Chapter Fifteen



Pyro continued to read over the documents as we travelled back to the island. He was too engrossed to explain what he had just discovered. To say that the rest of us were intrigued would have been an understatement. Gemini tried to read over his shoulder, but Pyro motioned her away, not wanting the distraction. A little angry and a little hurt, she sat down on the other side of the compartment, her back to him. He was too busy to notice. I exchanged glances with Cassandra, but she only shrugged. I frowned. What could be in those papers that was so important? How could it lead to our final victory and the X-Men's final defeat? Was it some secret weakness they had? Could it be some immensely powerful - resource - that the X-Men knew about, and didn't want us to find out about? When was Pyro going to tell us? Vertigo knew what it was, and I thought about asking him, but he was too busy flying the jet and wouldn't want to be talked to right now.

It wasn't until we got back to the island that Pyro finally looked up and told us to meet him in the briefing room. Naturally we wanted to hurry straight there, but there wasn't any point in getting there before Pyro did, and he seemed to be heading to the kitchen for something to eat. Obviously he hadn't eaten anything while in the 'care' of our enemies. Cassandra and I took the opportunity to go to our room to check on the little girl. When we entered the room we could see the bed was empty, and the girl was on her feet, standing by the window, looking out towards the vast expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.

"Hey," said Cassandra. "How are you feeling?"

The girl looked over in surprise, "I - I thought you'd gone!"

"We just got back. Are you feeling all right?"

"I - I think so. I woke up a little while ago. I - I don't - where am I?"

Cassie had walked across the room and now she kneeled down in front of the little girl, bringing herself down to the child's height so she didn't appear threatening. She said, "This is our island. It's a few miles from the coast."

"This is America," I said to the girl.

Her eyes widened, "America? How did I - what am I doing in America? Who are you?"

"We're mutants," said Cassie. "We're going to look after you and make sure that people can't hurt you ever again. I'm Cassandra and that's Gladiator. What's your name?"

The girl looked away sadly, "I - I don't have one. At the orphanage they used to call me The Freak."

My anger burned, but I tried not to let it show. I didn't want to frighten her. The child was crying, obviously reliving painful memories of her childhood, and Cassandra did the only thing possible in this situation, taking the tiny mutant in her arms and hugging her, speaking to her in a quiet, reassuring voice. After a minute or two the girl's tears dried up and she got herself back under control. Her hand clasped Cassie's and I could sense that a bond had been formed between them. Cassandra was only seven years older but already she was taking care of this child in almost a maternal way. She was only fourteen, but like the rest of us Cassie had had to grow up quickly and learn to depend on herself. This was just instinct; she probably didn't even notice. I watched as she ran her fingers over the torn, ragged T-shirt the girl was wearing, and said, "Do you want to change into something else? I think we've got some old clothes that will fit you."

The child nodded. Cassandra looked at me, "Gladiator, um, if you wouldn't mind…"

"Mind what? Oh…right."

I stepped outside the room to give the little girl some privacy to get changed. For a second I felt the tiniest pang of jealousy - jealousy that Cassandra had asked me to leave, that there was somebody else she wanted to be with rather than me. I pushed it away. It was a silly feeling. The girl wasn't a rival for Cassandra's affections, at least not in a romantic way, but still…I loved Cassie and I wanted to have her to myself. I understood why she loved the child and why the girl needed her, but - it was just stupid, really - I just didn't want Cassie to spend time alone with somebody who wasn't me. It was just a stupid animal feeling. It was something I'd have to get used to if we were going to have children some day. I forced it out of my mind.

For want of anything better to do, I wandered down the corridor and into the kitchen. Pyro was still there, food in one hand, the X-Men's documents in the other, still reading over them. Gemini was nearby, still trying to get his attention, still upset and hurt that he was ignoring her. Recyclo stood by the window, his arms folded, gazing out emotionlessly at the horizon. I realised he was looking back in the direction we had just come, the direction of the mansion - were his thoughts going back to what had happened earlier? They had to be. He had to be thinking about his brother, about Helios. They must have got separated when the Horsemen attacked the school; Recyclo had ended up back with us, and I had left Helios with the X-Men. Obviously the two of them had never got the chance to talk to each other in the way that they had wanted, to open their hearts and share the desolation of being kept apart for sixteen years. Perhaps it gave a clue to what made Recyclo the way he was, so cold, so stoical, so emotionless. Was he too holding back memories, agonies from his past that were too painful to recall? Was this his way of blocking it out? Did he stop himself from feeling the pain by simply refusing to feel anything at all? I didn't know. Until such time as he chose to tell us, I could only guess. Through the window I could see Vertigo manoeuvring the jet on its pad, while Atlas and Scarab manhandled the refuelling equipment over towards it. Mole had to be elsewhere, recovering from his injuries. Suddenly something occurred to me.

"Where's Mystique?" I asked.

Gemini looked up at me, then at Pyro. He frowned, "What are you talking about?"

Of course. He didn't know. Obviously nobody had yet explained to him how we had achieved his rescue.

"Mystique helped us get you out," I said.

He shook his head, "Mystique's dead. She died round about the same time as Magneto."

"No, she didn't, she's alive," said Gemini. "We saw her. She helped us."

"It must have been somebody else."

"Somebody else with the exact same mutation?" I said. "Unless she has a daughter…"

"She doesn't."

"Then it was her. What, do you think we all imagined it? She pretended to be us, to lure the X-Men away from their mansion, so we could get you out. We couldn't have done it if it hadn't been for her."

Pyro shook his head adamantly, "I told you - she's dead."

"What, you think we're lying?" Gemini demanded. "How else could we have gotten them to leave their school unguarded?"

"I don't want to talk about this!" he snapped suddenly. "Briefing room. All of you! Now!"

As he left the room, Gemini and I gave each other confused glances. What was all that about? Why didn't he believe us? Why did he refuse to believe that Mystique was alive? Had he seen her die, or appear to? Was that another one of the painful memories locked up inside his head? Was he finding it hard to let go of something that must have affected him badly? We didn't know. Maybe he would tell us when we got to the briefing room. Gemini and I left the room together and headed that way.



"All right," Pyro began, when we were all gathered in the meeting room. "This is a briefing, so I'll be brief. What Vertigo has discovered gives us the chance to settle the conflict between humans and mutants, between ourselves and the X-Men, forever."

Gemini couldn't contain her curiosity any longer, "So what is it?"

"The X-Men have developed a cure for our Plague. We knew they were trying to do so, but we couldn't tell whether or not they would succeed. It seems they have, and what's more – " he pointed to the documents he was holding, " – we know where they're storing it."

So my parents' attempts to create a vaccine had been successful. With everything that had happened, I had forgotten all about it. Pyro went on, "Currently they only have one small sample of the cure. We must strike before they have a chance to synthesise any more. If they were to mass-produce this vaccine, they could halt the progress of the Plague before it reaches Europe, and potentially save the human race. If we destroy this sample, it will be too late for them to develop another. By that time the virus would have spread irreversibly far across the planet."

He looked at each one of us, his eyes strangely intense, "This, my Brothers and Sisters, is our moment. Everything we have fought for leads up to this. Today we can do what Magneto only hoped to achieve: the eradication of all human life. We leave immediately. All of you get ready."

So this was it. This was what it came down to. All we had to do was destroy this vaccine, and the fight was over. We would have won. The humans would be no more, and the world would be a safe place for mutant children to grow up and live together. It would not bring Marina back, or Pyro's Jacqueline back, but at least it would ensure that no mutant ever had to go through what either of us was suffering: the loss of a loved one. And once the humans were gone, it didn't matter what the X-Men did to us. They might try to kill us in revenge, they might simply resign themselves to their defeat, or they might even realise we had been right all along – whatever happened, our fight would be over and the future of the world's mutants would be a bright new horizon, like a rainbow in the sky.

Should I be feeling remorse that the humans would all soon be dead? I wasn't feeling any, but part of me told me that I should. But why? All the humans did was try to hurt us. Marina, Cassandra, Gemini, the tiny mutant we had just met – all of the girls I loved so much – had all suffered terribly at the hands of the sub-creatures. One of them was dead, one of them had nearly met the same fate, and the other two had been tormented and traumatised for fourteen years. How could we, after all that, feel sorry for those who had done it to us? All humans were the same, they all hated us. Given the chance, any one of them would have pulled the trigger to fire the shot that killed Marina. They were all just the same animal with a different face. Weren't they?

Someone took hold of my hands, and I looked up. Gemini was pulling me to my feet, urging me eagerly, "Come on, let's go get ready!"

I left the room with her and Cassandra, Gemini positively dancing with delight at what Pyro had just told us.

"You seem unusually cheerful," I said dryly.

She smiled, "It's relief more than anything else. I – well, it's hard to explain. It's been six years since I was rescued from that sadistic laboratory, but still…a part of me is still afraid that one day I might be taken back there. I know how silly that sounds; I mean there's no way Pyro would allow me to be taken again, but that doesn't mean I'm not scared of it. When the humans die, my fear dies with them. I know nobody will ever try to hurt me again, and I can just – well, just get on with my life…maybe find a nice guy, settle down and maybe even start a family."

"That's what we want to do," said Cassandra, as she took my hand.

Gemini raised her eyebrows, "Really? Perfect! You two are just made for each other! Haven't I always said so?"

I suppressed a smile as I remembered Gemini saying quite the opposite the first time she caught me and Cassandra kissing.

"Maybe you and Recyclo could get together," I teased her.

She laughed out loud, "Oh, you bet! Me and Mr Excitement, what a pair that would be! OK, I'll see you guys at the jet!"

We were just passing her bedroom, and she ducked inside, closing the door behind her. Cassie and I walked on, hand in hand, until we reached our own room.

"Where's the girl?" I asked, slightly worried when I saw our room was empty.

"She's outside. She was feeling a bit restless and I saw no reason to keep her cooped up in here. Listen, Gladiator…"

"Yeah?"

"I – I don't really know how to say this, but – oh – hold me."

I took her in my arms, and she rested against me.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I don't know. It's this funny feeling I've got. I can't explain where it came from, but – how can I say this – it almost feels as if one of us won't be coming back from the mission today. As if these are the last few minutes we're going to have together, when we can say how much we love each other. And I love you…I – just in case one of us doesn't make it back, I just wanted to say that – that I love you."

I was a little worried by that. I said, "You know I love you too. But you're scaring me now. That's not a premonition you're having, is it?"

"I don't know. I'm hoping and praying that it isn't. I've never seen the future in this way before. Usually it comes into my mind like an image, and usually I can only predict what's going to happen a few minutes in advance. This feels totally different, and I'm – I'm hoping it's just a silly bit of panic. Maybe it's because we're going on a dangerous mission, but we've been on dangerous missions before and I've never felt like this beforehand. I don't know – maybe I should just stop thinking about it."

"Well," I said uncertainly. "If it is a forewarning of danger, then make sure you look out for yourself – for both of us."

"I will."

Her words had just planted the first seeds of panic in my own mind. I didn't normally believe in fate or premonitions, or silly 'I have a feeling that…' statements. But when they came from a person who could see the future, it was worth worrying about. Could her 'feeling' be right? Could it be that one of us wouldn't be coming back? Was something going to happen to Cassandra? I knew I could never live with it if she died, not when I was already devastated over Marina. Or was something going to happen to me? I wasn't invincible, much as I often liked to think otherwise – was I going to run out of luck?

I pushed my fears down. There was no point in worrying about it until the mission was underway. I knew both of us would be looking out for each other's safety, and together we could hopefully overcome any danger that came our way. Cassie and I stood together, holding each other tightly, sharing one last passionate kiss, pouring out all of the love we had for each other, then it was time to go. We hurried out of the room and to the jet pad.



"OK," Pyro said, as the jet took off. "Part of me believes in being optimistic, and hoping that when we get to our destination, there won't be anybody to get in our way. But another part of me believes in always being prepared for the worst. It's likely that the X-Men have noticed their papers are missing, and if so it won't take them long to realise what we're planning to do. There is, unfortunately, a high probability that they will be waiting for us, ready to defend the facility where the cure is being stored."

"So we kill them," said Recyclo.

"No, we don't kill them. We don't kill other mutants. What we do is fight to keep them occupied long enough for one of us to sneak into the facility and plant explosives. I've shown you all how to set the explosives, so that could be any one of us. Now pay attention. With Crusader on their side, this probably isn't a fight we can win, and it isn't one that we need to or even intend to win. All we need to do is keep them busy long enough. That means playing to our strengths and their weaknesses. There are nine of us and nine of them. I've worked out which of us is best suited to take on each of them. First are the obvious choices. Shapeshifter is their martial arts expert, so I'll match him with mine: Vertigo."

Vertigo nodded. Pyro went on, "Next obvious pairing is myself and Iceman. He has the advantage that he can both create and control ice, whereas I can only control fire. I've fought him before though, so it shouldn't be a problem. OK, next…Gemini and Cyclops."

"Are you sure?" said Gemini. "He beat me pretty badly last time."

"Because you didn't play to your strengths. His weakness is that despite having an awesomely powerful attack, he can only use it in a very narrow range. And he isn't the most agile person in the world either."

"Right. So I use my twin to keep him distracted, while I beat the hell out of him?"

"Yes, exactly. Moving on…Mole, I know you're still not 100% after getting hit earlier, but I know you're not the type to give up. I want you to fight Wolverine. You're a small enough target that he'll find it difficult to get to grips with you, and your fists should protect you from his claws."

Mole looked less than pleased, but he didn't raise any argument. Pyro continued, "The next pairing is also pretty obvious. Atlas, you'll fight Storm."

I raised my eyebrows. The power of earth against the power of nature. That ought to be quite a battle. Atlas looked nervous at the prospect, but he always seemed to be panicking over one thing or another, and despite him being paranoid I knew he wasn't a coward.

"Cassandra, I want you to take Nightcrawler," said Pyro. "He's fast, agile, and he can teleport in an instant. His strength lies in doing the unexpected – but that won't work against you. He won't know what to do against somebody who can predict his every move, and with luck you can get the upper hand. OK…Scarab, you've got Rogue. She's not a strong fighter, but that doesn't mean she isn't dangerous. She'll try to drain you, to weaken you and steal your power. You've got enough natural strength and vitality that it'll be difficult for her to drain you, and that should give you enough time to knock her out. If they have a weak link, I think it's her."

"Got it, boss," said Scarab.

"That just leaves two of them. Recyclo, I want you to fight Shock. You know what she's capable of. Her lightning bolts aren't as powerful as Storm's, but they can still hurt us pretty badly. You'll be able to protect yourself by making non-metallic shields."

Recyclo nodded silently. Pyro turned to me at last, "I know you won't like this, Gladiator, but you're going to have to tackle Crusader. I'm not expecting miracles, so don't worry if she turns out to be too strong. Just keep her busy for as long as you possibly can."

"I will," I assured him. "You can count on me."

"Good. Vertigo, how long?"

"Few minutes."

"We're nearly there already?" Gemini gasped in surprise.

Vertigo grinned, "This baby's a damn sight faster than the old helicopter, remember?"

We fell into silence as the jet neared our destination. It occurred to me that I had no idea whereabouts we were going. I assumed it was somewhere in America, but I hadn't asked where. It hadn't seemed important, but now, in a strange sort of way, it did. The final blow against humanity, the last strike that would eradicate the sub-creatures from our planet, and I didn't even know where it was going to take place. Maybe that was a good thing. Why should I care about the names the humans had given to places anyway? When they were gone we could re-shape the world the way we wanted it. Perhaps names like 'Britain' or 'America', 'Edinburgh' or 'New York' would be forgotten. The world would be born anew, changed for the better – just as humanity had changed for the better, changed into us.

"Land a mile or so away from the facility," came Pyro's voice from the cockpit. "We'll approach on foot and try to take them by surprise."

A minute or two later the jet touched down, and Pyro hit the switch to lower the ramp. He threw open the crate carrying the explosives, to reveal nine small packages inside. Each of us grabbed one; they were compact and had small clips to attach to my belt. Recyclo was back in the cockpit, fiddling with the controls – Pyro had told him to lock the auto-pilot so the jet couldn't be hijacked, so I assumed that was what he was doing.

"All right, let's go," our leader said once Recyclo was done.

We descended the ramp and stepped out on to the grass outside. I turned in a circle to look at our surroundings. I had no idea where we were, but it looked to be countryside – there were no towns or cities in sight, and I could make out a forest in the distance. On our left was a hill, and that appeared to be where Pyro was heading. Cassandra I and hurried after him, the rest just behind us. It took a few minutes to climb to the top, and from there we could get a full view of the surrounding land. I could now see in the distance the glass-fronted building that had to be our target. It was too far off to make out any detail, but Pyro was holding a pair of binoculars to his eyes and he said, "I can see them."

"The X-Men?" asked Gemini.

"Yes. Wait a minute – I can only see eight. One of them isn't here."

"Who?"

"I'm just trying to – I don't believe it."

Gemini looked at him, "What?"

"Crusader isn't here. They must have left her back at the mansion."

"Why would they do that?"

"They must have beaten off the Horsemen from their school," I said. "Maybe they left her there in case the Horsemen come back."

Pyro nodded, "Sounds possible. Though according to those documents, Oculus and Gaia – your parents – are back at the mansion now, now that they've helped to develop this cure."

I felt my body sag slightly with relief. One of my worries was that my parents might have been in this building with the vaccine when we destroyed it. I didn't want to kill them. They were enemies, but they were mutants and – well, they had given me life. I couldn't take theirs away. That fear now passed away – they were safely back in the mansion and wouldn't be in any danger from our attack.

"They're obviously waiting for us," said Pyro. "I'd hate to disappoint them. OK, here's what we'll do. Crusader not being here gives us a huge advantage. Gladiator, that leaves you free to go inside and set the explosive charges. The rest of us can launch our attack on the X-Men and draw them away from the building."

Everybody winced as Mole cracked his knuckles, "Let's do it."

"OK," our leader said. "Gladiator, use your camouflage. Stay hidden until you have a clear run into the building. Once you're inside, we'll fall back to the jet and hold position there. Set the explosives and get out as fast as you can. When it goes up, we'll take off and come to pick you up. If everything goes according to plan, we'll get away with minimal injuries, the vaccine will be destroyed, and humanity will be extinct."

Gemini smiled at me, "Good luck."

"You too."

Cassandra and I drew together for one quick kiss, both of us painfully aware that it might be the last one we ever shared. No. I couldn't think like that. Nothing was going to happen to either of us. Cassandra could look after herself, and I wasn't going to be in any real danger. My only difficulty lay in locating the vaccine and then getting out of the building safely before the bomb went off.

"Move out!"

They began to move, and I activated my camouflage, following close behind, waiting for the battle to begin before I made a run for the building. We hurried down the grassy slope towards the building, keeping behind the partial cover given by a small copse of trees. It wouldn't hide us for long. There was no question that our enemies would see us, but we had to get near enough in before that happened. Getting their attention was part of the plan, but only once we had got to a suitably close range.

"They've spotted us!" I heard Pyro saying. "Everybody get ready!"

Whether they had seen us, or whether Wolverine had smelt us, we couldn't tell, but I could now make out the figures of our enemies, moving across the ground to intercept us. Overhead the sky began to cloud over, and a rumble of thunder was greeted by a sudden crack of lightning. The fork of deadly electricity struck the ground not two feet away from me. Storm had struck the first blow of the battle. I could see her now, raising her arms, and the first gusts of wind buffeted us as we continued to run down the slope towards the X-Men.

"Atlas!"

Atlas thrust out one arm, spreading his fingers towards the ground. The ground before him shook as his power took mastery, and a jagged crack appeared as the earth was forced apart. Atlas flung out his other hand and the gash in the earth began to widen and lengthen, reaching out towards the X-Men. Storm was directly in its path, and with a scream she disappeared into the abyss as the earth continued to crack apart.

"Storm!" a voice yelled.

While they were distracted, Vertigo and the Gemini twins covered the distance between the two opposing forces and homed in on their targets. Cyclops was caught in indecision as both twins attacked him – which was the real one? – and both twins kicked him in the chest, flinging him to the ground. Shapeshifter was likewise caught off guard, and Vertigo twisted to aim a blow at his jaw. The X-Man reacted in an instant, ducking underneath the punch, his own fist scything through the air towards Vertigo. My friend swerved aside and flipped upside down to kick out at Shapeshifter's head. The liquefier ducked, rolled over and stood in one fluid motion, and prepared for the next exchange.

The battle had now begun in earnest as bolts of lightning, balls of fire and jets of ice began to fly back and forth between the two sides. Recyclo flicked a knife through the air towards Shock, but Wolverine was in the way, blocking with his claws. Mole was hurrying forward to deal with him, and Scarab was ploughing towards Rogue. I stopped. This was not my fight. As much I wanted to take part, to help my friends overcome our enemies, that was not what I was here to do. A gust of wind buffeted me, almost knocking me off my feet, and I looked over to see Storm rising from the chasm, her eyes turned pure white, as another bolt of lightning cascaded down from the heavens, this one narrowly missing Atlas. He retaliated by lifting a huge rock and hurling it towards Storm. It hit her in the back, knocking her off balance, and I turned my attention to see where Nightcrawler was. Once all eight of our enemies were committed to the fight, it was time for me to move.

I could see him now, trying to help Shapeshifter. The duel between the liquefier and Vertigo was a fascinating one, both of them spinning, turning and twisting with almost impossible speed, launching attacks and blocking each other's almost in the same instant. Spellbound, I could have stood and watched them fight for hours, but I knew I had my own part to play. I watched as Vertigo flipped over in mid-air, kicking Nightcrawler and Shapeshifter simultaneously, throwing both of them to the ground. All of our enemies were now locked in battle. That was my cue. Forcing myself to turn my back on the fight behind me, I hurried towards the building. I heard a woman's voice screaming from behind me, and I glanced round immediately to see who was in trouble. I couldn't tell. It could have been Cassandra. It could have been Gemini. It could have been one of the female X-Men. There was no way of knowing. I turned back, and ran inside.

It had been hot outside but the interior of the building was air-conditioned and deliciously cool. I basked in the ambience for a moment, then looked to see where I should be heading for. The vaccine would be stored in refrigeration in the biggest storeroom, according to the documents we had appropriated. It was possible that our enemies might have moved it, but it was as good a place to start as any. I looked for a sign or a map to tell me which way to go. There appeared to be a reception desk here in front of me, and behind it I found a folded-up plan of the building. Studying it for a few moments, I deduced where to head, and began to run in that direction. It wasn't a long distance, and as I turned the last corner to run down a long corridor to the storeroom, I began to rejoice.

The humans were dead. I was the instrument of their destruction, and nobody could stop me now. The X-Men probably didn't even know I was here, and they were too preoccupied to do anything about it even if they did know. They had tried, tried so hard to stop us, but ultimately they had failed. Truth and justice had won through in the end, as I knew it always would. Our species, which was threatened by the hatred of humanity, was about to be given a new lease of life. With the humans gone, we could live in peace and happiness. This world was ours now, and would be our children's for ever more. The little girl back at our island, all the children at the X-mansion, all the other young mutants who were scattered over the world, living in terror and suffering daily. This was for them, for their lives, their happiness, their future.

The door to the main storeroom stood before me. I kicked it open and hurried inside, looking around for the refrigeration unit. Apparently the vaccine needed to be kept below 0°c to remain in a stable condition. I grinned; it wouldn't be in a stable condition for long. It had been a valiant attempt by my mis-led parents to save the sub-creatures, but ultimately their efforts had been in vain. How ironic that it should be their own son, who they had tried so hard to brainwash into their own human-loving fantasies, who should be the one to destroy their precious cure. I just had to make sure it was in this room before I planted the explosive charge.

There! That had to be it! The large white plastic box at the side of the room had to be what I was looking for. I recognised a refrigeration unit when I saw one. I also recognised the figure standing in front of it.

"Hello, Gary," said Crusader.

What the hell? I was still camouflaged! How could she - ?

"I can sense that you're here, even if I can't see you," she said. "Put the explosives down, Gary."

"Get out of my way."

"I can't let you do this."

"You're not going to stop me."

"I won't let you kill them."

"You can't stop me!"

"If you want to kill them, you have to kill me first."

My eyes narrowed in anger. The demon inside me stirred, "So be it!"