Chapter 48
As the chaos erupted around her Selene simply stood, as if the storm around her could not touch her. Her glare focussed in completely on Superman. She mentally humphs. What a ridiculous name. Black mystical energy crackles round her form. She raises her hands and aims them at Superman. With a curse spoken in a dead language twin bolts of pure black...mass appears from her hands and shoot at him with deadly force.
Thankfully Clark had learned his lesson from his fight with Isobel. Magic bad. Magic hurts. Slipping into superspeed he manages to weaves between the two bolts which impact the wall behind him and all but disintegrating it. Clark lightly gulps. He doesn't even want to imagine what that would have done to him despite his invulnerability.
Selene smiles enigmatically. "I had almost forgotten how swift your kind can be. It won't avail you in the end."
"Really?" Superman asks sceptically. "Because it must have availed my father or I wouldn't be here," Clark is guessing. He and Jor-El are so having a talk later and there isn't much that gets Clark wishing to speak to his father.
Selene's coal black eyes narrow. "He did not survive me alone. He had help. Your father was nothing but a wretched little pretend God," she almost snarls at the memory. She raises her hand and readies to cast another spell which looks exactly like her previous one.
"Whoa! Harsh dudette. Harsh. I would call him an overbearing pompous ass more than anything," Clark lightly quips in response to Selene's description of his father. Ugh, he's so been hanging around Peter too much.
One corner of Selene's black lips quirk. "True enough...but despite your feelings for your father you will still pay in his place. I shall have my vengeance upon the House of El."
Superman grows more serious. "You really think you can hit me?" he asks since he managed to dodge her previous attack.
Selene chuckles darkly. "Boy, you cannot even begin to imagine the ways I can defeat you...but I don't have to hit you for I doubt your little girlfriend is as swift as you." She turns her hand in Rogue's direction and unleashes black lightning from her finger tips.
Superman does exactly what Selene expected him to. He blurs in front of Rogue grabbing her and trying to get out of the way. He doesn't quite succeed as the black lighting strikes his left arm. He and Rogue spins to the ground with Clark making sure she lands on him.
As soon as Rogue regains her senses her eyes widen as she spots the scorched, burned flesh on Clark's left bicep.
Clark's face is contorted slightly in pain. That hurt.
"Ya alright?" Rogue asks with concern.
"Yeah." Clark's eyes dart to see where Selene is and as he does so he spots Isobel trying to leave through the chaos. "Isobel. She's going after the stone," he points at her.
Rogue looks around and spots the ghost in Lana Lang's body making an attempt to exit, stage left.
Selene chuckles at overhearing what the boy is saying. "My daughter is rather obsessed with those trinkets...but you shall never get past me to stop her," she promises.
Clark's blue eyes narrow in renewed determination. "Rogue," he whispers to her. "Stop Isobel anyway you can. I'll keep her mother busy."
Rogue nods in understanding.
Still lying down Clark raises his foot and slams it down hard, shaking the floor under Selene's feet. It is all the distraction he needs as he gently moves Rogue aside, blurs to his feet and runs right into Selene, grabbing her and both vanish in a blur.
Rogue scrambles to her feet and chases after Isobel.
Back to the rest of the fight and it is chaos as every group fights every other group. Sabretooth was fighting his way through the SHIELD agents towards Black Widow. He had a payback to get on her for what happened in the Sahara when she left him lying in the sand, torn open and bleeding. Took him hours to heal from that.
As Widow and this blond woman in white tangle with the large, superstrong blond boy, Sabretooth draws closer to his prey, ready to strike when she isn't looking. He prepares to pounce when a feral roar draws his attention as Logan, claws popped, literally leaps at him, swiping at his throat. Sabretooth doesn't entirely get out of the way as Logan's claws cut through the outer layers of skin. Logan then delivers a solid kick to Sabretooth's midsection sending the large hairy mutant tumbling backward. "Watch yer back Widow," Logan says gruffly.
Natasha is actually grateful to him even if she won't say it. "Just like old times," she remarks at the fact he and she use to do this a lot.
Logan snorts. "What are ya doin here?"
"Guess," Natasha replies flatly as if it should be obvious.
"I have to deal with Creed but we'll talk about this," Logan promises her.
"Can't wait," Natasha dead-pans.
Logan charges at his oldest enemy as they engage in their typical bloody brawl and Natasha turns her attention back to trying to stop the superstrong Beef. Sharon is bent down her hands cupped and Natasha knows the plan. She takes a run, Sharon flips her and Natasha sails up and lands on Beef's shoulders where she delivers her electric stings directly to his head. He cries out in pain, his arms flailing about wildly.
As Beef turns, trying to shake Black Widow off, Sharon drives herself into the back of his knees and he tumbles over face first while Natasha never lets up her attack until Beef lets out a last groan and his twitching stops. One down, many more to go.
Pyro laughs manically as he creates fire monsters to attack everyone. "So many people to burn. So little time!" he chortles.
"Oh please," a disdainful voice breaks into Pyro's consciousness He spins round to spy a girl with long dark hair and lightly dark skin.
M places her right hand on her hips and takes a lazy stance. "Take my advice and surrender now," she says, arrogantly. "I really do not wish to dirty my hands. I just had my nails done this morning," she comments as she checks on them. They were looking...well perfect, just like the rest of her.
"Sorry Sheila. Bossman's orders. You're the game. I'm the barbie that's to ensure you're well done," Pyro says with his insane, manic grin.
M arches an eyebrow. "Do you practice at being the clichéd stereotypical Australian or is it just the natural consequence of your obvious mental illness? Honestly if I wanted such retro nonsense I would inflict upon myself watching Crocodile Dundee once more and then gouge my eyes out for having made myself watch it."
Pyro's jaw hangs loosely. "Whahuh?" he says, completely lost at what the girl is on about.
M rolls her eyes. "I'm going to beat you unconscious now," she tells him and why wouldn't she tell him. It is not like he can do anything to stop her.
Pyro raises his hands and the two flame-throwers strapped to the back of his hands and unleashes a torrent of flame at her.
M zips out of the flame, grabs the two nozzles on Pyro's hands and crushes them eliciting several colourful obscenities from Pyro about the loss of his beloved lighters and flame throwers. M picks him up with one hand and lifts him easily into the air. "Do you know what dry heat does to my hair?" she asks him, her gaze dark with anger, annoyed by what his flames have done to her hair. Doesn't he know how much work it takes to make her hair as perfect as it is.
M raises her fist back ready to punch it through this irritant's head if she decides he's annoyed her that much. To her surprise she feels her wrist grabbed by a hand of immense strength. Her head snaps to her right where she finds her wrist has been grabbed by a girl with dark skin and her black hair tied in braids.
Frenzy fixes M a cold look before smashing her head into M's. She follows that up quickly with several superpowered punches that rattle even Monet before a powerful kick to the gut sends Monet flying through a wall which then partially collapses atop the arrogant mutant girl.
Frenzy smiles slightly, pleased she beat that traitor. Anyone who didn't follow Magneto was simply a traitor to the mutant cause in her mind. She turns round to deal with the next traitor when there is a rumbling and M bursts out of the rubble, her face twisted in seething anger. She flies, literally, at Frenzy and drives her shoulder into Frenzy's gut and continues flying until both superstrong girls smash through the outer wall and vanish outside.
Nightcrawler and Spyke find themselves confronting Tarot and Roulette. The blond haired girl gives Kurt a hungry once over with her eyes. "You know we never really got a chance to talk when you were visiting our school so I never got a chance to say how just how cute you are," she coos.
Spyke whispers to Nightcrawler, "Yeah you never talked because she was too busy throwing herself at Superman."
That was true, Kurt agrees.
Roulette sighs sadly. "It's too bad we have to fight. I hate having to beat up cute guys but as my friend here would say, c'est la vie. Tarot if you please," she requests Tarot to get started.
Tarot shuffles through her pack of tarot cards until she decides which one to animate. She holds the chosen card between two of her fingers and activates her power. Her eyes begin to glow white, the card glows and the energy field grows outward and takes the shape of the Knight of Swords. She picks another and Roulette smiles gleefully as she spots which one it is. This is going to be priceless. Tarot brings the construct to life. The construct of the grim reaper. The skeletal figure in the black cloak, wielding a scythe.
"Death has come for you," Tarot giggles lightly.
Kurt looks up at the tall imposing cloaked representation of death and murmurs a prayer.
Spyke generates two long spikes, like staffs and hands one to Kurt. "Here. I think you'll need this."
"Thanks," Nightcrawler says in return as he takes the bony spike and prepares for his battle with the physical representation of the abstract concept of the termination of life otherwise known as death. The reaper wields his scythe and swings it at Kurt who teleports out of the way. The scythe strikes the ground. Kurt reappears atop the scythe and runs up the staff and strikes the figure in the head, knocking the hood off and revealing the bony skull which seems to actually glare at him despite having no eyes. Kurt gulps. Assuming he survives this he just knows he won't be sleeping well for awhile.
The Knight moves at Spyke, its armoured clad feet making clanging sounds as it walks. It draws its swords and moves to strike. Spyke deflects it off and parries subsequent attacks while he tries to figure out precisely what he is fighting and how to take it down.
As the two boys fight Tarots' constructs Roulette looks on and grins. She fires a couple of her bad luck discs at a couple of SHIELD agents who were coming at her and Tarot and they trip up, as bad luck would have it. Roulette chortles at the sight. This is going to be a fun day.
Firestar and Volcana had taken to the air and were peppering everyone they could with their thermal and fire blasts respectively. Right now they were working together to try and take down the giant man, Henry Pym who had made himself as big as he could inside this enclosed space.
Hank recoils back, trying to shield himself from the two attacks, yelling in pain at the stinging attacks.
"Hey!" a high-pitched voice protests. "No-one gets to sting Hank but me!"
Suddenly Firestar and Volcana find themselves being hit by tiny yellow blasts from all directions that sting like crazy.
"Ow! Hey! Watch it! What the fu...yeow!" the two girls complain in pain.
A tiny little figure with wings comes to a hover in front of them. She has her arms folded across her chest and a stern expression. "Language!" Wasp rebukes them.
Volcana's orange eyes glow intensely with fire. "That hurt you little bi...eeeouch!" she yells as Wasp stings her directly on the end of her nose. Volcana rubs it.
"I did tell you to watch your language," Wasp says with a pleasant smile. "Now why don't you do yourselves a favour and give up now before I have to beat you up."
Firestar and Volcana share a look before they both raise a hand. Volcana's glows intensely with fire while Firestar's glows intensely with the microwave energy she absorbs and redirects. They give each other a high five and the air ignites in a miniature explosion blasting Wasp out of the air.
"Jan!" Hank cries out in panic at seeing her. His anger rises up and he grabs the two girls in his giant hands.
"Hey!" Firestar protests. "I don't like grabby men!"
"Neither do I!" Volcana joins in. "And you really don't want to anger my girlfriend."
"Seriously?" Firestar asks in disbelief at that. "Can Tarot even get angry?" she asks. "She's like the sweetest person I know."
Volcana rolls her eyes. "He didn't know that!" she points out.
"Oh!" Firestar gets it.
Volcana glares at Hank. "Alright dickhead. You get to the count of 3 to let us go and then I go nuclear on your ass!"
"Wasp is right. You do need to watch your language and have more respect for your elders," Hank talks down to the foul-mouthed girl.
"Fuck you!" is Volcana's disrespectful response.
Firestar laughs a little. Claire wasn't so bad once you got through her anger issues and her tendency to swear.
Hank frowns. "Is this who truly want to be? A villain?"
"Did you truly want to be a dickhead or does it just come naturally to you?" Volcana asks back being deliberately insulting. She turns to Firestar and asks, "Can we kick his ass now?"
"Yes. Yes we can," Firestar replies.
Both girls start to glow intensely and the heat builds up until Hank has no choice but to release them with a cry of pain. Both girls prepare to attack him when a swirl of wind whips around them.
"Oh crap," Volcana mutters, with dread, because she knows what is about to happen now.
Storm glides into the scuffle. "If you girls wish to battle then so be it," she declares. "It will, however, be on my terms."
A strong twister whips up around Volcana and Firestar and literally blows them out through a window. Storm flies out after them.
Wasp, now recovered, flies up next to Hank's head. "Now that was impressive," she comments, looking very impressed by Storm's actions. "I'm going to go help her!" she declares and flies off in pursuit.
Hank puts his hand to his head and sighs. This...this is going to be a looonngg day.
Sandman is feeling at his righteous best as he delivers the Lord's justice on the blasphemers as he clubs some SHIELD agents out of the way with his hands that he has transformed into hardened spiky balls. Just then part of him is blasted out by some unseen force. His brow drops and he turns to see a boy with dark hair in a red and black uniform as his body reforms. "Do you know who I am boy?"
Hellion's right eye twitches slightly as he concentrates. "Just another average mutant who thinks he's special when really he's not," Julian lays down his view on what is in front of him.
Sandman chuckles darkly. "Now that's where you are sadly mistaken. I am God's instrument on this Earth. I will wipe the sinful from His creation and create paradise for the chosen of Magneto."
Hellion snorts in total derision. "Magneto schmagneto. The only chosen are the Hellions whom I will one day lead to our place as leaders of this world."
Sandman prepares to teach this boy the wrath of God's instrument. "Prepare yourself to stand in His judgement for the cuckoo wears a pink sultana."
Hellions starts to grin.
Sandman looks confused and shakes his head. "Food eagle symmetry is funny stall."
Hellion grins wider as King Bedlam moves to stand next to him.
"Butter expiry artist is requirement," Sandman continues to make no sense. The side-effect of King Bedlam's power. His primary one being he randomises thoughts making it impossible to concentrate enough for a mutant to use their powers.
This leaves Sandman basically at Hellion's mercy...which he possesses very little of.
The sonic scream of Ruckus echoes throughout the temple, slamming into some more SHIELD agents. He then feels a tap on his shoulder. He spins round to be met with a strong right hook courtesy of Domino. Ruckus grabs his face while Domino gestures with her hand for him to come get her. "Come on Screamy. Come get me," she dares him.
Ruckus, in his anger, charges right at her. Domino waits until the last moment before she draws her side arm by which point Ruckus is far too close to do anything but feel the sting of her weapon set to stun as she shoots him a few times until he collapses. She looks down at him and rolls her eyes. "I can't believe you fell for that." She then laughs. "Get it? Fell for that and then you fell down. Some days I just kill myself!"
Gambit throws a few of his charged up cards at his opponent and every single one gets shot down by an arrow. Gambit quirks an eyebrow, a little impressed. "Not bad," he says.
"Not bad yourself," Hawkeye returns the sort of compliment.
Gambit pulls out his retractable bo-staff and extends it and makes a few spinning sweeps with it.
Hawkeye smiles a lopsided grin. "Show me what you got," he challenges the Cajun.
Gambit attacks and Hawkeye uses his bow to deflect as the men engage in a very even contest.
Bevatron finds himself up against the chalk-skinned woman in the blue costume with the lightning bolt running down it. She grins manically. "Well now isn't this interesting. I can sense electrical energy in your body from here. Oh you are so out-classed you know."
"We shall see Mademoiselle," Bevatron returns.
"Give it your best shot, sparky," Live Wire dares him.
Bevatron rubs his hands together creating a charge, blissfully unaware of who it is he faces. He fires an electrical attack at her.
Live Wire simply absorbs it. "Honey I'm the Mistress of Electricity and that was about as impressive as your face as in not very," she insults him. "Now let me show you how a pro does it."
Bevatron prepares himself, truly shocked at how easily his attack was absorbed.
Live Wire raises her hands and grins almost insanely. "Oh did I also mention I can control all the electricity around me...including what runs through your body. Now if I was to redirect it all, to say, your brain what would happen?" Live Wire's insane grin gets bigger. "Lets find out!"
As Live Wire does precisely that Bevatron grabs his head and lets out a scream that would chill most people. Live Wire just grins all the more.
Shadowcat phases through a SHIELD agent before delivering a spinning kick to the guy's head which really hurts her foot because they're all wearing these damn helmets. She grabs her foot and starts hopping around. "Ow, ow, ow, owie," she moans. She keeps hopping until she bumps into someone. She then looks up...and up to stare into the metal face of Colossus. She gulps a little.
Colossus felt a very light bump and looks down to see the pretty girl he remembered from New York looking up at him, a little fear etched in her face. His heart skips a little beat at seeing her again.
"Uh...hi," Kitty says, her voice going suddenly squeaky. "You're not going to squish me are you because that would like totally ruin my day."
Colossus just looks at her remorsefully. "I have no wish to harm anyone."
Kitty blinks, confused by that when she suddenly remembers Clark saying to her about his theory that Colossus is only working for Magneto because he's being forced to somehow. Magneto's a total tool.
Speaking of Magneto he had managed to float himself over towards the Professor who is being protected by Jean and Scott.
"Magneto. What are you doing here?" Charles demands to know.
"Come now Charles. Don't play dumb. I know all about the stone, Superman's connection to them...and their and his extraterrestrial origin. Now tell me where it is and this won't have to get unpleasant."
Charles hides his surprise that Magneto knows of Clark's alien origin quite well. His face grows sternly determined. "You must know I cannot allow you to have such power. It belongs to Superman and him alone," he refuses to tell Magneto anything.
"You heard the Professor," Cyclops says. He raises his hand to his visor. "Now back off!" He fires off a shot but Magneto blocks it with a magnetic force bubble.
Magneto then stretches his left hand off to the side in the direction of the large metal statute which essentially comes to life as it steps down off the alter it was sitting on and walks toward the group of 3. The statue will deal with Charles' 2 protectors so he and his old friend can have an amiable chat...alone.
Cyclops blasts away at the statute while Jean tries to hold it back, essentially pitting her power against Magneto's. The strain of doing so is immediately visible on her face. Magneto is no average mutant. He's one of the most powerful on Earth.
With Jean distracted she doesn't see the telepathic attack coming until it shoots through her brain like a red-hot poker. She collapses down.
"Jean!" Scott cries out and then spots the only person who could possibly be responsible. "Emma!" he yells at her. "What are you doing?"
"What I must," Emma states coldly. "Take the old fool if you wish Magneto," she says with little care. "It matters little. You are already too late."
"We shall see...White Queen," Magneto counters.
Emma fixes him one of her withering glares. "I care little for your idle threats. I...ARGH!" she suddenly screams out, clasping her head.
"Two can play at this Emma!" Jean spits out furiously as she attacks Emma's mind. She had recovered from Emma's attack and was now back on her feet.
"The only person you should be concerned about Ms Grey is myself," Magneto says ominously as he instructs his metal golem to attack both Jean and Emma.
Jean throws herself out of the way of a metal fist before the statue turns on Emma, who transforms into diamond and the fist makes a resounding echoing noise as it strikes her now virtually indestructible form.
"That's new," Cyclops remarks at seeing Emma. She could never do that when he knew her before.
"You think your precious Jean is the only mutant who can have two powers Scott," Emma says with total disdain.
Seeing Emma's appearance gives Jean an idea. A naughty smirk comes to her lips. With a gesture of her hand she seizes Emma in a TK grip and hurls her at Magneto. Emma collides into the Master of Magnetism and they both go flying off through a doorway into another part of the temple. She turns to the Professor. "Professor. We can't contain this," she says grimly and to emphasise her point the whole temple shakes and dust sprinkles down from a worrying crack in the ceiling.
"I don't know how much more this temple can take," Cyclops gives his grim assessment.
"I know," the Professor says with a worried expression. He closes his eyes and tries to pick out the thoughts of the other X-Men but there are too many other minds but unless they do something soon to stop this the whole temple will fall down atop of them.
Beast finds himself trying to fight off SHIELD agents try to stun him with some kind of electric tazer. He gently, as he can, flings them away until he finds himself staring down the barrel of a gun. "Colonel Fury," he greets the one-eyed man.
"Don't make me Dr McCoy," Fury warns Beast off of forcing his hand.
A column suddenly collapses down in between them with 3 very familiar slash marks upon it.
"Colonel, this place is going to fall down atop of us if we don't stop this," Beast tries to warn.
Fury agreed actually.
"We're not your enemy Colonel," Beast tries to argue.
"You're not my friend either," Fury counter argues.
"May I make a suggestion?"
"By all means."
"Let us get everyone out of here, put a stop to this madness and then we can talk like civilised people about what it is we are most likely both here for."
Fury chews that over for a moment before activating his communicator. "Agent Danvers. Status report," he orders.
"The reinforcements are about 5 minutes out," she reports back.
"Good. Now listen to me carefully. When they get here, here is exactly what I want you to do..."
Rogue is trying to make her way through the melee. She spots Isobel being confronted by a couple of SHIELD agents who the spirit inhabiting the body of Lana Lang pushes aside with a purple blast of magical energy as she heads for the exit.
Rogue sprints, leaps and manages to collide into the back of the girl and they both collapse in a heap.
Isobel's face screws up in rage as she grabs Rogue and throws the girl off of her. Isobel rises to her feet. "No-one has sacrificed as much as me to obtain the stones. I will not allow some Goth, energy leeching parasite to stop me!" she declares.
Rogue rises to her feet, her gaze hard and fixed upon Isobel. "They don't belong ta ya...and neither does that body," she fires back.
"This body is mine and I'm putting it to much better use than my descendant ever did," Isobel defends her possession of Lana's body. "And as for the stones who do they belong to? Your boyfriend? They were left for nobody," Isobel dismisses any claim Clark thinks he has. "They were hidden away awaiting for the Gods to return and reclaim them."
"Funny. Ya don't look lahke a god and who is tha real parasite here? Meh or tha one who steals someone else's body because she is so afraid of what awaits her in tha next life?"
Isobel's eyes darken with cold anger. "I fear nothing!" she insists. "I simply required more than one lifetime to claim what is rightfully mine!"
"Ah'm sure that helps ya ta sleep at night," Rogue rolls off sarcastically.
Isobel holds out her hands to either side and from 2 statues either side of her comes to her hands a sword and a sai. She takes an attacking stance. "Get out of my way or perish," Isobel gives her only warning.
Rogue moves over to a statue to her right and grabs a sword of her own from it and holds it ready to defend herself. "Give it your best shot," she dares Isobel in a remarkably calm and authoritative tone.
Isobel throws the sai and it rockets at Rogue with surprising speed. Rogue uses her sword to deflect it and it embeds in the wall. Isobel uses this distraction to propel herself at Rogue through the air. She makes a stabbing motion forward as she comes into land but Rogue spins out of the way.
Isobel wastes no time in continuing to press her attack with a sweep down which Rogue blocks. Another stabbing motion which Rogue deflects to the side. Isobel continues to attack as Rogue backs up blocking every attack.
Isobel brings a powerful blow down and Rogue blocks, their swords locked. "Not bad," Isobel gives a reluctant compliment.
"Yeah well being a Goth energy leeching parasite has benefits," Rogue says back. Her knowledge of sword fighting comes from some of the people she has absorbed.
Isobel reaches behind her with her free hand and the sai shoots out the wall and comes to her hand. Rogue's response is to slam her head forward into Isobel's.
Isobel staggers back before glaring at Rogue, completely irate at the fact the mutant girl dared to do that. Isobel speaks in Latin and the two weapons in her hands glow with purple mystical energy. She crosses the weapons in front of her and they glow before releasing a purple fireball from the point they are touching.
Rogue dodges but more magical fireballs come at her and she has no choice but to run for the exit and regroup.
Isobel marches after her, determined to crush any obstacle in her way to gaining possession of the stone. Her mother included if need be.
Speaking of Isobel's mother, when Clark grabbed her he brought her outside for a couple of reasons. One just to get her away and two to give him more space to combat her.
Selene will not take the indignity of being carried like this! The black nails on her right hand grow in length and she slashes at Superman's face, cutting a few thin lines into his cheek.
The shock makes Superman drop her...which at superspeed means she goes bouncing along the ground a few times before she comes to a stop.
As Clark clutches at his cheek, Selene rises to her feet, her face murderously dark.
"You dare touch me you little light-swollen whelp!" Selene screams venomously and a corona of dark fire rises up around her. "Do you know who I am? I am Selene. Goddess of the Moon. Men have offered their very souls to merely be in my presence."
"Some advice. I wouldn't try and use that as a pick-up line," Clark fires off as a retort.
Selene smiles crookedly. "Funny. It worked on your father."
Clark's eyes widen at what that might mean and an involuntary shudder goes through him. "Ok. Yuck. I so didn't need to know that lady."
"There is so much you have yet to learn. Starting with new levels of pain!" Selene says, her voice dropping to a deadly whisper.
Selene summons razor-edged shards of ebony ice and sends them flying at him. Using his heat vision Superman melts every single one of them before retaliating by blowing out a blast of his ice-breath...which impact harmless off a black shield Selene raises.
"You will have to do much better," Selene tells him. "Your father was much better," she adds just to add a rankle. Selene vanishes in a black mist.
Clark looks around with all his senses but can't see nor hear her until black lightning strikes him on the back, knocking him down, scorching his uniform and really stinging. Before he can move black, oily vines rise out of the ground and wrap around him. The black oil starts to burn at his skin. Clark pushes himself to his feet, vines snap but more rise up and take their place. He grits his teeth and manages to get back to his feet as the vines strain to pull him back down.
"I am not completely without mercy son of Jor-El," Selene says as she strides closer as her vines continue to hold the Kryptonian youth. "Yield now and I will reconsider remaking my offer allowing you to serve me." Selene comes to within inches of him and her cold fingers glide over his jawline. "What say you?"
"Not a chance," Superman rejects her offer as he bends his knees and puts all his strength and focus into the one thought of breaking free. With a titanic effort he pushes off the ground, snapping free of the vines and soars into the air. His victory is short-lived as a ball of black fire smashes into his chest sending him spiralling out of the air and crashing down, carving out a small crater.
Isobel emerges from the temple pursuing Rogue who has seemed to have gone into hiding. In the air she spots Storm along with the human bug, or whatever her name is, fighting Firestar and Volcana. The sky begins to darken and thunder rumbles in the heavens as the intensity of the fight increases. Also she spots M and Frenzy still trying to slug it out as they crash through the temple gardens. None of them interest her at the minute since none of them are trying to interfere in her plans. Only Rogue was attempting to do that. Now where was she hiding?
"Come on out Rogue! I know you're here! Come out and I promise you a swift end!" Isobel declares.
No response. Isobel treads carefully through the gardens. Her ultimate aim is to find the tree where the stone is. Really she just needs Rogue immobilised long enough for her to do that and then she will be away from here as swiftly as she can chant a teleportation spell.
Isobel takes a step forward when suddenly her ankle is caught in the grip of two legs. She topples over to spot Rogue lying down, hiding under a fallen branch. Rogue swings a foot round and snaps it down on top of the sai. Isobel lets it go, rolls over a few time and springs to her feet to find Rogue has already swiftly risen to hers.
Rogue, with sword still in hand, attacks and strikes at Isobel who is forced to defend and block with the sword she still has in her possession. Rogue attacks fluidly, with all the finesse of a pro...she can mostly thank Kurt because most of the skills she is using come from his mind.
Isobel deflects an attack and uses her free hand to fire a purple ball of magic at Rogue. Rogue slides to the side, spins all the way round and brings her sword in hard almost knocking it from Isobel's hand. It leaves Isobel open to a kick to her gut followed by Rogue sweeping Isobel's legs from under her. Rogue brings the point of her sword to Isobel's throat. "It's ovah," Rogue declares.
"Hardly," a cold, pompous voice says from behind mere moments before Rogue feels a clubbing blow to the back of her head. She falls down and Isobel looks up and upon the diamond form of the White Queen who has delivered a knockout blow to the Goth.
Thing about being diamond is that Emma can't be hurt. So Jean may have thrown her but it never hurt. Jean will also pay for that. Emma swears.
Isobel gets back to her feet. "Thanks for helping me up," she mutters in sarcastic tones.
"You're welcome," Emma returns with a slight smirk.
A loud sonic boom gets their attention. Superman and Selene.
Selene almost glides over to the edge of the crater and looks down with pride at seeing her fallen opponent, his chest still smoking from where she struck him. "Should have taken up my offer," she says to him.
Superman's eyes snap open, glowing red and he unleashes a barrage of heat vision which impacts the black shield Selene has around herself. She raises her hands and pours more of her power into the shield to reinforce it from the attack.
A small bead of sweat forms on Selene's brow. She had forgotten how much of a wallop a Kryptonian can wield although the boy is not his father...not yet anyway. One day he could be but he'll never reach that day.
Clark stops. That's not getting him anywhere. He really dislikes magic. He has little to no understanding of it and it hurts him. He currently has the scars to prove that fact. He quickly thinks and remembers something Wanda was mentioning last time he spoke to her on the phone about how control of magic is about concentration, force of will. If he can divide Selene's focus then maybe he can get through her shield.
Clark zips off into a blur and starts running around Selene's little bubble faster and faster, punching it, firing his heat vision off. Faster and faster he goes until he breaks the sound barrier. To Selene, he hopes, it seems to her like he is in many place, hitting her from many directions almost simultaneously. Eventually one of his fists finds a weak spot and passes through clipping Selene across the jaw sending her spiralling away since even a glancing blow from Clark has a lot of impact.
Watching this Emma turns to Isobel. "You said your magic could make my telepathy work on him."
"I don't have time to cast a spell that sophisticated right now," Isobel dismisses what she assumes is Emma's idea.
"It doesn't have to be. I just need to be able to disorientate him with a psychic pulse."
Isobel thinks quickly. "This should work," she comes up with a spell. She touches her hand to Emma's head, who slips out of her diamond form since she can't do telepathy in that form. Isobel starts to chant while Emma summons up her psychic energies. If one could see Emma's psychic energy it would be diamond white in colour only with Isobel's helps streaks of deep purple appear. "Hit him. Now!" Isobel commands.
Emma releases her attack and it strikes Superman who grabs his head as a pressure he has never felt before invades his brain. It leaves him deeply disorientated.
It's all the moment of recovery Selene needs as her body transforms into shadow and she wraps herself, like a snake coils round its prey, around Superman's body. Her hands grab his face and she brings her lips close to his and does the trick that has kept her alive for so long. She drains his life-force and begins to cry out, in almost orgasmic bliss, at the sheer ecstasy of draining one who possesses so much power. Instantly the wounds Superman had managed to inflict upon her heal. "YES! YES! OH YES! SO GOOD!" Selene cries out, lost in her pleasure.
In response Clark cries out in the worse pain imaginable. The closest thing in comparison to this was when Parasite absorbed him, only this makes Parasite's drain feel like a pinprick in comparison. He tries to fight her, break free but feels another disorientating pressure hit his head, unknown to him courtesy of Emma who is making sure he can't concentrate enough to escape. By the time Clark has recovered enough to focus he is much weaker and Selene taking his life-force is only making her grip around him all the tighter. He can feel the air from his lungs being squeezed out. He continues to try and fight her but it is now a losing battle as he simply gets weaker and weaker, darkness starts to pervade into his consciousness.
"MOTHER!" Isobel screams and the whole air vibrates. She runs over and grabs her mother's shoulder and yanks her off of Superman who collapses to the ground barely conscious.
Selene reverts to her human form and glares hatefully at her daughter. "You dare!" she hisses.
"We need him alive!" Isobel reminds her mother.
Selene's face looks like she is seriously debating that before she lets out a sigh and forcibly calms her rages. She looks down at Superman and smiles, her face glowing with a post-coital like effect. The amount of energy she took from him could keep her going for a couple of years easily. "Hmm. I had forgotten how sweet a near immortal tastes," she says in pleasured moans. "Especially one whose blood is filled with light's power." She then kicks him hard in the head, opening up a cut on his forehead as she knocks him out. "Ah. Now that felt good," she comments. That's just one small payback on Jor-El.
Emma joins the small group as they stand over the defeated teenage hero just as more SHIELD agents surround the temple and fire tear gas rounds inside. It is only a few moments later that the fighting groups pour out the temple coughing and spluttering, tears in the eyes, barely able to see. Not normal tear gas. A sort of supercharged version SHIELD cooked up.
"When I suggested we had to get everyone out that wasn't what I meant," Beast complains to Fury in a croaky, raspy voice as he coughs more.
"Worked didn't it," Fury says making no apology.
"Scott," Jean says between coughs as she points. "Superman."
Scott looks and through his moisture laden eyes sees Clark, fallen at the feet of Selene, Emma and Isobel.
Now everyone has stopped fighting for a moment it calms the psychic froth enough for the Professor to contact the team. "To me! My X-Men!" the Professor issues the telepathic gathering. The X-Men regroup with Storm leaving her fight with the 2 girls to swoop in and join them. Beast spots and picks up the still out of it Rogue and makes sure she is safe.
Fury gathers his troops back around him. "Alright. Does anyone want to surrender now?" he asks.
Selene snorts in utter contempt. "Fury, you are the stupidest excuse for a mortal I've ever had the misfortune to meet and I've met literally more than you can imagine. What you fail to realise is that this temple was built on top of a grave of soldiers that fell in an ancient battle. I can feel them. Their souls trapped, crying out in eternal torment for a peace that never comes." Selene's dark lips curl up into a truly malevolent smile. "It's delicious."
"There a point here lady?" Fury asks in return.
A dark gleam comes to Selene's eyes. She raises her right hand and speaks, her voice echoing across the land. "Hear me fallen warriors! Selene, your mistress commands you, rise! Rise up! Rise and smite my enemies from my sight!"
A moment passes before a skeletal hand punches its way through the ground followed by another and another and literally hundreds more as the fallen warriors rise, in ancient armour in varying levels of decay.
"Oh my god," Kitty whispers in shock at the sight. Shock and horror. Everyone practically had the same expression. This was like some horror movie brought to life.
The dead warriors form ranks and make an impressive force between the two Hellfire Queens, Isobel, Superman and those that would try and stop them.
Selene smiles to herself, pleased. "Now then. Time to leave," she declares.
"Not without the stone!" Isobel protests.
"Nor my students!" Emma adds her protest.
Selene sighs in annoyance. "Very well," she relents in acceptance of Emma's and Isobel's demands. "Isobel get the stone. Frost summon your students. I will command my warriors not to hurt them...too badly," she chuckles lightly.
Emma's scowl is impressive but concentrates on the task at hand and telepathically commands her students of what to do.
Magneto, by now recovered, flies in to see the sight before them. "I propose a temporary truce Charles," he decides is the only prudent course for the moment.
"I agree. Colonel Fury?" Charles inquires.
Fury groans. He hates doing this. "Fine...but we're going to be having a talk about this, Xavier, afterwards," he promises.
"Warriors attack!" Selene commands. "Destroy them all!"
The undead hordes charge.
Cyclops releases a powerful crimson blast which literally tears the skeletons to pieces. Never in his life could Scott imagine fighting anything like this. He is so going to need to revise the training programs when they get home. Storm unleashes bolts of lightning, Domino fires off her guns. Everyone with the ability to fire long range attacks tries to thin out the numbers best they can but all too soon the undead army engulfs them and they now have to fight for their lives in close quarters.
Everyone except the Hellions who make their retreat as ordered as the undead warriors ignore them.
With this distraction Isobel dashes across the temple grounds as fast as she can trying to spot the tree she is looking for. It takes several minutes but eventually she finds it. She can feel the power humming below her feet. She reaches out with her hand. The earth moves as the object beneath rises until a horse statue rises through the dirt.
Isobel bends down and picks it up and smiles. She can sense the stone hidden within. She has it! Finally! After 400 years of waiting. She has one stone and she has the man who can deliver the other 2 into her grasp. Isobel does not make the same mistake as before of trying to take the stone in her hand. It can stay in the statue until she makes Clark make it safe for her. Mission accomplished Isobel darts back over to her mother, Emma and the Hellions. "Now we can leave," Isobel says with a broad, giddy grin.
Selene rolls her eyes at her daughter's foolishness...although she must admit there is a power that she can feel emanate from the stone. This might be of interest to her but for now they can simply leave. They have the two things they require. The stone and the son of Jor-El. Selene smiles wickedly. Oh the things she will do to the boy. With that happy, to her, thought Selene conjures a dark fog which surrounds the group before they all vanish into thin air, teleporting away.
As soon as Selene departs the magic animating the undead warriors departs with her and they fall down to the ground lifeless.
Seeing how this day is a failure Magneto wastes no time. "Sandman! Cover!"
Sandman dissolves into a dust storm blinding everyone. When it clears Magneto and the Acolytes have made their escape leaving the X-Men, Fury and SHIELD on the field as the only two groups left.
Before anyone can react to what has transpired Chinese military helicopters appear in the sky and many soldiers storm the temple grounds and surround them. Just when you think it's over another problem arises and who knows how they will talk themselves out of this.
Magneto's base...
Blindfold sits on her bed, her expression blank or far away perhaps as her gift allows her to see much that is far from her present location. She speaks, almost as if narrating a story. "And so the Star Child falls into the grasp of the 2 Queens, thank you. His inner light will dim but never falter for they do not know what it is they shall awaken, for their greed and lust for power blinds their foresight, yes, no. The 1 of 3 will return and the games will begin but who stands the winner when all is done is beyond my sight, please. You're welcome."
Author's Note: And so Superman falls into the grasp of the Hellfire Club. Uh, that ain't good. If anyone could beat him I figured Selene could and she did. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; the fallout from the battle as Emma and Isobel plot to get inside Superman's head and before the X-Men can come to his rescue a deal has to be struck with Fury.
