED DOWN

Cockily, Iron Man charges his thrusters and says:

IRON MAN
“On it.”

He rockets into the sky with a FWOOOOOSH! Immediately, he scans the area, locating the assailant's position, but before he can identify them, CRACK! An EMP round slams into Iron Man’s arc reactor. The suit dies in midair. During his life-threatening free fall, he yells out:

IRON MAN
"Friday? Friday!? Get these systems back online!"

His HUD and boosters flicker, then stabilize just before Iron Man makes impact. He pulls up, kicking sand into a blast wave and flying back towards the team, over comms, he calls out:.

IRON MAN
“Four operators. All settled up behind a dune half a mile away. They were waiting for us.”

He turns mid-air, dodging another EMP round. He circles back, lands into the smoke with the team, and continues speaking in person:

IRON MAN
“If we run straight for the plane, we make it. But we’re gonna need another smoke screen cover!”

As the cloud slowly lifts, a swarm of bullets tears through the subtle clearings. Acidic rounds land at Reed’s feet and sizzle into the sand. Armor-piercing shots carve Earth near Batman’s boots. EMP rounds whiz towards Iron Man as his HUD flickers from the lasting damage done by the first EMP round. Standard rounds pop near Mister Terrific, who clutches his wound. Before even another bullet gets close, Batman yells out:

BATMAN
“NOW!”

He throws three more smoke bombs in a fan pattern ahead of them, obscuring their route to the Batplane. Batman looks back at the team and yells out a command.

BATMAN
"Reed, grab Terrific! We're leaving."

Reed slings an elongated arm around Mister Terrific, lifting him with ease as he tightens his voice.

REED RICHARDS
“Understood.”

The team vanishes into the smoke, bullets chase ghosts as they board the Batplane.  The hatch shuts behind them, and the thrusters ignite. They take off and fly towards the rising sun.

CHAPTER 3 – GHOSTS IN THE SAND

Back in the now scorching Nevada desert, a wave of stillness surrounds the Oscorp lab, but half a mile away, four figures decloak. Deadshot, his rifle barrel burning a metallic red from all the shots he fired. Deathstroke, sword on his back, is calm and scanning the horizon. Bullseye stares at a bullet he flips in his fingers like a coin, maniacally. Crossbones cracks his neck, his scarred face grinning below his skull mask. Deadshot presses his finger to his right ear and speaks into his comm device.

DEADSHOT
“One target was wounded. The rest escaped. All is going according to plan.”

The group recloaks and disappears into the grains of the desert.

CHAPTER 4 – TRUTH BLEEDS

Mister Terrific sits on a med-table in the Batplan, gritting through pain as Batman stitches his shoulder in precise, silent motion. Reed Richards says with regret in his voice:

REED RICHARDS
“They were ready. Those coordinates weren’t hidden. They were a trap.”

Iron Man flips up his helmet as his face twists into a scowl.  Bitterly, he says:

IRON MAN
“We can’t let this message jerk us around anymore. Next time… we control the play.”

Batman drives a suture through Mister Terrific's shoulder while saying in a cold, serious tone:

BATMAN
“...Next time, we’re gonna bring more than just smoke.”

Mister Terrific says nothing, just winces as Batman stitches him back together. The autopilot of the Batplane is set on a course back to Gotham.

Chapter Text

ISSUE 6: HOMESTEAD

CHAPTER 1 – RETURN TO KRAKOA

A Krakoan portal blossoms open in a burst of vibrant green and gold. Charles Xavier and Emma Frost step through together, emerging onto the soft, sun-dappled grounds of Krakoa. The surroundings are alive with blooming flora, crystalline waters, and the psychic pulse of a true mutant paradise. Mutants stroll through the massive grounds of the New X Mansion, relaxing, training, socializing, all at peace. The two stroll as young mutants pass, waving or bowing. A young student greets them

STUDENT
“Hello Professor Xavier!”

Charles smiles warmly at the student while saying:

CHARLES
“Hello, Theo. How's telekinesis training going?”

The student jumps with excitement and enthusiastically answers Charles.

STUDENT
“GREAT! I lifted the big rock by the pond today!”

Emma chuckles uncomfortably and says:

EMMA
“Do us all a favor, little one, and make sure not to smash a hole in the wall.”

The student smiles and then gets distracted by friends and runs off gleefully. Emma and Charles continue, passing gardens, transparent bio-domes, and mural-covered stone walls. The island is an alive and thriving utopia. 

CHAPTER 2 – THE ASK

MINUTES LATER:

Charles and Emma arrive at the courtyard in front of the New X Mansion, a spitting image of the original, but accompanied by Krakoan flora and fauna. Jean Grey and Scott Summers stand in conversation. Charles and Emma approach them.  Charles interjects himself into their conversation with a serious tone:

CHARLES
“Scott. Jean. We need to gather the Quiet Council. Immediately.”

He stops speaking aloud and telepathically addresses them both:

CHARLES
“The Illuminati just met. A strange global signal has been detected. Deeply buried, masked. They’ve asked us to look deeper. I need an open sweep of the world’s minds for a few days to locate the origin.”

Jean tenses. Her lips part, and before she thinks to shield her voice, she speaks aloud.

JEAN
“Charles… Cerebro is how we preserve mutantkind. Risking all of that by connecting it to every mind on Earth? I won’t allow it, Charles. It can’t be worth the risk.”

A silence falls. Dozens of students nearby pause. Heads turn. Whispers ripple. Emma telepathically scolds Jean privately.

EMMA
“Have you lost your mind? Are you trying to make it sound like we’re planning to delete our own species? We’re trying to protect it, little girl. After everything, how could you not understand that? We are three of the most powerful telepaths on the planet. Once the Council votes, if you’re still nervous, then by all means, join us. Sit in. Watch every second. Make sure nothing goes wrong.”

Then Emma steps forward and speaks, loud and poised, to Charles, Scott, and Jean.

EMMA
“Well. Now that all the public drama is out of the way, let’s get this Council in session, shall we?”

She pulls out a sleek silver device and presses a button. In Charles’, Jean’s, and Scott’s pockets, their own Council pagers buzz simultaneously. Scott pulls his out of his pocket, and while smirking dryly, says:

SCOTT
"Well. It obviously still works.  Let’s get in the jet and head over."

He turns and starts walking away fast, a little too fast. Jean sees through him immediately, and she reminds him that he is forgetting something.

JEAN
"You have to go get Logan, Scott.”

Scott halts mid-stride, and he lets out a defeated sigh while mumbling

SCOTT
“I hate how well you know me.”

CHAPTER 3 – HUNTING 

In the shade behind the mansion, a small class of students watches an energetic sparring match between Logan and Gambit. Logan circles Gambit, crouched like a predator. He taunts him playfully.

LOGAN
“You keep dancing like that, music might start playing, bub.”

Gambit grins while nonchalantly twirling a purple charged card; he taunts back.

GAMBIT
“You call this dancin’? I call it fightin’. Just gotta move a lil’ quicker to catch da Gambit, non?”

The students chuckle.

Suddenly, Logan drops to all fours and lunges fast and low. Gambit flings several glowing cards towards Logan. He slices each one in his path mid-air, lands atop Gambit, and pins him to the ground. While smiling, he says:

LOGAN
“That quick enough for ya, bub?”

Logan stands from the ground, brushing dirt off his chest, and offering Gambit a hand up. Gambit takes it as he laughs. From across the field, Scott walks toward them, giving Logan a small wave. Wolverine looks to the students and says:

LOGAN
“That’s all for today, you rascals. But don’t get too comfy.”

He points a claw at them, grinning devilishly, and continues.

LOGAN
“Homework: Sparring. Because tomorrow, I’m going hunting.”

The kids groan and murmur. One student visibly shudders.

CHAPTER 4 – OLD FRIENDS, OLD HABITS

Wolverine approaches Scott, brushing dirt off his arms and shoulders while greeting him with a not-so-warm welcome.

LOGAN
“Well, you obviously need something, Scotty. What is it?”

Scott’s head falls into his hand as he scoffs. He dramatically throws his hands up in the air while saying:

SCOTT
“You never keep your Council beeper on you, huh?”

Wolverine crosses his arms and says:

LOGAN
I didn’t need a beeper for a long time, pal. I ain’t starting now.

Scott laughs out loud, amused by the ancient relic in front of him

SCOTT
“You are so old.”

Logan bites back and says:

LOGAN
“And still faster than you.”

Scott’s laughter ends abruptly, and he crosses his arms, turns around, and begins walking away. While walking forward and without turning back, he yells:

SCOTT
“Let’s go! Council meeting.”

Logan jogs to catch up, and the two walk together toward the sleek Krakoan jet parked nearby parked in the open hangar nearby. Their gruff tension is underlined by a feeling of mutual respect.

CHAPTER 5 – FOREST OF JUDGMENT

Far from the mansions, deep in the forest, a mossy path winds toward a hidden temple carved into the living bones of Krakoa itself. Vines curl up ancient stone pillars. Butterflies the size of dinner plates flutter silently in the shadows. A circular stone platform rests in the center, ringed by twelve chairs grown organically, each unique to its occupant. They sit empty, waiting.

Chapter Text

ISSUE 7: THE QUIET FEW

CHAPTER 1 – THE ROOTS OF POWER

A sleek X-Jet descends silently onto a moss-covered platform, nestled within Krakoa’s ancient jungle. The sun setting sky above swirls with starlight and violet mist.

The temple seems to have grown from the earth itself, stone and wood twisted together like roots and ribs. The architecture curves upward into a circle, lit by a single massive skylight overhead. Beneath it sits the Council Table, a ring of stone with no center, open at one side for anyone to step within. Twelve chairs encircle the ring, each uniquely formed from the same Krakoan materials, but molded by the identity of its owner:

• Magneto’s chair pulses with raw metal veins.
  
  

• Emma’s is adorned with crystalline spikes like uncut diamonds.
  
  

• Jean’s glows faintly with the memory of fire.
  
  

• Scott’s radiates with molten red lines.
  
  

• Storm’s crackles subtly with lightning.
  
  

• Logan’s is made of petrified wood, dark and gnarled.
  
  

• Charles’ is polished like white marble, with a prominent X carved into its high back.
  
  

Five figures enter the temple: Charles, Emma, Jean, Scott, and Logan. Waiting inside, already with a rift between them, are Magneto and Storm, maintaining a respectful distance from one another. As Scott, Jean, and Logan move toward their chairs, Logan pauses. He sniffs the air, quietly to himself. Something’s off. He squints toward the far side of the chamber… But Scott interrupts him.

SCOTT
“Logan. Let’s go.

Logan grunts, shrugs it off, and moves to his seat. Meanwhile, Charles and Emma break off to greet Storm and Magneto. Smoothly, Magneto questions his old friend.

MAGNETO
“So, Charles... Why have you brought us here?  The Brotherhood cannot save mutantkind without my guidance.”

Storm crosses her arms and pokes the bear.

STORM
“Erik, please. You adore these little get-togethers. They give you an excuse to spew your anti-human rhetoric.”

Magneto scoffs and replies:

MAGNETO
“Your beloved Wakandans may be technologically advanced… but like all humans, they too will eventually turn on mutantkind.”

Calm, but razor-edged, Storm says:

STORM
“Careful, Erik. Wakanda is one of the few nations to willfully accept and protect mutants. Its people are not your enemy. But they will be, if you make them one, human and mutant.

Storm turns and walks to her seat, cape swirling behind her. Emma smirks and jabs her elbow into Magnetos' side softly while joking:

EMMA
“You just had to bring up Wakanda, didn’t you?”

Magneto sighs in defeat and brushes Emma off.

MAGNETO
“Let’s just get on with the meeting, Emma. Then we can all go home.”

CHAPTER 2 – THE BURDEN OF KNOWLEDGE

Everyone is now seated. Charles takes a step into the center of the ring and makes his case.

CHARLES
“The Illuminati had a meeting. Lex Luthor sent an encrypted global broadcast. No one, not Reed, not Stark, not even Mister Terrific, could crack it… They’ve asked Emma and me to use Cerebro to scan the Earth for suspicious activ—

Magneto raises his hand and cuts in with a calm, serious tone.

MAGNETO
“You would risk the security of mutantkind… because your private hero club detected a message? You must have finally lost it, Charles.”

Scott leans forward, sticking his finger out at Magneto, and he says:

SCOTT
“You want to protect mutantkind, don’t you, Erik? So do I.  If the world ends, that includes us. You may look down on the Illuminati… but they exist for a reason. Prevention.

Magneto leans in closely to Scott, he looks deep into his eyes, and speaks with a quiet, cold tone.

MAGNETO
“And when will the danger they’re ‘preventing’ become us, Scott? How do you know it already isn’t?”

Storm keeps her composure but firmly contradicts Magneto.

STORM
“You’re right, Erik — this would risk mutantkind. But letting one of the most dangerous mutantphobes alive move unchecked? That is a far greater risk. T’Challa has told me what Luthor is capable of. We have to be sure we are truly safe. It’s worth it.”

A long silence lingers. Then, Jean slices through it with a quiet, calculated point.

JEAN
“Storm… I’m sorry, but you’re wrong. I know to you, Cerebro is just a tool, something Charles has always used to help us. But now? It holds the memories of all mutantkind. It’s our greatest strength… but also our greatest weakness.  If we open it to the world, even briefly, we could lose everything. The Illuminati can handle Luthor; they just need to find some other way.

Magneto claps slowly, almost impressed; his compliments burn Jean like ice.

MAGNETO
“That, my dear… was magnificent.”

Jean looks to Magneto and spits venom his way.

JEAN
“I didn’t say it for you, Erik. I said it for mutantkind.”

Magneto grows even more impressed, almost proud. Emma’s voice cuts in as sharp as a diamond.

EMMA
“Jean… will you seriously let this fearmonger’s oldest tricks stop us? While our enemies grow stronger, we argue over whether we might offend our own shadow. Cerebro is our greatest weapon. We need it for two days, three at most, to scan for any suspicious activity and find out what’s coming. We’ve done enough squabbling. I say we vote.”

Storm initially nods in agreement, but quickly her face twists in confusion, and she asks:

STORM
“But where is Shaw? Sinister? Apocalypse? I won’t miss their votes, but they never skip a chance to preach at us.”

Logan sniffs at the air intently again, low and focused, he says:

LOGAN
“I’ve been wondering the same thing since we got here. They were here, not long before us, too. I can smell them. But why would they show up… and then leave before we arrived?”

A moment of quiet unease. Then, under his breath, Magneto whispers:

MAGNETO
“ …The Quiet Few.”

Emma looks up at Magneto and asks:

EMMA
The what?

Magneto sits up straighter. He stares into nothing, his mind flickering to the past as he speaks with a grave voice.

MAGNETO
“The twelve of us sit on the Quiet Council. But we haven’t all exactly seen eye to eye over the years. A while back, Mr. Sinister and Sebastian Shaw formed a separate group, a shadow council. They called themselves… The Quiet Few.

Charles reels back with betrayal. Furiously, he says:

CHARLES
“My God, Erik… how much has been organized right under our noses? Why would you never tell us?”

Magneto snaps back to the present and answers plainly and unapologetically.

MAGNETO
“It was decades ago. I joined them briefly, then left. Their methods were too extreme, even for me, so I was removed. But I led the Brotherhood, not the X-Men or whatever you call yourselves now. I had no reason to speak… until now. I suppose they’ve met again.  And whatever they’re planning… they didn’t want us involved.”

Charles narrows his eyes a Magneto, and says sternly:

CHARLES
“Then this is no longer up for discussion. We have to use Cerebro. Now.
Everyone, cast your vote.

One by one, they speak:

STORM
“Yes.”

SCOTT
“Yes.”

EMMA
“Yes.”

JEAN
“No.”

MAGNETO
“No.”

Everyone turns to Logan. His vote will decide it. He looks at Jean… then Charles… then finally says somberly:

LOGAN
"…I’m sorry, Jeanie. But they’re right. We have to protect the whole world. Not just home."

Jean lowers her head. She doesn’t argue.

Emma claps her hands together once and proclaims to Charles:

EMMA
“Then it’s final. Looks like we’ll get our answers.”

Charles nods in agreement and says:

CHARLES
“Yes, indeed it does. Let’s get to work...”

Chapter Text

EPISODE 8: HEAVY LIES THE CROWN

CHAPTER 1 – CEREBRO: ONLINE

INT. NEW CEREBRO CHAMBER – KRAKOA – NIGHT

The chamber is unlike the sterile metal spheres of the past; this Cerebro room is alive. A vast natural dome formed from twisted roots and thick vines, draped in moss and bioluminescent flora. The floor breathes softly beneath their boots. Luminescent plants glow faintly from the walls. Cerebro itself sits nestled within the heartwood of Krakoa, its metal meshed with living roots like a nervous system.

Charles walks in, followed by Scott, Jean, and Emma. Jean’s expression is conflicted. The moment they enter, the air grows heavy, the tension of the past arguments lingering like static. Jean whispers quietly to Charles:

JEAN
“You don’t have to do this. Just because the Council approved it doesn’t mean it’s right.”

Emma cuts in and chastises Jean with smugness across her face.

EMMA
“Yes, we do have to do this. And spare us the melodrama. We’re three of the most powerful psychics on Earth… or at least two of them.”

Jean scoffs and says:

JEAN
“Spare me the insults, Emma. Your diamond skin can’t deflect this. We might be some of the most powerful psychics, but we aren't the only ones. Cerebro is a two-way street. Do you seriously think this is worth risking mutankind?”

Emma Frost smirks scornfully, steps close to Jean, leans into her face, and whispers:

EMMA
“Oh, please. The real reason you’re against this, and everything I do, is because deep down, the real reason you hate me is because I could have Scott without even flexing my brain.”

Scott grits his teeth and yells out:

SCOTT
“Save it, Emma. I know you know that’s not true. Read my thoughts. What we had is over, until now I thought we were in a respectable place, but it seems I was mistaken.”

Emma looks ready to explode, her eyes flashing with embarrassment and fury. But Charles speaks first, intervening gently.

CHARLES
“Enough of this! You two need to focus! If we’re going to use Cerebro safely, we must be unified in mind. Scott, would you please give us some space?”

Scott nods and says with warm understanding:

SCOTT
Of course, Charles. Whatever you need.

He hugs Jean, kisses her forehead, then exits. The stone doorway seals behind him, Krakoan roots forming the X-Men logo over it.

Charles approaches Cerebro. The roots reluctantly unfurl, releasing the reflective metal helmet like a sacred object. Charles places a hand on it, feeling its psychic vibrations reverberate through his arm, then he lifts it. As he sets the helmet on his head, four crystal obelisks in the room glow, projecting a dull gray hologram of Earth in the center. Charles looks back at Jean and Emma, and says:

CHARLES
“Before I activate it… anchor me.”

Emma glances at Jean and asks:

EMMA
“So are you up for this? We need to be on the same page.”

Jean looks to Emma, reluctantly, she softens her defensive exterior and says:

JEAN
“Yes, Emma, I can put our pettiness aside to keep mutantkind safe.”

Emma smiles and celebrates with glee in her voice.

EMMA
“Wonderful, let's get this done then.”

The two close their eyes. Psychic energy begins to gather around them, but it’s unstable. Suddenly, images OF past conflicts, venomous arguments flash by, together their minds land on a memory of Emma, dressed in Brotherhood black, standing beside Magneto, with Charles and Jean facing her in battle. The connection violently breaks. Emma and Jean grab their heads as a ringing shoots through their ears. With a strained voice, Emma says:  

EMMA
“What was that?! We’ve anchored Charles hundreds of times… that has never happened.

Jean stands herself straight while catching her breath, she answers:

JEAN
I don’t know. It felt like… like our minds were trying to show us something.

Emma scoffs at Jean. She crosses her arms while saying:

EMMA
“If you can’t get over your petty grudges, Jean, then Charles and I can handle this ourselves. We don’t need to be best friends,  we just need to focus.”

Jean grows irritated, with annoyance in her voice, and she shifts the blame.

JEAN
“That wasn’t my fault. I’m putting my feelings aside… Those were your memories, Emma. Let’s just try again.”

Again, they close their eyes, they gather psychic energy around themselves and Charles, and this time it is smoother. Their tension remains, but is suppressed. Telepathically, Jean communicates with them.

JEAN
“It worked, Charles. We’re connected. Bring it online.”

Suddenly, the dull gray hologram of Earth begins to ignite with tiny lights, first thousands, millions, even billions, finally all of humanity. Cerebro is awoken.

CHAPTER 2 – IRONWOOD

The sun beats down on the lushness of the Krakoan jungle. Heat ripples stretch across the canopy. All is quiet until a sonic boom breaks the silence. WHOOOOM! Magneto streaks through the sky, flying like a bullet past the thriving jungle, traveling toward a surreal skyline. five skyscraper-sized Ironwood trees, forged from glistening metal. Their massive metallic leaves clatter softly in the desert wind, casting shade over a thriving mutant society below.

A small group of Brotherhood Mutants steps from metallic, hut-like homes. One shields his eyes as he watches Magneto blaze across the sky. Magneto glides through winding, shaded alleyways beneath the ironwood branches. The city is alien and alive, architecture grown from natural ore and shaped by magnetism, polished into strange angles and elevated platforms. Mutants of all kinds roam freely. Some barter. Others argue politics. Many wear Brotherhood insignias, yet each clique seems to have its own style, its own values. These are villains turned citizens, fighters, saboteurs, revolutionaries, all reimagined as a nation.

At the heart of the city towers the House of M, a monumental ironwood tree fused with a fortress-like palace. Its outer bark is embedded with a massive metal "M" sigil, crackling faintly with electromagnetic energy. Magneto lands at its base, where a lively square bustles with mutants trading food, weapons, black market tech, or just talking politics. They nod respectfully as he passes and greet him as he passes:

MUTANT #1
“Lord Magneto.”

MUTANT #2
“Welcome back, sir.”

He acknowledges them, regal but distracted. At the massive double doors to the Hall of the Brotherhood stands Juggernaut, arms folded. Through his thick metal helmet, he says:

JUGGERNAUT
“Boss, while you were gone, we caught one of Sinister’s genetic freaks sniffing around the western perimeter. Psy’s trying to pull answers from its head, but no dice. Figured you’d want eyes on it.”

Magneto walks past him and speaks to him with a smooth and calm voice.

MAGNETO
“Really? Thank you, Marko. I’ll see to it.”

Magneto enters the front doors and steps into the hollow trunk of the central Ironwood tree. A cavernous tower fortress with a spiraling staircase that wraps the walls like a helix, stretching high into darkness. However, Magneto does not take the stairs; he floats upward, regal and effortless. Halfway up, he drifts onto a platform corridor and enters the holding area.

Inside the cold chamber, the lighting flickers. Looking into the cell from outside are Sabretooth, Toad, and Pyro, tense, looking in awe at the monster contained. Behind a layer of reinforced glass, inside the cell, Blob stands as muscle behind the restrained, malformed genetic creature with too many arms and not enough legs, no nose, no mouth, no eyes, and hair in all the worst places, a failed experiment of Mister Sinister, twitching and semi-aware. 

Psylocke stands just feet from the creature, eyes glowing as she struggles to breach its mind, but nothing comes. She turns to attention as Magneto enters and, slightly shaken, speaks through the air holes in the reinforced glass.

PSYLOCKE
“Its mind is completely sealed off. Not naturally. Someone, or something, is shielding it.”

The grotesque Sinister chimera thrashes against its metallic, wiry bonds. Magneto surveys the creature with thinly veiled disgust. Emotionlessly, he says:

MAGNETO
“Grant it no dignity. It's simply a tool, wasting our time.”

Without hesitation, Magneto reaches out, tearing the creature apart with a surge of metal wire. The creature is trisected into a spray of biofluid. Suddenly, a psychic shockwave rips through the chamber, an audible, bone-jarring blast that sends everyone reeling. Toad and Psylocke clutch their heads, teeth gritted in pain. Sabretooth, Pyro, and Blob remain unaffected, eyes clear, unblinking. They cock their head in confusion as if they are intently listening. Magneto stands steady, helmet shielding him completely. Quickly, the agony subsides. 

Toad and Psylocke stagger upright, only to see Blob launch himself at Psylocke. Simultaneously, Sabretooth and Pyro turn on Magneto. Sabertooth unsheathes his claws with a dramatic flick of his wrists and viciously snarls. He lunges at Magneto, sinking his claws into his shoulders. Magneto staggers backwards, trying to break free from Sabertooth’s grip by delivering consecutive punches to his lower left side, but Sabertooth persists. Noticing, Toad whips his head and grabs Sabretooth’s leg with his tongue and slams him into the wall. Pyro ignites his lighter and begins hurling balls of flame at Toad, scorching his back. Toad screams, rolling on the floor to extinguish the fire. Magneto looks to the traitors and asks with cool fury:

MAGNETO
“Why have you turned your backs on mutantkind?”

Pyro lobs a fireball towards Magneto while burning his pride.

PYRO
“You can't help but preach to us even now, old man. You gave us a nice world here, but there's always room for improvement!”

The fireball catches Magneto on the side. He roars in pain, then rips the metal from the walls with a CRREEEEAAAK and impales Sabretooth. Manipulating the metal through his body, Magneto slams Sabertooth down through several levels of the spiraling trunk. Pyro chuckles at the spectacle, then says:

PYRO
“We’re rebuilding the world without you!”

Before Magneto can react, Pyro jumps down the hole Sabertooth plummeted through, vanishing into the cavernous metal trunk. Magneto takes off and flies out into the cavernous trunk, spiraling downwards towards the exit. He steps outside to pure chaos. Hundreds of mutants are running away, panic in their eyes, villainous cliques fleeing en masse, while only a few loyalists remain. Magneto rises to the air and watches, frozen in horror, as his utopia collapses before him.

After seconds, even minutes pass, Magneto snaps himself out of his mental defeat and swoops down to the base of a neighboring Ironwood tree. He lands in front of the entrance and pushes into the massive doors to the Hall of the Brotherhood, swinging them open, and revealing a monolithic, metallic cathedral with rows of seats to fit over a thousand mutants. But now, it is nearly empty. Magneto enters and makes his way to the main stage. The chamber is silent, except for the distant echoes of the fleeing crowd outside. Polaris, Quicksilver, Toad,  Psylocke, and Scarlet Witch all sit at the head of the hall, waiting for Magneto, all that remains of his inner circle. Magneto questions them as to what is going on

MAGNETO
"How could this have happened? Was it the Sinister chimera? Did it mind-control them? Why not everyone? What is Sinister up to?”

Sternly and surely, Psylocke replies:

PSYLOCKE
“It wasn't mind control, Erik, it was a message. I don't think I was meant to be a recipient, but given I already tried poking around in the messenger's brain, I think I somehow tuned in.”

Quicksilver rolls his eyes and groans:

QUICKSILVER
“Please, Psy, just tell us what you heard instead of being all cryptic.”

Psylocke turns her head to Quicksilver with a scowl and says:

PSYLOCKE
“My words are only cryptic to those too dim to understand them. I don’t know who it was from, or where they are, but I do know it was a promise.

Nervously, Scarlet Witch asks:

SCARLET WITCH
“A promise for what?”

Psylocke looks at Wanda, nervously, almost too terrified to even speak.

CHAPTER 2 – BROTHERHOOD DIVIDED

4 HOURS LATER:

One by one, a trickle of scattered mutants enter, faces ashen, trembling with questions. Magneto addresses them with a calming regality.

MAGNETO
“Brothers, sisters, as you all are well aware, something… unsettling has occurred today. Our fellow mutants were given a message. Mr Sinister used one of his grotesque absurdities to infiltrate our society. Psylocke has intercepted this psychic message.

Magneto looks towards Psylocke and points, she rises, and bows. Magneto continues with a harrowed voice.

MAGNETO
“She says it is a promise, a promise to ‘all those who call themselves Villain.’ She says this message promises ‘a better tomorrow, with true freedom and power.’ That is all she could make out while withstanding the pain, and for that, we all must thank her.

The crowd claps. Magneto goes to sit down, while Polaris stands up to speak next.

POLARIS
“I know you are all scared, but we are still a Brotherhood of Mutantkind. This “promise” is an empty one, as all promises from Mr Sinister are. Worry not about our losses; if they were that easily swayed, they weren't truly brothers or sisters in the first place. Now, Toad will take any and all of your questions.”

The crowd scrambles into a line to ask questions. Toad awkwardly tries to assert an orderly fashion, but fails. Magneto sits, staring into space, the sound of the crowd is drowned out by incessant ringing in his ears as he spirals into madness... and revenge.