Fox acted instinctively. "Cyclops, open your eyes!" she yelled, turning his head to face Mystique. Without a second thought, Cyclops decided to trust Fox's judgement and opened his eyelids.

A brilliant, powerful optic blast discharged from Cyclops's eyes, slicing through the air with a thunderous explosion. For a moment all Fox could see was red and she closed her own eyes tight, surprised at the force of Cyclops's laser. As the air cleared she realized with frustration that Cyclops's laser had missed Mystique, but the sheer power of it had thrown the meta-morph backwards, and she had landed on the steps of the Senate building hard.

Fox rotated Cyclops's head to where Mystique was lying on her back, slightly dazed. "Again! Quick!" she shouted, unaware of the tactical error she'd just made.

The red optic blast once again exploded from Cyclops's eyes, but without the visor it was erratic and too powerful to be controlled properly. Fox gasped as she realized her mistake – instead of hitting Mystique the laser blasted into the Senate building, demolishing a huge section of a wall and causing wreckage to rain onto the scattered crowd of hostages.

"Aw man!" she cried in dismay. Cyclops, who suddenly realized what damage he'd just done, shut his eyes tightly once more, refusing to open them again. Abandoning him, Fox sprinted forward, entering her super-speed in order to save two humans about to be crushed by heavy debris. Feeling the world around her slow down, Fox raced desperately to close the gap between her and the two young women, seizing them both and using her speed to propel them away from the falling wreckage.

The debris smashed onto the steps below, as both women were pulled to safety by Fox. They each gave a violent lurch as people often did when they were rapidly yanked through Fox's hyper-speed, but before the women realized they'd been saved from death by a teenage mutant, Fox had disappeared into the crowd again, a mere blur of light against time.


Lying on her back, feeling pain throb through her body in strong, steady pulses, Jubilee's eyes focused on the skies. It was stormy again, with a blur of dark clouds scattered in abstract patterns across the sky. It was obscure, calm, and strangely frightening. Her lids slowly opened wider as an orange flicker, a lightning flash, bounced from earth to the dark clouds, reflecting in the haze of the sky. Fire.

Jubilee arduously lifted her upper body from the ground, her head still spinning from when she struck the ground. Shots of pain pulsed through any muscle that she attempted to move – her arms, her shoulders, her neck – but the Asian teenager forced her mind to focus, telling herself that her team needed her. The crowd of hostages had scattered in panic – Jubilee couldn't believe the frenzied scene before her as people run screaming in equally frantic and opposite directions. She'd heard the explosion of Cyclops's laser blasting into the Senate building, and could just make out a streak of light darting in and out of falling debris, which she guessed to be Fox.

What a Goddamn disaster, Jubilee thought miserably. Cyclops's plan had been nothing short of a glorified cowboys-and-Indians style clash, with the X-Men planning to charge easily through the enemy mutants and disarm that Fatalite virus in a matter of minutes. But this plan had fallen to pieces now, Cyclops's mistake lying in underestimating the Brotherhood and the amount of members they had. Now, every single adult X-Man found their hands full with an enemy mutant, while Rogue lay unconscious and riddled with injury, Fox desperately tried to protect human hostages from falling debris and Brotherhood crossfire, and Cyclops crawled blindly along the ground. The virus's time-release clock was still ticking, but now the X-Men's priorities lay in defeating the Brotherhood. And where were Magneto and Dr Reyes?

Up above, two obscure blurs of color flitted about the roof – emerald and blue, Toad and Nightcrawler. The acrobatic mutants were fighting a spectacularly dangerous and daring battle, both on the roof and in the air. Whether Toad or Nightcrawler was winning was unclear, but one was bound to plummet sooner or later. To Jubilee's far right, the two telepaths were still locked in battle, each launching telekinetic blasts and mental bolts alternately. Their psychic battle was taking its toll on both Jean Grey and Psylocke, who were visibly tiring.

Jubilee watched with fear and anger as Psylocke managed to somehow distract Jean Grey, and take the opportunity to knock Storm out cold with a psychic attack. Now Sabretooth was free from Storm's meteorological fury, and he and Lady Deathstrike teamed up to bring down Wolverine. No, the odds did not look good.

But what had caught Jubilee's attention was the luminosity of a fire, and looking up, she could see just that. A vast blaze of fire danced around a teenage boy she knew too well, as he summoned a multitude of fireballs of varying size to shoot forward. The victim of the pyrokinetic's wrath was Bobby Drake, who desperately tried to defend himself with his power over ice. Iceman and Pyro had waged an elemental war from the time when the X-Men had breached the iron barricade, but it was clear to Jubilee that Pyro had since gained the upper hand in the battle; his volatile temper and clear disregard for their former friendship being his advantage.

Jubilee pulled herself to her feet, invigorated and furious at Iceman's being attacked in this way. She had to help. Brushing the gravel from her limbs and face, she sprinted towards the war between fire and ice.


Pyro laughed as he controlled the millions of fireballs with ease, carefully manoeuvring them to zigzag through the air and fly towards Iceman. A small part of him was shocked at how he could find burning his former best friend alive amusing, but the deep wrath within Pyro raged on, not allowing him to feel remorse or fear. Iceman had already suffered burn wounds to the face, but his X-Men suit gave him some protection against the heat, so he battled on.

Iceman encased his body in ice in an attempt to ward off the flames. This solid, frozen shield didn't harm Iceman in any way and worked temporarily in sheltering his body from being burned, but Pyro quickly figured out a way top overcome that by coating the ice shield with fire. Iceman had to concentrate to stop it from melting. Fast.

A shriek pierced the air, ringing through Pyro's ears like the scream of a ghost.

"John, stop!"

Pyro glanced in irritation to his left and saw Jubilation Lee, an arm raised defensively. "Leave him alone!" she shouted. "We don't want to fight you!"

Jubilee had virtually said the opposite of what she really believed – she would like nothing more than to blow Pyro's face up for hurting Iceman – but her cry had worked in distracting Pyro and the flames that threatened to engulf Iceman vanished.

"You don't want to fight? That's what you're here for, Jubes."

"It's not too late," she argued. "Come with us! We can still stop that virus. We can be friends again..."

"No fucking way," Pyro replied, tone sharp as the edge of a knife. "You're wrong, it is too late." There was a metallic flick as Pyro ignited his Zippo shark. "For you."

Opening his hand to reveal a menacing-looking fireball, Pyro enlarged it to the size of Jubilee's head, and blasted it at her. She screamed and countered with an array of energy globes, her fireworks. The fireball and fireworks collided mid-air with a massive bang, the force of the explosion throwing both Jubilee and Pyro backwards in opposite directions. Jubilee once again landed on her back, as Pyro went flying into the wall of the Senate building, hitting the ground and lying still.

Iceman ran to Jubilee, helping her to her feet while saying, "If we live through this... remind me to thank you!" Together they ran to help the other adult X-Men.


Pyro, get up! Get up! Help me!

Psylocke. Still holding his head in shock, Pyro slowly slid his back up the wall, using it to support him to his feet. The explosion rang in his ears, and his head throbbed with pain, but Pyro heeded the telepath's words. Iceman had gone, and for a moment Pyro wondered briefly how long he had been knocked out. But then he saw the predicament Psylocke was in, and why she had called for his help.

Jean Grey had Psylocke suspended mid-air, and had somehow shielded her own mind from further telepathic attack. Psylocke wasn't as powerful as Jean Grey, and the doctor now levitated her six feet from the ground while attacking her telepathically. She was screaming and struggled vainly but Jean Grey continued her attack, her eyes now glowing... red?

Pyro seized his lighter from the ground and surrounded Dr Jean Grey with a wall of fire, breaking her concentration. Psylocke was released from her hold and Jean Grey turned to her former student, her expression unreadable. She was outnumbered.

Pyro attacked her with flames and fireballs, with Jean Grey easily deflecting them with her telekinesis. But this served only as a distraction, and Psylocke gave an enraged scream as she threw Jean Grey into the iron blockade with all the strength her telekinesis could muster. The Brotherhood was slowly regaining control of the battle.


"Rogue! Rogue!"

Rogue rolled over painfully in the gravel, tasting the blood that was beginning to fill the inside of her mouth. Slowly, she struggled to remember the events of the past few minutes... Iceman running towards her... receiving a severe blow to the side of the face... Yellow eyes...

Fox was leaning over her, being careful not to touch her skin as she held Rogue's shoulders. "Shit, you're hurt!" Fox exclaimed, eyes glued to the scarlet blood that coated half of the Southern belle's face and tinted the white strands of her hair red.

Rogue's eyes suddenly flashed with anger as she recalled Mystique's deception. "I'm ok, I'm ok! I can get up."

Fox watched with concern and doubt as Rogue struggled to get to her feet. She still sustained injuries from when Toad had almost crushed her back but she gritted her teeth and bore the pain. "What happened? Where's Mystique? And the others? We have to destroy that virus!"

Fox shook her head, and simply pointed to the entrance to the Senate building. Rogue's eyes bulged as she saw the remains of the building, and the strange, yellow, aura-like glow that now surrounded it like a bubble. "What the hell is that?"

"Mystique retreated inside," Fox explained, "Iceman and Jubes are back there somewhere, helping Storm, Cyclops and Wolverine. Nightcrawler and Toad have disappeared, and I haven't seen Ms Grey. And that," she added, "is Doctor Reyes."

"That yellow thing?"

Fox frowned. "I've seen her do it before. She can create this energy shield around herself. It's foolproof – nothing can penetrate it. I've been trying to get Cyclops to blast through the thing but it's not working."

Rogue stared with disbelief at the flickering, yellow force field that now surrounded the Senate building. It was massive. "She can create an energy shield that big? Around a whole building?"

"Apparently. She must have amplified her power somehow. But the question is, how the fuck do we get to that virus now?" Fox asked, channelling her frustration and anger through clenching her fists and punching her thighs. All those innocent people who were trapped inside the iron barricade, many of whom she had rescued from being crushed or blasted, would all die if they couldn't find a way to get through that shield.

Rogue who was standing shakily, suddenly buckled over and almost collapsed again. Fox seized her and tried to keep her steady. "Rogue, you are not ok! You're injured, tell me what I can do! How do I help you? Rogue!"

Rogue closed her eyes tight, now shaking. Her stomach and other various internal organs felt as if they had been crushed, and blood was still running down her face. There was nothing Fox could do to help her, unless...

"Fox..." she whispered weakly, "Where's Wolverine? And Deathstrike?"

Holding Rogue steady, Fox scanned the Senate grounds. "They're still fighting. Iceman's lending Wolvie a hand."

"Listen, Lady Deathstrike has a healing factor. I need you to get me to her. If I touch her for two seconds..."

Catching on immediately, Fox gripped Rogue tighter while she ripped off her gloves. "Get ready to touch her, Rogue," she advised with a wink. "She's fast. But I'm faster."

Before Rogue could nod her agreement Fox entered her super-speed, hauling Rogue along with her and sprinting to reach Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike's battle. Rogue gasped as she felt her body jerk hard in response to the sudden, rapid movement – it was like standing on top of a bullet train. And suddenly, she was behind Lady Deathstrike.

Iceman had encased Lady Deathstrike's feet in ice, gluing her to the ground, and as Deathstrike whipped around to attack Fox who was well within striking range, Rogue reached out and gripped her face with both bare hands.

Deathstrike froze, gasping and choking, as Rogue's skin slowly absorbed her powers, memories and her very life force. Her skin began to crack and bleed around her face where Rogue's hands were clamped firmly, until she finally fell, convulsing, to the ground.

Feeling an invigorating power surge from within Lady Deathstrike, through her hands and into her, Rogue allowed a smile to spread across her face. She could feel her internal wounds slowly mending, while her shattered jaw repaired almost instantly. Unfortunately, she also had memories of William Stryker and recipes for Okonomiyaki Pancakes floating around inside her head, along with Deathstrike's personality which screamed to be let out.

Wolverine, who still stood poised to attack Lady Deathstrike, raised an eyebrow in concern. "What the hell? Rogue? You all right?"

She grinned back. "Hell yes!"

"Right," Wolverine said with authority, being the only adult around. "Iceman, Rogue – you're with me. We have to get to Cyclops, Storm and Jubilee. Fox – Jean and Nightcrawler are still back there: find them. Force 'em to retreat if you have to. And use that handy speed thing, we're running outta time. Rendezvous at the Senate entrance. We have to regroup and get to that damn virus. Got that?"

Fox gave him a grin and a mock salute, certain that the tables were turning for the better. She entered her hyper-speed again, sprinting to the back of the building where she had last seen Jean Grey. Meanwhile Wolverine, Iceman and Rogue headed to where Jubilee was struggling to defend Storm's unconscious body from Sabretooth.


"Nice one," Pyro commented, seeing Jean's body lying lifelessly still beneath the iron blockade. He flicked his lighter on, watching the naked flame dance before snapping it shut. "That'll show her for giving me a fail for biology," he joked.

Psylocke scowled, a hand clutching her purple hair. "The bitch tore my head apart!"

Pyro was about to reply when he suddenly flinched, as the wall behind him bulged, then burst forward, showering them with plaster and other debris. From the gaping hole left behind, Dr Reyes walked forward, some sort of gun in her hand.

"There you two are," she said, raising an eyebrow. "Get inside, now. We're retreating, no time to explain."

She disappeared inside while Pyro and Psylocke stared after her.

"Retreat?" Pyro repeated indignantly. Nonetheless he went to follow the doctor, when Psylocke stopped him.

"Wait," she barked. "Something's not right."

"What do you mean?"

"Just don't go in there..." she said slowly, furrowing her brows as if trying to figure out a hidden message. "I think they – aaarrgh!"

Psylocke grabbed her head again and fell to the ground, writhing. Pyro dropped his into his pocket and ran to her side. "What is it? What's wrong? Psylocke?"

Jean Grey had regained consciousness, and from the ground she had fired psychic 'metal bolts' into Psylocke's mind, this rendering her inert. Pyro looked up in fury at Jean Grey, who was still weak from bruising and other injuries from colliding with the wall.

Summoning fire from his Zippo shark, Pyro blasted it at Jean, and almost at the same time a yellow energy force-field materialised around the Senate building. The shield's sudden appearance distracted Jean and she screamed in agony as the fire made contact, charring and burning her flesh.

A flash of light zipped onto the scene, first focusing its attention on removing Jean Grey from danger and dragging her away, then returning to face Pyro.

It was Fox. The leather X-Men uniform clung to her body as if to torment him with what he knew he wanted, and what he knew he hated. Pyro felt a thousand daggers stab his heart as she glared fiercely at him. The angry stare now painted her beautiful face into one of dark hatred while her hair swung around wildly around her face.

"You burned her!" she accused needlessly, furiously. "You were going to kill her!"

Pyro desperately tried to compose himself, knowing this was the moment when he would have to choose between Fox and the Brotherhood. Psylocke lay unconscious still, and since she had saved his life, he wanted to protect her from Fox who stood fuming, ready to snap. Yet at the same time he wanted to reach out to Fox, the only one who saw him as he truly was...

Reaching for the safety of his lighter, Pyro said, "Fox, listen. I don't want to fight you. Because I'm going to hurt you. Understand? So just turn around and walk away now."

Fox was indignant yet vaguely amused at hearing the words she spoke so often to human street-fighters being spoken to her this time. Just walk away. You're going to get hurt.

But Pyro was the enemy. She had to hold him off before he discovered the rest of the X-Men trying to break through Dr Reyes's energy shield. If she didn't combat him, he would attack another member of the X-Men. She had to fight him.

"No Pyro, it's you who ought to walk away. You're better than this," she said, indicating with her head towards the yellow bubble that now engulfed the Senate building. "You're not just some evil lackey or whatever. And I know you don't want all those people to die out there, because of this."

"Shut up," he snapped. "Shut up! You don't know anything!"

"Yeah, I do. I know you."

Before having time to ignite his lighter, Fox quickly leapt forward, kicking it out of his hand. Pyro gave a yell of anger and went to strike her, but she dodged easily, and kicked the lighter further away. Pyro hated to admit it, but without that Zippo shark he was powerless. And he had the funny feeling that Fox was aware of this.

Fox was a lot smaller than him, so Pyro chose to enter the fight with his fists flying. Fox avoided every attack with no trouble, and even as Pyro advanced and drove her further towards the iron blockade, she didn't hit him back. This is getting us nowhere, Pyro thought, She's too damn fast for me to hit her, but she's refusing to hit me. We're wasting time.

"Fox, dammit!" he shouted finally, standing back for a moment. "You're not even trying. Hit me!"

"What?"

"You're always looking for a fight, now you've got one and you're backing away? What are you afraid of? Hurting me? Hit me!"

It happened too fast for him to comprehend what she did, but somehow Pyro was now lying on the ground, numb pain beginning to emit from his limbs. Fox had tackled him to the ground using the momentum from her hyper-speed.

"All right," she hissed. "You want a fight? I'll give you a fight."