Worldwide, it was the same for everywhere.
Mutants screamed, falling to the ground in pain, clutching their heads to stop the terrible screeching sound. But it continued, slowly killing each and every last one of them.
No where did any mutant scream more terribly than inside the machine known as Cerebro. Controlled though he was, some part of David still resisted the sinister machinations of the chip imbedded into his brain. But he could not fight it for long, and soon they would all die. And him with them. The humans would win the war.
He had to hold out... he had to...
He screamed, as the chip's power was increased by its operator. His screams echoed in the dark, empty chamber.
Nightcrawler screamed, clutching his head as he fell to the ground by Magneto's feet. The Master of Magnetism paid him no mind. His attention was focused forward. On the steel doors sealed shut. They led to Cerebro... and to Mindbender. His mind, safely protected by his helmet, shielded him from the influences of the dark Cerebro. All the other mutants world wide would not be so lucky.
Frowning, Magneto stretched out his hands, and activated his powers, making the entire fortress shudder. He focused it, brought it under his control.
Stop.
Stop, he thought, more deeply, his brow furrowing as he brought all his power together, trying to end this. It had to stop, or all he had fought for, all his people had sacrificed, all -he- had sacrificed, would be utterly for nothing.
STOP.
A final shudder tore through the building... and the screaming ceased. So did the terrible buzzing sound. All was quiet.
With a shudder, Magneto collapsed onto his knees... it had taken nearly all of his strength to stop that... he doubted he could do it again. Footsteps pounded behind him, and he and Nightcrawler whirled to face their new foes... but to their relief it was only Cyclops and Rogue.
"Rogue..." he gasped, barely able to catch his breath. Magneto sunk further to the ground, barely able to stand. Cyclops caught him. Magneto managed to point at the iron doors. "Mindbender..."
Rogue nodded, wasting no time in slamming her fingers in between the doors and all but shoving them open, immediately spotting Mindbender. He'd fallen unconscious. Rogue grabbed him and slung him over her shoulder as Cyclops supported Magneto. Together, the new team made their way to the exit, where Mastermind would be waiting with their escape.
Midway there, they passed through the bunker again, taking a quick note of casualties. Colossus was up and standing, if a little woozy... and apart from Facade and Rogue's alter-self, no one else was dead.
"Oooh my aching head..." muttered Kitty, standing on shaky feet. Rogue watched her warily... but she was acting strangely now.
"Just let us leave," said Magneto, not recognizing her. "We don't want to hurt you."
"Huh... who are you?" she asked, rubbing her head.
Rogue figured it out first. When her head had hit the electric circuits, it must've fried the chip. Good. They could get it out later. Kitty wobbled then, nearly tripping.
"Here, I'll give you a hand," said Nightcrawler, reaching out to grab her... shocked to discover when his hand passed through hers. But more shocking... she looked surprised as well.
"What the...?"
"No time for explanations, let's move!" shouted Cyclops. "Come with us or stay here and die, all the same to us," he said. Rogue lingered behind, grabbing the unconscious form of Jean Grey as the others ran for their lives. If Kitty and Kurt could survive having chips in the brains, so could the redhead.
The mutants and their newfound allies ran out, through the corridors and secret tunnels, emerging into the early morning sky outside of the base. Mastermind's illusion dropped as they made their way to the metal spheres, climbing inside.
"Signal a retreat," ordered Magneto, wearily rising to his feet to raise up the metal spheres with his team. Cyclops set to work, ordering a full retreat of all surviving mutants.
Magneto's spheres flew through the air. They'd succeeded in their mission.
But at what price?
When they arrived back at the fortress, it was already too late.
He was rushed to the hospital, but his heart had failed him. And so it was that Eric Magnus Lensherr passed on, victim of old age and stress. His heart had not been able to handle the strain. And he had not spoken one word of complaint, even to the end. All he had said, when Cyclops stood over him and held his head, was...
"Take care of them."
No one was quite sure who he'd meant. The twins, the troops, the mutant people.
Hopefully it wasn't the twins... Spyke had reported in moments ago for Beast's team. Quicksilver was a casualty. So were Scaleface, Berzerker and Calliban. Storm's team had managed to escape without any serious casualties, and only Angel was lost. But they had a great deal more wounded lying on the cots of the medical bay. Gauntlet's team was joining them soon, since their transport back to Asteroid M was currently... inactive.
Forge had been working overtime and with now practiced expertise to remove the chips from the minds of Mindbender, Shadowcat, and Jean Grey. Shadowcat had proved the most difficult. Apparently, the shock to her system that had ruined her chip had also messed up her mutant power. Now... she was permanently phased, able to become solid only if she concentrated. Thus, her surgery had to be accompanied by a restraining collar.
This had, of course, led to the inevitable reunion.
Avalanche lay on his bed, nursing his broken arm. He didn't want the medical personnel looking at it, fussing over him. He just wanted to be alone, like he always did after a fight. So he lay in his bedroom, staring at the ceiling.
She didn't make a sound as she slipped into the room, phasing through the door. Quieter, and unfortunately easier given her new state of being. She was going to have to get used to this.
"Lance?" she whispered softly.
"Kitty?" he thought, lifting his head. He turned his head, half-expecting a daydream or half-memory calling his attention. But... there she was...
He sat up fully, still disbelieving his eyes. His angel. The only girl who'd ever looked at him and not seen a failure and a mistake. Not clad in pink, like he remembered her, but a black human uniform... but those eyes. Those sky-blue eyes could never change.
"Kitty?" he asked again, still in disbelief.
"Oh Lance..."
And she flung herself at him, trying to catch him in her arms and managed to do so... for a fraction of a second before her concentration slipped, and she nearly fell clear through him. She shifted back, and they regarded each other again. She passes her hand through his, sighing softly. Her eyes glistened wet with tears.
"Are you a ghost?" he finally managed to utter.
"There's been... some changes..." she whispered, pressing her palm lightly against his. It was feather-light contact, but it was contact.
"At least you're back," he managed to choke out.
"Yes... I'm back... I'll never leave again... ever."
"Oooh my aching head," grumbled Beast, sitting partially upright. His head and, indeed, his entire body was swathed in bandaged. Including his right knuckles. He'd taken quite a beating against the sentinel but had, eventually, manage to emerge both victorious and for the most part intact.
"Did we win?" he asked idly. He knew it was the case... if it hadn't been, he might very well be dead now.
"We did," replied Storm, resting on a nearby cot. She too was bandaged across the midsection but seemed otherwise uninjured... just tired.
"Casualties?" asked Beast.
"Plenty," she stated darkly, lowering her head and allowing her ivory locks to conceal her features. "Magneto too."
"Then it seems that, in victory, we still may have lost," he replied after a moments hesitation.
"No. This it no over," she said. "I can sense that something is left unfulfilled."
"Let us pray it is not the end of mutants," he added, resting his head back and closing his eyes. He needed to gather his strength.
Darkness. Shadows. Blackness.
That was all Meltdown could see. Panicked, she sat up, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
"Hey, easy girl... relax... you're going to be fine."
"Magma?" she asked, groping blindly and grabbing Magma's arms to steady herself.
"Yeah, its me. Look they had a look at your eyes, you're going to be fine, nothing was damaged... you just got the nerves overloaded by the time-bomb's light... it didn't even scratch you."
"Then why can't I see?" asked Meltdown. As soon as she asked, she felt it, and realized how absurd her question was. She was wearing a piece of cloth tied around her head.
"Relax, the cloth comes off in two days... your vision will be as good as new."
"Stay with me?" she asked, almost whimpering.
"Sure. Besides, we did come out alive. I believe I owe you something," replied Magma, her voice containing just a hint of mischief.
Tabby smiled back. And behind her blindfold, she cried tears of relief and joy.
Cyclops stood in the arboretum, alone save for the returned Willow. Now reverted back to her normal state of being, she was cheerfully gardening, waiting for her mentor Storm to return. Cyclops envied her, to create life with her power. All his power could do was destroy.
He'd seen to the wounded, of course, given them congratulations or heartfelt apologies, mourned over their fallen comrades, their fallen leader, and shared in their pride in the battle. He'd even checked in on Shadowcat, making sure she was well, and the newly discovered mutant Jean. Jean hadn't said much since she'd arrived. Hadn't done much of anything, really.
But then, he couldn't do it anymore. He felt... lost. He felt alone. Magneto was not there to guide him. Without Quicksilver, that meant he was in charge. But... he didn't know what to do.
"DayTripper was right," he muttered to himself. "We are going to falter without Magneto."
"DayTripper never said that," remarked a voice to his right. Cyclops turned... and saw Rogue floating from the corridor to land with him. He marveled at her. She'd changed so much, in only a short week or so.
"She asked what you would do, when he was gone," stated Rogue. "So, what will you do?" Cyclops thought long and hard about that. But when he gave Rogue an answer, she smiled.
Author's Notes:
It's not over yet, everyone. But I think we can all find a place in our hearts to mourn for the fallen Magneto. Poor bastard. And maybe for poor perma-phased Shadowcat? A similar fate befell her comic incarnation for a short while after being stabbed with an energy spear. This chapter was a teensy bit rushed I know, but better next time, promise. I'm wrapping this story up and moving on to greener pastures. Literally. But plenty more insight and plot left, so don't go anywhere.
Sandoz: I made Jean into a gibbering semi-vegetable and took away her telepathy. How's that? That's kinda not pleasant for her. Believe me, I hate her less too. I think it started back during Cruise Control when she actually broke the rules to have fun with Scott.
ViciousAssassin: Three or four more, after this one of course. Glad you enjoyed the fight. X2's events are not really involved, just the idea, as you can see. And yeah, when I was writing this I thought about how Rogue would go up against herself and I said what would happen if they touch? This is my interpretation.
Insane Sketchbook: Frickin' A, huh? Right back atcha. And I do enjoy writing violence, it's something I seem to be very good at. If my audience likes it, then they shall continue to receive more. What favorites, your ff.net profile seems to be totally empty. Or am I mistaken?
Risty: I don't think that was quite exactly helping someone, but sure whatever. I'm just glad you enjoyed the fight. Even if it was, as you say, a strange Ms. Marvel vs. Colossus pseudo-fight.
Todd fan: Excellent, all my plans are falling into places. Chapters coming, with more and more surprises. Enough to totally make you and Red Witch look predictable! Muwahahahaha! Glad you enjoyed the clash of the Rogue's.
DaughterofDeath: Yes ma'am.
Rogue14: That evil enough for you, killing off Magneto? Don't worry that's the end to evilness. Now only good happy feelings. Happy super good feelings for everybody! Hehehehe.
Star-of-chaos: It was good, wasn't it? And I was so totally worried I would be criticized for sending Rogue up against herself. I am the man. Glad also you enjoyed how Pyro finally got to kick a little ass.
DoubeL27: Kitty and Rogue were given little mind-control chips, Jean was given one, plus brainwashed. It's really quite simple really. Heh. And yeah, it is interesting to go up against someone like yourself. It's been done before, just generally not with someone like Rogue. There'll be angst a plenty, yes, but also a big happy ending coming soon, fret ye not. There's a little side-effect of Rogue absorbing herself that she's yet to be made aware of.
X00001: It was quite shocking, wasn't it? Then again, weren't we all a little shocked when Apocalypse used Rogue's powers against her? I know I certainly was. It got me thinking, and that was eventually what led to that Rogue vs. Rogue fight.
Comet-hime: Drawing pretty piccies is definitely your super power. Now all you need is a secret identity and skintight spandex. I dunno about Viper and her hair (or lips for that matter) because as a human she'd be able to get the resources, but as someone in the military, would she bother? All will come together very soon, so brace yourself.
Nessie: I am very familiar with that comic kiss between Rogue and Colossus. However, Evo has a number of differences in power, and in general I stick to the Evo rules. Like Nightcrawler? Used to pass out/throw up if he teleported more than just himself or too often. Or Magneto could (lamely) affect Storm's lightning because 'magnetism and electricity are related.' Evo's done a better job, methinks, portraying them.