For the first time in his life, Charles was unsure of what to do. He had registered a huge wave of telepathic energy sweeping the globe, effectively rewriting the minds of every human on the planet. He could even feel the influence of the wave reaching their new home, but with Cerebro and a lot of effort, he managed to ward off most of its effects.

It was what to do about it that puzzled him. He had no way of making sure that nobody was hurt, and he had no way of pinpointing who did it. All he could tell was that it came from New York, and that meant either Emma Frost or surprisingly Peter Parker. Peter’s telepathic powers were a mystery. He knew the creatures were telepathic, as they needed to be able to communicate regardless of their host, but Peter wasn't a host. He was a strange amalgam and while it gave him some of their abilities, there was no way he should be that strong.

Which left Charles with a problem. Should he reverse the damage done, and revert the human race to whatever state they were in, or let whoever made the changes win? He was loath to send agents back into the United States until the Sentinel problems were solved. This was too important, however. Even he resisted making massive changes. Deleting the X-Men from the CIA and the SSR proved a mistake, one that cost lives.

No, he made up his mind. “Erik, Can you please call for Logan? I need someone to speak to Peter. I fear he may be going down a dark path. One we had hoped he would avoid.”

“Charles, must you be so melodramatic? Peter is young and makes mistakes. If he erased himself, and us, from the human's minds then we should thank him, not criticise him.” Erik responded. He had often thought along the same lines. Genosha could have been a paradise if Charles had helped keep its location secret.

“It is our duty to keep not only ourselves but those with powers in check Erik. We cannot allow Peter to follow our mistakes.”

⁂

Logan arrived outside the warehouse and found everyone eating breakfast.

“Dad!” Laura yelled and launched herself at him. He caught her and spun her around while she snorted in laughter.

“Hey, short stuff. So Pete, eat any good brains lately?” He asked as he slung Laura over his shoulder and carried her to the table.

“Oh hey Charles, you’ve gotten hairier since I last saw you,” Peter replied and set out Logan's mug.

“Yeah, figured as much. What you do and should I care?” he asked as he sat, sat Laura next to himself and poured a cup of coffee.

“Nothing. Just made sure the assholes stay assholes and some names are hidden.” Peter replied glibly, “But how's things? It’s been good here, except you know, the vampire you sent our way.”

Logan's cups paused and he frowned, “Uh what?”

“Morbius was a vampire. Might of been nice to mention that, you know, before he bit Gwen.”

Logan shrugged, “I thought she was just pale from bein’ inside all the time.”

Peter laughed as Gwen huffed, “I’m fine thanks, still got a reflection and everything.”

“Yeah, I reckon so. Don't vamps wear black and more eyeliner?” Logan looked at the remains of the breakfast platter Peter had served and raised an eyebrow. Peter shook his head and waved a hand. “Free food is the best food.”

“So, did you come here to just mooch or...” Peter left the question hanging.

“Bit of both. Charles knows you did something to the world, and he wants to find out what.” Logan finished heaping the plate with scrambled egg, the last of the bacon, sausage, and toast before he sat down, “but don’t care. Told you off once for sittin' and judging people, about time he got the same lesson. Plus, I need a place to stay. Charles is all super secret about the new digs, no clue where they are and don’t really care.”

⁂

“And what the hell are you going to do about it!” Yelled Gideon Malik. He slammed down a thick file on Coulson's desk. “You are the Head of Shield, and as such it is your responsibility to ensure these so-called heroes behave. And yet, “ he flicked open the file, “Augments at a school for God's sake, A Quinjet, one unregistered. A club owner and then,” he threw his hands up,” a sighting of Venom, infiltrating a military base.”

Coulson sat stoically behind his desk, “And on the other side.” He slid out a file of his own. “Lethal force authorised after a small child threw a rock at one. Twelve people were hurt in a riot started by Humanity First sympathisers. Hank McCoy was released from jail after being drugged by your people, and finally Bolivar Trask’s supposed suicide.”

Malik stopped pacing and snorted, “All legal within the ARCA.”

Coulson smiled, “Not in the slightest. It’s on hold until the Supreme Court votes on whether it's constitutional or not. Lethal force is allowed under extremely rare situations, and not against a kid. Bolivar is on your head, and so what if Venom finally poked his nose out? You’re just mad he kicked your cans.”

Gideon Malik grabbed his folder “My office will be suggesting oversight on Shield. You are obviously under insidious influences and need to be reigned in.”

Coulson stood, “Sorry, Hydra went out of business.” He leant forward, showing Malik that he was armed, “You’re more than welcome to try though.”

Gideon snorted, “I was cleared, and such baseless accusations might see you out of a job Phil.” He spat the man's name as if it was poison on his tongue.

“Doubtful. I have tenure.” He smiled and pointed at the door, “See yourself out.” Sat down and promptly began to ignore the man,

⁂

Gideon sat in his office, quietly fuming over his dismissal by Coulson. What irked him the most was he was right. Trask had a single-use collar on, and getting rid of him was easy enough. The Sentinels had responded as instructed, but the sympathy rating for mutant reprisal had been small, all because of one fucking kid. The riots had fizzled out as soon as the Sentinels turned on the populace, not helped by JJ’s supposed mutant roots. It had gone from a perfect storm to a slurry of piss and wind in one single day.

He couldn’t even salvage the Sentinel tech. When his agents had gotten to the base Master Mold was shut down and all its major components were missing. The last scan showed it made a ‘perfect’ Sentinel, which had then escaped. There were also currently ten unaccounted for, and Malik knew that was bad news. They had killed one agent before making their escape, already immune to the pulse weapons his men carried. He was just thankful he knew enough science to know they couldn’t adapt to everything. 

It was still a PR nightmare. After JJ was outed as a mutant carrier, his credibility plummeted. Scores of cancellations hit his desk for not just his website, but the daily bugle and Humanity First. The scanners, promising to reveal the hidden threat, had instead shown that even without powers, nearly everyone was a mutant.

He couldn’t even slap a collar on someone to get the vote passed. Once it became clear they were being used, everyone was now checked for them.

The whole thing had blown up in his face.

Thankfully, the one thing he could count on still applied, no matter who you were or how high on the ladder you got.

Some well-placed bribes and the vote would be his. He would turn those costumed assholes against one another, and then 

He might not be president this election, but he was patient. He could wait four more years.

⁂

JJ stared at the newspaper mock-up in front of him. He was wrong, he could imagine John scolding him for just how wrong he was.

So, I’m not a mutant. I did all those things without powers pop. Because you believed in me. Because you stood up for what you believe in. I did the best I could, and in the end, it was all I could do. I made you proud of me, can you say the same?

He just wished John was here to even say, I told you so.

He had been wrong. The Sentinels were not the solution, throwing better guns and armour at soldiers was not the solution. He had no clue what the solution was, but it was not the mess that the ARCA created. 

All JJ wanted was for people to be safe. All he wanted was for the pain of losing John to be dulled by knowing another family wasn't torn apart by those powered monsters. He just had to see it for himself that it wasn't powers that made monsters, people were already monsters. They just needed an excuse.

JJ sat and looked at the mock-up once more.

He was a proud man, a newspaperman, He told the truth even if it hurt. He told the people what was really happening, even if it meant dealing with their ire.

JJ looked over at his computer, found the digital version of the mock-up and hit send.

All JJ wanted was for John to be proud of him.

⁂

The More Things Change.

Special Editorial Edition,

By J. Jonah Jameson.

I am a passionate man

I am a man, driven by his emotions.

So when I lost my son, I admit that I lost my way. I let the hatred of a group of people guide my actions. To form words in my mouth that I feel now, my son would have been ashamed of.

I apparently carry a gene that in my children, can produce Augments. Not just me. There are hundreds of cases all across New York of individuals, children, and young people who can barely walk, let alone wield superpowers, accused of being tainted, of being a ‘mutant’.

Children.

And the group I am now going to publicly state I am no longer a member of is apparently fine with this. It’s not just okay to wish that a superpowered menace was in jail, but his or her children as well. That someone with the potential to become powered be punished until such a time they prove they are not.

Humanity First now makes me sick to my stomach. Humanity First was an organisation about lifting up those who needed help while protecting them against those who had an unfair advantage. 

The powerless given hope against the powerful.

But that message was distorted. It was taken and twisted until it became, the powerless taking power until they are in control of the powerless. I will admit that was my thinking as well. To never feel afraid, to never feel like I would lose something as precious as my son again. And in that feeling, I lost myself. I lost the compassion we should all have for those around us, regardless of their circumstances.

I believe that Venom should be held accountable for my son's death. That any powered individual using their powers should feel the full force of the law, and those affected should be able to seek proper compensation.

I do not believe in rounding up innocent people and holding them in cages. I do not believe in attacking an innocent man, drugging him, and then filming a lynching.

I do not believe in the Augment Registration and Control Act.

I believe there should be laws, just like the same laws for firearms, protecting our right to defend ourselves, protecting our right to bear arms. We do not prosecute a man for learning martial arts, we prosecute him for using them recklessly. Augments should fall under the same rules. You have powers, good for you, abuse them and you will face justice. Hurt innocents and you will face justice. Like everyone else in this great country. No one should be above the law.

Which is why I have turned over my records of Humanity First activities to the proper authorities. I have turned over my own personal journals for investigation, and if I am proven to be a conspirator in persecuting Augments and other individuals, I will gladly face justice. It is one of the founding tenets of this country. A trial in front of a jury of your peers. Something the ARCA makes illegal.

It is my duty as an American to stand up for what is right, and it is my duty as a father to make my son proud.

I have failed both him and this country, and for that, I can only say sorry.

This will be my last editorial. I am handing over the reins of the newspaper I built to someone who I can trust to go back to the newspaper's roots.

For Truth

For Justice

For The American Way.

For my son, who I miss every day.

John Jonah Jameson.

Former Editor.

Proud Father.