Endangered Species

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PHASE 2
Endangered Species
Norman osborne.jpg
Dates run: May 10-22, 2016
Run By: Ben
Read the logs: Endangered Species


Light Girl, you and Frosty go take Birdy. Watch out for the wings, they're sharp as hell. Fire Girl and Wolfy, you take Flappy Buggy. I'll get Horny.

OsCorp is targeted by men in robotic suits and it's Spider-Man and friends to the rescue!


Cast

Miles Morales, Bobby Drake, Amara Aquilla, Monica Rambeau, Rahne Sinclair

Cyclops, Firestar, Spider-Man, Rogue, Wolverine Marvel Girl, Blink

Norman Osborn

Rhino, Beetle, Vulture, Doctor Octopus, William Stryker, Bolivar Trask, Sentinels

Timing

May 10-22, 2016

Plot Summary

OsCorp Industries recently received FDA approval for gugaltinib/Osgal®, a novel tyrosine kinase inhibitor that treats some of the major symptoms of various rare metabolic diseases. OsCorp received some attention during development of Osgal because some of these conditions are seen in mutants with enhanced metabolisms. The few open mutant advocates, such as Moira MacTaggart, heralded the development of Osgal and called for expanded access/compassionate use so mutant patients could use it. In a surprising twist for an American corporation, OsCorp has gone on record to say that this is under consideration. It may not be entirely noble, because CEO Norman Osborn has stated that he believes the x-gene to be akin to a genetic disease and this could be seen as a step towards a “mutant cure,” but the potential benefits to mutant health still make him worth working with. Therefore, there is some public support from mutant advocates for Osgal, and the corresponding denouncements from bigots. The latter has led to Norman Osborn receiving threats against his life, which he has dismissed as nonsense.

While all this hullabaloo is going on, Miles and Bobby offered to accompany Rahne, Nica, and Amara around Manhattan to show them the city. They were enjoying themselves when three men in robotic exosuits literally fell out of the sky and attacked Norman Osborn’s passing motorcade. They each had their own personally tailored suit, and called themselves the Beetle, the Vulture, and the Rhino. They read off a litany of charges against Osborn, including accusations of intellectual theft and, most importantly, collusion with mutant terrorists to develop and distribute Osgal. They easily dispatched Osborn's bodyguards who tried to take them down, and set their sights on Osborn.

Miles slipped away from the crowd and changed into his Spider-Man outfit, which he'd conveniently worn under his civies, and swinged into action. As the remaining NYPD officers try to clear civilians from the scene so National Guard or SHIELD or whoever can show up, Spidey arrived. The other four Gen Xers decided that it's time they use their skills (as demonstrated during their recent encounter with the Slendermen) to help him out and show New York what mutants are good for. Fortunately for them, they were all capable of disguising their identities: Bobby iced up, Amara had her magma form, Rahne shifted into a wolf, and Nica glowed brightly.

Miles was at first unhappy to see his friends putting themselves in danger, but there was no time to argue, and he trusted Gen X combat training. So he quickly took command, splitting up himself and his teammates two to a bad guy. Despite the amazing capabilities of these Iron Man-esque suits, they were not prepared for five combat-trained mutants. Ultimately, Gen X emerged victorious thanks to the magic of teamwork and the timely arrival of SHIELD agents, and the three baddies fled. As SHIELD took control of the situation, Spidey directed the rest of the team to a safe spot before they could be caught, and finally revealed his identity to them. While Rahne and Amara were mildly impressed, Nica and Bobby were upset that Miles had kept a secret from them.

They returned to the mansion and debriefed the X-Men. It was obvious that anyone who would put in the effort to design these kinds of devices wasn't going to let a bunch of teenagers stop them from their goal. It’s inevitable that they will strike again, and the X-Men can’t allow high-tech mutant haters to attack potential allies. But that leaves the problem of how the X-Men can keep a close watch on Osborn to protect him.

Fortunately, an opportunity arose that was not only likely to be another attack but was also perfect to secretly defend him: Osborn was hosting a charity gala for patient advocacy groups to celebrate the Osgal approval and raise money so patients can afford the drug. The guest list even included more open-minded medical and civic leaders, thus lending credence to the rumors of a pro-mutant program. With the help of the various socialites at the mansion, a group of X-Men obtained entries and slipped in undercover.

As predicted, Vulture and Beetle crashed the party. They were very quickly thwarted by the X-Men and they fled. The X-Men went in hot pursuit and tracked them to a small lab/factory in the Bronx. The Rhino was waiting for them, along with three 8-foot-tall automatons decked out with advanced weaponry. Another battle ensued. When the X-Men started to come out on top, the Sentinels activated their self-destruct sequences, and the X-Men escaped in the nick of time to avoid Death By Fire and Explosion. The warehouse went up in flames and nothing was left behind. All they recovered was a small portion of an extendable tendril that one of the Sentinels used as a weapon. When brought back to the mansion for examination, Miles immediately recognized it as identical to the mechanical arms of Doctor Octopus.

With this victory, the X-Men were somewhat assured that Osborn was safe for the meantime, although now they have a bigger problem: how and why is Doctor Octopus building mutant-hunting robots?

In an epilogue, Trask and Stryker were furious at Doc Ock for the unauthorized use and loss of three prototypes. Doc Ock shrugged off their concerns, though, because he claimed this was a successful experiment. The manned suits worn by Rhino, Vulture, and Beetle work well and potentially rival the Iron Man armor with a few tweaks and better training for the pilots. The automatons need more work, but the test identified their weaknesses so he knows what to work on. The Sentinels also fed video of the fight back to him, so the Sentinels will be ready for the mutant soldiers specifically next time around. These are the data needed to make the Sentinels marketable. Trask and Stryker grudgingly approved.

Related Links

Biotech

OsCorp

Patent Pending

External Links

Endangered Species

xp_communication posts

xp_teams posts

Trivia and Meta

Trivia

Miles' secret identity as Spider-Man was revealed to his friends with mixed results.

Meta

Plotrunner: Ben