The professor seemed in something of a crisis. He was attempting to break the man telepathically, but it was difficult. The shaking of the building was quite disrupting. And he could sense Haley as well, shouting in her mind that she could do it. That she could save the place she loved most. _No, Haley_, he thought. _You must stay here, keep yourself safe_. With a telepathic snap, the man fell to the ground, and the building was calm.
One of the younger mutants bound the man with ropes, and brought him in. He hissed and spit, but was unable to do any damage. "Tell us where you're from," Cyclops commanded, in his bland but surprisingly powerful voice. 'Who sent you?"
"Our master will crush you! Your death is approaching!" The man tried to bite when Professor X approached him. He concentrated, reading the man's mind. _I'm sorry, Master_. Clearly, he had been told nothing of importance, a lowly minion. But wait. Something was present, a mental itch. Suddenly, something clicked. _Hello, Charles_. A voice echoed in the man's brain. Like an answering machine in the lackey. _Poor, pitiful Professor Xavier. Still hoping for peace. I can see you now, your brow furrowed in disgust. No doubt you've forgotten me. Edward Leonid. Many years ago, I heard your philosophy. And I forgot about you. Slowly, I gathered to me many mutants. Dissatisfied, lonely mutants. And then, I saw you and your little school. Idiotic. You hide behind these walls, concealing these promising students. And now, they can be working for me. Ta_. The man's body crumbled into a million flakes of ash, and floated into the wind. But the realization brought comfort to Xavier, for he was a man that knowledge meant everything to. He tried to remember Leonid, but his past was long ago. Xavier sighed, and looked at the frightened students. He could hear their thoughts, angry and worried. Soon, all this would have to end. If a lifetime of being a mutant had taught him one thing, it was that conflict was inevitable.
The students could no longer deny their fear. In every hallway, every corridor, whispers echoed softly. Haley worked long into the night, building reserves of power. Her eyes became dark, and there was only the ghost of a smile on her face. But deep down, Haley sensed an immense power, one that could help her greatly. Erin tried to speak with the Georgian, but she would always retreat.
Erin herself was pale. She had seen the attacks and they made her uneasy. One of the mutants, a seer nicknamed PreCog had violent visions during her English class, crying and tearing at his eyes. _Things can't go on this way_, she thought. _Something has to give_. She and Erik were closer than they had been in a while. But still, there was a wall between them. She couldn't quite forget. But there was time left to try. Jade was, in a sharp contrast to her friends, progressing well. Her therapy was aiding her, and life seemed finally complete. Which is why she was shocked when life suddenly stopped.
A week after the last attack, the day started pleasantly. There was a flirtatious breeze in the air, and birds cried politely. But like a shadow in the closet, forms swept up slowly to the institute. They were beings of sand, creating human forms. Only one mortal stood among them, his eyes glittering with dark purpose. The man had close-cropped black hair, and white, perfect teeth. His face bore the shadow of a beard, and his tan arms were gloved. Silently he commanded his army, hundreds of sandy creatures slinking slowly towards the isolated mansion.
It took one explosion to shock the students. It took two to terrify them. It took three to kill one.
"Bastards!" The man cried. "I told you not to kill any!" He grimaced, and stared to the building. "Take the young. Kill the elders."
The army; now in the shapes of men and women armed with guns, knives, and swords; stormed the Institute. Most of the students had fled the building, and entered the trimmed lot in the back. Here, they were cattle, herded into a cluster by the strange men. Logan ran into the back, growling with rage. "Took ya long enough." He slashed at the sandmen, but as they crumbled they regenerated, swiftly stabbing him in the arm. And so there was a standstill, the mutant fighting, the drones recovering. Charles was able to block some telepathically, but wounding those without minds is as stabbing the air.
Suddenly, he pointed at their leader. "Leonid! Strike him down, he is controlling them!" But Edward Leonid was surrounded by his servants, whom he controlled with a flick of his hand. And his dark hair was covered with a helmet similar to that of Magneto's.
Erik himself had been stunned to find people fighting in the rather well-groomed courtyard. _At last_, he thought. _Something to do_. He took little time in dressing and stormed outside, resplendent in black. As he stripped the drones of their weapons, he was annoyed to see that they were prepared for this, bearing weapons of wood, or some strange material, apparently laced with a narcotic. This was decidedly evident from the number of students lying on the ground.
"Erik!" He turned to see Erin, wielding her sword like a madwoman. "You're alright!" He nodded briefly, and turned to fight a tall man brandishing a small disk. He was nothing but surprised when the disk pierced his arm, and he felt himself falling. Everything was dark, his world confusing. "Shit!" Erin cried, and ran up to him.
"Are you okay?" Her eyes were concerned.
"Fuck." Erik's teeth were gritted. "I shouldn't be this dizzy from a cut. There.there had to be something on the disk. Toxin or.goddamnit.or something." His breath was heavy, and he stared blankly.
"Erik, Erik just.just.wait. It'll be fine. I swear it!" Erin's words were as desperate as her voice.
"My dear Erin, I highly doubt it. But do me one thing when I die."
"Shut up," she said, but permitted him to speak.
"Don't go with the dog-boy."
This brought a smile to Erin's face. "If it's any consolation.I.I think I forgive you."
"No you don't, but I appreciate the thought behind those words," Erik gasped, his face white. "Use the damn swords, I don't want those wretches winning." Erin nodded, and flashed the two swords she cherished most. As she whirled them, Jade dove under attacking villains. She had heard the Professor, that man was clearly the ringleader. She could break him, there wasn't a human alive who could deny the ghosts of their past. As she kicked a henchmen, she made a break for the surrounding trees. Quickly, she looked into the underworld.
_Edward Leonid. Edward Leonid_. She felt no one, an empty void. Wait.there was a voice. A woman's voice. And another.a man's.
Edward? The voices responded. _The bastard. He killed me. And Jered here, my love. We will destroy him. Let us out_. Jade surrendered to the voices, and through her a woman's voice rang clear. She sidled up to Edward, and cried out "Murderer! Murderer! You who once loved me, you have slaughtered me!"
The man's voice took over, shouting "Fiend! Evil murderer! We will never leave he who has destroyed us!"
Edward bit his lip, whirling to face the girl. "Shut up! You deserved to die, you cheating bitch!" But his concentration was broken, allowing some of the minions to be defeated. And this time, they did not regenerate. But he regained his composure quickly, knocking Jade unconscious with the use of his puppets.
Amidst it all, Haley sat in her quiet room of the Institute. Her eyes, her voice, her body was not her own. From the window, she saw one man fall. Scott Summers was dead. She moved silently, and pronounced in a voice like autumn leaves "It is time."