It all started with an idea to form a team that could show the world the benefits of the X-gene, an extra addition to the DNA of many different beings that allows them to gain extraordinary abilities.
There is no end to the possibilities of mutation, from the ability to soar among the clouds to warping reality as if they were legos. Yet, in a world of gods, monsters, and cosmic beings, the acts of such beings tend to get lost in a sea of never-ending metahumans.
The Avengers were Earth's mightiest heroes, the Fantastic Four have explored worlds and endless realities, and organizations such as Shield and Alpha Flight protect the world the best they can.
The X-Men have saved the world many times over, but time after time humanity being humanity ostracized them. The causes for such hate are many, as from history, there have been mutants that tried to control the world. The aftereffects of x-gene awakenings have killed on many occasions.
And some mutations have led to others being less successful in life than they could have been if they were just normal humans. In addition to the fact that many organizations, such as the Purifiers, Weapon X, and the Friends of Humanity, have many times fought and killed hundreds of mutants across the world.
Yet now, things have changed as the world's mutants have come together to form a new nation, not Genosha but that of Krakoa. A living island/mutant that has accepted the mutants as citizens of its lands with the aid of the silent council and the mutant cipher.
"The more I read this, the more I see Magneto sitting over a desk writing this shit." My eyes look to my mother in this life, Tara Forger. Her old eyes look at me with amusement as she tosses it into the fire.
"They are not wrong, though, Jason. Shouldn't you already be going?" I grip her thin hand and look her in the eyes.
" The only place I need to be is here with your mom. Besides, you wouldn't be able to live without me. I've seen how good you are in the kitchen. You're lucky I have my powers; otherwise, The Avengers would need to be called for a cooking-level threat." She slaps my hand away and crosses her arms.
" I would think that after all of my years raising you, you would like my cooking." I sigh to myself, a small smile on my face.
" Mom, the last time you cooked something, my body evolved to gain an immunity to poisons." My mother would then look at me with a smug expression.
"Then my cooking was useful for something after all, and hey, the basis of good food is that it's useful for something, is it not?" That is not the definition of good food at all, but I shall indulge her.
" I bow to the superior cook then." But as she goes to laugh, she coughs out some blood, and I am already behind her and holding her.
"I'm..I'm okay, Jason."
"No, you're not." I try to keep my tone steady but fail.
Mom simply smiles at me and says, " You know I don't have a lot of time left, but before I get into all this, can you-" She is stopped by the doorbell ringing, and I immediately frown.
Mom simply tells me, " Smile for the guests, my little gift. You can leave the room for a moment. I will be alright."
Reluctantly, I got up and answered the door. I saw two women, and I smiled and asked, " How can I help you two?"
The red-haired one then says, "It's more about how we can help you. I'm Jean, and this is-"
"Frost. Emma Frost, we are here to take you to Krakoa, where you belong." I could sense her annoyance, and as I stared the two in the eye, I shook my head.
"I'm sorry, but I am needed here. I appreciate the offer, but I must decline. I do apologize for wasting your time." As I try to close the door after declining, it is stopped by what I assume is one of their psychic abilities.
"This is not a request. All mutants must go to Krakoa, or they shall suffer." Emma says as I keep the same smile on my face.
"Again, thank you for the warning. I know what is out there, but I have other priorities right now." I tried again to close the door, but I was stopped again.
"More than joining your people?" Frost's arms cross under her rather ample chest, but I have more self-control than to stare.
"My people are right here. Time is limited, and I shall spend it how I see fit." I then walked over to her, and since she was five feet ten inches tall and I was six feet seven inches, her eyes trailed upwards.
"Leave. My. Home. Now," But before things could escalate further, my mother calls from the kitchen.
"Jason! If they want to come in, let them in! And don't groan in annoyance; I can still hear you." I simply shake my head and allow them inside.
My mother Jean's eyes slightly widened when I saw my mother's "frail" form. Emma simply asks, " I assume you are his mother?"
Instead of answering, my mother looked the woman in the eyes and giggled, " You know this isn't the first time I've had a couple of telepaths trying to get into my head. It's such a fun game to watch them try to navigate my maze."
I slightly smile, seeing the two telepaths try to go through my mother's power as her mutant ability is to create a labyrinth anywhere she can imagine, but it has to be within a certain range. And it doesn't just apply to physical labyrinths as she can do them spiritually and mentally to defend herself against various attacks.
My father, Bruce Forger, was also a mutant. His ability was to create small time bubbles around people so that they could experience years in seconds. His ability was quite terrifying as even when I was young in this second life of mine, I saw what he could do to people. One time, my parents were almost robbed, well, if you could call it a mugging, to say the least.
My mother immediately put the man into a maze within his own mind, and my father put a Time bubble around the man. And as he aged rapidly before my eyes, his body died before his mind could catch up. I still have chills remembering it.
The two telepaths were enduring the maze firsthand. The reason it's so difficult is that, unlike normal psychic mazes, hers exist on a fundamentally different level due to her mutation, so they'd have to navigate it physically in the mental plane, so no cheating by reading my mother's mind.
Their eyes then go white as they are completely absorbed into the maze. But only after a few minutes, it drops as she starts coughing up blood, and I immediately register her cancer meds.
Sadly, her mutation came with a cost, as the more she used her maze, the more it increased the load on her mind, and it somehow developed into a brain tumor.
Inoperable by any hospital in Virginia state. I never stopped crying when I got the news right after we got home. My father had already passed due to old age, and it's a wonder how my mom is going strong after 85 years, but while I wished I could simply revert the change and the tumor, she merely held me close and said.
"Everything dies, my precious gift, and I want to go see him soon." I am then taken from my thoughts as the two telepaths wake up, and their eyes dart around at a very fast pace.
"Now, I assume you two will not be looking into my mind anytime soon, and I know you can look into my son's mind, so what do you want?" The two then straightened up, seeing my mother's serious face, and I couldn't stop myself from laughing mentally, at least.
"We just wanted to offer your son a place on Krakoa, but seeing that you are here and in this state, we can give you medication and healing should you desire it," Jean says, slowly trying to get her bearings.
"I have already heard of your medicines and know of that Golden Boy you have. I've seen the news, you know, and it went really well due to the nature of my powers and the effect they have on my mind. I would appreciate it if you could hold off on making my son leave so soon." Every word is said with such kindness that you would think my mother was a saint, but anyone with any training could see the killer edge in her eyes.
But instead of being scared, Emma at least had a smirk on her face as she said, " I'm impressed. Not many can disable two telepaths at the same time. I'm fully willing to admit when I am beaten, but I can also see where your son got his stubbornness from."
" I would say it is my best trait, Ms. Frost, and my son inherited it in spades. Now let us talk like normal people *Cough* *Cough!*" She almost falls out of the chair she was sitting on as her eyes start to dim into unconsciousness.
I hold her body close as she falls unconscious. My eyes narrowed at the two who made her use her power, but I simply walked upstairs and put her in bed before walking back downstairs.
"Tomorrow." One word leaves my mouth only.
"What?" Emma Frost says.
"Come tomorrow. Now, if you excuse me." I lift my hand towards them and teleport them back outside near their jet.
Sighing to myself, I walk back into my mother's room. As I sit next to her, her eyes open, and she smiles at me.
"I knocked myself out again, didn't I?" It's a rhetorical question but a question nonetheless.
"You did." My candidness seemed not to phase her.
*Sigh* " It seems your mom can't keep it up like she used to."
"Context and phrasing, Mom." She simply laughs as I place my hand on hers.
She grips it as tight as she can and says, "It's okay, Jason. I'll see you tomorrow. Go to bed, and you're going to need all that mental strength to deal with all those crazies on Krakoa. And if that Frost bitch is anyone to take heed from, that place is gonna fall apart faster than your father's old car." Such is the problem with a person who relies on time bubbles to keep things up and running.
Seeing that she wasn't backing down, I walked out of the room, but before closing the door, I said, " I love you, Mom."
"I know." Her smile never left as she closed her eyes, and I closed the door.
"And don't let anyone tell you otherwise or tell you what you can't do, my precious boy." Those words throw up so many flags, but I ignore them. I walked back to my room and went to sleep for the night.
She never woke up the next day.
Essences Used: Mutant And Evolution
Power From Essences Of The Mutant: Power Manipulation (From Worm Cyoa)