A/N: This chapter is very long. It's by far the longest chapter yet. But it has a lot in it and I really would've liked to have gotten even more in this chapter!
I include a lot of Chicago landmarks here. It has been over a year since I've been to Chicago, so please forgive me if I made a mistake. For those who are familiar with Chicago, I hope you're able to follow everyone through the city. For those who aren't familiar with Chicago, It's not that important.
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The X-Men suited up in their rooms and then headed for the hangar where Rogue and the Professor were waiting to see them off. Once everyone was there, Xavier had them gather around so he could talk to them before they left.
"You've all seen Magneto at work before. I don't have to tell you how dangerous he is. Likewise, you've fought the Brotherhood before too, and I don't have to tell you how important it is not to underestimate them. We don't know exactly what Magneto has in store for us today, but I'm sure that there must be something more going on than we realize. It is not like him to simply attack a city for the fun of it. Keep your eyes open at all times for his true goal. I also want you to keep in mind that it is quite possible that the army will show up to fight you. If you can avoid it, don't hurt them. Your goal today is to stop Magneto. Be careful. I know that you can do this. I have faith in every one of you."
As Xavier spoke, his eyes traveled slowly from person to person. Finally, his gaze came to rest on Gambit, who was standing at the end of the line. Xavier smiled.
"I see you changed your uniform."
Gambit smiled back at the Professor. He was wearing the same trench coat, armor, and bodysuit that he had always worn. But he now wore a gold belt with an X on the buckle around his waist and had sewn a patch with a black X on a red background onto the strip just above his forehead.
"Yeah, I t'ink it looks good, don't you, mon ami?"
Charles Xavier laughed, which broke the seriousness of the moment and prompted everyone else to do the same.
"I like it very much, Remy. Now then, it's time for you to go. Take care of yourselves."
"C'mon!" called Wolverine as he climbed aboard the Blackbird. "We're takin' off in 5 minutes."
The X-Men shared some last minute chitchat before heading towards the Blackbird one by one.
Remy strolled over to Rogue and looked into her eyes.
"Hey cherie. Ya don' look too happy. Don't ya like my new uniform?"
"It ain't new," said Rogue dryly. "Ya been wearing all that stuff fer years now. Ya just added a belt and a small patch."
Remy laughed. "Hey! I happen ta like it! How 'bout a kiss for good luck 'fore I go?"
Rogue stared at him in shock. "There's a great idea! Go into battle with Magneto with yer powers drained," she said sarcastically.
"It's a good hour ta Chicago. I'll be fine by de time we get dere."
"Hey Cajun!" called Wolverine from the door of the Blackbird. "We don't got all day so why don't ya get it in gear and get on the jet!"
"Ya ain't goin' nowhere 'less ya get on that plane, sugah," said Rogue.
Remy looked back at Wolverine and nodded.
"Yer right."
He leaned down and kissed her quickly before she could protest.
"See ya when I get home, cherie."
He took off and jogged up the ramp into the Blackbird. Rogue watched him leave in shock. She was suddenly filled with adrenaline and excitement. She felt ready to take on the world! She quickly realized that this was just how Gambit felt at the time. Slowly, another emotion rose up inside of her, one that was a little harder to pinpoint. She watched as the Blackbird's engines fired up and the jet screamed out of the hangar and through the waterfall at the end of the runway.
"Well Rogue, let's get to work. We need to train you to use your new powers."
Rogue never took her eyes off the hole at the end of the runway that the Blackbird had just flown through.
"Yeah, let's get to work, Professor."
*****
The white and blue jet landed in Chicago's O'Hare Airport. A ladder was rolled up to the door and the media gathered around. Finally, the door opened and Senator Robert Kelly stepped off the jet and waved to the crowd as he walked down the steps. He smiled for the cameras that were flashing all around him. Ever since the Anti-Mutant Act had passed, he had been like a celebrity wherever he went and he was enjoying it! Deep down, he knew that he shouldn't be in Chicago today. There were only 5 weeks left to election day, but he knew that the popularity from the Anti-Mutant Act would be enough to reelect him.
Sen. Kelly was in Chicago today to give a speech for a friend whose reelection was not as definite as his. This friend, though, knew that having the country's most popular senator introduce him could give his sagging poll results a boost, so Kelly had come to Chicago as a favor. He didn't mind. After all, this friend had voted for the Anti-Mutant Act and Kelly tried to be kind to his friends in Congress. He would need their help for his next idea.
*****
"We're approaching Chicago," said Beast, who was seated in the co-pilot's chair. Logan was seated next to him at the controls.
The X-Men were assembled behind them. During the flight, they had tried to organize a plan, but the fact was they had no idea what Magneto's plans were and so they had no idea what they should plan for.
Logan lowered the Blackbird and landed it in a clearing in a park. The X-Men stood up and exited the jet. They stepped out onto what looked like a small baseball field.
"Well Cajun. Any ideas?" asked Wolverine.
"Hmm, Magneto had me scope out de Sears Tower, so ya might wanna send some people over dere. He also wanted me ta take a look at de Hancock Building, so check it out too."
"Which building is which?" asked Kurt in confusion.
"De ugly one wid de construction crew working on de side is de Sears Tower," said Gambit with a smile. "De Hancock is de one dat has de X's on de sides."
"That doesn't help," said Kurt.
"That one is Sears," said Jean quickly as she pointed at the towering black building to their left. She turned and pointed straight ahead of them. "And the one that tapers up to the top is the Hancock."
"Now that's helpful!" said Kurt.
"So yer only suggestions are to check out the two most famous buildings in the city?" asked Logan incredulously. "Lot of help you are."
"Hey, I told ya dat he don't tell his men de plan 'til he wants em to know, mon ami. An' he didn' want us ta know."
"Arguing is doing no good," said Storm. "Let's split up and see what we can find. Keep your comms handy."
"Comms?" asked Gambit.
"Our communication devices," explained Beast. "We didn't have an extra to give to you. Sorry."
"No worries, mon ami."
"Alright, let's do this!" said Cyclops.
With that, the team split up and began running towards the looming Chicago skyline.
*****
"Yo Fred! Was that the X-Men's jet that just flew over?"
Toad and Blob were sitting on a fountain located on the border of the park and the city. They were looking out over the lakefront when they saw the black figure fly over them and lower into the trees to their right.
"Yeah, I think so. Should we go get em?"
"You kidding?! Just the two of us versus all of them?! No way!"
"Well shouldn't we at least tell Magneto they're here?"
"Yeah, we should, yo."
Toad began to hop off, but soon stopped and looked back puzzled.
"Where is Magneto?"
"I thought you knew," said Fred.
"Nah, I thought you knew where he was! Oh well. He'll figure it out eventually."
Toad hopped back and sat down on the fountain again.
Suddenly, Shadowcat appeared through the trees and saw the two Brotherhood members.
"You two?! Where's everyone else?"
"We don't know," said Blob.
"Hey look! It's Lance's girl! Where your friends at?"
"There's nothing between me and Lance! And the rest of the X-Men are taking down the rest of your goons. Where's Magneto?" yelled Shadowcat.
"Don't really know," said Toad. "Oh yeah! Now I remember! He's…"
Toad shot his tongue out of his mouth and grabbed Kitty's ankle. She screamed and fell to the ground. Toad tried to throw her into the fountain, but she phased through the long muscle and stood up quickly.
"Hey! No fair, yo!"
"Eww, that's so gross!" yelled Kitty as she wiped the slime off her uniform. "Well if that's how you two want it, then that's how its gonna be!"
She charged at the two boys. Toad screamed as she dove at him, then jumped out of the way at the last second.
"She's crazy!" screamed Toad from his new perch on top of a streetlight. "Whatever happened to trash talkin' the whole time and never actually fightin?"
"Tell me where Magneto is and we don't have to fight!" yelled Shadowcat.
Suddenly though, Blob came up from behind her and wrapped his arms around her body. She screamed as he lifted her into the air.
"Let me go, you thug!" yelled Kitty as she phased through his arms.
Blob tried to crush her with his fists when she hit the ground, but she phased through the sidewalk and disappeared.
"Hey! Where'd she go?" asked Toad as he dropped back to the ground.
Kitty's arms reached around Toad and pulled him backwards into the fountain.
"Whoa! What the…?! Aw, man!" cried Toad as he fell into the water.
"Don't complain! You needed a bath anyway!" said Kitty.
"Hey! I just had a bath last week!"
Blob grunted as he picked Kitty up and threw her into the fountain quickly.
"Hey! Do you have any idea how long it takes this uniform to dry?!" yelled Kitty as she stood up from the small pool.
She looked over at Toad just in time to see him spit slime at her. She let it phase through her and stepped out of the fountain.
She groaned as she got ready for the next round.
"Why did I have to get stuck with these two?"
*****
Nightcrawler ran out of the park and found himself alone in the city.
"Great! Let the boy from Germany find hiz own vay around the big city. Perfect!" he mumbled under his breath. He took a deep breath. "Vell, here ve go!"
He ported to the top of the building standing next to him and looked around. The city was really very beautiful. It struck him that what he was seeing was a new beauty than he'd ever seen before. There were really 3 different types of beauty. The first was the beauty that a person has. The second was natural beauty from God's creations like the mountains and rivers he'd loved so much back in Germany. But this was a beauty that man creates. These buildings stood like graceful, sleeping giants. From his height, Kurt couldn't hear the jumble of noises from the streets below. He could only hear the wind whipping through the alleys and see the metal and concrete that formed beautiful architecture before his eyes. He stood for a moment and took in the sights before him.
"Vell, I suppose I should be looking for anything veird," he said as he forced himself to move on from the skyline.
His eyes traveled up and down the streets below him. He walked around the edge of the building and looked straight down at the sidewalks. There were people going back and forth everywhere, but he didn't recognize any of them as a Brotherhood member or an Acolyte.
Suddenly, a quick dash of light in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned to look towards it, but the light was gone. Leaves were blowing around in a small circle where the flash had been. Another flash of light appeared directly below him. There was definitely something going on down there.
"Pietro."
Kurt stood on the edge of the building and watched for Pietro to run by again. The same flash of light appeared to his left and Kurt jumped from the 50-story building. People began screaming below him as he fell through the air. A puff of smoke suddenly appeared around him, which left everyone looking up in confusion. Kurt stepped behind some bushes behind the crowd. They would think that he had died somehow in midair and blown up. It had served as a perfect distraction so no one would notice his appearance in the middle of the road. Kurt smiled and looked around for Pietro. He didn't have to look long as the speed-demon suddenly came to a halt right beside him.
"Nice show, blue-boy! You just put everyone in more of a panic than I ever could!"
Kurt ignored the comment. "Vas are you guys doing in Chicago? Where's Magneto?!"
"Causing-a-panic-and-I-don't-know!" said Quicksilver in a rush.
"Vell then I think I'll help you remember!" yelled Nightcrawler as he dove at Pietro.
Quicksilver stepped to the side and smirked.
"C'mon! You call that fast?!"
Kurt ported behind Pietro in an attempt to catch him off guard, but Pietro saw it coming and quickly moved out of his reach.
"If that's the best you can do, then I'm outta here! So long!"
With that, Quicksilver sped off as Kurt watched leaves and pieces of paper swirl around in his tracks.
"I see how it is," mumbled Kurt with a bruised ego. He clenched his teeth and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
*****
Storm was flying through the towers as she looked for any sign of trouble. She weaved through the buildings easily, but was careful not to be too visible as she didn't want to start trouble with the regular people on the ground. After flying around for a few minutes, she decided to see if she could find anything on ground level. So she landed in a small alley and ventured out onto the streets. She found herself walking down Michigan Avenue in a huge crowd of people.
Suddenly, she heard screams and the roaring of flames behind her. Storm turned around and found herself only one block from Pyro, who had his back to her and was busy scaring people with a car he had formed out of fire.
Storm leapt into the air and flew straight at the madman. She dropped her shoulder and flew into Pyro's back, knocking him to the ground and causing the car to disappear. Pyro jumped up quickly and turned around.
"You?! What are you doing here?"
"We heard that you would be here, so we dropped in to say hi. Where's Magneto?"
"Can't tell ya, mate. Now if ya don't mind, I got business to attend to."
Pyro stretched his arms toward Storm and fired two jets of flame from either hand. He felt the wind pick up around him as Storm rose into the air to avoid being burned. The tree that stood behind Storm, though, was caught by the flames and burst into an orange glow. Storm pointed her arms towards the tree and rain began falling from a cloud that assembled right above it.
"Hey! That's not fair!" called Pyro as he began firing at Storm again.
Storm flew between the two flaming columns coming from Pyro as her pupils began to fade away. Pyro's maniacal laughter subsided when he noticed the sky darkening above him. Huge clouds were rolling over Lake Michigan and settling on downtown Chicago. They let loose a torrential downpour that soaked everything within a three-block radius of the two elemental mutants.
"I believe you will find it much harder to set everything on fire now," said Storm as she landed again about 10 feet from Pyro.
"No fair! You cheated!"
"I did what I had to do. Fire doesn't mix well with this city and I'm not going to let you burn it down."
Pyro grunted his annoyance and began sending flames over the buildings and trees around him. To his horror, they weren't catching fire! Storm just smiled as she kept a mist hanging in the air to ensure everything stayed as wet as possible. She walked towards the now angry Australian and sent a huge wind to knock him off his feet. Lightning flashed from her eyes as she stood over Pyro.
"Where is Magneto?"
"I don't know, okay! Back off!"
Storm sighed, but never took her gaze from the frightened Pyro. She wasn't sure if he was lying or not, but she had a hunch that he was telling the truth.
*****
Wolverine stormed down the streets of Chicago as he sniffed the air for a familiar scent. Finally, he found it. He turned to his left and ran down the street. People dove out of his way as he extended his claws and charged his target. He rounded a corner and finally saw the man he was looking for.
"Sabertooth!"
Wolverine growled loudly as he ran towards his enemy and lunged at him. Sabertooth turned around quickly and grabbed Wolverine as he fell on top of him. The two mutants rolled around on the ground for a little while until Wolverine landed a knee in his groin and put the beast of a man out of commission for a while. Wolverine stood up and took a deep breath.
"That…wasn't fair," said Sabertooth in a breathy voice.
"Too bad. Much as I would love ta kill ya right now, we got bigger problems today. What's Magneto got up his sleeve?"
Sabertooth stood back up. He was beginning to regain his breath and his strength.
"I don't know."
"Yer lyin'!"
"No. He refused to tell the plan to anyone."
Wolverine let this sink in quickly. Magneto must have something major in mind if he hadn't even told his followers!
"Where is he?"
"Don't know that, either. He told us nothing."
Wolverine grunted. This wasn't gonna be good if Magneto had been this secretive. He sniffed the air once. Maybe he'd get lucky and catch a whiff of ol' Mags. To his shock, he managed to pick up Magneto's scent nearby!
Sabertooth saw the surprise in Wolverine's face and he smelled the air as well. He picked up the same scent as his enemy.
"If you want to get to him, you have to go through me!"
Wolverine looked at Sabertooth with a fierce glare.
"Fine then, bub. Let's go!"
*****
Pietro sped down the walkway next to the river and stopped at the entrance to Navy Pier.
"I think I lost him that time," he panted.
"Nope. Still here!" came Kurt's voice from behind him.
Pietro turned around in horror.
"What the…?! You've chased me literally around this whole city! We've been all the way from Wrigley Field to the lake! How can you keep up with me?!"
"Jah, thanks for the tour! It helped me learn my way around much better! Now, you never answered my question. Where is Magneto?"
Pietro panted as Kurt smiled at him. "I told you. I don't know!"
Pietro did his best to look tired, but he was beginning to feel a second wind coming on.
"So where are all your friends? I haven't seen anyone but you." He was stalling until he was ready to run again.
"They're around. Probably beating the information out of your friends!"
"I doubt it. So where's Daniels at? I haven't seen him in forever!"
Pietro noticed Kurt's smile fade quickly.
"Zo you haven't heard then?" asked Kurt.
"No. What's wrong?"
"Evan was killed by a Zentinel a veek ago."
"What?!" Pietro reeled back and tripped over a bench. "He's dead?! He can't be dead! Are you sure?!"
Kurt nodded. "I zaw him die vith my own eyes."
"No-way! That's-impossible! He-can't-be-dead! Who-am-I-s'posed-to-fight-with-now?! I-swear,-blue-boy,-if-this-is-some-kind-of-joke…"
"It's no joke," interrupted Kurt. "He's gone."
Pietro just sat on the ground and stared into space. Kurt watched him with interest. He had always known that Evan and Pietro had once been friends and their rivalry had been obvious to everyone, but he never would have dreamed that Pietro would have such a reaction to Evan's death!
"Pietro? Are you okay?"
Quicksilver looked up at Kurt like he just realized he was there.
"Yeah. Course I am."
"Look, he vas my friend too, but you've got to just move on and forget about it. Now where is Magneto?"
Pietro stood up slowly. He looked around like he didn't know where he was, then disappeared in a streak of light again. Kurt groaned.
"I better make zure he doesn't do anything crazy," he said before porting after him.
*****
Jean was walking down the sidewalks cautiously. She knew the others must have gotten into some fights because every now and then she would see someone running down the street screaming. But she was yet to happen across an enemy herself or walk into an existing fight. She whirled around when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Well, well. Look who we have here."
"Wanda! You scared me. Where's your father?"
Wanda smirked. "Don't know. He wouldn't tell me. Why?"
"We know he's got some crazy plan. You have to know that whatever it is he plans on doing, he's going to hurt someone! Wanda, you're not like him or the rest of the Brotherhood. Help us."
"Betray my dad? Yeah, right." Wanda took a step back and put her hands in the air like she wanted to fight. "Its not gonna happen that way."
"Look Wanda, I really don't want to fight you. Just tell me where Magneto is."
"Told you. Don't know."
"Please Wanda. Don't make me do this," pleaded Jean as she raised her own arms in case she had to attack.
Wanda charged at Jean as fast as she could, but Jean thrust her hands forth and flung the witch against the brick wall of the Wrigley Building.
The female Maximoff fell to her knees on the sidewalk, then stood up slowly with a huff.
"You'll regret that."
"I doubt it."
Jean thrust her hands forward again, but this time Wanda was ready. She raised her hands as well and Jean flew backwards across the street, causing cars to slam on their brakes to avoid hitting her body. Jean stood up and frowned at the Scarlet Witch. She began to levitate herself into the air and move back across the street. To her horror, though, the cars began to rise into the air as well when Jean reached the middle of the road. Drivers and passengers screamed as they opened their doors and fell out of their cars. Jean realized what has happening just in time to put her hands up and stop them from flying into her. However, just as Jean got control over the cars in front of her, a bar from a nearby street sign slammed across her spine. Wanda laughed as Jean fell from the air and hit the ground with a thud.
"I told you you'd regret it!"
Jean picked herself up slowly. Her back was throbbing with pain after taking the hit from a metal pole. She used her power to throw the pole back at Wanda, but Wanda used Jean's telekinesis to throw it back across the street.
"Let's see just how powerful you are," said Wanda with a smirk.
Everything that wasn't imbedded in the ground began to rise from the street and swirl in circles over their heads. Jean looked up in horror and tried to pull some of the bigger items like cars out of the air. Unfortunately, she couldn't concentrate due to the pain in her back. She lowered her head and cringed in pain as she lay on her hands and knees in the middle of the street.
Suddenly, Jean heard a familiar growl and heard Wanda scream in surprise. She heard the crashes of cars and other objects falling back to the ground. Jean managed to look up, where she saw Beast wrestling with the Scarlet Witch on the sidewalk. She watched for a moment until she managed to gather her strength and stand up. She looked around quickly and found the same metal pole that Wanda had used earlier. She picked it up with her mind and sent it flying towards the two mutants. Beast saw it coming and jumped out of the way. Scarlet Witch was not so lucky. One end of the pole slammed into her stomach. The other end then swung up and slapped against her head, rendering her unconscious on the sidewalk.
Beast turned around to face Jean with an approving smile.
"Nicely done."
Jean smiled weakly and collapsed on the street again. Beast rushed over to her and picked her up.
"Jean?! What's wrong? Jean, can you hear me?"
Jean's eyes were closed and her body was limp in the giant blue arms of Hank McCoy. He picked her up and carried her unconscious body back to the Blackbird.
*****
It seemed like forever since Cyclops had left the Blackbird and found himself alone in the middle of the city. He knew that the fighting must have started, as he could here faint screams every now and then. Not to mention the screams from people who saw him in his uniform and visor running down the streets. Finally, he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey Summers! What are you doing here?"
Cyclops turned around to face Avalanche, who was across the street from him.
"You know why I'm here, Alvers!" he shouted back. "The question is why are you here?"
"Because I have nowhere else to go!" shouted Lance as cars passed between them. "I was asked to come here and I came."
"Fine! Then where's Magneto?" called Scott.
"Sorry Red-eye, can't hear you!" yelled Avalanche.
He stomped his foot on the sidewalk, causing the pavement to buckle and rise up in front of traffic forming a trail that led all the way to Cyclops.
"That's better," said Avalanche as he walked down his passageway and stopped next to Cylcops. "Now what were you saying, Summers?"
"You heard me Alvers. Where's Magneto?"
"Somehow I knew you would ask me that. I don't know."
"You don't know or you won't say?"
"I don't know!" said Lance defensively.
"I don't believe that."
"Fine. Your choice, but it's the truth."
"Why do you always have to be so hard to deal with, Alvers?"
"Because frankly, I don't like you and you're not exactly easy to get along with either. Now, I don't know where Magneto is, but I know what my orders are."
"And what are they?"
"To fight you. Pretty simple really. I was told that if I found anyone who wanted to cause trouble, my job was to fight them."
"So you're nothing but a distraction."
"But what a fun distraction it is!"
The ground began to shake around the two boys' feet. Cyclops looked at Avalanche and saw his eyes had rolled into his head. Scott jumped away just as pieces of concrete began falling from the buildings above them. He reached to his temple and fired a quick shot at Avalanche, knocking him off his feet.
Lance stood back up and glared at Cyclops with hatred. Scott kneeled down and fired another blast at the Brotherhood leader. However, just as he did so, Lance stomped his foot and a wave of sidewalk rushed toward Cyclops. The red beam fired into the air as Scott was knocked onto his back.
He jumped up and charged Avalanche. Lance was ready and ducked the first punch. The second one landed directly in his stomach and knocked the breath out of him.
Lance fell to the ground on his hands and knees and gasped for air. He looked up at Cyclops, who was standing directly above him. Lance raised one hand into the air, then punched the ground with all his might, sending a shock wave out from his body that shook the whole city. Scott was knocked off his feet and fell next to Avalanche.
Lance took the opportunity to punch Scott in the face and give a kick to his ribs. Scott countered by landing a few punches of his own.
Soon, the two boys were back on their feet and putting every amount of energy they could muster into the fight.
*****
Gambit was standing at the base of the Sears Tower and looking straight up the wall and into the sky. He had come straight here when the X-Men split up. Gambit knew he would be here if he was only patient enough.
Finally, Colossus appeared from around a corner.
"I been waitin' on ya."
"Gambit?! What are you doing here?"
"Long story, mon ami. But it ends wid me bein wid de X-Men."
"So the X-Men are here?"
"Yep."
"Good. Maybe they can stop Magnus."
"Not if dey don't know de plan. Which, o'course, only Magneto himself knows de plan."
"He's insane, Remy. Ever since the attack he's been getting crazier and crazier."
"He never had much sanity ta start wit."
"True."
"I don't s'pose ya know where he is?"
"You know I don't. If I did, I'd gladly tell you."
Remy looked at his good friend with pity.
"Join us, Piotr. You an' me always talked 'bout leaving Magnus an' joinin' the X-Men. Dey're good people. Dey'd like ya."
Colossus sighed. "You know I can't, Remy. I'd love to, but I have to think about my family."
"We'll help your family! Just join us."
"I'm sorry, Remy. Maybe another time I'll be able to. But right now, I can't risk losing them."
"I understand," said Remy as he patted his friend's shoulder. "An' I understand dat now ya gotta do what ya gotta do."
Colossus sighed again. "No. Magneto will never know that I did nothing to stop you. I refuse to fight you, Remy."
"You're a good friend, Piotr. I wish ya could come wid me."
"Me too."
*****
The streets of Chicago were now pretty much deserted except by mutants embroiled in duels around the city. Wolverine was thankful that the people had been smart enough to get away from them. He charged at Sabertooth again and sunk his claws into the huge man's shoulder. Sabertooth roared as he threw Wolverine through a metal wall beside them.
Wolverine jumped up and shook his head. He could still smell Magneto. In fact, he had been trying to keep the fight moving in a direction that was always closer to Magneto. He took another sniff of the air, then jerked his head to look down the hallway beside him. Magneto was down that hallway!
He ran as hard as he could down the corridor. He heard Sabertooth jump through the wall and chase after him. He could hear screams coming from ahead of him. Magneto was attacking!
Wolverine rounded a corner and found himself inside a huge convention center draped with long red, white, and blue decorations. Magneto was hovering over the stage at the opposite side of the room. People were running everywhere inside the convention center and hiding underneath whatever they could find. Suddenly, Magneto turned his head toward Wolverine and called out across the room.
"Wolverine! Good to see you could make it to my little party!"
Wolverine felt himself rise into the air. He tried to fight Magneto's powers, but was drawn up to the stage where Magneto was standing over a cowering silver-haired man. Wolverine glanced down at the man below him and realized it was Senator Robert Kelly! Finally, everything clicked in Wolverine's mind and he realized what was happening.
"This is a huge mistake, Magneto! It'll only make things worse!" yelled Wolverine through clenched teeth as Magneto stretched his body to the limit.
"No, things will get better in time," said Magneto slowly. "This is but phase one."
"Killing Senators don't help yer cause! It will only make 'em hate us more!"
Magneto drew Wolverine closer to him so that they were looking eye to eye.
"I don't care if they hate me or love me. Hate is not the problem. The problem is fear, or rather, lack of it. They can hate us, Wolverine, but as long as they fear us, we have the upper hand!"
"You're insane," grimaced Wolverine. Pain was beginning to course through his body as his appendages tried to pull away from his torso.
"Oh no, Wolverine. I am quite sane."
Magneto pushed his hands forward and Wolverine floated to the middle of the room. He watched as a blue electromagnetic field appeared around Magneto's body. The doors slammed shut all around the room and Wolverine closed his eyes as the people in the room screamed in fear.
Finally, Magneto raised his hands into the air and the room started to shake. Cracks began appearing around the walls, floor, and ceiling. Chunks of metal and concrete fell from the ceiling and crushed the people below. One particularly large chunk fell from directly above Magneto. It landed on the blue field surrounding the master of magnetism and crumbled without ever hitting him. The groans from the building got louder as it truly began to cave in until finally, the ceiling collapsed on the whole room and crushed everyone in it except for Magneto, who stood above the rubble with a smile on his face. He raised his arm once again and lifted Wolverine out of the devastation.
"You see, Wolverine? Fear is the ultimate weapon. So long as they fear us, they cannot harm us."
"Thought you believed they couldn't stop us anyway," said Wolverine.
Magneto frowned. "They can't, but they can try. That is what Mr. Kelly's law was all about, stopping the mutants. He failed to understand that stopping us was impossible. But his little law did set back mutant supremacy, and for that he had to be punished. I think this should do the trick, don't you?" said Magneto with a menacing smile.
"This'll only make people want to hurt us even more. You're so blind that you can't see what you've done!
"Go and tell Charles about this. And tell him that I look forward to seeing him again someday soon."
Wolverine suddenly fell from the sky and landed hard on the rocks below. Magneto rose into the air and flew away. Wolverine stood up and rubbed his shoulder as he watched the mutant disappear into the sky. He grabbed his comm and began to talk into it.
"This battle's over, everyone. Head for the Blackbird. We're goin' home."
e He
