psinex@yahoo.com Academia Book 1: Starting Block Chapter 5 by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: They're all Marvel's, except for Soraya, who's mine. No money is being made off of this. Please don't sue. -------------------------------------------------------- 9/16/00: CBNC Studios, Manhattan: 19:50 hrs EDT: -------------------------------------------------------- It wasn't the 12 million minds weighing down on her mindshield. And it wasn't the fact that her boyfriend was voluntarily wearing an inhibitor collar under his suit jacket collar, during a live televised interview opposite the founder of the Friends of Humanity. It wasn't even the fact that she was mildly pissed off about her last Danger Room session. Rachel Summers was antsy for one reason: #I had a precognitive flash,# she realized, shaking her head as she sat in the front row of the "Confront" studio audience section. #I don't have precog flashes ...# "Ray ?" she heard, turning to look at Nate. Her little brother was peering at her with obvious concern, a tiny bead of sweat trickling down his right cheek fron somewhere beneath his mop of brown hair. "Are your shields OK ?" Ray asked the boy. He nodded, then squeezed her hand. "You look scared," the 11-year-old asked without asking. "Is somethin' - ?" Ray shook her head - - seeing a MUCH older Nate, part metal, with scars on face and soul, looking at her accusingly - - and lied, "I'm fine." "I felt somethin' bad happen," Nate insisted. "Please, Ray, lemme help ?" Ray returned the hand-squeeze and tried to smile. "If I need it, I'll let you know, promise," the teenage girl said. "Right now, let me shore up your shields. You're not used to this many minds, I know." #And it'll keep my mind off of what I saw in that precog flash,# she thought behind her inner shields as she extended her mind to Nate. The bloody-headed image of Frank Richards flashed before her eyes again, Graydon Creed standing over him with a smoking gun. -------------------------------------------------------- "Franklin, darling, this is so -" "GET. OUT," Frank snarled in Sylvia Montegro's face, making her poodle Fifi slink back with a terrified yelp behind her raven-haired mistress's booted feet. "But Franklin, I made you a star !" Montegro exclaimed. "You stuck me in this stupid contract, made millions off of me without even ASKING if I wanted to be merchandised - my God, there's an ACTION FIGURE of me !" Frank yelled. "This is the LAST time, Montegro ! I've got a NEW agent, and she won't bilk me !" "Who -?" Montegro asked, looking up at the shadow looming over her. "You're tresspassing," Jennifer Walters grinned evilly. "Get out of this dressing room." Montegro bolted, Fifi shrieking close behind her. "Well, I've managed to raid the funds she stole from you," She-Hulk told Frank reassuringly. "Let's just say your retirement will be pretty comfortable." "You mean ... ?" Frank breathed. "Nine figures," Jennifer grinned. "Montegro may have merchandised you, but you're one hot commodity all by yourself." Frank staggered, catching himself on a chair as the stage hand called, "Five minutes, Mr. Richards." "Nine figures ... my God," Frank whispered. "I'm a -" "$560 millionaire," Jennifer chuckled. "You now have more net worth than Fantastic Four Inc. Don't let it go to your head too much." "I'm more worried about who I've got to deal with next," Frank gulped, heading for the stage. "Seriously - is the inhibitor collar a good idea ?" Jennifer asked. "The other kids aren't wearing those things." "The other kids can't disintegrate entire cities if they have a bad surprise, either," Frank said nervously. "Besides, Graydon Creed wouldn't do something stupid like hurt me, would he ? His presidential campaign'd be ruined." "Indeed not, Master Richards. I have no problem with young people who use their genetic abilities within the law." Jennifer looked coldly at the approaching middle-aged man, his brown flattop a counterpoint to Frank's still-buzzed blond hair. Two huge men in suits and mirrorshades flanked Graydon Creed, who nodded dismissively at the She-Hulk before looking at Frank. "After all, this is a 'kinder, gentler' America where mutants are concerned, true ?" Graydon asked with a predatory smile. "The Kelly Act of 1998 provides for mutant civil rights. And you're not a terrorist - just a sportsman. You even respected your fellow Olympians and kept your powers damped until after you won your gold medal. I respect that." "uhm ... thanks," Frank said, watching Graydon head for the stage. He looked at Jennifer and asked, "Wasn't he a little too nice for a racist ?" "That's usually right before they hit you with a brick," Jennifer muttered. "Frank ... seriously, do you think the collar is necessary ?" "If I don't use it and I flip out, bye bye New York," Frank said adamantly. "I'm not gonna risk innocent people's lives, Aunt Jen." He headed for the stage, trying not to hear Jennifer's murmurred "What about your life ?" -------------------------------------------------------- She watched from her cafe stool, giving her travelling companion a curious glance. "So, tall, white-haired and mysterious, what's our next move ?" Soraya asked the fedora-wearing, trenchcoat-clad man. "We - wait. Turn up the television," the man ordered the waitress. The young woman did so, watching as the commercial went by. "Tonight on 'Confront': Trish Tilby interviews presidential candidate Graydon Creed and Olympic champion Franklin Richards," the TV "said." It sparked as the tall man stood, his eyes glowing. "Creed ... LIVES ?" the man snarled, paying the waitress with a $100 bill. "Come, Soraya. We have to see a man about learning historical lessons." "O-kay," Soraya said doubtfully, finishing her pie. "This from the man WITHOUT a history ..." -------------------------------------------------------- #There they are,# Frank thought, finding his seat and waving at his friends in the front row. The other New Mutants waved back, watching as a tech put a microphone on Frank's lapel. "How thoughtful of you to wear an inhibitor collar tonight," Graydon smiled at Frank. "I just want to make sure we're on an even keel, sir," Frank said in a controlled voice. "Or are your powers so out of control that you don't feel comfortable appearing in public without artificial aids ?" Graydon queried. "Gentlemen, save it for the cameras," Trish ordered, finding her seat at the desk between her guests. "We're on in three minutes, so let's save the bloodshed for prime time, hmm ?" "On that, Ms. Tilby, we can definitely agree," Graydon said enigmatically. Frank gulped quietly, looking at Ray with nervous eyes. -------------------------------------------------------- #Oh God, he's scared,# Ray thought, trying to smile at Frank. #But the collar blocks my tepe, too - it was built with psi-dampers so hostile psis couldn't try to take Frank over with his mindshield down ...# She looked around, then asked Nate, "Where's Chuck ? The rest of us are here." Nate sighed and said, "You know Chuck. He can't stand being around a lotta humans." Ray rolled her eyes and muttered, "'Noblesse oblige,' indeed. He's a bigot himself sometimes ..." -------------------------------------------------------- #Well, what does she expect ? They're ... annoying,# Chuck thought, looking out over the night sky from the balcony of the CBNC building with a scowl. #Millions of them, running around in their warrens ... well, they're not vermin. But so many of them are just so close-minded ...# He felt the local magnetic fields shift and triggered his forcefield, glowing blue, as something stepped from the shadows. "Who are you ?" Chuck asked, looking at the dark-skinned girl in the black sweatsuit who appeared. "Soraya Haspurinam," the girl replied in an Indian accent. "Chuck Lehnsherr, huh ? You're taller than he said you'd be - but then, he did get tossed two years into the future." "Two - who sent you !?" Chuck demanded, his heart racing. "Look, buddy, I don't know who he is either. He just dropped into my lap last week, tossing around some high-end magnetics, and - hey !" Soraya exclaimed, watching Chuck mag-lev into the night sky. "Well, you didn't tell me where he is, so I gotta look for him, right !?" Chuck yelled back. "Cool down ! He's around here somewhere - he flew me to America a few days ago, and he's been laying low in this secret base in the Bronx," Soraya called. "At least we have seperate bedrooms - he's not a pervert or anything." "So you don't know where he is right now," Chuck grumbled, landing beside Soraya. "Hey, he gave me a free ride outta India," Soraya said, shrugging. "For a street orphan like me, I didn't ask questions." "Well, we've gotta find him now," Chuck said, taking her hand. "Come on - and tell me more about how he came back." -------------------------------------------------------- #Funny, the lights flickered,# Ray realized, looking around. #But of course I can't scan, 'cause if I drop my shields, I'll have all of the Big Apple in my head ...# She watched as the camera moved into position, and the "On Air" light turned on. "Welcome to this week's edition of 'Confront.' I'm Trish Tilby, looking at the latest developments in the human-mutant coexistence issue," Trish said. "With me tonight are two people on opposite ends of the spectrum on this issue - presidential candidate and founder of the Friends of Humanity, Graydon Creed, and Olympic swimming star and teenage mutant, Franklin Richards. Welcome, gentlemen." "Thank you, Ms. Tilby, for this opportunity for public debate on this issue," Graydon said, smiling. "Thanks, Ms. Tilby. It's an honor to be here," Frank said, trying to smile. "You're both quite welcome," Trish said. "Before we begin our discussion, why don't each of you tell a little something about yourselves. Mr. Creed ?" "Certainly. I was abandoned by my mutant mother at age 12, merely for the 'crime' of being human," Graydon said with a hint of anger. "I earned my fortune merely through hard work, and I want to ensure other unpowered humans have the same opportunity I did." #He ADMITTED he's the son of a mutant !?# Frank thought, fighting back shock. "Intriguing," Trish said, taken aback as well. "Franklin, a little about yourself ?" "Sure," Frank said, shakily. "I'm the son of Reed and Susan Richards of the Fantastic Four, and I started swimming competitively when I was 5. My powers recently resurfaced after I won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 100-meter freestyle event at the Summer Games in Sydney, Australia, and I'm working to learn to control my powers." "What exactly are your powers, Franklin ?" Graydon asked, arching an eyebrow. "Psionic, or mental, abilities," Frank said cautiously. "Telepathy, or mind-reading, telekinesis, or mind over matter, clairsentience, or ESP, healing, teleportation, that sort of thing. I'm not here to hide anything, Mr. Creed." "Just curious," Graydon said. "You're keeping yourself honest, I see, wearing an inhibitor collar. Wouldn't that have precluded you from being nearly as effective at the Sydney Games ?" "If my powers had been active then, sure," Frank said, a little tighter than before. "But they were latent, except for my astral projection power and some precognition." "So you could have predicted what your competitors were going to do ?" Graydon pressed. "Even if I had, Mr. Creed, I couldn't have done anything about it. We were swimming in different lanes," Frank said, trying not to sweat. "The IOC ruled that I could compete as long as my powers were latent and weren't a threat to anyone." "The International Olympic Committee," Graydon repeated. "And the United States Olympic Committee agreed." "The USOC recruited me, knowing about my powers," Frank insisted. #I sound guilty, and I didn't DO anything wrong !# he thought, blinking faster. "I just wanted to clarify that point," Graydon said, nodding. "The Kelly Act is vague as to whether mutants are able to compete professionally in sports. In point of fact, the Olympics are an amateur event - Master Richards' competition, while ... novel, is rather inapplicable to a discussion of whether American competitive sports should allow mutants to compete." "Yet, you're competing for a professional position against other humans, and you're the son of mutants," Frank said softly. "Very true. My candidacy is based, in part, on my desire to prevent any more innocent people from suffering at the hands of terrorist and other criminal mutants," Graydon replied harshly. "I make no secret of the fact that my mother is the terrorist shapeshifter Raven Darkholme, nor that my father is the serial killer Victor Creed. I have every right to want to see mutant criminals locked away. "To that end," Graydon continued, smiling once more, "I have sponsored the Friends of Humanity's new youth program, the Children of Humanity. Teenage children of FOH members, ages 13 and up, are receiving voluntary weapons and tactical training at our facilities across the nation to be able to defend themselves against mutant criminals. Our youth will not be left helpless if another Sabretooth or Mystique runs amok." "Franklin, any response ?" Trish asked. "I think we shouldn't be so divisive between human and mutant youth," Frank said softly. "I grew up in public schools, and I got along OK with unpowered people. I'm studying at the Xavier Institute for Mutagenetic Studies, but that's because I want to learn to control my powers in a controlled setting, away from where I might hurt innocent people accidentally." "Integrating mutant youth into public schools is foolhardy at best and risky at worst," Graydon said dismissively. "You yourself have admitted your powers pose a threat to innocent people, Master Richards. And you mean well - what if a mutant teenager manifested an ability like energy projection, and decided to imitate the events of Columbine High School ?" "An interesting point, but one we'll have to return to after this commercial break," Trish said as the "On Air" light went out. She looked at her guests and said, "Interesting, gentlemen. A bit brutal, but interesting." "I merely speak the truth, Ms. Tilby," Graydon said, standing and stretching. "I have a specific plank on mutants - it's called preventative medicine. Someone should have taken my father out and shot him years ago." He glanced at Frank and muttered, "Perhaps you're too dangerous to allow to live." #Oh my GOD -# Ray thought, leaping to her feet. "Get away from him, Creed !" she shouted, levitating. "I won't let you hurt my boyfriend !" "Relax, Miss Summers," Graydon smiled darkly. "As Master Richards already observed, I'd have to be foolish to attack him here. And he's proving such an interesting debating partner." #Only because I'm proving your points for you, you creep,# Frank thought bitterly, watching Creed sit back down. #But maybe I can turn the tables ...# The "On Air" light returned as Trish said, "Welcome back to Confront. Before our break, Graydon Creed was discussing his position on mutant and human teenagers attending the same schools. You were saying, Mr. Creed ?" "I simply think that mutants and humans should remain separated - not by government mandate, as in the disastrous and dangerous 'Apartheid'of South Africa, but through societal choices and, in some cases, state law," Graydon said. "So you support states rebelling against the Kelly Act, a federal law ?" Frank asked. "I don't support rebellion at all," Graydon replied, a bit tightly. "But the Kelly Act was passed more as a knee-jerk reaction to the horrors of Operation: Zero Tolerance against innocent humans, thousands of whom were forced to undergo involuntary surgery into mindless Prime Sentinels. The long-term effects of granting mutants equal rights were not considered." "But a recent Daily Bugle article reported that more mutants are being hired to fill positions at companies than ever before - positions that can only help the economy," Frank continued. "And they're being hired on their merits as workers, not because of their mutant abilities." "The only 'merit' to hiring mutants is to keep them off the streets," Graydon said, scowling. "You admitted you were abandoned when you were a kid, Mr. Creed. Where'd you spend your adolesence ?" Frank asked. "Wouldn't pushing mutants out of society just make them criminals by default ?" Graydon's eyes bulged as he leapt to his feet, shouting, "I HAD NO CHOICE ! MY MOTHER ABANDONED ME AND FORCED ME TO SURVIVE ON MY OWN NATURAL WITS AND STRENGTH ! MUTANTS RUINED MY LIFE ! HOW DARE YOU JUDGE ME !?" The entire room went very quiet. "Mr. Creed, I'm sorry, but it doesn't sound like you're in this election to give America a good president," Frank said, shrugging. "Maybe I'm wrong ..." "No, you're dead," Graydon snarled, pulling a gun from beneath his suit jacket. "Your kind wants equality, Richards ? Let it be an equal depth in the cemetery !" #oh, crap,# Frank thought, trying to remove his inhibitor collar. He saw Graydon's finger tighten on the trigger, feeling the collar fall away, and ducked. And the gun fell apart into pieces. "What the - his powers were damped -" Graydon muttered, looking around. He screamed when a blue glow lifted him into the air, and the entire room shook. "GUYS !!!" Chuck yelled triumphantly, bursting in with a dark-skinned girl behind him. "This is Soraya - she told me -" Frank looked up from behind his chair, watching as the roof began to warp and shift under a titanic blue glow. Graydon screamed again, flinching, while the New Mutants gathered on stage and Ray hugged Frank. "Are you OK !?" she pleaded, kissing him. "I'm fine - I didn't think I was that good a debater," Frank tried to laugh. "You aren't," Chuck joked, pointing at where the ceiling formed into a tunnel. "He's stealing the show." The other New Mutants gaped as a blazing blue sphere descended from the tunnel, resolving itself into an aura surrounding a towering figure in red and purple. "Hello, children," Erik Magnus Lehnsherr said, smiling. "We have much to discuss." -------------------------------------------------------- TBC in Academia Annual 1: Polestars; then in SB # 6: Going country ... !? -------------------------------------------------------- __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! 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