Utopia Plot

The CNN logo shot across the screen along with the words “NEWS ALERT” bright red and in all caps, as scheduled programming across all channels was momentarily taken over.

A blonde woman in a blue pantsuit sat behind a glass table in a newsroom, doing her best to appear as calm as possible despite the obvious anxiety she felt. “We interrupt your scheduled programming to bring you a CNN News Alert.” She began, as if she couldn’t speak fast enough to deliver her message. “Tragedy struck just moments ago in Odessa, Texas, where an explosive was detonated inside of a shelter for mutants. Authorities have not been able to fully assess the situation but early estimates put the death toll well above 20 already, with over 50 likely to be injured, though we expect these numbers to rise. The bomber has been captured and taken into custody. He has been identified as Sean Winnik, a self-proclaimed “human elitist”, who has a criminal history of incidents involving mutants.” The woman paused briefly, unmoving as she listened to the information coming in in real time.

“We have just received word that the majority of those residing in the shelter at the time were children who had been kicked out of their own homes. I believe I speak for the entire nation when I say that the horrors we are witnessing are truly unimaginable.” Silence followed as she searched for the proper words to speak with. “As more news of the situation arrives we will keep you informed, but until then our prayers go out to those affected by this Mutant Massacre.”

…

The CNN logo flashed across the television once again, no longer accompanied by the words NEWS ALERT in red.

“24 hours have passed since the Mutant Massacre in Odessa, TX, and the whole nation has come together in support of Odessa and mutants everywhere. Today, multiple major cities across the country are hosting peace rallies to show their support and to reinforce the love between mutants and humans. The first to begin will be held in New York City at 9 am Eastern Time. New York City has without a doubt become the mutant capital in recent years, and as a result the city is preparing for a massive turnout from members of both the human and mutant communities, blocking off all of Times Square for the event for the entire day. Coverage of the event will be available all-day long here on CNN. Stay tuned for more. We’ll be back shortly.”

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The link to the full timeline can be found here. The quick, much oversimplified summary of the plot is as follows:

June-October: A massacre takes place in a mutant shelter in Odessa, Texas at the hands of an anti-mutant extremist and catalyzes the slow slide to chaos in the world between humans and mutants. At first, there are only peace riots in support of mutant-kind and in favor of uniting mutants and humans. However, the events following the “Mutant Massacre” snowball into a string of organized acts of violence against both humans and mutants by extremists from both parties. With the inter-species aggression ramping up, and with the META Bots malfunctioning to arrest all mutants, rather than just those committing crimes, Ambrose Jaager steps forward through international corporation Jaager Worldwide to suggest creating a separate all-mutant nation so that these conflicts don’t happen again. Mutants come together to plan, build, and ultimately emigrate to their new nation on Antarctica by the end of September. Life in Utopia is different from a nation with humans, but ultimately relatively normal until November.

November-January: Utopia provides asylum for a young mutant girl who just discovered her powers in an anti-mutant country, accidentally killing multiple citizens in the process (though this girl is actually just Astrid on a mission for Ragnarok, who are behind the scenes of the Utopian government trying secretly to start a world war). This conflict divides the world into the pro-mutant countries who sympathize with Utopia, and the anti-mutant countries who feel the world would be a better place without it. More conflicts arise in this time as tensions rise, until a world war no longer seems to be entirely out of the picture.

February: The leader of Utopia, a Ragnarok puppet named Barnabas Marullo with the power of persuasion as his mutation, is assassinated by what appears to be an anti-mutant country. The world prepares for war, until the X-men uncover that the assassination came from within Marullo’s own government. The situation diffuses and mutants leave Utopia behind for their own nations once again. The X-men represent mutant-kind at a world peace summit at which it is ultimately decided that it would be best if things were to return to the way they were.

As needed, other important information to the plot will be posted in the replies to this thread should we need it. The Utopia Plot is now for all intents and purposes launched! Feel free to start threading within the first timeline point!