And A Child Shall Lead Them

"BURN MUTANTS!" Stryker shouted as the mutants writhed on stage in agony. "BURN WITH THE FLAMING JUSTICE OF THE LORD!"

"What's he doing to them?" One cop shouted over the roar of the crowd.

"This is turning into a bloodbath!" Another cop tried to hold the crowd back from tearing the mutants to shreds. It was all they could do to keep the crowd under control.

"He's crazy!" Congressman Shore gasped. "The man is out of his mind! What is he doing? He's killing them on national television! This is insane!"

"Congressman…" His aide was startled. "Your ears…They're bleeding!"

"What is that man doing to us?" Congressman Shore moaned.

"You mean what's he doing to you…" His aide looked at him.

"You shall feel the wrath of…" Stryker began. Then he saw Bill was standing there casually drawing his sword. "What the…? You…"

"I ain't a mutant pal," Bill grinned. "Okay not exactly a normal human either but your stupid little gadget doesn't affect me."

"Back off you…" Anne ran up between them and prepared to fire. "AGGGGH!" She grabbed her head as blood started to trickle from her ears.

"Anne!" Stryker gasped. "You're bleeding!"

"But that's impossible!" Anne cried out in pain. "That would mean I'm a…" Realization hit her hard.

"A mutant," Stryker's eyes grew cold. "I am truly sorry, my child. I can't even pray for your soul even if you had one."

"But…" Anne was confused. "I've been nothing but loyal!"

"It is the will of God that you must perish," Stryker told her.

"How can you say that?" Anne screamed. "Don't the lives of the faithful mean anything to you?"

"I am set upon a course of heaven Anne," Stryker told her. "Nothing or no one can change that!"

"Wanna bet?" Bill readied his sword. Several Purists ran out to shoot him down. "Oh this is original!" Bill leapt up and quickly fought them off.

"Reverend! Please!" Anne placed her hands on Stryker's shoulders. "Don't abandon me!"

"You should have accepted your fate Anne," Stryker grabbed her. "Your resistance reveals your true allegiance! I deny you mutant hellspawn! You shall be cast forever into the abyss!"

Before anyone could do anything Stryker threw Anne down from the large podium. "REVEREND NOOOOO!" Anne screamed. The screaming crowd stopped as she fell to the floor, breaking her neck instantly. Only the agony of the mutants' screams and the fighting between Bill and the Purists could be heard.

One police officer ran to her. But it was too late. "She's dead…" He gasped.

"Murdering scum!" Bill broke away from the Purists and leapt at Stryker, He missed him but sliced the control panel for the device in half, destroying it.

"NO!" Stryker shouted.

"Oh yeah," Bill snarled. "Let's see how good you are without your toys!"

"Bill! Enough!" Ororo shouted. The mutants stood up, slowly recovering from the attack.

"As much as I'd love for you to eviscerate him such vengeance is unnecessary," Hank said. "Shadowcat…"

"Yeah, I'm on it," Kitty motioned. Kurt grabbed her and teleported her up to where Xavier was. She phased his body, covered only in a pair of boxer shorts out of the machine and Kurt teleported them to the ground. "Oh Professor…"

"Kitty…" Xavier gasped. "Oh Kitty…What have I done?"

"It's okay," Jean went to him and held him in her arms. "You're safe now Professor."

"It's over Stryker," Scott said. "Your insane plan failed. Now its only you and us."

"Oh goody," Logan cracked his knuckles.

"No, not like that!" Kitty told him. "If we did we'd be no better than he is."

"Then how do you suppose we deal with him?" Logan asked.

"With words," Ororo looked at Stryker. "Despite all the pain you have caused and all your cruelty all you have proven that human beings without powers are just as capable of destruction as humans with powers."

"At least I am human," Stryker snarled.

"No, you are not," Kurt said. "You threw your humanity away through your acts of hatred and violence. You became a true monster."

"WHAT?" Stryker snarled. "You, a demon dare call me inhuman?"

"He's more human than you!" Kitty shouted. "Nightcrawler is kind and decent and one of the gentlest people I ever knew! He has every right to be bitter but he chose laughter and kindness over hate! I actually feel pity for you Stryker. You're not the only person who's lost their family. Storm told us before we showed up here what happened, and what you did. Clearly some sins can never be washed away."

"You know nothing she demon…" Stryker took his pistol out.

"I know what it's like to be hated for no reason other than how I was born," Kitty told him. "It's because of people like you mutants live in fear every day of our lives! Well no more! I'm not going to be afraid of you. I refuse to be afraid of you!"

Kitty stood there before him, her hands clenched into fists. "Why does it have to be this way? Why do we have to hate each other? God tells us to love our enemies and to be kind to one another! You call us demons, but you're the one who turned his back on him! Anybody who chooses hate over love is a true demon!"

"My God is a just god…" Stryker snarled at her.

"Your god is anything but just! Given a choice between your God and my friends," Kitty shouted at him. "I choose my friends!"

"Mutant, let those words of blasphemy be your epitaph!" Striker took aim.

BANG!

To the crowd's horror Stryker staggered with his hand bleeding. "You're under arrest…" The cop who shot him snarled.

"That cop shot the Reverend!" Someone in the crowd screamed.

"Yeah," Another officer snarled. "Who was about to shoot an unarmed girl. And he just killed a woman who was one of his followers. If that's the word of God, it's sure changed since I went to Sunday school."

"This is not good," The men in the box where Shore was murmured. "Let's get out of here."

"Not so fast…I knew if I looked around the shadows I'd find some of my old friends," Emma Frost purred as she came out of the shadows.

"Frost!" One of the three men gasped. "You…"

"Are extremely upset," Emma sent out a telepathic assault on the three of them. To the horror of Congressman Shore and his aide they fell to the ground. "They're not dead," She informed them. "They'll just be in a coma for the next three or four years if they wake up at all. Consider this a warning. By the way…Welcome to the club Congressman." She left.

Meanwhile several people were furious that Stryker was being arrested. Others were horrified and confused. "How could Stryker do such a thing?" One woman shouted.

"The mutie got what she deserved!" A man shouted.

"But she worked for him!" Another man said. "I mean that has to count for something doesn't it?"

"The only good mutie is a dead one!" Another woman screamed.

"But for Stryker to just kill 'em like that? Something doesn't make sense here…" Another man shouted.

"Then maybe somebody should pound some sense into your brain!" A man took a swing at him. Soon a small riot broke out. The sound of thunder and lightning stopped them.

"STOP THIS FIGHTING NOW!" Ororo stood before them, commanding. "GO! LEAVE!"

"This ain't over yet freak!" Some people shouted. But they stopped fighting and meekly left the building.

"Thanks," One cop said to Ororo as she panted. "Could have used that to diffuse a few crowds I've had to control."

"Thank you for helping us," Ororo sighed. "We need to get some medical attention for the Professor."

"As far as I'm concerned you're all free to go," The Officer said. "We'll get your statements later. Good luck to you, you're gonna need it."