A/N: This chapter is very, very long so I'm gonna keep the notes short. I've exaggerated a couple powers for my own purposes. I ask merely that you allow me this freedom without too many complaints. Thank you and enjoy!
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There wasn't much for the X-Men to do but sit back and wait for the ACLU lawyers to call them and tell them they had won or lost the case. It was set to go to court in 2 months, which meant the trial would be in late June. It would land in a federal court located in California where the judge would most likely rule in favor of the mutants of America, though on paper it would be in favor of Charles Xavier, since it was he who had come forward first and filed the charges. The case of Charles Xavier v. United States of America was set to be the most groundbreaking case in American history since Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
Magneto finished reading the article about the case in the Washington Post and threw the paper to the ground in disgust. The other people in the room all jumped at the sudden movement from their leader. The room was small, it was only a motel room after all, but it was full. The Acolytes and Brotherhood were both there, leaving little room for much movement. The only person not there was Sabertooth, who Magneto refused to allow into the group planning the next attack. Ever since his chat with Destiny, he couldn't allow Sabertooth's passion for fighting Wolverine stand between him and victory.
"So Charles is naïve enough to think the humans would allow him to win this battle in their courts. He must have finally lost that incredible mind of his."
"But if he won the case, wouldn't it mean the Anti-Mutant Act would be gone and this would all be over?" asked Pyro, who was across the room reclining in a wooden chair with his feet propped on the table while he played with a lighter.
"No," said Magneto without turning to face the Australian. "It would mean the Anti-Mutant Act would be gone and soon replaced with some new law that is much worse. Those government cowards will never accept us."
Pyro frowned. "I thought he said acceptance wasn't as important as fear," he mumbled to Lance, who was sitting in the chair next to him.
Magneto turned around viciously. "Fear is the important thing!" he cried loudly. "But they will never fear us as long as we play by their rules, as my old friend has so stupidly done. We must rise above their rules and show our true power. This little lawsuit must be stopped at all costs." He turned to Mystique. "The plans have changed. We attack in two days!"
"What?" cried Mystique sharply. "I thought we still had three more weeks!"
"That was before Charles played into their hands."
"What are you talking about? He's not 'playing into their hands!' He's doing what they don't want us to do. He's challenging them!"
Magneto smirked at her naiveté. "Do you really believe that the Congressmen of this nation, the ones who understand the laws better than anyone else, never expected this law to be challenged in the courts? The Act is unconstitutional and they knew it from the beginning. They expected it to be repealed. Frankly, they're probably surprised it's taken this long for files to be charged. But even though the Anti-Mutant Act will be repealed, it still set one thing into the minds of all Americans. Mutants are dangerous. The Anti-Mutant Act was full of outrageous ideas that were designed to scare people. 'Why would the government capture and imprison mutants unless they're a serious danger to the rest of us?' Americans are scared of us now and that is what the Congress wants!"
"But isn't that what we want too?" asked Toad sheepishly.
Magneto's gaze quickly settled on the teenage boy. Toad instantly regretted speaking.
"No. We want them to be just scared enough that they will do what we say. The government wants them scared enough to fight against us."
"So what's the difference?" asked Pietro.
"Government scares people by quietly suggesting that we want to control the world. That makes us no different from the aliens and communists the people see in the movies. And what do they do when the world is threatened in the movies? They send in the army and fight a war far away from peoples' homes. This way people think that the enemy's efforts are all focused on the war and that they are safe as long as they stay away from the battlefield. They scare the people enough to support the war, but not enough to be involved in it. We, on the other hand, must show them that we are fighting the war in their homes. We're not afraid to kill anyone, soldier or civilian. We don't waste our time fighting soldiers in faraway lands. Instead, we fight and kill everyday people in the middle of their homes. What the government has done is show us as the enemy, and then try to show that they can control us. What we must do is prove we cannot be controlled."
"And just what does any of that have to do with moving the day of our attack?"
"Simple, my dear Mystique. By attacking in two days, we can prove that we are not bound by any human court. It will prove beyond doubt that they have no control over us."
Mystique wasn't satisfied, but she sat back in silence and let him win the argument. He was in charge and if he said they attack in two days, then they attack in two days. No one could change his mind.
*****
Logan walked into the kitchen for a snack, saw Scott, and immediately left the kitchen. It wasn't that he hated Scott. He was just afraid that he might impale his head on a metal claw if they were left alone together. Instead, Logan headed for the TV room, where he fell into the couch, grabbed the remote, and switched on the 30-inch screen.
It took a moment for the image to warm up and he heard the sounds of cartoons before he could see them. Soon, he saw ducks hitting rabbits on the head with huge mallets and coyotes running around with boxes of TNT. He changed the channel quickly, but the next one wasn't any better. This channel was showing some tearjerker movie about an abused woman who ran away from her husband, lost her kids to the courts when she couldn't pay to feed them, and eventually killed herself. Who found this stuff entertaining? He changed the channel again. This time he landed on the news, where they were running a breaking story. Logan's eyes widened as he realized what he was seeing. He jumped over the couch and ran for the Professor, forgetting to turn the TV off. Only two noises could now be heard in the room. One was that of Logan's voice calling for "Chuck." The other was the voice of the newswoman from the TV.
"…are currently attacking the Capitol building in Washington DC. Congressmen and women are reportedly being held captive inside the building by the mutants. Meanwhile, other mutants outside the building refuse to let anyone get close to an entrance into the Capitol. So far, they have killed four police officers who tried to get through them. Stay tuned to CNN for continuing coverage of this story."
*****
Rogue couldn't remember the Blackbird ever flying so fast, including the time that they had gone to rescue Jean and Storm. They were flying low and would be in DC in minutes. Everyone was here, even the Professor, who was flying the huge jet. She only hoped they weren't too late.
She wrapped her arms around her torso and hugged herself as she watched the capitol city appear in the distance. She was worried about the fight. After all, Magneto was attacking the Capitol Building! Surely he had to know they were coming, which meant he was ready for them. Rogue was glad she had decided to add her new jacket to her uniform. It was comforting for her. It was still corny, but the jacket made her feel protected from the danger they were about to enter.
The Blackbird landed on the Mall between the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building. The X-Men were out and running towards the Capitol before the jet even touched the ground. Jean, Storm, and Rogue never even set foot on the ground. They simply jumped out of the Blackbird and began flying overhead of the rest of the team. Only Xavier stayed in the jet. He would keep the Blackbird in the air to keep people away from it. When the fight was over, he would pick everyone up and they would be gone as soon as possible.
The police and S.W.A.T. teams were completely circled around the Capitol and were keeping people as far away as they could. It wasn't worth trying to explain to some rookie cop why they were there, so Jean lifted all of the X-Men over the crowd and lowered them back to the ground on the other side of the barricade. Screams could be heard from the crowd and calls to "freeze" were shouted by the police, but there was nothing they could do. Finally, some officer started shooting. Jean put up a shield and protected everyone from the oncoming bullets. Eventually, the police saw the uselessness of firing their guns and so they just lowered them and watched the mutants get closer to the building than any of their men had been able to get yet. It wasn't long before the X-Men were on the steps to the Capitol, where they came face to face with Pyro and Colossus.
"Hiya mates! I'll need to see some ID if ya wanna get through," said Pyro with glee. The four scorched bodies lying at the base of the stairs suggested it wasn't the first time he had said that.
Gambit reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a card. "Got it right here," he said with a smirk as he let it fly at the fire-loving mutant.
Pyro jumped out of the way and landed on his feet a few stairs above his previous position. Soon, the flames from the small explosion rose into the air above everyone and formed a huge fiery anvil in the sky. The X-Men all jumped for cover as Pyro let it fall to the ground and smash into the concrete steps.
Cyclops took advantage of the resulting confusion to organize his group. "Jean, you, Rogue and Kitty try to find another way in over there!" he ordered with a finger pointed to his left. "Gambit, you and Wolverine head over there!" Now pointing to his right. "Kurt, Storm, and I will stay here and break through this entrance! Regroup inside!"
The X-Men nodded and took off in their respective directions. Gambit turned his head as he ran and gave a nod to Colossus. It hurt both of them to be on opposite sides of this fight, but both understood that things had to be this way. Colossus, though, had no intention of fighting against the X-Men today. He stood still as a statue, and looked like one as well thanks to his metal skin. Pyro, he knew, was too busy to notice that he wasn't joining the fight.
Once they were gone, Storm rose into the air and gathered a mist that settled on everything around the remaining X-Men and two Acolytes, killing the lapping flames. Once the flames died down, she began to lower back to the ground and kept the mist hanging in the air, just as she had done in Chicago. Pyro looked up at the weather witch with a smile.
"Not this time. I've been practicing. And now, you can't…" He threw his arms forward violently, sending flames everywhere. "…STOP ME!"
The X-men were again forced to dodge Pyro's attacks as Storm allowed the rain to begin pouring down. Icy winds blew across the area as Storm did her best to snuff the fire out. Nothing was working.
"Nightcrawler! Kill his source!" yelled Cyclops as he shielded his face from the warmth of the flames.
Nightcrawler nodded his understanding and teleported behind Pyro. He jumped on the Australian's back and grabbed the cords running from his pack down his arms that provided fuel for the flames coming from his hands. He gave the man a kick forward and sent him tumbling down the stairs. The cords snapped in Nightcrawler's grip and fuel spilled across the ground.
Pyro stood up slowly, still smiling. "It's not that easy," he said menacingly. He raised his arms over his head slowly. "I told you I've been practicing."
Cyclops, Nightcrawler, and Storm looked up in horror. What could he be talking about? Soon, they had their answer. The Sun grew brighter and brighter in the sky above them. They realized what was happening just in time and dove away at the last second. When they looked up, Pyro was engulfed in flames that stretched up into the sky in two columns that swirled above his head like a strand of DNA. He began walking down the stairs towards the three X-Men.
"I've amped my powers up a bit. Can't you tell?" he boasted with a laugh.
Suddenly, Cyclops felt a strange sensation in his eyes. They were stinging, burning even! He looked again at Pyro and realized what was happening. His blasts were powered by solar energy and Pyro was currently surrounded in fire coming straight from the Sun. The sudden proximity and surge of solar energy was making Cyclops' blasts ten times as powerful as normal! He turned his head to look straight at Pyro, a red trail following his movement as the Ruby Quartz began to give way to the sudden sheer force of his blasts.
"You mates might as well give up now," said Pyro, not understanding what was about to happen.
"We could," said Cyclops as he braced himself on his knees. "But you're not the only one with new powers!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, simultaneously ripping his visor off and attacking Pyro with his full, unbridled force.
Pyro screamed as the blast literally knocked him into the air. Cyclops closed his eyes quickly, afraid of killing the insane enemy. He would only fire short blasts at him. He just hoped Nightcrawler or Storm would think to tell him where to turn his head for the next one.
But Pyro's screams didn't die when he hit the ground. His body landed on the stairs, flames still surrounding it, and bounced before rolling down a few steps. His body twisted and contorted in pain and the screams only got louder. Soon, it became clear that the flames were not merely surrounding his body. They were actually consuming it! The blast from Cyclops had caused him to lose his concentration momentarily, meaning the flames were allowed to catch his suit on fire. When he hit the steps, the pain was too much for him and he lost all his concentration completely, meaning the fire had settled on his body and Pyro was now being burnt alive on the steps of the Capitol!
When Storm realized what was happening, she brought a quick rain cloud down to kill the flames. But it was too late. Pyro had been burnt too badly and was now gasping for breath as his scorched body lay still on the steps. He made one last audible gasp, and then it was silent. Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus merely stared at the grotesque sight. They couldn't believe what had just happened!
With the Sun fire gone, Cyclops powers were back to normal. He replaced his visor and looked up at the metal Russian man behind where Pyro had been standing.
"You're turn, Tin Man!" he yelled, not yet realizing what had just happened to Pyro.
Colossus walked down to the three X-Men slowly and calmly. He raised his hand to show he meant no harm.
"Strange as it may be, he deserved that," said Colossus, motioning towards Pyro's body. "He's killed many men in the same way that he just died. I don't hold it against you."
Cyclops looked around in confusion. Then he saw Pyro's body and realized what he had done. He silently looked up at Kurt in shock.
"Don't vorry, my friend. It vasn't your vault. Vith a power like zat, it had to be done."
Scott nodded his head slowly. Kurt was right. If he was that powerful, then he had to die. And besides, Scott hadn't been trying to kill him. It just happened. He took a deep breath and decided not to let this incident bother him. If he hadn't done it, someone else would have had to.
Colossus continued talking. "I may be on a different team, but you should know that I'm on your side. Magneto must be stopped. Unfortunately, I cannot fight with you. All I can do is let you pass. Now go quickly!"
"Vhy can't you fight?" asked Nightcrawler.
"It's a long story, but he'd kill my family if he knew I helped you. Now go! The longer you stay here, the more Congressmen will die!"
Storm looked at Cyclops at this news and the three X-Men thanked Colossus quickly before rushing through the doors and into the building. The metal giant turned his head to look at Pyro's body one last time before he followed them inside.
*****
Gambit and Wolverine ran around the side of the building until they found a small security entrance, guarded by none other than Toad and Avalanche.
"Outta de way, boys," said Remy, one hand pulling a couple cards from his pocket.
"Sorry traitor," smirked Lance, "but we're not goin' anywhere."
Wolverine extended his claws out as he stepped closer to the two boys.
"Listen bubs, this is bigger than the two o' you. Now I'm not in a forgivin' mood so I suggest ya get out of our way or else you'll find out how much damage these things really do," he said, holding his right hand up so that his claws were just centimeters from Avalanche's face.
Toad gulped, but stood his ground. Lance shot a nervous look back at the younger teen, then turned a confident gaze back to Wolverine.
"Then let's see the show, old man."
Wolverine growled and took a quick swipe at Lance's head, which the boy ducked at the last second. The older mutant was about to bring his other hand up in an uppercut, but was stopped by a rumbling beneath him. He immediately jumped back as a hole opened in the earth beneath the spot he had just been standing on.
Gambit watched in awe as he realized how much training Lance must have put in to be able to pull something like that. He knew the Brotherhood well enough to know they would never train that much without being forced to. Magneto must have been making all of his followers train constantly, and the effects were impressive. Lance had just caused a small hole to form in the ground while ducking at the same time! He hadn't put his hands out in front of him. His eyes hadn't rolled back. Gambit smiled. This should be a good fight.
Toad hopped onto Gambit's back and wrapped his arms around his neck. Gambit was pulled backwards by the unexpected weight, but he managed to stay on his feet. He tried to pull the arms away from his neck, but Toad had a strong grip on him.
"Give up, yo. It's not like you can win anyways. Magneto's planned everything perfectly. You guys are gonna lose no matter what."
"Ungh, I t'ink not, mon frere."
Gambit reached his hand up and grabbed Toad's sleeve. Toad just watched in amusement…until the sleeve started glowing.
"Whoa! What the?!"
Toad gave Gambit a kick in his back and jumped off of him, sending Gambit flying a few yards forward. Toad ripped his shirt off quickly and tossed it on the ground as he hopped away. The shirt blew up as soon as it hit the ground.
"That wasn't fair, yo!" yelled Toad as he tried to regain his breath. "You almost killed me!"
Gambit jumped back to his feet and smirked at Toad as he rubbed his sore neck with one hand. The other hand was behind his back and inside his coat.
"De Golden Rule, mon frere. De Golden Rule."
Toad jumped towards Gambit menacingly. The Cajun pulled up his fist, which was secretly holding his extendible pole, into the air quickly. As he brought it back down, he punched a small button on the metal pole. It extended and smacked Toad to the concrete, unconscious.
"Didn't I ever teach ya not ta turn yer back on de enemy?" he said to the motionless Toad.
Throughout all this, Wolverine had been trying to get close to Avalanche again. Unfortunately, pillars of earth kept popping up in his way.
Wolverine growled out of frustration and loud enough to pull Gambit out of his victory daze. The gloating Cajun looked over to see his friend's troubles and pulled out another card. He charged it and let it sail towards Avalanche. It landed at the boy's feet and knocked him to the ground a few feet away. This allowed enough time for Wolverine to get close to Lance. He picked the boy up by his shirt and held him close enough that their noses nearly touched.
"You should've moved," growled Wolverine. He threw Lance into the locked security door hard enough that the hinges gave way. Lance fell through the door and into the building.
"Let's go," said Wolverine.
Gambit followed him inside the building, stepping over Lance's body in the process, and they began making their way through the brightly decorated halls and into the heart of the Capitol.
*****
Jean, Rogue, and Kitty went around the building the opposite direction of Gambit and Wolverine, but they didn't find any door there. They continued around to the back of the building where they found Blob and Quiksilver guarding the final entrance.
"Hey! What-took-ya-so-long-to-find-us?" asked Pietro as he stood up.
The three girls ignored him.
"Beat it, Pietro!" yelled Rogue.
"Hm,-No-thanks. I-think-I'll-stay-right-here,-right-between-you-and-this-door."
Rogue rose into the air and flew up the steps so that she was face to face with the speed demon.
"Ah said beat it!"
Quiksilver smirked. "C'mon! You-guys-think-I-don't-know-about-little-miss-redhead's-levitating-powers? You-can't-scare-me-with-that."
Rogue smiled back at him. "Jean didn't do it. Ah did. Ah'm a lot stronger than Ah used ta be. Now you got one last chance ta move 'fore Ah start poundin' you outta our way."
Pietro stepped back to stand next to Blob, who hadn't quite understood what Rogue had just said.
"Since-when-can-you-fly?!"
"It's just a li'l trick Ah picked up recently, and it's not all Ah can do."
Rogue was standing next to a concrete wall that stood as a retainer to prevent people from falling off the platform she stood on. She raised her fist into the air and punched straight through the wall, sending an explosion of concrete falling to the ground ten feet below. Pietro's smirk was gone. Blob just watched with a passive look. If he was impressed, he didn't show it.
"Big deal," he said. "I can do that!"
"Then bring it on, sugah!"
Blob charged at Rogue with a roar and lunged at her. The girl wasn't quite expecting him to jump at her like that and she failed to get out of the way. They fell through the retainer wall and straight to the ground with Blob lying on top of Rogue. Once they hit the ground, Rogue pushed him off of her and tossed his body a couple yards away. Soon, they were both up and ready to fight.
Pietro grinned as he watched the two young mutants go at it. Then he turned to face Jean and Kitty. The two girls didn't wait for him to say anything. They just charged up the stairs and ran towards him. Kitty ran to him to try and phase him partly into the platform. Jean was just trying to slow him down. So far, he was managing to avoid every attack.
Rogue and Blob exchanged punches back and forth with each other for a while. Rogue's hits didn't seem to faze the gigantic mutant at all. Unfortunately, Blob's blows to Rogue were doing more damage. Another part of her new powers that Rogue was just learning about was that her skin was now much more resistant to pressure. The punch through the concrete hadn't hurt at all and Blob's punches, though they hurt, were not causing any noticeable damage to her body.
Blob landed a punch on her chin that sent Rogue flying back into the retainer wall again. She stood up slowly and shook the loose concrete out of her hair. When she looked up, Blob was running straight at her! She kicked off the ground, but he grabbed her ankle and threw her back to the earth. She was looking straight up at Blob's fist, raised over the boy's head. She watched as it began to fall down towards her face. At the last second, Rogue swung her legs around and knocked Blob's legs out from under him. When he was on the ground, she flew into the air about twenty feet, then slammed back down onto Blob's head as hard as she could, landing her feet on his head. At this point, her only hope was to knock him out.
She jumped into the air again, this time rising to about 50 feet before slamming down onto Blob's face again. This time, his head broke through the ground a few inches. Rogue rose into the air one more time, but stopped when she realized Blob wasn't moving. She flew back down to his side and checked to make sure he was okay. One look at him told her he was just unconscious. She turned her attention up the platform above her, where Jean and Shadowcat were having a hard time dealing with Quiksilver.
"Jean! Slow him down!" yelled Shadowcat in frustration.
"I'm trying, Kitty! He's too fast though. It's hard to get a grip on his feet."
"Oh! So-I'm-too-fast-for-ya,-huh? Not-too-surprising. I-am-the-best-after-all!"
Pietro was running in straight lines back and forth across the platform. He was getting great joy in running past Kitty over and over again. Each time he passed by, she would try to grab him, but he was simply too fast for her. He passed her again and turned his head over his shoulders to watch the frustrated girl stomp her feet with a huff.
"This-is-too-easy!" he called out tauntingly.
He turned his head back in front of him and prepared to zip by Kitty again. But when his gaze returned to his front, there was a surprise waiting for him. Rogue was standing in his path with her right fist raised in the air. Quiksilver tried to stop, but he was going too fast. Rogue threw the fist forward and landed a huge punch right on Pietro's nose, breaking it instantly and sending a steady stream of blood over the boy's face. Pietro flew backwards about ten feet, then hit the ground and slid another two or three yards before skidding to a halt just past where Kitty was standing.
"Whoa! Like, nice punch!"
Rogue shook her hand back and forth as she looked up at Kitty's impressed smile. "Thanks."
*****
Gambit and Wolverine charged down the elaborate hallway as fast as they could. They turned a corner, the seventh one they had come to, and found yet another hallway!
"Dis place is like a maze!" said Gambit in disbelief.
"Just keep yer eyes open for anythin' suspicious. And if ya see a hall that says somethin' like "no one allowed beyond this point," that's where we're headed."
The two took off again down the hallway and came to a huge staircase.
"Looks like our ticket, mon ami."
"Let's hope so, kid."
They ran up the stairs and found themselves in a slightly less elaborate hallway with huge paintings on the walls. They simply exchanged annoyed looks before running down the hall. The corridor eventually came to an end at an intersection with another hall that ran perpendicular to it.
"How convenient," mumbled Wolverine. "Well, you go that way," he said pointing to the right. "I'll head this way."
"An' if I find somet'in'?"
"You got a communicator. Let us know."
"Alright. Good luck, mon ami."
"Yeah, same ta you."
The two mutants split and ran off in opposite directions. Wolverine ran and turned the first corner, where he wasn't surprised to find yet another long hallway with ornate statues along the walls.
"Who designed this place?"
He slowed down to a walk as he passed the statues, each with a small plaque on the base attributing them to a different state of the union. Finally, he came to a dead end, except for another staircase that led back to the ground level. Wolverine sighed and descended the stairs. He looked out the window and could see that he was now against the back wall of the building. At the bottom of the stairs, he stopped and his eyes opened wide. Jean was lying on the floor against a wall with a small pool of blood around her! Wolverine ran over to her and knelt by Jean's side.
"Red! What happened?!"
Jean looked up at him, a distant look in her eye. "Logan, help me. Pietro attacked me. He stabbed me, then ran after Rogue."
"It's okay, Jean. Yer gonna be fine. C'mon. I'm getting' ya back ta the Blackbird."
Logan put her arm over his shoulder and lifted her off her feet. He looked around and found that they were just inside the back door of the building. He carried Jean through the door and began going down the steps there. Suddenly though, something caught the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw Pietro sprawled across the ground with blood running from his face. He started to ask Jean what was going on, but was stopped by a horrendous pain that started between his shoulders and quickly spread around his whole body! He dropped Jean and growled as the pain overtook him. Then everything went black.
Jean stood up over the limp form of Wolverine and began laughing. Slowly, the face morphed into that of Mystique as she put the stun gun back in her pocket. She picked Wolverine up over her shoulder as he had just done with her, then carried him down the steps.
*****
"Hurry up! It's right this way!" called Colossus to Cyclops, Storm, and Nightcrawler as they made their way through the various corridors of the building. They stopped when they reached a set of stairs.
"Go right up these stairs and you'll find a wooden door," said Colossus almost in a whisper. "That door leads to the balcony of the House of Representatives. That's where Magneto is holding the Congressmen."
"Thank you for your help," said Storm as she placed a hand on the metal man's shoulder. "It's good to know that Magneto has not passed his hate on to you."
"I have plenty of hate, but it is all reserved for him," said Colossus morbidly. "But if I join this fight, my family will die. You have to stop him!"
"We will," said Scott as he turned his head up the stairs. "Storm. Nightcrawler. Let's go!"
With that, the three X-Men ran up the stairs and found the wooden door just as Colossus had said. Scott turned around to face his teammates with a plan.
"We wait for the others to get here. Then we all attack at once."
"Agreed," said Nightcrawler.
Scott grabbed his comm., but another voice came out of the small device before he had a chance to speak.
"I found de room," said Gambit's voice. "It looks like de best way in is t'rough de balcony. Dere's wooden doors up here so Mags can't keep 'em shut wit' his powers."
Just as Gambit finished speaking, he turned the corner and found himself face to face with Scott, Kurt, and Storm.
"Well hello, mon amis."
The three nodded at him while Scott pulled his comm. to his face. "Kurt, Storm, and I are already here with Gambit. We're waiting for the rest of you."
"Got it, we're on our way," said Kitty's voice in reply.
"Where's Wolverine?" asked Scott, looking at Gambit.
"We split up. He oughta be here any minute now."
Finally, Wolverine's voice came over the comm.
"I'm on my way. Don't go in without me."
*****
Jean, Kitty, and Rogue followed the directions from the other X-Men until they made it to the hallway where they all rendezvoused.
"Anybody seen Logan?" asked Kurt once the three girls arrived.
"No, not at all," said Jean.
"Give 'im time. He'll be here soon enough," said Gambit.
"We don't have a lot of time left," answered Scott in a frustrated tone.
Finally, Wolverine appeared ascending the steps that Scott, Kurt, and Storm had just climbed minutes before.
"Alright. I'm here. We ready ta go?"
"We're past ready," said Scott with a frown. "Now there are six doors up here that lead into the balcony. Split into 4 pairs, find a door, and get ready to burst through and attack on my signal."
Everyone nodded as they paired off and left in search of a door. Scott and Kurt stayed at the door they were already at and waited just a quick moment. Finally, Scott grabbed his comm. and raised it to his mouth.
"2. 1. Go!"
*****
"So you see, Congressmen, that I am the future. No matter what trivial laws you may pass, my kind and I cannot be stopped! We will one day rule the Earth and you will be but a faded memory."
Magneto was standing at the front podium of the House and giving a speech to his captive audience, being held in their seats by metal straps over their shoulders. News cameras that were left permanently posted in the room by various news stations were filming the speech. Everything was being caught on film. But he really couldn't wait for the next part of his plan to come. That would be on film too, and it would be a very interesting tape to say the least. After he finished his speech, he would commence in killing every last politician in the building. The evening news would just love this!
He wound down the speech to a close as he summed up his case for mutant superiority. Then he raised his arms and levitated into the air.
"Change is coming! And that change will forever alter the course of human history. Slowly, the world that you all know will crumble. The pillars of the world will fall like dust. And the first pillar to go," he grinned with malice as he paused and listened to the deafening silence in the room, "will be the United States of America. Today, the world's most powerful country comes to an end."
With that, he lifted his arms and every piece of metal in the room rose into the air. Beams broke through the walls. Support rods broke free of their places under the balcony. Nails flew from their holes. The badges and guns lifted from the bodies of the guards that Magneto had killed when he first entered the room. A storm of metal hovered overhead and threatened to crash down at any moment.
"Goodbye Congressmen!"
Before Magneto was able to deliver the fatal blows, however, the balcony doors rushed open and 8 people flew through them. The X-Men jumped, flew, ported, and phased their way from the balcony to the floor of the House and began rushing to the front.
Cyclops sent a blast firing at Magneto and delivered a direct hit to the man's chest, knocking him from the air.
"It's over, Magneto!"
Magneto looked at Cyclops with rage, and a little fear, in his eyes, though no one could actually see his face due to the helmet. What was he doing here?! He should have been taken care of by now!
The older mutant returned to the air and smiled at the X-Men, refusing to let them see his worry.
"This is far from over, Summers!"
He threw his arms forward and pieces of metal flew down straight at the various mutants on the floor. Each of them jumped and dodged the oncoming assault of metal. But for each piece they avoided, three more flew at them!
Jean used her mind to hold the scrap away from her. Cyclops was busy blasting the pieces apart. Nightcrawler and Shadowcat were simply dodging all the attacks. Gambit was using the force of his exploding cards to keep the metal from hitting him. Storm gathered up the wind to blow the metal back towards Magneto.
Rogue jumped into the air, grabbed a large chunk of metal that had been flying at her, and tossed it at Magneto, who was looking the other way. The chunk flew straight at the man, but he felt it coming and knocked it away at the last second.
Meanwhile, "Wolverine" was trying "his" hardest to get close to Cyclops. Mystique was most annoyed that she had let the boy fight for so long. She knew that he had to be stopped and it had to happen now. But Magneto's attacks were pointed at her as well as the X-Men. Finally, she morphed into her true form so that Magneto would leave her alone. Once she was her blue self again, the metal stopped flying at her and it was much easier to move across the room and get close to Scott, who was quite busy blasting away at the flying metal. Once she was close enough, Mystique jumped up behind the boy and brought her foot down on the back of his neck. Scott groaned and slumped to the ground with a thud. Mystique grabbed his body and dragged it out the door without being seen by the rest of the X-Men.
The screams from the Congressmen were loud. Louder even than the explosions of Gambit's cards and the constant "bamfs" of Kurt's teleportation. Louder even than the metal crashing into the ground around them. It was clear Magneto was intentionally saving the Congressmen, who were still strapped to their seats. Every piece of metal that hit the floor did so in an area where no one was around so that the Congressmen wouldn't be killed before he was ready for them to die.
Kurt ported and found himself directly above Magneto. He dropped onto the man's back and pulled him down to the ground. Rogue saw him fall and flew over to help.
"Kurt! Get outta the way!"
Kurt looked up and saw Rogue flying straight for him. He ported to the balcony and watched as Rogue landed a punch to Magneto's chin, sending him flying across the room. This caused all the flying metal to suddenly fall from the air. Jean quickly closed her eyes and tried to catch the pieces of scrap before they crushed the Congressmen. Slowly, she let the pieces land on the ground in the back of the room where there was no one to crush.
Gambit jumped over one of the metal beams to check on Magneto. He pulled the helmet off the man's head and found him unconscious. He smiled as he jumped to his feet and peered out at his teammates.
"We got 'im! He's out for de count!"
The X-Men all breathed a sigh of relief as Rogue flew over to make sure Gambit was right.
"Nice punch, cherie."
Rogue smiled as she realized that she had just beaten Magneto!
"Thanks. Ah thought it'd be a lot harder than…"
She was interrupted by a loud rumbling above them. Everyone in the room turned their attention to the ceiling, small pieces of which were crumbling and falling to the ground. Jean realized what was happening first.
"Everybody out! The ceiling's caving in!"
"What happened?" yelled Rogue.
"Magneto pulled out all the support beams and now it's falling in on top of itself!" answered Jean.
Hundreds of screams and shrieks emitted from the crowd of politicians as they pulled the metal straps off of their shoulders and clamored to get out of the building. Kurt began grabbing as many Congressmen as he could at once and porting them out of the room, only to return for more. Jean focused all her energy on holding the roof up as long as she could. Rogue grabbed Magneto and flew him out of the building before returning to help Gambit, Kitty, and Storm lead the terrified Congressmen out the doors. Once the last of the people were out of the room, Jean flew through the door and let the ceiling collapse behind her. The noise was incredible as concrete and plaster fell to the ground inside the regal government chamber. Sparks flew from the wiring as everything fell in on top of itself.
The X-Men were the last people out of the Capitol Building. There was a huge mob of reporters, police, secret service, and awed civilians yelling and screaming as the entire building began to fall. The outer walls crumbled and finally the dome began leaning to the right before crumbling and falling into the building it had once capped. Soon, the Capitol Building was gone and all that remained were the stairs that led to where there had once been a door.
Not looking to answer any more questions than they had to, the X-Men left the scene. Rogue and Storm simply flew into the air. Jean used her powers to levitate herself and the other X-Men over the crowd of reporters and Congressmen until they reached the Blackbird, where Professor Xavier was waiting on them. They hurried into the jet and strapped themselves in their seats quickly.
"Let's go, Professor!" said Rogue. "Ah don't think we're gonna be very popular around here."
"Where are Scott and Logan?" asked Xavier.
The X-Men looked around in shock. In the confusion, no one had realized they were missing!
"We can't leave without them!" said Xavier.
"I zink we are going to have to!" said Kurt, pointing through the cockpit window. The National Guard had arrived and they currently had a tank pointed at the Blackbird!
Xavier rose the jet into the air as fast as he could and took off for home, narrowly missing a shell from the huge war machine. Wherever Scott and Logan were, they would have to find their own way home. It was too dangerous for the X-Men to stick around any longer.
*****
Since the beginning of the attack on the Capitol, the President had been hidden in an underground bunker beneath the White House. He was currently surrounded by armed guards just in case anyone tried to get close to him. Of course, no one could get within 100 yards of him in the bunker. They would first have to get through a dozen different gates and then fight their way through nearly the entire secret service!
It was quiet in the bunker. No one spoke. No one moved. Everyone prayed for the men and women being held captive by that monster in the Capitol. Finally, the noise of a radio broke the silence.
"General, this is Gate 1. There's a Sgt. Meredith here who says he's cleared to pass. Permission to let him through?"
General Clark knew Meredith as his most trusted friend in the force. If he was here, it must be because the siege of the Capitol was over and he was delivering the news.
"Let him through, officer."
The same conversation came eleven more times as Meredith passed through each gate. Finally, Meredith entered through the metal door and into the room that housed Clark, the President, and about 26 armed servicemen.
"What's the news, John?" asked Clark.
"Not good, sir. They've taken the Capitol. It's over. Everyone is dead."
The room was deathly silent. The President slumped over in his chair in despair. The Congress was gone! They had all been killed by terrorists! He made a silent vow to put a stop to the mutants in his country. He had been too lenient before. Now it was time to fix his mistakes.
"Thank you, John," said Clark, his jaw clenched and his eyes refusing to show emotion.
"There's one more thing."
Clark and the President all looked up in horror. What else could be wrong?
Sgt. Meredith raised his arms up with an uzi in each hand.
"Sgt. Meredith is dead."
He squeezed the triggers as he pulled his arms in sweeping arcs around his entire body, making a circle around himself. The constant gunfire drowned the screams of the agents as flying lead ripped through their bodies. When the clips emptied, only two people in the room were still alive. One was the President. The other was a mystery.
He stepped closer to the leader of the free world as he dropped the guns to the floor. The President watched in horror as Sgt. Meredith slowly turned into a woman with blue skin and black clothes.
"Who the devil are you?!" screamed the terrified man.
The blue lady stood up straight directly above him. The President cowered on the floor below her towering frame.
"Most people don't pray to the devil just before they die, Mr. President."
After one swift movement, the President lay dead with a knife in his heart.
Mystique turned around and walked back through the door. She returned through each gate again, this time in her true form. There was no need to disguise herself. All the men at the gates were dead.
Now she just had one more matter of business to attend to.
