Gene Nation (plot)
"How long have you been living on the surface, letting the upworlders corrupt you? How long have you turned your back on us?"
Remy's, Sarah's and Ororo's pasts converge when an old face reappears - Callisto.
Contents
Cast
Callisto, Sarah Morlocke, Ororo Munroe, Remy LeBeau, Lucas Bishop
Timing
Plot Summary
While working on X-Force case loads, Sarah came across a report of a pipe-bomb in a subway junction not far from the tunnels where she'd once lived. Bishop revealed that the perpetrators were 'Gene Nation', an up-and-coming terrorist cell whose aims were as yet not entirely clear. Deducing that this new group might hold some familiar faces, Sarah made her own way into the tunnels, but was caught and incapacitated by two mutants, one of whom, Erg, she remembered as one of the Tunnelers, a radical off-shoot of the Morlocks. As she was carried away Callisto watched from the shadows, before leaving the tunnels the way she'd come.
Ororo was on her way home from the Brownstone when she was approached by Callisto, who informed her that Sarah had been kidnapped and was in serious danger. Eventually recognising her as the girl she had a rather undignified brawl with in her teens, Ororo was suspicious, but had little choice but to trust her.
Arranging with Callisto to reconvene at the tunnels, Ororo sought out Remy at the Snow Valley offices. Remy was at first skeptical, but Ororo was by this time pretty certain that Callisto was telling the truth. Then, scanning a photo from Bishop from a briefing on the terrorists, Remy spoted an all-too-familiar face: David Langstrom. Realising that Langstrom was going to take his chance to finish what he started almost seven years before, and finish the tunnel-dwellers off for good, Remy departed to attempt to delay things in his own way while Ororo made her way to meet Callisto.
Callisto led Ororo through the tunnels and sewer systems to the home of Gene Nation, where Sarah had been chained to a platform from which Berserker, leader of the cell, was playing both judge and jury, accusing her of becoming permanently tainted by life above ground, of being a traitor to the cause. Knowing what was coming, and keen to make sure Berserker didn't reach 'executioner', Callisto made her appearance, challenging him for leadership of Gene Nation. Berserker, however, refused to fight someone who had been leader before and deserted the position, and Ororo was forced to play her hand. The two fought, largely evenly matched due to immunity to each other's electrical attacks, but Ororo eventually prevailed through cunning use of a highly localized ice storm.
Sarah was released and Gene Nation convinced by their new leader, Ororo, to quit the tunnels, at least for now, to escape harm. Most went their own way upon reaching the surface, but half a dozen, including Callisto, accompanied Ororo back to the Mansion. Refusing point-blank to aid Ororo in training the ex-tunnel-dwellers and aiding their adjustment to life in the Mansion, Callisto was convinced to remain in the capacity of mechanic to the Institute's numerous vehicles.
Related Links
External Links
Trivia and Meta
Trivia
Ice conducts electricity only about enough to dissipate static electricity. If it's far colder than freezing, it might not even conduct that much. (source)
Meta
Plotrunner: Dex
