1 The Start of Everything

Inside a dark room was a thin yet tall man who looked incredibly gaunt and tired. His cheeks were sunken in, making his cheekbones incredibly pronounced, while his eyes had black bags under them, signaling that he hadn't sleep in a long time.

He had long, scraggy black hair, pulled taut and into a ponytail behind his head so it didn't get away. The only thing that didn't seem tired about him was his eyes themselves. His bright blue eyes looked almost like implanted sapphire gems as they looked at the screen in front of him. They practically glowed in the dark.

So, despite the weakness to his appearance, and his hunched over frame, the man was looking at the screen in front of him with enthusiastic determination.

His thin, slender fingers raced across the keyboard, typing at a speed that belied his weak appearance. "Good," his voice was raspy and dry, but also gave off a weak impression like his body did. But the happiness in the voice was immeasurable, "I can finally see this serum working without it giving me those...side-effects," he whispered to himself, rubbing his eyes before sipping at a cup of herbal tea.

The tea seemed to remind him of something because he visibly relaxed and closed his eyes, giving off a hum of appreciation. He leaned back into his chair, his face grimacing slightly as his bones clicked and ground against one another because of the action.

As he leaned back, he kept his eyes closed while slowly sipping at the tea. He was thinking.

About what? Only he knew that.

. . .

POV Change - Michael Morbius

It was so near. The curing of my disease - The disease that had plagued me my entire life was nearing the end of it's days.

The word 'joy' could not even begin to describe my mood right now.

Everything I'd been doing since I was a young boy...everything I'd read, everything I'd researched...it was all leading to this moment. Those fragmented memories are what led me to this moment. They're what showed me the potential of a cure for my illness. They showed me the side-effects that would come if I rushed into it. They didn't show me everything but they did show me that things that are too good to be true, usually are.

My name is Michael Morbius and I'm 22-years-old. I was born with a rare blood disease that has made my life...a 'little' more than just inconvenient. Because of it I couldn't work without crutches as an aid, nor could I really do much physical movement before I got tired and if I pushed past that, there was quite a big chance that I would pass out.

For as long as I can remember, my disease has held me back.

But I didn't despair or cry out about the indifference and unfairness of the world.

Why? Anyone else would have, right? Surely a child would be more susceptible to such emotional outbursts, as well. But, you see, I always knew I could cure my disease. I had memories I shouldn't have. About my life, about other people's lives. Only fragments but they were enough to guide me.

I knew to cure my illness, I'd have to mutate myself into something not 100% human. I knew what I needed - the blood of a special kind of Vampire Bat, and device capable of delivering the required amount of electroshock therapy as the cure devised from the blood, circulated through my system.

But with the information, came the information that this cure would make me into a pseudo-Vampire. A being that needed blood.

...Part of me was disgusted, but another, darker, part of me didn't care. I just wanted to be cured.

So, pushing forth with that apathy and that empathetic disgust, I devised a plan to rid my future self of that need for blood; I planned to make a substitute for blood.

So I began to learn.

I ignored the bullying, the teasing, the beatings...I just focused on the books given to me by a kind man. I learnt about Biology and Chemistry. When I learnt enough about them, I moved on to Biochemistry, using my combined knowledge of the other two subjects to push myself even further in the study of the human body and how to manipulate and mutate it.

It was lucky that despite how ravaged my body was by the disease, my mind was left in tact, and with it, I learnt all I could. You could say it was lucky that I was blessed with a mind like mine - a normal person would have no way to have become a Nobel Prize winner by the age of 22, would they?

Chuckling lightly to myself, I was constantly going over calculations while thinking about how my additions to my personal cure would effect me. A lot of my additions were to increase how effective it would be on my body but also so I'd be stronger after I took the cure.

Why would I do that? Because when I was 19, a Chitauri nearly blew my head off with a rifle. If it weren't for her...I'd have been dead before I even cured myself, huh?

Whatever happened, it didn't matter, the point is -- I didn't want to die. That fear I felt when that gun was pointed at me...it made me realize how selfishly I'm willing to hold onto life. I would have done so many things to stop myself from dying if she hadn't been there that the thought of how despicable I could be...it makes me slightly sick.

Hearing the door on the opposite side of the room open, I opened my eyes and looked in that direction, only to smile.

It was her.

"Neena," I greeted as I brought my crutches to me and slipped my arms into the supports. Standing up had always been a hassle for me, and I'd rarely ever get up for anyone. But for the woman I grew up with, and viewed as my big sister? I'd get up for her all day long, even if it did hurt like a bitch.

Neena was...an unusual-looking woman. Not in a bad way, though. More in a unique kind of way.

She had black hair cut to around chin length, and she had blue eyes that sparkled with wit and intelligence. Not so weird up till now, right? But if you got a proper look at her skin, you'd see that it was chalk white and around her left eye, there was a single black circle. Kind of like a panda's eye but perfectly circular. It took up a quarter of her face and stood out quite a bit.

But it didn't take away that she was a very beautiful woman.

Seeing me getting up, and doing a shabby job at that, Neena looked at me with an uneasy smile before she picked up speed walking over to me, "Mikey, you don't need to get up, you know? It's bad for your condition," she might be a badass but she was such a worrywart at times.

"And what? Not greet my big sis? How could I?" I joked, hoarsely laughing before seeing the box tucked underneath her arm. Smiling even wider, I gestured toward the box, "Is that it?" my excitement barely contained. Hearing my excitement, Neena rolled her eyes in a teasing way before putting the box on a table next to us.

She flipped it open to show a few bags full of blood, "4 Bags of rare Bat Blood - and only the finest for you, Mikey," she smiled before hugging me, obviously having been worried about my condition while she was away. I smiled at this worrywart sibling of mine before hugging her back. Though the hug was quite awkward with me having to rely on my crutches.

Neena wasn't my real sister. We just grew up in the same orphanage together. Well, when I say grew up together, I mean that she entered the orphanage when I was around 11. So she was 14 at the time.

It was around that time that Neena and I really bonded. She looked out for me when she could, and cheered me up when she couldn't. She'd always supported me from the sidelines. Whether it was my dream of curing my disease, or during the times when I insisted on taking a beating instead of having her step in for me.

...I don't know why I ever did that. Maybe it was so I didn't look weak in front of her? Or because of testosterone inflating my pride so I wouldn't accept help from an outside force? Either way, I'm glad to say that masochistic phase is over.

During this time, I also discovered something; she was a Mutant.

Her power was the ability to subliminally and psionically initiate random kinetic phenomena that affect probability in her favor by making improbable (but not impossible) things to occur within her line of sight, thus causing her to have "good luck" and her opponents to have "bad luck." It was quite a useful ability when used correctly. For one, I'd never seen someone win in a fight against Neena. She'd made the Chitauri's gun explode in it's own hands when it nearly shot me. The power she held was incredible.

Which is why, after she turned 17, she stopped working at the orphanage and was taken in by Charles Xavier - she became a part of the X-Men.

Separating from our hug, I dragged myself over to the blood bags before picking up the box and getting over to the machine I'd devised to mix the personal cure for myself. Putting the box down next to it, I opened up the machines storage compartment before taking one of the blood bags and emptying it's contents into the compartment.

The machine would take what it needed from the blood and add that to the cure, while discarding the unneeded parts.

I heard the machine whirring gently and smiled, tapping the top of the device before turning around to Neena, "So, can I count on you to help me tonight? I'd like it if you could bring Milo as well. He should be able to go over the calculations with me to make sure nothing goes wrong," I asked looking hopefully at Neena.

"Um, yeah, we can come and help," she seemed uncharacteristically nervous after I brought up Milo and I smiled slightly, but for the most part kept it hidden, "But there's something I need to tell you, Mikey," she motioned for me to sit down and I played the oblivious card and just sat down.

She coughed into her hand, clearing her throat, before seemingly psyching herself up, "Milo and I--" before she could speak any further, I smilingly interrupted.

"--Have finally decided to take your relationship a step further. You're getting married, right?" I laughed seeing her completely shocked face.

Her face went from shocked to annoyed as she frowned a little, "Did Milo tell you? That bastard--" she would have gone on a rage but I shook my head quickly, not wanting my newly found out brother-in-law to get his ass kicked.

"No, he didn't tell me, Neena - do you think Milo's the only genius you know?" I smirked, pointed a thumb at myself, "I'm one as well, you know. Plus, you're wearing the ring," I finally let out a burst of laughter when her face flushed a little in her embarrassment and she went flustered - unlike her earlier display of rage at having her surprise possibly ruined by Milo. But seeing she was getting taken away by her embarrassment, I poked her foot with one of my crutches, pulling her out of it, "But seriously, Neena, I'm happy for you. Incredibly so. I never thought someone would be able to handle your unique personality, so it's a real weight off my shoulders, you know?" I joked, getting a smile and a middle finger from Neena.

Seeing that she was fine, I looked at the clock above me and saw that it was just turning 6 in the afternoon. Turning back to Neena I gestured to the clock and the time, "Well, we've gotta get ready for the Award Ceremony, right? Milo's probably coming, right? Tell him he better be in a Tux or I'll get you to kick his ass," I laughed, getting a mirthful smile from Neena before I struggled up again and was accompanied by Neena.

I had to receive a Nobel Prize tonight, after all.