Within the confines of a secret laboratory, a shadowy figure was watching the news report of the Friends of Humanity's attack on the mutant counselling center. As he looked on with malice and intrigue, he witnessed the massive explosion brought on by X-Gene. He enhanced the footage to focus slowly on her, a viscous smile forming on his face. He brought up a facial recognition software, which quickly identified her. However, when he saw she was classified as human, his eyes went wide.
"Intriguing…" he mused.
…
Out in the middle of the ocean, Scott and Jean were riding along on their boat, enjoying the solace and quiet their little excursion was providing.
"This is nice," Jean noted. "No killer robots, no bigoted extremists, no Brotherhood-"
"No kids interrupting us anytime we get more than five seconds alone?" Scott remarked, sitting next to her.
"That too. I can't remember the last time we had a chance to relax."
"It's been a while, I admit. We have one now though, and I plan to take full advantage."
The two leaned in, sharing a kiss.
…
Back with Beast in the Danger Room, he was starting to feel fatigued from dodging the constant barrage of death traps and turrets. His mind raced for any kind of solution for his perilous predicament
"How does one defeat the Danger Room?" Beast pondered before an idea struck him. "By turning it against itself."
Beast landed in front of the main entrance, waiting for some kind of attack. As predicted, a rocket shot his way, prompting him to leap out of the way as it blew open the door. This allowed Beast to leap out of the Danger Room and drop to his hands and knees in exhaustion.
"There seems to be… something wrong with the system…"
…
Just outside the mansion, Morph walked up to the gate, gazing at the house that seemed to be haunting his mind. The wound on his head was still aching, and his thoughts were scattered to the wind. A cloud of rage seemed to be consuming him, filling his thoughts with the desire for revenge.
"X-Men..." he hissed, clutching my head. "They must..."
He twisted himself, clutching his head and slamming himself against the wall surrounding the school.
"No!" he cried. "They're my friends!"
He twisted violently, the rage overtaking him again.
"They left me to die! They must die too!"
"But they're my friends! I can't-"
He devolved into screaming, falling to the ground and breathing heavily.
"You seem troubled, my friend."
Morph looked up to see a man with white skin, red eyes, and black armor and a cape. He gasped, backing up hard against the wall.
"Wh-who are you?"
"I'm the man who saved you, Morph. I'm the one who plucked you from the battlefield your so-called 'friends' left you in. I'm the one who mended your broken body, and cured your shattered psyche."
"I… I remember…"
"Your confusion is understandable, but your hatred for the X-Men is completely justified. They abandoned you. Left you to die. Replaced you. You deserve retribution for that."
"Right… the X-Men… they're not my friends… not anymore… they must pay!"
The man smirked in response.
…
Meanwhile, Scott and Jean's boat finally arrived at the island, much to their delight.
"We're here," Scott announced. "Finally."
"Fantastic," Jean replied. "Wanna get our swimsuits on and go for a dip?"
"Yes on the swim," Scott agreed, wrapping an arm around Jean's waist. "As far as the suits though…"
"Ahoy!" a voice called out. "You on the sailboat!"
Both Scott and Jean turned to see someone standing on a rock near the island. It was a man with long pink hair in a flamboyant purple and yellow coat. He flipped closer to the pair, landing like an acrobat on several of the rocks.
"Who could that be?" Jean questioned. "I thought the island was uninhabited."
"So did I," Scott replied before going to the edge of the boat. "Hello there! Can we help you?!"
"I have a message for you!"
Scott and Jean looked at each other in confusion.
"What is it?!" Scott asked.
The man grinned, then took a deep breath before letting out a powerful, concussive shout. The shout was so powerful, it knocked the boat out of the water and onto the island. The two X-Men onboard went skidding across the sand, their ears ringing.
"Jean, are you alright?"
"Yes, but our screaming friend isn't alone."
Scott looked up to see a large, muscular man approaching them.
"Looks like you two are all dried up," he remarked.
The man then proceeded to punch the boat, prompting the two X-Men to leap out of the way.
"This was supposed to be a private outing!" Scott declared. "And I don't remember inviting you!"
He tried lifting his shades to blast at him, but was suddenly blasted in the back himself.
"Scott!" Jean let out.
She ran to him, but a short, incredibly hairy man grabbed her, wrestling her to the ground.
"You ain't going nowhere, lady!" he exclaimed.
Jean quickly started using her powers to pry him off of her. Before she could do anything else, a pair of stretchy black arms that seemed to be made of tar reached out. They had a set of inhibitor collars in hand, one that was quickly locked around Jean's neck.
"What…?"
"You like?" the voice of the man with the tar arms remarked. "A little last season, but I dare say they look good on you."
The tar man was quick to collar Scott as well, rendering him powerless. The muscled man tossed him across the ground, right at the feet of the man Morph had been talking to.
"You would be wise not to struggle," he cautioned. "I'd hate to have to injure you… right away."
"Who are you?" Scott demanded. "What do you want with us?!"
"Call me… Sinister. Mr. Sinister."
…
Back at the mansion, Beast was going over some diagnostics on the Danger Room to figure out what had happened to cause it to malfunction. As he did, he heard the sound of Kurt porting into the hallway just outside, followed by a rather ominous thud. He quickly ran outside to find Kurt on the ground, panting heavily and dripping with sweat. Alexis was on the ground next to him, not moving. Stealthy was looking at them both and when he saw Hank, he screeched, porting onto his head and gesturing frantically to the pair.
"Alexis! Kurt!"
He quickly knelt down and picked both of them up, rushing to the infirmary. He laid Kurt down, snagging a bottle of water with one foot while setting Alexis down on a different table and grabbing a defibrillator in his arm. Making sure Kurt had the water in hand, Hank focused on Alexis, taking the paddles in hand and quickly removing her helmet as Stealthy snatched up her badge.
"Clear!" Beast let out, charging the paddles and pressing them against her chest.
Her entire body jolted and she gasped, sitting up and panting.
"I'm awake!" she shouted, putting a hand to her chest before turning to Beast. "Did you just defib me?"
"Considering you were passed out on the ground, it seemed like the most prudent course of action."
She gave a nod, then turned to Kurt, who was struggling to open the water bottle with shaky hands. She slipped off the table, taking it and opening it for him. She then held it to his lips so he could drink.
"Thank you," he replied before taking a drink.
"Perhaps once you slaked your thirst, you can tell me why you were both in such horrid states," Beast suggested.
"Vhy?" Kurt replied coldly, sitting up while being supported by Alexis. "The reason vhy is because ve vent up against zhe Friends of Humanity and you never showed!"
"But I was not aware of any mission going on," Beast insisted.
"You were the one who sent us on the mission," Alexis recalled. "You said you were going to shut off the Danger Room and catch up to us."
"I was in the midst of battling the Danger Room at the time. It nearly killed me."
Kurt and Alexis exchanged confused looks.
"Something's going on here," she remarked.
…
At the Friends of Humanity's headquarters, many of the goons were gathered around a large stage. On it was their leader, who was working the crowd of extremists into a complete frenzy.
"You have done well, my brothers and sisters!" he addressed. "What we have accomplished tonight is a warning for the entire mutant race! We have shown them that they have no place in proper human society!"
The extremists burst into cheers, screaming at the top of their lungs.
"And as a reward, we have one of them with us here tonight! A mutant!"
The screams became even louder as Jubilee was dragged onto the stage. She was nursing a black eye and a split lip, her hands tied tightly behind her back. She was forced to her knees, facing the crowd. She looked out at them, more than a little afraid, but trying to put on a brave face.
"Well?!" their leader shouted. "What should we do with her?!"
The suggestions that rang out made Jubilee's blood run cold. She shuddered, her brave facade fading.
"So be it!" the leader declared. "The humans have spoken!"
"You wanna kill a kid, and you call yourselves human?!" Jubilee snapped. "I know some mutants who look like real monsters, but are more human than every single one of you!"
"Enough of this! End her!"
Before anyone could make another move, the skylight above shattered, and Wolverine came crashing down. He snarled, unsheathing his claws.
"You want a mutant?! Here I am!"
He quickly slashed through Jubilee's binds, freeing her hands and allowing her to blast the guards holding her.
"Thanks! Man, am I glad to see you!"
"What the hell are you even doing here, kid?! Don't tell me you tried to take on these low-lives by yourself!"
"Storm sent me to what I thought was a mutant halfway house, but it turned out to be FoH Headquarters! They grabbed me and were gonna kill me!"
"You're just lucky I was out clearing my head. If you knew how much of that bubblegum of yours I had to sniff to find you-"
A laser blast whizzed past their faces.
"Lecture after we get out of here!" Jubilee shrieked.
Wolverine nodded, grabbing Jubilee and jumping out of the building.
…
After an uncertain amount of time running, Wolverine and Jubilee made it back to the X-Mansion safe. Once the door was closed, Jubilee sagged against it in exhaustion.
"That… was way too close. Why would Storm send me there? Could she have gotten the address wrong?"
"Don't think so. Storm would be certain about a place like that. Something's-"
Before Wolverine could finish, a faint sound reached his ears. It was knocking, like someone was trying to get someone's attention. It was slow, repetitive, and seemed to be coming from the hall closet. Curious, he went to the closet and opened it up, revealing Storm inside.
"Storm?!" Wolverine let out. "What the hell were you doing in there?!"
She didn't say a word, having become almost catatonic from being trapped. He looked her over, his eyebrows furrowing.
"She must have been in there for hours," he realized.
"Who would trap Storm in a closet like that?"
"Probably the same person who sent you into the lion's den tonight. Something's going on around here. And I plan to find out what."
…
Back in the infirmary, Kurt, Alexis, and Beast were trying to get to the bottom of what was happening. Kurt was still drinking his bottle of water, munching on an energy bar that Stealthy had provided him to help him regain his strength.
"So someone with my likeness sent you on a mission against the Friends of Humanity," Beast surmised.
"Could it be Mystique again?" Alexis questioned. "She did escape after she tried to kill Kelly."
"Nein," Kurt replied. "Zhis is not my mother's doing. She obeys Magneto, and he vould not allow harm to befall you."
"Good point. So, someone new maybe? How many shape changers do we know?"
"Including Mystique… one," Beast answered.
"Well, that's helpful," Alexis remarked sarcastically as Rogue and Gambit entered.
"Sounds like we're all havin the same problem," Rogue noted.
"Vhat do you mean?" Kurt inquired.
"Somebody disguised themselves as Rogue and tried tricking me into kissing the real one," Gambit elaborated.
"Probably thought he'd sneak a kiss and knock himself out," Rogue added.
"Clearly, someone doesn't know Gambit all that well," Alexis remarked. "No way he'd do that. As much as he quips about kissing you and it being worth it, he'd never do it because he knows you don't consent."
"Thank you, petit," Gambit nodded. "Gambit don't go where he's not invited."
"Clearly there is some shape changer attempting to sew malcontent amongst us," Beast surmised. "If not outright kill us."
"I'd go with kill," Rogue insisted. "Kisses from me can be deadly."
"And I overloaded in the middle of a crowded street," Alexis added. "We're lucky Kurt got me out of there, but he nearly ported himself to death trying to get back here."
"Now the question is who," Kurt proposed. "And why."
At that moment, Professor Xavier came into the room. He looked incredibly concerned, surveying the group and knitting his fingers together.
"My X-Men, I have heard about tonight's events. I fear that our old nemesis, Mystique has returned."
"Mystique?" Alexis questioned. "You sure about that Professor? We kinda already ruled her out as a suspect."
"She is the only one that could be responsible for this, being the only shape changer with a grudge against the X-Men," Xavier pointed out. "We must all be on our guard, lest she attempt to take us by surprise once more."
As the Professor was talking, Wolverine and Jubilee entered, the former carrying Storm inside. Beast saw the catatonic weather witch and quickly rushed over.
"My word, what happened to her?"
"Someone locked her in a closet," Jubilee explained. "She had to have been trapped for a few hours for her to end up like this."
As Wolverine sat Storm down on a bed, he caught a familiar scent, one he hadn't smelled in a long time.
"It can't be…"
Alexis turned to him, raising an eyebrow.
"Logan, do you have a scent? Is Mystique in the room?"
"It's not Mystique… it's Morph!"
"Morph?" Beast questioned.
"As in 'was killed by Sentinels' Morph?" Alexis asked. "How is that possible?"
"I don't know," Wolverine admitted. "But he's here! I know it!"
"X-Men," the Professor spoke up, sounding nervous. "He's Mystique! He's trying to mislead us! Restrain him!"
Alexis looked between the Professor, then at Logan. Then, she got an idea.
"Hold on, let me use my secondary mutation," she insisted. "I'll look into the future, see what happens. See if he really is Mystique."
"Of… course," the Professor replied. "Go right ahead."
Alexis nodded, then immediately grabbed her pistol and shot the 'Professor' in the stomach.
"I don't have foresight, that was my father's ability."
"Huh," the 'Professor' remarked, standing up. "Oh well."
The "Professor" then transformed into Morph, much to everyone's surprise. They all stared, as if they couldn't believe their eyes.
"It is him," Gambit realized.
"Morph..." Wolverine let out. "What happened to ya? You look like hell. Where have you been? How are you alive?"
"Funny story about that," Morph replied, before pulling out a gun and opening fire on the group.
Alexis moved forward, taking the shots as Nightcrawler ported behind him. He grabbed Morph's arms to try and subdue him.
"Morph, please!" he pleaded. "We are your friends!"
"Let go of me!" Morph snapped, grabbing Kurt by the back of his uniform and throwing him off.
"Clearly, Morph isn't in his proper state of mind," Beast surmised. "We should try to subdue and contain him, at least until we get to the bottom of this.
"I'd like to," Rogue replied. "But I don't know how I'd feel about having his messed up thoughts inside my head."
"Then why don't I give you all some space!" Morph called out, pulling out a vial of green liquid and lobbing it at the group.
It crashed to the ground, releasing a pungent green gas that immediately had everyone gagging. Wolverine's nose flared up, the scent becoming overbearing and leaving him reeling. As such, he was completely caught off guard when Morph shoved past him, running for the exit.
"Hank!" Wolverine called out while coughing. "Seal down the mansion!"
"I'll… do what I can..." Hank replied, also finding it hard to breathe.
"Kurt!" Alexis shouted. "We need to get to the hanger! He'll head there, trying to escape!"
Kurt nodded before grabbing her hand, teleporting them both away.
…
Down in the hangar, Morph was making his way towards the Blackbird, hoping to use it to escape. As he reached the controls, a shot from Alexis' gun hit the ground at his feet, forcing him to stop.
"That's far enough Morph!" Alexis shouted, aiming right at him. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but you need to stand down!"
"I don't need to do anything!" Morph replied, before transforming into Alexis. "Especially when it's coming from you!"
"Look, I know we don't know each other, but everyone is seriously worried about you, and-"
"Worried about me?! They left me to die! And then they replaced me! With you!"
"Ve did not replace you, Morph!" Kurt tried to explain. "No one could ever replace-!"
"Shut up!" Morph cried out, running forward and tackling Alexis. "You'll be the first X-Man to feel my vengeance!"
The two of them wrestled on the ground, Morph managing to knock Alexis' gun out of her hands. Both began trading punches and blows, pulling hair and rolling around until it was basically impossible to tell which was the real Alexis. Nightcrawler's eyes went back and forth between the two, unsure which one to aid. Soon, one Alexis was on top of the other, turning to Nightcrawler.
"My gun!" she shouted. "Give it to me! Hurry!"
"No, don't!" the one on the bottom shouted. "That's Morph! Don't do it!"
"No, she's Morph! Give me the gun, hurry!"
Nightcrawler looked between the two, unable to figure out which to help. That's when the one on the bottom suddenly perked.
"Just shoot us! Both of us!"
Kurt was surprised, but obliged regardless. He shot both Alexises, the one on top falling hard as the one on bottom absorbed the blast. She got up, grinning as her doppelganger turned back into Morph.
"Alexis! How did you-!"
"I've shot myself with that thing enough times to know I can take the hit. Morph, on the other hand, still doesn't know what I can take."
"Well… ain't you special…" Morph let out.
He then kicked Alexis' legs out from under her, causing her to hit the ground and catch herself. Unfortunately, this caused her to release the power she had stored, which created a fair sized explosion. A large cloud of dust was kicked up, and Nightcrawler had to brace himself against flying rubble. Morph took the moment of confusion to run towards the Blackbird. He then fired up the jet, causing it to rise up as the basketball court opened up above. The jet took off, prompting Kurt to grab Alexis and port her out of the hanger. They reappeared in the observation deck, watching at the plane took off.
"Nein..." Kurt cursed.
"We need to regroup with the others," Alexis insisted, leaning heavily on Kurt. "and I need a recharge."
Kurt nodded before porting off again.
…
Later, the two regrouped with the others so they could make their next move, and so Alexis could get a recharge from Gambit. Storm was finally starting to come out of her catatonic state, no doubt roused by the stench of Morph's stink bomb. She used some wind to clear the air so they could all breath easier. As she did, Kitty came into the room, holding a downed Emma Frost.
"I found her in Cerebro," she explained. "I guess Morph must have knocked her out to keep us from sussing him out."
"This is surprisingly well coordinated," Beast admitted.
"Morph was a lot of things, but smart wasn't one of them," Wolverine admitted. "Not this smart at least."
"He'd done his homework, enough to know about Emma, but not me..." Alexis remarked.
"Emma spent time with the Brotherhood, so that's how Morph probably knew about her," Rogue pointed out. "But you, you're a wild card he wasn't expecting."
"Still," Wolverine spoke back up. "With the planning, the work he's put into this… someone's pulling his strings. And I'd like to know damn well who."
"Forge," Storm spoke up. "Perhaps he can track the Blackbird, and we can figure out exactly where he's going. If Morph is working for someone, then he'll no doubt attempt to make contact."
"And then what?" Rogue asked. "He took the Blackbird. We've got no way of going after him."
"Well then," Wolverine smirked. "Good thing Forge built a spare set of wings."
…
Back on the island with Jean and Scott, they had been dragged into a large laboratory hidden amidst some old ruins. The entire area had been completely decked out with enough machinery to make even Dr. Frankenstein jealous. The two captive mutants were strapped to a pair of work tables, their collars suppressing their powers and leaving them helpless. They struggled to free themselves, but in their present condition, it seemed that they were indeed trapped.
"I must admit," Sinister spoke up, drawing their attention as he stepped out of the shadows, "I find myself uncharacteristically excited to finally have you two in my clutches."
"Why?" Scott demanded. "What are we to you?"
"Everything." He pulled Scott's glasses off his face, forcing his eye open. Scott tried to turn his head away, but Sinister was far stronger. "The power you possess, though unrefined, has unlimited potential. Had you not received such a traumatic injury as a child, you would be the ultimate weapon."
Scott finally pulled his head away as Sinister turned to Jean. She tried to squirm from his hand as he gently brushed a stray lock of hair from her face.
"And you, my dear Jean Grey. You have no idea what a glorious destiny awaits you. The power brimming inside of you, just waiting to take flight."
"Get your hands off of her!" Scott screamed.
"Or what? You're far from a position to do anything to stop me."
He snapped his fingers and a pair of thick wires attached to needles came out of the tables on either side of their necks.
"Don't worry," Sinister told his captives as the needles jammed themselves into their necks. "Acquiring genetic material is usually painless." He chuckled to himself, smirking "Oh, if Charles Xavier had any idea what he had with the two of you… Sure he was aware of your abilities, but your true strength is in your genetic code."
"Ngh..." Scott grunted, trying and failing to dislodge the wires. "What are you talking about?"
"Combining your DNA, I will create a force more powerful then anything the world has ever seen. The secret of mutant evolution, and the very future of our kind."
"You're insane if you think you'll get away with this!" Scott snarled. "The X-Men will stop you!"
"Oh, I've already dealt with your precious X-Men," Sinister gloated. "Sorry Scott, but nobody is coming for either of you."
…
A few miles out, the X-Men were soaring across the sky in a specially designed attack copter.
"Gotta admit," Gambit spoke up, "Forge outdid himself. An entire copter made out of plastic polymer."
"Considering X-Gene's affinity for a certain magnetic mutant, it makes sense," Beast spoke up. "Honestly, the creation of this vessel has been long overdue."
"Any luck tracking the Blackbird?" Wolverine asked.
"Yes," Emma reported. "It appears to be heading for a small island in the Caribbean."
Wolverine felt a chill run down his spine, one that the other X-Men also felt.
"Weren't Scott and Jean taking a retreat to the Caribbean?" Jubilee questioned.
"Of course!" Rouge realized. "Scott was in charge of the mission where we lost Morph! If he's on a revenge spree-"
"Then Cyclops is his next target..." Alexis realized.
"The X-Man he blames the most," Beast dreaded.
…
On the beach of the island, the Blackbird touched down on the sands, allowing Morph to exit the plane. He was clearly left of center, either from the wound on his head that was still throbbing, or the subsequent fight he had just escaped. Still, he stumbled down the gangplank like a zombie, as if being summoned by some unearthly force. He walked towards the ruins, clutching his head as noises pierced his skull.
"What's… wrong with me..." he groaned in pain.
Drawn by the sound of his voice, Sinister turned, giving the ex-X-Man a smirk.
"Ah, the prodigal son returns." The pale-skinned villain turned to Scott and Jean, his smirk growing wider. "Mr. Summers, Miss Grey, allow me to reintroduce Kevin Sidney, better known to you as-"
"Morph..." Jean gasped.
"You're alive?" Scott let out.
Morph shook his head, before scowling at Scott.
"You sound disappointed," he remarked bitterly. "After all, you were the one who left me to die!"
"It wasn't like that Morph. We didn't want to, but Hank was injured and-"
"Save it!" Morph snapped. "I'm done with excuses! You betrayed me, left me to die, then replaced me!"
"Yes they did, Morph," Sinister told him, placing his hands possessively on Morph's shoulders. "And once I've gotten everything I want from them, you can finally take your revenge."
Morph smirked maliciously as Scott scowled down at Sinister.
"Morph… I'm sorry about what happened that day, but if you throw your lot in with him, he's gonna betray you."
"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" Morph remarked.
"Morph, please," Jean pleaded. "What happened that day was horrible, but we are still your friends."
"Shut up!" Morph screamed, slamming his hands down on Jean's table, inches from her head. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"
"Morph, don't you see? There's a part of you that's resisting Sinister's control. You have to fight it! Remember who you are!"
"Enough!" Sinister shouted. "Now that I have your genetic material, I have no further use for either of you. Morph, taking your vengeance, and dispose of-"
Just then, the entrance was blasted open, allowing the X-Men to enter the ruins.
"Knock knock," Gambit quipped, charging up a card.
"The X-Men…" Sinister growled, pointed teeth grinding. "Destroy them!"
All of a sudden, the mutants that attacked Scott and Jean earlier came out of the shadows and began moving in on the X-Men. Gambit threw his charged card at the one with tar arms, causing him to splatter against a wall. The man in purple and yellow stepped forward and let out a massive shout, knocking everyone back. Wolverine rolled on the ground before getting back to his feet, his head still ringing as a result.
"Never thought super sensitive hearing would give me so much trouble," he remarked as a hairy man in blue stepped forward.
"Guess you not used to Ruckus' ruckus," he remarked.
He took a swipe at Wolverine, but he quickly dodged it, nailing the man in the gut before kicking him in the head.
"Gonna have to be faster than that, Hairbag," he remarked, extending his claws.
"You making fun of me? Nobody makes fun of Hairbag!"
Hairbag tackled Wolverine to the ground, struggling to subdue him.
Beast meanwhile stared down a bald muscular man, who charged at him head on. Hank leapt up onto a nearby tree, causing the man to run into it.
"Perhaps now you'll see that aimless aggression is more destructive to yourself than others," he remarked.
The man just shook his head before grabbing hold of the tree and tearing it out of the ground. Beast leapt down as the man tried swinging at him with the tree.
"Don't bother!" Slab shouted. "Slab ain't gonna listen to ya! Slab gonna-"
Just then, Slab felt himself going limp, kneeling over to reveal Rogue standing behind him with a free hand on the back of his neck.
"Y'all talk too much," she jeered, grabbing hold of him, and tossing him back.
Meanwhile, the man with tar arms pulled himself off the wall and turned towards Gambit. He shot out his arms and grabbed hold of him before he could use another card.
"Why don't you let Gorgeous George give you a nice, tar coat!"
"Sorry… I'm attached to the one I have…" Gambit wheezed out.
Suddenly, electricity coursed through Gorgeous George's body, courtesy of Alexis' gun.
"Let him go, Tar Pit!"
George released Gambit and seemed to liquify before moving over to Alexis and encasing himself around her.
"Now, that's no way for a lady to talk," he remarked, squeezing her.
Suddenly, Nightcrawler appeared in front of him.
"I'm afraid zhis lady iz spoken for," he reported before porting out with her.
This gave Jubilee the chance to blast at George, causing him to falter back.
"And this one is beyond grossed out!" she called out.
Ruckus meanwhile let out a massive scream, knocking everyone backwards. Shadowcat held herself together long enough to phase beneath the ground itself. After a few seconds, she managed to phase back up, right behind Ruckus. Once she pulled herself up, she grabbed a nearby rock and conked him on the head with it. His cry was cut off and he fell over.
"Good riddance," Kitty said, sticking her pinkie in her ear and wiggling it slightly. "Bobby's singing voice sounds better than that."
Back with Wolverine, he and Hairbag were still duking it out, with Wolverine growing more and more irritated with his current opponent. Wolverine finally managed to kick him off, only for Beast to land from behind and wrap his arms around him.
"If you're quite done getting acquainted with your new friend, I do believe we have a rescue to perform."
"Right," Wolverine agreed, socking Hairbag in the face to knock him out. "Now let's get our friends back. All of them."
Before any of them could make a move, Sinister stepped into the ring. He fired an energy blast from his hand, nailing Wolverine in the chest and knocking him to the ground.
"You will not be allowed to interfere," Sinister threatened.
He fired again, but this time, Emma stepped forward, taking on her diamond form so the blasts would deflect off her as the others moved out of the way.
"Let me at him, Frost!" X-Gene declared, straightening her helmet. "I can take him!"
Emma stepped aside as X-Gene took on Sinister's energy blasts. Sinister cocked an eyebrow in intrigue as she withstood the energy.
"Impressive," he admitted. "Hardly a genetic treasure trove, but I may find some use out of you."
"Fat chance, pal!" she called back, clapping her hands together and sending him flying into a wall.
He fell hard, shaking his head as he gazed back up at her. His eyes glowed as he tried to get a read on her powers, but found that he was staring at an ordinary human.
"Intriguing…" he mused.
…
Back inside, Scott and Jean struggled to free themselves, the former turning towards their one time friend.
"Morph, please!" he called out. "You have to help us! I know we failed you, but you're still our friend. You're still one of the X-Men!"
"No… I won't fall for your lies again..." Morph whined, clutching his head as the pain grew worse and worse.
"It's not a lie, Morph. We care about you. We want to help you."
Morph tried to say something, but the pain was becoming unbearable. He stumbled and fell backward, landing on one of the various machines. This caused the restraints holding the two captives to release, and they quickly got off.
"Jean, are you alright?" Scott asked, rushing over to her.
"Fine, Scott."
"Stay with Morph. I have a score to settle with Sinister."
Jean nodded as Scott ran off, ripping the collar from his neck as his eyes began to burn.
"Sinister!" He shouted.
Sinister turned just as Scott opened his eyes, hitting him with the full force of his optic blasts. Sinister was knocked completely off his feet, his body sustaining major damage as a result of the attack. Seeing that he was actually hurt by it, Wolverine grinned.
"Cyke! Keep at it! You're actually hurting the bastard!"
"With pleasure!"
Cyclops continued letting his optic energy flow, much to Sinister's agony.
"Ruckus!" Sinister called out.
Still nursing a headache, Ruckus let out a scream that knocked Scott back, allowing Sinister to pick himself up. Together, all of Sinister's goons took off for their plane, making a hasty escape. While they did, Kurt scooped up Scott's fallen shades, sliding them onto his friend's face.
"Zhere you are, mein freund."
"Thanks, Kurt," Scott replied, putting the shades back on. "Come on, Morph's still inside with Jean."
The X-Men made their way inside, only to find Jean on the ground, nursing a bump to the head.
Morph was nowhere to be sound, but the sound of a nearby jet could be heard.
"Morph!" Wolverine shouted.
"He must have escaped in the confusion," Kitty realized. "Do you think he's going to try and come after us again?"
"No…" Jean replied. "His mind… it's uncertain. He'll stay away. Try to sort things out for himself."
"We had him back…" Wolverine lamented. "Only to lose him again…"
"Have faith, Wolverine," Kurt insisted. "Morph vill return one day. And perhaps zhis time, it vill be as our friend once more."
"Yeah… let's hope so..."
…
Meanwhile, in the deepest reaches of Antarctica, Xavier took a look around the icy landscape, searching for any sign of Magneto. So far, he hadn't found anything that could be considered dangerous or out of place. The only thing that stood out was that it wasn't nearly as cold as it should have been, and Magneto was nowhere to be found.
"Erik, where are you?" he wondered aloud.
"I'm right here, Charles!"
Xavier turned around to see Magneto flying down to him.
"Erik, what is the meaning of this? You called me and told me you were in danger, and yet here you stand, untouched in any way."
"What are you talking about? It was you who said you needed my aid."
"I did no such thing..." Xavier's eyes narrowed. "It would seem someone is playing us both for fools… but who-"
Suddenly, there was a massive explosion on the mountain next to them, causing the ice and snow to give way,
"Avalanche!" Magneto called out.
"It was a trap," Xavier realized.
Before either of them could get away, the snow completely overtook them, swallowing them and sending them crumbling down the cliffside, where they disappeared into the mists below...
