Charles mentally reached out to Armor/all of us. "Thank you for what you have done already Armor," he told her. "Do you want to stay with us?" "I do professor." "Very well then. You will always have a home with us." "Thank you." "Professor - do you want us to come home?" said Scott. "No. This field experience has proven invaluable in more than one way. We should keep pushing it." "Do we have any leads on who's behind the sentinel hit?" "No; but Hank is looking over everything forensically and can only conclude these sentinels are not from our traditional enemies. This is something new."

As they spoke I reached out with Honor and scanned through the time stream... I then had my answer; and it wasn't good. "The Hand." "Are you sure Diana?" said Charles. "Yes." "Why are they screwing with us?" said Scott. "They don't usually go after mutants." Jean said, "They're motive is always about power. The X men are a powerful force that stands for the good of all - mutant and human alike. That would still pose a threat to them eventually." "And the Hand worships a demon called the Beast of the Hand," I said. "This is a mystical matter." "Could your brother be involved?" said Charles. "It's possible but I don't sense it right now," I said. Images flashed through my mind; faces... "Diana?" said Charles. "Elektra leads them...and Mystique is with them too."

That had everyone silent. "Mystique is dead," said Scott. "The Hand can raise the dead; it's a recruitment tool," I said. "A mutant called Psylocke is with them too." Jean said, "We tried to recruit her some years ago but failed." The Mystique angle was hard for them; she'd been an X man and brotherhood member over the years; she'd grown up with Charles.

Armor, as the newest X man said, "We should do what we can to help these people; especially the mutants. They're fighting their own; we must stop that." Not bad for a rookie. "What about Psyche?" said Scott. "We should recruit her; we're already here." "I agree with Scott," I said. "Like you said professor - our numbers are down. We need all the help we can get." "Agreed," said Professor X. "Continue with the recruitment mission as planned. We'll take things as they come."

I smiled at Armor. "You're official now." She smiled back; a newfound confidence was in her eyes that hadn't been there before the encounter. A skirmish with killer robots could do that. Scott sighed and then drove off again with us for the Boston library. We'd approach Psyche in daytime.

I told Peter via Honor that I was okay; it made him feel better. We parked across the street from the main library and waited. Jean was already mentally scanning the area. "I have her," she said a short time later. She nodded at the young woman walking with her hands in her jacket pockets. It was a cooler rainy morning. Jean looked back at me. "Want to come with?" "Sure."

We got out and entered the library not far behind Psyche. I kept a lookout while Jean mostly focused on the young woman she sought to recruit. We took a few minutes to scan things over before making our approach. She was checking in books at the main circulation desk when we walked up to her. "Can I help you?" Jean replied mentally in all our heads - we're here to help you actually. Psyche froze at that.

A sniper rifle cracked off at that moment from an upper library level... Honor in hand I moved with super speed to set the hammer before Psyche's face; the round smashed into it and was crushed. Panic occurred. Jean/I looked up to see the assassin - a plain looking male. Honor scanned over him... "It's Mystique," I said. "Get Psyche to safety." Jean nodded while I took to the air for the upper levels.

Mystique grew fearful at my revealed godly power and morphed back to her normal appearance. She fired off another round at me but Honor's magical shield blocked it from doing any harm. I hovered; she remained where she was. "Mystique." "How do you know me?" "I know of you. Charles would love to see you again." Armor and Cyclops were in the library now; Jean/Psyche stayed near them. My hope was to talk Raven down somehow.

Mystique cracked a lopsided grin. "You're the wonder woman everyone keeps talking about." "I am. I'm just Diana though. We can help you Mystique; I can help you." "Really?" "Yes. I know that you died; I know about the Hand resurrecting you..." This surprised her; she tried to hide it; she couldn't from my power/insight. "What else do you know?" "I know that you seek to be free. With the Hand you're just another slave though..." That ticked her off, but not because I offended her - but because it was the truth, and she knew it deep down.

The police arrived with weapons out... I put up magical shields around my companions and Mystique to prevent anything from harming them. Mystique touched the shield with her muzzle. "Another cage wonder woman?" "No; to protect you from misunderstanding humans." "You'd really do that?" "I'm an amazon; that is what I do." The police here knew well of me by now, and at seeing me here stood down a little to give this a chance.

"You're killing other mutants Mystique - you just tried to now. Rejoin us and abandon the Hand. I'll stand beside you; we all will." I landed on the ground next to her and offered a hand. "Only love can save the world Mystique. Trust me I know."

She looked at my hand. She then dropped the rifle and put her hand into mine. "It's time to come home. And this time you'll never need to leave." She nodded. "Okay wonder woman-" "Diana." "Okay Diana...I'll go with you."

I opened portals for all of us and we left the library to return to the X mansion. Charles might very well just get the surprise of his life - in addition to two new X men.