Storm had turned the X-Jet around to go back for Kitty. As she brought the
plane in to land on the roof, there was a loud explosion and everybody saw
a large pillar of flame shoot out of the roof, sending debris everywhere.
The plane shook as Storm pulled up to avoid the explosion.
"No!" shouted Scott, gripping the arms of his seat tightly.
"I can't believe it," said Kurt, his eyes wide in shock. "He actually did it!"
The jet was silent for several seconds as the reality of what had just happened set in.
"What about Kitty?" Lance asked. "You don't think she was down there, do you?"
"Oh my god," Jean whispered, realizing that Kitty could be dead as well.
There was another long silence. "At least they got Magneto, too," Rogue said softly.
Scott nodded his head. "Yeah, they did," he said, reflecting on his mentor's sacrifice. Xavier, Logan and Kitty had just paid the ultimate price to stop their archenemy.
"Let's go," Storm said. "There is nothing else for us to,"
"Wait!" shouted Jean. "They're still alive!"
"What?" asked Rogue.
"Are you sure?" asked Kurt, not able to believe this latest turn of events.
"Yes, I'm sure of it!" said Jean. "I can still sense all of them! I don't know how, but they all survived somehow! Storm, set us down, now!"
Storm quickly found a safe spot to land on the roof, and all of the mutants dashed out of the plane and back into the building.
X
In the vault, Magneto breathed deeply and relaxed his tense muscles as he lowered the force field that had protected them against the exploding bomb.
Kitty opened her eyes and saw the walls of the room covered in black scorch marks. A small shower of dust rained down on her face, and she looked up to see a giant hole in the ceiling that revealed the afternoon sky.
"Oh my god!" she gasped. "What happened?"
"I just saved your lives," said Magneto. "Despite my feelings for you, I have no wish to see you harmed. We have that much in common at least, Charles. We both want to see mutants live peacefully. A pity that our methods are so incompatible,"
"And a pity that you believe you must rule over humans by fear instead of being able to live with them in harmony," Xavier responded.
"They will never have anything but fear and hatred for us, Charles! Magneto retorted. "The only way for us to live among them is to control that fear. If I must bring back Apocalypse for that to happen, then so be it. Now, where is Electra?"
"I will never tell you that information," said Xavier. "You may have the spear, but without Electra's powers, it's just a worthless museum piece to you,"
"Don't think I don't know what you're planning, Charles," said Magneto. "I may not have your powers but I know you well enough to know that you cannot resist helping a mutant in trouble. I assure you, we shall meet again, and I will take back what is mine,"
With that, he floated up through the hole in the roof and vanished into the sky above.
Logan fell to the ground as Magneto's hold over him faded. He walked over to Kitty. "You should have blown him up when you had the chance," he said gruffly, then walked over to Xavier and helped him up.
"I'm sorry, Professor," Kitty apologized. "I don't know why I hesitated. None of the other X-Men would have done that. Magneto's right, I am just a coward," she said glumly.
"No, Kitty. Do not blame yourself," said Xavier. "What you did was very brave, and I know few people who would have done what you did if they had been in your shoes. We shall deal with whatever consequences arise from this situation together, as a team, as we always do,"
Just then the rest of the mutants ran into the room.
"Professor! You're alive!" shouted Kurt. There was much jostling as the mutants all ran up and embraced Xavier, Logan and Kitty.
"Professor, how did you manage to survive?" asked Scott.
"It seems Magneto's heart may not be completely black after all," said Xavier. "He used his powers to save us,"
"Why would he do that? He's been trying to destroy us for years," said Jean.
"He has his own reasons," said Xavier. "Now, I believe it is time we returned home. We have some business to attend to,"
The mutants all walked out of the ruined vault and made their way back up to the roof.
X
Magneto floated above the museum, out of sight, and watched the police lead Gambit and Colossus outside in handcuffs. He debated trying to rescue them, but decided to leave them to their fates. Failure of that magnitude could not go unpunished, and Magneto figured that leaving them in the hands of human captors would be a just enough punishment for their failure. Besides, he still had other assets available to him. Mindbender had survived the explosion, and Magneto would likely need his services again in the future. For now, he summoned his sphere to take him back to his castle. He had somebody else to recover.
X
After a quick stop at the hospital to pick up Wanda and Toad, the X-Men and the Brotherhood were on their way back to America. As the X-Jet flew over the Atlantic, Electra walked up to Xavier. "Professor, I've made up my mind. I want to stay with you. I'm going to need your help coping with all of these changes," she said.
"Certainly, Electra. You are welcome to stay with us for as long as you like," Xavier replied. "I promise, you will be among friends who will understand what you are going through. And I may be able to help you do more than just control your powers,"
"What do you mean?" Electra asked.
"I've been studying the information we recovered from Magneto's lab, and I think I may be able to reverse his procedure," said Xavier. "It is purely theoretical at this point, but if it is successful, I believe it may help you regain your humanity,"
"Are you serious?" Electra asked hopefully.
"I cannot make any guarantees," said Xavier. "But we can try, if you're willing,"
Electra considered this for a second. Her powers still fascinated her, but she ultimately decided that she could not live like this. Her humanity was too important to her. "Yes, I'm willing, Professor. I'm willing to take the risk,"
"Very well," said Xavier. "Once we get home, we can begin whenever you are ready,"
X
A few hours later, the mutants were back in Bayville. The Brotherhood walked off the jet and headed back for their jeep. "Hey Lance," called Scott as Lance started the vehicle. "Thanks for your help,"
"Hey, don't mention it, Summers," Lance replied. "Anytime you need us to help you out of a jam, just give a call," he said cockily. Lance and Fred exchanged high fives and then drove off.
"Man, he thinks he just beat Magneto all by himself," said Scott.
"Oh, let him have it," said Kitty. "Sometimes it's better to just let him think he's more important than he really is. Trust me, I should know,"
"And besides, without their help we wouldn't have been able to get into Magneto's castle in the first place," said Jean.
"Yeah, I guess so," said Scott, grudgingly admitting that the Brotherhood had been useful on this mission after all. The mutants all walked into the mansion and Xavier gathered all the residents together.
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Electra Barrows," Xavier said as he introduced the Institute's newest resident.
The mutants greeted Electra cordially. Several of the boys, especially Bobby, Ray, and Sam, were staring at her with eyes wide. Electra smiled at them and the three boys nearly went into conniptions.
"Hey, she smiled at me!" said Bobby.
"No way, she was smiling at me!" said Sam.
"Uh, guys, think about it. Who's the one with the electric powers?" Ray said, pointing a thumb at his chest.
Scott walked up and leaned over their shoulders. "Don't even think about it, guys. First, she's too old for you, and second, if she touched you, she'd kill you," he said.
The boys looked at each other for a second and then expressed their thoughts in unison. "Cool!"
X
Xavier led Electra upstairs to her room. Once she had gotten settled in, he began to explain his procedure to her.
"When Magneto transformed you," Xavier said, "he destroyed your body. However, I believe his procedure may have caused your DNA to become electrically embedded in your energy form. If this is the case, we should be able to restore your body,"
"What about all of this energy?" Electra asked, pointing at herself.
"The energy that makes up your body now would be drained away. However, since these changes to your body are now a part of your DNA, your body would still be able to produce more energy, to a limited extent," said Xavier. "And your powers should also continue to exist. The difference is that your energy would just exist as a very small part of you instead of making up your entire body. You would be very much like Storm and Berserker if it successful,"
"What if it doesn't work?" Electra asked. "Will I be stuck like this forever?"
"There is some risk here," said Xavier. "We are completely draining your body's energy away. Your consciousness will still exist, but without a body to contain it, it would cease to exist. I believe this can work, but our timing will be of utmost importance. I want you to understand, there is a chance that you could die if something goes wrong," he warned her.
"I understand, Professor, but I want my body back. I can't live like this," Electra said.
"Electra," said Xavier. "You are a very unique individual. But before you make this decision, you should know that all of the students here have been accepted for who they are, and I am certain that you would be no different. Granted, if you stayed as you are you would have a very small world for the foreseeable future, but you would have the certainty of knowing that you would be safe and you would have a community that would accept you no matter what,"
"I know, Professor," said Electra. "But I'm willing to go through with this,"
"Very well," said Xavier. "I will go prepare the equipment, and I will let you know when we are ready to proceed,"
X
"No!" shouted Scott, gripping the arms of his seat tightly.
"I can't believe it," said Kurt, his eyes wide in shock. "He actually did it!"
The jet was silent for several seconds as the reality of what had just happened set in.
"What about Kitty?" Lance asked. "You don't think she was down there, do you?"
"Oh my god," Jean whispered, realizing that Kitty could be dead as well.
There was another long silence. "At least they got Magneto, too," Rogue said softly.
Scott nodded his head. "Yeah, they did," he said, reflecting on his mentor's sacrifice. Xavier, Logan and Kitty had just paid the ultimate price to stop their archenemy.
"Let's go," Storm said. "There is nothing else for us to,"
"Wait!" shouted Jean. "They're still alive!"
"What?" asked Rogue.
"Are you sure?" asked Kurt, not able to believe this latest turn of events.
"Yes, I'm sure of it!" said Jean. "I can still sense all of them! I don't know how, but they all survived somehow! Storm, set us down, now!"
Storm quickly found a safe spot to land on the roof, and all of the mutants dashed out of the plane and back into the building.
X
In the vault, Magneto breathed deeply and relaxed his tense muscles as he lowered the force field that had protected them against the exploding bomb.
Kitty opened her eyes and saw the walls of the room covered in black scorch marks. A small shower of dust rained down on her face, and she looked up to see a giant hole in the ceiling that revealed the afternoon sky.
"Oh my god!" she gasped. "What happened?"
"I just saved your lives," said Magneto. "Despite my feelings for you, I have no wish to see you harmed. We have that much in common at least, Charles. We both want to see mutants live peacefully. A pity that our methods are so incompatible,"
"And a pity that you believe you must rule over humans by fear instead of being able to live with them in harmony," Xavier responded.
"They will never have anything but fear and hatred for us, Charles! Magneto retorted. "The only way for us to live among them is to control that fear. If I must bring back Apocalypse for that to happen, then so be it. Now, where is Electra?"
"I will never tell you that information," said Xavier. "You may have the spear, but without Electra's powers, it's just a worthless museum piece to you,"
"Don't think I don't know what you're planning, Charles," said Magneto. "I may not have your powers but I know you well enough to know that you cannot resist helping a mutant in trouble. I assure you, we shall meet again, and I will take back what is mine,"
With that, he floated up through the hole in the roof and vanished into the sky above.
Logan fell to the ground as Magneto's hold over him faded. He walked over to Kitty. "You should have blown him up when you had the chance," he said gruffly, then walked over to Xavier and helped him up.
"I'm sorry, Professor," Kitty apologized. "I don't know why I hesitated. None of the other X-Men would have done that. Magneto's right, I am just a coward," she said glumly.
"No, Kitty. Do not blame yourself," said Xavier. "What you did was very brave, and I know few people who would have done what you did if they had been in your shoes. We shall deal with whatever consequences arise from this situation together, as a team, as we always do,"
Just then the rest of the mutants ran into the room.
"Professor! You're alive!" shouted Kurt. There was much jostling as the mutants all ran up and embraced Xavier, Logan and Kitty.
"Professor, how did you manage to survive?" asked Scott.
"It seems Magneto's heart may not be completely black after all," said Xavier. "He used his powers to save us,"
"Why would he do that? He's been trying to destroy us for years," said Jean.
"He has his own reasons," said Xavier. "Now, I believe it is time we returned home. We have some business to attend to,"
The mutants all walked out of the ruined vault and made their way back up to the roof.
X
Magneto floated above the museum, out of sight, and watched the police lead Gambit and Colossus outside in handcuffs. He debated trying to rescue them, but decided to leave them to their fates. Failure of that magnitude could not go unpunished, and Magneto figured that leaving them in the hands of human captors would be a just enough punishment for their failure. Besides, he still had other assets available to him. Mindbender had survived the explosion, and Magneto would likely need his services again in the future. For now, he summoned his sphere to take him back to his castle. He had somebody else to recover.
X
After a quick stop at the hospital to pick up Wanda and Toad, the X-Men and the Brotherhood were on their way back to America. As the X-Jet flew over the Atlantic, Electra walked up to Xavier. "Professor, I've made up my mind. I want to stay with you. I'm going to need your help coping with all of these changes," she said.
"Certainly, Electra. You are welcome to stay with us for as long as you like," Xavier replied. "I promise, you will be among friends who will understand what you are going through. And I may be able to help you do more than just control your powers,"
"What do you mean?" Electra asked.
"I've been studying the information we recovered from Magneto's lab, and I think I may be able to reverse his procedure," said Xavier. "It is purely theoretical at this point, but if it is successful, I believe it may help you regain your humanity,"
"Are you serious?" Electra asked hopefully.
"I cannot make any guarantees," said Xavier. "But we can try, if you're willing,"
Electra considered this for a second. Her powers still fascinated her, but she ultimately decided that she could not live like this. Her humanity was too important to her. "Yes, I'm willing, Professor. I'm willing to take the risk,"
"Very well," said Xavier. "Once we get home, we can begin whenever you are ready,"
X
A few hours later, the mutants were back in Bayville. The Brotherhood walked off the jet and headed back for their jeep. "Hey Lance," called Scott as Lance started the vehicle. "Thanks for your help,"
"Hey, don't mention it, Summers," Lance replied. "Anytime you need us to help you out of a jam, just give a call," he said cockily. Lance and Fred exchanged high fives and then drove off.
"Man, he thinks he just beat Magneto all by himself," said Scott.
"Oh, let him have it," said Kitty. "Sometimes it's better to just let him think he's more important than he really is. Trust me, I should know,"
"And besides, without their help we wouldn't have been able to get into Magneto's castle in the first place," said Jean.
"Yeah, I guess so," said Scott, grudgingly admitting that the Brotherhood had been useful on this mission after all. The mutants all walked into the mansion and Xavier gathered all the residents together.
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Electra Barrows," Xavier said as he introduced the Institute's newest resident.
The mutants greeted Electra cordially. Several of the boys, especially Bobby, Ray, and Sam, were staring at her with eyes wide. Electra smiled at them and the three boys nearly went into conniptions.
"Hey, she smiled at me!" said Bobby.
"No way, she was smiling at me!" said Sam.
"Uh, guys, think about it. Who's the one with the electric powers?" Ray said, pointing a thumb at his chest.
Scott walked up and leaned over their shoulders. "Don't even think about it, guys. First, she's too old for you, and second, if she touched you, she'd kill you," he said.
The boys looked at each other for a second and then expressed their thoughts in unison. "Cool!"
X
Xavier led Electra upstairs to her room. Once she had gotten settled in, he began to explain his procedure to her.
"When Magneto transformed you," Xavier said, "he destroyed your body. However, I believe his procedure may have caused your DNA to become electrically embedded in your energy form. If this is the case, we should be able to restore your body,"
"What about all of this energy?" Electra asked, pointing at herself.
"The energy that makes up your body now would be drained away. However, since these changes to your body are now a part of your DNA, your body would still be able to produce more energy, to a limited extent," said Xavier. "And your powers should also continue to exist. The difference is that your energy would just exist as a very small part of you instead of making up your entire body. You would be very much like Storm and Berserker if it successful,"
"What if it doesn't work?" Electra asked. "Will I be stuck like this forever?"
"There is some risk here," said Xavier. "We are completely draining your body's energy away. Your consciousness will still exist, but without a body to contain it, it would cease to exist. I believe this can work, but our timing will be of utmost importance. I want you to understand, there is a chance that you could die if something goes wrong," he warned her.
"I understand, Professor, but I want my body back. I can't live like this," Electra said.
"Electra," said Xavier. "You are a very unique individual. But before you make this decision, you should know that all of the students here have been accepted for who they are, and I am certain that you would be no different. Granted, if you stayed as you are you would have a very small world for the foreseeable future, but you would have the certainty of knowing that you would be safe and you would have a community that would accept you no matter what,"
"I know, Professor," said Electra. "But I'm willing to go through with this,"
"Very well," said Xavier. "I will go prepare the equipment, and I will let you know when we are ready to proceed,"
X