Chaos Revisited
Part 10
* * * * *
Magneto was enraged when he found out that the last of the Sentinels had been destroyed.
"It was the perfect plan! I sent more than enough Sentinels to New York and Metropolis. How could they have been defeated so easily? It's almost as if the X-Men knew they were coming, but how could they have? Olsen must have warned them somehow. Damn him. I will destroy the X-Men one day!"
Magneto took off the medallion he had been wearing and angrily threw it to the ground. He crushed it with his powers.
"We must retreat before the authorities find us. If Olsen betrayed our plans, he has certainly revealed our location."
"Where are we going?" Mystique inquired.
"To the secret base in Antarctica."
Pyro chuckled. "You're lucky you have me around, then. It's going to be cold up there."
"Indeed. Everyone board the jet. We'll take off as soon as possible."
About five minutes after the jet had taken off, Superman flew above the hidden base and X-rayed it. Everything was gone, except for a strange medallion that had been crushed by someone with super powers. Superman picked it up and examined it.
"Interesting. Someone at STAR Labs should see this," he mused aloud before flying off.
* * * * *
Mary Jane Watson-Parker gazed out her airplane window as it circled the airport. Soon she would be in New York again, back with Peter. It seemed like she always ended up with him. Maybe they should just work out their differences and get back together. In her recent conversations with Peter on the telephone, he'd said that he had changed a lot, and not just with his new powers. He always told her that he missed her.
Maybe she was kidding herself. In this latest escapade of his, which she'd seen on the airport TV, he'd used his mutant powers to save the day without the Spider-Man costume. Was he crazy? People were going to start wondering just how heroic he was, and about the other aspects of his personality he had been hiding all this time. Maybe she was just paranoid. After all, most people though that Spider-Man was a mutant already. So why would they put two and two together?
Mary Jane feared that J. Jonah Jameson would find out Peter's secret via his telepathy and plaster Spider-Man's identity all over the front page. Her life as an actress would be over. She'd need twenty-four hour protection. So would Aunt May.
Poor Aunt May. How had the elderly woman dealt with Peter flying around and fighting robots? Mary Jane hoped that she was all right. She'd always viewed Aunt May as a surrogate mother. MJ's own mother had been too weak to stand up to her father, so she had learned to fight her own battles. Spider-Man was added protection, but she didn't really need him. Or did she?
* * * * *
Back in Metropolis, Lois, Clark, and Jimmy met with Perry White in his office. Clark held up the crushed medallion. Perry White and Jimmy both knew his secret, so it was all right to tell them about it.
"I found this after I searched Magneto's base. Everything else was gone."
"What is it?" Lois asked.
"Magneto wore it so the Sentinels would think he was a normal human," Jimmy said. "It inhibits mutant powers somehow."
"Jimmy, you didn't hear anything about a secondary base, did you?" Clark asked.
"No. But I wouldn't be surprised if Magneto had one or two additional hideouts."
"Well, at least we still have a story," Lois said.
"Uh Chief, there is something else," Jimmy said.
"What?" Perry asked.
"You know that secret bank account you had set up as bait?"
"Yeah?" His eyes narrowed.
"We're never going to see that money again. Magneto had me transfer it to an offshore bank in the Cayman Islands."
"Do you know which account it was in?" Clark inquired.
"Yeah, but I checked just the other day, and it was gone. They must have transferred it to another bank."
Perry sighed. "Great shades of Elvis."
"Sorry, Chief."
"It's not your fault. We set it up to get the story, and this is going to be one helluva story if I ever saw one. Jimmy, I want you to write all about what it's like to work for a terrorist scumbag like Magneto. You can leave out your secret identity."
Olsen nodded. "No problem, boss."
"Good. Lois, why don't you and Clark 'interview' Superman about fighting the Sentinels? And somebody get an interview with Peter Parker."
"The guy who fought off those two Sentinels in Central Park yesterday?" Jimmy asked.
"Yeah. People ought to know that it's not the costume that makes a super hero."
"Okay, Mr. White." He wasn't sure that Peter Parker would want to be interviewed, given his secret identity and all, but it was worth a shot.
"That's it for now," Perry said. "I want those stories ready for tomorrow's edition."
"You've got it," Lois replied.
* * * * *
In New York, Peter arrived at the airport with a bandaged arm. He'd flown to avoid traffic. Mary Jane's plane was due to land soon. He stood near the gate with a bouquet of roses and felt very nervous. What if she decided that she hated him? What if she regretted coming? What if MJ decided that she didn't want to stay with Aunt May because of him?
The announcement of MJ's flight distracted him. "Universal Airlines flight 150 is now arriving at gate 10. For those going to Los Angeles, your flight is scheduled to depart on time. Please have your boarding passes ready. Thank you."
Sunlight gleamed on the wings of the 747 as it taxied down the runway. Peter waited impatiently for it to stop. Shortly thereafter, the passengers filed down the ramp. He searched their faces for Mary Jane. She was one of the last people to disembark. As their eyes met, hers lit up. MJ smiled.
"Hello, Tiger. Long time, no see." He bought me roses? I can't believe it.
Somewhat shyly, he held them out. "Hi. These are for you."
She accepted the gift. "You sure know how to make a lady feel appreciated."
"How was your flight?"
"Not bad. I missed you."
He grinned. "I missed you, too. We have a lot to catch up on."
"Yeah. We do."
* * * * *
The End
Author's Note: I am planning on writing another sequel. Thanks for reading.
