HARDBOILED: Boy this chapter took a long time to write. My writing got much faster when Deadpool threatened to shikabob me.
DEADPOOL: Not my fault you take so long. Red Witch could write one of her 100 chapter fics in the time you take to do one chapter.
HARDBOILED: I've got two jobs and other thing to take care of before I work on my stories.
DEADPOOL: Don't be a pansy. Get back to work (draws swords).
HARDBOILED: Alright, please review folks so I can get this maniac off my back.
Everyone was absolutely silent, staring at Lance in complete shock. "Okay you guys are starting to creep me out." said Lance. "YOU'RE ALIVE!" Toad suddenly yelled out with joy. He leaped forward and tackled Lance off his feet. "You're alive! You're alive!" Toad kept yelling as he hugged Lance. "GET OFF ME! What is wrong with you?" yelled Alvers who shoved Toad away.
"You're alive!" yelled a happy Fred who grabbed Lance and hugged much harder then he should. "Can't…breath…" gasped Lance. "Oops, sorry." said Fred, setting Lance down. Then Pietro zipped up and punched Alvers right in the face.
"Wethoughtyouweredead. !" yelled Pietro very fast and very angry. John and Kine quickly restrained Pietro, preventing him from throwing another punch. "You were dead Lance. And last I checked, there hasn't been many resurrections lately so what gives?" demanded Chris.
"You thought I was dead? Are you all out of your mind?" asked a confused Lance. Wanda hexed Lance into the wall. "What was that for?" yelled Alvers as he got back to his feet. "Just making sure you weren't Mystique in disguise." said Wanda.
"Forget this. I've got a date with Kitty to see that new movie with Julia Roberts." grunted Lance who headed towards the door. "Wait a minute, the last one she did came out months ago Lance." Chris. Lance reached the door and noticed something was missing in the driveway.
"Hey! Where's my jeep!" he yelled. "In a junkyard. It went off the top of Lookout Point with you in it." said Toad. "So we were told." Kine said. Lance was just starting to realize that this wasn't a big practical joke.
"Okay Lance, maybe you should sit down." said Toad. "Why should he sit down? Is there something wrong with standing?" asked a confused Fred.
"How could this have happened?" yelled Sinister. All of his Marauders cringed, worried about what he might do next. Stryfe however remained silent and calm. "You're the one who installed the tech into his body. You tell me." shot back Mesmero.
"Clearly the tech hasn't assimilated his neural pathways yet. Was the key at least delivered to the door?" asked Sinister. "The second lock has been released. Only one more then the master can return. But if anyone finds Famine and studies his technology…" Mesmero said.
"That won't happen. Get suited up." Stryfe ordered the Marauders. He then turned to Sinister and Mesmero. "I'll take care of this problem myself." he continued.
The X-Men just returned to the Institute and being in a bad mood was putting it mildly. Now the team was getting bandaged up in the medical lab. "Ah can't believe Lorna is actually working for that magnetic creep." growled Rogue. "Yeah, after everything we've been through she like just kicked us to the curb." nodded Kitty.
"I don't think it's that simple." said Xavier. "What are you talking about Professor?" asked Scott. "It was something I sensed in Lorna's mind before they left. Something off." answered Charles. "Did Magneto do something to do her?" asked Jean. "Then we need to rescue her." said Kurt.
"Right now we need to…" Storm cut in before an alarm went off. "Please tell me we aren't being attacked now." groaned Kurt. Xavier quickly checked over a nearby console before his eyes widened. "This is impossible." he said.
"What is it?" asked Logan. "Cerebro just detected an archived mutant signature in the Brotherhood home." said Xavier. "So? Who cares if the Loserhood decides to use their powers." said Rogue. "It's detecting Lance Alvers." said Xavier.
"WHAT?" everybody yelled at once.
"HOW COULD YOU THINK I WAS DEAD?" yelled Lance, the whole house shaking from a tremor. "What were we supposed to think? That you got abducted by aliens who put a cloned body of yours in the jeep and shoved it off Lookout Point so no one would come looking for you and experiment on you all they want. Though in hindsight, seeing you standing here now makes that a little more plausible." said Pyro.
"What was the last thing you remember?" asked Wanda. "Making up with Kitty in our backyard after I killed my mother." said Lance. "Dude, she's not dead. She's like in limbo or something. She came back then went away again." said Chris.
"She's alive? Where is she?" demanded Lance. "I told you, she's in limbo. She used a tremor on herself and disappeared. Now since you did the same thing and she came back, I'm guessing the same thing will happen again eventually." replied Chris.
"So how long was I was gone?" asked Lance. "A month but that memory of yours seems to be off by several." said Pietro. "I've got to call Kitty." said Lance, heading towards a phone. Instantly every one of the male Brotherhood members grabbed him.
"Forget about her Lance." said John. "Yeah, that X-snob dumped you. Or did you dump her? I can't remember who dumped who." said a confused Fred.
Magneto wasn't happy and his Acolytes knew it. They stood outside the boss's room, hearing various smashing and yelling. When Magneto threw a temper tantrum, everybody knew it. Exodus was currently resting in the medical wing, recovering from various broken bones.
"He's been in there for ten minutes and still yelling. That's breaks the record for him." whispered Gambit.
"Is it just me or did that Egyptian super mutant have Lance Alver's powers?" asked Lorna. "No way, he's dead." said Domino. "And he wasn't much to begin with." commented Creed. "So how'd you feel fighting your old friends?" Blink asked Lorna.
"It's strange. I thought I'd feel something but I didn't feel anything at all." said Lorna. "Probably just the training kicking in. Not hesitating is a good thing." replied Blink. "I guess." shrugged Lorna.
A wall expanded into a massive hole as Magneto stepped out into the hallway. "I'm leaving." he said, walking by his followers without slowing down. "Where?" asked Colossus. "To visit some family." answered Magneto.
The rest of the Brotherhood was still arguing with Lance, trying to stop him from leaving. Meanwhile, Toad decided to grab as much party decorations he could find, hung them up, and started playing the Boys are Back in Town over their massive stereo system.
A few hours later everyone most went to bed except for Wanda, Lance, and Pietro. "So meet any girls?" Lance asked Pietro. "No." grunted Pietro. "Are you mad at me for something?" asked Lance. "No I…I need some air." said Pietro before zipping away.
"Am I missing something?" Lance asked Wanda. "Well you have to understand. My brother has never been good at loss. He grieved and was moving on and now you coming back just brings up all those emotions he's been hiding inside." said Wanda.
Meanwhile, Pietro was standing outside on the porch glancing up at the night sky. He never really was good at friendships or relationships. Probably something he learned from his good for nothing father. He was contemplating what to say to Lance when he went back inside when he felt a presence behind him.
He turned and floating in the air was his father. "How long have you known he was alive?" demanded Magneto. "A question I should be asking you Magneto." grunted Pietro, saying his last word with disgust. Suddenly, the front door came flying off its hinges and slammed Pietro into the wall pinning him. His old man must be able to manipulate the door via the new metal locks and hinges the Hood installed. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.
Magneto narrowed his eyes and the door pushed Pietro harder. "How long Pietro?" demanded Magneto. "For a couple of hours. How long have you known? Or were you responsible for what happened to him?" shot back Quicksilver. "No, that would be me." said a voice off the deck.
Before his father had time to react, Magneto was hit by some sort of invisible force that sent him hurling through the air and crashed through a wooden handrail. Pietro finally managed to shove the door off him. He was about to run back inside when some force caused him to float into the air and went flying head first into the roof. Pietro dropped to the ground unconscious as Stryfe headed inside.
"Hey Pietro, what's going on out there?" asked Wanda, hearing some kind of commotion outside. To her surprise, a man stepped into the living room. The same man she saw walk through that portal before she was taken over by Shadow King.
"You." she said. Before she could react, Wanda found herself completely paralyzed. "Hmm, maybe." said Stryfe before Wanda dropped to the ground unconscious. "Hey Wanda, what did you do with my guitar...Who are you?" Lance asked, walking in from the kitchen.
Lance started a tremor but suddenly found himself levitating into the air. Some force began to constrict around his neck as he gasped for air. "What's taking you so long? You should have changed already." said Stryfe.
A noise caught Stryfe's attention, he turned to see out a window a car flying in the air straight towards the house. The vehicle smashed through the wall and kept on coming. Stryfe tried to stop it but it was too late. The car slammed into him and carried him right through the wall and into the backyard.
In he didn't put up a telekinetic barrier at the last moment that would have really hurt. Stryfe groaned as he sent the car flying off him and got to his feet. Magneto floated through the hole in the wall, his eyes glaring at Stryfe.
"I don't know who you are but I assure you, I will know everything you know when I'm done with you." growled Magneto. He floated higher into the air and began summoning every metallic object in the house towards him. From simple jewelry to lamps, pipes, even support beams.
The guys were woken up by the violent shaking around them as the house was beginning to collapse. "What is going on?" yelled Kine. "Who cares? Let's bail!" yelled John. Fred quickly grabbed an unconscious Wanda and Lance then joined the others running or more stumbling out of the house.
Every piece of metal being pulled magnetically out the house took it's toll and the Boarding House collapsed into debris. Everyone stared in disbelief at the wreckage of their former house. "NOOOOO!" yelled Toad. "Our home." moaned John.
Meanwhile, Magneto finished assembling every piece of nearby metal into air circling around him. He sent several sharpened pieces of scrap metal hurling towards Stryfe who simply flew into the air to avoid them.
The telekinetic summoned several trees, ripping them out of the ground with his mind and sent them flying towards Magneto. The Master of Magnetism had all the metal floating around him form a barrier in front of him, blocking any of Stryfe's attacks.
"Uhh, should we do anything about this?" Fred asked. "Are you kidding me? Just one of those guys could probably waste us with ease." said Chris.
"This is so cool. I'm actually going on a mission." said a happy Bobby. Getting to go with the X-Men on a mission had the icy mutant cheering for joy as they were driving to the Brotherhood Boarding House. In the Van were Logan, Scott, Jean, Kurt, Bobby, and Amara. Storm was driving Xavier, Beast, and Kitty in the limousine.
"Just remember you're on probation popsicle. No showboating." said Logan. "Not to worry. I'm gonna freeze those losers." said Bobby. "For the last time Bobby, we're not going to fight." said Jean. "Yeah, we're not in any condition to fight anyways." said Rogue, rubbing her shoulder. It's been hurting since London.
"We're just going to talk, nothing more." said Scott. And that's all he got before the whole X-van started shaking violently. They all screamed as the vehicle flipped over and came to a rest off road.
Magneto's patience was quickly running out. He sent every metal around him speeding towards his attacker. Stryfe braced himself as a large metal mass came crashing down on him. Magneto floated down to the ground and with a thought lifts the metal into the air.
Stryfe is sprawled on the dirt, unconscious. Magneto sends the large metallic mass away and walks toward his quarry. Magnus grabbed the man and lifted up his unconscious body from the shirt. "You're not getting off that easy." growled Magneto.
Then Stryfe's eyes opened and smiled. Before Magneto had a chance to react, Stryfe sent out a powerful telekinetic blast. Magnus was hurled back and slammed hard into a stump of a tree. "Haven't you ever heard of possum before old man?" chuckled the telepath.
Wolverine was the first to get out of the overturned vehicle, kicking the driver door open. He got to his feet to see a group he remembered from months ago during the mission to find Vanessa. Sinister's goons.
"Our boss never really wanted us to fight you guys head on before. We always had bigger proprieties but things have changed." said Arclight. All the Marauders were smiling. To them, they have been truly unshackled for the first time against the X-Men. Scalphunter transformed his robotic arm into a rocket launcher and fired at the van.
Knowing the others wouldn't survive, Logan jumped in the missile's way and it detonated right in his face. He was hurled back with a sickening thud onto the road. Scalphunter loaded another missile and fired at the X-Van. The vehicle was destroyed in one hit.
"Talk about anti-climatic." muttered Scalphunter. "Turn around then." said a voice behind him. He turned just in time to see Cyclops firing an optic blast. The blast sent him screaming into the air. Kurt managed to teleport everyone inside the van before exploding and now the fight was on.
Xavier gasped, catching the others in the limousine by surprise. "What's wrong?" asked Beast. "The others…they're under attack." replied Xavier. Storm quickly pulled the car over, ready to turn around. "Go help the others, I'll go on ahead." said the Professor.
"Not a chance Professor. I'm staying." said Kitty in a firm tone. Xavier was about to argue but they didn't have the time. "Alright then." he said. Storm and Beast got out of the car and ran off. Kitty phased to the driver seat.
"I'll have us there in no time." said Kitty. "Oh dear." said Xavier as he realized having Kitty driving may not have been the brightest idea. He held on for dear life as Shadowcat raced down the street like a NASCAR driver.
Magneto crashed into another tree and fell to the ground. His opponent was extremely powerful, much more then he expected. Eric got to his feet as Styfe sent another telekinetic wave at him. This time Magnus was prepared. He put up an electromagnetic shield that protected him while the tree behind was ripped out of the ground from the force of the wave.
Magneto retaliated with an EM blast from his hands. The blast knocked Stryfe off his feet. The telepath retaliated by telekinetically ripping two trees out of the ground and hurled them towards his opponent. Magneto simply floated over the trunks as they got closer.
But while his attention was drawn towards the projectiles, he failed to see Stryfe launch himself off the ground towards him like a bullet. Stryfe tackled Magneto right in the air and the two began punching and kneeing each other as they twisted around upwards into the sky.
"Whoa, watching them is making me kinda dizzy." said Toad.
Bobby slide on an ice patch and froze George in place. Arclight responded by slamming his fist into the ground, sending seismic energy that shattered Iceman's slide and sending him crashing to the ground. Vertigo sent out psy energy that caused most of the X-Men to stumble and trip over their own feet.
Arclight charged his fist and punched George's frozen form, shattering the ice and freeing him. Kurt teleported behind Vertigo and delivered a spinning kick to her head, knocking her out. Without her down, the X-Men got back to their feet and pressed the attack.
Harpoon hurled energy spears at Jean who used her telekinesis to send them right back at him. He screamed as Jean pushed his telekinetically into a tree and his spears all hit various parts of his clothing, pinning him. "No fair." he grunted.
George stretched out his fists, increasing their size and launched them at Cyclops. He fired a blast that blew a hole in George's body but didn't slow the mutant down. His fists collided with Scott, knocking him down. Dazed, Summers lay motionless on the ground while George lifted his fists to hit him again.
Suddenly, his liquid body was lifted into the air. He turned to see Jean concentrating. Fighting back, he started spinning around with his fists stretching out. Jean didn't have the strength to keep George in the air and blocks his attacks. One of George's fists caught her in the leg and knocked her off her feet. Capitalizing on her mistake, George grabbed her face and his hand spread, encasing her entire head.
Jean struggled to breath while George stretched out his other fist to knock out Scott as he got to his feet. Jean let loose a telekinetic burst that knocked George back and flattened his body to the ground. Then she was hit from behind by a sonic burst from Ruckus.
Seeing his comrade free, Ruckus turned his attention back to Kurt. The elf constantly teleported away before Ruckus could hit him. "Stand still ya ugly fuzz…" Ruckus said before a freeze beam from Bobby sealed his mouth shut. Kurt kicked him from behind into an ice slide Bobby made. He slide down right into a large rock. Ruckus slumped while Bobby and Kurt high-fived.
Magneto and Stryfe continued struggling in the air, both trying to overpower the other both physically and with their powers. Stryfe's telekinesis was pushing against Magneto's magnetic powers. Finally, Magneto managed to land a blow to the face that stunned Stryfe temporarily enough for him to sent out an electromagnetic blast.
Stryfe comes crashing back down to Earth and Magneto follows him. He lands on his feet ands grabs the fallen telepath. "Where is Mesmero? Where is Apocalypse?" yelled Magneto. Suddenly, Stryfe opened his eyes and sent a telekinetic blast that knocked Magneto's helmet off.
"No!" yelled Magnus. Before he had time to react, his helmet seemingly melted into the ground. Stryfe's laugh echoed unnaturally. The telepath got to his feet and before his eyes, transformed into someone from Magneto's past.
"NO! This isn't real!" screamed Magnus but his knees began shaking. Stryfe had turned into an SS officer who was in charge of the concentration camp Magneto was held in as a boy. The inmates there called him the Butcher and he was the one who personally Magneto's father while his mother and son were forced to watch. The woods shifted and were replaced by a massive graveyard filled with Jews digging holes overseen by the Nazis.
"Get back to work!" he yelled as Eric and his mother were being forced to dig graves for the bodies that just came from gas chambers. They knew they had to work hard or they would be the next ones going in. The Butcher kicked Eric in the face, knocking him down into the pit filled littered with bodies.
His mother screamed back and that got her a gunshot in the head. The Butcher walked away while Eric scrambled out of the grave and to his mother's body. He screamed as he held her body. Eric glanced back at the Nazi officer walking away by the nearby electric fence. Thoughts of revenge and pain went through his head and then something happened. The Butcher stumbled to the side, clenching his belt. Eric concentrated again and the Nazi stumbled again, trying to get his Lugar pistol out of his belt. Eric concentrated again and this time, the Butcher stumbled right into the electric fence. He screamed as his body ignited into flames. That was the first time he used his power.
But something happened, something completely different. The Nazi got back to his feet and turned back to Eric. Most of his entire body was scorched black and half of his face was burned right off, showing his skull. "So this was when that anger of yours was born." he said with Styfe's voice.
"No." moaned Eric, walking backwards as the Butcher drew closer. "It started small, directed towards that human. But when you killed him it brought no real comfort. It only fed your anger. After the war was over and you were freed, that anger was then directed towards the Allies and then all of humanity. That anger is all you took with you from this place except one other thing." laughed the Butcher.
Eric backed into two Nazi officers who grabbed him by the arms. "One thing you never got over. One fear that still haunts you to the soul. Take him to the gas chamber." said the Butcher. "NOOOOOOO!" yelled Eric as the Nazis dragged him away.
Rogue jumped back to avoid a punch from Blockbuster. The massive young man had a clear size advantage over her and the rest of the X-Men were busy to help. She removed her gloves and managed to grab his forearm as he threw another punch. But her grasp gave the opportunity for Blockbuster to punch Rogue.
He then walked over and ribbed a tree out of the ground. "Go back to the kitchen." he said before swinging it at her. But to her surprise, she caught it and pulled him forward into a punch. Her new added strength made each of her punch feel like getting hit by a sledgehammer. He swung a punch and missed, only to get kicked in-between the legs. His eyes widened and a loud scream came out of his mouth.
"BACK TO THE KITCHEN? TAKE THIS YA STEROID PUMPING SEXIST!" yelled an angry Rogue who punched him again and again and again until he finally dropped to the ground motionless.
George was running away from Bobby who was chasing him on an ice slide. "Come back here ugly." said Bobby, missing with yet another ice beam. "Bobby look out!" yelled Rogue. Bobby turned to see an incoming missile from Scalphunter. He put up a large ice shield that the missile detonated on. The blast shattered the shield and the ice covering his body as he went flying to the ground.
Scalp then turned his attention to Rogue. He changed his missile cannon to a chain gun and fired away at her. Rogue's strength gave her protection as the bullets bounced off her skin but they still hurt. She made her way slowly towards Scalp, fighting back against the bullet's kinetic force. Scalp then changed his other cannon to a launcher and prepared fire a grenade in Rogue's face. But a crack of thunder caught his attention and he turned just in time to see a bolt of lightning racing towards him. The bolt hit him and his exoskeleton short circuited. He screamed before another bolt sent him flying.
Storm then turned her attention towards George and swept him up in a whirlwind. Ruckus got back to his feet and noticed Storm wasn't paying attention to him. He took in a deep breath, ready to blast her when a large fury hand covered his mouth. "Stick and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." said Beast before punching him.
Arclight found himself completely alone as he was surrounded by Storm, Beast, Rogue, Kurt, a recovering Scott and Jean, and a scared Wolverine. "It's so hard to find good help these days." groaned Arclight, charging up. "I wouldn't try that if I were you." said Wolverine, putting his adamantium claws up to Arclight's neck.
Suddenly, Logan floated into the air and found himself hurling towards Storm, knocking them both out. The X-Men turned to see a face they didn't expect to see. Vanessa Marshall. "Keep your hands off him." she growled. She had some sort of device on the back of her neck.
"Vanessa? What are you…?" Jean said before Vanessa fired optic blasts from her eyes, knocking her and Scott down. Kurt teleported behind her and grabbed her. "Calm down, vhe're not your enemy." he said. With a thought, Kurt was hurled away telekinetically.
"Ah thought she needed to shape shift to use somebody else's powers." said Rogue. "That device must allow to use them all. We've got to…" Beast said before Vanessa shot bolts of electricity out of her hands. The bolts knocked out Beast but Rogue managed to resist with her stolen power.
"You okay babe?" Vanessa asked Arclight. "I'll live but they won't." he grunted.
Eric was hurled into the chamber and the door slammed shut behind him. Slowly, the room began to fill up with gas. He kicked and punched the door, desperately trying to get out. "Go ahead and struggle little boy, it will make this whole event much more enjoyable." laughed Stryfe.
Suddenly, the whole chamber shattered like glass and Eric's body began to age quickly back to his normal. The whole concentration camp disappeared as well except for the Butcher who changed to Stryfe. "WHAT?" yelled Stryfe.
"You dare to make him relive trauma that no mutant or human ever deserves to go through." said a familiar voice. Walking onto the empty plains was Charles Xavier. "Be gone old man." said Stryfe, ready to fight. "It's not me you should be worried about." said Xavier.
Then Magneto opened his eyes and found himself back in the woods and in his body. Charles must have broken him free of Stryfe's illusion. Magneto roared with anger as his eyes locked onto his opponent and sent the most powerful electromagnetic blast he's ever done. Stryfe's telekinetic shield offers no protection as he is hurled away and crashes through several branches and crashes violently into a tree stump. He lay motionless and this time, he wasn't playing possum.
"Holy crap." commented Chris. Lance groaned and got to his feet. "LANCE!" he heard Kitty's voice. He turned and saw her. She ran up and hugged him. "Hey, get lost yo." Toad said before Fred covered his mouth.
"Lance, I can't believe it. I thought you were actually gone." said Kitty. "Well I…" Lance started to say before he got a headache. A really bad headache. He groaned, his hands clenching his temple. "Lance? What's wrong?" Kitty asked.
Lance screamed as suddenly metal began to grow on his body. Everyone could only watch in horror as Lance was transforming right before their very eyes. Kitty gasped when the changing was finished. He changed into that mega mutant the X-Men and Acolytes fought in London. "I am Famine and I serve the will of Apocalypse." it said.
The ground began to shake as everyone backed away from him. A sphere composed of dirt and rock formed around him and sank into the Earth. "No, Lance come back!" screamed Kitty but Lance was long gone. "What just happened?" yelled John.
"Famine is back online, return to base at once." ordered Sinister over the radio. "You heard him love. Let's bail." said Arclight. Vanessa summoned a fog that blinded everyone. "Vanessa wait!" yelled Rogue. Storm dispersed the fog and the Marauders were gone.
"C'mon, they can't have gotten far." said Rogue. "No Rogue. Let them go." said Storm. "She's right stripe. We've still got to get to the Brotherhood's house." said Logan.
Magneto got back to his feet as Charles Xavier rolled his wheelchair up to him. "Thank you Charles." Magnus said, summoning his helmet back onto his head. Charles felt the thoughts of his X-Men and let them know to return to the mansion. Lance was gone and was the telepath. Sinister's goons as well.
"Eric, we can't fight anymore. This proves that Mesmero and Nathaniel Essex are working together. As you just found out, they had very formidable mutants aiding them and alone neither of our teams can defeat them." said Xavier.
"If it's a truce you want then so be it. My soldiers will not attack yours unless provoked. But I fear you won't be able to do what is necessary to win this war Charles. For that is exactly what this is. Apocalpyse is coming and I will do whatever it takes to stop him, no matter the cost." said Magneto before floating away.
(Next chapter, you'll never believe what the Brotherhood is doing with their spare time. Ghost hunting in their new mansion. While the Hood drive themselves insane, something very creepy is haunting their new home)
