Disclaimer: I dont own X-men, if I did this would probably be a comic
Deathblade is also mine
The Rise of the Dead
Chapter 3: Strike back
The Purifiers looked at the flames of the restaurant, their faces devoid of emotion. They were once servants to a mad man they shared his ideal. Mutants were the children of the devil, signs of a coming apocalypse. All mutants had to die, men, women, old, children every last one of them needed to burn. But now, as undead soldiers of Gothica they felt nothing, they weren't men any longer. They were hollow, empty vessels retaining no soul or free will. Their mission was complete, now all they had to do was collect the bodies for Gothica's plan. Suddenly, the flames were blown aside and Wolverine was sent flying towards one of the Purifier's.
"FASTBALL SPECIAL BABY!!!!" He yelled, slashing the Purifier across the chest.
The other X-men flew and ran out of the Restaurant. Psylocke and Jean were levitating the staff of the Restaurant with their TK while Storm created a rainstorm to put out the flames. Colossus armoured up, slamming his fist into the head of a Purifier.
"CABLE ROOFTOP!!!" Cyclops yelled, replacing his glasses with his visor.
Cable levitated the rooftop gunners off the roof and threw them towards the ground. Cyclops fired his optic blast, hitting a Purifier across the neck. X-23 tore the skirt of her dress and jumped at two Purifier's, impaling them with her feet claws. Deadpool ripped off his Tuxedo, revealing his costume and weapons. Twirling his pistols with his fingers he ran towards a group of anti mutant undead. He fired his pistols, hitting six in the head. Then he threw both guns into the air, removing two magazines from his belt. He threw the magazines, which flew past the guns.
"Ah Stupid movie!" Deadpool growled, picking his weapons and ammo off the floor.
An undead civilian suddenly smacked him round the back of the head. Four of the undead began crowding around Deadpool, hitting him with crowbars and blocks of wood.
"OW! COULD SOMEONE GIVE ME A HAND HERE!!!" Deadpool yelled.
Mercury stretched her arms, hitting one of the Undead with a metallic hammer. Rockslide then launched his fists into the other two as Anole punched the last one across the head.
"All right X-men, gather round, we need to think of a plan" Cyclops said.
"GAGH! NOT REALLY AN OPTION SUMMERS!!" Logan yelled, pushing a Purifier off him and pulling the blade out of his shoulder.
"That was the one that Wolverine gutted" Warren said.
"What gave it away love, him stabbing Wolverine or the fact that his intestines are hanging out?" Betsy asked.
Loa and Indra put their hands to their mouths while Match yelled, burning a Purifier till there was nothing left but a skeleton.
"Oh my god, I just killed someone" Match gasped.
"He was already dead kid" Wolverine said as he beheaded a Purifier.
"What do you mean?" Josh asked, healing a chef that had been burnt during the attack.
"You recognise them don't you Laura? These men were men we killed as X-Force"
Beast widened his eyes and Rachel gasped as a legless Purifier crawled towards them. Colossus closed his eyes, crushing the Purifier's head with his foot.
"Oh god!" Illyana gasped.
"Not god…I've seen this before, some guy used a virus of some kind to reanimate the dead, he was with the Purifiers but then he turned out to be a vampire of some kind" Wolverine explained.
"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Cyclops asked.
"His trail went cold, I pretty much figured it'd be better to face him when the time came…never thought it'd be like this"
"It's not just that guy!"
The X-men turned around to see Driver crouched on the floor, rubbing his finger against the Purifier's blood.
"He was with some woman in black, she drained Security of his life force" Driver began.
"Selene, she's back!" Jean gasped.
"No, I ran her across the world at my top speed, her body couldn't handle the intensity and was disintegrated" Driver said. "He had some brown haired kid with him, apparently he could kill with a touch and a pink skinned girl, she had green eyes and could teleport" Driver explained.
Jubilee and Husk gasped while Chamber squeezed his hands together in anger.
"Blink, but that's impossible she sacrificed herself to save us from the Phalanx, their shouldn't be anything left to resurrect" Chamber said.
"Maybe she wasn't dead" Hank suggested.
"Gothica's with them…he's just done something at your mansion" Driver said.
"But we cant use our telepathy, how do you know what's going on?" Xavier asked.
"I can sense Gothica and others like myself, that includes Aeon and the other two that have come to aid us"
Cyclops walked into the middle of the group, taking off his jacket and tie.
"All right…we need to start taking action, the mansion is compromised so that's off our list of possible safe locations, we'll make a base at the bed store four blocks from here, Wolverine, X-23 I want you two to carry out Reconnaissance at the mansion, report what's going on to Xavier, Cable, Domino you guys take the kids to the police station, get some Intel and weapons, Jean, Rachel and Elixir you'll stay with Xavier at our new base, set up a TK barrier network so that no one can get in, Cannonball take your team, find a vehicle and start getting survivors to the bed shop, Driver I want you to find these guys that have come to help us and tell Xavier about their progress, Deadpool, Captain Britain, Psylocke, Iceman and Hank you also get a vehicle and start gathering survivors, Colossus, Husk, Chamber and M you guys look for survivors as well" Cyclops explained.
The X-men listened to their leader well, prepared to follow his orders to the letter.
"But Scott, what are we going to do?" Jubilee asked, motioning to Sophia and herself.
"Go with Lorna and find Sieg, and stay safe" Cyclops said. "Havok, Vulcan and I will go to the church"
"And do what pray?" Logan asked with a grunt.
"No…we're going to get rid of some of Gothica's possible recruits!"
Gothica smiled as the new members of his army stood to attention. He had finally achieved the perfect weapons to use against the Earth's heroes. Friends of the X-men and schoolchildren, the perfect tool to turn the heroes honour against them. Many people said he was insane, but he wasn't, he was just unaffected by warps in reality. When the Scarlet Witch altered the universe itself, Gothica was unaffected, he retained his memories as well as the memory of the experience in the House of M. And so by recruiting Eli Bard and altering the Technarc virus Gothica could not only bring back the dead, but also reverse the effects of M-day. Every dead depowered student had now been given new power.
"What is it with the X-men and cute girls?" Gothica asked, grabbing Rubbermaid's chin.
He looked at the mansion and cackled; soon he would have everything he needed. The Lava that had consumed Michael Pointer was suddenly blown apart. Vindicator widened her eyes as Michael floated before her, shining in the same form he took as the Collective. With a yell he fired a blast that cut through Vindicator's chest. In the subbasement Skin continued to suffocate the Stepford Cuckoos, moaning as they gasped. Suddenly, a creature tore out of the shadows, its eyes glowing with a bright light as it slammed its gigantic fist into Skin. The former Generation X member was sent flying into Synch, slamming both men into the wall. A disc slid out of Cerebra's control panel.
"Download complete" The Cuckoos said.
The shadow creatures twisted around and shifted, turning into Noah right before the sisters eyes.
"Good, now lets get the hell out of here" Noah said.
Mammomax was suddenly thrown into Random and Pyro. Juggernaut yelled in Fury as he slammed his fist against the floor, knocking several Purifiers back. Danger's remains suddenly came to life, forming together into a silver more bulky version of Danger. She fired two blasts from her cannons, hitting Omega red and Blink. Then she fired a bigger blast from her mouth, hitting Gothica in the chest. He stepped backwards, clutching his burning chest.
"Oh you're really going to pay for that" He growled.
"We need to commence immediate retreat!" Danger said.
"Yeah no shit!" Said Noah as he and the Cuckoos walked into the room.
Pixie began chanting the spell for her teleportation while Kurt teleported into Theresa's room.
"Theresa, we need to get the children out now" Kurt said.
Theresa nodded her head, grabbing Nathan and Hope. She gave the red haired girl to Kurt first, holding her own son close as they prepared to teleport. Suddenly, Kurt's concentration was blocked by a piercing sound that ripped off the roof. Theresa looked up in shock as her father Sean Cassidy and lover Jamie Madrox flew above them. Banshee dropped Madrox, who multiplied into Eight versions of himself.
"Sean stop, its me Kurt, we were the second generation Mein Freund, don't do this" Nightcrawler tried to plead with Banshee as he flew into the room.
Banshee unleashed a sonic scream, causing Kurt to swing around, taking a shot to the back that threw him out of the room. Holding Hope tightly, Kurt teleported into the lobby, falling to his knees as tears ran down his face. The Madrox duplicates pinned Theresa to the wall. Gothica floated into Theresa's room, smiling as Banshee grabbed Theresa's child.
"Dad, please don't do this, he's your grandson" Theresa pleaded.
Gothica looked at the child curiously, for it wasn't Sean Cassidy's temporary hesitance that bothered him. A sinister and sadistic smile crossed Gothica's face as a realisation hit him.
"Madrox-Prime, come here and hold your child" He said.
Michael fired multiple blasts, hitting each member of Gothica's army. He charged a larger beam in his hands and fired it at Puck, cutting off the mans legs.
"That should stop him from bouncing around!" Michael said.
Juggernaut charged into Random and Omega Red, clothes lining both men and throwing them away. He then ran to Pixie's side with Molly Hayes. The energy of the collective faded and Michael rolled across the grass, diving for cover behind Danger as she fired at the incoming resurrected students. A pale DJ, wearing a black version of his squad uniform put on his ear phones. The tips of the resurrected Quill's spikes began to light on fire as he approached the mansion. He threw a storm of Quill's striking Danger's head and chest.
"Go, now…you must all survive" Danger said.
The android was shattered to pieces as DJ fired a blast into Danger's chest. Each piece of Danger was set ablaze, disintegrating into ashes. With a heavy heart, Pixie chanted the final word for her spell, leaving Theresa and the burning remains of Danger behind. The Madrox duplicates pushed Theresa to the floor, tilting her head up so she could see Gothica and the real Madrox.
"He was never your child Miss Cassidy…" Gothica paused as he gave the child to Madrox.
Theresa's whole world was shattered as the baby she had carried was sucked into Madrox's chest. She stared at Madrox, tears dripping down her face as Gothica cackled.
"You see, he was actually a duplicate, the Multiple man can't have children and you actually thought otherwise" Gothica began laughing insanely as Theresa grinded her teeth together.
But before she could scream, Banshee unleashed his own sonic scream, pushing Theresa against the wall and twisting her neck. Madrox looked at his hands and where the baby had been earlier. A small teardrop fell onto his fingertip while Gothica floated towards the ground. Gothica stood amongst the wreckage of the mansion and at the lead of an army.
"All right everyone, go and have yourselves some fun" Gothica smiled, reaching into his cloak.
He pulled out a syringe filled with blood red chemicals. Injecting the formula into his neck, he flinched for a moment before his eyes glowed red.
Aeon sighed as he walked through the streets he was completely lost. This never happened to Iron Man or Captain America, not even the Great Lakes Avengers got lost in an area like Westchester. If only there was someone around that he could ask for directions. Suddenly a light flashed above Aeon and the survivors of the mansion attack fell down towards Aeon. He widened his eyes and sighed before Juggernaut landed on him.
"Owie, not one of my best teleports" Pixie said, rubbing her head.
"I think next time I'll take the bus" Noah said.
Noah helped Pixie up while Daken stretched his back, starting to wish he had a metal skeleton like his father. Juggernaut raised his head, fidgeting in the crater he had created with his landing.
"It feels like there's something sticking into my AAAASS!!!" Cain yelled as Aeon threw him headfirst onto Daken.
"Ah damn, someone hasn't been to the toilet" Aeon said, scratching the "nose" of his helmet.
"DAMN IT!!!" Kurt yelled, dragging his knees across the floor.
Aeon looked at the expression on Kurt's face, one he had seen many times.
"What happened?" He asked.
Kurt cried his eyes out, with Mystique rubbing his shoulder.
"We left three of our own back at the mansion, there was nothing we could do" Michael said, closing his eyes as he lowered his head.
Aeon gasped, squeezing his hands into fist.
"A mother, and a child…oh god!" Kurt cried.
Aeon smacked the hood of a car, running a hand across his face to hold the tears at bay. Then he swung around, walking towards Kurt and pulling him to his feet.
"Give the child to Michael, and help me find survivors"
For a moment tears continue to fall down Kurt's face before he wiped them and nodded his head at Aeon. He walked over to Michael, leaving Hope in his arms.
"I can help" He said.
"Help the child, protect her with everything you've got" Kurt said.
"Looks like we chose the wrong day to get revenge" Juggernaut said to Daken.
Kurt walked to Aeon's side, placing his hand on his shoulder and teleporting them both away. Noah looked at the buildings around them and nodded to Pixie. They needed to find the people hiding in those buildings. Finding survivors was the only thing they could do to help.
At Laurie's house, Sieg paced around the room, a hand to his chin in deep thought. Laurie's mother was on the phone, trying to get through to someone. But the phone wouldn't even ring; it was as if someone had unplugged the machine. Laurie sat on the sofa, looking at the blank TV screen. Every electrical item apart from the flashlight wasn't working. Sieg looked out of the window, the neighbours and other houses had lit candles.
'Good, there are still people alive out there' Sieg thought. 'Gothica, what are you planning, is this fear for your entertainment or are you going to use it for something' the young hero wondered.
He looked at Laurie, she was hiding her fear well just as he was. But for Sieg it wasn't the fear of what could be out there, rather it was the fear of himself. Even in this situation he couldn't get his mind of his own predicaments. Celeste, Laurie and his uncertainties of what kind of life he should live. Laurie smiled at Sieg, who despite the situation smiled back.
"Land lines wont work, the computer doesn't work, not even my mobile works" Miss Collins said as she walked into the room.
"Gothica could never use his powers over such a wide range, even when he was my age the range of his power was always constant, never evolving" Sieg explained. "Get as much food as you can get into a bag and a flash light, we've got to move now"
Sieg opened the door, walking out into the dark as Laurie began packing bags. He closed his eyes, concentrating in order to create a copy of his sword. Holding the blade in front of his eyes, Sieg sighed. His powers had been reduced recently; maybe it was because of Aeon's rebirth or maybe it was exactly what Hank had told him.
Hank looked at the thermometer curiously, Sieg told him he hadn't been feeling well. Beast had run every test he could, but there was nothing wrong with the boy.
"Your fit as a fiddle boy, you want to know what the problem is?" Hank asked.
Sieg nodded his head and flinched when Hank flicked his head.
"Its in there boy, doubts and subconscious desires can be a powerful thing, outside you may say you want it, but inside could be another matter" Hank explained.
"So its fear of my own power…somehow I doubt that" Sieg said.
"Do you know why the X-men prevail time and time again Sieg?" Hank asked.
"They're work well together" Sieg assumed.
"That's partly it, but the general reason why good prevails is because good has the confidence to stand up and fight, no one ever won a fight without confidence in their ability to win…you should have faith in yourself boy"
Patting the young man on the head, Hank left Sieg to his thoughts.
"I need to have faith in myself, faith in my own power" Sieg said.
"You will never come to accept your power!"
Sieg swung around and widened his eyes in total shock. Standing before him was a man he thought had died with Aeon. He was covered in demonic black armour, with a red v shape across his belly and blade like gauntlets. His red eyes glowed as the wind caused the red hair at the back of his diamond helmet to wave around. In his hands were two scythes, drenched in blood.
"Deathblade….impossible…LAURIE!!!" Sieg yelled, pushing past Deathblade.
"What is it Sieg?" Laurie asked, running to the doorway with a duffle bag.
"TAKE YOUR MOTHER AND RUN NOW!!" Sieg yelled.
Sieg and Deathblade slammed their weapons together, their eyes glowing violently before they took flight.
Purifier's were walking into people's houses, searching for possible recruits. Of course they wouldn't find any dead people. They'd just make a few dead people with a few bullets. Matthew Risman grabbed a man by his hair, dragging him out of his own home. Throwing him to the ground, he loaded a bullet into his pistol.
"For his lordship!" Risman said.
Suddenly, a card flew into Risman's head, blowing it to pieces. Purifiers began to fun out of the houses they were searching. They found new targets of interest. Gambit swung his staff round, smacking two Purifier's across the head. He then charged two cards, throwing them into the heads of two more Purifier's.
"You picked quite a day to take me out" Rogue said, kicking a Purifier across the face.
Both were wearing their X-men costumes, fully prepared for the coming battle. Gambit slammed his staff into the ground, running kinetic energy down the pole and shaking the ground with his power. Rogue jumped over a car and grabbed the back of Gambit's head. As the Purifier's loaded their weapons, Gambit and Rogue closed their eyes as they kissed.
"Good luck swamp rat" Rogue said.
"Ditto Cheri!" Gambit grinned.
The X-men separated and ran into battle!
Next Chapter 4: Rescue missions
Next chapter we see the X-men and the OC's beginning their search for survivors, plus the original New Mutants are faced with their old rivals and some old friends