Storyline, : current

[Rogue]

Damascus Road

There is no help in the truth...

We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal.
That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights.
That among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Four years have elapsed since both X-Men and Brotherhood faced the blazing fury of the Phoenix on Alcatraz Island. Time enough for Jean Grey’s death to be mourned by those who cared for her, and for those tears to be wiped away in turn by the wondrous reappearance of Charles Xavier. Reinstated as headmaster and leader of the X-Men, the future once again looks hopeful – periods of darkness will always be interspersed with light, however faint. Proving that medical means could never offer a real solution to what some members of the public saw as a threat, reports that effects of the ‘cure’ were wearing off were confirmed to be true; mutants everywhere regaining total use of their powers with the fullness of time, whether they had volunteered to be stripped of their x-gene or otherwise. Maintaining a civil relationship with the government and tolerated by the public, it would appear that mutantkind and Xavier’s own dreams of acceptance might finally stand a fighting chance.

Diversity makes tolerance more than a virtue.
It makes it a requirement for survival.

Scattered and disconcerted after their metal-manipulating leader was deprived of his gifts and with no one else resolute or willing enough to guide them, the Brotherhood lay in tatters. Still licking the wounds of Magneto’s stinging betrayal even after regaining her mutation, Mystique’s staunch and unwavering belief in the liberty of her kind remained evident even while forced to live the life of those she detested; perpetually driven by the thought of slavery at the hands of humanity and ideals that had been imprinted into her mind by the very man who would abandon her. Believing it to be a cause worth fighting tooth and nail to uphold, the metamorph set out to regroup the Brotherhood under her own reign, rebuild the underground organization from its roots and fill her ranks with the like-minded – those who are willing to do anything to ensure that homo superior inherit the earth.

Courage is poorly housed that dwells in numbers;
The lion never counts the herd that are about him
Nor weighs how many flocks he has to scatter.

Yet even the most tenuous balance can never truly be held firm for long, and not all humans are quite so accepting. Those with the utmost faith will prove to be mutantkind's greatest detractors.

[Rogue]

God Loves, Man Kills

Chapter 1 : Concluded

Fanatically persistent in their belief that mutants must be eradicated in keeping with God’s will, the Purifiers set out to destroy them – beginning with the X-Men and all those affiliated with them at the mansion. However, strings are being pulled and manipulated behind the scenes by another individual… the identity of whom not even God’s self-appointed messengers are aware. With the city dissolving into chaos, the lives of X-Men, their students and mutantkind as a whole will undoubtedly change – for better or worse – before the end.

The Stirring of Thoughts
Sum of all Fears
Baptism of Fire
Going Under
Resonance
The Church of Humanity

---

Epilogue

“In the late hours, members of our church were brutally murdered in a deliberate attack of arson that razed our New York headquarters. I have reason to believe that not only the Brotherhood, but also the mutant crusaders known as the X-Men are fully to blame for this atrocity – those who have paraded themselves before us under the pretence of being our saving grace. I stand before you now, in the presence of the world’s media, to disclose the X-Men for what they truly are; not benevolent angels as you have all been blinkered to believe, but a blasphemy on the Lord himself!! Deep in the heart of New York, they are raising and training ignorant mutant children to become the warriors of Satan himself, engineering schemes that will bring about the destruction of all of humankind! I say to you, my brothers and sisters, let us unite against this unnatural evil. Let us defend the strength and integrity of humankind in the name of God almighty who created us in his image! I extend my hand to each man, woman and child... no longer is this solely the sacred mission of the Church of Humanity, but that of every Lord’s child.”

Charles Xavier had often debated about the world's readiness to learn of his school's true nature, placing the safety of his students above all else, but the choice was not his to make in the end. The X-Men had no more than twelve hours to properly mourn the loss of young, innocent lives in the Purifiers’ barbaric assault, when the news coverage irrevocably affected each and every mutant at Xavier's school. Broadcast on national television for the whole of America and, indeed, the world to hear, the representative for the Church of Humanity had not only incriminated the X-Men into the slaughter of his brethren, but warned humanity about the mutant army Professor Xavier was raising. The Office of National Emergency has claimed jurisdiction, now assuming a more proactive approach towards the X-Men, and stationed two Sentinels around the Institute, all of its inhabitants placed under house arrest while this matter was investigated. The X-Men have cleared their name with the authorities, providing evidence of the Purifiers’ own criminal activities, but the two Sentinels have remained vigilant upon the grounds. Guarding the school and mutants within now that the public knew what kind of gifted students Xavier's educated, Valerie Cooper had said, although that has been merely part of the reason.

While the Brotherhood remains at large, still sought after by every law enforcement agency in the country for their part in the Church of Humanity massacre, the media frenzy surrounding the Xavier’s seems not to be lessening, placing far too much spotlight upon the organization which thrived on anonymity for years. Certain circles within the society have begun clamoring for legislation of mutants once again, and although nothing concrete has come out of it, the school now truly continues to keep its doors open to homo superior around the globe. Renamed to Xavier’s Institute for Higher Learning, no longer offering high-school classes but also college-level courses come the fall – to all those who are unable to further their education at institutions elsewhere, for one reason or another – the school’s inhabitants, warriors and teachers and students alike, aspire towards holding together some sense of normality in the middle of the uproar their ever changing world has been pushed into.

[Rogue]

Angels Or Devils

Chapter 2 : Ongoing

For several months, the X-Men have been blighted by the looming shadow of the Sentinels, whose watchful surveillance over the mansion proved a little too close for comfort in the running of their daily lives. With their guardians finally removed, it seemed that adults and students alike could finally breathe somewhat easier. Such peace is only ever fleeting, however; mere hours after the Brotherhood destroyed O*N*E headquarters, a new, far more terrible threat has reared its head: his eternal mission, to cleave the world into a shape of his own, ruthless design. Times look darker and more worthy of despair than ever before. But when civilisation as we know it faces annihilation, who will be proven the victor?

Kingdom Come
Turn of the Tide
Things to discuss
Winds of Change
End is the Beginning
New Divide
London's Burning
Beginning of Sorrows
Scourge of the Rising Sun
Grapes of Wrath
The Last Crusade
Stand and Deliver
Sanctuary
The Stars of Heaven