Final Attempt
Apocrypha
Marie

By Suika Roberts

_X-Men_, in any of it's incarnations, isn't mine.  _Sailor Moon_ isn't mine.
The real people abused in this story, living or dead, aren't mine.
The story, and the universe, are mine.

	`Back again, Miss?' the guard greets Rogue at the door, holding out
his hand for her ID.

	She hands it over, a smartcard with her picture on the front, and
"Geneva Conventions Identification Card" on the back. FIXME

	Once he hands it back, she hands him a stack of papers, `I'll be
borrowing your prisoner for one to six weeks.'

	`What?  We'll have to stop you,' he says, apologeticly.

	She addresses the air, `Misa, call Perry for me, please.'

	`Yes, dear.'

	`Thank you, love.'

	`Here he is.'

	`Marie, what is it?'

	`I need to talk to George.  It's about Eric.'

	`Oh, they've not gotten the memo yet?  I have him push it.'

	`Thank you Perry.'

	`It should be there in a minute.  Are you sure you don't need any
help, guards or people to fetch and carry?'

	`I'm sure, thanks, though.'

	`It would look bad if he doesn't come back.'

	`I've got about fifty million dollars worth of government equipment on
the back of a Bongo truck, it'll look bad if anything goes too wrong.'

	`True.'

	The guard's radio grumbles, `Right, I'll let her know,' he tells the
other end, `You can have him, but he needs to be back in six weeks.'

	`Midnight on the seventeenth.  Or he'll turn into a pumpkin.'

-

	`Climb in,' Rogue opens the passenger side door for Magneto, who's
tugging at his clothes.

	`Explain again how you got me out?'

	`I need you to power the machine.'

	`You fixed it, you said.'

	`Yep.  Five ways from Sunday, too.  There's the way that I got
funding-'

	`You said that you'd limited the affects to males over age twelve?'

	`Theoretically.  I've got a town of forty-five people in New Mexico
who've agreed to be experimented upon, they're getting a million or so each
from the government, and I've got Dark Kingdom medical support.'

	`King Serenity knows what you're doing?'

	`More of it than George does.  Option A is the effect you would have
gotten in New York, limited to males over twelve.  Option B is the same, but
limited to people who are latent X-gene mutants.  Option C works that X-gene
into a non-mutant's genetic structure,' Marie smiles at him, pulls the truck
onto the interstate, `Option D fixes broken chromosomes.'

	`Does that trigger physical changes like the X-gene manipulations?'

	`The consensus of the people I've been working with is it doesn't,
which is why we have Option E.'

	`All of the above?'

	`And here I thought you were too old for standardized tests.'

-

	`Here's the experimental schedule,' Marie calls the slide up on the
projector, `We're going to first trigger any latent X-gene mutations, and
check everyone to make sure that everyone has responded as expected,' she
pauses at a murmor from the room, `Yes, there are some of you who are latent
mutants already.'

	`The next day, we're going to induce mutation in the males over
twelve, and re-test.  Six hours later, we're going to stabilize the X-gene in
all of the subjects, then perform another checkup.  Four hours after that,
we'll perform one last set of genetic modifications, which should stabilize
all of the subjects genetic code, and we'll recheck everyone at that time to
make sure they're not experiencing genetic cascade failure.  If we have any
subject who is, we'll be calling in Dark Kingdom aid.

	`If everyone checks out, we'll once more trigger latent mutations, and
monitor until those mutations stabilize,' Marie looks around at the crowd,
`Any questions?'  A little boy of ten raises his hand.

	`Yes, Jose?'

	`So we'll all be mutants when the experiment's over?'

	`Yes, you will.'

	`Yay!' the boy on his left and the girl on his righ pump their fists.

	`We just wanted to make sure,' the girl says.

	`Everyone's checked their payment, and re-invested it?' Marie asks,
`If it's just in the bank it's too easy for it to just disappear.'

	Everyone nods, she'd been ragging on them about that since she got
funded.

	`Any more questions?'

	A few shaken heads answer.

	`Then we'll begin in the morning.'

-

	`These people are nuts,' Magneto says from his seat next to the
projector.

	`Most normals hate mutants not because they can do wonderful or scary
things, but because they can't.  I can't promise that they'll be cool mutants,
or even high-function ones, but they'll be different than what they are right
now, poor slobs in a dying town.'

	`Now they'll be rich slobs who have to hide what they are.'

	`Not in the Dark Kingdom.'

-

	`Good,' Marie says, looking over the last set of data herself,
confirming what Misa had already told her.

	-Maybe you should tell 'em what you expect to happen next,- Rogue
tells her.

	-But where's the fun in that?  Besides, they'd be prettier female,
anyway, and it may not work out like that.-

	-After the amount of work we put into making 99.9 percent sure that it
would?-

	`True, but they are getting a million each, and a healer-mage'll hook
them up for fifteen hundred each and evidence that they were male,' Marie
shakes her head, `I wonder how Eric'll take it.'

	Rogue blinks, then breaks down laughing, `We didn't tell him he was
one of the subjects, did we?'

	`Tell me what?'

	Marie looks at his face, and breaks out laughing herself, `You'll find
out soon.'

-

	`I feel funny,' Eric complains, `It's happening to me, isn't it?'

	`You weren't a latent mutant, so the change is proceeding more slowly.
It'll take another week or two at least, but we'd better get you back home.'

	`That place is not my home.'

	`You're staying there.'

	`Not voluntarily.'

	`They just paid you a million dollars for this.'

	`Argh.  I'll escape after I've got the money laundered.'

	`I wouldn't expect any less,' Marie pulls the truck off the I-40 onto
San Mateo, and slows to a stop for the light.

	`What are we doing in Albuquerque?'

	`Paying back a favor, 'cause I can.'

-

	`Wow,' the young woman looks at her hands, `Do I have any powers, or
am I just green?'

	`We're not sure.  There's some correspondence to someone with flight
powers, and some to a healer, but both of them are green, so you might just be
green,' Mabel tells her.

	`Oh well,' she rubs beard stubble off of her face, `Hows the Kermit
the Frog song go?'

	`It's not easy being green?'

	`That one.'

	`Will you be OK riding home, or should we give you a lift?' Rogue
breaks in gently.

	`Have the physical changes stopped?'

	`Yes,' Mabel answers.

	`Then I should be fine,' she says, and picks her helmet up, `Thank
you!' she gives Rogue a hug, looks at Eric, then gives him a hug too.

	They wait until she's ridden off before they drive back to the
interstate.

-

	`You're two weeks early,' the guard greets Rogue.

	`Yeah, well, he got cought in the effects of an experiment, and we
needed to get him back before the changes took full effect and you wouldn't
belive he was the same man I left with.'

	`Oh?  What do you mean?'

	`You'll find out soon enough.'

-

	-We've got a problem, you know,- Rogue says.

	-George has a hard-on for Iraq?-

	-Exactly.  And we've just perfected a weapon that can devastate a
country in minutes.-

	-That, indeed, might be a problem.  We could just not give it to him.-

	-He's already got the basic plans, and they might be able to cruft up
a good enough field matrix.  Then all they'd need is a mutant with strong
enough magnetic powers.-

	Marie pulls off to the side of the road, and pulls out their
DECTablet, taps for a moment, `There's three.  The only one with contact
information is this Polaris woman.'

	-So we can't teach them how to break the machine from the inside.-

	-But George has a hard-on for Iraq.-

	Rogue blinks, then smiles, -So we can just Option E Baghdad, and be
done with it?-

	-Ami's working on that field amp, right?-

	-And we just pulled off another ninety percent efficiency boost,-
Rogue calls up a map of southwest Asia, and draws a circle on it with her
finger, -We could make a lot of people unhappy,- she smiles despite herself.

	-Much better than wondering when George is going to try and kill every
Iraqi male over the age of twelve,- Marie agrees firmly.

	`Misa, call up Perry for me.'

-

	`Buffy?' Rogue asks as someone picks up.

	`Rogue!  We've been worried.'

	`Yeah, I really shouldn't have taken the government's money when they
offered, but I wanted to make it work.'

	The call takes on a certain fuzzyness that indicates more people have
joined in, `Let me guess,' Willow says, `You made it work.'

	`Yep.  And George has enough of the plans that a competent scientist
could possibly build one, and there are three mutants out there with
high-level magnetic powers who could be strapped into such a thing.'

	`What are you going to do?' Faith sounds almost amused.

	`Turn most everyone in the middle east into female mutants, on the
government's dime?' Rogue asks in a small voice.

	`And the alternative?'

	`Wait for George to kill some innocent mutant trying to wipe out
Saddam,' Marie says, firmly.

	`It's not very safe for females or mutants in the middle east right
now,' Tara says, `But that might change after something like that.'

	`It might, or the whole house of cards could collapse, and the Dark
Kingdom would have to step in or watch as things get really, really bad.'

	`When will you be home?'

	`Another month or so, in time for school to start.'

	`Be safe, we love you,' Buffy says.

	`Have fun, Rogue-Marie,' Faith says.

	Rogue can almost see Willow and Tara look at each other before they
say in perfect harmony, `We'll see you when you get back, love.'

	`Wow, that's almost twice as long as the last time you did that,'
Rogue smiles, `I love you guys too.  Be careful.'

-
 
	`Eric's been getting younger.  She'll look like Lorna's sister rather
than her father in a couple weeks,' the Professor says, `How have your other
subjects been doing?'

	`The adults seem to have settled at a young looking twenty.  The kids
are aging normally.'

	`That's,' he sighs, `Good.  Is the effect permanent?'

	`I don't know.'

	`Let me know if you find anything.'

	`I will.'

-


	Rogue looks up at the man next to her.  She can't remember his given
name, his rank, or his stage name, but does know his last name is Lister,
something she found way too amusing, considering all of those memories weren't
hers to start with, he's a marine, and a warrant officer.  He's nominally in
charge of the sixty mutants the government hired her. 

	`We'll be in position soon,' he tells her again.  His mutant power is
mostly to be big, strong, and ugly, but he's very big and very strong, so she
decided he'd do during the interview.

	In position is in Iraqi waters, offshore near the delta where the
Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow into the Persian Gulf.

	`Everyone ready?'

	`As we're gonna get,' the captain of the small ship says, `Why did
they say to "expect changes?"'

	`We're going to destabilize the entire region,' Marie pats the
machine, in its waterproof case under a tarp.

	`Oh?'

	`Remember the attack on the U.N. Conference a few months ago?'

	`Yes,' the captain suddenly looks a little worried.

	`That was the prototype for this machine.  That one would have killed
almost everyone it touched.  This machine'll turn everyone into female
mutants.'

	`Oh,' he looks down, then up with a shakey, crooked grin, `Then I
guess it's a good thing that we've dropped "don't ask, don't tell," huh?' he
asks, twisting his wedding ring on his finger.

	`The President has authorized paying Dark Kingdom healer-mages for
any serviceman who needs it, but it'll probably take a few months.'

-

	The machine unfolds easily under Rogue's hands, the prototype's
powered autosetup sacrificed in exchange for greater efficiency and lower
rotating mass.

	The mutants are lined up on the deck, seated as they watch the
preparations continue.

	A final green tell-tale lights, and Rogue turns back to the crew, `I
want everyone sitting down, with a seatbelt on, or on the deck.  Are we good?'

	`Deck One Ready!'

	`Deck Two Ready!

	`Deck Three Ready!'

	`Bridge Ready!'

	`Operation Start!' Rogue calls back, and walks to the far end of the
double row of mutants.

	She holds out her hands, and the mutants on either side reach forward
to rest their fingers on the backs of them.  After a moment they groan and
collapse, and she steps forward, repeats the process.

	After ten minutes she staggers into the machine, glowing slightly,
sparks crackling in her hair, arcing to any nearby surfaces, and grabs the
handles.

	The vanes spin up, and the effect slips out, not glowing until it hits
a person.  It spreads, up the rivers, Ur, Baghdad, Kirkut.  It flows over
Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, Afganistan, Egypt, Jordan,
Syria, Lebannon, Greece, the Balkans, southern Italy, eastern Switzerland,
western India, just brushes Ethiopia and Somalia, washes over Austria to the
southern borders of Germany and Poland, up through the former Soviet Union to
Kazahkstan.

	Rogue slumps, grinning, and flops from the machine, staring up at the
clear blue sky.

	`What the fuck!' Lister yells, her voice a little higher than it had
been, but warm and furry, and a ham-sized fist sheers one of the vanes from
the machine.

	Rogue rolls away as Lister's joined fists smash the machine's central
platform, bending it quite severely.

	Marie winces at the sight of hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of
precision machining and irreplacable parts being mauled.

	Rogue winces at the thought of Ami's Old Moon Kingdom genetic sequence
accelerator being damaged.  She'd never get to borrow any of the older woman's
toys again.

	Both of them dodge as Lister swings at them, and smashes the rack
holding the DEC Personal System 32000, `That's got all of our research-' Rogue
cuts herself off, and they smile.

	-Why's he so pissed?- Marie asks.

	Rogue unconsciously slips into the faint echo of Lister in her head,
and looks at him, -Bad enough I'm a girl, but I ain't got nothing up top!
What the fuck!'

	Rogue smiles as she shakes that off, -That may be why.-

	`Hey, Lister, how much body fat you got?  Five percent?'

	`Four,' she says, proud.

	Rogue dodges again, `How much does the Corps allow for females?'

	`Twenty five percent!' She takes a moment to think about what she just
said, and sits down.

	`That's what, seventy pounds of fat you can put on before they'll
worry about you?'

	`I shouldn't need that much, right?  They only weigh a couple pounds
each.'

	`Yeah, but your body has other places it wants to put the fat first,'
Rogue touches the side of her thigh.

	`Yeah, but fifteen percent should be good, right?'

	`Betty's the one who likes boobies,' Rogue says before she thinks
about it.

	`Yeah, she is.  She can tell me when I'm fat enough,' she laughs,
`That's just the wrong thing for a girl to say. I love it.'


-

	The field matrix is broken, irreparable and irreplaceable
without a trip to the Shi'ar galaxy.  Rogue rips it free and pitches it over
the side.

	The GSA is intact, and Rogue hooks it to her DECTablet with the
appropriate cable, `Misa, could you check it?'

	`Sure.  Looks good, passes its self-test, anyway.'

	`Thanks, love.'

	`You're welcome.'

	Ami's field amp seems intact as well, and flashes green when Marie
pushes the unmarked self-test button.

	That done, she starts pulling hot-swap drive carriers out of the
PS32K's drive array, crushing each one to make sure that the platters are bent
and the seals broken before throwing them into the sea.

-

	`The Saudi King today announced that despite the fact that the
Ayatollah is a Shii'a and thus cannot be trusted, she is correct and this is
obviously a miracle from Allah to reward us for our respect and support for
mutants,' the Fox News announcer has a sour look on his face, `and in other
news . . . '

-

Epilog:

	The Saudi King, analysts say, can hear radio, or at least that's their
explanation for why she's never seen without a gold mesh veil that covers her
head and hair in an elegant faraday cage, and is discreetly clipped to a metal
plate on her back, and the trailing wires that brush the ground as she walks.

	The Ayatollah Khomeini, apparently, is a highly sensitive empath,
prone to wincing in reaction to other's pain.

	Saddam's ability, it seemed for the first month after the change, was
being green and pretty.

	The new American ambassador, reported the rest of it after their first
meeting.  The former ambassador had returned stateside with her wife when it
became apparent that her new ability, to show her emotions in the form of a
halo of light, was a liability, as shown by the red backlight of annoyance
that surrounded her, and needed much more training. 

	She, it should be noted, was nearly seventy, not a mutant, and
straight.  Saddam probably thought that would be enough, but was disabused of
the notion when the woman tried to climb over the desk to kiss her.

	The ambassador was properly abashed, once out of Saddam's presence,
and Saddam stopped taking any visitors.
	
	Over the next several months the Iraqi government changed.  The order
stripping Iraqi males of citizenship wasn't unexpected, for they had obviously
missed out on the miracle for a reason.  The attempted reconciliation with the
Kurds, which, according to rumor, devolved into an orgy of epic proportions,
wasn't.  The firm hand taken to the army and police was as unexpected as the
encouragement of, not quite opposition, but seperate political parties.  The
legislature was given more power, as were the courts.

	By the time she laid down the new law, that a new President and vice
President would be elected, and she'd be fourth in line to take over the job
if anything happened to them, after the head of the legislature and the chief
judge of the supreme court, the Iraqi people had almost stopped waiting for
the other shoe to drop.

	Over the entire region, militant groups suffered, for their best
recruits, the young males with too much free time and too little money to
afford a wife suddenly found their situation changed.  They still had too
little money, but their friends, neighbors, employers, and the rich old men
they formerly had to compete with were suddenly a lot more attractive than
they had been.

	When, for what several people said were purely secular reasons, a
Sunni clerical council ruled that females could not commit adultry with
another female, unless she got pregnant from it, it raised a great stink.
When several prominent Shii'a clerics agreed the orgy in the streets the
ruling was supposed to generate failed to occur.  Fox News was sincerely
disappointed.

	For reasons that mystified many western op-ed writers, the ruling that
a report and evidence was now all that was required to prove rape, by a male
or a female, was accepted by all sects with no dissention. 

	Isreal and Palestine quickly decided their neighbors were the bigger
threat.  Rabin and Arafat worked closely together to calm internal tensions,
leading to many rumors as they were frequently seen together, their pale blue
and pink hair distinctive.

	The rumors took concrete form when some wag posted a high-res,
suitable for printing, image of the two, flanked by two pairs of guards, an
Israli and a Palestinian in each, surrounded by school-aged girls, and a
caption at the top and bottom.  The top read, in Hebrew, "Save Isreal, marry a
Palestinian," the bottom, in Arabic, "Save Palestine, marry an Israli"

	The militants on both sides posted them everywhere, and, to their
disgust, greatly eased tensions as mixed couples walked more freely throughout
the country.

	Many theories floated for why such a high percentage, over ninety, of
the people in the affected areas were quite happy with the way things turned
out, but the two most popular were the offical Sunni line: `It is the will of
God," and the much less scientific, because it was disproven in dozens of
studies, "Hybrid Expectations" theory: Most of the men were attracted to women
before the change, and most of the women continued to be attracted to their
husbands afterwards.  That didn't hold much water in Saudi Arabia, much less
Austria, where it was first proposed in an op-ed, but it was a popular theory. 

	A number of analysts were worried by the rapidly declining birth rate
in the affected area, mostly ignoring the fact that the death rate had fallen much
more precipitously.  A Ctholon Mobil Fortress was located on the outskirts of
Kabul, and over the next five years eighteen more were landed, the first on
the outskirts of Jerusalem, and the last in Naples.

	The rumors about Arafat and Rabin weren't helped by their having,
within a few weeks of each other, a blue-haired and pink-haired daughter
respectively.

	George, it must be noted, was disappointed when the world didn't end
during his single term in office.

---
Log:
2007/Jan/4:	It came to me in a flash, like a vision, and I had to write it
		down, just like it was . . .
		Actually, song quote aside, this one wants me to write it, so
		I will.
2007/Jan/6:	* (apocrypha) writings or reports not considered genuine.
		Second draft, a few scenes added or changed, and the epilog.