In a world that hates and fears mutants, the employees of prodigies of X-Corporation owners Tony Stark and Charles Xavier have just embarked on the most dangerous mission of their lives. After having saved Senator Kelly's life, the X-men, Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Warren Worthington III, Hank McCoy and Bobby Drake braved their way to the island of Genosha, where Cameron Hodge, the ex-best friend of Warren, had kidnapped over a dozen mutants to experiment the Legacy Cure on them. In addition to capturing mutants, Hodge took Warren's girlfriend, Candy, as a hostage and murdered her.

Now, as the X-men grieve their fallen friend who had sacrificed herself to stand by them, our heroes must deal with the public scrutiny of being a known mutant group to the public. What difficult choices must they make as they prepare to face their toughest critics?

Issue 20: Moving Forward

Liefeld Memorial Cemetery

The days following the death of Candy Southern weighed heavily on the members of the X-men.

For Warren Worthington III, however, needing to grieve the death of his girlfriend was something that he hoped to be the only intense hardship that he had to go through. With Candy, they'd both one day had gotten into a conversation about how they'd want each other's funerals to be. Candy had said that she'd want for it to be a traditional Catholic funeral service out of respect for her family, but, she'd also wanted to be cremated, too. Warren knew that when it came to Candy's funeral, he wanted to take charge of it, because he wanted to make sure that Candy's wishes were fulfilled.

Needing to sit with Candy's mother and father and explain to them that their daughter had been murdered by someone who had once been her close friend was something Warren hoped he'd never have to do. After he'd broken the news, all he could remember was seeing the look on Candy's mother and father's faces; looks of despair, hoping and praying for it all to be a huge lie. But, it wasn't.

He remembered walking back into the hospital's morgue with Dr. Reyes to see the body of his murdered girlfriend one last time. Even while pale, bruised and covered in cuts, Candy still looked so stunning. It was a sight that had gotten Warren choked up and crying freely all over again.

Finally, the day for Candy's funeral came. Warren sat there in the back of the limo in a suit and tie with Scott and Jean sitting on either side of him. Needing to carry Candy's casket into the church from the funeral home was one of the most difficult things that he'd had to do. It was him, Scott, Bobby and Hank, all wearing solemn expressions on their faces as they carried the casket into St. Elizabeth Roman Catholic Church. Shortly after Warren had said his eulogy – which had ended with his face being saturated in tears in front of everyone there – the cremating portion began. He remembered the smell of the fire burning as the flames warped around Candy's deceased body, burning away her dead flesh. After putting her ashes away somewhere secure, they placed them into the casket along with the ring that Warren had planned on using to propose to Candy with. Just knowing he and Candy were not going to have the wedding that they had always imagined having just further made Warren ache inside.

Now, Warren found himself standing above Candy's grave in Liefeld Memorial Cemetery. The headstone read: "Candice Southern: loving daughter, girlfriend and dedicated future business woman . . . December 19th 1996-November 15th 2018." It was the day after her funeral was over; Warren just knew that as the days passed, he was going to be visiting the cemetery every day.

'Damn, Candy, I'm sorry . . . I'm so sorry,' Warren thought to himself as he stood there over her grave. 'We failed you . . . I . . . that kills me. I'm just sorry I waited too long to try proposing to you. I wish that I had just done that sooner. Scottie told me a day could be one day too late. But, I shouldn't have hesitated. I should have asked you sooner . . . we never even got to . . .'

As Warren stood there, hands in his pockets out in the freezing cold of November, he could sense other people behind him. He knew that Candy's death had been a bitter pill for all of the X-men to swallow. They all took it hard. Jean had cried for a whole day straight. Bobby's face had been saturated with tears the whole flight back to X-Corporation Tower. Even Hank had silently cried as he piloted the jet. But, Warren by far had taken it the hardest. He'd bawled his eyes out the whole plane ride back home. Screw his pride. Screw masculinity. He didn't even care if it had been embarrassing or what he'd looked like in front of his friends. He didn't care if it made him seem weak in the eyes of anybody. He'd blubbered the whole flight back with his head on Scott's lap.

Now, he kept his focus on the sight of Candy's grave, tears continuing to roll down his face as the cold air made shivers run through his body. He'd already placed a single rose on the dirt surrounding her grave, which was surrounded by candles, stuffed bears that had belonged to her, and framed photos which mostly consisted of the two of them. Slowly, Warren turned around to see Hank, Jean, Bobby and Scott standing behind him. He turned back around to look at the grave, feeling his eyes stinging even more. He could feel Jean taking him by the hand gently and he could feel Hank's hand resting on his shoulder. He just knew in that moment that Hank's image inducer was switched off to reveal his blue, furry, beastly appearance, but, he was still in a trench coat and fedora.

The five stood there in silence over Candy's grave, silently having their own funeral of sorts. Sure, they'd had one just the other day, but, they all felt the need to just stand there, united and together. It was a sight that Candy would have wanted to see. Suddenly, that was the moment Bobby bent down and lifted up a stone, placing it down on top of Candy's tombstone.

"It's Jewish custom," Bobby explained. "I-I know that she wasn't . . . but still . . . it feels like the right thing to do."

Warren nodded, the tears continuing to pour down his face as he felt Scott resting a hand on his other shoulder. 'I honestly wish you were here, Candy . . . so you can . . . I just . . . I just miss you, baby,' he continued to think to himself.

"She'd be proud, you know?" Scott whispered.

'How the hell would she be proud?' Warren thought privately to himself. 'I could have saved her. I should have saved her. Did Cameron have a point when he'd said I killed her? No . . . no, I-I can't think that. I can't. It's his fault, not mine. It's Hodge's fault, not mine. He's going to rot in jail for what he's done . . . he's going to get what he deserves.'

"How?" asked Bobby. "We failed her . . ."

"Yeah, but, we did that together," Scott pointed out. "Candy wouldn't want us standing here thinking about what we could have done. She'd made her choice when she chose to ally herself with us. She chose to stand behind us and believe in what it was that we were fighting for when the X-men were formed. She'd want us to continue living."

"No more; and by a sleep to say we end. The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks. That flesh is heir to – 'tis a consummation. Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; - To sleep, perchance to dream: -ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life," Hank said quietly. "To be or not to be . . . William Shakespeare's Hamlet."

"Again, Hank, you're a walking fortune cookie," whispered Warren, wiping the tears out of his eyes as he stood there, managing a slight smile.

"But it's true," whispered Jean, the tears rolling down her own face as she stood there at Warren's side.

Scott let out a heavy sigh as he silently did the sign of the cross on his forehead. His father had raised him and Alex Catholic; it only felt appropriate.

"So, what do we do from here?" asked Warren as he continued brushing tears off his face.

"I think that it's time that we continue to make Candy proud. She'd-She'd want us to continue to fight for mutant rights. And Warren, with you, she'd want you to step up and become CFO of X-Corporation. You know that she'd want to see you running a company and living your life, not for her, but, for you," Hank pointed out.

'God, this whole thing is just so unfair . . . it's all so unfair,' Warren thought.

"You know Tony's lawyer, Matt Murdock, is going to be handling it . . . he'll fight the hardest for you to make sure that Hodge and Stane are locked away for a long time," said Scott.

"Let's hope and pray for that," Warren said.

"And besides, in a couple days, we've got a press conference that we have to deal with. Tony arranged it. We're going to have to face the press eventually," Jean pointed out.

"How-How are we going to do that?" Bobby asked. "I mean, the press is going to be wondering who the X-men are. Everyone in the country is probably asking that question. I don't want to give my new classmates at school another reason to make me an outcast. After what happened at my old high school that's an adventure I'd much rather not explore again."

"Well, unfortunately, Bobby, if we end up saying we are the X-men, we're going to have to deal with what will come with that," Hank said.

The five X-men just stood there, finally breaking off the conversation as the stood there silently for Candy. They could only hope and pray that she was watching down from heaven and that she was proud of them and what they were doing.

'We miss you, Candy . . . we-we all love you. Just . . . thank you for being mine, and choosing me,' Warren thought to himself when they finally walked away. 'I will always love you, forever.'

The Brotherhood House – Anna-Marie's Room

For Anna-Marie D'Ancanto, life just seemed to be getting all the more complicated.

Nearly a month prior, she'd found herself being taken in by Brotherhood member, Mystique, after having run away from her home town of Biloxi. But, one thing that she hadn't been expected was the fact that the members of her team had been arrested by Alpha Flight for attacking Senator Kelly.

Now, she was hearing in the news that Cameron Hodge and Obadiah Stane had been arrested for illegal experimentation, kidnapping, aggravated assault and murder, and they were going to be on trial. But, for Mystique, she was insisting that that wasn't good enough.

As the young mutant teen sat there in the bedroom of her adoptive home, she wrung her hands together as Raven came into the room.

"Hello, Anna-Marie," Raven said. "How are you doing, my dear?"

"Okay," Anna-Marie said quietly.

"Listen, as members of the Brotherhood, we have to continue sending the message that one day, mutants will reign Supreme. I mean the stunt that Pietro had pulled at the press conference a month ago? That wasn't nearly enough. Our message should be louder than that," Raven said.

"So, what do ya suggest we do?" asked the teen meekly.

"You will see, Rogue . . . and trust me when I say that it will no doubt be the most important mission of your entire life. This is just the beginning my child," Raven said with a gentle smile to her legal ward/adoptive daughter. She wrapped an arm around the teen's shoulders through her shirt, a smile still on her face. "But, I'm still hearing word from our leader, Magneto. He has plans for something, something big; trust me when I say that our future new home will be a step up from where we are living now."

Shores of Genosha

For Erik Magnus Lehnsher, needing to deal with the bitterness that humanity brought was something that he had suffered through since he was a young boy.

Having his family taken away from him at a tender young age in the Holocaust had been a wound that never healed. He could remember his mother's screams when she'd gotten shot and killed in front of him just simply for her Jewish faith. It had taken years for the man to recover from such deep, traumatic wounds that seemed to resurface at every opportunity. However, he felt as though his emotions just made him weak. Now, as he stood upon the shores of Genosha, an island that had been formerly used for persecution of mutant kind, he felt a sense of responsibility to turn that island into a new home.

Magneto wandered the beaches of the secluded island, the waves crashing against the rocks and sands of the beaches. The smell of salty ocean water filled the air as Magneto used his magnetism powers to float along. He always knew that he'd wanted to give his Brotherhood of Mutants a place that they could call theirs. He knew that he'd wanted to give them a home that was a step up from where they were living currently. Genosha, a private, secluded island out in the oceans of South America was almost too good to be true. There was more than enough space for him to build himself a house – or a citadel of sorts – where he could rule over his own country, formed of people that wished to live there in freedom from persecution that humanity brought forth.

'The time will come one day, my mutant brothers and sisters. One day, you won't ever have to hide your powers from the world . . .' Erik thought to himself.

The old Holocaust survivor allowed a bitter smile onto his face as he passed the laboratory that had been used to torture Candy Southern to death. He knew that he could use the metal foundation of the lab and the prison to create a home for himself on this island, where he didn't have to deal with humans telling him what to do. However, he also knew that his Brotherhood were in the custody of Alpha Flight, awaiting a prison transfer to Rikers Island Prison in New York.

As Erik continued along Genosha to plan out his future plans, he allowed himself to reflect on the past two months. Closing his eyes, he thought about what his Brotherhood of Mutants had managed to achieve when they'd attacked Senator Kelly. All Magneto knew was that he had plans to show the senator what it was like to be a mutant . . . to be persecuted against because of your DNA. He wanted to spread a message to the world that mutants were to be Supreme and superior to the human race.

Inside Tony's Limo

The next couple days were a blur for the X-men. After having come to the agreement that they were going to honor Candy by continuing to save a world that hated and feared them, they prepared themselves for the press conference that would be taking place that day.

Sitting in the limousine that Happy Hogan was driving them in, the five X-men sat there in silence. They didn't know what they were going to tell the press. They did not know if they were even going to say that they were the X-men. But, they did know that whatever happened, it was meant to happen.

Tony, Professor Xavier, Rhodey and Pepper Potts sat there in the limo with them, as well as Forge. For Scott Summers, sitting there in his suit and tie, he felt the nervousness sinking in as they pulled up to Stark Tower. They could see dozens of reporters – from news reporters to people from the New York Times and LA Times – the amount of press that was there was equivalent to one of a movie premier. Bobby was crossing his fingers that it was going to all go smoothly.

"Alright guys, remember, don't answer any questions from the press until they ask you a question when we're inside the building," Pepper reminded them.

Jean nodded, smoothing her hands over her knee-length black dress. 'God, I'm hoping that today is going to be easy . . . hell, what am I doing? Fooling myself? Ever since the X-men formed, it's been chaos. What makes me think it'll be easy?'

Finally, the limo pulled up in front of Stark Tower. As they all stepped out, they saw cameras flashing and news crew with their microphones and note pads, wanting answers on what was going on. Hank, Bobby, Scott, Jean and Warren just walked along with their heads held up high as they walked into the building; they noticed several security guards there, though some stood out in particular. It was just the simple way that they carried themselves and the way that they were eying the X-men as well as Tony and Pepper. A redheaded woman dressed in a black Gucci pantsuit walked up to Pepper.

"Um, Miss Potts, my name is Natasha Romanoff I'm from the Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate. We were hoping to ask Mr. Stark a couple of questions," Natasha said, handing Pepper a business card.

"Yes, yeah, absolutely; after this is done we can book an appointment for as soon as possible," said Pepper with a smile.

"Thanks," Natasha said with a smile back in Pepper's direction. That was the moment Tony took the stage with Professor Xavier, eating a sausage biscuit, as the only thing that he'd requested that morning had been a breakfast from Burger King, of all places in New York.

"Alright, everybody," Tony said. "As you know, for the past two months, we've been dealing with exploits from various mutant groups, such as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants who are currently in custody with Alpha Flight. Unfortunately, we tragically lost Candice Southern, who was about to become a CFO of X-Corporation after she'd graduated from college. She got good grades, was an honorable young woman, and a person who had had so much potential to be a powerful business woman."

"But, Mr. Stark, how would you explain these so-called X-men? I mean, we understand that they saved the life of Senator Edward Kelly, but, they are not the police . . . they are not firefighters. What gives them the right to do the jobs of so many others?" asked a reporter from the Chicago Tribune.

"Well, that's actually a very good question, ma'am," Tony said. He turned his head to look at his six employees that worked for him.

"Yes, but, Mr. Stark; the suits that they are using, the technology that they have; there is no possible way that they could have just gotten that from anywhere. After all, you do manufacture weapons," pointed out a journalist from CNN.

"And what about the activity that had happened on that island, Genosha? They had to have been involved in that somehow," said another journalist, this one being from FOX News.

"Well, all these questions are valid, sir," Tony said. "However, I for one think that we need to hear some words from one of my newest future employees, Professor Charles Xavier's adoptive son, Scott Summers."

Scott stepped away from where he was standing beside Bobby and Jean to take the stage. Letting out a sigh, he knew what had to be said. He knew that what he was about to say would forever change things for himself and his teammates. But, it had to be said.

"Mr. Summers, what can you tell us about this?" asked a reporter from the New York Times.

Scott took a deep breath, hesitating slightly before speaking. "I can understand why you might feel the way that you feel about the X-men and the exploits that they have caused over the past month or so. It came at a time where Senator Kelly was starting to embark on the debates for the up in coming presidential election which will be taking place next year. The truth is . . ." He turned his head around to look back at his teammates, who nodded for him to continue. They knew what it was that he was about to say to the press. They knew that the public were going to have different reactions. But they also knew that it had to be done. "We are the X-men." The was the moment he switched off his image inducing watch to reveal his Cyclops uniform and the others behind him followed his lead, revealing their individual X-men uniforms to the public to confirm that the employees at X-Corporation were indeed the X-men.

A/N:

We are officially done with volume 1 of Peace in Our Time! I hope you all enjoyed this first volume. As a chapter closes, another opens, as we've got a lot more story left to tell with volume 2 shortly on the way. Volume 2 will be posted relatively soon, everyone, so be on the look-out for it!

I just want to take the time to thank everyone who followed, favored and reviewed on this story. I also want to thank my mentor, friend and editor, MarvelMaster616. MarvelMaster was the one who truly helped me make all this possible, and I do not think I can thank him enough for his endless support. I return the favor by asking of you to check out his head-canon, X-men Supreme, and support him over there.

Like I said, there is even more to come, so be prepared to follow, favorite and review for volume 2 of Peace in Our Time. Any feedback is greatly appreciated, so be sure to review by either posting it to here, or PMing me. Either way is perfectly fine. Again, reviews are highly important to keep this series going, so be sure to! Also, be sure to check out my blog, MakeupGeek Comics, where I've got full character biographies posted on there for the Peace in Our Time characters.

Additionally, be sure to check out my newest X-men story, The Evolution Project!

Excelsior, everyone! -

DC-MarvelGirl 1997