Standing in the middle of the ruined Manhattan square, were two beings of untold power. One a machine, an abomination of science, and the other a descendant of experimentation by celestials.
" Secondary targets are apprehended. Primary target is incapacitated. You will find me mutant, or the women die. The game is on. Let's play." The machine told the boy.
" Wait! I said fucking wait!"
The young man watched as the machine flew away with his people clutched tightly in its grasp.
6 hours ago....
It was early in the morning, and Ian had gotten up for an early morning run through the nearby forest that circled Xavier's. After his long night last night, he felt the urge to get out more. As he jogged through the trees, Ian felt a peace he had long since forgotten encompassing him.
The feeling of the wind blowing gently on his face. The sweet smell of the forest, the birds chirping peacefully, was just like music to his ears. In this moment, the world was just right. He had the girl, he had the power, and now recently he had rekindled some form of relationship with his mother. Eventually, Ian stopped along his track and took a moment to admire the natural beauty going on around him.
" It's been so long; I've almost forgotten how beautiful you could be. How serene you are when those who inhabit you aren't fighting. I have so much to say. But you've seen it all already, haven't you?" Ian spoke.
The young man placed his hand on the biggest tree in front of him and ran it up the side of the bark. Feeling the grooves and chips along the cover of the mighty tree.
As the young man began to enjoy the feeling of nature, the sun began to rise above the trees.
" Oops, guess I stayed out a little longer than I anticipated. I better get back before Nori wakes up or I might just have a very cranky lady scorching my balls." Ian let out a small chuckle at his own joke, before turning around and returning to the school, and more importantly, his own bed and beautiful girlfriend.
As Ian took his shoes off and slipped back under the blanket, Noriko rolled over and cuddled up next to the young man and groaned.
" You're back." Noriko groaned.
" Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." He replied. He laid back and wrapped his arms around Noriko and held her close to him. So close, that he could feel her breath on his neck. " What do you want to do today?" Ian asked.
" Mhmmm." Noriko groaned again. " Your mother called. She wants to go shopping today. In Manhattan." Noriko told the boy.
" What did you say?" Ian asked.
" I said I'd deliver the message." She stated.
" I see, do you want to go? We can get dressed and I could have us there in about thirty minutes." Ian told the woman
" Sleep." She replied.
" Meh, sounds good to me."
....
Later in the day.
After enjoying another nap together, Ian and Noriko got dressed. They would be going to Manhattan to see Ian's mother and help her with shopping for dinner later that night. At first Ian was hesitant, but then he figured it would be a good chance for Noriko to meet his mother proper, and for the two of them to get to know each other.
It would be important for them to get to know each other, especially if his mother really wanted to be a part of his life. It was also up to Noriko to tell his mother about herself, since it was her right.
Ian slid on a regular white t and a pair of blue jeans with his white sneakers. And Noriko slipped on her usual baggy blue jeans and her crop top with her usual grey sneakers.
" You ready?" Ian asked the girl.
" Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go." Noriko replied.
Ian took a step towards his bedroom window and opened it up. He then took Noriko's hand and pulled the woman out of the window, with her in his arms.
" So, you ready to meet my mom, officially?" Ian asked the girl.
" Not really. What do I even say to the woman?" She asked.
" Just be yourself and everything will work out. I'm more worried about how much this little shopping trip is going to cost." Ian mumbled.
" Why?" Noriko asked. She had seen the apartment that Mrs. Sinclair was living in, and it definitely wasn't cheap.
" Well, mother usually had the problem of going overboard. And I have a feeling, I'll be the one to carry everything." Ian explained.
Noriko laughed at the boy and patted him on the head.
" Don't worry, you'll make a perfect donkey." She joked.
" Oh, so that's how it is? Yeeeeaaaaah?!" Ian exclaimed, feigning offense.
Noriko laughed and Ian couldn't help but shake his head.
After a brief flight over the state of New York, Ian and Noriko eventually met up with the boy's mother at her Manhattan apartment.
Ian's mom greeted Ian and Noriko both with a smile and a hug.
" I'm glad you came, son." Mrs. Sinclair exclaimed.
" Hey, mom." Ian spoke.
" And Noriko, it's so good to see you again. I know we didn't exactly meet on proper circumstances. But I'm glad you came." Mrs. Sinclair told the woman.
Noriko smiled and nodded.
" It's nice to see you again, er.... I don't actually know your name ma'am."
" It's Sarah dear. Sarah Sinclair." Mrs. Sinclair told the girl.
Noriko nodded in response and smiled.
" It's a pleasure Sarah." Noriko spoke.
" Alright, let's get to work you two. Ian, I have a list of things I need you to pick up for me from the supermarket, while Noriko and I pay a trip to the farmers market." Mrs. Sinclair explained.
She took out a card and a sheet of paper and handed them both to Ian and the boy looked at her like he was insulted.
" Why do I have to go alone?" Ian asked the woman.
" Never you mind. Just do as yuir mother says." Sarah told the boy.
" Yes, mum." Ian replied.
Noriko was amused by the two, giggling at Ian's annoyance.
" Haha! Very funny." Ian stated. He placed the card and paper in his pocket and took off into the sky. Choosing to fly to the store instead of walk.
This meant that Noriko and Sarah were alone, until they met up with Ian again.
" So, Noriko, what do you say we get started on our shopping?" Sarah asked the young woman.
" Sure, that sounds good." Noriko replied.
Sarah smiled at Nori and the two began walking together down the streets of New York, unaware that they were being watched from above.
....
Sarah had purposely separated Ian from Noriko. Her plan was simple, get some alone time with Noriko. To see what kind of girl she was. And to try and learn more about the son she had been separated from.
" So, Noriko, tell me about yourself. Where are you from?" Saraha asked the young girl.
Noriko looked up from the street, having been distracted before.
" Well, I'm from Japan. Tokyo, to be more exact." Noriko told the woman.
" Oh? How long has your family been in America?" Sarah asked.
" It's just me, actually." Noriko told the woman. " I ran away from home three years ago. So, I don't really have any family here." Noriko wasn't sure what to say to Mrs. Sinclair exactly, so she was just honest.
" Oh, oh I'm sorry dear. That must have been hard." Sarah replied.
" Yeah." Noriko stated.
" So, how did you end up at Xavier's? Did you come to America to find them? Or...."
" Well, I actually lived on the streets for a while. At first, it was hard, I didn't know how to speak English, nor could I read it. And then there was also finding food and a place to sleep without freezing to death or dying from heat stroke during the summer. I mean, it was bad. And then on top of that, I couldn't control my powers." Noriko explained.
" What are your powers?" Sarah asked. " I mean, if you don't mind me asking."
Noriko raised her hands to the woman, showing her the gauntlets that she wore, and smirked.
" I can absorb and redirect electricity. The only problem is, I can't control it. Without these gauntlets on, I would continue to absorb energy more and more until it would overload and all that built up energy would explode out of me at once." Noriko stated.
Sarah looked at Noriko, obviously quite afraid of the girl. Something that Noriko took note of.
Noriko brought her hands back down and looked away from Sarah, causing Sarah to feel bad.
" I'm sorry, Noriko. I didn't mean to offend you. It's just."
" No, I understand. It's a little frightening to hear that someone could just blow up around you. But I want you to know that, as long as I have these gauntlets on, there's nothing to worry about. I'm completely in control." Noriko explained.
" Well... That's nice to know." Sarah replied. ".... I made things awkward now, I'm sorry. Nori, you seem like a nice young lady, and I can see why Ian's taking a liking to ye. And while I haven't shown it in the best of ways, I do care about my son. I love him. I just wanted to get to know you. So that maybe I could get a little closer to him as well. This is my one chance to be a part of his life again." She explained.
" I get it, Mrs. Sinclair. Seriously. We haven't been together for very long, but I've enjoyed spending time with Ian. He's made me feel... Comfortable. Happy. Trust me, you don't need to explain it to me. I'd even say I'm a bit jealous of him. I wish my father would try half as hard as you are." Noriko told the woman.
" I see." Sarah muttered.
" Yeah. So, how about we try too just be chill? ya know?" Noriko asked.
" Be chill? Yeah, that sounds nice." Sarah replied.
The two ladies laughed together, unfortunately; their bonding moment would come to an end with the arrival of a sinister force.
" Sorry, I'm anything but nice." A dark and malicious voice said to the two women.
Noriko looked over from Sarah at the man, that had suddenly appeared in front of them, and then tensed up defensively.
The man seemed to be normal, with the exception of his white hair and overly pink skin, almost like it was synthetic.
Noriko's danger senses were flaring. She instinctively began pushing Mrs. Sinclair back away from her and the man in front of her.
" Ladies, we should really talk." The man's eyes began to glow and a small explosion engulfed Noriko and Mrs. Sinclair.
.....
Happening at the same time.
Ian was busy running through the market, picking up the numerous items that his mother had placed on the list. His cart was full of foods like eggs, beats, pastas, tomatoes, potatoes, and meats of different kinds.
" I forgot how much money, mom had. Why did she have to make such a long list for one dinner?" He asked himself. " What the hell even is Liquid smoke?"
" I believe it is an item some people use to add that smoky flavor to barbeque."
Ian looked up to see a man with pink skin and white hair standing in front of him, grinning.
" Thanks, I appreciate it." Ian told the man. " I had no idea what the hell it was, but that does make sense." Ian spoke. He turned around to continue looking for the bottle of smokey goodness, while also seemingly keeping his eye on the man behind him.
He had a bad feeling, but with all the people around him, he didn't want to take the risk of endangering their lives.
" You know, things like shopping may seem tedious, boring, or anything other than exciting. But when it's with the people you love, it becomes something that with time becomes cherished memories of simpler times." The man spoke.
" Yeah.... I agree." Ian replied. His hand on his cart tightened so much it began to crush the piece of metal.
" Then you should cherish those you have.... Heh heh heh! You never know when you might lose them." The man's eyes started glowing red.
Ian turned around as fast as he could to punch the man, but before his fist could land, the man's body exploded.
Ian did his best to try and minimize the explosions blast radius. But even with his efforts, he couldn't stop it all.
When the dust cleared the man was gone, the store was in ruins, and the sounds of screams from the people, both in and out of the store, filled the air.
Ian pushed the rubble on top of him off, his shirt tattered and in ruins, and his pants ripped.
" Noriko, mom." Were his first thoughts. Ian flew up into the air, right through the hole in the ceiling. " He wanted to help, but in his mind, anyone even remotely near him when the man exploded was unequivocally dead. As he rose above the ash, he spotted another cloud not too far from where he was and flew straight for it.
......
On the other side of Manhattan, Noriko was trying her best to fight off the man who had attacked her and Mrs. Sinclair.
She had managed to protect the older woman from the man's first surprise attack, but the blast had rendered her unconscious, and now Noriko was on the defense.
The man laughed at the girl as he continued to fire blast upon blast of some kind of energy at her. It wasn't electricity, if it was, she could absorb it, or at the very least redirect it. But regardless of whatever it was it was deadly, easily blowing a hole through steel.
" How long do you plan on dodging me, little girl. Sooner or later, you'll have to attack back. You can't dodge forever." The man exclaimed. His blasts of energy continued to rain down on top of Noriko.
" You talk a lot for a giant pink and white tampon." Noriko joked. Her goading proved useless, as the man continued attacking her without showing even a glint of anger or embarrassment. His mind was focused on only one thing, and that was completing his mission. The man fired one large blast at Noriko, forcing the girl to take cover behind a car, that exploded.
Noriko, hit the ground hard, having been pushed back by the explosion. She rolled, scrapping her skin on the ground. She tried to push herself up only to feel the stinging sensation in her bloody left arm and in her right leg.
The explosion had left behind a smoke cloud.
" This is my chance; I need to grab Mrs. Sinclair and get the hell out of here." Noriko thought. She tried to limp her way over to the woman, who was unconscious on the side of the road. But before she could get there, the man walked up to her.
Standing over his defeated prey, the man smiled.
" Checkmate." He gladly spoke victoriously. But Noriko looked up at the man and grinned. " What's so funny?" He asked.
" You made a mistake. My boyfriend's gonna kick your ass." She told the man.
" Your boyfriend...." The man whispered. " That's exactly what I'm counting on." He replied. The man looked down at Noriko and just smiled at her maliciously. " Fun tidbit... Apparently, I've fought your boyfriend once, in the future- From what I've heard, he is strong.... I'm stronger. And now, you'll- Ugh!" The man was reaching down to grab Noriko, when he was suddenly kicked in the side of the neck and sent flying. The man twirled in the air, backwards, and landed on his feet to see his attacker, and when he did, he smiled.
Ian immediately bent down and grabbed Noriko, moving her over to where his mother was and placed her down next to her gently.
" Sorry, Ian I tried." Noriko told the young man.
" It's okay, you're safe now. Thank you, for keeping my mother safe. And for staying alive yourself. Don't worry about anything other than staying safe now, Noriko. I'll handle the rest from here." Ian told the woman.
Noriko smiled and quickly passed out from the pain.
Ian turned around, with murder in his eyes, and glared at the man attacking his family. But the moment he laid eyes on him he was shocked. Shocked to see that he looked exactly like the man that had attacked him before.
" I can see your shocked to see me." The man spoke.
" What the hell are you?" Ian asked the man.
" An acute choice of words. But nothing you need to worry about.... Yet. For now, let's play." The man spoke. He raised his hand and fired a blast of energy at Ian. And Ian returned the gesture, firing his own blast that met, the man's head on and a beam struggle began.
The moment the two energies collided; the surrounding glass buildings shattered from the shockwave. Ian pushed back against the laughing maniacs attack, fueling his own attack with the very blast he was fighting against. But something felt wrong to him. This didn't seem like a win. In fact, the man's laughter was unsettling. Unnerving.
" HAAAAA!" Ian yelled. He gave it one last push and his attack engulfed the man.
" HAHA! Oh, this is amazing! Yes, absolutely incredible!!!!" Ian heard the man shout as his body began to implode.
The explosion leveled a major part of the city. The collateral damage was high, and definitely didn't go unnoticed by the hero community. But for Ian, right now, it didn't matter.
The man was panting slightly. He didn't really struggle against the man. But for some reason, he just felt off. Weaker.
Ian turned to retrieve his people and retreat before authorities arrived, knowing that being there when they did would only cause trouble.
" Well done, mutant. well done."
Ian looked up towards the voice in the sky and was immediately blasted through the chest with a beam of red energy. Ian fell to the ground and clutched his wounded chest. He was bleeding heavily from the wound. There was also blood running out of his mouth.
" Who.... Who are you?" Ian asked the man.
The man fired another blast right through Ian's leg, injuring him and forcing him to the ground.
" I've had many names. But you can call me Bastion." Bastion told the boy.
" Bastion?! But the X-men killed Bastion." Ian stated.
" What the X-men have fought were just ones of many different kinds of Bastion. Me? I was the first. The true Bastion. And now, I have game to play. And you a part in that game. The game is simple, you find me, or they die." Bastion told the young man. He flew down and grabbed Noriko and Ian's mother, both of whom were still unconscious.
" What are you doing?!" Ian shouted.
" A little motivation for you. Secondary targets apprehended. Primary target is incapacitated. You will find me mutant. And we will fight. Or the women will die, slowly. The Game is on! Let's Play!" Bastion declared.
" Wait! I said fucking Wait!!!" Ian screamed as loud as he could as Bastion took off into the sky. He tried to fly after them, but his wounds quickly overtook him.
Damn it, those machines, must have done something to me. I can't.... I can't.
Those were Ian's last thoughts before passing out.
Things were already bad, but they were quickly close to getting worse, as the arrival of the Avengers led by the pro-registration heroes including Iron man, Ms. Marvel, She-hulk, and Wonder Man were rushing to the scene.
Thankfully however, Ian was snatched up before they could arrive.