THE TEST by Francisco Charrua The Challenge "In the name of God !! What sort of man are ye!?" Sean got up from the couch. During this stormy winter night, the team of mutants known as Generation X, had given this stranger the protection of their home. He was well into his forties and spoke as if he had been living since the day time was created. "Do not look so shocked Mr. Cassidy, you of all people should know what it's like.", he continued to speak as the young mutants sat around him in awe, "The world that we live in is constantly ... POISONED by the unfit rulers that are pampered into power!" Emma, who was standing behind an entranced Monet, reached out to Sean with her mind, {Don't look, just listen.} Unlike the students, these two were growing suspicious of him. {The stranger ... I can't read his mind ...} "Why should men that were born with a name be placed above us, who were simply born SUPERIOR ?!", the man turned to face Emma, {but I can read yours.} The kids noticed that he was now occasionally glancing at Emma and Banshee. Emma was troubled by the calmness displayed by this individual. A puzzled Skin was now looking at his peers, like someone asking for directions. A weird tension grew in the room, and the student's attention shifted from their lecturer to the instructors. The stranger stopped talking and looked at Monet as she awakened. She had a sinister look and her eyes glowed with power. The young woman rose to her feet and faced him. "ANCIENT ONE !!! En Sabah Nur.", Monet was standing, with her feet floating two inches above the floor. "I don't believe we've met before ...", her tone was milder, but there was a fury in the way she looked at the man. Emma stood in the corner of the room, frightened by the fact that her powers were not working. Everett heard M's voice inside his head, telling him to get in sync with everyone's power. Sean let out a steel-shattering scream. The stranger smiled. "GNNNNN... A WORTHY ATTEMPT!!" he delighted at the pain he felt, as his body was pounded on and torn at. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. From the inside of his chest immerged what seemed to be a blinding pulse of light. As the team struggled to regain their sight, his voice rang through their minds, {YOU THOUGHT YOURSELVES CAPABLE OF DEFEATING THE APOCALYPSE ? Pathetic fools ... Maybe you should try yourselves against creatures of your own foolish young age ...}. The whole team recovered from the attack. Sean, Emma, and Apocalypse were nowhere to be found, and they were completely surrounded by trees. "The danger grotto ... Are we supposed to defeat Artie and Leach ?" "Sorry Angelo, we are nowhere near the biosphere. As a matter of fact, I believe we are no longer in North America.", Monet looked at Synch, "I could use some help surveying the landscape.", they both floated upwards until they were above the trees. The rest of the team gathered and started making plans. The Mission Somewhere not too far away, another group of youngsters hid from the scalding tropical sun rays, at the entrance of a cave. Sarah, Bobby, Roxy, and Eddie waited for their friend Caitlin to return from her exploration of the island. Sarah Rainmaker watched an impatient Grunge heading for the outside, "You know, the plan was for us to wait HERE for her return." Roxy ran up to him and tugged at his shirt, "Grunge... Don't do it. Those kids are dangerous, god only knows what they're capable of!" "Man, I'm getn' wasted of sitting on my hands.", he casually exited the cave and started walking towards a small desert located at the northern half of the island. "There ain't no way I'll be stuck in there for six hours straight." Bobby, who had been quietly sitting against a wall, finally spoke up, "So what exactly do we have to do?" The two girls turned around, "Roxy overheard Lynch talking with someone a few days ago, it seems like the government has found a bunch of teens with self-activating gen factors". Roxy, the young woman also known as Freefall turned to her friend, "No, no. Apparently they are not gen- active. Their abilities are thought to come from naturally occurring mutations". The three young people continued talking about these mutants. They wondered about how it would be for a six year old kid to have powers. After agreeing and disagreeing on various points, Rainmaker finally answered Burnout's question, "We are suppose to bring them to this cave and wait for Mr. Lynch". Grunge VS The Power It was now the middle of the afternoon. Most of the Generation X members were busy working on a shelter for the night. Gen13 already had the cave, so they focused all their efforts on planning and plotting. For some reason, these young people believed they were going up against a terrible adversary. They had disembarked on the mountain side of the island and immediately found shelter. Just like in a war, they even sent a scout to gather information. Caitlin Fairchild, the strongest one and their leader, seamed like the logical choice. She had been sneaking around for three hours, the mountain area was clear of all danger. She was now starting to cautiously explore the forest section. As all this happened, Eddie Chang just strolled happily through the warm sand. The last thing he had on his mind was evil mutants, for now. "That's funny Monet, he doesn't look like a horseman." "Well, he specifically said, OUR foolish young age." "Hmm???", Grunge turned around to identify the source of the whispering. "Shhhhh ...", Monet and Synch hovered above the young man, who was now walking with his arms swinging in a ultra-macho fashion. "*giggle*" "Keep it down M!", whispered Everett. He suddenly pivoted, his fists in blocking position "Awright, come out come out wherever ya are!!!!", Eddie's face became blank when he realized once more that there was no one behind him. He started scratching his head. "Eddie Chang ...", Monet chanted with a ghostly voice, "This is your conscience speaking to you !! *giggle*". This surprised Synch. He looked at M sideways. Poor Grunge was now running for his life. His arms were extended in front of him, and his feet were pounding the sand. "Monet, my aura ... it seems like that kid could be ...", he noticed M was still giggling to herself, "great ... guess I'll take care of it. " He flew down and landed in front of Grunge. "Hi, I presume your name is Eddie Chang." Before he knew it, Synch had Eddie's fist flying at him. He ducked it, only to be swept off his feet. He quickly got up and threw one of his good swings at his adversary. His punch was skilfully blocked and his head greeted by Eddie's fist. Synch stepped back only to have his ribs machine-gunned by blows and kicks. He tried to tackle only to find himself being thrown five meters across the ground. "No one messes with the Grunge Master!", Eddie flexed his biceps. "Apocalypse made his point, I suppose we can go home now.", Synch slowly got up, brushing the sand off his uniform. "I doubt it Everett, I don't think he brought us here just so you and that gentleman could have a martial arts tournament", M was now standing beside him. "What?", A sheepish look covered Grunge's face, as he saw Synch still standing. " ... the hell?", he looked at his swollen fists. Synch Leaned to Monet's ear, "Like I was saying before, I think he's a mutant." They suddenly realized that this was no time for casual conversation. Monet clenched her fists as Grunge touched the ground with his wounded hands. Before the eyes of his predators, Eddie became a giant monster of sand. He turned towards Synch, who had stepped away from Monet, and charged him. M stood back watching, as the monster pounded Synch into the ground. "Hey! Are you unvunerable or something?" "The word is 'invulnerable', and yes we are.", Monet sunk her fingers into Grunge's back and flew up with him. Suddenly, the pile of sand with human form started changing shape. Monet got a sense of deja vu as Eddie's mass formed a ball around her. With this, they both fell to the ground. Everett got up and walked towards both of them. M was lying down, in a trance. Eddie was next to her, barely standing. South from there, the members of Generation X harbored among the trees had stopped their planning and building. Someone walking through the woods had got their attention. To be continued ... All the characters in this story are either owned by Marvel or by WildStorm.