Cyclops, Fred, Toad, and the girl hastened to flee the cell while the rest of the X-Men and the Brotherhood made short work of Michaela's defenses....
"Do you hear
something?"
There was a distant rumble.
"Unfortunately, I do."
The last of the robots
was metallic junk on the warehouse floor. The rest of the X-Men joined their
companions just in time to see the most grotesque monster they'd ever set eyes
on.
"Kill them all!" Michaela ordered her hideous creation; she was
determined to make sure her two prized subjects didn't get away.... at any
cost.
"Fat chance, lady." Rogue said, leaping onto the monster's back and
beginning to drain its powers. Simultaneously, Avalanche triggered small ground
vibrations to knock the creature off balance. While it couldn't stop the
vibrations, the thing did manage to throw Rogue off its back and into Cyclops'
arms.
Xavier and Magneto arrived moments later...
"Michaela, what
have you done?"
Magneto cried.
She smiled. "Created the ultimate weapon."
"Not if I've got anything to say about it." Wolverine snarled, swinging his adamantium claws at the abomination.
The thing swung a
backhand blow that caught him in the head and nearly knocked him off his feet.
The strength of that blow was incredible.
But Wolverine was never one to back down from a challenge. He kept coming at
the creature every time it knocked him back. It bought the others time to chase
after Michaela.
"No," Magneto said, blocking their path. "Leave her to me."
The girl who'd been in the cell with Toad raised her head. "Daddy, is that
you?"
"Wanda?" Magneto murmured, not quite believing his eyes.
"Daddy!"
Somehow she found the strength to get up and run to him. "Oh, Daddy, I
knew you'd come for me!"
" Daddy?" Toad
said in shock. "Oh, no, not another one! They'll gang up against us! We
won't have a chance!"
"What are you talking about?" Rogue asked.
The creature roared,
baring row after row of razor-edged teeth.
"That."
"Get them out of here!" Cyclops ordered. "We'll handle this . . . uh, whatever."
"I don't know if we can." Lance shouted as Magneto tried to force the creature back.
Storm summoned up a
hurricane force wind . . . but even that failed to stop the abomination. Slow
it down a bit, maybe, but not stop it.
But maybe just that little bit was all they needed to overpower it.
"Everyone hit it all at once!" Cyclops ordered.
To Michaela's dismay, the creature slowly wilted under the relentless assault of its adversaries....
She turned and tried
to flee the room, but something--someone--blocked her path.
"Going somewhere?" Magneto said.
"Out of my way, Magnus!" Michaela snarled.
"You think I'm
going to just let you get away, and inflict more of your monstrosities on the
world?"
A metal bar that happened to be lying on the floor suddenly rose and flew over
to pin her against the wall.
"GET THIS OFF ME NOW!" Michaela screamed.
"I'll think
about it."
About an hour later, the cops came and took Michaela away. The creature ended
up in a government facility, along with most of the rest of Michaela's
equipment.
As for her captives . . .
Toad and Wanda were just glad to be out of that madhouse.
The X-Men took them back to the mansion and checked them over to make sure they were okay.
"Boy, am I glad to be out of that nuthouse, yo." said Toad, glancing behind him as the rest of the Brotherhood laid waste to what was left of Michaela's defense systems.
"We're glad
you're okay," Lance found himself admitting. "How about we stop for
ice cream on the way home?"
"YAY!"
Back at the mansion...
Wanda finally emerged from a long bath. She felt so much better now that the grime of that place had been washed away.
There was a knock on the door. Rogue came in, carrying a pile of clothes. "I hope these fit you. You looked like my size."
"Thank you." She dressed and came downstairs, where her father waited for her.
As Wanda approached him, Magneto was, to his surprise, questioning many of his own long-held beliefs about Xavier's group. But philosophical ruminations, he decided, could wait for another time. The important thing right now was to start making up for lost time with his daughter....
"I never thought I'd say this," he said to Xavier, "but thank you."
"What will do you now?" Xavier asked as Wanda embraced her father.
"I think the
first thing we should do," he said, "is stop by the hospital."
"Who's in the hospital?" Wanda asked.
"You'll see."
Back at the hospital, Pietro was feeling a bit better (the medication was kicking in), but he wondered if his father would keep his promise. Or if he could.
In the midst of his contemplations, Mystique walked in...
"Can I go home now?" Pietro asked.
"Not yet," Mystique said. "There's someone here to see
you."
"Tell him I--"
"Boo-Boo?" a voice said.
He blinked several times. No, he wasn't dreaming. It really was her.
"Wanda!"
"Long time no see."
"Boo-Boo?" Lance
sneered.
"Don't ask," Pietro said. He embraced his sister for the first time
in over ten years.
"What happens to Michaela now?" Kitty asked Xavier.
"She'll be put
away somewhere where she can't hurt anyone ever again."
"And that . . . thing?" Brenda asked.
"I don't know, and I don't think I want to find out."
The clock in the hall chimed a later hour than anyone had thought. "It's a
school night," Xavier said. "I suggest you all get to bed, and we'll
discuss this in the morning."
"I'll second
that." Wolverine said.
"Yeah, let's go home." Lance added.
Toad looked at his fellow mutants and said," You guys go ahead, yo. I'll catch
up with you later--I want to talk to Wanda."
Mystique, who hadn't said a word in hours, looked at Xavier and Magneto....
"He hasn't
mentioned dying once."
"Dying?" Xavier asked.
Mystique explained about what had gone on earlier that evening.
"Hey,"Toad said defensively," I couldn't help it!"
"I hope you're
better now," Wanda said, squeezing his hand.
"Uh . . . yeah."
In a prison cell, an
angry Michaela vowed, "I'll get you, Magnus, and those rotten kids of
yours, if it's the last thing I do!"
They cleared out Rogue's old room so that Wanda could move in.
Two days later,Pietro
was released from the hospital,and the entire Maximoff family celebrated by
going out to dinner.
There was just one problem.
"I'm dying," groaned Fred,who had eaten his way through half the
content's of Mystique's refrigerator.
"You're dying? I'm
the one who's dying!" Lance complained while trying to hold his head on.
"You're both wrong," Mystique said. She sniffled; it seemed she had
picked up Todd's cold. " I'm
dying."
THE END
