Marvel: Iron Age - Exiles - Part 2

THE CHARACTERS IN THIS STORY ARE BASED OFF CHARACTERS AND SETTINGS THAT ARE THE PROPERTY OF MARVEL INC. AND THEIR RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED, I THOUGHT OF THE STORY BUT THE WORLD IS THEIRS
 
( Continued from Marvel: Iron Age - Exiles - Part 1)
 
Earth, United States, Somewhere in the wilds of the Midwest
 
Malcolm Legard helped hide the group's escape ship while most of the others became familiar with Earth. None of them had ever left the safety and artificial gravity of the Acropolis. Sure they understand Earth is a dangerous place but feeling a natural environment not a climate controlled space station is something new.

"Thanks for the help Vincent. You didn't want to go explore like the others?"

"Who says I'm not? I can explore and help you with the ship at the same time. But you should really get used to our new codenames. The name is Beast now."

"Beast, right. Who came up with that? I mean if I were to think anyone in the group was going to be called Beast I would have thought Raphael."

Malcolm looks around to see who else is around. Raphael the most odd looking member of their group is swimming in the nearby lake but definitely beyond range of hearing. Malcolm's own niece Gabrielle is keeping him company flying over the water. Her blue skin is almost the same color as the sky. There is no sign of Simon or Virginia.

"It was Gabrielle who came up with them. I don't think she wanted to remind Raph of his own appearance. He knows he looks strange, he doesn't need a reminder. Besides don't you think my power is beastly?"

Beast holds out his hands and soon a small blue bird comes to land there. But it isn't just any bird, it is a bird made up of pure telekinetic energy. As if perches in his hand it is then reabsorbed into Beast's body.

"I sent out that little scout when we first arrived to be my eyes and ears. It took in the whole area while I was helping you with the ship."

"Your energy animals have always been impressive, as well as your ability to multitask while controlling them. But Beast?" Malcolm asks.

Beast smirks for a moment and then suddenly a shimmering blue energy surrounds him and soon Malcolm is face to face with a giant bear made of telekinetic energy. In the center of the bear is Vincent floating and smiling. Instinctively Malcolm forms dark force weapons in his hands but knows that Beast wouldn't really attack him.

"Okay fair enough, Beast it is then."

Over by the water Gabrielle turns to see what is going on since Vincent went into 'bear mode'. Seeing Malcolm surprised is a nice change since he was the one who constantly drilled them back on the station in the use of their powers. In some ways he knows more about their powers than they do.

Raphael, who Gabrielle has dubbed 'Gambit', has been underwater for 4 minutes and doesn't look like he's coming up anytime soon. Feeling somewhat ditched Gabrielle flies over to her uncle and Beast.

"So I understand you've got a knack for picking out codenames for people Gab. Let me guess yours. Well you're not going to be Windchill anymore, and Storm would be too obvious with your powers....I'm going to say Mystique because of the blue skin." Mal guesses.

"No that would have been too obvious too. I was kinda I could be Mystique but with her having the blue skin it would probably be too confusing." Virginia says as she appears beside them and kisses Malcolm on the cheek.

"Enjoying the wide open landscape dear? Allow you to really get up to speed?" Malcolm hugs Virginia.

"Yeah. I've been able to get up pretty fast on the Acropolis but only in the circle. It's totally different to be able to run in any direction. And since I couldn't be Mystique you can call me Blink." She disappears again in a blur of motion.

"So Beast..." Malcolm points at Vincent. "...and Blink...." He gestures over his shoulder to where Virginia disappeared. Then points to Gabrielle with a quizzical look.

"Me? Oh I'm Rogue of course. And I've got a name for you, Nightcrawler." Gab pokes her uncle in the chest.

He thinks about it for a moment and then nods. "I kinda like it actually. So what about our currently aquatic friend over there?"

Raphael has partially emerged from the lake and is heading their way. As his body gets used to processing oxygen fro the air again the gills on his neck close up and he begins breathing with his lungs again. The hard flesh plates that cover his face and torso have already taken up a color more similar to the plants and water of the lake.

"Well he jumps into every situation first and survives any environment. He's our Gambit." Gab explains and Gambit hears just the end of the conversation. He just nods to Malcolm, his former Professor.

"So that just leaves Simon. Where is Simon?" Malcolm asks as he looks around.

Blink then zips back into the group. "He's investigating an abandoned town near here looking for technology. Suitable for our new Forge right?"

"So does that make us X-Men?" Beast who has been keeping quiet as everyone else has been coming over. He is so essential to the next step that he's already preparing himself.

"No, We aren't X-Men even if we are using their names. We're new here, we grew up someplace safe, someplace the mutants here could only dream of. We've been exiled from our home because we want to help people we've never met. We're Exiles." Malcolm says.

And just like the universal agreement as Gabrielle gave them new codenames everyone accepts this new name for their group.

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A little bit later as night has fully taken effect Simon returns. The technological devices that are usually sticking out from his skin are all just beneath his skin now. The others offer him some rations cooked over the camp fire.

"So did you find any interesting technology to absorb?" Beast asks.

"No. The nearby town was abandoned over 150 years ago, they had nothing of any use to us." Simon sits down and sees that everyone is looking at his altered appearance.

"Oh....even though I didn't find any useful technology I did use the time to rearrange the tech already within my body. Thanks to these." The one now called Forge pulls eight rings out of his own arm and passes them around.

"Well now is as good a time as any to distribute the goods you guys stole while I was being sentenced." Malcolm now called Nightcrawler takes the 8 Makluan rings in his hands for a moment.

"These were the power source from one of two alien vessels sent to Earth to conquer the planet. We don't know what happened to the aliens but over 200 years ago a man found the other set of rings and used them to fight Iron Man. This man called himself the Mandarin was a villain but back then Iron Man was a hero. The world has since changed, Iron Men have conquered the world and subjugated the people. We're here to fight them so it's suitable we use traditional weapons against them."

Everyone is quiet as Malcolm spoke. He then puts the 'Black Light' ring on his own finger. Gabrielle gets three rings; the 'Vortex Beam', 'Ice Blast' and 'Electro-Blast' rings. He hands the 'Mento-Intensifier' to Beast, the 'Matter-Rearranger' back to Forge, the 'Impact Beam' ring to Blink and the 'Disintegration Beam' ring to Gambit.

"I don't need one, really. I don't need a 'Disintegration Beam'." Gambit says.

Beast then speaks up. "But these rings are all connected. There are two more out there, worn by Malcolm's brother, Gabrielle's father. With the 'Mento-Intensifier' ring I can try to locate him. Malcolm and Gab are closely related to him genetically, that connection is the signal I'm sending out. By linking us mentally and we're the power source for that signal and the rings are the antenna. It will work better if we're all wearing a ring Raphael."

Gambit just shrugs. "Okay but when you make the mental connection can you make it last only as long as you need? We don't need to be sharing each others dreams in a few hours like last time."

Beast blushes and Nightcrawler speaks. "Lets get this started. Whenever you're ready Beast."

Beast nods and closes his eyes. He focuses his mental abilities into the alien 'Mento-Intensifier' ring and thinks of a small animal suitable for their needs. He's never seen a squirrel in real life, there are very few animals on the Acropolis but he's seen images of them. He produces five of the little creatures made of red telepathic energy.

Each of the little squirrels then moves to one of the companions around the campfire. When they touch the person they are absorbed into their body and soon they were all connected in a powerful mental link. Nightcrawler and Rogue think of their family. Nightcrawler remembers what his brother was like while Rogue thinks about the pictures she's seen of her father and the stories her mother told her.

The other companions share these impressions and concentrate on them as Beast tries to locate that person somewhere on Earth. The rings help, they're all connected and their quarry is wearing two of them out there somewhere. Just as Malcolm has powers over the Darkforce, his brother Dominic controls light.

They begin to feel his mind out there somewhere, Exiled from home not much older than Gabrielle is now. Knowing that he was going to be exiled to Earth he stole the Makluan rings to enhance his own powers. He left 8 of the rings behind on the Acropolis hoping that someone else could find use for them.

On Earth he used the 'Flame-Blast' and 'White Light' rings to fight off Iron Soldiers and the monsters in the wilds. Soon he had gained some followers, humans and mutants that he protected would follow him around the country. He'd tell them stories of the Acropolis, the great safe haven in orbit around the planet. He believed that there was another hidden haven somewhere on Earth. A place the X-Men of the heroic age called Utopia hidden when mutants began to be hunted.

To his followers he was almost an avenging angel sent down from Heaven that would lead them to the promised land. That is why his followers began to call him Archangel.

The mental link then fades. They know that Dominic is still alive, that he has a group of followers and they're looking for Utopia. Plus they have a general direction in which they can sense his presence.

"Thank you Beast. Now we're connected to him, it's only a matter of time before we track him down. That must have been exhausting for you, get some rest." Nightcrawler says.

"Actually sir, thanks to the 'Mento-Intensifier' ring it was much easier than if I'd tried it before." Then he yawns. "Though it has been a long day, so maybe I will get some sleep."

Beast gets up and heads over to his tent. Most of the others do the same, though Blink gives Nightcrawler a kiss before she heads to the tent they share. Soon only Nightcrawler and Rogue are alone by the fire. Nightcrawler can see that Rogue's cheeks are wet from tears.

"Are those happy tears? We're closer than ever to finding him you know." He says to his niece.

"I know....I'm just so happy he's going by Archangel now. That's the name I had all picked out for him." She smirks in response.

They both just chuckle and continue to watch the fire.
 
(To be continued.)
 
Dramatis Personae : 
Malcolm Legard aka Nightcrawler
Virginia 'Ginny' D'Arcangelis aka Blink
Vincent D'Arcangelis aka Beast
Simon Belcourt aka Forge
Raphael Riffliotti aka Gambit
Gabrielle Verona aka Rogue
Dominic Legard aka Archangel

I like it

@PrinceIMC: This is great, but we may have a small issue. Warstar at the moment has the Mandarin's freeze ring. He got it from the room of death and right now this very second he's confronting the Mandarin with it on the streets of New York. The Mandarin, old tired beaten Mandarin, has his disintergration ring, the only one he's found so far in his "Walk the Earth, feel the pain caused by the Iron Army" enchantment for the last 175+yrs and when he gets all 10, he'll DIE!

Soooo @PrinceIMC said:

Malcolm now called Nightcrawler takes the 8 Makluan rings in his hands for a moment.
"These were the power source from one of two alien vessels sent to Earth to conquer the planet. We don't know what happened to the aliens but over 200 years ago a man found the other set of rings and used them to fight Iron Man. This man called himself the Mandarin was a villain but back then Iron Man was a hero. The world has since changed, Iron Men have conquered the world and subjugated the people. We're here to fight them so it's suitable we use traditional weapons against them."

Unless of course I've mucked it up (and I think I have) because these are another set??? Ahhh there it is "One of TWO alien vessels"! Ah-ha. So just clarifying there's the Mandarin's set and your set. Also what would happen if Mandarin got your set hmmmm

On with the story: Great work! I love Beast with his telepathic/telekinetic construct animals, that I can see is going to be an awesome power especially if he gets into the apex predators if he looses his temper! And Malcolm is a very good teacher.

Love these characters, they're a colorful set.

Was that when Warren Ellis was writing Excalibur? Because though I have every issue of Excalibur I kinda stopped reading when the art & the story went YUCK (Britanic, Colossus joins the team, Candyman etc etc YUCK) That'd be awesome watching Dominic and Mandarin go at it....do it! Loving your work sir

@PrinceIMC: I liked that run until they started messing with Juggernaut, Cyttorack never gave a sh!t what Cain did as long as it didn't countermand him and all the sudden he just decides to change the rules

Personally Excalibur 'died' after issue 100 when they introduced Captain Britain as Britannic and it all went to $h!+ after that, the X-Calibre Age of Apoc tie in, the bad art then the relaunch. Booooo I say! Pete Wisdom is an awesome character but they mucked him up; I'm looking at you Warren Ellis & Chris Claremont!!

@PrinceIMC: Casual bump :)

@PrinceIMC: This is really engrossing and well written. Excellent work Prince! I have been behind in my Iron Age readings, this is fantastic! @PrinceIMC said:

"So Beast..." Malcolm points at Vincent. "...and Blink...." He gestures over his shoulder to where Virginia disappeared. Then points to Gabrielle with a quizzical look.

"Me? Oh I'm Rogue of course. And I've got a name for you, Nightcrawler." Gab pokes her uncle in the chest.

He thinks about it for a moment and then nods. "I kinda like it actually"

I do love the rebranding!