A/N: Woo another completed story, on the same day! Although this one will be a doozy!
I hope that you enjoy it, feedback is always appreciated.
Bring Him Home.
By Carla P.
Marie sat in the war room, she was terrified but she didn't show it, on the surface she looked cool, calm and collected.
She was in her uniform, suited up for the upcoming battle. She was in her x-men black leather, and her body armor, her hair swept up in a high ponytail.
Next to her was her husband Remy, they had finally stopped skirting around the issue of her skin, of his womanizing and they had started to date properly, it was obvious to everyone that the two loved each other and were made for each other they had been married for 2 years now.
Remy was also in his black leather, a serious look on his handsome face, his black and red eyes glowing with the pent up energy he had stored.
Next to him was Ororo, she couldn't hide her fear, her eyes were pure white to match her hair, although the rest of her looked composed.
Next to Ororo was Logan, he looked serious and eager for the fight to begin, he didn't like the government at the best of times, that was a huge understatement but the rage he felt for them now, now that they had called into place the Mutant Registration Act was unbounded.
At the head of the table sat Scott Summers, leader of the X-men and all around good guy, he looked tired nowadays however, the strain of this war getting to him, he had lived his whole mutant life following Charles' ideals, fighting for the side of Peace. All of that had changed when Charles had almost been assassinated however, now was the time for all of mutant kind to stand up and make a stand.
Jean sat quietly, she felt consumed with rage now, that had never happened to her before, she had always been a peaceful person, but her child Nate's life was at risk and when she had become a mother she had made a promise that Nate's life would always be put before anyone else.
Hank also sat quietly, all of the years he had governed for peace, for equality between everyone, they were wasted years, and now it was down to this, to brutality, it saddened him greatly.
Jubilee sat as silent as everyone else, she was terrified, she didn't try to hide the fact, she didn't try to be brave about it, she knew that they would go to war; she knew that some would die, she knew that if they lost, all would die. This was a battle, one she didn't think that she was ready for, but one she would give her life for if need be.
Kitty was also terrified, she may be a formidable fighter, and Logan had ensured that she could fight like a warrior, however, she didn't want her family to die, and surely some would fall, maybe even herself.
Kurt had prayed, prayed that it would never come to this, his prayers had gone unanswered and now he was ready to fight.
Bobby sat his worry obvious by the way he kept freezing and then thawing his hands.
St. John looked determined, his face going to the empty cold face of a killer; he sat clicking his lighter open and closed.
His girlfriend Amara sat next to him, her hand on his arm, her face just as empty and cold, both known for their loyalty and sense of humor, but now they were prepared for the war.
Victor sat looking uncomfortable, he was looking forward to this war, he was a killer, this was the sort of thing he longed for, carnage, bloodshed and maybe, just maybe someone may be able to end his life, he had lived too long, he hoped that someone would get lucky and he'd get to go out in the middle of a massacre.
Mortimer sat flicking his tongue, he also enjoyed a fight, he knew that this would be a big one, but it didn't really concern him greatly, you either lived or you died.
Erik sat very still, his face gave nothing away, he was saddened however, he had known that this day would come; he remembered always being enraged by Charles' naivety. Charles' attempted murder had destroyed something in Erik however, he was furious that it was always the innocent that were punished. And he was determined that he would be Charles' retribution.
"As you know team, there is no battle plan. Not for this." Scott said softly.
This wasn't going to be a war where strategy would win; the most important thing in this war would be surviving it.
The silent room was heavy with things that people wanted to say, but were too scared to say.
"Thank you team, let's head to the blackbird." Scott said, knowing full well in his heart that this would be the last time he would gather his full team in the war room, the last time he would address them all, he looked around the room, wondering who would fall, and who would survive this battle.
The mansion was derelict now, they knew that it was an obvious target and they weren't going to leave the vulnerable there.
Mystique was watching over Charles, as powerful as she was, she was of more use protecting Charles than at the battleground.
Nate Grey Summers – Jean and Scotts little boy, was to remain behind too, he was only three years old.
Jean and Scott walked to their little boys now empty room, they both remembered how hard it was saying goodbye to their precious child knowing that one or maybe even both may never see him again.
Jean turned to her husband and the two embraced, the tears flowing freely down their faces, both wondering when their dreams shattered so completely?
Marie and Remy sat on the roof, both remembering all of the summers they had done so, listening to the laughter coming from the patio below from one of the many parties the team had, had.
Now the sound of silence was all there was and the heavy weight of worry pushing on their shoulders.
Marie held her husband tightly, she knew that it was likely that if one of them were to survive it would be her, with her invulnerability, and it frightened her. She didn't want to live in a world without Remy.
Remy just sat still holding the woman he loved, his jaw set, and the worry evident on his beautiful face.
St. John and Amara stood beside a bonfire that they had hastily made, fire always calmed them, and as they watched the flames dance they felt a strange sense of peace come over them.
"I don't think we're gonna survive this." St. John said.
"Me either." Amara stated.
The couple knew that they took stupid risks, and they knew to trust their instincts. Amara really didn't think that they would survive and apparently neither did St. John, and it relieved Amara as strange as that seemed. She felt a sense of peace settle and her mind cleared.
St. John smiled at his girl, the woman he had been with for years, the woman that he loved with all of his heart and soul, there was no-one he'd rather die with more.
Kitty and Jubilee sat together in the room that they had shared for so many years now, the pair of them were only 20 years old, it seemed like such a waste of life should they die tonight.
"Do you remember that time we totally caught Logan naked?" Jubilee stated.
"Oh my god that was soooo funny! How 'bout the time I accidently phased us into the men's locker room when they were all showering?" Kitty said excited.
"Oh yeah, accidentally kit kat." Jubilee laughed, and the best friends did what they did best. Gossiped.
Bobby and Hank sat together in Hank's lab and ate Twinkies, the silence only broken by the occasional joke from Bobby.
Logan and Victor found themselves in the woodland at the same time.
One time enemies stared at each other for a short while.
"Gonna be one hell of a bloodbath." Victor stated.
"Oh yeah." Logan replied.
"Maybe one of 'em will get lucky and take one of us down for good." Victor said the hope clear in his voice.
"We'll see." Logan snarled.
Ororo stood next to her lover Forge, in front of her Morlocks.
"If we win this war, you will all be free to walk the surface, should you choose to." Ororo said softly.
The Morlocks stood silent, ready for battle.
Ororo turned to Forge, a look of such sadness in her face. He opened his arms and embraced her, the only comfort he could offer.
Erik stood with his children, Pietro and Wanda, they were twins, they had been separated from him for most of their lives, but now he and his children were reunited once more.
He didn't want them to die, but they were adamant that they would join this battle and that they would win.
The time came to leave for the battle; it had already been raging for a couple of days in Washington, near the white house.
They all sat in the jet.
Marie walked over to Logan; she reached her gloved hand out and gently cupped his face.
"Don't take stupid risks. I still need you alive." She said softly. Logan was her best friends, her protector, and just because she had Remy, didn't mean that she didn't need Logan.
Logan's hard eyes softened and he stroked Marie's hair.
"Don't worry stripes I'll be careful." Logan said gruffly.
The rest of the journey was spent in silence.
They approached the battle ground; they all looked out of the windows.
The ground below them wasn't recognized, it was just a smoking wasteland, and explosions could still be seen from the air.
"Coming in for landing, brace yourselves. And be careful." Scott said.
Marie held Remy close and kissed him, the only person who her powers seemed to have no effect on, her soul-mate. She kissed him deeply and hoped that this wasn't their last kiss.
"That sure didn't feel like a kiss goodbye." Remy said softly.
"That's because it wasn't. It was a promise of things to come as long as you don't get your stupid ass killed." Marie said seriously.
"Come Cherie, y' know Remy got nine lives, he's like le chat non?" Remy smiled.
One more kiss and the couple parted.
Marie was now every inch the Rogue and she took to the skies.
Remy with all the stealth and cunning he possessed, slipped into the shadows.
"Please be careful." Ororo said softly to Forge.
"You to." Forge said simply and the two kissed.
Ororo pulled herself together, her long white hair whipped around her face as the wind started to blow, her eyes pure white, she turned to her Morlocks.
"It is up to us now. Be safe and destroy our enemy!" Ororo cried and led her team into battle.
Forge watched her go, with admiration in his eyes, and then he pulled out his latest invention a shoulder holstered bazooka and he walked into the fight with a smile on his face.
Victor strolled out of the plane, he cast his mind to Mystique the one woman who made his existence bearable and with a smile, he took a deep breath, let out a roar that sounded exactly like a lion and he leapt into the fray.
Logan watched his one time enemy go, he looked up into the air and saw Rogue flying into battle and he smiled, he'd known her when she was a gawky kid, he knew then that she'd grow into a stunner, if he wasn't so jaded he'd have given the Cajun a run for his money. He looked behind him and saw Jean and Scott. He'd been so in love with Jean at one point, but Scott was her soul-mate, so Logan had bowed out graciously.
Logan winked at Jean and with a "Good luck Scooter." He was gone.
Amara and St. John stood staring at one another.
"Let's go get them Magma." St. John said with a smile and kissed her passionately.
"Sure thing Pyro." Amara smiled.
"My only regret is that I didn't make an honest woman out of you." St. John said seriously.
"Nah, I couldn't wear white anyway." Amara smiled.
The two had always understood each other perfectly and now they grinned, and hand in hand, they walked casually into the carnage.
Kitty was the first one to fall; they had barely even entered the battle when she saw the body of her one time true love Colossus. She had run to his side. Her grief blinding her to the soldier with a rifle, he hadn't even hesitated, he'd aimed at the tiny brunette and pulled the trigger, she hadn't used her powers, she hadn't used her training. She just died grieving, holding her dead love.
A new side of Jubilee was seen then, she'd become cold, distant and deadly accurate, she had used her plasma blasts to destroy the soldier who had killed her best friend.
There was no time to grieve, Jubilee had learned from her best friend's mistake. There should be no feelings in battle. There would be time later to mourn.
Bobby was the next to fall.
He and Hank had been working as a team as always, and Bobby had been doing so well. All traces of his joking demeanor gone, he was a true soldier. He'd been taken out by a grenade.
Hank had seen it happen and he went insane with rage. He had gone on his own rampage he tore men apart with his bare hands; there would be no peace for him, not anymore.
Rogue had taken out the tanks, she flew to the centre of the battle ground and using her super strength, she picked up tanks and smashed them into other tanks, she was being shot at, but the bullets bounced off of her skin, if one was to hit her in the temple she'd be killed, but she took that risk. Soon Magneto came to join her, he extended his shield to her too, he didn't want to risk her life; just because she was invulnerable didn't make her invincible.
Remy and Scott were working together, they made a good team, they had similar fighting styles, although Remy's was more fluid and they had similar mutations which confused a lot of the soldiers.
They took out a lot of soldiers before their luck changed.
Jean witnessed them both being shot and in her grief accidentally projected to Rogue too.
Jean and Rogue simultaneously let out screams of rage and loss.
Jeans red hair started to flame, her eyes bled to amber and a scream that sounded like an eagles cry came from her mouth, The Phoenix had risen.
It was Jean who ended the battle that day.
When The Phoenix rose, she let out a blast of power, a blast of power that destroyed every human in the battlefield, somehow Jean had managed to shield the mutants, tapping into a great power source she wasn't even aware of.
When the humans realized that a single mutant could wipe out an entire army, they had relented, they hadn't realized that mutants could be that powerful, they didn't want to fight a war that they knew they would lose.
A treaty was signed and Jean was declared a hero among the mutant community.
It didn't help Jean however, because it didn't bring Scott back.
Marie sat in the med-bay. Remy hadn't been killed, he had however been shot and lost a lot of blood, he had been in a coma for a week now, and every day that went by was a day when hope faded for everyone but her. She wouldn't give up on the man that she loved.
Moira McTaggert had come from Scotland to look after Charles. She now had to look after the victims from the battle because Hank had gone off the deep end, he was a broken man.
And Jean, Jean had lost her soul-mate.
The war between mutants and humanity had lasted nine days.
After The Phoenix had ended the war, Erik was pleased to see that his children had made it out of the battle unscathed.
Victor, had survived to fight another day, and as he watched Red mourn the death of her husband he felt bitter. He had wanted to die, he had lived for centuries, and now she didn't have her husband, and their kid didn't have a daddy. Victor had never been the sentimental type before, but now he was angry.
Logan didn't know what to do. Kitty, his mentor had died, he had failed to teach her properly and she had paid the ultimate price with her life and it didn't look like the Cajun was going to pull through, which would destroy Marie without a doubt. Much like losing Scott had destroyed Jean. Logan sat and for the first time in a long time, he wept.
Jubilee went into the room that she had always shared with Kitty, and she sat on her best friend's bed, held Kitty's stuffed dragon Lockheed and she sobbed.
Amara and St. John had survived the battle, as they walked form the charred ground towards the plane, arms wrapped around each other; they had stepped on an active grenade. Such a pointless death after the battle, but they had gone as they had wanted to, in a blaze – together.
3 WEEKS LATER
Everyone gathered in the grounds to bury those they had lost, all were destroyed in the loss of their friends, their family.
Scott Summers – leader of the x-men. Friend to many, loved by all, thirty two years old. Wonderful husband to Jean Grey Summers, and fantastic father to Nathaniel Charles Grey-Summers.
Amara Acquilla – member of the Brotherhood of Mutants, loyal friend, courageous fighter, twenty three years old. Died with her lover St. John Allerdyce. Missed by all.
St. John Allerdyce – member of the Brotherhood of Mutants, independent, strong, brave. Twenty six years old. Died with lover Amara Acquilla. Missed by many.
Robert Drake – beloved member of the x-men. Friend to all, loved by all he knew. Eighteen years old. "He was the funniest person I have ever met." Hank McCoy.
Katherine Pryde – beloved member of the x-men. Intelligent. Brave. Loyal friend to all. Twenty years old. "She was the kindest person I have ever known." Jubilation Lee.
Charles Francis Xavier – Beloved founder of the X-men. Friend to all, loved by all, missed by all that knew him. Sixty three years old. "He was a peaceful man, a visionary, the most wonderful human being to ever grace the earth." Erik Lensherr.
Remy LeBeau – beloved member of the x-men. Friend to the few he felt deserved it, loved by all that knew him. Twenty nine years old. Beloved husband to Marie LeBeau.