Chapter 19

At the Institute...

The battle continues to rage across the Institute's grounds. Emma's students totally unaware that she has left them behind. Willingly or unwillingly being an unknown at this time.

"Oof!" is the sound as air escapes from Rogue's lungs as she smashes into a tree. Normally it takes a lot to hurt Rogue but there's this new mutant with black hair she's never seen before who wields some sort of ebony coloured energy and believe her when Rogue says getting hit by it does more than sting. In fact Rogue's almost glad she was the one who was struck by that blast. She hates to think what would have happened had it hit someone less robust than her. "Ok, now sistah, now ya've made meh angry," she tells her foe who smiles wickedly.

Rogue rolls her eyes. She's seen that gleam before. It tells her this woman is pretty far out there in enjoying inflicting pain on people. "Why do ah always get tha sadistic ones," she grumbles, though it is very arguable whether that statement is true or not as she gets back into the fight.

"Get off of me!" comes the rather undignified shout of Empath.

Magma, who frankly couldn't hate her manipulative ex-boyfriend more if she tried after he used his powers to make her 'love' him and then defect to the Hellions, covers her mouth with her hand as she tries and fails to hold in a belly laugh.

Because you see her ex-boyfriend(and there is just no way to put enough emphasis on the 'ex' bit) is lying on the ground. To be more accurate he is pinned down...by Penance, whose expression is one of pure innocence, simply sitting on him due to the fact her body is extremely dense and therefore heavy and it is just so, so, so funny to see the arrogant prat humiliated in this fashion.

"Seriously bitch can we not discuss this?" Alison Blaire asks as she ducks from the swing of a mystical sword before retaliating with a blast of light that hits her opponent in the shoulder.

Magik growls in annoyance, her eyes beginning to glow as her darker self threatens to break through. "Did you 'discuss this' before you just attacked our home without provocation?"

"Hey, I just do it for the money!" Ali says in her defence which is true. She only ever signed up for this Hellion gig because Emma got her a recording contract.

"An honest if rather shallow reason," Magik says.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Christ I picked the wrong day to quit drinking."

"You picked the wrong day to do many actions, child."

Ali looks up to see a Goddess float in the sky. A rapidly darkening sky as clouds roll in. Storm in all her fury is about to be unleashed.

"Fuck. It looks like I also picked the wrong day to stop sniffing glue!"

Lightning cracks the heavens, the wind begins to howl.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha!" Volcana howls with laughter. "You guys are so screwed now!" she says with glee at the ass-whooping her former teammates are about to receive.

That is when the divine wrath falls upon the Hellions.

As they try to endure the wind, the lightning, the rain, the hail and just about every weather phenomenon you can imagine, Wolverine uses the distraction to sneak up on who, last he knew, was the leader of this 'happy little mob'.

King Bedlam.

He sweeps the feet away from the bald headed African-American young man and pins him down, with two claws either side of the neck.

"Now bub, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Tell your team to stand down or..." And Wolverine begins to extend his middle claw.

What choice does Bedlam have here exactly? Beyond taking a chance Wolverine is bluffing? "Hellions! Stand down! It's over! It's over," he says bitterly.

"Storm!" Wolverine calls up. "You can go easy on them now!"

"Must I?" she asks with a pout.

Wolverine chuckles. That's why he loves her.

Storm lets out a calming breath. It's so rare that she really gets to let loose. It's an exhilarating feeling that she misses.

The weather calms in response as Logan yanks Bedlam to his feet. "Now bub, we need to talk. Where's your boss?"

"She's here."

Storm comes into land nearby shaking her head. "She is not. She is gone and if we do not find her the entire world will be in peril."

"What are you guys talking about?" Bedlam asks clueless.

Storm and Wolverine share a look. They don't know. They don't know what any of this is about.

"Alright pal, listen and listen good because I ain't got the time to repeat myself," Wolverine makes sure Bedlam is listening as he summarises just what the hell is actually going on. More or less everything. Like he said he ain't got time for the usual secrets and half-truths.

New York...

The Sinister Six have recovered from their initial shock and now prepare themselves to face...whatever it is this girl is.

The girl that is right now helping Spider-Man to his feet.

"On your feet, soldier!" Carnage snaps jokingly. "We'll get to the lying down part later," she says seductively with a wink.

"Kitty?" Spider-Man croaks, his heart seized in terror at what his eyes behold. "You're ok?" he just has to ask, pointing at her chest.

"T'was merely a flesh wound!" she declares, dismissing it as anything serious.

"Kitty. You can fight this," he is beginning to argue but is cut off when his now symbiotic girlfriend places a talon to his lips. "Shh, We'll talk later. First We feel the need to inflict some extreme violence. God! It's been too long since We were able to do that!" she laments.

"Whatever you are...creature," Doc Ock addresses her. "You and the arachnid are still outnumbered."

"Ba-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha," Carnage laughs mockingly. "You guys! Are what? A threat? Puh-lease! We've seen scarier laundry baskets. No seriously We think someone cursed the thing."

"Have you forgotten already what we did to you?" Kraven asks, holding a new knife up(seriously where does he keep them?)

"That's not a knife," Carnage says in a strong Australian accent. She then transforms her right hand into a blade. "This is a knife!" She cackles. "Crocodile Dundee, mate. Haven't seen that movie in ages. We'll put it on the list of things We'll be doing while you guys are being buried...or cremated...or mummified. Honestly We don't really care as long as it happens after We've tortured you horribly for six..seven hours tops."

"Hours?" Spider-Man queries...and yes it's a dumb question.

"You're right," she says with a nod. "It is far too short a time but you know We're busy. Got lots of plans to catch up on all those things We missed out on these last few months...but don't worry honey We'll make sure to set aside time for you," she assures him, squeezing his cheek...no not that one.

"Hey!" Spider-Man yelps as Carnage gives his butt cheek a squeeze.

She cackles. "Or is that set aside time for riding you?"

Yep. They're all so, so, so screwed and Peter doesn't have a clue what to do right now. While he has defeated the Sinister Six before on his own he doubts he can fight them and try and rein Kitty in in this state at the same time but he can't just allow her to do what she will do to them either. Peter has no love for any of these guys but what Carnage will do to them if she was allowed to...involuntarily shudder.

Course that is when the typical Parker luck kicks in and any choice in the matter is taken out of Peter's hands when Carnage just charges in.

"Cry 'Havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war!" she cries as she lets 'slip' a series of symbiote created weapons. Throwing Axes, knives, sharp daggers forcing the 6 villains to dodge or try and protect themselves...well except Sandman naturally. "And to think We only got a B for that assignment. A fucking B!" she recalls angrily. "Remind us to pay our teacher a visit," she requests because that teacher is so going to pay. A B?! Seriously?! "We'll carve that damn B into his chest!" she vows.

Carnage leaps right in to the middle of the group, the thrill of the battle, of violence, making her blood rush through her veins. It's that thrill that overrides the part of her that really can think rationally and strategically when it comes to fights but she is still riding on the high of her rebirth.

It starts off well enough. She took them by surprise. After all who charges in to attack 6 of the most dangerous...ok Mysterio doesn't count. Who charges in to attack 5 of the most dangerous villains on the planet?

Though she doesn't forget to deliver a nice powerful kick to Mysterio's gut in the process. So, so satisfying.

Her arms morph into blades and she slashes away at them, forcing the 5 of them who actually have solid bodies to dodge the very lethal strikes. This tells them that this...thing is nothing like Spider-Man. She really is trying to kill them.

Now about that 6th one without a solid form. Looking to help his fellow villains his hands morphed into spikey balls and SMASH!

Sandman strikes her, sending her flying into a parked car which crumples on impact.

"Nicely done, Marko," Doc Ock compliments him but it's only a temporary reprieve.

Carnage shakes her head as she stands back up. "WOOHOO, THAT WAS FUN!" she proclaims. "Gotta say there beach boy you pack a hell of a wallop. We're gonna enjoy finding a way to actually hurt you but in the meantime lets play catch!" she proposes with great enthusiasm as she picks up the car she was slammed into and hurls it through the air at them.

Only to have it stopped mid-air by a giant web.

"Oh, come on!" she complains. "That was us totally being merciful," she whines. "A nice quick death by being squashed by car! Can't you let us have any fun?!" she asks, hands on hips in a very Kitty-esque pouting pose.

"Boy, where do I even start with that one?" Spider-Man mutters to himself as he lands atop the car he stuck. This entire situation was a nightmare. What was he suppose to do? How can he stop the Sinister Six and his symbiote-possessed girlfriend...who frankly so far is only playing around. Carnage is capable of far worse than what she has done so far...and yes he internally berates himself for thinking that about Kitty but sadly it is very true.

So to his left are 6 of his greatest villains...ok, 5 of his greatest villains. Mysterio...so lame. And to his right is the love of his life currently decked out in a red and black psychotic inducing symbiote suit.

This is gonna be one of those days.

At the Institute...

So Wolverine laid it out. Nice and plain. That Cyclops was now possessed by an alien General who would transform Earth into a new version of his homeworld and that all of them, probably, wouldn't survive it.

The Hellions all had deep frowns on their faces but whether that was from the fact they were unhappy at what they were hearing or losing the fight they were just having no-one could tell just yet.

"Is this all true, Dust?" Roulette asks.

"Roulette, what?" Bedlam asks.

"Come on Chris, we all know Sooraya doesn't lie. She can't. If she says this is true then it's true," the blond argues.

Bedlam opens his mouth to argue and then closes it. Jen's right. "Ok, Dust. The truth?"

Dust looks at her former teammates with a calm, patience gaze. "What Mr Logan has told you is the truth. Ms Frost has made...an unfortunate deal."

"Really gonna for understatement there aren't ya Dust," Jubilee rattles off a sarcastic drawl. A Jubilee sporting a black eye and a split lip. Oh, someone is so gonna pay for this later.

"Seriously guys, how much longer are you going to go along with this?" Volcana asks her former teammates. "It should be so fucking obvious by now, to even you stupid idiots, Ms Frost doesn't care about you beyond how she can use you."

"Volcana's right," Tarot says in support of her lover. "It was why I left. Why she left. Why Dust and Penance left. I mean just look at her. That's Monet. You all remember that right?" the French girl asks them while pointing at the red coloured mutant. "And while Emma was not directly responsible it was because of her association with the Hellfire Club...and oh yeah, how did that last meeting with them go again?"

"Us trapped in some shitty Hell dimension Selene cooked up," Volcana answers. "And you think that'll be the end of it? Selene hates Emma's guts and vice versa. How long until the snobby bitch throws you under the bus...or as cannon fodder against the fucking Black Queen."

"Uh, hello," Magma waves. "Are we forgetting what she had that piece of trash over there do to me?" she asks, very annoyed that her pain isn't being mentioned while pointing at a still pinned underneath Penance Empath.

"Let me up!" he yells.

"The only up I want Manuel is the one where I shove you up Pluto's arse until he shits you down into the Underworld for all eternity!" the Nova Roman princess vents some of her pent up fury.

"Ooh, I have gotta remember that one," Volcana chuckles, mentally storing that insult away.

"You know, they're right," Ali speaks up. "Enough is enough and frankly I'm not sure any amount of money is worth all this bullshit," she says, genuinely tired of all of this. This was not what she signed up for. She signed up to get a damn record deal yet lately it doesn't seem to her that her music career is going anywhere, anytime fast.

The Hellions all look at each other and it is clear there is doubt in their eyes but if they were being honest the doubt isn't a new phenomenon. It's been a constant one since that very incident when Selene seized control of the Hellfire Club and cast Emma out. They've all been asking what the consequences of that would be for them.

"What do you want us to do?" Bedlam asks.

"Just tell us where they might have gone," Logan answers. That's all they need.

"Fuck if we know," Hellions says, angrily. "She just left us here!" he exclaims. Left him here. Him?! Of all people. And you know what this is not the first time Ms Frost has not shown him the respect he damn well deserves and you know what else? He's sick and tired of it.

Just when it looks like they're at a dead end Sage walks out of the mansion, her pace rapid, laptop in hand. "We have a problem," she states.

"Can ya narrow that down a little?" Husk asks because they have a whole heap of problems.

"What Hayseed Jr said," Logan says in agreement.

"I examined the laptop. Zod has disabled Brainiac's virus. Critical system have been restored to normal."

"Why would he do that?" Storm asks.

"He required information," Sage answers as she opens the laptop and shows what she has managed to retrieve.

"The Pentagon?!" Logan exclaims. "What the hell was he looking for there?"

"That I cannot answer," Sage has to unfortunately reply. "But I strongly advise you do not let him finish whatever his goal is."

"Yeah, great," Logan grumbles. "Any idea how to find him?"

"Not him."

Everyone looks at the source of that voice. Jean.

"What was that Red?" Logan asks.

"We don't find him…Zod. We find Scott."

"You're gonna have to explain that one."

"Cerebro," Jean answers. "If the virus has been disabled it'll be working again. I can use it to find Scott because no matter what Brainiac did to enhance him, at his base code Scott is still a mutant. Failing that I can always try to locate Emma if we continue to assume they're together," she proposes.

Logan looks to Sage who has a contemplative look on her face. "Could work," the technopathic mutant muses.

Logan throws his hands up. What the hell have they got to lose at this point. "Alright, Red. We're in your hands."

Soon enough Jean is down in Cerebro as Beast runs a quick diagnostic on it.

"It all seems to check out," the hairy mutant reports. "You're sure about this?" he asks her. "This does place an enormous strain on your mind and you must maintain absolute control," he reminds her of something she is aware of.

"This is not my first rodeo...uck, I'm starting to sound like Clark," Jean makes an annoyed sound.

Beast chortles softly. It has not escaped even his attention that Clark and Jean seem to have an effect on the other. Jean's patience, support and compassion have had a beneficial effect on Clark's whole demeanour while Clark has been helping Jean not be so serious because his student could take things too seriously. There is a need to just relax and enjoy life from time to time. "Ready when you are," he tells her.

Jean takes a breath, calms and focusses her mind and places the helmet on her head. This should work because if anyone should know Scott's mind(assuming he's still in there) it's her. Despite their recent conflicts Jean did love him and dated him and therefore got to know his mind quite intimately.

Through Cerebro Jean's mind expands outward, leaving the confines of the mansion and stretching out across the country searching for Scott's signature. She's not having much luck. It looks like whatever Brainiac did has completely altered Scott's signature and she can't…

"Grey."

"Emma?"

There is no reply but what had surprised Jean was Emma making herself so easy to detect. In fact it's beyond that. Emma psychically called out and gave her location away.

But why?

The possible answer would mean Jean giving Emma a benefit of the doubt...and as usually willing to do that as Jean would be normally...it's Emma freakin Frost!

It's probably a trap...or to think the unthinkable Emma is regretting her choice and looking for a way out.

Jean cannot believe she thought that. She did just give Emma the benefit of the doubt. She feels dirty.

Then again what choice is there? Trap or not Jean has a location and they may have their last chance to stop Zod.

The powerful telepath returns to the confines of her body and removes the helmet. She turns and exits the room where Logan and Storm are waiting for her.

"How did it go?" Storm asks.

"I couldn't find Scott but I did find Emma. She's at her home in Boston," she reports.

Wolverine snorts. "We're just going around in circles at this point," he gripes that they have to go back to Boston.

Jean shrugs helplessly.

"Alright," Logan accepts that this is what fate has dumped on him. "Lets gear up and get moving."

"What about the Hellions?" Storm wonders.

"We ain't got time to deal with them, Ro. They're free to go and do whatever," he decides.

Ororo thinks it isn't that simple. Go where? Do what? Back to Emma? Hmm...has to be a better option than that. "I shall remain here and keep an eye on them until they leave."

"You sure?" Logan asks. "We could use ya."

"Perhaps but you will have those weapons we built to tackle a Kryptonian and take Magik along with you this time. We know, from Clark, Kryptonians have an aversion to magic. Plus I suspect she knows far more about possessions of varying forms than anyone else here. There may still be a way to save Scott."

Logan can't argue with any of her logic. "You feeling ok? Or yer stomach still acting up?"

Oh, of all the questions he could ask. This is not the time to get into that. Not until she is sure. "I am fine," she assures him. She leans over and kisses his cheek. "Just remember to come back to me," she says in a soft, loving voice.

"Hey, you know me, darlin," he drawls.

"Yes. That's why she said it," Jean quips making Storm laugh.

Logan rolls his eyes. Women.

As the x-jet roars away into the distance Storm finds herself eyeing up the Hellions with the New Mutants guarding them.

They seem rather...lost which is what she was suspecting might be the case.

She thinks that perhaps it is time for her to do her best Charles' impression. "You are free to go," she announces to them. "But before you do I have a small request."

The Hellions eye her suspiciously. Just letting them go seems too easy.

"What request?" Bedlam asks.

"That you hear me out."

The Hellions look at each other, confused.

"What the hell. Not like we've got anything to lose at this point is it," Ali says, sounding rather defeated and deflated.

No-one can come up with an argument against that.

Bedlam throws his hands up. "Ok, shoot. What is it you want to say?"

What Storm will say, in the end, will amount to an offer. She just hopes the Hellions possess the wisdom to accept it.

The Phantom Zone...

Clark and Raya are near the portal now. Taking the long way round had eaten up time. Perhaps time they didn't have but it's too late to change course now. They are laying flat down on the slope of a dune.

"There it is," Raya says in a hushed whisper.

Clark peers over the lip of the dune. There isn't much to see. Two crystals forming a triangle opening and what he assumes is the control panel.

"I don't see anyone," Raya mentions.

"They're there," Clark tells her. "Quite a few of them actually," he can just...sense. Don't ask him to explain it rationally.

Raya glances at him. She has no reason not to believe him. "They must have heard you were in the Zone and knew you'd come here."

"Great. I end up in the one place with a rumour mill worse than the mansion," he mutters in disparaging tones. "Any ideas?" he asks his companion.

"Just the one," she says as she suddenly pulls out a dagger.

Before Clark can react she is slicing open his palm. "What the…?!"

Raya places her hand over his mouth, quietening him before they are heard. "I am sorry, Kal-El," she apologises. "Sorry that I will not be able to join you on your journey," she says with deep regret.

Clark looks at her confused.

"But before we part let me say this. I have known you only a short time but I can see the greatness within. Whatever darkness has touched you...lay it down. It does not define you. It does not control you. Be the light your parents believed you to be. Be the light I can see struggling to break free. Be the light and lead the way. It has been my honour to aid you." She lifts his cut hand and squeezes it. "Your blood will open the portal. Farewell," she says, her voice tinged with deep emotions. Regret mostly.

Before Clark can stop her she is on her feet, leaping over the top of the dune and running down the other side, past the portal...and that is when a good dozen or so other robed figures and wraith-like entities emerge to chase after her. She's providing a distraction.

Clark swears under his breath. If she had told him she was doing this he would never have let her. Which is exactly why she didn't tell him, he guesses. He flings his body over the top of the dune and down the other side. Thanks to Raya's distraction he reaches the portal unmolested and places his bloody hand on the controls. The portal begins to activate, a brilliant white light forming in the centre of the triangle.

Clark spins round, looking for Raya. Maybe it's not too late. Maybe he can still get to her. She's not too far away as matter of fact. His eyes go wide when what he sees is Raya, who had been fighting off the other Zoners, getting stabbed in the side by one. "Raya!" he screams...which is a mistake.

It simply brings the attention of the Zoners upon him. They rush toward him just as the light in the portal expands outward, engulfing him…

Author's Note: Yay Carnage is back! I say yay because she is so fun to write for. Ali doing her Lloyd Bridges impression. Empath still not getting what he really deserves but this will do for the moment. And I wonder what Storm could possibly be offering the Hellions? Oh my! Is that Emma actually trying to find a way out? Or is it just another trap? And Raya proving she is one of the good ones after all. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; Graduation part 9