David was struck by an overwhelming feeling of guilt. He had tried for so long to convince Sofia to leave the Brotherhood, but she had refused. Ever since she had stepped foot in the Xavier Institute ten years ago, she had become determined to be a hero. At least she'd be happy, David knew. Even though it cost her her life, Sofia died a hero.
David shot a glance at Julian, who was sitting in the front row, and felt such hatred that it nearly took David's breath away. David couldn't help but blame Julian for Sofia's death. It was Julian who had convinced Sofia, as well as several other of David's friends, to form a "good" version of the Brotherhood of Mutants. Unlike the X-Men, the Brotherhood had no base of operations; they went where they felt they were needed. And just five days ago, Julian had led the Brotherhood into the heart of New York City.
Just under a month ago, a powerful mutant calling himself Seraph had launched an all-out attack on mankind. Seraph had convinced several mutants to join his cause, which made him all the more dangerous. Seraph had wiped out several countries as well as the entire continent of Australia within a week. Just last week he had wiped out millions of people in Mexico City before heading to New York.
The Avengers had been the first to respond to Seraph's attack. Seraph and his followers had swatted them aside as if they were nothing. In front of news cameras that were recording the battle live, Seraph sent a message to his opponents by murdering Captain America for all to see.
The Brotherhood had been the next to arrive. Several members that David had never met were dead within minutes. Santo's body literally exploding and it appeared as though he were dead. If not for the X-Men's arrival, he likely would have been. Josh had used his powers to fuse Santo's body back together. Anyone else Josh would have been unable to save, but Santo's unique ability to dislodge body parts worked in his favor. Unfortunately for Josh he was so busy healing Santo that he didn't see Seraph behind him. The X-Men had decided to hold off on Josh's funeral until his parents could be found.
For the first time since his attack on mankind had begun, Seraph realized he wasn't all-powerful. Seraph found himself reeling under the combined might of the Brotherhood and X-Men. Seraph found himself so distracted that several of his followers, whom had been under Seraph's mental control, joined the fight against him. Using her powers, which had grown so much in strength since she first arrived at Xavier's, Sofia was able to impale Seraph through the chest with a blast of air. The move killed Seraph within moments, but not before he was able to lash out one last time. With his dying breath Seraph managed cause Sofia's heart to implode on itself, killing her instantly.
David hated Julian for having convinced Sofia to join his team, but deep down he knew he was being too hard on the man. Julian hadn't telekinetically twisted Sofia's arm to join; she had been more than willing to. Seraph very easily could have taken over the world if not for Sofia. And despite all that, David knew he should cut Julian some slack for one other reason. David knew that no one was more devastated about Sofia's death than Julian had been. Julian hadn't just lost a teammate; he had lost his loving wife and the mother of his two children.
As David climbed to his feet, he watched as Santo moved towards Julian's side. While David had never liked either man, he recognized that they were good friends to each other. Santo would do anything for Julian, and he knew Julian would do the same. They were just as close as David and Sofia had been at one point and David didn't pity the man. He didn't know what was worse; losing your best friend or having to watch your best friend suffer at having lost the love of his life.
David felt awkward when he realized Santo and Julian were the only members of the Brotherhood attending the funeral, but he knew why that was. Aside from Cessily, Santo and Julian were the only members of the Brotherhood who had survived the battle with Seraph. According to Kim, Julian had asked Cessily to keep an eye on his children while he went to the funeral. Though they were old enough to understand the concept of death, Julian had believed it unhealthy for them to watch their mother get buried.
"It's truly a shame when a good woman dies so young," David heard a voice behind him say.
Standing up, David turned to see who had spoken. It was a young woman, approximately his own age, that reminded him quite a bit of Sofia. Her skin and hair were the same color and, like Sofia, she was an extremely attractive woman. David briefly wondered if she were a relative, perhaps a cousin that had grown up in Venezuela, but dismissed the thought. According to Sofia she had no remaining female relatives, at least not any their own age.
"Do I know you?" David asked, his heard turned inquisitively to the side.
"It is me, Sooraya Qadir," the young woman said with a smile.