Uncanny X-Men (Marvel Omega)

Black Womb, Part I

The Xavier Institute; War Room

One week has passed since the funeral of Wolverine. Unfortunately for the X-Men, they have learned through past experiences that there is rarely any rest for the weary. That is true on this day as Nightcrawler and Domino, co-leaders of the X-Men's field team, meet with Storm, who serves on the institute's teaching staff. Also present is the latest addition to the institute, the mysterious mutant known only as Fantomex – a test tube mutant, born in a laboratory. The four of them are currently in the War Room, far below the institute's ground level. All sit around the large table with an 'X' engraved in it, with the exception of Fantomex, who leans against a wall, his arms folded across his chest.

"Black Womb," says Fantomex. "They're heavy into the study and exploitation of mutant genetics, and their reach extends far beyond the facility we discovered in Nevada. They have laboratories and complexes all across the globe."

"Where, specifically?" asks Domino.

"If I knew, I would tell you," replies Fantomex. "Unfortunately, the only one I knew about for certain was the one in Nevada – and I only knew that location because that is the one I escaped from."

"Thoughts?" asks Domino, turning to Nightcrawler.

"I'm not sure..." replies Kurt Wagner. "From what you've told me of these Neo who attacked you, and from what we've seen in Fantomex's own abilities, it's obvious that Black Womb is not only capable of generating dangerous mutants – they're also pretty good at it."

He swivels his chair to the right slightly to face Storm.

"You're basically filling in for Jean right now, so that makes the decision yours," he says.

"I agree, we can't have Black Womb running around," says Storm. "When I first located Angela, there were uniformed men who tried to capture her son. I was able to stop them, obviously, and at the time, I wasn't sure what to make of them. But now I think it's a very good possibility that they were Black Womb."

"I'd be very surprised if it was anyone else," says Fantomex.

"Nevertheless, our first order of business is to notify others," says Storm. "If Black Womb is going after the children of mutants, then there are several people we need to contact. That means Pietro and Crystal should receive word. Jean's parents are also looking after the children of Jean's late sister, so we should contact them as well. I'll handle that aspect of things."

"Good idea," says Domino.

"Aren't we forgetting something?" asks Fantomex. "Telling mutant parents to keep their guard up won't make this problem go away. Black Womb is still in existence, and they have my child."

"Patience, Fantomex, I'm getting to that," says Storm. "Since we don't know where any of these other facilities are, our only lead is the one in Nevada. Domino, I want you to lead a team into there, and try and discern the facility's central location."

***

"Looks like death finally caught up with you, pal," says Alex Summers as he stands before Wolverine's grave. "Y'know, I've lost count of the number of times we thought you were dead, and then you just popped back up out of nowhere and acted as if nothing had happened. Like that time when we mixed it up with the Russians. What was that guy's name again? Meltdown or something, right?"

He hears a noise, and on instinct, plasma energy begins to build up in his hand. He turns and finds one of his teammates standing behind him.

"Whoa, take it easy, hot shot," says Ecstacy.

"Sorry, just a little on edge lately," says Alex.

"No problem," says Stacy. "Kinda sucks, I never really got a chance to get to know him. But the way everyone's acting around here, it seems like he was a pretty important guy."