A Quick Disclaimer: All characters and groups presented here are property, ©, and ™ Marvel
Entertainment Group, Inc. and are borrowed without profit except for Jacob Johnson, Susan Weaver, and
X-Corps, who are the creation of the author.

EDITORS NOTES: This is the very first issue of the a monthly maxi series, "X-Corps". The events of this
series take place in the Alerted Vision universe, hence such characters such as Human Torch can exist, and
are not dead. This maxi series has no impact on the events of the "mainstream" Visions universe, at least for
now ;) The whole maxi series consists of 12 issues, and there are most likely more following later. Now for
some notes from the author.

These events take place right after X-Men Issue 80, Vol. 1, October, 1998

A note from the author- Welcome to the first installment of X-Corps. I wanted to take this space to thank
you for reading and get you a little aquatinted with my madness here. Right now you are probably asking
yourself, "what is he trying to do here?" Well, I've been mulling around this idea in my head for some sort of
team-up that could solve the whole human-mutant relations crisis thing. The world loves the Avengers and
the Fantastic Four, yet fear and hate the X-Men and other mutants. So, I took a bit of each and tossed it
together. Now the mere mortal must think, if these heroes can work with them happily, why can't I?

There, my entire plot in just one paragraph. But, fear not, for the road that lies ahead for our team is not
without it's speed bumps and potholes. There will be enemies and friends popping in every now and then
from the Marvel Universe and maybe even some other comic universes, too! Oooooooo..

While I'm at it, I'd like to thank Tom over at X-Visions for letting me into his Altered Visions section. That's
what I like about all this fan fiction stuff, pretty much everyone is great about helping each other out and
support and all. And I want to thank the Fan fiction Network for the original posting, and Outside the Lines
for everyone's info on the characters and input on the story. Man, fanfic people rock!

Aaaand, if you have any questions, comments, complaints, ideas, or just plain ol' rantings, send 'em on in!
Any input is welcomed and if good enough could be seen published right here! Another Ooooooo..

VISIONS is proud to present an Alerted Vision maxi series:


X-Corps #1 (of 12)

"Recruits"
Written by: Jason
Edits: Tom

Major events in his life seemed to always start with a bang. His father passed out and hit the floor with a
bang when he was born. Somebody in the class dropped a book on the floor by accident when the teacher
asked to talk to him on day in the first grade. The bang had nothing to do with the event, but it was there. He
skipped a grade. Smart kid. A few balloons popped and banged at his tenth birthday party. There he met a
friend of his parents, a professor at a school for gifted youngsters a few miles away in Salem. He felt
something then, a sensation of some sort, yet, he couldn't quite figure out what it was.

It was one quiet night in January of his fifteenth year that had the largest bang of them all. A drunk trucker
and his rig banging into the side of his family's car. The car was totaled, both of his parents dying instantly,
but he was stubborn. He didn't want to die. Strong kid. 8 straight hours of surgery, blood transfusion after
blood transfusion, his heart stopping, being restarted, flirting with death, it was the longest night in history for
him, although he didn't fully realize it then. Months of recuperation passed, he day regaining his strength a
little bit more. Doctors thought of him as a modern miracle, recovering so quickly with so little obvious pain.
But there was so much pain. He was just good at lying. Stoic kid.

His parents were the last of his family. There was nowhere for him to go after his recovery. Until his parents'
friend paid him a visit. He remembered the professor from their only meeting five years back. He listened
intently as he was offered a place in the exclusive school for gifted youngsters. He listened carefully as the
professor told him of the gifts these youngsters had. He didn't fully acknowledge or understand what this all
meant to him. He was normal, just like any other human kid, nothing like these gifted youngsters, these
mutants. But, the professor was a friend of his parents, and he trusted their judgment. He enrolled.

He was smart, but he still didn't feel like he fit in. He couldn't shoot beams from his eyes like one of them, or
use his mind to lift things and read others' thoughts and feelings. Turning his body to ice was way out of his
reach and wings certainly didn't sprout from his back. Even the most normal of them was too different from
him, the guy was stronger, smarter, even had big feet. The professor, too, was different in his own way. It
was almost as if he could tell what was going to be said before it was, or what anyone was thinking. But he
stayed. The world feared and hated these "creatures" in this school for gifted youngsters, but he found them
to be more human than most other people.

He grew up with these gifted youngsters. Learned with them. Even trained with them every now and then for
a little exercise. But he grew restless here. He felt isolated and alone. Yes, these people were his friends, but
they were always off somewhere, doing something, and he couldn't be there. And there wasn't much to do in
Salem. Then came an offer a little after his 18th birthday. His father's business had been left to him after the
elder's early demise and the company's board screamed for him to lead it. He accepted the responsibility,
taking his leave of Salem and going to New York. And he lived comfortably for years, never forgetting his
roots and his friends at that school for gifted youngsters.
* * *

" . . . Look what they did! Now more than ever, it should be apparent to everyone just how much we need
this system. Are you all . . ."

He turned of the television, having heard enough of the general's speech about the Benassi Incident. Rising
from his chair, he turned to the window facing out to the city and rubbed his temples in thought. The whole
wall was the window, giving a magnificent view of New York basked in twilight. Many times he looked at
this view with wonder and amazement. Now he does the same, only, not because of the view, but because
of the past few days' events.

The whole Binassi Incident was on his mind. The government attempting a cover operation to launch
satellites that would form an elaborate mutant defense system. A system that would systematically mark and
categorize and could be used to destroy each and every mutant on Earth. A system supplied with parts made
by his company. A system stopped by the "outlaw" group know as the X-Men. He smiled at that thought.
Even without the professor, or even the first five X-Men, the team still held onto it's fight, its dream.

He had already demanded an internal investigation into the incident, finding out who knew what and how
much. He wasn't going to let his company cause genocide, no matter how much money was in it. He had too
many friends that would suffer if it came to that. No, he wasn't going to let it happen. He, too, believed in the
dream of the X-Men. He had been taught it, too, by the X-Man himself.

"Mr. Johnson," spoke his intercom, pulling him from his trance, "Colonel Fury is here for his 6:30." He turned
to his desk and pressed a button on the intercom.

"Please let him in, Janet." And, at about the exact same time, the door opened, an average height gentleman
of fit build stepping into the office, his one eye scanning the office, an eye patch covering the other. Nick
Fury was a commanding presence, even in a three piece suit. "Good to see you again, Fury," said Johnson,
walking to the colonel and shaking his hand. "Thank you, Janet," he said as the secretary closed the door
with an accidental bang.

"Same to you, Jacob," said Fury as he was led to the desk. He continued to look around the office, taking in
the layout. Basic corporate head setup. A window for a wall behind a huge oak desk with comfortable
chairs for the guests.

"Cigar?" asked Jacob, opening a box of Cubans he had on his desk and holding it out to Fury.

"Are those smuggled goods, son?" asked Fury with a smirk.

"Best contraband you'll find in the city, Colonel." Jacob smiled as Fury snorted and took a cigar, allowing
Jacob to hold out a light for him. "So," said Jacob as he made it around his desk and sat down, "why has the
director of S.H.I.E.L.D. decided to grace me with his presence? Might this have to do with Benassi at all?"
Fury smirked and shook his head.

"No, Jacob, you're an all clear in the Benassi mess. The government just wants a crackdown on the ring
leaders and for all your company knows, it was selling air conditioning parts for a government building."
Jacob laughed and leaned back in his chair after lighting a cigar for himself.

"That's a relief," he said, chewing on his stogie. "So, you just dropping in for a free smoke and to enjoy my
company?"

"That's part of it," said Fury, smiling while he chompped on his cigar. "And I guess this does actually have a
little to do with Benassi. Jacob, you know as well as I do that human-mutant relations have never been good,
and they're looking awfully low right now."

"Umm hmm," said Jacob, leaning forward. "So, what do you need? I can get another public announcement
out about the whole thing or donate more to research? That always helps."

"Jacob," said Fury, his face turning serious as he pulled the cigar from his mouth, "I know you spent a few
years up with Xavier and his kids in Salem. I even know you spent a little time playing around with them."

"Yeah, Fury, that's general knowledge."

"Well, I've heard you were pretty good, combat-wise."

"In their training stuff," said Jacob, his look getting as serious as Fury's. "What are you asking, Nick? Get to
the point."

"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s got a unit they're trying to organize. A big P.R. stint at helping lower the tension. We've got
most of the people lined up, now we just need a public figure who can handle himself in situations . . ."

"And you want me?" Jacob at back again and stared at his cigar as he turned it with his fingers. "It's been a
while since I've done anything remotely like that, Fury. And I don't even have combat experience."

"We'd train you all as a team, and we have a veteran lined up to lead it," said Fury. "The rest of the team is
actually veteran with solo and team experience."

"Why me?" asked Jacob, putting the cigar back into his mouth, still staring out to nothing. "Why not Stark or
anyone else?"

"Because you were the first person that came to mind. Everyone's mind." They sat silent for a moment, both
chewing on their cigars.

"Who's heading it up?" asked Jacob as he stood up and turned to the window.

"Natasha Romanova," said Fury, standing up, too, but not moving.

"The Black Widow?" said Jacob, glancing over his shoulder. "An Avenger? How did you come across her?"

"We just asked," said Fury, now walking to stand beside Jacob. "She jumped at it. And we borrowed
Johnny Storm for a little while."

"Fantastic Three now, eh?" Jacob snickered a bit.

"For the meantime. Then your friend Bobby Drake was pulled in at the thought of working with you, and
Johnny, of course," said Fury, admiring the view. "Then I tossed in one of my people."

"So there's five people in the unit?"

"If you take it. Maybe six if we can convince Ms. Frost to join."

"Emma?" said a wide-eyed Jacob, turning to Fury. "The White Queen?"

"We're trying." Fury finished his cigar and turned to put it out in the ash tray on Jacob's desk. "So, Mr.
Johnson, do we have a deal?"

"Wait, we'll be under S.H.I.E.L.D. command?"

"Only while training. Then Natasha will head it up on her own, with you all of course."

"So what does S.H.I.E.L.D. get out of this?"

"A crack unit for a while, and, ultimately, an easier job once you all help relations between humans and
mutants." Jacob turned and put out his cigar.

"Well, Mr. Fury, I've always wanted to be a hero." Jacob extended his hand.

"Glad I can help," replied Fury, shaking Jacob's hand. Jacob didn't notice it, but out at her desk, his
secretary knocked books off her desk with a bang. . .
* * *

She was only human, yet ran across the city without ever touching the ground. The cool air rushing by her as
she ran reminded her of her years in Russia, years she missed, yet, also wanted to forget. Years with the
Avengers helped her overcome many of her fears and misconceptions in her life, yet, again, she was only
human.

She continued to race across the buildings, the stars remaining almost motionless above her. The clear night
with it's full moon had called her out here, and now it kept her going. Too nice a night to be inside. Too nice
a night to be concerned with much other than being out, free, on top of the world.

Then he was there next to her, running with her neck and neck. The devil himself. She noticed him out the
corner of her eye, but didn't acknowledge him. She merely made a sharp left turn and kept going. But, he
kept up. She leapt from one building to another, him right there next to her. She caught him smirking out the
corner of her eye. She was doing the same, smirking.

Another leap, this time though, she shot a small hook from the contraption on her wrist, catching a building to
her right, allowing her to swing in front of her opponent and take a different turn. Yet, he had his own
contraption of immeasurable length, allowing him to catch the same building and the same turn, staying right
with her. She landed on the edge of a new building and ran to the opposite side, stopping right at the edge,
him right next to her.

"I thought you'd go over," she said to him, neither of them looking at each other.

"I anticipated that," he responded, turning his head to her, yet not looking at her, not looking at anything. The
blind devil.

"I could never fool you," she said, running a hand through her red hair, "could I, Matt."

"No, Natasha," he said, smiling, "you couldn't."

And they stood silent, known to the world as Daredevil and the Black Widow, know to each other as Matt
Murdock and Natasha Romanova. It was an uneasy silence.

"I heard you signed on with Fury," said Daredevil, "looking" back out to the city.

"Yes," she said, still staring to the city below.

"Well," he said after another uneasy silence, "I wanted to wish you luck and all. Make sure you got off
alright, you know?"

"Just don't get yourself killed while I'm away," she replied, looking to him. He smiled.

"You know me."

"So I do," she said, leaning over and giving him a peck on the cheek. "Good bye, Matt." She stepped off the
building and swung into the night, still never touching the ground.
***

The air was cold out in New York tonight, yet, he wasn't. A fire burned deep inside him. Sometimes, he let
the fire out, let it surround him, engulf him, but he was always in control. He's been doing it for years.

The man known to the world as the Human Torch stood atop Freedoms Four Plaza and gazed at the city
below. The city that never sleeps, despite it being 3 in the morning. A time not unnoticed by his sister.

"What are your doing, Johnny?" asked Sue Storm as she walked across the roof, bundling herself tighter in
her robe. "It's Three a.m."

"Couldn't sleep," Johnny Storm responded, keeping his stare out to the city.

"You're worried about this S.H.I.E.L.D. thing, aren't you?"

"Who, me? Come on," Johnny said, smiling and looking to his sister, "you know me better than that."

"Yes, Johnny," she said, staring into his eyes, "I do."

The smile left his face and he turned to look back out to the city.

"I'm worried about a lot of things with this, I guess. I haven't spent much time away from the Four for so
long, and God knows what we'll be going up against all for P.R."

"Johnny," said Sue, placing her hand on his back and gubbing it gently, "you're with some experienced
people there. And whatever you run up against can't be any worse than what we've been against before."

"But what if this doesn't work, the whole human-mutant relations thing?" Johnny closed his eyes and lowered
his head. "This seems like a last ditch effort here. The last hope . . ."

"The weight of the world is not on your shoulders, Johnny Storm." Jonny looked back up and then to his
sister. "And we're here, if you guys ever need anything, you know that."

"Yeah," he said, smiling again. "And it's only temp, right? Besides, I'll get to burn ol' ice cube again."

"Now, Johnny," said Sue, slapping her brother lightly on the back of his head. "You be nice to Bobby."

"Like I've said, sis, you know me."
***

"So Fury chose you to try what he couldn't do, eh?" said Emma Frost, her gaze colder than the man
standing before her.

"I opted to try, Emma," said Bobby Drake, also called Iceman at times. "It's an ideal situation for us, a
chance ot help with the dream!"

"Tell it to Jean, Bobby," she spat back, still staring into Bobby's eyes. "I told Fury the same thing I'm going to
tell you now. NO!"

She turned from him and started to stomp away.

"Jacob will be there," Bobby said, causing Emma to stop. "He's agreed to help, work side by side."

"And this means what to me?" said the White Queen without so much as a glance over her shoulder. "No,
Mr. Drake, I will not join your little play group. I have previous commitments to the team here."

"It's just for a few months, Emma. Gen X will survive without you for a little . . ."

Emma spun on her heal to look at Bobby.

"Again, and for the last time, Robert Drake, my answer is NO!"

She stormed off, Bobby just shrugging his shoulders.

"I tried."
***

She wasn't the best. She didn't finish first in her class, she didn't always do the right thing, she didn't always
go by the book, and she didn't ever kiss up. She was average. Yet, even an average S.H.I.E.L.D. agent is
better than the most elite of any other group in the world.

And she was experienced with this type of work. At least, that's what the brass said. Just because she grew
up with her sister being a mutant, that makes her an expert on human relations with them. There's a
difference between he sister and every other mutant on Earth. Her sister is blood.

Still, Susan Weaver was happy with her assignment. It got her in the field. It got her combat experience. It
was the closest thing to a life she was going to have since she was asked to join S.H.I.E.L.D. and she was
happy to get it.

But she couldn't shake this feeling that something wasn't right. Some impending doom hung over the whole
thing like a tropical storm that was quite happy where it was. The weight of the world was on her shoulders,
and Susan Weaver couldn't do a thing about it.

Join us in one month in X-Corps #2 when the team forms for the first time against S.H.I.E.L.D.'s elite
Gamma Force!

Again, thanks for reading and hope to see you in 30.

Jason, 1998
revel8tion@juno.com
X-Corps #1's debut was on November 10, 1998 on www.fanfic.net. It's probably still there. Then it
popped up on the Outside the Lines mailing list.