Jump 179: X-Men Evolution

Jump 179: X-Men Evolution

Location: Bayville, New York
Age: 17
Identity: Student
Drawbacks: [+1000] Hated: Acolytes, The Unstoppable, Hunted: Hydra

[Free]      On/Off
[200/2000]  Instinct
[500/2000]  Power Surge
[600/2000]  The Wise
[600/2400]  (Power Stipend)
[1200/2400] Super Speed
[1800/2400] Power Absorption
[Free]      Costume
[2400/2400] Gem of Cyttorak

There is definitely something to things when the new kid in school ends up nearly blowing the lid off the entire 'mutant masquerade' issue by sheer accident within a week. A bog-standard ordinary student by all indications, were it not for the fact that the Juggernaut had apparently decided to try and kill him, screaming the entire time about him trying to steal what was rightfully his. The aforementioned student of course claimed to have no idea about anything and instead ran like the dickens - what else could one really do? - and through a combination of narrow escapes, zig-zagging, and apparent pure dumb luck, escaped the Caine Marko long enough for him to be driven away by the X-Men. X-Students? X-Kids? Such as they were, anyway. But were it not for a lot of quick thinking and a diversionary call to a news crew who was on the way... it would have been a rather bad day all around.

Not long after that, the aforementioned student appeared for an unsolicited conversation with Charles Xavier. What took place during that conversation wasn't fully explained to the other students, but it was made clear to them that he had run afoul of the Juggernaut in the past and for some reason the brute was convinced he'd stolen the Gem of Cyttorak and that the Juggernaut was convinced he was going to try to supplant his position as Cyttorak's chosen. Xavier tactfully had left out the fact that, while the student wasn't interested in that role, he did in fact have the gem in his possession to prevent anyone else from using it.

Also that he was a mutant as well, but was strongly disinterested in either side due to past experiences, so not to bother trying to recruit him - if he were interested, he would come to them in time. And that whatever his mutation, part of it was that he could not be read by telepaths such as Jean Gray or himself.

As time progressed, he befriended several students on the campus, in passing. Some of Mystique's would-be Brotherhood among them, but also Xavier's eclectic group as well. He served as something of a go-between for them at times, though Jean had a habit of distrusting him, much as she tended to distrust anyone she could not read the mind of. This drew him into assorted events, of course, not to mention the occasional bits of insanity that followed him directly. Such as the time that a SHIELD hit team intercepted him on the sidewalk during a walk home from They had tried to black-bag him, only for that to be foiled by the timing of a particular convertable witnessing it, a wide-eyed Jean blurting out, "Hydra?", and... well, things went pear-shaped from there.

The X-Men were a bit more understanding of his reluctance to join anyone after that incident.

Of course things continued along their course after that. The Juggernaut continued to get free - Mystique tried to coerce him to do her bidding, and every time she did, he would somehow end up chasing after the student as well; a remarkably notable talent for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or visiting the mansion to talk to one of the other kids. Or Rogue. Apparently his mutation was not dissimilar from hers, and her power-induced desperation caused them to become friends in short order.

As things progressed, however, he did end up joining them in a more formal capacity. It turned out that much of what he was able to do was because he'd drained someone completely and taken their power for his own, and when one perceives the world at a different speed than others do, it is surprisingly easy to make things look like an accident or near-miss. Not to mention he was a hard counter to Pietro Maximov, who was an issue more frequently as time went on. Apparently his father was quite decidedly not a fan of the other speedster.

Hydra abruptly stopped their attacks on him one day, and on further investigation, it appeared that nearly all of Hydra had disappeared. No one was quite able to figure out when they disappeared, nor how; he was only one of a long list of people with a grudge against them. A few watchful eyes were upon him for a time, but eventually turned away.

And then the insanity truly ramped up; the issue of En Sabah Nur. Apocalypse. Except... things did not go according to the desires of those that had intended his ascension to power. The student-turned-hero was able to throw a wrench into the works. Along the lines of force-feeding mutant power suppressants to certain individuals at opportune moments and shifting the entire balance of power.

As for Apocalypse himself? One moment he was grandstanding... and the next he realized he was being launched at EXCESSIVELY high velocity from the apex of a pyramid.

Apparently someone decided it would be a sufficient surface to run off of, and with a bit of preparation courtesy of the Gem of Cyttorak, a carefully triggered power surge, and a great deal of self-training to boost his speed as far as it could go... En Sabah Nur left the atmosphere at speeds that would have reduced any other being to plasma.

An astronomy telescope caught him very briefly as flew toward Mercury at high speed.