In the vault, Xavier looked up as the door begin to slide open. He clenched
his fist around the trigger in his hand, ready to detonate the bomb the
second Magneto stepped into the room. He knew that he would be killing
himself in the process, but it was an action he was willing to take if it
could delay or even prevent Apocalypse from returning to the world.
To his relief, he saw the X-Men, along with Fred and Blob, walk through the door. "What has been happening?" he asked. "Where are Toad and Wanda?"
"We got jumped by Iron Man upstairs," said Lance, referring to Colossus. "I heard Wanda almost got killed by Gambit, I think Storm took her and Toad to a hospital,"
"That means we're cut off until she returns!" Xavier said.
"I told Storm to take them, Professor," said Jean. "I'm sorry, but Wanda would have died if we just left her there. I couldn't let that happen,"
"And your generosity might just wind up getting all of US killed!" shouted Logan.
"Logan, relax," said Xavier. "Jean, your compassion was not misplaced. You did the right thing,"
"We've called the police," said Scott. "They should be able to take Colossus and Gambit into custody once they get there. But Magneto could show up any time. What are we going to do about him?"
"I want all of you to leave, right now," said Xavier. "I'm going to stay here and destroy the artifact before Magneto can get it,"
"Hang on a minute!" Lance yelled. "We didn't fly halfway around the world for nothing! We aren't leaving until we get our hands on Magneto!"
"You that eager to die, kid?" Logan asked him. "Cause that's what's gonna happen when Chuck destroys that spear!"
"With what?" asked Fred.
"With this," said Xavier, showing them the detonator in his hand. "There's a bomb underneath the case. I'm going to set it off as soon as Magneto enters this room,"
The mutants immediately began to protest.
"Professor, you'll be killed!" shouted Jean.
"Professor, you can't do this! We need you!" added Scott.
"We don't have time to argue about this!" Xavier interrupted. "Magneto MUST NOT be allowed to acquire this artifact. This is more important than me or any of you. This world will cease to be and will be replaced with one of insufferable agony and torment if Apocalypse returns. Now, I won't ask again. Everybody leave. Now!"
Scott tried to argue more, but Jean touched his shoulder. "Scott, he's right. This is for the best," she said.
"But it can't end like this!" Scott yelled. "There's got to be something else we can do!"
"Scott, I'm sorry, but there is nothing else. This is the way it has to be," Xavier said.
Jean swore she saw a tear trickle down from underneath Scott's visor. Scott walked up to Xavier, knelt down, and embraced the bald mutant.
"Thank you, Professor," he said. "Thank you for everything you've done for us. Don't worry, I'll take care of everybody. Somehow, we'll move on from this,"
"I know, Scott. I have faith in you," said Xavier.
One by one, the rest of the X-Men said their goodbyes and then slowly turned and filed out of the room until only one remained.
"You too, Logan," said Xavier.
"Forget it, Chuck," said Logan. "I ain't lettin' you go down by yourself,"
A small grin formed on Xavier's features. "Stubborn to the end, old friend," he said.
"You better believe it. Besides, you might just need a backup to make sure that thing does its job," Logan replied, then turned to Scott and Jean, who were still standing in the doorway. "What are you waitin' for, an invitation?" he asked. "This is one fireworks show you don't want to see up close. Now get going!"
Scott and Jean gave them one last grim look, and then shut the door, leaving Logan and Xavier alone in the room, waiting for the end to come.
X
A few minutes later, all of the X-Men were back on the roof, waiting for Storm. They saw the X-Jet come soaring across the sky and touch down on the roof of the museum. Storm opened the hatch and the mutants somberly walked up the ramp of the jet.
"How're Toad and Wanda doing?" Lance asked.
"I got them to the hospital in time," replied Storm. "Wanda made it through her surgery, and she'll recover soon. What is the status of the mission,"
"The mission's over," said Scott. "We're leaving,"
"Where are Logan and the Professor?" Storm asked, noticing the downcast looks on everybody's faces.
"They're still inside," said Scott, and then walked to the back of the plane, unwilling to continue.
"They stay behind to make sure Magneto doesn't get the spear," said Jean. "They're going to destroy it with a bomb,"
"But they'll be killed!"
"I know. They told us to leave them behind. They said that they had to keep Magneto from getting that spear at any cost,"
Storm slowly realized what Jean had said. "I see," she said. She closed her eyes and said a short prayer for Logan and Xavier, and then turned back to the mutants. "Everybody get strapped in. We're leaving,"
The mutants slowly filed to their seats, and the X-Jet took off from the roof. As they lifted off, they could see police leading Colossus and Gambit out of the museum in handcuffs.
"At least we got some of the bad guys," said Fred.
"Somehow, that's not very comforting right now," said Scott.
"Hey, wait a minute," shouted Kurt. "Where's Kitty?"
Everybody looked at him as they realized that there was an empty seat on board the jet that should have been occupied.
X
Magneto reached the vault that contained the spear. He tried the door and found it to be locked. No matter, he thought. He lifted his arms and flexed his mental muscles. The door began to strain, and with a loud hum and a crash of steel, began to slide open.
X
Logan gritted his teeth as he saw the door slide open and unsheathed his claws. "At least I'm gonna get one last fight before I go," he growled. Magneto drifted through the door. "Hello again, Charles. How pleasant to see you alive," he said. "Now, stand aside,"
"I can't let you go any further, Eric," said Xavier, and reached for the trigger.
Before Xavier could detonate the bomb, a pair of hands appeared behind him out of nowhere. They grabbed onto Magneto's cape and pulled hard. Magneto yelled as he was dragged backwards and vanished through the wall.
"What the?" Logan asked in shock. A second later, he got his answer as Kitty phased through the wall.
"Half, pint, what the hell are you still doing here?!" Logan asked her angrily. "You should have got out when you could!"
"I'm like, saving your lives!" she yelled back. "Don't worry, Magneto's stuck in the wall. Now let's get out of here!"
"Kid, you are completely crazy," said Logan. "You might just turn out alright after all. Well, Chuck, looks like death will have to wait for another day,"
As they started for the exit, the wall suddenly erupted and debris went flying across the room as Magneto reappeared. "You can't stop me that easily, girl," he said to Kitty.
Xavier again reached for the detonator, but Magneto saw him and waved his hand. Xavier felt his wheelchair lift off the ground as he went flying across the room. He hit the ground and fell out of his chair and lay sprawled on the floor. The detonator was jarred loose from his hand and went crawling across the floor.
Logan roared and ran at Magneto. He jumped through the air, ready to slice the mutant's head off of his shoulders. Magneto waved his hands again and Logan found himself frozen in midair, Magneto's powers holding fast to his adamantium skeleton. He struggled against the mutant's grip but could not move.
His threats eliminated, Magneto walked towards the case.
"Stop!" Kitty shouted, and knelt down and picked up the detonator. "One more step and I'll blow it up!"
"Such courage," said Magneto. "You do realize that your sacrifice would be totally in vain. My force field could completely protect me from your bomb, and you would all die for nothing,"
"Kitty, what are you waiting for?" shouted Logan, still frozen.
Kitty hesitated, her thumb tentatively hovering above the trigger.
"You won't do it," Magneto challenged her. "Your own life is too precious to you. You are weak. None of your fellow X-Men would have hesitated as you have,"
"Shut up!" Kitty shouted. "I'll do it! I'll blow us all up!"
"Very noble of you, but I'm afraid you simply don't have the courage to do what needs to be done. Now why don't you just put that detonator down so nobody gets hurt?"
"Don't listen to him, Kitty! Do it! Blow it up!" yelled Logan.
Kitty gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and began to press the trigger.
Magneto's eyes lit up as he saw Kitty's thumb touch the trigger. "No!" he shouted, just as Kitty pressed the button. Underneath the case, a counter on the bomb lit up with the number 5.0 and began to count backwards.
Magneto lifted his arm and pointed at the case. Inside, the spear began to vibrate, and it lifted off its stand, crashing through the glass case and landing in Magneto's outstretched hand. A half-second later, the bomb exploded.
X
To his relief, he saw the X-Men, along with Fred and Blob, walk through the door. "What has been happening?" he asked. "Where are Toad and Wanda?"
"We got jumped by Iron Man upstairs," said Lance, referring to Colossus. "I heard Wanda almost got killed by Gambit, I think Storm took her and Toad to a hospital,"
"That means we're cut off until she returns!" Xavier said.
"I told Storm to take them, Professor," said Jean. "I'm sorry, but Wanda would have died if we just left her there. I couldn't let that happen,"
"And your generosity might just wind up getting all of US killed!" shouted Logan.
"Logan, relax," said Xavier. "Jean, your compassion was not misplaced. You did the right thing,"
"We've called the police," said Scott. "They should be able to take Colossus and Gambit into custody once they get there. But Magneto could show up any time. What are we going to do about him?"
"I want all of you to leave, right now," said Xavier. "I'm going to stay here and destroy the artifact before Magneto can get it,"
"Hang on a minute!" Lance yelled. "We didn't fly halfway around the world for nothing! We aren't leaving until we get our hands on Magneto!"
"You that eager to die, kid?" Logan asked him. "Cause that's what's gonna happen when Chuck destroys that spear!"
"With what?" asked Fred.
"With this," said Xavier, showing them the detonator in his hand. "There's a bomb underneath the case. I'm going to set it off as soon as Magneto enters this room,"
The mutants immediately began to protest.
"Professor, you'll be killed!" shouted Jean.
"Professor, you can't do this! We need you!" added Scott.
"We don't have time to argue about this!" Xavier interrupted. "Magneto MUST NOT be allowed to acquire this artifact. This is more important than me or any of you. This world will cease to be and will be replaced with one of insufferable agony and torment if Apocalypse returns. Now, I won't ask again. Everybody leave. Now!"
Scott tried to argue more, but Jean touched his shoulder. "Scott, he's right. This is for the best," she said.
"But it can't end like this!" Scott yelled. "There's got to be something else we can do!"
"Scott, I'm sorry, but there is nothing else. This is the way it has to be," Xavier said.
Jean swore she saw a tear trickle down from underneath Scott's visor. Scott walked up to Xavier, knelt down, and embraced the bald mutant.
"Thank you, Professor," he said. "Thank you for everything you've done for us. Don't worry, I'll take care of everybody. Somehow, we'll move on from this,"
"I know, Scott. I have faith in you," said Xavier.
One by one, the rest of the X-Men said their goodbyes and then slowly turned and filed out of the room until only one remained.
"You too, Logan," said Xavier.
"Forget it, Chuck," said Logan. "I ain't lettin' you go down by yourself,"
A small grin formed on Xavier's features. "Stubborn to the end, old friend," he said.
"You better believe it. Besides, you might just need a backup to make sure that thing does its job," Logan replied, then turned to Scott and Jean, who were still standing in the doorway. "What are you waitin' for, an invitation?" he asked. "This is one fireworks show you don't want to see up close. Now get going!"
Scott and Jean gave them one last grim look, and then shut the door, leaving Logan and Xavier alone in the room, waiting for the end to come.
X
A few minutes later, all of the X-Men were back on the roof, waiting for Storm. They saw the X-Jet come soaring across the sky and touch down on the roof of the museum. Storm opened the hatch and the mutants somberly walked up the ramp of the jet.
"How're Toad and Wanda doing?" Lance asked.
"I got them to the hospital in time," replied Storm. "Wanda made it through her surgery, and she'll recover soon. What is the status of the mission,"
"The mission's over," said Scott. "We're leaving,"
"Where are Logan and the Professor?" Storm asked, noticing the downcast looks on everybody's faces.
"They're still inside," said Scott, and then walked to the back of the plane, unwilling to continue.
"They stay behind to make sure Magneto doesn't get the spear," said Jean. "They're going to destroy it with a bomb,"
"But they'll be killed!"
"I know. They told us to leave them behind. They said that they had to keep Magneto from getting that spear at any cost,"
Storm slowly realized what Jean had said. "I see," she said. She closed her eyes and said a short prayer for Logan and Xavier, and then turned back to the mutants. "Everybody get strapped in. We're leaving,"
The mutants slowly filed to their seats, and the X-Jet took off from the roof. As they lifted off, they could see police leading Colossus and Gambit out of the museum in handcuffs.
"At least we got some of the bad guys," said Fred.
"Somehow, that's not very comforting right now," said Scott.
"Hey, wait a minute," shouted Kurt. "Where's Kitty?"
Everybody looked at him as they realized that there was an empty seat on board the jet that should have been occupied.
X
Magneto reached the vault that contained the spear. He tried the door and found it to be locked. No matter, he thought. He lifted his arms and flexed his mental muscles. The door began to strain, and with a loud hum and a crash of steel, began to slide open.
X
Logan gritted his teeth as he saw the door slide open and unsheathed his claws. "At least I'm gonna get one last fight before I go," he growled. Magneto drifted through the door. "Hello again, Charles. How pleasant to see you alive," he said. "Now, stand aside,"
"I can't let you go any further, Eric," said Xavier, and reached for the trigger.
Before Xavier could detonate the bomb, a pair of hands appeared behind him out of nowhere. They grabbed onto Magneto's cape and pulled hard. Magneto yelled as he was dragged backwards and vanished through the wall.
"What the?" Logan asked in shock. A second later, he got his answer as Kitty phased through the wall.
"Half, pint, what the hell are you still doing here?!" Logan asked her angrily. "You should have got out when you could!"
"I'm like, saving your lives!" she yelled back. "Don't worry, Magneto's stuck in the wall. Now let's get out of here!"
"Kid, you are completely crazy," said Logan. "You might just turn out alright after all. Well, Chuck, looks like death will have to wait for another day,"
As they started for the exit, the wall suddenly erupted and debris went flying across the room as Magneto reappeared. "You can't stop me that easily, girl," he said to Kitty.
Xavier again reached for the detonator, but Magneto saw him and waved his hand. Xavier felt his wheelchair lift off the ground as he went flying across the room. He hit the ground and fell out of his chair and lay sprawled on the floor. The detonator was jarred loose from his hand and went crawling across the floor.
Logan roared and ran at Magneto. He jumped through the air, ready to slice the mutant's head off of his shoulders. Magneto waved his hands again and Logan found himself frozen in midair, Magneto's powers holding fast to his adamantium skeleton. He struggled against the mutant's grip but could not move.
His threats eliminated, Magneto walked towards the case.
"Stop!" Kitty shouted, and knelt down and picked up the detonator. "One more step and I'll blow it up!"
"Such courage," said Magneto. "You do realize that your sacrifice would be totally in vain. My force field could completely protect me from your bomb, and you would all die for nothing,"
"Kitty, what are you waiting for?" shouted Logan, still frozen.
Kitty hesitated, her thumb tentatively hovering above the trigger.
"You won't do it," Magneto challenged her. "Your own life is too precious to you. You are weak. None of your fellow X-Men would have hesitated as you have,"
"Shut up!" Kitty shouted. "I'll do it! I'll blow us all up!"
"Very noble of you, but I'm afraid you simply don't have the courage to do what needs to be done. Now why don't you just put that detonator down so nobody gets hurt?"
"Don't listen to him, Kitty! Do it! Blow it up!" yelled Logan.
Kitty gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and began to press the trigger.
Magneto's eyes lit up as he saw Kitty's thumb touch the trigger. "No!" he shouted, just as Kitty pressed the button. Underneath the case, a counter on the bomb lit up with the number 5.0 and began to count backwards.
Magneto lifted his arm and pointed at the case. Inside, the spear began to vibrate, and it lifted off its stand, crashing through the glass case and landing in Magneto's outstretched hand. A half-second later, the bomb exploded.
X