X-Men: Reimagined

[bored]

Colossus tried not to walk in long strides, as he often did. Masque walked behind, holding with one hand onto Professor Xavier's chair. Gateway walked quietly behind them.

"Please don't blink so much," Masque asked.

"I'm not," said Colossus. "Water keeps dripping down my forehead and into my eyes."

"This certainly isn't in the same shape as it was the last time I was here," said Professor Xavier. "But I suppose that was several years ago. I don't even know the way around here anymore."

"I'm sorry if it isn't the squalor you're used to," Masque replied. "I'm sorry, that was uncalled for."

"Don't worry," said the Professor. "Hold on." He stopped moving his chair, and the others paused with him. "I sense Avalanche up ahead. I don't sense anyone else with him."

"Can this X-Man of yours handle Avalanche?" Masque asked.

"Up above yes, quite easily," answered the Professor, "but down here, his seismic abilities could prove catastrophic."

"So do something to him with your mind, like you did to the fat one."

"I can't, or rather, I shouldn't," explained the Professor. "If we're really headed to this platform where you've gathered most of the Morlocks, it is likely Magneto is with him, and he would know if I were manipulating one of his followers when he was with them."

"But he doesn't know you're here," Colossus pointed out.

"Not for certain, but he's smart enough to know that I might come," said Professor Xavier. "He knows what Caliban is capable of, and that when he sensed their coming, he would probably try to contact me."



Psylocke's face glowed purple, showing that she was scanning for mutants.

"There's someone up ahead," she said. A little girl came ambling up.

"Hi there," Marrow said, crouching down. "What's your name?"

"Sarah," the girl squeaked.

"Hey, that's mine too," Marrow said. She grabbed the girl by the neck. "You were right, Betsy, she's a fake."

"Of course I was," Psylocke smirked. The girl struggled.

"Stop it!" she cried.

Marrow pinned her to the ground with a bone club.

"You're hurting me!" the girl cried.

"Cut it out, Mystique," Marrow teased. "We know it's you." The girl stopped struggling. Her eyes changed into a yellowish glaze.

"How did you know?" asked Mystique's voice.

"You certainly didn't come off as a little girl to me," said Psylocke.

"And nobody goes by real names down here," Marrow said. "Do a little research first."

"Oh enough of this!" the girl snapped. She grabbed the bone club, and with strength greater than her appearance suggested, tossed it away. She transformed into her blue-skinned self as she got up. She swung her foot around and kicked Marrow in the forehead. Nightcrawler jumped up to the ceiling. His tail grabbed Mystique by her neck.

"Are you going to be a good girl for us?" asked Psylocke. Angel crossed his arms and smiled.

"What can we do if she isn't?" he asked.

"Hmm, I can think of a few things," Psylocke answered.

"Ew!" Marrow cried, getting up. "Please, this really isn't the time."

Mystique gurgled out a vague threat, and then her neck, and indeed her whole body, shrank, letting her slip from Nightcrawler's grasp. She grabbed his tail, shifted back into her normal self, and lifted herself off the ground, kicking Psylocke with both feet. Nightcrawler thrashed his tail, trying to shake her loose. After a moment he teleported to the ground a few yards away, letting her fall, though she nimbly landed on her feet. She then turned, and ran off as fast as she could.

"Go after her!" Angel shouted, his voice ringing in the tunnel.



Shadowcat walked slowly.

"It's cold down here," she said. Storm nodded.

"Trying wearing this uniform."

They both heard a voice, like the sound of a weak dog growling. Shadowcat ran ahead. An animal-like mutant lay on the ground.

"Is that Sabretooth?" Shadowcat asked.

"No," Storm answered. "Entirely too small."

"Call him Wild Child," a woman said. Her face was badly burned, and the rest of her skin was covered up. "And I'm Dazzler."

"The new wave singer?" Kitty asked. "I thought you died in a plane crash!"

"Oh God, I've been recognized," said Dazzler. "Could you not tell anyone about this? I came down here for a reason."

"What was that?" Kitty asked.

"Guess." Dazzler scooped Wild Child into her arms. "The actual Sabretooth, full size and everything, has already been through here, with some hick, I don't know that one's name. And who are you two?"

"I'm Storm," the older X-woman said. "And this is Shadowcat. We're students of Charles Xavier."

Dazzler's eyes lit up.

"You're X-Men?" she asked. "So you know Marrow? I never knew her personally, but she's pretty famous for getting sent to Professor Xavier. Callisto says a Morlock actually led Sabretooth and all those others down here because he wanted to get back at everyone for sending her away."

"Berzerker?" Shadowcat asked. "Was that his name?"

"I don't know," said Dazzler. "Come on, I'll take you to the main hall. We'll talk on the way."

"Marrow said she had a boyfriend down here," said Shadowcat, "kind of abusive. She called him Berzerker. Hey, why do you always go by fake names?"

"To get away from the surface," said Dazzler. "Then again, people knew me more as Dazzler than Alison up there, too, but that's irrelevant."

 

[bored]

Magneto smiled as he found himself entering the large abandoned subway platform that was now some sort of gathering hall for the Morlocks. He hadn't encountered a single on since the few that Berzerker had scared away. That Morlock was next to him, and Avalanche on the other side. Morlocks cowered away all around them.

"Hello!" Magneto called out to them all. He had a frighteningly warm smile on his face. "There is no reason to be afraid!" Someone shouted 'liar!' at this.

"It's true," said Berzerker. "I asked him to come here-"

"Traitor!" a Morlock yelled.

"You don't understand," said Berzerker. "He is on our side. I know what you've heard from Caliban and the others about Professor Xavier, and the conflict between the two, and you've all been misled! Magneto wants to create a Utopia for mutants, where we don't have to hide from humans. He isn't interested in sitting back and talking with these people who are only concerned with destroying us, he is taking real action! I brought him here so that he could personally ask you to join his cause. When was the last time Charles Xavier did that?"

"Five years ago, when he wished to see the Morlock community for himself," came a commanding female voice. Callisto pushed through the crowd. "And after that, he regularly contacted Caliban to check on us. He is active fighting for mutant equality on the surface world, this we know."

"You must be Callisto, the woman who is considered the figurehead down here," Magneto said. "I must say, I admire your dedication, but why keep them down here?"

"I lived here, and they came to over a period of time, if you must know," said Callisto.

"And has Charles Xavier ever invited you or your Morlocks to reside on his massive estate?" asked Magneto. Several Morlocks were clearly stunned, having not considered the idea. "No, he hasn't. He found one of you by accident years ago, and took pity. Then, after ignoring you for years, he snatched away a girl who happened to be young and relatively attractive, from what I have seen of her, and from what this fine young man has told me." Berzerker beamed.

"Marrow wasn't chosen by the Professor," Callisto said, crossing her arms. "If you're going to patronize us, at least have the facts right."

"But did he ask for someone else?" asked Magneto.

"Why would he?" countered Callisto.

"If he really wished to make a statement by bringing another Morlock to his school, why go for a passable one?"

"Your accomplices aren't exactly hideous," Callisto sneered. "Even our old friend Berzerker was driven down here by his actions, not his appearance. And I am also curious, if you truly just wanted to persuade us to join your cause, why bring Sabretooth? We know his reputation, that of a killer."

"But he believes in me," stated Magneto. "He isn't here to slaughter."




Far away, a boy screamed as Sabretooth lifted him up, and slammed him to the ground.

"He said 'no', eh?" Cannonball asked, approaching. Another mutant, a girl, stood by his side.

"Little prick kicked me in the balls," Sabretooth groaned. "Who's your new buddy?"

"Call me Boomer," the girl said. "Who was that?"

"How should I know? Don't you live down here?"

"Yeah, but not that long," she answered. "I don't know anybody that well."

"Good," Sabretooth said. "Well, come on you two. I think we've seen enough down here. Boomer-girl, our boss is supposed to be in some big chamber. Think you can show us the way?"



"There's been alot of violence down here," said Psylocke. "I can feel it in the air. People are hiding, scared. I can't tell if Mystique is still close to us."

"Hello?" someone said. Marrow lifted an old man with knees that faced the wrong direction off the ground.

"It's okay," she said. Behind her, Psylocke guestured to Angel and Nightcrawler that he was the real thing.

"I've been hiding here since everyone started running," said the old Morlock. "I don't like crowds, and if something was dangerous, we'd all be sitting ducks there."

"Don't worry," said Marrow, in a hushed tone. She helped stand up. "Do you know who we are?" The old one shook his head. "I'm Marrow."

"You're the one who went to Professor Xavier!"

"Uh-huh. And do you know what that makes me and my friends?" Marrow asked.

"They're..." he thought hard. "So does this mean... You're X-Men?" Marrow nodded.

"We know people are coming through here, people who want to harm the Morlocks. We're here to stop them."

 

[bored]

Tap...tap...tap...

"What the hell is that?" Gambit whispered.

"I don't know, but it's creepy," Rogue answered, clinging to his arm. Two mutants followed them. One was Black Tom Cassidy, and Irishman whose skin seemed to be tree-bark, and he had grass, dead grass at that, for hair. The other was of indeterminate gender, and resembled a snake.

"I cannay' tell if I know who that is," said Tom, in his thick brogue.

A thing, deformed looking girl in a leotard ambled in. The tapping came from her shoes. Her hands were held in what seemed to be praying mantis position, and her face was somewhat normal, though expressionless.

"Hello?" Gambit called. He reached into his pocket, sorting through the random odds and ends he'd collected as potential bombs. The girl stopped.

"It's creepy," said Rogue.

It started to shift around, and grow. Its hair turned red, its eyes yellow, and its skin blue.

"Do you know how long it took to get here?" Mystique asked.

"What the hell was that?" Gambit asked.

"Some freak I saw dead in the tunnels a way back," said Mystique. "Ugghh, I thought it was hideous, but I needed to get a good disguise to get away from the X-Men. That bone girl probably wouldn't even touch thi-"

"Wait a second," Gambit interrupted. "The X-Men are here?"

"It certainly seems that way," said Mystique. "I was running from them, and I saw that girl's horrible body. I believe she was trampled. We've really scared people, haven't we? But I suppose that just makes it more fun."

"Why have ye' scared people?" Black Tom asked.

"Some of 'dem down here, 'dey got a bad impression of our leader," Gambit explained.

"So I was put on guard duty for a good reason, then?"

"Look, Tree-Guy, don't worry 'bout a thing," Rogue said. "Like Remy told you before, we're just trying to make the world safe for mutants like us, and Magneto wants the Morlocks to help him do that."

"I suppose," sighed Tom.



The platform suddenly seemed very divided. Several mutants were intrigued by Magneto, the supposed villain who had taken the time to come down and speak with the Morlocks. They had come to his side, with Avalanche and Berzerker, who was suddenly more popular. Others cowered behind Callisto.

"Tell me," said Magneto, "where is Caliban?"

"Off doing things, warning stragglers of your prescence," answered Callisto. The one that she didn't have a patch over glowed. It did little else, but was still useful down in the tunnels.

"I'm certain," Magneto replied. "The coward just didn't want to face the truth!" The Morlocks who had come to him cheered. There were at least fifteen there. "I am your path to freedom, he only wants to keep you down in the abyss!"

Callisto growled, and clenched her fists. Several loyal Morlocks stood at her side.

"Where are your other followers?" she asked. "I know you brought quite the group. Caliban sensed them some time ago."

"They are finding your so called 'stragglers' and speaking with them individually," Magneto explained. As he spoke, footsteps could be heard. Sabretooth came in, with Cannonball and the Morlock girl, Boomer. "I see they've persuaded someone already." Boomer smiled. Most of her teeth were clearly stained and yellow. Callisto glared.

More footsteps approached. Masque ambled in, his eyes still partially shut. Magneto scowled. He was clearly shocked.

"What lies have you been spreading?" Masque asked. "Have you had your little wolf electrocute anyone else?"

Morlocks all over stirred. Many started whispering.

"Sir, you were hostile, and Berzerker did as he should have," said Magneto.

"I didn't even get near one of you!" Masque snapped. He stumbled as he walked. Avalanche got between him and Magneto.

"Try any of your tricks on him, and the roof will cave in on you," he growled.

"Step away, or I'll tie your eyelids together," Masque threatened. "I've done it before, and it is not an enjoyable experience."

Avalanche lifted his foot up.

"Dominic, don't do that," Magneto ordered. "Not down here."

Avalanche relented, but grabbed Masque and knocked him to the ground. Morlocks surrounded them.

"This one doesn't want you to have a chance in society!" Magneto yelled. "Why listen to him? Why worry about him?" He felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned, and Callisto punched him in his exposed face. She then lept on top of him and grabbed for his helmet.



"Come on, Callisto, do it!" Professor Xavier said, barely above an excitable whipser. He had mentally watched the conflict, and told Callisto to confront Magneto. "Piotr, if she can get his helmet off, I want you to charge in and aid Masque." Colossus nodded.



Swinging her legs up onto his shoulders, Callisto yanked Magneto's helmet away, and and sprung off of him.



"Go!"



Colossus crashed into the platform area, where Avalanche was kicking Masque on the ground. The metal mutant grabbed the Brotherhood member and swung him around by his legs. Morlocks that got too close were hit, and knocked to the ground. Nearby, Magneto cried out in terror.

Stop this nonsense, Erik, ordered the mental voice of Charles Xavier. Whatever you hoped to gain from this expedition, it has failed.

What do you know, Charles? sneered Magneto. Surely you can sense that many have come to believe in my cause!

Your cause? Your crusade against those you see as inferior, you mean? What a hypocrite you've become, Erik.

Magneto fell to the ground. His head felt like a stake was being driven through it.

This can stop, said Xavier. I'm giving you a choice, which is more than you ever did for your victims, including several Morlocks already. Why massacre those you wish to rule? It makes so little sense.


Concentrating too hard on attacking Magneto, Xavier didn't realize he'd been snuck up on. Mystique grabbed him, and put him in a choke-hold.


Magneto got up, relieved. Callisto backed away in terror, as did the other loyal Morlocks.

"The time for negotiation is over!" Magneto roared, pulling his helmet toward him with his power.



Xavier elbowed Mystique in the gut, and spilled from his chair.

"Colossus!" he shouted.

"Don't bother," Mystique mocked. "He should have his hands full now, and me, well you just don't have a thing on me. This is one head the best can barely scatch the surface of."

Xavier squeezed his eyes shut. My X-Men, I need you, now! he called. Mystique slapped him across the face.

"No cheating now," she said. "It's one on one, Professor."



Colossus punched Sabretooth in the jaw.

"Still too much for you, no?" he teased. "You had to be carried away in shame the last time we fought." His arms went stiff.

"You are more of a target for me, X-Man," said Magneto, extending his arm. "I did a number on Wolverine, what can I do to you?" He felt a sharp pain in his back. A boney spine stuck out from it. Marrow held another in her hand. Psylocke, Angel, and Pyro stood with her.

"Leave him alone!" Marrow screamed.

"Quite the homecoming, is it not?" Magneto asked. "And my Judas, how are you? I must say, Mr. Allardyce, you disappointed me when you revealed yourself as a traitor."

"I'm no murderer," Pyro replied. "What do you have that I could want?"

"What a question," Magneto smirked. He pulled the spike from his back. It was small, but it stung, and the wound bled a little bit.

"Marrow?" someone said. Marrow stepped back. She forced up another bone spike. Her entire body seemed to have grown bones, covering her like armor.

"Berzerker, you rat!" she screamed.

"I'll let you two settle this yourselves," said Magneto. "The rest of you, however, I have more to do with. Mr. Worthington, I see you've gone through a bit of a change. All for the best, in my humble opinion."

Angel's metal wings spread open, against his will.

"Kurt, get the others!" Angel ordered. Nightcrawler vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Pyro and Psylocke to confront the leader of the Brotherhood.

"Can we help in any way?" Callisto asked.

"Just fight!" Psylocke shouted.

 

[The Squirrel]

going good.

 

[bored]

edit: double post

 

[bored]

While the Morlocks were caught between a clash of X-Men and Brotherhood on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Sugarman was bouncing about Mr. Sinister's lab. He was a fairly short thing, pretty much a body with legs and arms, six arms, in fact. Sinister was activating an archive of mutants whom he'd taken an interest in over the years. En Sabbah Nur looked over his shoulder with interest.

"This one," Sinister said, "is Remy Lebeau. Magneto got to him first, unfortunately."

"So why not try and persuade him to change sides?" asked Apocalypse.

"You don't know Magneto," Sinister explained. "He is powerful beyond anything I'd ever wish to face. An Omega level mutant who is close to reaching the full extent of his powers, which are deadly to all if used correctly, and he does know how to use them correctly."

"Then he shall just be one to crush personally," Apocalypse muttered. Sinister brought up another profile.

"This is James Howlett," he said. "An interesting one. A government project rendered him an amnesiac, but the results made him nearly indestructible. Sadly, he's dedicated to Charles Xavier. You of course saw him in Africa."

"Yes," answered En Sabbah Nur. "That reminds me, without the Shadow King, we will need another telepath. I have special need for one in the Ascended Twelve."

"Would I not qualify as a telepath?" asked Sinister.

"Not exclusively, no," said Apocalypse. "You are something much greater. I saw to that myself, as best I could in my confinement."

"I have one, then," Sinister said, bringing up the picture of a heavily tattooed man. "Mesmero, a circus performer, but a powerful telepath."

"Excellent. Continue as you had, then."

"Okay, this is an interesting one, his name is Peter Wisdom...."



Spiral rubbed her temples.

"Are you alright?" Omega Red asked. She shook her head.

"Arkady, do you see things in your head? Wierd, random things?" Spiral asked.

"In dreams, I suppose."

"Well, I'm not asleep. And I'm seeing something now, something that feels like it's in the back of my mind, trying to come forward, but I really couldn't say exactly what."

"Stop talking for a moment," Red instructed. "Sort your thoughts out, and try to get a coherent image."

Spiral shivered, and wrapped all six arms around her body.

"Red, something's trying to come out," she said. "And it scares me."




"Blink!" Callisto screamed. The young, pink-skinned woman rushed out. "Start moving people out! This is too dangerous!"

"Where can I bring them?" Blink asked.

"Out of the tunnels, anywhere!"

Blink took a deep breath, hating to go to the surface twice in one day, and formed a large, pink box, which enveloped several Morlocks around her, taking them to the surface.

Psylocke, meanwhile, was flustered in her attempts to get near Magneto. He'd ripped rebar from the floors, and was smacking anyone who came near with it. Angel was pinned to the floor, and Pyro was punished for moving by seeing his flamethrowers go haywire, potentially harming those around him. He struggled just to keep Magneto from letting the fires grow too large.

Professor Xavier was rolling on the ground, trying to avoid attacks by Mystique, usually unsuccesfully.

"Gateway!" he shouted. "You said you'd help us, now do something, please!"

Roused, after somehow seeming to barely notice the melee around him, Gateway closed his eyes, and a white vortex opened in the ceiling, dragging Sabretooth away. Collossus smiled, and started punching attacking Morlocks who had gone to Magneto. In a moment, he was upon Mystique. She tried to jump and bounce off and away from him, but he grabbed her leg, and swung her over his head, hitting the ceiling.

Marrow jumped away from another bolt from Berzerker, who she had once been weak enough to call her lover. Parts of her uniform were sizzled, and the skin underneath burned. She covered most of herself in bony armor, occasionally springing forth to strike Berzerker.

Collossus charged, batting away the rebar, but was caught in Magneto's field of energy. He was thrown to the ground. While Magneto was distracted, Pyro slipped away to join Marrow. Psylocke used the oppurtunity to pounce, and knock Magneto the ground. Dark purple blades of psionic energy came from her hands. Magneto backed away, but she advanced on him, raising a hand. Several Morlocks who had defected to Magneto jumped on her, and tried to pull her back. Her eyes glowed pink, and they started to sit down.



Sabretooth looked around, startled. He was outside, in an alley. Voices came from around a corner. He looked, and saw several Morlocks, ones that hadn't decided to join Magneto, trying to keep a homeless man from screaming.

"What the hell did you freaks do?" he roared, giving himself away. "You're going to hurt for this!"

 

[bored]

Several younger Morlocks shurnk back in horror. Sabretooth pounced, taking a green skinned woman to the ground, and clawing at her face. Another Morlock, one with abnormaly large arms, grabbed him and tried to pull him away. Sabretooth threw himself to the ground, taking the mutant with him. He reached back, and dug his claws into the large-armed Morlock's eyes, then twisted around, and slashed his throat. He snagged the green skinned woman again, and snapped her neck. There was a sting in his leg as a young Morlock tried hitting him with a weak energy blast. Sabretooth laughed, and kicked him into a wall.

"Cute," he snarled. "Who's next?"

In the distance, a motorcycle revved loudly.

"Anyone, or do I choose?"

A little girl with ears up and down her face started to cry. Sabretooth glared, and figured he'd save the youngest for last. A man with course, sand like skin got in front of the girl.

"She yours?" Sabretooth asked, menacingly. The sand-skinned man nodded.

"She's cute."

"I'll kill you if you touch her!" the sand-skin screamed. His daughter cried louder.

"Only if I don't kill you first," Sabretooth laughed. He plunged his hand into the sandman's chest, twisting it around so that his claws cut up as much as possible. The sandman sank to the ground, making painful, gasping sounds.

The revved motorcycle's noise seemed to be coming closer.

Sabretooth tossed the sandman's limp body away, and licked the blood from his hand.



Psylocke plunged her glowing psy-blade into Magneto's helmet. He simply stood and laughed.

"If Charles couldn't touch me with this on, could you?" he mocked. A piece of rebar floated up behind Psylocke, and plunged into her side. She screamed, and fell to the ground.

"Betsy!" Angel shouted. Magneto raised his hand, latched onto Warren's metallic wings, and brought him close.

"Really, what are you going to do?" he asked. "You're at more of a disadvantage against me now than you ever were before."

"Not a bright one, are you?" Angel asked. He punched Magneto in the chest, then his fingers twitched and became talons. He raked Magneto in the exposed portion of his face. Smoke appeared above them. Nightcrawler dropped to the ground, on top of the leader of the Brotherhood. A small explosion nearby knocked him off.

"Keep your hands off the boss, freak!" Remy 'Gambit' Lebeau shouted. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a deck of playing cards. A ten of diamonds slipped out into his other hand, and started glowing.

"Remy, no more of that in here!" Magneto ordered, getting up. "We've caused enough structural damage as it is, and too many of your little bombs will send the roof toppling down on us!" He surveyed the platform. "They've evacuated most of their own. Everyone who is joining my crusade, gather around me and my Brotherhood! We're done here!"



Sabretooth laughed as he slammed a trash can over someone's head. He hadn't had this much fun since DC, before the X-Men had ruined it. The little girl with too many ears hadn't been attacked yet, and was weeping uncontrollably. He decided it was time for her.

That motorcycle sounded as if it were coming closer. Something about it caused Sabretooth to shiver. He quickly forgot it, and jumped up. Before he landed, he was caught by something cold, dragging him through the air, and then along the hard ground. A bright light was ahead of him, but he couldn't tell what it came from. Or, more likely, he refused to believe. He was dragged out onto the streets, where people saw him and his assailant, and alternately screamed in alarm, or cheered at what they saw. The young Morlocks who had been spared Sabretooth's wrath came out to watch. Soon, he was released. He saw his attacker clearly.

"No!" he cried. "No, it- it's impossible!" The attacker, still sitting atop his motorcycle, laughed. He held a long chain in one hand. His head seemed to be completely white, and it was engulfed in flame. "How are you here! You've been dead for two years! I killed you myself!"

"Silly little fool," his attacker laughed. "NOBODY can kill the Ghost Rider."

 

[bored]

Sabretooth cowered back, in utter shock. He had taken great pains to end the legendary vigilante hero himself a few years before. He had planned a trap to destroy the Ghost Rider's infamous motorcycle, which was to him what a horse was to one of Tolkien's Rohirrim, a mount that made him seemingly immortal, that struck fear in all those who saw it. It had seemed so succesful. The bike was blown up, and the Ghost Rider had been beaten severely and ripped to shreds by the vicious mutant. It had been a crowning achievement of Sabretooth's career. But now the damned biker was here, humiliating him! Sabretooth snarled, got up, and tackled Ghost Rider on his bike, knocking him off. The two wrestled on the ground, exchanging blows. The heat from Ghost Rider's fiery head singed Sabretooth's skin, and not even his impressive healing factor could counteract it.

"What the hell are you doing still alive!" Sabretooth screamed.

"As I said, nothing can kill the Ghost Rider," his assailant said, shoving the mutant to the ground, and hopping to his feet. "I suppose you're too simple to understand the concept." Ghost Rider picked up his chain, brought it up, and cracked it like a whip, hitting Sabretooth square in the jaw.




Mystique felt someone lifting her up.

"It'll be okay," the young woman, whom Gambit referred to as Rogue, said, helping her walk. "Magneto is getting us out of here."

Professor Xavier ordered everyone to stand back. Energy seemed to surround Magneto, his Brotherhood members, and the pack of Morlocks who had been swayed to his side. It saddened the Professor to see the choice they'd made, but now wasn't the time to try and change anyone's mind.

"Where's Freddy?" Toad asked, coming to Magneto's side. His leader looked around.

"Dammit all!" Magneto roared. "He was supposed to join us here after a certain time."

"Probably got stuck somewhere," Gambit suggested. The others glared at him.

"You watch it, man," Cannonball said. "That's our friend you're talking about." He grabbed Gambit by the collar.

"Deal with this later!" Magneto roared. A massive bubble formed around the lot of them. Dust started to fall around them.

"He's going to tear through the ceiling," Callisto whispered, in horror. Xavier nodded in acknowledgement.

Gateway, he mentally called. I need you to evacuate everyone from this chamber, immediately!

"Blink!" Callisto shouted. "Blink, are you here! We need you!"

"She's on the surface," said the Professor. "I fear that while we were down here, something terrible may have happened to the people she was with."

A frightened expression was visible on Callisto's face as Gateway's white vortex engulfed them.



Blink struggled to her feet, she having been one of the Sabretooth's quick victims. She was battered, and bleeding, but still able to function. The few remaining older Morlocks had encircled the children. She could hear people shouting nearby. Peeking around the corner, she saw Sabretooth attacking a biker who had worked up the guts to fight him. They were exchanging blows, and to Blink's horror, Sabretooth had seemed to set the biker's head on fire! In her hand, a pink shape, about a foot long, appeared. She had only used her power in this way once before, when her life was in danger, long before she'd found the Morlocks. She ran out, screamed, and tossed it at Sabretooth. It missed, but the ground where it landed instantly vanished.

Sabretooth turned his attention to Blink. She formed another weapon. This one made contact with Sabretooth, and when it hit, it took away a portion of his shin. He dropped to the ground, both in pain and fear. The biker laughed.

"I see I'm no longer needed here," he said. "You, young lady, have a great deal of potential. Don't abuse your skill, and you will do the world more good than you can imagine."

"Hey, Mister, are you okay?" Blink asked. "You two were really going at it, and your head-"

"Is fine," the Ghost Rider laughed. "I have a feeling we'll meet again, one day." He jumped on his bike and sped away. The ground where his motorcycle had gone over seemed to melt a little. Blink barely had time to breath when there was a loud crash, and something burst up from the ground. It was some kind of bubble of energy, carrying Magneto, and several other mutants, many of them Morlocks.

Magneto's eyes narrowed as he saw Sabretooth and Blink. Locking onto Sabretooth's adamantium skeleton, he pulled him into the air, and flew off. Several Morlocks looked at Blink and the other mutants whom they had lived with for so long. Most pitied them, believing that they were the ones on to great things. One among them was regretting his decision, though.



The X-Men, Gateway, and the Morlocks appeared on the surface. Xavier and Wolverine began leading them to the other Morlocks who had been evacuated earlier. When they found them, Blink was sitting on the ground, trying to piece together what had just happened.



"Toad, get them far away from here," Magneto ordered. "Gambit, Berzerker, come with me. We have unfinished business."

Magneto led his two disciples off to finish off the other Morlocks, mainly the girl called Blink. In the crowd of newly converted Morlocks, Black Tom Cassidy looked around nervously. Quietly, he made it to the back of the pack, and slipped into the shadows, hoping he could find his fellow Morlocks before Magneto.

 

[DrVenkman90]

Hey, I am in the process of reading it and its really good.

 

[bored]

"Oomph!" Professor Xavier mumbled, falling to the ground. Gateway had already gotten on his feet. Most people were too shocked to even realize what had happened.

"Was that not right?" Gateway asked.

"A little high up," Xavier moaned. He pulled himself into his chair, and took a mental role call. Everyone was there, and the others, the ones whom Blink had rescued, were close by. Slowly, members of the X-Men gathered around him.

"So what now?" Iceman asked.

"Warren, Kurt, take Betsy and get her to a hospital," Xavier ordered, knowing about the wound she'd recieved from Magneto. The two mutants nodded.

"I know where we can go," Angel said. "Take her and follow me." He spread his metal wings and took to the sky. Nightcrawler held onto Betsy's arm and teleported onto a rooftop. She was bleeding, though it didn't look as severe as it could have been. In a puff of smoke, the two were gone, following Warren.

"Good," Xavier said. "Logan, I'm going to ask you to find the Morlocks that escaped earlier. I don't sense Sabretooth's presence any longer, so you at least won't need to have a fight."

"Good," Wolverine sighed. He set off, sniffing the area for mutants. He could smell blood near by, and alot of it. He could hear light footsteps behind him. When Logan turned, Marrow was there. Saying nothing, Wolverine went on his way.



The crowd of terrified Morlocks would not quiet down. Everyone had another question to ask. 'What if Magneto comes back', 'where are the others?', 'who was that man fighting Sabretooth'? Blink sat against a wall, trying not to listen.

"Psst."

Blink glanced up. A man with bark-like skin walked in. Blink recognized him as Black Tom, one of their own.

"One of the traitors!" someone shouted.

"Wait!" Tom pleaded. "Look, I came to warn you all that Magneto is coming back this way to finish the job his goon couldn't do. He's got Berzerker and one of his cronies with him. I couldn't just let that happen."

"How noble!" cried a commanding voice. Magneto floated to the ground. Gambit and Berzerker appeared soon after. "And I thought you'd have such potential, Mr. Cassidy. Using your real name, isn't that breaking a rule? Just wanted to make that quick connection to your more accomplished brother, didn't you? Well, since we aren't in Ireland, I doubt anyone will care about him. Now, as for the rest of you..."

"Back off, bub," came the voice of Wolverine. He came in with Marrow behind him. "You've done enough."

"To them, and to you before," Magneto chuckled. "You seem to have recovered rather well. It really is a shame I didn't get to you before Charles, isn't it?"

"Just get away," Wolverine growled.

Magneto reached out his hand, and lifted Logan into the air.

"Must we go through this again?" he asked. A blast of heat made him lose his concentration.

"You're not going to get the chance," said Pyro, who had just arrived with Shadowcat and Colossus.

"Well, look at you again," Magneto said. "A tough one, aren't you? Berzerker, if you don't mind."

An arc of electrical energy barely missed Pyro's tanks. Trash cans rumbled as Magneto looked for various metal objects, and filled the air with them.

"Run!" Black Tom shouted. He started to moan as his limbs changed shape and size. He grew several sizes, and became a monsterous figure. His fingers were long and sharp, and his teeth had become menacing jaws. He grabbed Magneto with one hand, and through him into the air. As the Brotherhood leader gained control, Tom climbed up onto the roof of a store and swatted at him, knocking him down.

"Get that idiot down!" Wolverine shouted. "He'll just attract attention!"

Watching the chaos, Gambit charged up a playing card, the three of spades, and threw it at the X-Men. The blast knocked Shadowcat to the ground, but she turned her phasing ability on before she could actually be hurt; while Colossus just stood his ground.

"Unwise, tovarisch," he said. Gambit's expression became horrified as the massive steel mutant advanced on him. "Kitty, bring these people to the Professor!" Colossus ordered, grabbing Gambit and slamming him to the ground. Shadowcat led the crowd of Morlocks, including Blink, away.

Berzerker created another blast, and this one hit Pyro, singing his costume.

"Wouldn't it be a shame if a spark hit one of your little tanks?" he asked. "You'd get blown into a million pieces, wouldn't you?"

"Ray, stop it!" Marrow screamed. Berzerker glared at the use of his real name by the treacherous girl.

"Why should I, Sara?" he sneared. He grabbed her wrists, and started sending a current of electricity through her. "Remember this? You used to like it."

"Go to hell," she struggled to say. A fireball hit Berzerker in the face, causing him to lose his grip. Pyro jumped on top of him, and pummeled his burned face with his own hands.

On the rooftop, Wolverine pleaded with Black Tom to get down. He didn't want too much public attention. Not when a monsterous tree man and a famous mutant terrorist were in the same place. It was too late, though. Bystanders watched the fight, rooting for either of them, and cops were approaching. Desperate, Wolverine jumped on Tom's back, and held his claws to the tree-man's neck.

"Stop it, now!" he ordered. Tom shook him off, punched Magneto with a huge, balled fist, and jumped to the ground, before reverting back to his normal size.

"I could have beaten him then and there," said Tom. "He was off balance. I had him!"

"There will be other chances," said Wolverine. Angry as they both were, they forgot their argument as they heard a booming sound from the hole that Magneto had ripped in the ground. A massive hand poked out, and the Blob boosted himself up, breaking the pavement under his hands. He panted, and swatted Pyro into a wall. Grabbing Berzerker and Gambit, who scrambled to escape from the wrath of Colossus, he walked as fast as he could past them. Colossus got in their way.

"Let him go," Wolverine ordered. "This fight is over. We've already won."

"You're just lucky I missed most of it!" Blob yelled. Slung over the massive mutant's shoulder, Berzerker opened his eyes, and glared at Marrow, who was helping Pyro up.

"Another day, you little ****!" he screamed. Marrow popped a small spike from her arm, and flung it and Berzerker, puncturing his cheek.

"Just had to get the last word in, huh?" Blob chastised, as he heard Berzerker crying in pain.




Dawn crept over the fields of Westchester, around the Xavier Institute. Outside the massive building were several large tents, and the remains of a few small fires. The Professor, with bags under his bloodshot eyes, looked over the small refugee camp. Bobby Drake stood next to him. None of the X-Men, excepting the injured Psylocke, and Angel, who had taken her to his family doctor, had slept that night. All but a few had only just gone inside to rest. Hank McCoy had come to help with medical care. He sprang from one tent to the next, checking in on sick or injured Morlocks. Many weren't even in the shape they were from the Brotherhood's attack, but simply didn't have sufficient medical care in the tunnels. Sara Rutherds walked about, checking on old friends, while Logan and Ororo brought food to many hungry, tired Morlocks.

A blur caught the attention of many mutants outside that moment. It stopped in front of the Professor.

"Hello, Pietro," he said.

"Need anything else?" said Pietro Lensherr Maximoff, the mutant Quicksilver, a former Avenger, and, ashamed as he was, Magneto's son. He handed a stack of boxes of doughnuts to Bobby.

"Stick around for a bit if you please," Xavier said. "We do appreciate your help, of course."

"I didn't doubt it," Pietro replied. "Do you mind if I call my wife?"

"Of course not," said Xavier. "You know where the phone is."

Bobby looked greedily through the boxes, and found a bear-claw, which he quickly devoured.

"Hungry, are we?" Xavier laughed. "I think it's well deserved."

"I still don't get why they won't come inside," Bobby said.

"Pride, partially, at least on Callisto's part," answered Professor Xavier. "Not that I doubt her intentions, but she doesn't like hand-outs."

"You're telling me," said Ororo Monroe, approaching them. "Fork over the doughnuts."

"What are they going to do now?" said Bobby. "I doubt many will want to go back to the tunnels, but most won't even leave their tents when the sun is out."

"Give them time," came the voice of Gateway, who sat calmly on the grass. "They will decide on their own soon enough."

"Agreed," said the Professor. "And what of you, Gateway?"

"I believe I may be needed here," he replied. "Not only with your conflicts with this Magneto, but with something much larger. I doubt your students have had ample time to explain what happened to them in Africa."

"Actually, Logan gave me an account in great detail as things here settled down last night," Xavier said.

"What did he tell you?" Ororo asked.

"Aside from your experience in Canada, which I monitered much of on Cerebro anyway, he told me of Ahmoul's demise. I don't know if he told you, Ororo, but I've met Ahmoul al-Farak before. The pseudonym of his, The Shadow King, was little more than an idea when we first met, but he seemed to have taken a real liking towards it. Still, I had no idea he was in service to this En Sabbah Nur figure."

"That's the thing," Ororo said. "He sounded like he had seen something in that monster's head, and it wasn't right. He said he thinks he went insane in captivity, right?"

Gateway nodded.

"That is unfortunate indeed," Xavier sighed. "I'm familiar enough with the old legends about The First One. I'd hardly be the scholar on mutant life if I wasn't. If he's real, and unbalanced, and has Nathaniel Essex in his service, he will be trouble indeed. But that is a matter for a later time."

 

[bored]

"How does he come and go so fast?" Omega Red asked. Apocalypse had reappeared moments ago with a tattooed mutant calling himself Mesmero, who said that he worked at a carnival as a hypnotist.

"He's powerful," was all Mr. Sinister would say on the matter.

When Sinister had taken Mesmero to give him some sort of tutorial or another, Red wandered into a poorly tended garden, where Spiral was admiring the plant life.

"Something about all this, it doesn't seem like it should be here," she said, holding a vine in her hand. "Like it's rare, even though there's so much of it."

"What do you mean?" Red asked.

"I don't know," Spiral said. "Something about seeing all these plants just makes me think that I've been here before, and that this garden is special."

Red picked up a vine. He examined it, trying to see what Spiral saw.

"How old are you?" he asked. Spiral glanced at him briefly, and then back to her vine.

"I don't know," she replied. "I don't think I'm too young, but I'm not particularly old. I could be dead wrong, of course. I don't know at all. Everything past a few months ago is just an utter mess."

"But the vine triggered something?"

"Not a memory," Spiral explained, "just a feeling."

With one of her many free arms, Spiral plucked a withered flower and gave it Omega Red.

"Look at it," Spiral said. "Look, and tell me what you think."

Omega Red examined the flower, trying not to crush it up in his hand.

"It's almost dead," he told her. "It looks like it might have been a lilac at some point. I don't really know. I was never much of an expert with flowers, and I spent quite some time in prison, until fairly recently. So I guess I see something that was once beautiful, turning into something gray and forgettable."

"I guess it is," Spiral replied, sounding somewhat upset at the idea. "Arkady, I don't know who I am, or where I'm from, but being here.... I think I'm a little closer to understanding. It's like I'm seeing part of another world, a more bleak one, and it's like that flower. It was beautiful once, but now it's withered, and dying, and I don't think anything can be done about it."

Red crushed the flower in his hand.

"Perhaps then, it is best to let that world go," he said, suddenly feeling his friend's mournful mood.




A car pulled up to the entrance of the Xavier Institute. From it, a striking brunette and her husband emerged. A blur zoomed in, and stopped. Pietro Maximoff hugged the woman, and shook her husband's hand, smiling. Professor Xavier was pushed outside by Piotr Rasputin, who hadn't been able to sleep.

"Wanda, Clint, it's good to see you," he said. "If you want to get some coffee, I just started another pot."

"What do you need us to do?" Wanda Lensherr Maximoff-Barton asked.

"Keep order, tend to some of the refugees, relieve a few of my students of their duties so they can sleep. They all need to, though some won't admit it." The Professor looked up at Colossus.

"I tried to sleep," Piotr explained. "I really wasn't able to."

"Piotr, you have melatonin in your room," Xavier said. "I restock everyone's medical supplies every week."

Slightly annoyed, Piotr left the Professor, and headed back to his room. Clint Barton, Wanda's husband, took over pushing Xavier's chair.

"Hank is outside taking care of various medical emergencies," Xavier explained. "I think he'll appreciate your presence."

Outside, Logan and Ororo sat on the patio, watching the Morlock refugees.

"I'd advise the two of you to go to bed," Xavier said, coming out. The pair looked back at him.

"You sure you don't need us?" Ororo asked.

"Pietro's sister and her husband are here to take over for you," Xavier said. Clint Barton waved.

"Hawkeye," Logan said. "Been awhile."

"How've you been, Patch?" Clint asked.

"Had my ups and downs, and it isn't Patch anymore," Logan explained.

"I hate to spoil a reunion," said the Professor, "but I brought them in to give you a break. Now, as I said before, I advise you two to go to bed."

Logan laughed, and hopped up. Ororo got up more slowly.

And NOT with each other, Xavier mentally ordered, with a little grin. Logan snapped his fingers in mock disappointment.




The factory was more lively than ever, yet hardly a living person walked inside of it. Rather, large robots worked the various pieces of equipments, and occasional assembly line jobs. Outside, Bolivar Trask and Henry Gyrich watched Sentinels be produced at a rapid pace. Bastion periodically emerged from the factory to inform them of the progress.

"How much longer?" Gyrich asked.

"A few more days, at this rate," Trask responded. "When we have enough Sentinels, we can begin the Round-Up Project. We'll get to that soon, I trust?"

"The camps aren't quite ready, but by the time we have an adequate number of Sentinels they should be," Gyrich said. "You sure these can't be picked up on radar?"

"Of course, and even if they were, not even one of those bands of mutants could stand in the way of a few of these," Trask gloated. "Nor would someone like Dr. Octavius, if he shows himself again."

 

[bored]

"Hey!" Hank McCoy shouted. "Hey, Avengers Assemble!"

With a grin, Hank lept into the air, pushed himself from a wall with his feet, and landed next to his former colleagues.

"Beast!" Wanda cried, startled. She smiled, and hugged him. "Hank, I haven't see you in months!"

"I'm a busy woman, my dear," Hank said. "Clint, how have you been?"

"As good as ever," said Clint Barton, who had once called himself Hawkeye. He spoke in a soft, Southern accent, which at the moment was both tired and welcoming. He put an arm around his wife's waste, and glanced outward, towards the refugee camp. "How is it out there?"

"They're apprehensive," Hank said. "Collectively, they don't like what's happening, though all seem to understand that their homes under New York aren't safe at the moment. I've been giving as many of them medical attention as I can, and at least trying to calm the others down. Most seem to be getting nervous as the sun comes up. You can see alot are staying inside their tents."

"Why don't they come inside?" Clint asked.

"We offered it to them," said Professor Xavier. "Callisto replied for the group, and she said they'd rather stay on the lawn."

"Well, at least you tried," Clint said. "What can we do?"

"We're going to start distributing food," Xavier explained. "I have a stockpile of MRE's in one of the sub-basement. Hank, you know where to go. Why don't you and Pietro start bringing them up?"

"Can do," said Hank. "Follow me, Nestle!"

Hank sprang off into the mansion, with Pietro behind him.

"Nestle?" asked the Professor.

"Quick," Wanda explained. "Nestle Quick, or Nesquick, they call it now. He called Pietro Nestle Quicksilver for a while. I do believe he's shortened it at this point."

"I see," sighed Professor Xavier. "Hank always was the... energetic one."

"It's why he fit in so well with Earth's Mightiest," Clint said. "Hey, you see that?"

A blur appeared in the sky.

"Wanda, does your brother have some talent he hasn't told us about?" Xavier asked.

"This is new to me," answered the woman once called the Scarlet Witch.

Professor Xavier closed his eyes, and connected to the mind of the approaching figure.

Jeanne-Marie Beaubier, is it? he asked, mentally. An old friend of Logan's.

Oui. Yes, replied Aurora, somewhat startled. She sped up, and passed over the now curious Morlocks.

"What brings you here?" asked the Professor, now out loud.

"I didn't know where else I could go," said Jeanne-Marie. "Is this not a good time?"

"My doors are always open," Xavier said, warmly. "You seem tired."

"I've been flying a while," she explained. "Is Logan here?"

"Asleep, or at least he should be," answered the Professor. "If you need to rest, I can show you to one of the guest rooms. Why don't you rest up, then you can explain whatever predicament brings you here."

"Thank you," Jeanne-Marie said.

Xavier guestured, and she followed him inside.

"So, that just leaves us," said Clint Barton. "Ya' know, I don't think any of those Morlock guys are watching us-"

"Clint!" Wanda shrieked.

"Kidding," her husband said, with a smirk.




Miles upon miles away, a slightly similar scene took place on the island called Avalon. Magneto's Brotherhood guided their own fraction of the Morlocks through the compound, showing them where they could sleep, eat, exercise. Most rushed inside, unlock their once-fellow Morlocks at the Xavier Institute, to escape the sun.

From his balcony, Magneto watched it all. With his helmet off, his white hair blew in the wind. Mutants looked up at him from below, appearing as some sort of godlike savior, who had come to free them from their self-imposed exile into the tunnels below Manhattan. On his balcony, Magneto gripped the rail, and closed his eyes, taking in the morning, feeling that, all in all, he was succesful. The group he led was beyond the Brotherhood now. It was the beginnings of an army, the army he'd dreampt of for years. Given a little more time, and another chance at mass recruitment, it would be ready to strike at the human world, with Erik Lensherr leading the way.


THIS HAS BEEN PART 4.

it's in parts, remember? sorry for the slow down in writing. college has drained me a lot, so i've focused alot on hype world, which takes a little less thinking to write. for those interested, there will be two more parts to this. the first will center around

Spoiler

trask, bastion, and the sentinels, and will be a chance to see a few more characters get a last chance at cameos

, and the last part will focus on

Spoiler

apocalypse, the 'ascended twelve', and all the crazy **** surrounding them. it may get wierd.

 

[Visioncore18]

lets keep this going man.. its almost a year in the making lol

 

[bored]

edit: woops, double post.

 

[bored]

lets keep this going man.. its almost a year in the making lol

chunky monkies, it HAS been going that long! I suppose that's because writing is sort of a hobby for me, so I drag it out.


PART 5

Protesters lined up all along the roads to the Xavier Institute. Once word had gotten out that an all-mutant refugee camp was set up, the **** started hitting the fan. Red Cross vehicles on their way in were frequently harassed, and X-Men and former Avengers frequently had to escort them in. Inside the grounds of the Institute, the X-Men were adjusting to the presence of the Morlocks, who had been camped on the lawn for the last two weeks. There had been few incidents, and none were particularly important. Hank McCoy showed up on an almost daily basis to lend his services where needed, and Professor Xavier's step-brother, Cain Marko, also had just flown in with his family. Pietro Maximoff and his sister and brother-in-law were also common sights. Defense Secretary Tony Stark and Generals Nick Fury and William Stryker had all made appearances.

The X-Men had made tending to the Morlocks a priority. All, Marrow in particular, went out of their ways to keep the refugees comfortable and in line. A few had become willing to enter the mansion, and some were even trying help with random chores. On one particular morning, Kurt Wagner was entertaining a few small children with some of his old acrobatic tricks, while Jeanne-Marie Beaubier, still adjusting to life at the Institute, made sandwiches for the little crowd.

"Hey, hey is that your mutant power?" an older Morlock asked, interrupting Nightcrawler.

"What?" Kurt asked.

"All those tricks?"

"Well, that is more of a talent," Kurt explained. "I can do this, though." He vanished in a puff of smoke, and appeared on a wall.

"Is that smoke poisonous?" the Morlock asked. The sun reflected off his bald head.

"It- it smells a little foul," said Kurt, leaping to the ground. "Why are you asking so many questions?"

"I want to know," said the bald Morlock. "You should be able to fly."

"Why?"

"You just should."

"What is your mutation, bad ideas?" Kurt asked.

"I'm an expert story teller," the Morlock answered. "My name's Brighmendis."

"Well, Brighmendis, I think I see what drove you to the tunnels," Kurt groaned.

"Come on, try to fly!"

"Go away, mister," a young Morlock begged. "You're being mean."

"I'm just telling it the way it is," said Brighmendis, getting up in a huff and walking away.

"Who was that?" Jeanne-Marie asked, coming in with a snack tray.

"His real power is he can make people go blind, but he never uses it," said one of the children.



Black Tom Cassidy dodged a speeding car, in the middle of a New York street. He began to grow, and started to look like the monster that had fought Magneto on the night of the Brotherhood's attack. The car turned around, and headed back for him. Tom wrapped his now massive hands around it, and flipped it over. He tore the driver's side door off, and grabbed a screaming person inside.

"Wrong!"

Tom's hands became very cold. Iceman came in on an ice-slide, thickening the coat of ice around Black Tom's hands.

"What was wrong with that?" Tom asked.

"I'm all for intimidation, but don't terrorize," Iceman said. "Remember, we're supposed to be the good guys, the shining example for how mutants need to be seen by the general public. Being what you are when you use your power, which is basically a giant tree monster-"

"You say that as if it's news to me," snapped Tom.

"Regardless, you need to be careful. Try again."

Iceman exited, and another car sped in. Tom clamped his hands over it, and brought it to a halt.

"Do you have a problem?" he asked. The simulation froze, and disappeared.

"That'll do," said Iceman, returning. "You've still got progress to make, but if you are serious about studying here, I think you'll manage."

"I agree," said Professor Xavier. Warren Worthington pushed him in. "Are you still sure you want a place at the Institute, Tom?" Black Tom nodded, and shrank back down to his normal size and shape. "Good. By the way, I got off the phone with your brother. He sends his best wishes, and says your niece may be coming."

"My niece? Teresa?" Tom asked. "Haven't seen her since she was a wee little lass. I wonder why she's the one coming?"

"Sean is a busy man, just like he was when you two still kept in touch," Xavier said. "The Banshee is still Ireland's premiere super hero. His daughter takes after him in some interesting ways."

"Aye, I know what she's capable of," said Tom. "Even as a child, she could scream like her da'."

"I'm also told she's bringing a friend," said Xavier. "A 'Wade Wilson'. I'm not familiar with him." Warren's eyes widened.

"Oh, God," he sputtered. "Him?!"

"You know him?" asked the Professor.

"I know that name," said Warren. "You may have been better refusing them, if he is who I think he is."

"Tom, do you know anything?" asked Xavier.

"Can't say the name rings a bell," answered Black Tom. "'Wade Wilson'. Doesn't sound like a very upsetting type. And if Sean trusts him, which he must if he's allowing him around Teresa, he probably isn't that bad."

"We'll see," said Warren. "We'll see."

 

[bored]

Ten Sentinels patrolled the perimeter of the factory on Madripoor. Bastion would periodically fly outside to check on them, though it wasn't really necessary. Bolivar Trask asked him to do it every so often. Trask was overseeing Sentinel production, stopping only to report to Henry Gyrich.

"Any news?" Trask asked, as his creation returned to the factory.

"None," said Bastion. "And if there is, remember that I will be automatically notified of it. You created the link between myself and the Sentinels yourself, if you remember."

"Yes, of course," Trask said. "I'm just antsy. You must realize, Bastion, that this is a very exciting time for me. You know full well of the plans that Gyrich has laid out for our operation. It's all so flawless. No military strike, no mutant attack, no nothing can stop us now, not with our support from the Friends of Humanity all over the world, and with so many Sentinels. You know they weren't always this small? You yourself were bigger than the Sentinels we see now when I first created you. But now, they're smaller, more powerful, more of what I wanted them to be! I have so much freedom here! I could never have created you the way you are if I still worked for that treacherous government back home. And have you kept up on the news? The Xavier Institute is housing a whole camp of mutant refugees! It'll be like shooting fish in a barrel!"

"Bolivar!" came the voice of Henry Gyrich. "Bolivar, can you give me a production update?"

"Fifty Sentinels today!" Trask cried. "Fifty! We should be able to commence Wideawake 2.0 in no time!"

"That reminds me," said Bastion. "Why 2.0? Why bring decimal points in to it?"

"That's nothing you need to worry about," Gyrich said. "It's just a popular way of doing it."

"I see," replied Bastion, though he didn't. Programmed as he was, Bastion was still a machine, and mostly saw the world in cold logic, except where mutant kind was concerned. There, he got everything he knew from Bolivar Trask, his creator, his father. In what must have been a short time from then, he'd be leading an army of creations similar to him, yet not as unique. None had any semblance of a personality, nor were they constructed to look human. Bastion was one in several hundred. And he would lead those less unique machines against the mutant scourge. Not to kill, at least not yet, but to contain. All for the good of humanity. All for the good of his father.

 

[bored]

Professor Xavier sat in his wheelchair outside the mansion, on the opposite side of the Morlock refugee camp. He was taking a rare moment off, relaxing in the sun with a book, a Tolstoy collection, and trying to clear his head. It was a warm day, but it was still early. He hoped the Morlocks were prepared to be outside in what would probably end up a hot afternoon. He heard helicopters in the distance. Trying his best not to read the thoughts of their passengers, he dismissed them as more paparazzi. He flipped open his book, reading a passage in the middle of a page. The helicopters were getting louder. Warren Worthington appeared in the doorway.

"Professor, I think we may have a problem," Warren said. Xavier groaned quietly.

"What is it, Warren?" he asked.

"Military choppers are coming in fast."

"For the love of God!" Xavier growled.

"Bishop is trying to communicate with them now," said Warren. "I don't know what's going on."

"Let me check," said Xavier. He closed his eyes, and reached for the mind of Lucas Bishop.

What do they want? he asked.

It's some General, says he needs to talk with you, Bishop replied. His name's Fury. That's the eye-patch guy, right?

Yes, Lucas, he is the 'eye patch guy'. Tell him to meet me in the foyer.

"Warren, bring me to the entrance of the Institute," the Professor ordered.



Several soldiers flanked General Nicholas Fury, the aging soldier with still greying hair and an eye-patch over his left eye, a permanent reminder of his time fighting in Vietnam so many years ago. They entered the foyer, nearly knocking Kurt Wagner, who had opened the door, to his feet. Professor Xavier, an irritated look on his face, sat in his chair in front of the stairs. Warren Worthington and Bobby Drake stood at his sides.

"What is the meaning of this?" Xavier asked, keeping his voice down, but showing a great deal of anger.

"I've got a job to do, what else?" General Fury replied. "The Pentagon doesn't like this big camp of mutants out here. It's freaking out the neighbors."

"And for this you came with a military battalion?" Xavier asked.

"As a means of escort," said Fury.

"Why wasn't I notified of this earlier?" asked the Professor.

"Decision was just made," said Fury.

"Regardless, I should have been notified!" Xavier shouted. The soldiers who had come with Fury raised their guns.

"Easy, men," said Fury. "Look, Chuck, you and I both know these refugees aren't gonna cause any real trouble, and your nearest neighbors aren't even that close, but it ain't my decision. The President himself, and the Secretary of State, and most of his cabinet, all said this can't stay. It'd be a PR nightmare."

"Speaking of the Cabinet," came Hank McCoy, walking in with Pietro Maximoff by his side, "why was I not notified? If anyone, I should have known of this."

"They were too afraid you'd get in the way, Secretary McCoy," General Fury explained. "Your buddy Stark is lucky he was even on hand. If you're curious, he voted against this, and was ordered to not communicate with you."

"What about General Stryker?" Xavier asked. "Did he have a say, seeing as-"

"-Seeing as he's a personal friend of yours?" Fury cut in.

"I still wish to know why I wasn't notified of this earlier," the Professor said, getting stern, and more controlled.

"It doesn't matter," sneered General Fury. "Men, keep them out of my way while I do my job." Fury pulled a gun from his side. It froze in his hand. The soldiers' guns froze as well, and frost lined the floor.

"Iceman, right?" Fury asked. "Clever. You'll be arrested for this, of course.

Professor Xavier's eyes narrowed. An enraged look appeared on his face.

"I see you've recovered," he growled, menacingly. Fury looked shocked.

"What?"

"A healer among the more treacherous sect of the Morlocks worked on you. It's such a shame, Jason. I thought I'd done a wonderful job on you when we last met."

"You shut up!" Fury screamed. He lunged at the Professor. Pietro got in front of him, and shoved him to the ground.

"You may call yourself 'Mastermind'," said the Professor, "but you know in your heart that I am the most powerful telepath on Earth. Why cross me again? Do you really think I can't free these men?"

The Professor smiled, and blinked. General Fury and his men fell to the ground.

"And he'd done such a good job, too," Xavier mocked. "Everyone, Mastermind, and other members of the Brotherhood, I suspect, are close by. Iceman, round up the other X-Men. I went them dealt with immediately!"

 

[bored]

are people still liking this? nobody's commented in a while. this'll be a short entry, because i don't have alot of time to put much up.

----------------------------


Four of them were close by. Professor Xavier was scanning for them even as Kurt Wagner teleported him from one place to another, progressively reaching Cerebro. Mastermind was back, recovered with mutant assistance from the mental beating he'd taken from the Professor. Sabretooth, Toad, and Deathstrike were with him. They had just begun to spread about. Xavier hoped that, by amplifying his powers with Cerebro, he could make sure that they were the only four, and better direct the X-Men and whoever else was there at the moment to them. Once they reached the Cerebro chamber, Xavier dismissed Nightcrawler to go and aid his team mates.



Angel and Storm took to the air. Quicksilver began sweeping the grounds, hunting down the Brotherhood members. Iceman ordered Juggernaut and Colossus to guard the Morlocks, but not to tell anyone, save Callisto what the worry was.

"Let them think the government is still coming, for whatever reason," he had said. "Just make sure they stay where they are, especially Black Tom. He's still way too overzealous."

Bobby, came Professor Xavier's voice, I've found them. It's only the four, as far as I can tell. Be wary, in case Magneto is with them.

The Professor gave the X-Men's leader the locations of the Brotherhood members, so that he could relay them to the team, and send groups after them. Wolverine, Aurora, and Psylocke were sent after Mastermind; Bishop and Nightcrawler were told to find Toad; Iceman himself took Forge and Marrow to confront Sabretooth; and Shadowcat, Pyro, and Hank McCoy went after Deathstrike. Angel was told to go inside the Institute to greet the soon to be lucid General Fury and his men, and explain the situation. Storm had orders to keep watch on everyone from the air, and help out where needed.

"The Professor will give you directions to your target," Iceman said. "Engage them, try to either incapacitate them or drive them off. Whatever you do, don't let them get to the Morlocks. Okay, let's go!"

The teams of X-Men, and those on hand who could help, split up, going to hunt down the Brotherhood.



From Cerebro, Professor Xavier monitored everything. He didn't see any signs that Magneto might be about, but he remained weary. At one point, there seemed to be a flicker on the astral plane, something that was on for a moment, and then disappeared, but he was too distracted to think much of it.



From far outside the Institute, unbeknownst to either the X-Men or the Brotherhood, they waited. Sugarman was anxious for a chance to see the Morlocks, mutants that could be as bizarre as himself, but Mr. Sinister held him back.

"We'll wait for this first confrontation to play out, then make our move," he said.

 

[bored]

Psylocke led her team-mates. The purplish glow that came whenever she concentrated hard enough with her psychic powers surrounded her face.

"I'm being resisted," she whispered.

"Take it easy," said Wolverine. "Let me do this the old fashioned way. Just keep him outta my head."

Logan crouched to the ground, and began sniffing. His head darted in many directions.

"This was where they split up," he said. "Right here. I can smell all four of 'em. Nobody else. If Magneto was with them, he did a hell of a job of covering up." He stopped talking, and started sniffing again.

"Can you point us to Mastermind?" Aurora asked.

Never you mind the scents, came Professor Xavier's voice. I'll guide you to him myself. Logan, don't worry about the other three. You team-mates are going to deal with them.

"No prob, Chuck," Wolverine sighed. He looked down the path that one of the scents took him, knowing who had gone that way. Sabretooth. He was lucky today, being assigned to somebody else. He didn't know how he'd handle having to confront Sabretooth, ever.

"Logan!" Psylocke called. She and Aurora were cautiously going ahead. Wolverine hopped up from the crouched position he'd taken, and joined them.



"What's happening?"

Juggernaut jumped, not realizing that Callisto, the Morlock leader, was behind him.

"Nothing," he said. "Baldy's just bein' cautious."

"Juggernaut- that is you, isn't it?"

Cain nodded.

"Juggernaut," said Callisto, "Tell 'Baldy' to give us more credit. I've already spoken to Caliban. The Brotherhood is here."

"Keep it low," Juggernaut said.

"I know well enough to do that," Callisto reassured. "Just don't think we won't be able to take care of ourselves if need be."

"You won't need to," Juggernaut said, balling a fist, and wrapping his other hand around it. "Every last one of Magneto's creeps could get through, and you wouldn't have jack to worry about. You got the Juggernaut guarding you."



"I just thought of something," Bishop said, as he and Nightcrawler followed the Professor's directions, hunting the Toad. "That Gateway guy you picked up in Africa, where is he?"

"I don't know," Nightcrawler said, shrugging his shoulders. He was perched on a tree branch. "For the moment, it is best we focus on finding Toad."

"Found me!" Toad cried, coming down from the trees, pouncing on Bishop. Nightcrawler jumped to the ground, positioned on all fours.

"We meet again, no?" Kurt laughed. "I've been looking forward to finishing our fight."

Bishop punched Toad in the head. He fell to the ground, moaning.

"What? You thought I was just gonna sit back and watch?" he asked. "Should've at least gotten me popcorn if you wanted that." He lifted Toad up. "Your boss here to help you out?" Bishop asked. Toad shook his head. "Good." Bishop tossed him to the ground.

Toad opened his mouth, and his long tongue grabbed Bishop's ankles, dragging him to the ground. He then jumped backwards into the trees, carrying Bishop, who was thrown around against the branches, with him. Nightcrawler disappeared in his usual puff of smoke, and appeared again in the trees. Toad flicked his tongue, heaved his head, and swung Bishop, who was being battered about, into the blue X-Man. The two plummeted through the foliage, to the ground below. Everything became white, and a moment later, they were laying on the ground, relatively unharmed. A few branches, followed by Toad, fell down by them. Gateway was standing above them, putting his foot on Toad's chest. Bishop dragged himself to his feet, and took over pinning the Brotherhood member to the ground.

"You okay, Kurt?" he asked.

"Ja," said Nightcrawler, hopping up. "I see your question about our friend Gateway has been answered. Where had you gone to?"

"I've been about," said Gateway. "There was another matter I had to see to."

"What?" asked Bishop. Under his boot, Toad wriggled, but couldn't escape, and his tongue hurt too much to attack again.

"I think my concern may have been unfounded," said Gateway. "Don't worry about it. I will discuss it with Xavier later. He will most likely confirm that."

Deciding to work through the ache, Toad opened his mouth, and shot out his tongue. Bishop stomped his foot down on it, hard.

"I could swear somebody cut this damn thing off of you before," he said. "Does it grow back or what?"




In the English country-side, in the home of Nathaniel Essex, Apocalypse was muttering to himself.

"What's he saying?" Omega Red asked. Sauron shook his head. Since leaving with Sinister and Sugarman, Apocalypse had returned twice, only to leave again. Both times, he'd brought people back. One was an Englishman named Peter Wisdom, the other a dark-skinned, probably Asian man whom Apocalypse had referred to as Neal Shaara. He didn't talk. Sauron had noted that that made eight of them, people expected to serve this En Sabbah Nur, who had spoken occasionally of something called the Ascended Twelve. Four more, and they'd know what he was talking about.

Not paying any attention to them, Apocalypse stood just outside the den, speaking quietly to himself, not allowing anyone to hear him.

"May none discover the truth," he whispered, almost prayer-like. "May none find out about him, so that I may finally concquer this world, after waiting for so long."

 

[bored]

In a small hut, a few miles north of Johannesburg, a middle-aged woman screamed. She was on her knees, on the ground behind her home. Tears streamed from her eyes, down her burned face. Her husband's body lay on the ground a few feet from her, crushed by one of those horrible things. Her two younger children were still hidden inside the hut, terrified. Three massive metal men flew away from the hut, carrying her oldest son. He had always been a strange boy, but nobody, not even their closest friends, knew about him, or how his body worked. Her poor son's insides were composed of two vile slugs, which occasionally left his body to eat everything they could. Still, they'd been kept a secret. How these metal men knew about them, the woman couldn't say. But they had come, and they had taken her boy, and when her husband tried to stand in their way, he had been crushed. When she protested, she was burned. The metal men were now far off, into the horizon. A few neighbors were approaching, asking what they were. The mother could only weep and scream.




In India, a young American man working as a translator for the United Nations was captured around the same time. He'd stepped outside some sort of upper class social gathering for a smoke, when the Sentinels appeared, and grabbed him. Like the boy in South Africa, he had kept his mutant talent a secret, mostly because it wasn't a particularly powerful one. He could analyze and translate any foreign language almost instantly. Remarkable indeed, and just passing it as a knack had gotten him his dream job, but he didn't dare admit it came from mutation.

Security guards who had intervened were stunned or otherwise incapacitated, but not killed. Not at a place like this. It would be terrible publicity, according to Henry Gyrich.



In his private estate near Osaka, Japan, Shiro Yashida was tending to a business matter, when the Sentinels came. He had put up a grand struggle, but to little avail. While several Sentinels were destroyed by his awesome power, burned to a crisp, in fact, he had still been outnumbered and overpowered. In the end, it took Bastion himself to step in and beat the mutant hero Sunfire into submission.




In Westchester, New York, on the other side of the world, where it was still day, Professor Xavier suddenly sensed these happenings, as he guided his X-Men on their hunt for the Brotherhood. Suddenly conflicted as to what to do, he released a surge of power, transmitting a warning message to every mutant he could at once. Outside, both X-Men and Brotherhood were briefly stunned by the warning. It also had one other effect. In amplifying his power so much, Xavier also briefly sensed a disturbance near the grounds, one that wasn't as familiar. When he had finished transmitting his warning, he opened up a map of the grounds and surrounding area on his computer, and pinpointed exactly where he felt them. Nathaniel Essex, Mr. Sinister, was watching everything that happened that day, and he wasn't alone. Professor Xavier shuddered, realizing that the hideous Sugarman, whom he had believed dead, was there as well.

 

[bored]

Mastermind sprinted away from the grounds of the Xavier Institute, sensing that he was being hunted. A hand grabbed him from above.

"Running? You little coward!" Lady Deathstrike growled. She was crouched in a tree.

"What are you doing, then?" Mastermind asked.

"Waiting, now keep your voice low."

The two mutants sat quietly in the tree, as footsteps were heard approaching. A young girl walked under them. Deathstrike screamed, swung down by her legs, and stabbed at the girl with her elongated finger claws. They simply passed right through. Shadowcat looked up, and glared.

"You almost hurt me, you jerk!" she snapped. Hank McCoy, jumping in from the trees around them, crashed into Deathstrike and knocked her to the ground. Pyro followed Shadowcat in, and, with a small flame generated from his suit, chased Mastermind to the ground. The telepath, unable to use his powers on the X-Man, who was being psychically guarded by Professor Xavier, shrank back, trying to avoid the flame that was now encircling him.

Lady Deathstrike raised her arm high above her head, and with little more than a flick of her wrist, cut down a large branch. It came down over Hank's head, and would have knocked him out had he not been able to react in time, and it instead landed on his shoulder. Wincing from the pain, Hank tossed it away. Deathstrike swung her arm again, this time trying to slash at Hank. He ducked under it, sprung up, grabbed her arm, and tossed her over his head, and into a tree. Shrugging it off, Deathstrike lept up and... disappeared.

"What the hell?" Hank McCoy muttered. His head darted around, but he couldn't find any sign of her. "Mastermind!"

Deathstrike's telepathic colleague glanced in his direction.

"Mastermind, what the hell is this?" Hank demanded.

"I- it..." Mastermind paused, trying to figure out what he was talking about. "Where's Yuriko?" And he vanished, as well. Hank scratched his head.

"That was wierd," said Shadowcat.

"I was just starting to have fun with the little bugger, too," lamented Pyro, dissipating the fire he'd started.

X-Men, return to the Institute immediately! came Professor Xavier's voice. I see what is happening with the Brotherhood, but there is an even more grave matter at hand. Meet in the library on the third floor within fifteen minutes.

"Bigger than the Brotherhood, how promising," Hank muttered. He lept back into the trees, and made his way back in to the grounds of the Institute, with Shadowcat and Pyro following on the ground. Aurora, Psylocke, and Wolverine, who had been trying to track down Mastermind earlier, met up with them shortly.



Marrow moaned, as one of her bone spears jutted from her chest.

"You gonna live?" Forge asked, bringing her to her feet.

"Yeah," she said. "It hurts, though. I got my ribs in front of it before it hit anything vital, at least. How about you?"

"I've lost count of how many times I've lost this damn hand," Forge said. Sabretooth had crushed Forge's robotic arm with his bare hands. "You give me a few hours, and some wires, and it'll be good as new. May even throw in an iPod to go with it, this time. Bob! Hey, Bob, where are you?"

"I'm here," said Iceman, reverting back to his flesh and blood form as he walked. "I've never taken Sabretooth head on before. I wish Charles had sent Colossus with us. He's handled him."

"So where is the creep now, anyway?" asked Marrow. The bone spear was pushed out of her chest by an errant bit of bone that had popped out from her ribs.

"He... he disappeared," Iceman explained. "He just vanished, and then I heard the Professor telling us to meet in the library."

"I got that, too," said Forge. "He sounded freaked. Something to do with whatever took Sabretooth, maybe?"

"I guess. Come on, we'd better not keep him waiting." Iceman froze himself up again, now seeming revitalized from the transformation. With a little running start for momentum, he froze the ground, and started an ice slide to speed himself along.

"What, nobody gets to call shotgun?" Forge called. "Screw it, let's just go."

 

[bored]

On the way up from the Cerebro chamber to the library, Professor Xavier detoured to speak with General Fury. The man was, true to his name, unhappy.

"I assure you, General, that no harm would have come to you or your men," said the Professor. "Even if I hadn't been able to sense Mastermind's presence, my X-Men know better than to hurt humans unless they absolutely have to."

"They haven't always had the best record of that," said General Fury. "You do remember the incident in Manhattan several months ago, with one of your female students-"

"Yes," Xavier cut in. "She was reprimanded for it, I assure you. Now, I take it you can't think of much else to bring up?"

"Watch it, Xavier."

"General Fury, I have an urgent matter concerning the safety of the refugees I am taking care of, as well as my students. Unless your little battallion here intends on aiding us in that, I am giving you leave to vacate the premises of my Institute. This is private property, and you only came here on false pretences anyway."

"Pretences which didn't come from myself or anyone else in the Army," Fury pointed out.

"Regardless, I do not appreciate your attitude at this moment," said the Professor, "and I would rather you didn't get in my way."

"Look, Chuck, I respect what you do, and I know you've got some government pull, what with the kinds of friends you have, but you don't order me around!" Fury snapped.

"Ordinarily, no, I just give advice," said Xavier, smirking. "Good advice, if I may say so myself, but that isn't relevant. Here, General, I am in charge. Not you, not my friends in the government, not anyone but me. And if I tell you to leave, you leave."

"Don't you speak to me like that!" Fury shouted.

"I will speak to you as I please," said the Professor, with a slight wave of his hand. "Now, you and your men will vacate the premises immediately."

"We will vacate the premises immediately," said General Fury, in a sudden trance.

"You will say that you were liberated from Mastermind's grasp, and treated hospitably by myself and my students."

"Liberated... Hospitable treatment."

"Good," said the Professor. General Fury, still in somewhat of a trance, turned to leave. "And General Fury, one more thing."

"Yes?" asked the General, sounding lucid, even if he wasn't.

"These are not the droids you're looking for." A grin crept along the Professor's face.

"Not... droids..."

"General, please leave."

General Fury barked at his men to vacate immediately. Professor Xavier, trying not to laugh, turned around, and wheeled himself to the elevator.



The X-Men, with Hank McCoy, Pietro Maximoff, Gateway, and the Juggernaut, crowded into one of the many libraries in the mansion. After a few minutes of waiting, the Professor arrived.

"He looks like he's giggling a little," Kitty Pryde whispered to Sara Rutherds.

"You're right, it kind of does," Marrow replied.

The Professor took a deep breath, and his trademarked stern look came back.

"My X-Men, and those others assembled, I'm sure you noticed an odd phenomena while fighting the Brotherhood. Am I right?"

Various people affirmed this.

"It seems that they are not the only uninvited guests we've had today, and I'm not referring to General Fury and the military's presence, either. Most X-Men here were already with the group when they encountered a man named Nathaniel Essex, or Mr. Sinister, and I know a few of you had a run in with him and several others immediately before the unpleasentness in the Morlock tunnels. It seems that he's here, as well, and he isn't alone."

"En Sabbah Nur," Gateway muttered, suddenly apprehensive.

"No, this En Sabbah Nur character, or Apocalypse, or however he is referred to, is not the other, or at least I hadn't sensed him. Bobby, Hank, Warren, and I believe Pietro as well are exempt from this question, but who here has ever heard of someone, or something, called the Sugarman?"

Wolverine raised his hand.

"Jeanne-Marie, remember that little four-armed creep I told you about?" he asked. Aurora nodded. "That's the guy."

"You've encountered him, Logan?" Xavier asked.

"Seen him before, on a Black Ops mission along time ago. Creeped the ever living **** outta me, and that's saying something," Wolverine explained.

"Who is he?" asked Forge.

"An abomination," Pietro said.

"He's not kidding," said Warren. "The original class here, the first X-Men, we met him once. He's this little troll thing, I don't know how to explain it, but he's a monster. He was keeping this lab, where he did all these horrible tests on people, both mutant and human. When we found him, he'd just removed somebody's arms and grafted them onto his own body. The creepy thing is, they actually took, and they looked just like his other arms as soon as they were on."

"A bit of his own work," said Professor Xavier. "He had a fascination with body-part transplants, and unconventional ones, at that."

"Unconventional is an under-statement if there ever was one," said Hank. "Imagine the kinds of things Joseph Mengel could have had nightmares about. The Sugarman did them to people."

"So you think maybe he took the Brotherhood away to mess with?" asked Shadowcat.

"No, their disappearance was more likely Sinister's doing. I think he grew bored of waiting for the fights to end, and did it himself. It's very much his style. I fear they may be coming for the Morlocks, or us, or more likely, both. He must see the Institute as a smorgasboard of things to toy with."

"So let's just get out there and smash him," Juggernaut suggested. His step-brother shook his head.

"Sugarman isn't like anything you've fought, Cain," Xavier explained. "I know you've heard enough stories about him from your fellow Avengers, but Sugarman... I don't know how to describe it. Nobody who tries to physically confront him comes out without permanent disfigurement, if they come out at all. You are all familiar with Simon Williams, the so-called 'Wonder Man'? You were probably told that he was killed fighting Ultron, the android that tried to take over the world several years ago. Unfortunately, that is far from true. Ultron had hired Sugarman to help him design a nerve agent, and it was he that Wonder Man encountered. According to the coroner's report, he was bitten into three sections. That being said, they've yet to find one of those sections, as Sugarman most likely ingested it."

"He eats people?" Storm gasped. "He's a cannibal?"

"Among other things," Xavier said.

"That nerve agent they were making, we were supposed to destroy what was left of it when the Avengers met him," Pietro explained. "We found the children he was mutilating at the time in the process of it."

"I don't remember ever messing with this guy," Juggernaut said, somewhat confused.

"It was when you and a few of the others were containing that dragon in Japan," Pietro replied.

"Listen to that," Nightcrawler laughed. "What being an Avenger must have been like!"

"This is not the time, Kurt," Xavier said. "I want everyone to be on guard, and to watch the Morlock camp closely. If you can't fight from range, I don't want you to confront him. I will personally deal with Essex. Bobby, inform Callisto that her people are in danger..." He stopped to sigh. "Again."

 

[The Squirrel]

still going strong

keep it up.

 

[bored]

"Mmm," Mastermind groaned. "Where the hell are we?" The four members of the Brotherhood got up at the same time. They were in a small room with a single, bright lightbulb.

"It's cold in here," said Toad.

"It's a meat truck," said Sabretooth, sniffing. "We're in the trailer of a god-damn meat truck!" He pounded the walls. The sound reverberated inside the trailer. Deathstrike slashed at the end wall, to no effect.

"Since when did a meat truck have adamantium siding?" she asked.

"Since when did they stick mutants in them?" Mastermind asked, slumping against a wall. "What the hell happened to us?"

"It had to be that damn portal mutant," Deathstrike growled. "Ugh, where did Xavier find him?!"

"I don't think it was," said Sabretooth. "This wasn't like him. He opened these vortexes when he fought us in the sewers. I didn't see anything like that here."

"So somebody else interrupted us?" asked Mastermind. "Why?"

"Either they were helping the X-Men," said Sabretooth, "or they wanted us for something. I'm looking at the latter."



"So how do we do it?" asked the Sugarman, smiling. "Jump right in and go nuts, or something more quiet?"

"Both," said Sinister. "The plan is for you to go in and get their attention, while I whisk away some of these Morlocks that the Master is so interested in."

"Can I kill?" Sugarman asked.

"A little."

"Hooray!"



The X-Men and their allies marched outside, and surrounded the Morlock camp. Refugees inside whispered about what was going on. Callisto and Caliban weaved throughout the camp, reassuring everyone that they would be fine. From the lawn, where he sat and observed everything, Professor Xavier wasn't so sure.

 

[bored]

Professor Xavier moved about the perimeter, speaking with the X-Men. After a time, he stopped off with Iceman, who had been positioning team members.

"So what do you think?" Iceman asked. "Can they handle Sugarman?"

"If they do what they were told, maybe," said Professor Xavier. "I don't know what his mind is like. I may well have to try and stop him myself, though. If I can get into his head, that is. Sinister has ways of blocking people's mental abilities."

"What do they want?"

"Knowing them, probably anyone they can find. They must have known about the Morlock camp from the news coverage, and if you add to that that we are all here, I doubt that the Sugarman could have resisted, and I'm sure Sinister, Essex, has some interest for the same reasons." The Professor paused, and took a deap breath. "Bobby, there's something else."

"Please tell me you saved a bunch of money on your car insurance," Iceman quipped.

"Alas, no," Xavier replied. "It's serious, Bobby. The Sentinels are back."

"What?"

"I don't know where they're coming from, but when I was using Cerebro, I detected several mutants being attacked and captured by Sentinels. Shiro Yashida, Sunfire, was among them."

"Sunfire? He couldn't handle Sentinels? He's one of the most powerful mutants in the world," Iceman marveled.

"I don't know what to say, just that we will have that matter to deal with as soon as this is over with."

"You sound so optimistic."

"I try, Bobby," sighed the Professor. "I try."



With a nod from Mr. Sinister, Sugarman went off. He burst away with seeminly infinite energy, rushing through the trees, tossing things away with his many arms, and cackling maniacly. When he burst through the trees and onto the lawn of the Xavier Institute, he grew even more excited. Countless people were there for him to play with.



"Remember, keep your distance!" Iceman ordered. The X-Men, with what allies they had, formed a human wall between Sugarman and the Morlocks.

"He has six arms, not four," Aurora whispered. Wolverine grumbled something in return.

Iceman stepped in front of the others. His fists were clenched tightly, and mist seemed to be pouring off of him. The ground froze in front of him, causing the Sugarman to slide on the ground. The freakish creature laughed as he slid, eventually boosting himself back up with his many arms, and lunging at Iceman. The X-Man disappeared in a puff of smoke, having been grabbed by Nightcrawler.

"Who wants to play with Sugarman!?" Called the maniac. He charged, and the X-Men scattered. Sugarman ran headlong into the Morlock camp, where refugees screamed and ran. Leaping into the air, Sugarman came down upon someone, grabbed them with his top two arms, and chomped down. The Morlock's body was left with massive teeth marks. Someone growled, and lept onto Sugarman's back.

"Wild Child!" a woman screamed. "Get away from him!"

Sugarman forced himself to fall backwards to the ground, crushing feral little Wild Child under his weight. A blast temporarily blinded him. When his eyesight came back, which was only seconds later, a woman with a horribly burned face was trying to pull Wild Child away.

"Naughty!" Sugarman screamed. He lifted Wild Child by the ankles, and swung him into his attempted savior, the Morlock called Dazzler. A shadow fell over them.

"You're the naughty, my friend," Black Tom Cassidy growled. He, grown into his massive form, snatched Sugarman up, and slammed him into the ground. Sugarman bit down, severing one of Black Tom's fingers, and causing him to let go. The freak went after Wild Child and Dazzler again. He lunged, and caught Dazzler in his jaws, biting hard. Blood spilled out of his mouth. A tremendous force crashed into him, sending him to the ground. The Juggernaut lifted him up, and punched him.

"Oooh, playmate!" Sugarman laughed. He squirmed, trying to get a chance to bite his opponent.

"They told me to keep my distance," Juggernaut said. "Like I've got anything to be scared of.

"You most certainly do," came a voice. Juggernaut felt his back get burned by something powerful.

"Essex!" Professor Xavier shouted. "You show yourself at last." He was flanked by Forge and Colossus.

"Charles Xavier, what a pleasure," said Sinister. "It's a shame I had to appear so soon. You may not realize yet, but a few of your precious refugees are missing, courtesy of yours truly."

"Then Sugarman was a distraction," the Professor observed.

"He puts on quite the show, doesn't he? I don't think the ones he's killed would be missed, now would they? No, of course n- Ah! What the hell?"

Three spiny pieces of bone stuck out from Sinister's neck. Marrow jumped on him, beating him savagely over the head with a bone club. Behind them, Sugarman had twisted out of Juggernaut's grasp. He had bitten down on Juggernaut's hand, hurting him and annoying him, though not doing the damage Sugarman had hoped for.

"You've gotta do better than that on me!" Juggernaut roared, chasing Sugarman through the camp.

Sinister, being attacked by Marrow, shouted. In a bright flash of light, a swarm appeared overhead. They were the same small, dragon-like creatures he had once nearly defeated the X-Men with in Colorado, and the same as Lockheed, the little creature Shadowcat kept inside the Institute.

"Sugarman!" Sinister roared, tossing a distracted Marrow away. "We've done all we needed to! Let them handle it from here! Professor Xavier, you and those who follow you can only impede my master's work. For that, you must be destroyed." He raised his hand, which glowed. An energy beam flew from it, straight at the Professor's head.