MALCOLM & RANDALL

BIOGRAPHY

Malcolm and Randall were members of the X.S.E., Xavier's Security Enforcers, originating from some seventy years into the future. Mutants had suffered greatly at the hands of humanity in this timeline until the Summers Rebellion, led by humans and mutants alike, ended the reign of the Sentinels. The mutant concentration camps were being dismantled and a council of humans and mutants oversaw the new government, but tensions rose again now that man and mutant were not united in a goal. Humans hunting and policing mutants was unacceptable to the newly freed mutants, and the X.S.E. was formed so that mutants could police themselves.

"Little Lord Malcolm" came from the idle rich of society, eager to define himself beyond his father's money. His mutant ability to detect normal humans had little strategic value, so he drilled himself to possess an encyclopedic knowledge of X.S.E. policies and procedures, as well as a proficiency with the latest and most advanced weaponry they had to offer. He put in a request to be assigned to Bishop's Omega Squad, knowing Bishop was the best of the best in the X.S.E. and that his squad would be the same. His father's influence got Malcolm an interview with Bishop, encouraged by the founder and leader of the X.S.E. herself, Hecat'e. When Hecat'e presented Malcolm's assignment as a political favor, however, Bishop dismissed the idea of babysitting some rich donor's kid. Malcolm launched into a diatribe defending his own skills and dedication to the X.S.E.'s mission, saying Bishop and his father could go hang if they didn't believe in him, all while adhering to professional discipline and addressing Bishop repeatedly as "Sir!" By the time he had finished yelling and clicked his heels back into fully rigid military posture, Malcolm had impressed Bishop with his fire, and got his spot on the squad.

Randall came from Harmony Base, a commune where humans and mutants lived together peacefully in validation of Xavier's dream, separate and apart from the class divide that still existed between the two species out in the rest of the world. Randall was an upbeat and carefree prankster at heart, prone to citing quotes of dubious accuracy taken from the original X-Men while in the middle of battle. He was nowhere near the top of his class and had a reputation for unreliability, but he did the unexpected, and that caught Bishop's attention. In exchange for agreeing to accept Malcolm onto Omega Squad, Bishop got Hecat'e to authorize his recruitment of Randall as the final member of the unit.

Malcolm and Randall were as different as night and day, the strict by-the-book rich kid and the cavalier, anti-establishment free spirit. Still, they found common ground especially after Malcolm's brother Donalbain joined Harmony Base. The X-gene had passed over Donalbain, leaving him merely human, but he joined the commune in order to show support for his mutant brother. A violent mutant faction called the Exhumes wanted to eliminate humanity and establish a mutant-led society. They attacked Harmony Base and slaughtered the residents in defiance of the peaceful co-existence the commune espoused. When Omega Squad arrived to defend the civilians, Malcolm found Donalbain had already been killed by the anarchists. He was prepared to execute his brother's murderer in defiance of the X.S.E.'s order to take prisoners until Bishop called for him to stand down. Malcolm ultimately relented, putting his duties as an officer before his personal feelings. United in grief over the massacre, Malcolm and Randall became inseparable after Harmony Base (although their bickering never quite went away). [X.S.E. #2]

Bishop's sister Shard also worked with Omega Squad for a time, although she was determined to get on the tract for command and off the streets in record time. Randall flirted with Shard during their missions, but mostly just to irritate her. On one assignment, the mutant Fanatix took hostages at a fundraiser being held by J. Jerome Knox to support human-mutant relations. Omega Squad killed or drove off the attackers but, when the fighting was over, Randall suddenly turned on Knox and shot him dead in front of his squad mates. A moment later, he claimed to have no memory of having done so.

Randall was arrested as Omega Squad attempted to discern the truth, while Hecat'e struggled to prevent the powder keg of human-mutant relations from exploding after Knox's death. Shard discovered an anomaly in the bio-scan records of the party -- the number of humans and mutants who left the residence was the same as the number that arrived, despite Knox's death theoretically lowering the tally by one. Before the X.S.E. could further investigate, Fanatix teleported into lock-up and Randall seemingly led a jailbreak. This time, Randall openly insulted and fought against his Omega Squad teammates before teleporting away with Fanatix. His guilt seemed assured.

In fact, the real Randall was a prisoner of Fanatix and their leader, the Rook. The secret mutant son of J. Jerome Knox, the Rook was able to possess organic matter. He could momentarily control sentient beings (like when he compelled Randall to murder his father), but utilized an organic form of Life Model Decoys to create various bodies he could possess long term, such as the Randall clone he inhabited during the breakout. Rook sought to destroy the X.S.E. as an "entrance test" for joining the Hellfire Club. "Castling" into a Bishop clone next, he framed the leader of Omega Squad as part of another one of Fanatix's terrorist attacks on human society.

With Randall missing and Bishop the new public enemy number one, Omega Squad was in disarray. Shard mouthed off to Hecat'e about her brother's innocence and was placed on monitor duty. Malcolm assured Hecat'e of his loyalty to the law and the institution, and was allowed to remain on the case. As committed to duty as he was, though, Malcolm privately still believed in his partners. He used his familiarity with Bishop's methods to anticipate his renegade squad leader and get the drop on him. Bishop made a very convincing argument that the facts just didn't add up, and Malcolm agreed to let him go and help with Bishop's investigation on the sly. He was concerned about how to reasonably explain Bishop's escape, though, so Bishop obligingly cold-cocked him in the jaw and ran. Back at HQ, Malcolm enlisted Shard to run down Bishop's suspicions about the Knox family.

Meanwhile, Randall tried to convince Pulsar and Shadowbox of Fanatix that Rook only thought of them as disposable cannon-fodder, and didn't believe in their cause. Rook intended to impersonate Hecat'e herself, and had gathered a force of mutant thugs and mercenaries to assassinate Trask, an anti-mutant spokesman. Bishop infiltrated the crowd at the rally as "Hecat'e" addressed her troops, with an open channel back to Malcolm and Shard letting them listen in on Rook's confession and intentions. Rook had Pulsar bring out Randall's dead body as proof of her cause. Bishop furiously broke cover at the sight of his friend's corpse, but Randall sat up and told Bishop it was a fake out. Randall had succeeded in swaying Pulsar against the Rook, but Bishop's charge caught Pulsar off-guard and Rook killed him before he recovered.

Malcolm and Shard arrived with a strike team from the X.S.E., and Omega Squad was reunited. The unit fought their way through Rook's mercenaries, but the instigator himself escaped in the chaos. They tracked Knox back to his lair and located his organic LMD facility. With that shut down and his active replicant bodies destroyed, Rook only had his original form to inhabit. Thirteen year old Jimmy Knox was captured and restrained by Omega Squad, clearing their names and preventing the tinder fire of human-mutant relations from turning into a full blaze once more. [Bishop: Xavier Security Enforcer #1-3]

The comradery of Omega Squad became legendary in the X.S.E. after that. In fact, it was often whispered that Malcolm and Randall were more loyal to Bishop than to the organization. Bishop passed on one promotion offer after another to remain on the streets and out of the office, and Malcolm and Randall followed behind him in tandem. Shard, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to rise in the ranks of the X.S.E., and quickly ascended to become a lieutenant and Bishop's senior officer. [Bishop #3]

Malcolm and Randall frequently fought against Trevor Fitzroy, an X.S.E. dropout and Bishop's arch-nemesis. The bastard son of Anthony Shaw of the Hellfire Club, Fitzroy killed his half-brother to become his father's only heir. Omega Squad arrested Fitzroy on many charges, but his father always ensured Fitzroy went free. When his father's temperance wore thin, Fitzroy tried to buy his freedom with information on the Exhumes' hideout. Bishop passed the intelligence on to Shard so she could get another promotion, but Fitzroy's info was actually a trap filled with vampiric Emplates. Omega Squad raced to the rescue after uncovering Fitzroy's deception, but Shard and her men had already been turned. Bishop and Omega Squad brought Shard to the Witness, who salvaged Shard's consciousness in a holographic matrix while her Emplate body died. In exchange, Bishop agreed to serve the Witness for a year. Hecat'e understood and authorized Bishop's leave as an undercover mission to gather intelligence on the mysterious Witness. [X.S.E. #3-4]

Malcolm and Randall's activities over that year are unknown, but they reunited with Bishop when he returned to duty. Their first mission as the reactivated Omega Squad was to recapture Trevor Fitzroy, who had escaped custody. While in pursuit of Fitzroy, Omega Squad chased him into the long forgotten Morlock Tunnels, unwittingly following a path to the remains of the X-Mansion, whose location had been lost to obscurity after the rise of the Sentinels. Fitzroy was found in the War Room of the X-Men themselves, and Omega Squad inadvertently triggered a recorded message from Jean Grey. The badly damaged recording seemed to indicate the X-Men were killed by a traitor within the team. Bishop, Malcolm and Randall brought Fitzroy to the Pool for incarceration as they pondered this new information.

Unfortunately, Fitzroy was able to escape solitary by using the lifeforce of a rat to recharge his portals, then began killing guards to power up further. A full scale riot broke out in the Pool and Omega Squad responded. Bishop told his men he could not order them into the pens, but asked for volunteers. Malcolm and Randall stepped up and together they entered the cell block as Fitzroy opened another portal, drawing ninety-three "Lifers" out of the Pool. Omega Squad charged ahead into the unknown. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #287]

Bishop, Malcolm and Randall found themselves materializing in the middle of a firefight, already in progress. The nature of Fitzroy's time portals meant the felon's initial escape occurred weeks ago from his perspective, allowing him to consolidate a power base in the distant past before opening his second, larger portal to summon the Lifers. Fearing the loss of criminals under his jurisdiction and further corruption of the timestream, Bishop ordered a termination sweep.

Omega Squad found surprising opposition to their kill order, coming from the legendary X-Men. Fitzroy had wasted no time making enemies in the past, but the historical X-Men did not kill and their leader, Storm, would not allow Bishop and his men to do so indiscriminately either. After Fitzroy's men used image inducers to disguise themselves, however, the X.S.E. was not inclined to believe the X-Men were who they said they were. As Fitzroy escaped and the base began to break apart, Bishop, Malcolm and Randall were separated from the X-Men and their other opponents. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #282-283]

As they made their way south from Fitzroy's Arctic base, Omega Squad tracked the Lifers who escaped the battle as they scattered. Sure enough, these killers and rapists went back to their old ways, regardless of the decade. Bishop and his men showed no mercy as they protected the past from the evils of the future. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #284-285]

The last of the Lifers had congregated at a night club in New York City under the command of Styglut. The fighting was fierce, and the X.S.E. operated under a handicap until Malcolm's power confirmed the club was free of innocents. Styglut rallied his men, getting them to switch to ballistic weaponry to which Bishop was not immune. An immense firefight began with the X.S.E. out in the open. Bishop ordered Malcolm and Randall to seek cover, but they refused. Bishop's men placed themselves between their commanding officer and the attack, dying in the hail of gunfire as they fired back with their last breaths. Malcolm and Randall were loyal till the end to Bishop, and gave their lives to protect their friend and superior on the field of battle. [Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #287]