Marvel: Age of Hero

When the Different Ones Awaken

"Hey, I heard you found a relic from the past," were the first words Tony said as he walked into the base. It seemed he had become quite a frequent visitor around here, although he never actually did anything and then disappeared to who knows where.

"Are you talking about your dear father's best friend?" Owen replied with a mocking look as he set his coat down on the sofa, after moving some of Nicolas' moving boxes. Nicolas himself was sitting there calmly, his hands bandaged, not helping at all.

"So it's true. Captain America is still alive?" Banner asked with interest, not far from them.

It looked like Nicolas had already taken care of telling them the story.

"Yes. Fury took him with him," Owen said calmly.

"To S.H.I.E.L.D.? Didn't you say it was full of Hydra spies?" Tony asked, frowning seriously.

"Yeah. Seems like he's going to use him to clean house. The men who were there that day haven't been seen again. Except Barton," Owen said, his expression serious.

"You don't mean..." Tony muttered, making a gesture with his hand to imply Fury had ordered them all killed.

"No idea. He might have locked them up, too," Owen said with a shrug.

It was then that the general entered.

"No. Knowing Fury, they were probably eliminated to keep them from leaking information. He'll only keep those he truly trusts close. And even then, he'll have his one good eye on you at all times," Nathaniel said gravely, as everyone turned to look at him.

"That's the difference between him and us. We take care of our people," he added, glancing at Nicolas.

"So what do we do? Lend them a hand dealing with Hydra?" Tony asked as he calmly sat down on one of the sofas.

"No. That's their problem. If something like that happened to us, they'd definitely take the opportunity to dismantle our group and try to force us to join them. And above all, with us around, neither Hydra nor S.H.I.E.L.D. will want a confrontation that might harm civilians, because that would make us get involved. Still, it would be wise to track down some of their bases. After all, I don't believe S.H.I.E.L.D. is the only one with infiltrators," Nathaniel said seriously.

"So we'll attack Hydra without helping S.H.I.E.L.D. Either way, we'll be helping them from the outside," Owen remarked with a mocking smile.

"We're not monsters. Even if it's Fury, he's a necessary evil to protect the world," Nathaniel said calmly.

"And one more thing," he added, pulling out a tablet and playing a video for everyone to see.

On the screen appeared what looked like a humanoid lizard running in fear across a university campus. Then the image shifted to a little girl falling from the roof of her house, only to stop midair and float gently to the ground. Finally, they showed a thief who, after stealing money from a store, was shot several times, but the bullets passed straight through his body as if he were intangible.

"Mutants," Owen said seriously as he watched the footage.

"Eso es lo que parece. Algunas personas han comenzado a manifestar esos poderes. Por ahora sólo quedan unos pocos, pero quizá deberías volver a hablar con el profesor Charles. "Ya sabemos lo que pasa en este país cuando aparece alguien diferente", añadió Nathaniel con expresión grave.

"Primero extraterrestres y dioses nórdicos, gente de otro universo… y ahora mutantes entre nosotros. "Genial", dijo Tony con un poco de sarcasmo. "Lo único que falta ahora es una invasión planetaria, un gigante durmiendo en las profundidades del océano despertando, vampiros, magos, demonios y… no sé, tal vez algún insecto protegiendo la ciudad", añadió burlonamente, ganándose la mirada de todos.

"¿Sabes qué es una bandera de la muerte?" Nicolás preguntó. "No importa— acabas de activar todos los que pudiste", dijo en serio.

Owen simply looked at Tony, thinking that at least he was good at listing problems.

"I'll go to the school and ask," Owen said calmly.

"Alright. The rest of you, find Hydra," Nathaniel ordered before leaving.

"Hey, is it just me, or does the old man look a little worried?" Nicolas asked with a serious look.

"Yeah. I always see that grumpy face of his," Tony said calmly.

"Well, the group was just created and too many things have started happening way too fast," Banner commented.

"And things are still far from calming down," Owen added with irritation.

...

Owen arrived at the school, watching several children who, as soon as they saw him, ran off to get away from him as if he were a threat.

"Really… you all should stop doing that. You make me feel like a monster," he murmured with a sigh, shaking his head.

When he reached the mansion door, it opened on its own, revealing Beast and Logan standing there waiting. This time, their postures were not as tense as before, though their eyes remained fixed on him with suspicion.

"Wow… just you two. But you really look so alike sometimes I think you must be related," Owen commented with a mildly annoyed smile, just to see Logan narrow his eyes in irritation.

"Get in. The Professor knew you'd come," Logan answered in his rough voice, turning on his heel to lead the way.

Owen lo siguió en silencio. Mientras caminaban por los pasillos, notó que, aunque todavía lo vigilaban, ya no le apuntaban con armas ni bloqueaban el camino como lo habían hecho la primera vez. Algunos niños lo miraban desde sus escondites—detrás de las puertas, debajo de las escaleras, detrás de los pilares. Sus ojos brillaban de curiosidad y miedo.

Una pequeña niña rubia lo miró desde un rincón, tan asombrada que Owen le dio una suave sonrisa y levantó la mano para saludarlo. Ella se sobresaltó y, abrumada por el miedo, desapareció directamente a través de la pared. Sin embargo, un momento después, volvió a mirar hacia afuera, con su rostro medio oculto observándolo con una mezcla de fascinación y cautela.

Por fin llegaron a la oficina del profesor. La puerta se abrió sola, dejando al descubierto a Charles Xavier sentado en su silla con porte solemne. A su alrededor, varios X-Men permanecían en profundo silencio.

"Señor Colt", saludó serenamente el profesor, inclinando ligeramente la cabeza.

-Sí, hagámoslo rápido. "Ya sabes por qué estoy aquí", dijo Owen, mirando a su alrededor con una nota de aburrimiento en su voz.

"De hecho. Aunque no sabemos si es por nuestra llegada o simplemente por la evolución natural de este mundo, parece que aquí también hay gente con el gen mutante… y al parecer están empezando a despertar", explicó Charles con gravedad. "Me gustaría saber qué planeas hacer al respecto. Debes tener contactos entre el alto mando del ejército, ¿no?"

"Yes. Our group has the backing of several generals, all of them from our own side. The leader of our team… is basically the leader of theirs as well. He sent me first to learn from your experience… and to find out what happened in your world when mutants began to appear," Owen answered calmly.

"I see," Charles murmured, visibly a little more at ease. "That's a good start… trying to understand what could happen. And hurrying to avoid repeating our history."

"You have to know the past… to avoid repeating it," he added in a low voice, tinged with sadness.

"I suppose," Owen conceded.

"Follow me," Charles said as his wheelchair began to move down the hallway. Owen accompanied him in silence.

After crossing several rooms, they arrived at a large hall filled with screens and consoles. The technology surpassed even Stark's, something that caught Owen's attention.

"I'll try to summarize what happened in our world… but there are too many details. This may take a while," Charles warned before pressing a key.

The screens lit up with images that looked like something out of a nightmare: cities reduced to rubble, columns of fire staining the gray sky, colossal machines hunting down humans and mutants alike. The entire world looked like a graveyard in ruins.

«En nuestro mundo… cuando empezaron a nacer los primeros mutantes, el odio fue inmediato», comenzó Jean Grey, con la voz contenida, aunque sus ojos reflejaban recuerdos amargos. "Nos trataron como si fuéramos una enfermedad. Turbas armadas salían todas las noches a cazarnos, quemaban nuestras casas y arrastraban a los niños mientras dormían

"La situación empeoró cuando el gobierno decidió que éramos una amenaza", continuó en voz baja. "Por Magneto… el hombre al que te enfrentaste aquí. Durante años intentó demostrar que los humanos nunca nos aceptarían. Fundó un país de mutantes, prometió que seríamos libres… pero era una ilusión. "Todo fue una excusa para prepararse para una guerra total"

Jean respiró profundamente, como si luchara por mantener la compostura.

"When that failed, governments began experimenting on our people. Some died in labs… others simply disappeared. And then someone invented the so-called 'cure,' a serum that was supposed to erase the mutant gene. The result was the extermination of more than half of our kind."

On another screen, a military scientist appeared demonstrating a robot prototype that changed shape, adapting to each mutant it faced.

"These machines… they built them for a single purpose: to hunt us down. But what they didn't foresee was that almost all of humanity carried the dormant mutant gene. Sooner or later, it would awaken. When it did, the machines stopped distinguishing. They started killing everyone."

Jean fell silent. Charles took over the story:

"El mundo entero se convirtió en un campo de batalla. Los humanos culparon a los mutantes porque, sin nosotros, esas máquinas nunca habrían existido. Los mutantes culparon a los humanos por crearlos. Y las máquinas… simplemente mataron, sin piedad, sin cesar. La única razón por la que esta mansión permaneció en pie fue un benefactor anónimo. Alguien instaló una barrera protectora alrededor de estos muros… mantuvo alejados a los humanos y a las máquinas. Pero no pudo detener a otros mutantes"

"Cuando Magneto llegó con sus seguidores, exigió que entregáramos a nuestros jóvenes para que pudieran luchar en su guerra. Nos negamos. Esa fue la última batalla que libramos… porque, en medio de la pelea, terminamos aquí. Algunos de sus compatriotas cruzaron con él… pero la mayoría permaneció atrapada allí, en ese mundo condenado

Owen escuchó en silencio, con el ceño fruncido. Nada de esto coincidía con ninguna versión de la historia que hubiera escuchado jamás.

Magneto suena como un monstruo… pero aquí era tan fácil…

"¿Matar?" Jean interrumpió, su voz tranquila se llenó de tristeza. "Magneto nunca fue fuerte debido a su poder. Era fuerte por su pueblo… por su convicción. Pero cuando perdió a su hija… algo dentro de él se rompió. Ya no le importaba ganar. "Él sólo quería que todos ardieran juntos."

Charles inclinó la cabeza con amargura.

"Y parece que se equivoca en algo, señor Colt. Incluso si tenemos habilidades, no somos tan poderosos como imaginas. Es como si nos confundieras con los demás… con dioses o monstruos."

"Tal vez tengas razón", reconoció Owen en voz baja. La historia nos ayuda a advertirnos de lo que podría pasar… pero no resuelve el problema de los mutantes que podrían convertirse en un peligro. No creo que todos sean malvados, pero… algunas personas, cuando ganan poder, pierden la cordura"

"No podemos hablar por quienes eligen ese camino", respondió Charles, levantando la mirada. "Pero si lo deseas, podemos ayudar a aquellos que no quieren hacer daño. Podemos enseñarles a controlar sus dones… y a vivir como ciudadanos comunes. Para resistir la tentación."

"Eso sería útil. Estoy seguro de que el general… el anciano tendrá sus propios planes más adelante. En cuanto a los mutantes maliciosos… los manejaremos nosotros mismos", dijo Owen con serenidad.

"Sobre eso… ¿qué pasaría si algunos de los X-Men trabajaran contigo?" Charles sugirió.

¿Para demostrar que no todos los mutantes son una amenaza? ¿Que también protegen a los inocentes?" -preguntó Owen, levantando una ceja.

"Exactamente", confirmó Charles, sin ocultar la esperanza en su voz.

"Está bien", coincidió Owen con una sonrisa tranquila.

Todos lo miraron sorprendidos por la facilidad con la que aceptaba.

"Pronto verás que eres… de ninguna manera… lo más extraño que puede pasar en este mundo", dijo Owen con calma antes de girar hacia la puerta.