Red; that was the color of the sky; it was an omen. Coming into this, they weren't blind. They had a plan. Whether it was a good one or not, they didn't know. They walked with a purpose, leaving the jet behind, to confront their enemies and win the war. Jean and Logan walked in front of the others, side by side, with Emma and Remy behind them, and behind them Marie, Kitty, Peter, Bobby and Jubilee brought up the rear. They were dressed in their X-Men outfits; even Emma herself. Despite their feelings towards the matter, they knew what had to be done and they would see to it, no matter how much it teared them up mentally. Jean and Logan came to a stop when Jean saw Sinister, Madelyne and the other X-Men standing there, waiting for them.
"Well, well," Sinister chimed. "You've finally decided to join us." Jean said nothing; only stare daggers at them, ready to attack at any second.
"I told you they'd come," Madelyne said proudly.
Sinister nodded. "Yes you did." Looking directly at Jean, he spoke again. "Well Phoenix?"
Still Jean said nothing. Logan noticed the tension and silent conversation the two were talking about. "Jeannie?" he said cautiously.
She flinched slightly and Kitty shook her head, walking beside Jean. "Don't tell me you were planning to make a deal with that clown!"
Jean looked at the young girl, then back at Sinister. "You promise they'll be safe?"
Kitty rolled her eyes and stomped her foot down angrily as Sinister nodded. "Yes…they will be released and safe."
"I can't believe you!" Kitty shouted angrily.
"Katherine…" Jean tried.
"No! You're giving up so they can do whatever they want! You don't give a damn about us!"
Jean looked at her sadly and then turned to Logan who looked at her disappointed. Without another look, she began to walk towards Sinister. Marie watched, and then shook her head, not being able to believe that Jean was doing this. Giving away her powers; her life, to that madman. Muttering angrily under her breath, Marie went to go follow Jean, but Emma stopped her. "Leave her be."
Marie looked at her with wide eyes. "Are you crazy?" Marie turned to Remy. "Will you tell her?"
Remy shook his head however. "She's right," he said. "Let Jean take care of this."
Logan watched Jean approach Sinister and wished that he could do something. He knew if he did though that Jean would stop him. Sinister would in turn react and it place them in more danger than they were currently in. Jean was counting on them to bring the X-Men home safely, regardless if she came with them or not. They were greatly outnumbered, both in people and powers. Logan raised his eyebrows as an idea suddenly occurred to them. He turned to Emma and mentally talked to her. She in turn looked at him as if he were crazy. When Logan nodded, Emma sighed and did what he asked, closing her eyes and concentrating. Logan looked back at Jean and watched them closely. He prayed that Jean had a plan.
Jean had a plan; whether it would work or not, she didn't know. So far it was good. Sinister didn't suspect anything from her, nor did the X-Men. She was using all of her strength to block out Madelyne however, and Madelyne knew it. Jean stopped and stood directly in front of Sinister. Smiling widely, he looked at her closely as Madelyne circled her, ready to pounce. Jean tried to ignore her and focus solely on Sinister.
"You, Jean Grey, are truly the most incredible mutant I have ever heard of…much less meet."
"I'm flattered," Jean drawled.
Sinister laughed. "You mock me…but it's true. Imagine what I could do with millions of you. A whole army of class five, omega mutants. It would be a breakthrough!"
"For who? Madman's?" Jean countered.
The smile on his face quickly melted. "You'll regret saying that," he growled.
Jean smiled. But it quickly faded away when she heard Madelyne come up from behind her. Placing her hands over Jean's head, Madelyne grinned as Jean screamed in pain as her counterpart forced herself in her mind. Losing her strength, Jean fell to the ground clenching her head in pain, feeling Madelyne using the powers of Phoenix to tear apart her mind and pull out memories.
The second that Jean screamed out, Logan's claws were extended and he and his team raced up to her. At the same time, the X-Men rushed at Logan and the others, and began to attack them. Emma created a shield that blocked Scott's optic blasts and Remy threw his cards to keep them at a distance. "Jean!" Logan shouted. He tried to reach her mentally, but had no luck. It was like she was no longer there. As Logan evaded an attack from Hank, he shot Emma a look.
'Her mind is no longer open,' Emma told him mentally.
'What the hell does that mean?'
'Madelyne's killing Jean by linking their minds,' Emma explained.
Before Logan could say or do anything, he was hit from behind by Hank. As he turned, allowing his momentum to spin roll him on the ground and use the energy to jump up, extending his claws and facing Hank. "I don't wanna hurt ya," Logan said slowly. Hank said nothing, his face and eyes emotionless, as he took small steps towards Logan, sizing him up. Logan shook his head. "But if yer gonna make me…" Growling Logan leapt forward and punched Hank in the jaw, his claws retracted. Caught off guard by his speed, Hank fell to the ground, stunned. Logan threw another punch and kicked him, knocking him unconscious.
A few yards from Logan, Kitty and Jubilee were facing Ororo. As Kitty circled her teacher trying to find an opening, Jubilee looked at her, terrified. "Can't we talk about this?" she asked Ororo sweetly. Ororo said nothing and Jubilee shot Kitty a look. As Ororo's eyes turned white, she looked up towards the sky as lightning flashed. Kitty and Jubilee looked up suddenly. "Oh boy," Jubilee muttered. Kitty nodded in agreement and Ororo suddenly looked away. Kitty backed up at the face of Ororo; cold, hard, and evil. Ororo extended her hand towards Kitty and the young girl gave a yelp as lightning came from Ororo's hand and attacked Kitty. Using her powers, Kitty dove and sank into the ground, then rose back up beside Jubilee.
"Alright," Kitty replied angrily. "No more nice guy. You wanna play rough…we'll play rough." Jubilee looked at Kitty with wide eyes and Kitty hit her on the shoulder as Ororo prepared to attack again. But Ororo was too quick; the girls both screamed again and jumped opposite ways as lightning came from the sky and struck in between them. Jubilee used her powers to blind Ororo; the latter shielding her eyes and backing up as Kitty used her power and grabbed Ororo's legs and sank into the ground, then rose back up, trapping Ororo halfway down in the ground. The weather witch looked around and struggled to get out, the snow up to her shoulders, but with no luck. Kitty winked at her teacher and gave her a cocky grin. "Try getting outta that," she said snidely. Ororo grunted in frustration as Kitty and Jubilee walked away.
Marie fell to the ground, attempting to evade Scott's optic blasts, but it was becoming more and more difficult because she couldn't get close enough to him. Just before she rose to her feet, Scott shot another one. Marie saw it, but couldn't move fast enough. Before it hit her though, and object flew out in front of her and deflected the blast. Marie let out a breath she was holding in and saw Remy run up beside her. Smiling in relief, Marie shot him a smile, to which he grinned back. "I got tis Cherie," he told her. Nodding, Marie took off going to help the others, just as Remy pulled out another playing card and faced Scott as he looked at the card. "Hmmm…Ace," he said. Then he threw it at Scott's feet, knocking him onto his back and grunting in pain from the blow. Scott turned his head and looked around for Remy as he touched the side of his visor, prepared to shoot. He suddenly felt someone grab his hand and pull him to his feet, grabbing him by the front of his shirt. "I don't think so, homie," Remy said. Then he punched Scott, knocking him out.
Madelyne stood over Jean, watching her in agony, as she clutched her head and whimpered in pain of the memories being plucked from her head. "How does it feel, Jean?" she taunted. Tears ran down Jean's face as she gritted her teeth to keep from screaming out. She realized it wasn't just her memories either; they were also Madelyne's. She was using a link to overload Jean's mind with the presence of Dark Phoenix's memories, Madelyne's memories and her own. It was too much for Jean to handle, and she knew she had to do something to stop Madelyne's attack, but she couldn't move and was getting weaker by the second.
Sinister watched as Madelyne stood over Jean like prey. He knew within mere minutes, he'd have exactly what he wanted. Even though the X-Men were gradually gaining the upper hand, it was only a matter of time before they would fall; they were greatly outnumbered and all Sinister had to do was bid his time.
"Well, isn't this a site for sore eyes?"
Sinister's eyes widened as he spun around to face the voice and his jaw dropped. "Magneto!"
Erik smiled at Sinister. "Surprised?" he mocked.
"How-?" Before Sinister could finish, he was lifted up and tossed aside by Sabertooth. Madelyne watched it happen and narrowed her eyes at them, prepared to unleash her new powers on the Brotherhood. Before she had the chance though, Emma crept up from behind her and karate chopped her, knocking Madelyne out cold. She looked down at her wide eyed and smiled, looking at Erik, as he stared at her.
"I didn't think that would've worked," she said honestly.
"How nice," he drawled.
Emma ignored his comment and walked over Madelyne and kneeled beside Jean, who had fallen to her side, curled up in a fetal position. "Jean?" she said softly, shaking her gently. Emma gulped and checked for a pulse. She looked up at the Brotherhood, at Erik, who were all staring at her intently, with tears in her eyes. "She doesn't have a pulse."
