Essential X-Men (Vol. 2)

My name is Charles Francis Xavier. I founded the X-Men because I believe this world can co-exist with both humans and mutants alike. I searched for those were able to help me in my cause that would one day rid of the hatred that fills the hearts of those who wish ill against us. I brought together six mutant outcasts to do just that.

Cyclops. Iceman. Jean Grey. Colossus. Beast. Wolverine.

And then we found Storm during a mission in Africa.

Now if only the world can see the good that can come from this…



PREVIOUSLY IN ESSENTIAL X-MEN:

Magneto has escaped S.H.I.E.L.D. custody with the helped from Mystique disguised as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Sharon Carter. He took with him mutant prisoners and somehow launched Genosha into the sky. But with all that, Bobby's long lost sister reappears as a prisoner as well. After failing to capture Magneto, the X-Men head back home with Bobby's sister starting to feel better. And with that, Bobby has left the X-Men to help recover his sister's well being.

Trouble has not even touched the tip of the iceberg for the X-Men. What lies ahead in the near future will truly test their skills. All starting with a little visit…

EXM34.jpg

ESSENTIAL X-MEN #34

INVASION OF THE BROOD KIND

PART 1 OF 4

"PHASE ONE: ATTACK"







Central Park
New York City, New York
2 Weeks later-


A woman sat on the park bench with a picnic basket as she watched her daughter run around in circle pretending to be an airplane. Next to her sat her husband as he occasionally looked up from reading the newspaper.

"Mommy, mommy, look! The sky falling, the sky falling!"

"That's one great three-year-old we got there, Martha," the husband mentioned as he smiled at his daughter.

"Look mommy! Look! Sky falling! Sky falling!" the daughter kept going pointing up to the sky. The mother shrugged it off thinking her daughter didn't really know what she was talking about. She took it as some little joke her daughter was playing on her.

"I'm sure it is dear. I think it's time to eat lunch now," she told her daughter as she fumbled through the basket looking for something to give to her daughter. As she did, she heard something whistling in the distance. But it wasn't coming from around her, but up from the sky. She looked up to see something coming down. Her daughter wasn't playing a trick after all.

"Dear God, Ben…RUN!" She screamed as she let the basket go, grabbed her daughter and ran away from the area as far as she could. Her husband looked up with widened eyes and quickly dropped the newspaper and followed his wife. Whatever was coming down started to come down faster and faster until it finally hit the ground and crashing on top of the bench and into the earth. Afterwards, civilians started to arrive to the scene of the crash to conduct their own investigation as to what actually came down. A cop came through the crowd trying to dismiss them out of the way so he could see for himself. He looked into the crater that was created and saw something balled up into a fetal position. He wasted no time in taking out the walkie talkie from his belt in calling for backup.

"HQ this is Officer Charlie over at Central Park. I got a 5-O-49 here, requesting back-up."

Officer Charlie took a better look into the crater and then was quickly struck by a tentacle with what looked liked a giant needle, making him drop the walkie talkie. It sucked Charlie into the crater and let out a giant wale. The crowd began running away in fear.

"Copy that. Back-up is on its way. Do you need ambulance assistance? Hello? Officer Charlie are you there?"




Meanwhile at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning
Charles Xavier's Office-


Jean walks in to Xavier's office with mail in her hand and a smile on her face.

"Afternoon, Professor. Mail's here. There's something there from ah…from Bobby's parents."

After giving a heavy sigh, Xavier said, "Yes, the lawsuit documents. They did not take well to the call about Robert's leave. And they were less excited about hearing her daughter returning and leaving as she did with her brother."

"Don't worry, you'll get through this. Have you seen Scott? I keep calling him but he won't answer any of my psychic calls."

"Mr. Summers is currently residing in the Danger Room training the others, my dear."

"What? I told him he wasn't supposed to do any training today. MEN! Oh...no offense, Professor."

"None taken, Jean."

Jean took leave from the office as she went through the other door that lead into the common room, and down to the sub-basement to give Scott a piece of her mind. When she left, Xavier reluctantly went to open the envelope from the Drakes. Taking out the documents from inside, he saw he was being sued for almost five million dollars.

"This is going to get ugly."

Xavier quickly looked up and around the room. He felt as if someone had come in, but the door was still closed and the windows as well.

"What kind of presence looms over me? This does not bode well."




The Danger Room-

Scott stood in the control room as he watched over Storm, Beast, and Colossus train in a simulated session which took them back to when they first fought Magneto. Storm was in the air trying to attack Magneto with lightning attacks so his focus would stay away from Colossus charging at him with Beast.

Wolverine was also in the training session, but unlike the others, he wasn't doing anything but sitting on a car smoking a cigar and drinking a beer.

"Wolverine! Get your *** out there and fight! Unless you want me to repeat what I did to you last time we were here(*), I suggest you buck up and actually put some attitude into acting like you at least care about this team. God knows you don't deserve to be here at all!" Scott yelled over the speaker system. While the simulated session was on, no one could see him, just hear him.

(*) Read Essential X-Men #26- I can't believe I just pulled this old trick! Ice.


"Lately, Cykes, yer girly attitude has been gettin' worse by the damn second. Now, I suggest you unwind yer panties before I slice you up good."

Before Scott could reply back, Jean walked into the control room and interrupted their little spout match.

"Scott! What the hell do you think you're doing?! I specifically told you there was to be no training today. You're already over-working everyone with non-stop sessions every day since our last mission!" Jean screamed at him while she kept poking him in the chest.

"Back off, Jean. You yourself should be down there. All of you need to learn how to do better in a battle. Look what happened last time! Magneto escaped because no one was prepared!"

Jean felt insulted by what Scott told her. She grew angrier and slapped Scott in the face.

"Magneto escaped because there was an unexpected situation that happened! No one would have guessed he had someone who could teleport us far away. What is wrong with you Scott?!"

Scott had the feeling to hit back Jean. But even he knew better than that. Jean wasn't his enemy; not his real enemy. Instead, Scott turned around and called the session over and proceeded to walk out, ignoring the fact that Jean was still in the room. Suddenly, the room began to glow a fiery red and yellow as Jean looked down, saddened by how Scott was acting. She understood the facts as to why Scott feels the he does, but doesn't understand why he won't talk to anyone.

"Oh, Scott. When will you face up? I already know…"



The backyard of the Xavier Institute
Five Minutes later-


Scott walked around the backyard thinking. He isn't the type of person to exactly wear his emotions on his sleeve. He stood there thinking about his life. How it was in the past, how it was now. As he stood there, it began to grow darker and darker. Clouds covered up the sun, taking away the brightness the sun was beaming down.

"It's not supposed to be cloudy today. And it's only half past noon. Why is it so dark suddenly?"

**X-Men! This is Professor Xavier. I need everyone to come to the common room.**

Scott went back inside and met up with everyone else to see what Xavier called them for was.

"What's going on?" Scott asked, as he walked into the room and threw himself back onto the wall. The Common room was the X-Men's living room, a place for them to relax when they're not out on a mission or training. A big screen TV was set up with speakers as big as the TV to the right of the room was one entered. A large black sofa was about six feet away with matching black recliners to the other side, next to the window. There were racks that held DVDs and music CDs to the left of the wall after entering the room. And to finish everything off, a mini library was set up on each side of the door that led to Xavier's office. Every shelf was full to the max with books, which were mostly read by Hank.

"I believe it's time for a trip into town. Please get the van ready, Scott. We're going to have some lunch," Xavier explained. As everyone went to get ready, Peter noticed something wrong with Ororo.

"Are you okay, Ororo? You do not seem so well."

"I sense something wrong with mother nature," Ororo mentioned as she felt worried.

"Something is strange indeed," Xavier agreed.

As everyone walked towards the garage, Peter almost forgot about turning the TV off.

"I will be right back. The TV is still on," he said as he walked quickly to the common room to turn it off. Right before he went to hit the power button, he saw that on the news about someone talking about that an alien that had hit earth.

"Aliens. Sure," Peter said to himself. He dismissed what he saw and turned the TV off, walking back to the garage to join the others. He got into the van and the X-Men went into town to have an afternoon off.


Later on-

Xavier and the crew sit outside of a small restaurant as they have their lunch. They're split up into two tables with Peter, Hank, Ororo, and Logan at one table, and Xavier, Scott and Jean at the other.

As they sat and ate their lunch, they noticed a crowd of people walking away from Central Park's area. People tried to quickly get away into a safe distance as to not get into harm's way.

"Now what the hell is going on?" Scott asked as he looked at the crowd. One guy was pushed through the small plastic fence that divided the restaurant and the street, into the X-Men's tables.

"Kind sir, would you do me the honor as to tell us what exactly everyone is running from?" Hank asked nicely.

"Aliens! There are aliens there!" the guy said in fear. He had trouble getting up as he slipped a few times, but once he did, he ran into other tables, still trying to get fully on his feet. He kept running away as the others did, fearing for his life.

"Well, I'd say lunch is over," Logan mentioned as he got up and took his jacket off to reveal his costume underneath. He pulled his mask to the front and let his claws pop out.

"I don't know about you ladies, but I sure as hell ain't stickin' here to find out what's coming," he said as he jumped over the fence that was still standing.

"Well, it looks like you have a job to do now, my X-Men. Let's not waist any more time," Xavier said as he put his fork and knife down and wheeled himself out of the table. The X-Men stood up and took their coats and jackets off as well, also having their costumes ready underneath.

But before they could go and join up to investigate the Park, the whole sky now grew dark quickly. Ships began to appear through the clouds quickly opening up and creatures coming down. The aliens had arrived in the numbers. They stood about five feet high, but not standing up like any normal human. Their bodies were long, stretching about five feet maximum, and having brown color skin. Their heads were big and they walked with six legs and two arms.

"We are the Brood. You are our new hosts," one Brood spoke.


TO BE CONTINUED…










And now, a special back-up story!



"TO HUMANITY, WE ARE FRIENDS"



Washington, D.C.
Oval Office
1 hour after Magneto's escape-



The President of the United States of America stood at the window behind his desk and stared into the abyss of dreamland. He wasn't really paying attention as to what was happening outside the window, but really thinking about something. As he kept going with his train of thought, a few men came into the room as one knocked while opening the door.

"Mr. President, we're here. Senator Kelly, as well."

The President turned around and walked to the men to greet them. He shook their hands and everyone took their seats.

"Thank you very much for coming, gentlemen. Senator Kelly, it's great to have you back. You're a very important man to this group, you know. I don't want you dying before your time," the President told them as he took some papers from the top of his desk and put them away into a blue folder that was next to them.

"Mr. President, Nick Fury has called in and has revealed that Magneto has escaped again. But this time, we know not of his location. We had sent some rogues to fly only over Genosha, but…"

"But what? What's wrong?" The President asked, worried about what news he could hear about Genosha and Magneto.

"It's gone sir. Just…gone. Genosha isn't where it's supposed to be. It's as if someone, just took it away."

"Did Magneto do this? Did he do something with Genosha's disappearance?"

"We don't sir, I'm afraid. We don't know anything beyond this point now."

The President took a moment to take all this information in. He wasn't sure as to what exactly he should do. After giving it some thought, he knew what next step he should take.

"Gentlemen, this is the reason why we created the Friends of Humanity. This is why we exist. These dangerous mutants, the so-called "Homo-Superior" creatures, are a danger to our society. We must now get ready to go forth with the plans we have taken long consideration to create. In a few months gentlemen, this nightmare will all be over."

"Yes, Mr. President." All the men said as they got up and walked out the room. All except Senator Kelly.

Before he walked out, he turned around and said, "Let's hope this plans works out, Mr. President. We don't want to have any further disasters."

"My name is Graydon Creed, Kelly. My word will be law."




X---END---X
 
Last edited:
Ice said:
A big screen TV was set up with speakers as big as the TV to the right of the room was one entered.

That sentence hurts my brain so much.

A couple of words in some sentences don't fit well. I suggest rereading it or finding a beta reader.

What's happening with Scott? Havok?

The back-up story was good, but there were a lot of words missing, which made some of the dialogue nonsensical.

I like how it sets up my arc, though. :)
 
Yeah, I do need to find a beta reader. It's hard for me to re-read it for proof since I dont get much time because of class.

As for Havok- answers will come soon. Promise. I never write about someone who won't serve a purpose.
 
Spelling and Grammar:
-Magneto has escaped S.H.I.E.L.D. custody with the help[edßdelete] from Mystique disguised as S.H.I.E.L.D
-A woman sat on the park bench with a picnic basket as she watched her daughter run around in [a] circle pretending to be an airplane. [Thought this was such a cool and amusing way to open up a sci-fi book, nice.]
-Next to her sat her husband as he occasionally looked up from reading the newspaper. [reword tense]
-"I'm sure it is dear. I think it's time to eat lunch now," she told her daughter as she fumbled through the basket looking for something to give to her daughter. [Repetition of "her daughter"]
-But it wasn't coming from around her, but up from the sky. She looked up to see something coming down. [Rep of "coming"]
-Whatever was coming down started to come down faster and faster until it finally hit the ground and crash[ing chane to "ed"] on top of the bench and into the earth.
-And they were less excited about hearing her daughter returning and leaving as she did with her brother." [Huh?]
-ignoring the fact that Jean was still in the room. Suddenly, the room began to glow a fiery red and yellow as Jean looked down [Rep of "room"]
-He isn't the type of person to exactly wear his emotions on his sleeve. [seemed out of place as a narrative stance compared to everything else.]
-He stood there thinking about his life. How it was in the past, how it was now. As he stood there, [Rep of "stood"]
-Clouds covered up the sun, taking away the brightness the sun was beaming down. [Rep of "sun"]
-Scott went back inside and met up with everyone else to see what Xavier called them for [wasßdelete]


Ideas and Content:
-Does 5-O-49 actually mean something?
-Not sure or not but if I were people [which I am], I'd have hightailed away from the big ol crater. I doubt that there would be a crowd no matter how "War of the Worlds" presents it.
-I enjoyed the various subplots bounding about as well as the big reveal at the end.
-Bit characters were surprisingly well-written. Thumbs Up!
-YAY Footnote!
 
Spelling and Grammar:
-Magneto has escaped S.H.I.E.L.D. custody with the help[edßdelete] from Mystique disguised as S.H.I.E.L.D
-A woman sat on the park bench with a picnic basket as she watched her daughter run around in [a] circle pretending to be an airplane. [Thought this was such a cool and amusing way to open up a sci-fi book, nice.]
-Next to her sat her husband as he occasionally looked up from reading the newspaper. [reword tense]
-"I'm sure it is dear. I think it's time to eat lunch now," she told her daughter as she fumbled through the basket looking for something to give to her daughter. [Repetition of "her daughter"]
-But it wasn't coming from around her, but up from the sky. She looked up to see something coming down. [Rep of "coming"]
-Whatever was coming down started to come down faster and faster until it finally hit the ground and crash[ing chane to "ed"] on top of the bench and into the earth.
-And they were less excited about hearing her daughter returning and leaving as she did with her brother." [Huh?]
-ignoring the fact that Jean was still in the room. Suddenly, the room began to glow a fiery red and yellow as Jean looked down [Rep of "room"]
-He isn't the type of person to exactly wear his emotions on his sleeve. [seemed out of place as a narrative stance compared to everything else.]
-He stood there thinking about his life. How it was in the past, how it was now. As he stood there, [Rep of "stood"]
-Clouds covered up the sun, taking away the brightness the sun was beaming down. [Rep of "sun"]
-Scott went back inside and met up with everyone else to see what Xavier called them for [wasßdelete]
Yikes! Thanks.

Ideas and Content:
-Does 5-O-49 actually mean something?
I just made it up.

Ideas and Content:
-Not sure or not but if I were people [which I am], I'd have hightailed away from the big ol crater. I doubt that there would be a crowd no matter how "War of the Worlds" presents it.
There will always be curious people. Always.

Ideas and Content:
-I enjoyed the various subplots bounding about as well as the big reveal at the end.
Then I'm doing my job right in someplace at least! :lol:

Ideas and Content:
-Bit characters were surprisingly well-written. Thumbs Up!
w00t!!!

Ideas and Content:
-YAY Footnote!
Footnate makes me teh HOTT.
 
One other thing:
I know it's a staple of the fic but everytime I read the into I crack up:

[Cyclops. Iceman. Jean Grey. Colossus. Beast. Wolverine.

And then we found Storm during a mission in Africa.

Now if only the world can see the good that can come from this…]

It justs seems like you're naming members and forget about Storm and quickly add her in. I think it's funny.
 
One other thing:
I know it's a staple of the fic but everytime I read the into I crack up:

[Cyclops. Iceman. Jean Grey. Colossus. Beast. Wolverine.

And then we found Storm during a mission in Africa.

Now if only the world can see the good that can come from this…]

It justs seems like you're naming members and forget about Storm and quickly add her in. I think it's funny.
I didn't forget about her. I named the original team first, then brought in Storm because she wasn't part of the original roster.
 
EssentialX-Men35.jpg


Essential X-Men #35
Written & Cover by Ice

"Invasion of the Brood Kind" Part 2 of 4

The Brood have arrived! You better watch out for these nasty creatures unless you want to become one of its victims. The X-Men try and get rid of them, but it's easier said then done. Why exactly did the Brood pick earth anyways? Only one way to find out.

Release Date: 2/16/07
 
Last edited:
A short chapter before the crazine thus begins!

Sorry for the tardiness.

Enjoy.




My name is Charles Francis Xavier. I founded the X-Men because I believe this world can co-exist with both humans and mutants alike. I searched for those were able to help me in my cause that would one day rid of the hatred that fills the hearts of those who wish ill against us. I brought together six mutant outcasts to do just that.

Cyclops. Iceman. Jean Grey. Colossus. Beast. Wolverine.

And then we found Storm during a mission in Africa.

Now if only the world can see the good that can come from this…



PREVIOUSLY IN ESSENTIAL X-MEN:

Things aren't going well for the X-Men as the Professor receives a lawsuit from Bobby Drakes parents. To cool things down a bit, he takes them all out to lunch down in the city. But even then, lunch gets interrupted with a little alien invasion…

EssentialX-Men35.jpg

ESSENTIAL X-MEN #35

INVASION OF THE BROOD KIND

PART 2 OF 4

"THE INVASION CRAZE"











New York City
Central Park-


"You creatures have no chance of survival. As we speak, more vessels of our kind loom over your planet, ready to extend our numbers," the Brood spoke to the X-Men. The X-Men stood there, just feet away from the slimy creature, prepared to fight.

"You've made a grave mistake in coming here," Cyclops warned the Brood creature.

"If you're going to kill it, do you mind if I take to examine it later? It's quite interesting to know how they're able to speak English and all," Beast asked, interested in dissecting the Brood.

"Your chatter is pointless. Just stand there and become our new hosts. You don't have a choice." The Brood leaped towards the X-Men, but was blasted away with a strong hit from Cyclops' beam. The brood was knocked back into a tree and broke it as the tree fell backwards. Reinforcements came and quickly outnumbered the X-Men ten-to-one.

"Beast: focus," Cyclops told him.

The Brood reinforcement quickly spread out and waited for orders. There was another Brood who was taller then the rest, with a much darker tone to its slimy skin. It towered above the rest, marking it as their leader.

"Storm, take the Professor inside that café. He'll take care of the rest from there," commanded Cyclops. Storm nodded and did what she was told.

"So lunch today will have side serving of splattered guts. My favorite," Colossus joked. Storm returned from taking Xavier inside and prepared for yet another fight for her life.

"Words will only be wasted on you earthers," the giant Brood spoke out. "You are only delaying what you cannot stop. Troop, you know what to do."

"Story of our lives," Cyclops said. The Brood waited no longer and spread out to do their task. Most of the Brood spread out quickly to the streets of New York, as they hunted down any civilians they found.

"We have to hurry up and stop them. We can't let them infect the people!" Jean shouted. But the Brood were many in number. They didn't waste any time with the pleading of their victims. They captured them and impregnated them. Soon, they would take over everyone. It wasn't as easy to just stop them, but that also doesn't stop the X-Men. Cyclops shot at the Brood that came at him, shooting off limb after limb. Jean used her psychic blasts to keep the Brood from coming at them as Colossus literally pounded their heads into the earth, making a mess everywhere.

Beast tackled to the ground and held it in a head lock. Or at least, he tried to. The Brood quickly got up and flung its head backward. Beast flipped in the air and landed on his feet.

"I say, that's one ride that Coney Island doesn't have," he joked with himself.

"Beast, please; is it very wise to play around right now?" Storm asked as she hit Brood after Brood with lightning bolts, striking them down from the sky.

"My dear, majestic beauty," Beast began to explain as he leaped and ducked attacks from the Brood, "If we cannot be ourselves during such perilous times, can we truly say we are ourselves at all?"

"Everyone, we've lowered the number down. Get behind me and stand back!" Cyclops shouted. He then turned a small knob on the right side of his visor up, to the maximum that it could go.

"The end has come, you filthy sacks," The lead Brood said in enjoyment.

"Filthy?! Oh, the irony thus screams!" Beast exclaimed in shock.

Cyclops waited one more second before he let out the full blast of his optic beam. The beam had ripped the troop Brood apart…for some, quite literally. The optic beam had come out like a giant red wave when it hit the Brood. Its strong force was even able to knock down the leader.

The wave of Brood that were attacking the X-Men were defeated, but there were still many more around the streets of the city that the team had to take care of.

"What do we do now with them? We cannot just let them pollute the streets," Colossus wondered. The street they were on was now a giant mess of dead Brood bodies and body pieces lying about. Guts and everything made everything that much more disgusting to even look at.

"There's no time for us to even worry about that right now. We have to-"

Cyclops couldn't finish what he was going to tell Colossus as he had been interrupted by quickly being grabbed by the lead Brood's tentacle arm. It began to squeeze Cyclops hard enough so he couldn't budge free, but not too hard that it would kill him. It still needed Cyclops alive as it was about to impregnate him. But Colossus quickly ran up to the Brood and ripped the arm right off, releasing Colossus.

"REAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" The Brood screamed in pain.

"You…cannot stop us," it spoke after.

"We beg to differ," Jean snapped at it.

"Beg…all you want. We were…promised your planet. Our queen will…take it no matter…what," the Brood said as its final words as Colossus finished killing it with stomping on its head.

"Promised the planet? I don't understand. Who promised it to them?" Storm kept asking.

"It's a little too late to ask that. We'll worry about it later. We have to get going now. There are hundreds of civilians that require our help," Cyclops answered Storm, but not giving her actual answers to her questions.


The X-Men wasted no more time. They quickly followed the echoes of the screams created by the victims of the Brood. As they took down Brood after Brood after finding them as they went along, they took any civilian they found who were left alive. They had not seemed as the Brood had impregnated them, so to them, it seemed ok. Jean took them behind her in a protected psychic shield.

"Oh, I hope the Professor is fine," Storm worried.

"He's fine. He is capable of taking care of himself. You should know that by now," Cyclops told her as they pressed on.

"AAAAAAHHH! HELP! HEEEELP MEEE! IT BUUUUUURNS!" A man had shouted out as he humped in front of the X-Men, surprising them all. But it was too late to help the man. He had been impregnated by the Brood and it was showing. His skin was a pale brown color, like a light tan. All the veins in his body were showing, something that is not normal at all. His pupils were barely visible and his face was transforming to that of a Brood. His abdomen was extending, as if something was trying to come out.

"What are we going to do?!" Storm asked, scared of what was happening with the man. The small crowd they had with them were all scared stiff and didn't want to move. Some even closed their eyes as the horror in front of them unfolded. Jean tried to keep them calm, but it wasn't working.

"What can we do?! It seems like it is too late to do anything!" Colossus told her, a bit frightened himself.

There wasn't anything that they could do now. It was too late to save the man's life or for the transformation to stop. The X-Men just stood there, frozen in disbelief as it seemed. They have never encountered a problem like this before. They haven't even fought anything that wasn't from earth before.



But suddenly, the man's screaming had stopped. His pain was gone as the transformation as well. He slowly looked down to notice that three metal claws were coming out from his stomach.

He kept staring at the claws as his final words were, "Th-thank you…". He then fell to the ground, dead as doornail. Wolverine was then revealed to have been the one to stabbing the man as he was right there behind where the man stood.

"Oh no! No! Not you, too!" Jean said, surprised and scared of what happened to Wolverine. He had the same mouth and eyes now, just like the Brood.

Wolverine had now become a part of them.


TO BE CONTINUED…
 
Cyclops. Iceman. Jean Grey. Colossus. Beast. Wolverine.

And then we found Storm during a mission in Africa.

That's still hilarious. "And then we found Storm during a mission in Africa. She was even in a hole and stuff."

Things aren't going well for the X-Men as the Professor receives a lawsuit from Bobby Drakes parents.

Shouldn't it be "Bobby Drake's parents"? Also, this plot is a little too Ultimate X-Men...

"If you're going to kill it, do you mind if I take to examine it later? It's quite interesting to know how they're able to speak English and all," Beast asked, interested in dissecting the Brood.

I was thinking the same thing.

"Your chatter is pointless. Just stand there and become our new hosts.

That sounds kind of corny.

"Beast: focus," Cyclops told him.

That comes kind of out of nowhere. Shouldn't it have taken place after Beast had talking about dissecting the alien?

"Storm, take the Professor inside that café. He'll take care of the rest from there," commanded Cyclops. Storm nodded and did what she was told.

I love how Storm seems so useless. "Storm, go do something else while the cool mutants fight." :lol:

"Words will only be wasted on you earthers," the giant Brood spoke out. "You are only delaying what you cannot stop. Troop, you know what to do."

"Earthers"? I think it should also be "giant Brood spoke" without the "out." Also, if he's talking to more than one creature, it should be "troops."

Beast tackled to the ground and held it in a head lock. Or at least, he tried to.

Tackled what to the ground?

"Beast, please; is it very wise to play around right now?" Storm asked as she hit Brood after Brood with lightning bolts, striking them down from the sky.

This seems to imply that the Brood are in the sky, but it is actually the lightning bolts coming down from the sky.

"The end has come, you filthy sacks," The lead Brood said in enjoyment.

Filthy sacks rules.

"Filthy?! Oh, the irony thus screams!" Beast exclaimed in shock.

"Irony thus screams"? Is that even a proper sentence? Do people even say "thus" any more? The only time I use it if it's written in a speech or script...

The beam had ripped the troop Brood apart…for some, quite literally.

That sentence doesn't make sense.

"Oh, I hope the Professor is fine," Storm worried.

"He's fine. He is capable of taking care of himself. You should know that by now," Cyclops told her as they pressed on.

Stupid Storm, always asking questions. Why did they leave the Professor in a Café though?

"AAAAAAHHH! HELP! HEEEELP MEEE! IT BUUUUUURNS!" A man had shouted out as he humped in front of the X-Men, surprising them all.

"Humped"?

The X-Men just stood there, frozen in disbelief as it seemed.

The sentence works fine without the "as it seemed" tacked on at the end.

They have never encountered a problem like this before. They haven't even fought anything that wasn't from earth before.

That "have" should be "had" and the "haven't" should be "hadn't."

His pain was gone as the transformation as well.

That sentence doesn't make sense.

He kept staring at the claws as his final words were, "Th-thank you…".

I don't think the period is needed after the quotation marks.

He then fell to the ground, dead as doornail.

Missed an "a" there.

"Oh no! No! Not you, too!" Jean said, surprised and scared of what happened to Wolverine. He had the same mouth and eyes now, just like the Brood.

Why hasn't he transformed fully? Is his healing factor fighting it? Also, if Wolverine is now a Brood, then why did he just kill another of his race?

Wolverine had now become a part of them.

Are the Brood a hive mind? Wouldn't Wolverine have become "one of them" instead of "part of them"?
 
That's still hilarious. "And then we found Storm during a mission in Africa. She was even in a hole and stuff."
:lol:


Shouldn't it be "Bobby Drake's parents"? Also, this plot is a little too Ultimate X-Men...
Don't worry. It won't even happen at all. I'll tell you that much.


I was thinking the same thing.
Great minds and all!



That sounds kind of corny.
It does. Sorry.



That comes kind of out of nowhere. Shouldn't it have taken place after Beast had talking about dissecting the alien?
I must've wrote it in the wrong place without realizing it.



I love how Storm seems so useless. "Storm, go do something else while the cool mutants fight." :lol:
Ha! :lol:



"Earthers"? I think it should also be "giant Brood spoke" without the "out." Also, if he's talking to more than one creature, it should be "troops."
I need a beta reader.



Tackled what to the ground?
I think my intelligence. Still checking into it.



This seems to imply that the Brood are in the sky, but it is actually the lightning bolts coming down from the sky.
Did not mean for it to come off like that.



Filthy sacks rules.
:rockon:



"Irony thus screams"? Is that even a proper sentence? Do people even say "thus" any more? The only time I use it if it's written in a speech or script...
It seems as something classic Beast would say. :neutral:


That sentence doesn't make sense.
I seem to be very good with writing those.



Stupid Storm, always asking questions. Why did they leave the Professor in a Café though?
It will be explained.



"Humped"?
Oops. That was supposed to be "jumped".



The sentence works fine without the "as it seemed" tacked on at the end.
Noted.



That "have" should be "had" and the "haven't" should be "hadn't."
Grrr. Stupid spellchecker. :x



That sentence doesn't make sense.
I strike again!


I don't think the period is needed after the quotation marks.
Noted as well.


Missed an "a" there.
One of many things I seem to miss.



Why hasn't he transformed fully? Is his healing factor fighting it? Also, if Wolverine is now a Brood, then why did he just kill another of his race?
That will be explained in the next issue.



Are the Brood a hive mind? Wouldn't Wolverine have become "one of them" instead of "part of them"?
You are correct. It shoud have have been the former.



Thanks for reading. Sorry for the boo-boos.


I so need a beta reader. Like badly.
 
EXM36.jpg


Essential X-Men #36
Written & Cover by Ice

"Invasion of the Brood Kind" Part 3 of 4

With Wolverine changing into a Brood, can even he heal fast enough to help prevent the loss the X-Men are about to face?

Release Date: 4/8/07
 
Last edited:
It's baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!







My name is Charles Francis Xavier. I founded the X-Men because I believe this world can co-exist with both humans and mutants alike. I searched for those were able to help me in my cause that would one day rid of the hatred that fills the hearts of those who wish ill against us. I brought together six mutant outcasts to do just that.

Cyclops. Iceman. Jean Grey. Colossus. Beast. Wolverine.

And then we found Storm during a mission in Africa.

Now if only the world can see the good that can come from this…


PREVIOUSLY IN ESSENTIAL X-MEN:

The X-Men struggle to save the city and its people from the alien race known as the "Brood". They've come to Earth to take over the planet and make the human race their new hosts, but is something more sinister going on?

And if they thought that was bad enough, the worst has yet to come…



EXM36.jpg


ESSENTIAL X-MEN #36

INVASION OF THE BROOD KIND

PART 3 OF 4

"SURPRISE, SURPRISE"




New York City, New York
High Past Noon-



Wolverine stood there, staring at the X-Men as a predator at its prey. His mouth salivated and his eyes had turned pale. Wolverine was changing into one of them, into one of the Brood. But he appeared as though he was trying to fight it.

"Raah..raah..rahhheelp…" he struggled to say as he clutched his head and shook it.

"How did this happen to you?!" yelled a frightened Storm.



Central Park
15 minutes ago-


"You flamin', slimy, bastard!" Wolverine screamed at the Brood he fought. The Brood had tried to grab Wolverine by his legs before trying to impregnate him. Wolverine pulled himself up and popped his class to slice off the Brood's arms. Wolverine fell down to the ground with a loud thud.

"They don't say I'm the best at what I do for nothin', bub," Wolverine told the Brood as he got up from the ground and dusted himself off.

"You…pathetic…Earther. You really think…this is so…simple?" The Brood demanded [as it struggled with the painful loss of its arms.

"You ain't talkin' yer way outta this," Wolverine told it as he proceeded to kill the Brood by forcing his claws into the creature's head. But the Brood had one last trick. Unfortunately for Wolverine, he had been outsmarted. When Wolverine stabbed the Brood's head, he felt something being jabbed into him. When he looked down, he found he had also been stabbed by the Brood.

Wolverine retracted his claws and stumbled backwards as he immediately began to feel the pain. His healing factor was working as fast it could, but it wasn't working fast enough to help him.

He tried to walk out of the park, but it was hard to walk straight with the changes coming too fast. He felt his face begin to change shape. His teeth grew larger and sharper, his mouth extended and became as large as a mango. Wolverine's pupils were losing their color altogether.

He heard screams from all over the place. With his advanced senses, he tried to filter out the screams of the civilians and listen for the X-Men. Failing that, Wolverine sniffed them out, knowing their scents. Once he locked on, he made his way towards them, still trying to fight the impregnation.

Once he did, he killed a man and found them.



Now-



"We have to help him!" cried Colossus.

Cyclops rudely stated, "If anyone knows how to stop whatever the hell is happening to him, by all means, please go ahead and go to town."

"I..I believe I can help him," a voice said from behind the X-Men. It was a man from the group Jean was keeping safe.

"I am a priest. The power of God can help that man. I can see it in his soul."


"Oh brother…" Cyclops whispered at first. "Thank you, but no. I'm not going to risk a civilian's life here," he then added.

"Then what other way is there?" Storm asked in an angry tone. Cyclops knew he had no other options to try and help Wolverine, who he was reluctant to help anyways. He knew he was running out of time.

"Go," he simply said.

Jean opened the psychic shield a little to let the man out. He quickly ran up to Wolverine who was now down on his knees.

"Make this quick. We're wasting time staying in one place so long," Cyclops told the priest.

"Listen to me, good man. My name is Father Pan and I am here to help you. You have to listen to me very, very carefully. This devil of a creature that is inside you, it does not own you. Let God into you. Let the almighty smite the heathen! Fight the creature! AND DAMN IT TO THE INFERNAL HELL!!"

Wolverine fought to save his own life. At first he seemed to be losing; it looked as though he was choking. But in fact, Wolverine was actually getting the impregnated Brood out of himself. He vomited, a small Brood egg coming out as well. It was deformed, since it had been hatching. Cyclops quickly destroyed the egg with one of his optic blasts.

"Tell me son, are you okay?" Father Pan asked Wolverine.

"Give me a beer and Cuban and we'll talk 'okay'," Wolverine replied, slowly standing up. He looked down and noticed the man he had killed.

"There was no chance for him. I had enough control to put him out of his misery. Without a healing factor like mine, there was no chance for his survival," Wolverine said with remorse.

"No one's putting you on trial here. No worries my friend," Beast assured him.

Storm looked up at the sky and noticed something that just made things worse than before.
"I hate to break this up, but this just got worse," she said to everyone as she pointed to the sky for them to look. More Brood ships had arrived. This time, they had come with more cavalry than before.

"And they say the more the merrier is good, eh?" Wolverine asked, smirking.

"Jean, you're going to get those people out of here, now!" Cyclops ordered her. Jean agreed, and quickly took the group to a safe place away from the Brood.


Meanwhile
Back at the Café-



Charles Xavier faced the blocked windows that looked outside into the streets. His eyes were closed as he concentrated on finding out what was going on with the X-Men through a psychic link with Cyclops, although he did not let him know.

"Are…are they gone yet?" a little girl asked as she peaked out from under a table that had been thrown on its side.

"It is okay, young one. I have many friends who are right now taking care of the situation. You are quite safe in here," Xavier said confidently, smiling at the little girl.

"How come you're not with your friends? Won't they need your help?" she stayed under the table.

Xavier answered her, "On the contrary, my dear, I'm actually helping them from in here. Can I ask you for a favor? Would you be kind enough to get me a cup of water from the back?"

The little girl nodded and stood up and slowly walked to the back of the café to get him the water. She was still scared of what was happening outside.



24 minutes ago-

The Brood reinforcements quickly spread out and waited for orders. There was another Brood who was taller then the rest, with a much darker tone to its slimy skin. It towered above the rest, marking it as their leader.

**Scott, there is something else happening here. I am getting some odd sense from their ships. They are not alone, but it feels as though it may be…humans. Quickly, have Storm take me into the café. I must investigate this further.**

**Yes, sir.**

"Storm, take the Professor inside that café. He'll take care of the rest from there," commanded Cyclops. Storm nodded and did what she was told.



The here and Now-

"Here you go, mister. Hope your friends are alright," the little girl said as she handed Xavier the cup of water.

"Yes, I hope so, too."


Elsewhere-


"What's going on? Why are they standing there still?" Storm wondered about the Brood ships that had not moved. Right then, Jean came back and joined up with the rest.

"Jean. Are they somewhere safe?" Cyclops asked.

"Yes, they're fine. Why are they still there?" she asked.

"I don't know, but if they-" Cyclops was interrupted by a white beam of light. It came down quickly and blinded everybody.

Once they were able to see, Cyclops took a quick look around only to see that Jean was now missing.

"Jean? Jean?! Oh my God no…"

"What happened?" Colossus wondered.

"JEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!" Cyclops yelled, shooting his beam into the sky.



Aboard the Mother Brood ship-


"Your highness. As you've asked, we took one of theirs. But why this one particularly?"

"Do not question me. Now prep it for the impregnation. We will force it to be a host. They promised us this planet and we will take it one way or another."


TO BE CONCLUDED…


Next: Who are "they?" Is this the end of Jean? And how exactly can the Brood talk?

Find out in Essential X-Men #37. The most fiery issue of them all!
 
Last edited:
Hi, I'm Too-Lazy-to-organize-Man.

-Nice previously "page: Really grabs the reader.
-This may be nit-picky but I don't find the cover to be the least bit attractive to the eye, I know it's probably on the back-burner of your mind but could you work on making them a little less Photoshop?
-"High Past Noon" :I like it.
-"Wolverine stood there, staring at the X-Men as a predator at its prey": Understood your meaning but sentence needs to be clearer.
-""You flamin', slimy, bastard!" Wolverine screamed at the Brood he fought. The Brood had tried to grab Wolverine by his legs before trying to impregnate him. Wolverine pulled himself up and popped his class to slice off the Brood's arms. Wolverine fell down to the ground with a loud thud.": While the imagery is great the repetition of "Wolverine" and "Brood" is poor writing, try to use some pronouns.
- "You…pathetic…Earther. You really think…this is so…simple?" The Brood demanded [as it struggled with the painful loss of its arms.: Excellent use of pauses to convey the Brood's tired state but you forget to add a "]" at the end.
-his mouth extended and became as large as a mango.: the metaphor just sounds weird [PT!= that's my personal taste alert, so don't take as fact]
-Once he locked on, he made his way towards them, still trying to fight the impregnation: That sentence is just so pulpy, I love it.
-Once he did, he killed a man and found them.: Repitition of beginning [Once] from last sentence.
-"Oh brother…" Cyclops whispered at first. "Thank you, but no. I'm not going to risk a civilian's life here," he then added. : More of a side note really, I've never really seen or recall Cyc's views on religion, has anything ever been mentioned?
-Storm looked up at the sky and noticed something that just made things worse than before": worse than before" is redundant
-"Jean, you're going to get those people out of here, now!" Cyclops ordered her. Jean agreed, and quickly took the group to a safe place away from the Brood.: Safe place? Please be more specific [if you want that is.]
-The Café scene is absolutely wonderful. Good idea. It's one thing to just have a bunch of heroes and villains go at it in a cool fan boy way but when you offer a chance for a breather and just some character scenes it makes more than just "fanboyistic" writing. Hope that makes senses.
- The ** works for Xavier's psychic link.
-GAH! JEAN!, felt a little too mellow dramatic when Cyclops yelled for her, try and slow down the realization process for the X-men. That should make it "better".
-This issue needed more Beast: 9 out of 10 doctors agree.
 
For the cover-

I just wanted to do a group shot together which I haven't actually done. I don't really like this format myself, but it worked perfectly just for here.


As for Beast-

Don't worry. Beast will be having importance soon enough.


Thanks for the comments. :)
 
My name is Charles Francis Xavier. I founded the X-Men because I believe this world can co-exist with both humans and mutants alike. I searched for those were able to help me in my cause that would one day rid of the hatred that fills the hearts of those who wish ill against us. I brought together six mutant outcasts to do just that.

Cyclops. Iceman. Jean Grey. Colossus. Beast. Wolverine.

And then we found Storm during a mission in Africa.

Now if only the world can see the good that can come from this…


PREVIOUSLY IN ESSENTIAL X-MEN:

Wolverine was able to come back from almost turning into a Brood. But things take a toll for the worse when Jean gets kidnapped by the very creatures they were just fighting with. What does this mean for the X-Men now?

EXM37.jpg

ESSENTIAL X-MEN #37

INVASION OF THE BROOD KIND

PART 4 OF 4

"FINAL PHASE: DESTRUCTION"





New York, New York
Nothing to add here…



For a moment, the X-Men stood dumbfounded. A blinding flash of light had allowed the Brood to kidnap Jean Grey. Unfortunately for the X-Men, the attack was successful and the Brood were able to take Jean Grey away from them.

The mothership and the rest of the armada left Earth's atmosphere, but only to outer space, out of range of the X-Men.

Cyclops was taking the situation the worst. As the others were too scared, shocked, or just didn't know what to do, Cyclops grew angrier. He turned around and yelled at the team.

"You wonder why I put you through so much training?! Look at this!! LOOK!!! Thanks to everyone's inability to do their job the way they're supposed to, now Jean's been taken away!"

Wolverine was furious. He didn't for one second approve of Cyclops blaming them for something they weren't even prepared for; something that wasn't their fault. Grabbed Cyclops by the neck and pushed him up against a wall. He put his fist in front of Cyclops's face, keeping it a few inches away, and then released his claws.


SKNIT!

"Listen, bub. NO ONE was ready for that! NO. ONE. I can tell yer pissed that you never had time to tell her about the love you have for her. I can smell on you. But that ain't an excuse to go blamin' everyone for somethin' they couldn't stop. Yer supposed to be better than that, remember?"

Cyclops never answered. Instead, tears began to stream down his face and his lips quivered as if from cold. Wolverine still didn't let go of him.

"Let go now of him, Wolverine. You are done," Colossus warned. Wolverine, for whatever reason, kept his stance without following the orders.

"I said…let…go," Colossus warned him one last time. But Wolverine seemed to like ignoring Colossus today.

Colossus wouldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Wolverine and pulled him off Cyclops and threw him backwards. Wolverine fell into a dumpster and Cyclops fell down to the ground, staying there.

"Jean…I'm so sorry…" Cyclops said to himself.

"What…what do we do now?" Storm asked. Nobody replied. No one knew what to say.

"So do we just stand around here doing nothing?" she asked again.

Beast questioned, "Do you propose we just up and go into chasing them into space?"

"Yes!"

"Well we can't! Theoretically, it would be possible to prep the Blackbird to be space-capable, but-"

"So hurry up and get to it!" interrupted Storm.

Beast continued, "-but it would take six months to two years to actually make it happen! And where do you think we would even get the parts now? It's impossible."

"You don't have anything lying around back home?"



At the Café-


Xavier, still connected to Cyclops, felt what happened. Seeing Jean's kidnapping in his mind stunned him. The cup of water he held fell to the floor and shattered into pieces, each one reflecting his image. He realized that Jean could be dead by now.

The little girl who had helped him before came to him again and took his hand.

"Mister, are you okay? What happened?"

Xavier looked at her and took a moment before responding.

"I…just lost my grip, little one. Everything is okay now. I am sorry to have scared you," he told her kindly.

"It's okay. I'll go clean this up."

"Thank you. You look so much like her," Xavier told her girl.

"Like who?"

"A…friend."



Meanwhile
Onboard the Brood mothership-



Jean was starting to wake up. Everything was blurry and fuzzy as she looked around her surroundings, trying to get a sense of where she was at[where she was]. Jean tried to move, but couldn't life up her arms or legs. Once she was able to see more clearly, she noticed the room she was held in was some type of laboratory.

"The female Earther awakes. Let be queen know," said a Brood who was keeping an eye on Jean. Jean struggled to try and get free, but still was unsuccessful. She even tried using her powers only to find out nothing happened.

"Do not try any of your tricks here. All our ships are fitted with special inhibitors that let no species of any kind try using telekinesis."

"What do you want with me? Impregnate me as well?" Jean asked.

"It is how we breed. Soon, your planet will all be like us."

Jean continued to try and free herself. As she did, a faint, barely noticeable red-orange aura began to glow around her body.

"Quit your struggling, Earther. This will happen whether you like it or not."

The aura then began to grow brighter and the Brood noticed it.

"What is this? This cannot be your doing! This is impossible!"

Just then, another Brood arrived with news from their queen.

"The Queen says you should already have begun. Wait…what is that around her? The queen will not be pleased if you do otherwise then impregnate!"

The aura again grew larger. It began to cover Jean in a blanket. Soon after, Jean literally was catching on fire.

"What have you done?! The queen will not be pleased!"

"I have not done anything! Somehow the inhibitors do not work with this one."

Once Jean was completely on fire, she quit struggling. One last time, she pulled her arms and legs with great force. This time she was free. She gasped for air and then closed her eyes. The Brood tried to come close to her but the aura burned them when they touched it. Jean opened her eyes to reveal no pupils. Here eyes were completely white, like the Brood's, only she wasn't one of them. The fire quickly began to take shape around Jean as she slowly got up from where she laid [lay]. A white flash then spread across the all the ships, and even to Earth.


On Earth-


"The flamin' hell was that?" Wolverine asked as he looked out from the dumpster.



The Brood mothership-



The Brood that were in the room looked up to see Jean was now floating in the air. But she looked different now. She was no longer Jean Grey. Her body was naked as the fire moved around her life a river. Her hair was down, but glowed a fiery red color. Evil was upon her face.

"I AM FREE AT LAST! I. AM. REBORN!"

"What is going on? This should not have happened!"

"MERE MORTALS. I AM THE PHOENIX! I AM LIFE INCARNATE!"

Phoenix said this as the fire around her now took the shape of a bird spreading its wings.

"No! The Phoenix is but a myth!"

"I AM NO MYTH. YOU WILL NOW PERISH FOR DARING TO HOLD ME!"

The Phoenix took flight through the ship and into space. She incinerated the armada before flying back into the mother ship.




Back on Earth-



Wolverine joined up with the X-Men on their way back to meet with the Professor at the café. They noticed the explosions in the sky.

"Oh my stars and garters. I highly distrust it was the sun," Beast sarcastically noted.

They saw something come closer into the Earth faster and faster. It was the Brood mother ship.

"By that trajectory, it's going to fall into the Hudson River!" Beast exclaimed. The X-Men quickly changed their route and headed over to the Hudson River as fast as they could.


The ship crashed into the river which cause a giant tidal wave that roared through a part of the city.




Minutes later-


The X-Men arrived finally at the river. Cyclops was about to jump in, but Colossus held him back.

"What are you doing?! Jean could be in there!" cried out Cyclops.

Colossus gave him a reassuring look and said, "I will go. I don't have to breathe underwater." And so he went in instead. About 10 minutes later, Colossus had come back up.

"I am sorry, comrade. I did not find her anywhere. Only the dead Brood occupy the ship," Colossus told Cyclops. Cyclops walked over and stood staring at the river. He then looked up to the sky and shot his optic beam.

When he stopped, Cyclops asked himself, "Jean…where are you?"


********************************​




Elsewhere
Somewhere in Space-



"My lord. The Brood have failed," a manservant came in and said to another person who stood staring at a control panel.

"Why does that not surprise me? Such a simple task they were given. I just told their filthy queen not even an hour ago about failure. To think we had to give them the ear-wigs so they could hear and understand these people and make conquering them easier. What was the king thinking? Get her on the com now," the lord commanded.

"Uhh…that's the thing…my lord. She was killed as well."

"Well. The surprises don't end, I see. The king will not be happy about this. Searching for low-life to do our work is not an easy task. We will come back to take over this planet once more soon enough."

"Of course my lord. We will prosper."

"We shall. That is the Kree way."



X—END—X


Next
: It's the time to join a club. Guess which one!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top