Timeline

This is a summary of events leading up to the current state of affairs in the United States and the world at large. This is an alternate universe, so in this world things happened differently. This should give a good idea of the world the characters are living in, and how things came to such a state.

Use the table of contacts below to jump ahead to current game play years, or browse the timeline for the entirety of our story.

Universe History, 1989-2015

1989 - The X-Men foil an assassination attempt on Senator Robert Kelly by the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. They came to learn of the danger to the Senator from the future self of Katherine Pryde, sent back by Rachel Summers to possess her younger self. Senator Kelly appears to have a change of heart regarding mutants, and for a time stops supporting anti-mutant legislation.

1995 - The X-Men go into battle against Master Mold, a powerful Sentinel when it attacks Rogue in Texas. The X-Men manage to defeat Master Mold, but the price is the temporary loss of Rogue when she falls into the Siege Perilous along with Master Mold. Sharon Kelly, Senator Kelly's wife, is killed in the battle. Unhinged by grief, Senator Kelly again throws all his support into Project: Wideawake and the Mutant Registration Act. Project: Wideawake is given considerable federal funding to create Sentinels to protect the people from the danger of the 'mutant menace.'

1999 - The X-Men return to nationally known and active status. They start accumulating new members, and many former members return to the team. Jean Grey and Scott Summers get married after a long courtship. Alex Summers and Lorna Dane get engaged. Logan temporarily leaves the X-Men to spend time on his own. Dazzler returns to Mojoverse with Longshot to lead the rebellion against Mojo.

2000 - Senator Michael Chase of Michigan is elected President of the United States on a platform heavily laced with anti-mutant rhetoric. He is able to play on people's fears of a future dominated by mutants and make them believe he can protect them. Project: Wideawake gets more funding than any other federal program once he enters into office. He appoints Senator Kelly as his Secretary of Mutant Affairs, who works closely with Bolivar Trask to see the successful execution of the Sentinel project.

At this time, other countries around the world have mixed reactions to the heavy mutant presence. Great Britain as a whole throws its support to Excalibur and Captain Britain as its national heroes. Russia and China adopt similar programs to each other. Mutants keep full citizenship status, but are required to use their powers for the good of their people and their governments, resulting in a pseudo-KGB consisting of mutants commanded by human officers. In the world at large, however, mutants are largely considered pariahs and are avoided or persecuted by their neighbors.

2003 - Asteroid M falls from the sky. After many months where the world believes Magneto to be dead, he appears again with his Acolytes to conquer the island of Genosha and declare it a free state for mutants. Genosha's application to join the United Nations is denied. The United States, all of the South American countries, and Germany were the most strongly opposed to this. Many Northern European countries adopt similar attitudes towards mutants as the United States and a mutant run country was a nightmare for them.

2004 - President Chase deliberately provokes Magneto into declaring war by putting a bill through Congress labeling mutants as "secondary citizens," which limited mutants' ability to travel freely, and banned them from working for the government. All mutants working for the federal government are released from service. Scientists start developing a DNA blood test to identify mutants. When Magneto finds out, he is enraged, and the moment he declares war a battalion of Sentinels descend upon Genosha, wiping it out in a single strike.  Magneto, the main target, is killed along with his son, Quicksilver, and daughter, the Scarlet Witch. Other mutants killed in the attack include Professor Charles Xavier, Psylocke, Iceman, Siryn, the Acolytes, Polaris, Havok, Callisto, and countless others including the majority of the surving Morlocks, who had emigrated to Genosha at first opportunity.

The "Genoshan War" is spun to the media as a timely counterstrike against mutants set on destroying the United States and democracy. The media swallow this hook, line, and sinker. The common American often expresses discomfort at the idea of superhuman neighbors and students at their children's schools. Sixty percent have confidence in the President's actions to control the potential threat.

2005 - Reeling from the loss of Professor X and their friends, the X-Men close ranks and send students home or into foster care if they have no homes to return to. The core members are Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Gambit, Rogue, and Wolverine.  Other X-teams spring up and disband with disturbing swiftness. Generation X ceases to be, and the students who can return home do so. After several months the school allows mutant teens who have no homes to return from foster care.

There are several battles between the X-Men and various other mutants and superhuman groups. These are covered by the media with ever increasing suspicion on the parts of journalists. More and more, the media depicts mutant violence as an increasing trend, and the theory that violence is part of the mutant genetic code gains popular following. Trish Tilby resigns from her job after being asked to put down the X-Men on national TV and retires to Nebraska, trying to escape the national spotlight.

2007 - The Russian mutants, treated more and more as useful machines than as thinking beings, turn against their government. Omega Red and Dark Star, loyal to the State, wipe out many of the rebels before they are finally defeated.  The Russian government appeals to the United States for help, and a team of Sentinels is deployed to finish putting down the rebellion before the government is completely destroyed. After long debate, Chinese leaders decide that mutants are too unstable an element to be trusted, even under supposed government control.  They euthanize their mutants by poisoning their food, the workers who actually serve the food having no knowledge of this and thus none of the telepaths are alerted.

The United States applauds this decisive move to protect Chinese human citizens. The United States offers Sentinels to work in foreign nations under military contract, and several take up the offer including Germany, Poland, and Italy. Great Britain maintains its pro-superhuman stance, as does Australia, Canada, and India, but they become less outspoken as other countries begin to impose sanctions against them.

2008 - President Chase is reelected with no real opposition. Mutants who have complied with the Mutant Registration Act begin to disappear, particularly those with dangerous or offensive mutations. No X-Man registers, even though they are pressured to do so by the Avengers and Fantastic Four. Emma Frost and Warren Worthington are killed in an anti-mutant riot in Manhattan. Synch and Skin are killed trying to save them. Jubilee returns to the X-Men, Husk goes home, and M and Chamber stay in Manhattan with the plan of protecting mutants that come under attack. At this point, the Sentinels have been not much more than an idle threat to mutants. Aside from small skirmishes with the X-Men, they seem to be more of a security blanket for those who fear mutants.

2010 - M and Chamber are killed defending a mutant and his family from arrest.  M injures a police officer, which triggers the Human Defense Protocols written into a nearby Sentinel's AI. The Sentinel kills M, Chamber, and the family, and when its data is transferred to Trask and the Sentinel Task Force, they make a recommendation to the President that more serious measures be taken to control the mutant populace. Known mutants suffer vandalism, slurs, and sometimes physical attacks. The Purifiers has become a powerful lobby in Washington, and enjoys more support than ever before from the nation at large.

A strange young woman appears at the X-Men's door, claiming to be from another timeline. Banshee recognizes her as Clarice Ferguson, but an older and harder woman than the girl who had died to save Generation X from the Phalanx. She claimed to be from an alternate reality, but the X-Men are slow to believe her story. She joins the X-Men on a temporary basis and proved herself a loyal member. She thinks she was involuntarily removed from the Exiles in an unknown reality, for reasons she does not understand.

2011 - Several Sentinel attacks are coordinated to strike at the same time. At 3:37 AM EST, three squads attack three different locations. The X-Men's mansion, the Avengers headquarters, and the Fantastic Four's quarters all come under attack. The X-Men are warned a few minutes before by Blindfold, but there isn't enough time for everyone to escape. Blink teleports anyone she can out of the mansion, but in the end, even for a teleporter there was only so much time and she had to prioritize. Ninety percent of the students were killed in the attack, and half the X-Men currently staying at the mansion. The X-Men blame Blink for not saving more students, and Wolverine in particular seemed ready to kill her once they discover that Jean Grey had been left behind. Cyclops and Wolverine force her to send them both back, but only Wolverine was seen again.

Wolverine leaves the X-Men to live in Canada, where mutants live more freely though Canada is slowly caving to pressure from is southern neighbor. The remaining X-Men go underground. Blink is adopted into a small team dedicated to the safety of mutants against Sentinels. The roster changes as members are killed or leave, but the core members remain Cannonball, Husk, Sunspot, and Blink.

2012 - With 'mutant terrorist' attacks on the rise against Sentinels and government facilities, Congress enacts an 'Emergency Powers Act,' which enables President Chase to retain his position as President without election. Control collar technology is released, as well as a more refined scanning system for the mutant gene. The FDA announces that a mutant blood test is in its final stages of testing. More and more mutants are unsafe in their homes, their schools, and their work. Shadowcat and Colossus get married, but shortly after that are arrested for non-compliance with the Mutant Registration Act. The X-Men who attempt to rescue them are captured.

Despite a mostly pro-mutant policy, S.H.I.E.L.D. continued to function as a major law enforcement entity. Although watched with suspicion, for many years, the government’s general attitude was that S.H.I.E.L.D. brought more to the table in regards to technology and world security than its subtle pro-mutant / superhero policies detracted from it.

2015 - Sunspot, the last surviving New Mutant other than Cannonball, is killed.  Cannonball, cut off from contact with the core X-Men, decides that the time for guerrilla tactics is over. He, Husk, and Blink begin planning the organization of the remaining free mutants, most of whom are on the street and have nowhere to go. He believes that if mutants form an army to overthrow the government and the Sentinels, they have to succeed. Blink has her doubts, but Husk is one hundred percent behind her brother and so Blink bows to their feelings.

S.H.I.E.L.D., under the leadership of General Nick Fury was taking a stronger stance against the anti-mutant policies. An order goes out to shut the agency down, impound all of its technologies, and arrest or detain all personnel until they can be processed. Fury, who still had friends within the government, is warned and takes measures to protect S.H.I.E.L.D.’s assets and his people. All Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are evacuated from the helicarrier. Fury then purges all personnel records and all data on any S.H.I.E.L.D. technology. As the government launches an attack aimed at capturing Fury and the helicarrier, the General crashes the great vessel into the open ocean, as close to the Marianas Trench as possible.

There are a few S.H.I.E.L.D. bases and black box facilities left, however, they are known to only one or two surviving agents. Nick Fury is presumed dead.

Year 2016

Word starts to leak among the free mutants of America. There will be a meeting on a grand scale, a chance for mutants to work together to live freely again. The meeting is set in an empty factory outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The news about the meeting was leaked, and a squad of Sentinels came down on the meeting to break it up.  Some of the surviving mutants were recruited by Cannonball and his team to work against the government, as they were reduced to guerrilla tactics once again.

The new X-Men team is based out of a hidden base under an abandoned theater in New Orleans, on the edge of the Treme neighborhood and the French Quarter. The X-Men have been grooming the recruits to be able to stand on their own as a solid team, and the X-Men have staged attacks against several military bases, such as Fort Holden in Texas, and Livingston Island, to free imprisoned mutants held captive there. One of the mutants who escaped Livingston Island was Amelia Voght and several former Acolytes. Factories where Sentinels are manufactured have been burned to the ground, but still mutantkind is no closer to acceptance or freedom.

In December, Amelia Voght, who proclaimed herself the leader of the new Acolytes, took up residence on the Island of Utopia, a once safe haven for mutants that was abandoned years ago. Amelia has extended an invitation to any and all mutants who wish to live separate and free from the human virus. There has been no statements made by government officials, leaving much of the public outraged. There has been many protests within California, especially in those cities on the coast closest to the island.

Amelia Voght's attempts to separate Utopia Island from the United States as its own sovereign country were described as "laughable" by government officials, and the request was denied without any consideration. While her contempt of humanity is not hidden, Amelia Voght has made no threats, but many concerned Americans believe it is only a matter of time.

Year 2017

The H.R. Bill 4671 "The Safety Act" is introduced to Congress, a public bill which suggests placement of registered mutants with a certain level of risk into controlled institutions. Citing the "doctrine of military necessity" President Michael Chase signed in approval, and thus the relocation, maintenance, and supervision of the mutant population began. As of now, the government has no right or ability to pursue non-registered mutants, also, only mutants 'of risk' are being relocated. That is, any mutants with a criminal record, or those classified as having dangerous abilities. By April, five classified sites have been selected to serve as the first Mutant Control Institutions. 

In May, the El Paso MCI Faculty was brought under attack, and many of the captured mutants were freed, with immense damage to the location. It was thought that the X-Men were responsible, and the attack was initially blamed on mutant terrorism. However, after security tapes from the camp medical labs were released to the press anonymously, an overwhelming backlash came from liberal and mutant rights groups, causing the government to make many public statements explaining away what had been seen. To settle the PR nightmare, the government initiated a new, comprehensive "leave" or "resettlement" program for well behaved or non-threatening mutants incarcerated in the five MCI Faculties.

As an example of what a success the new resettlement program was, the media showed many 'non-offensive' mutates without powers leaving the camps. Other mutants that were freed were the young, college-bound, well-educated and record free mutants of low levels of power and therefore, risk. This was mostly a front to cool accusations that the MCI Faculties were cruel and inhumane, and instead present an image of fairness to the American public. Though under a few dozen mutants were being released via the resettlement program a month, while triple that number were brought in almost daily.

In August, a mutant named Trixie Ferdinand was arrested in the state of California for murder, witnesses claiming she broke into their home and attacked without provocation. All was not as it seemed when accusations were made against the victims, claiming they were known to be violent Anti-Mutant protesters, and due to the wounds the mutant suffered, it was possible they had attacked the mutant first. The accusations were dismissed and instead the man was idolized and honored for being currently enlisted in the U.S. Military. 

Months before the trial, Trixie Ferdinand was broken out of a maximum security prison. Before official reports were made, the media placed the blame on mutants and Pro-Mutant organizations. The word "gene traitor" became a commonplace term for humans who supported mutants, some calling them "worse than mutants." It was later verified a group who called themselves the Acolytes were responsible for the break out. Cameras confirmed Utopia's leader, Amelia Voght, was also present during the mutant's escape. Amelia's involvement in the prison break only seemed to be the nail in the coffin for Utopia.

On September 20th, the U.S. Government staged an attack on the island - the initial attack was by marine foot soldiers and Sentinels, but in the end Utopia was bombed, causing catastrophic damage to the Capitol and leaving nothing but smoldering buildings and scorched landscape behind. Due to interference by the X-Men, some inhabitants of Utopia had managed to evacuate in time, however the death toll for mutants was still in the thousands. The media focused mostly on the few American soldiers that lost their lives rather than Utopia's inhabitants, and the destruction of the Island was widely celebrated.

The Acolytes became a feared name in the weeks after Utopia's destruction, as Amelia Voght made good on her promise that humans would pay for what they did. In one particular instance, the Acolytes attacked a grocery store in California for supplies, murdering several employees, patrons, and bystanders without mercy. The Acolytes were now a drifting group with no home base to speak of, often attacking cities and towns as they moved from state to state, eluding the U.S. Army.

As the largest mutant threat had been destroyed, in the coming months the government's view began to refocus. Overwhelming national and media attention was given to the underwater cities of Atlantis, painting the race as a threat to America and all humans alike. Tensions mounted as the Atlantean embassy was asked to withdraw from American soil, and Atlanteans were banned from leaving the oceans or occupying alley beaches. Many well known public Atlantean figures were shunned and deported from the country within a matter of weeks.

On November 21st, another attack was launched lead by General Miles Duritz, targeting the Atlantean capitol city. Prior to the attack King Namor was assassinated by the sentinel Omega, and within twenty four hours an estimated eighty percent of the Atlantean population had been annihilated. The Atlantean army was not easily defeated and the casualties were high, including the General himself. The battle between rogue Atlantean forces continued on the eastern coast for weeks, though it was clearly a losing battle. Namorita eventually took the throne and called any surviving Atlanteans to retreat, disappearing into the oceans and becoming untraceable. 

Year 2018

In January, the US Government initiated Project Trident, a new home security reinforcement and human protection program. The trident was to represent the three areas of security focus (Sea, Air, and Land). A main point of the project was to reinforce borders, preventing mutants from immigrating to America from other countries. All those traveling via airlines were now required to show proof via DNA testing that they were human, also actively preventing mutants from fleeing the country.

The area of the Project that caused the most contention was deployment of an upgraded sentinel, the Bio Prime, to all major cities and capitols in the country. The number of sentinels deployed was based on the population per square foot, calculated to offer the most comprehensive protection. These sentinels are stationed during the day to assist the police during emergencies, and begin patrolling the city at dusk. The sentinels are equipped with an upgraded biometrics scanner to identify those with the mutant "X" gene on sight. Orders are to detain the mutants for questioning and possible reassignment to a Mutant Control Institution.

On January 21st, mutant terrorists the X-Men simultaneously attacked Bio Prime locations in the capitol city of every state. While few civilians were injured and there was little property damage to the surrounding cities, nearly every Bio Prime in the country was destroyed in one fell swoop. The attack on the sentinels caused many state executives to question the value of the Bio Primes, as it brought more danger to the cities. Violent protests broke out at several capitols to speak out against the Bio Primes, stating reasons such as concern for humanities safety, privacy, as well as the possible property damage these sentinels could cause. Hundreds of protesters were brought into custody, while some protests ended more violently, causing the government to employ the use of sentinels to deal with the situation. This only added fuel to the fire and for the first time activists who are speaking out against a corrupt government are receiving attention and support.

In the midst of the commotion another group reemerged, the Purifers, to assist in the fight against the protesters. The group was very much in support of the government and believed it was God's will mutants were meant to die. The leader of the Purifers organized a public statement where he referred to anyone who was supportive of mutants as gene traitors, and promised they would be treated no better than mutants. The group was becoming more prominent and outspoken in the U.S. every day, often featured in the news or seen rubbing elbows with the President.

For several months, small isolated incidents of unwarranted Sentinel violence against humans were reported in the news. These were explained by the government as "unfortunate" system malfunctions and the offending robots were taken offline. However, the number of these incidents have only grown, but there was no body count higher than what would become a national tragedy at Zuccotti Park. A peaceful protest against Sentinel deployment was being held on March 6th, 2018 when Sentinels landed and began lashing out at humans, killing hundreds.

In the president's public statement he reported the sentinels had acted without order and the issue was being investigated. The press released information that intelligence officers had located the source of the problem, a viral presence in one of the media satellites. It was found to be Omega, one of the experimental Sentinel models. Omega had taken control of the satellite and therefore had full control and access to all the sentinels along the eastern side of the country. The military's response was to bomb the satellite, destroying it along with Omega's presence. This caused a number of widespread issues with communications, but it seemed the lesser of two evils. Even though the rogue sentinel Omega was thought to be destroyed, pockets of unprovoked Sentinel violence continue to break out along the east coast.

On April 15th, Apocalypse, a known mutant who was thought dead, announced his reappearance by slaughtering thousands in the state of California. The attack by himself and what appeared to be several Marauders lasted only a few minutes, and a chilling soundbite was released over international news stations, "This city will burn in effigy, a signal of my imprint upon this Earth." The bloodshed was referred to as a massacre.

Only a few short days later, Apocalypse staged another attack in the West, this time simultaneously in four different states. These attacks were in remote and sparsely populated areas, but each of the cities targeted was completely wiped out despite authorities best efforts. The cities massacred were Grants Pass Oregon, Battle Mountain Nevada, Kingman Arizona, and Death Valley, California. These cities were later referred to by Apocalypse as his Four Pillars, or the capitols of his new reign. One of his Horsemen is stationed at each pillar, used as a defense to keep the U.S. military at bay.

The U.S. Government was unable to reach any agreement on peace or surrender from Apocalypse. The government could not deploy its most advanced weapons as the Bio Prime and other sentinels models only continued to go rogue and turn against humans they had been designed to protect. The U.S. Army was deployed to defend the cities, but the death toll on innocent human civilians and military only grows, leaving the public in a state of panic.

Press and the public are outraged by the governments lack of preparation and response in dealing with the situation. Many news stations based out of the West have shut themselves down, advising people to flee the area. Many American's are moving to the more Central States seeking peace and shelter. It wasn't long before brutal riots break out as those forced out of their homes fought for food and shelter - protests rage on at state capitols for days where the police and U.S. Army are unable to contain them. On every news station there are talks of impeaching the President and reaching out to other world powers for help. It was in this chaos that on May 7th, the President Michael Chase was murdered, an act by an unknown assailant that preceded the fall of the U.S. Government.

A few days later, Therizo - a well known weapons and science division of the U.S. Army - and their CEO Ammon Machina addressed the public. In a short but powerful statement Ammon announced the corporation has taken complete control of the sentinels, that the public was safe and those seeking shelter from Apocalypse are welcome in Manhattan and the East Coast. Ammon promised to succeed where the government had failed in protecting the American public. Almost immediately Sentinels stopped their attacks on humans, and the next day Therizo brand sentinels began patrolling the cities and effectively stopping the riots and restoring order.

In response, Purifier 1st Sergeant Landra Knight, proclaimed the Purifier's independence from the Therizo Corp, questioning the safety of Sentinels not built around human intelligence - unlike their own superior Alpha Sentinels. She condemned the Therizo company as unworthy of American leadership and invited all humans seeking shelter to their territory, promising to eradicate any mutants who step foot on their land. A live broadcast promised to show the execution of several mutants, but the X-Men stopped this, instead sending a message of acceptance to America instead of hate - promising to protect both humans and mutants a like.

In July, the Canadian Prime Mister announced the decision to completely seal the country's borders from immigration, in an attempt to protect Canadian citizens from the volatile situation in the United States. The country's national team, Alpha Flight, was assisting with reinforcement and patrol of the border. In response, the Acolytes announced Utopia has been being rebuilt as a safe haven for mutants fleeing from Therizo and Apocalypse. There were no alternatives for humans, who now had no where to go.

On August 25th, the war between Apocalypse and Therizo began, marked by a Therizo attack against the first of the four pillars, Echo Utah, with no regard for civilians in the area. The CEO, Ammon, still preached peace to the people while rumors of an involuntary Bio-Sentinel program ran rampant. It was thought Therizo was injecting nanites into human beings, turning them into Bio Sentinels and enslaving them under Therizo's control and command. It was these civilian foot soldiers dying in the fight against Apocalypse.

October 13th, Therizo's CEO Ammon held a press conference in New York City. It was meant to reassure the population, but due to interference by the X-Men Ammon's true identity was revealed to the public. Ammon was a sentinel, the failed experiment Omega with a human form, and the footage was shown on new stations across the world. Therizo was unable to stop the broadcast and in the following days after it remained disturbingly silent.  

The United Nations was quick to expel the United States from membership. The retaliating attacks from Apocalypse on the border of the Therizo territory were still raging, resulting in devastation in the surrounding areas. Many helpless civilians flocked to airports to leave the country, only to find that many nations had already closed their borders, fearing the onslaught of a world war. There were only a select few countries who sent help to the ruined cities, assisting survivors that were trapped and quickly running out of resources.

Year 2019 

Apocalypse makes a feint toward Canada, but is repelled by Alpha Flight which is bolstered by the mutant refugees desperate to protect their refuge. The main part of War's forces is diverted south into Mexico's army, crushing them underfoot. The long oppressed mutants of Mexico rose up against their government in support of Apocalypse, whom they see as a liberator.

The Purifiers try to help the failing Mexican government, but it's already too late as the nation erupts into chaos. The Purifiers' Alpha Sentinels begin to raid South American safe houses the X-Men thought were secure, wiping out rather than arresting any mutants they can catch.

By early spring the middle states have become a battleground as Death strikes east, slaughtering everyone in his path. The X-Men, spearheaded by the New Orleans team, make a series of guerrilla missions to try to keep both Therizo and Apocalypse off balance. North American is on the brink of a war that is sure to destroy both sides, along with every innocent bystander caught between them.

Blink vanishes from this reality. Those she's confided in think her purpose here was fulfilled - to help drive the Earth of this dimension into war. Those closest to her feel deeply betrayed. In reaction, a small band of mutants defect from Alpha Flight and join Apocalypse. Noelle McKenzie, formerly a leader among the X-Men and then Alpha Flight, leads the defectors.

Noelle McKenzie challenges the Horseman of War to a fight to the death, having had her powers enhanced by Ms. Sinister, and kills her opponent to become the new Horseman. Any theories that she was really a spy for the X-Men die out when she begins to root out the actual spies and execute them publicly.

On May 4th, the European Union elects an emergency leadership with absolute emergency powers, viewing the chaos and death spreading in the Western Hemisphere as a direct threat to their own safety. China takes the opportunity to absorb its smaller neighbor countries, and the fractured UN is powerless to do anything about it. Huge swaths of South America, Africa, and Asia fall under the control of warlords, many of them mutants trying to carve a piece of the world out for themselves.

Hostilities had been coming to a head between Japan and Russia due to their very different policies regarding mutants. Just as Russia declares war, Japan is shrouded by an apparently impenetrable shield. Nothing can enter or leave the island nation, even via teleportation. No one is sure how it was done. It remains to be seen if a determined and powerful mutant could get through the barrier.

In August, the war between Apocalypse and Therizo turns even uglier as both sides resort to chemical and biological warfare. Many targets are rendered unlivable. Therizo develops a plague that Apocalypse laughs off, but inadvertently wipes out 70% of the remaining human population. The Purifiers' genetic scientists were able to produce a cure that enters the bloodstream via injection only, making it difficult to provide a widespread solution. Humans become rare in what was once the United States, especially in the Western and middle states where Apocalypse has the most influence.

Therizo and Apocalypse fight each other to a standstill, then abruptly dig down into the positions they've managed to hold. More humans die, more on the Eastern coastal lines opt to become Sentinels and fight the mutants, and most of the land lying between the Western and Eastern coasts lies abandoned, unlivable, or destroyed.

In late October, a hidden X-Men base in DC is suddenly uncovered and the team living there is slaughtered. Every remaining X-Men base in Therizo territory is rooted out, and its members captured or killed. The base’s networks are coopted, and the remaining free bases suddenly have their hands full keeping their positions concealed. Marcela Kleinenbacher leaves the X-Men as she begins to lose her struggle against Ammon’s nano-virus.

The last of Mexico's resistance crumbles, and War continues her inexorable drive south into Central America. Conquest is seen in Russia, rounding up surviving mutants and stirring up chaos. Chancellor Defries, leader of the EEUU, threatens war if Russia doesn't get its mutant population under control, but Russia's military seems helpless against the uprising. China consolidates its holdings and takes over the rest of South-East Asia. Several countries join the new empire willingly, in exchange for the promise of China's protection.

By December of 2019 the Russian government crumbles completely and Moscow erupts in a nuclear blast, and Conquest claims this new part of Apocalypse's empire in his name. Conquest organizes his forces and starts moving southwest, into the Middle East. China starts making hostile moves toward India. India resists successfully at first since it's had a mutant friendly policy which now gives it staunch defenders. India is quickly wedged between Conquest and China, though, which is slowly wearing down its resistance.

During this time the X-Men are making strikes against their enemies and trying to save whoever they can, but their battles become more defensive and reactionary as they fight on multiple fronts. One by one, the other X-Men cells go dark, and the New Orleans team becomes isolated.

Year 2020 

In January, Marcela succumbs to the nano virus and becomes a bio-Sentinel loyal to Therizo. She heads up an attack on the New Orleans base, resulting in its destruction. The X-Men are scattered, and are forced to go into hiding as they regroup. Many members, allies, and friends are missing, presumed dead, leaving the last of the X-Men to struggle for mere survival.

The X-Men took temporary shelter in a town in Colorado called Black Hawk, which was mostly populated and run by mutants. It was a breath of fresh air, and an oasis of normalcy after the wasteland they'd traveled through. During this time they were able to gather supplies and restore their communications, though a new base of operations needed to be found, and soon. 

The team split up into four groups to search some of the most neutral zones between Apocalypse and Therizo territory for reliable shelter. Many cities, if not in ruin, were ruled by the most powerful mutant in the area. They met many mutants and humans desperate for any sort of shelter, food or protection, willing to put up with almost anything for the promise of such. The united states truly had become a wasteland.

Potential was found in an island in the Gulf of Mexico, which was eventually coined Phoenix Cove. It was abandoned, isolated, with a large community of houses/apartments and a small downtown area along the northern coast. After weeks of clearing debris and rebuilding, the team reached out to many of the refugees they had encountered, offering a safe heaven of sorts to those trustworthy, slowly building a real community.

On June 26th, the X-Men were successful in killing Apocalypse with the aid of the Sisterhood and an Infinity Gem. The team was warned against celebrating too soon, as the Horsemen and the thousands of worshippers from the Church of Apocalypse, as well as Therizo, were still very much a threat. Spies sent to the cities in the Apocalypse territories were met with tearful candle lit vigils hailing their God as a martyr. 

The Horseman seemed even more desperate now to carve out their territories and prove themselves. The Horseman Famine was defeated, only to have another challenger step in to take the title. With Therizo still thriving on the East Coast, the battle is far from over.