I thought I was dead
In a billion, billion pieces…scattered across three galaxies…
Waiting to come together in the white hot room…incubating…to be born anew…all in good time…
But not this time, is it?
Yet here I am
Am I?
Something's wrong
So hungry…
Something's…missing…
So hungry…
- a quote from Phoenix: Endsong 1
"HE FUCKING WHAT!"
Colonel Nick Fury is understandably furious as he yells at the receiver of the phone, causing his team to be startled. He, at the moment, is at a recon mission in Brazil with some of his most trusted men. They currently camp out at the Amazon jungle before sunset and now he receives bad news from headquarters that Ord has escaped with the help of an unknown rescuer. What's worse, this intruder has managed to get in to headquarters undetected until it was too late. Fury mentally notes that by the time he gets back to headquarters, he's going to demote a lot of people.
"If I don't get to kill someone or something, might as well destroy something", Fury murmured before he talks again on the receiver. "Listen up! I want you to send me videos of the one who freed Ord and how they got away right now! By the time I return, all of you better have a good reason why you got suckered by one simple intruder or else I'll sic you to Osama Bin Laden's ass!"
Fury closes his phone and puts it on the table. He approaches one of his subordinates, Lieutenant Susan Buckley, who is on her laptop, awaiting the videos from SHIELD.
"Rough call. I take it's bad news?" asked Lt. Buckley.
"Beyond that, Buckley", growled Fury. "Headquarters got attacked by an unknown intruder, freeing one of the prisoners."
Buckley raises her eyebrows in surprise. "What? Our security is impenetrable! No one could have sneaked it that easily!"
"Unfortunately, someone managed to get in like a small ant. No one knew how he or she got there until they heard the alarm", said Fury as he lights up a cigarette.
"Who or what was he after?" asked Buckley.
"Do you remember Ord? In a nutshell, he's the one being pursued and escaped."
"The one who is involved with S.W.O.R.D.? I read it in your files. Do you think we should contact Agent Brand about this? This is her area, more or less."
"Once we find out the identity of the son of a bitch, then we contact her. Hell, this ain't our jurisdiction."
Moments later, Fury was called by Buckley as she reveals that she has the security cameras. In the screen, they couldn't see the intruder since the scene looks like normal, for S.H.I.E.L.D. anyway. After a few minutes, nothing happened.
"I don't understand", wondered Buckley. "It's as if nothing…"
"Wait!" Fury interrupts her. He then points out a figure in the screen. "Observe this guy. Take a look on what he's doing. Take a look carefully."
Buckley follows his orders and watches the screen. "Who's he?" she asks.
Fury didn't answer her question and remained his eye on the screen. "Buckley, I…"
"Way ahead of you Colonel", Buckley tells him. She presses a few buttons on the keyboard and they see the intruder, on another camera, killing a soldier as another manages to press the alarm. But even he was killed. Then, the cameras were abruptly cut off.
Fury mentally concludes that the intruder is no ordinary human. Somehow, he has a gut feeling this mess may not involve him.
"Hammel."
Sgt. Rick Hammel approaches Fury and salutes to him. "Sir!"
"No need for formalities kid. I want you to patch me up to Agent Brand ASAP", orders Fury. Hammel nods and walks away.
"Colonel, I have found the identity of the intruder", said Buckley. She presents him a picture of Sinister courtesy of the scanner.
"I know I've seen that dink's face before…", grimaces Fury.
"Actually, he is known as Sinister. According to our files, his name Nathaniel Essex and he is a mutant."
Fury grumbles when he heard the word "mutant". "Great, just as I was able to cut myself off from THEM. Continue Lieutenant."
"He was also involved with reopening of the Weapon X Program. Essex, in reality, is a scientist, interested in experimenting mutants."
"Ain't he the mutant Dr. Victor Frankenstein", said Fury with a drip of sarcasm.
"Essex or Sinister is very smart. A genius, if you will. He is not to be underestimated. In the reports, he usually sends his henchmen to do his bidding. But it seems he wants to do this alone."
S.H.I.E.L.D. has every file of mutants that came on to the scene. But they have little info of Sinister.
"Guess having that beer belly ain't that enough to be a super villain, so he goes off on his own and drags Ord into his schemes. What's wrong with this picture?" wonders Fury. But he knows that he doesn't have enough time.
Buckley is now concerned. "Colonel, what are we going to do?"
Fury smirks at her with amusement. "We, lieutenant? We ain't going to be involved in this."
This brings Buckley in shock. "What? But he attacked our headquarters and bailed out a very dangerous alien!"
"Don't worry, Buckley. Patch me up to the X-Men. Sinister's their guy and I'm pretty sure they'll be gushing for joy immediately."
Then, Hammel approaches Fury. "Sir! We have Agent Brand on the line."
The joyous reunion at the Institute is quiet. Well, joyous is hardly the best term to describe the atmosphere around the X-Men. Suspension of disbelief is more like it. All of them are at the same position when they saw Psylocke in the flesh. Psylocke herself feels uncomfortable. Wolverine approaches her and sniffs at the British ninja. He looks at her carefully. Last time he had done this was when Revanche came by and he couldn't tell the difference between the two women.
"Besty?" gasped a very shocked Rogue. "Is that…yah?"
Psylocke casually sits down on the couch and crosses her legs. She offers a smile to her friend Rogue. "Yes, luv. It's me, the one and only."
Iceman sneaks behind Psylocke's back and attempts to touch her, but she slaps his hand away. "Do you mind, Robert?" growls Psylocke incredulously. "I'm not a bloody thing!"
"Geez what a grouch", Iceman mutters. "Safe to assume she's Betsy, to say the least."
"You're right she is."
Everyone looks at Emma. "She's Psylocke. Her mind and memories are a bit fuzzy."
Gambit then notices what was missing in Psylocke. "Say, Betsy, didn't you have a tattoo on yer face?"
Rogue also notices this. "Yeah, the Crimson Dawn tattoo…how'd happen?"
Psylocke sighs. "Long story, if I know exactly the details. But I assume the Crimson Dawn gave me a free resurrection card, one time deal only."
"When I read your mind, it was too strong for me to penetrate. Emma manages to read yours but…", Rachel slowly trails off. Emma notices her behavior.
"But what dear?" Emma asks.
"Your mind. It's heavily guarded by the Crimson Dawn and-"
"Look, Marvel Girl," Psylocke tells her, "or whatever codename you stole from your mother. I'm tired and hungry, so I'm not up for question and answer right now. So, is this party for me?"
This is where Colossus approaches her. "No, but like they said to me, welcome back."
Betsy is stunned to see him alive. Emma telepathically tells her he's the real thing. Both mutants grinned and give each other a hug.
"Welcome back, Peter Rasputin. Some things never change", said Betsy.
"Somethings have. But try not to laugh at Scott's new costume when you see him wearing it", Piotr tells her. Betsy understood what he said. Just then, Cyclops approaches the both of them.
"Peter, Betsy, welcome back to the X-Men", Scott greeted them in a friendly tone. He wasn't sure what to do with the woman who used to seduce him.
Betsy grins. "Been a while, Scott. You've changed." She then looks at Emma. "Is she your flavor of the month?" asks a sarcastic Psylocke.
Scott was about to scold her when everyone heard an alarm.
"Great. So much for a night off", said Beast as everyone heads to the War Room.
"Greeting, folks."
Everyone is surprised to see Nick Fury on the screen.
"Fury. What's goin' on?" asked by a very suspicious Wolverine.
"I ain't got the time to chat to you "superheroes" but I'll be brief", Fury tells them in a strict manner. "A few hours ago, Ord of the Breakworld has escaped from the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters."
Cyclops, Emma, Wolverine, Beast, Shadowcat and Colossus are stunned at this.
"Ord escaped?" asked Cyclops.
"Wait a sec. That dink managed to escape from your clutches? That's not the S.H.I.E.L.D. I used to know" replied Wolverine. "Guess you've been slackin' off."
"I'm here currently in Brazil currently so I managed to get off from the blame", Fury answers back. He looks at everyone at his monitor. "Seems you people have tons of things to do, but luckily I ain't interested."
Cyclops begins to speak. "Do you know who helped him escaped?"
Fury nods. "Yep, but I'm sure you'll recognize this mother-fucker." He then presents a picture of Sinister. The entire X-Men are stunned.
"Sinister…", growled Havok. "So, he's back."
"I think his return is way too late", scoffs Nightcrawler.
"Wait, wait. This isn't Sinister's style. He sends his henchmen to do his bidding", replies Scott.
"Maybe he failed to pay his henchmen their incomes so they left and for that, he began his on his own", said a very sarcastic Kitty. "Or maybe he got bored."
"Sinister and bored don't mix well, Kitty", Alex tells her. "Scott, I think Sinister wants something from this Ord person."
"He's right Scott", adds Storm. "With Sinister on the rise, who knows what he's doing."
"Well, I'll leave you kids into this mess", Fury interjects. With that, the screen turns off. Everyone is know face with the problem that Sinister has returned. Question is why?
"I can only assume Sinister is after two things: the cure and Ord's technology…or whatever's left from him", informs Beast. "I miss the days when he would just be quiet and let life move on."
Then, Scott looks at his teammates. "Scrap the cure. If he had wanted it, he would've gotten it by now. What I do know is that he's after Ord's knowledge of his planet's technology."
"What, he wants to build a carnival?" asks Kitty.
"I don't think jokes are in order right now, Kitty, especially at this time", scolds Emma. "I do suggest that we locate his hideout and then we get to kill the both of them. Who's with me?"
Surprisingly, everyone raises their hands. But Wolverine thinks of another problem. "No problem with the killin' part. Where the hell can we locate them?"
This where Scott begins his duties as the leader of the X-Men. "Alright, Emma, Kitty, Logan, Peter, Hank. Suit up. We'll be leaving in thirty minutes. Alex, Ororo. Your teams will have to stay here unless I tell you do to so. Try to locate any place where Sinister can hide or can be easily located. Also, guard the school."
"Why?" asks Ororo. "Do you think Sinister will attack the school?"
"We aren't going to take any chances. I need you guys here in case that happens. Sinister can be very tricky, so be careful."
"Hey, Summers, where're we goin'?" asks Logan.
"You sure S.H.I.E.L.D. will help us locate Sinister? Last I remembered, he didn't mentioned anything about putting a homing beacon on Sinister's ship", Beast said. "Plus, let us not forget the fact that they've been hiding to us valuable information back then that could cause, how shall say this, the extinction of mutant-kind."
"Fury contacted S.H.I.E.L.D. to help us. After that we're on our own", Cyclops respond. The team is strangely quiet while on their way to the headquarters. Then, Beast, out of the blue, speaks up.
"Why now?"
Colossus looks at his friend. "Why now what?"
"Why would Sinister act now? There are plenty of chances for him to do his skit."
"Y'know Sinister, wants to do a big interlude into a much larger epilogue", Wolverine said. "And we're just his actors. He's the director."
"And that would make Ord what? The producer?" Emma intervenes. "For that I doubt it. He might as well be a major player."
"Hey, guys. Don't you think it's odd for Sinister to do this alone? He's not well known for being a solo action guy", Kitty wonders.
Scott thinks about this. "That's the thing with Sinister. Like other villains, he's as unpredictable as they come."
"I can name some very predictable ones", said Kitty as she looks at Emma. Emma notices this and scowls at her.
Psylocke walks into the kitchen only to see Northstar sitting on the table with a cup of coffee in front of him while reading magazines. She notices the title of the magazine he is currently reading: People. She smirks at the front cover as she approaches him.
"Brad and Jen separated? Wow, times have passed", Psylocke said.
Northstar looks at her with amusement. "Ah, so you must be Elizabeth Braddock, code name Psylocke. The second one to be resurrected. A pleasure to meet you. The name's Jean-Paul Beaubier, alias Northstar."
Both mutants shake each other's hands. Psylocke sits down beside Northstar as she takes a peek on the magazine.
"Very busy at their careers, Brad denying having an affair with Angelina, spending away from each other too much and spending together too little. Seriously, what's up with that?" wonders Psylocke.
"That's the thing with famous actors. They'll lie at us with everything", Northstar replies.
"So, uh…"
"Call me Jean-Paul, Ms. Braddock."
"Okay, Jean-Paul, call me Elizabeth or Betsy. When did you join the X-Men?"
"Well, this wasn't the first time I've been invited. Back at the time, Jean Grey asked me and other mutants to join her interim team in stopping Magneto in Genosha. Long story short, we successfully stopped Magneto and I declined in joining the X-Men full time. So I was in my post-super hero time, busy at my business ventures and dealing as a gay celebrity."
Psylocke raises her eyebrow. "You're a gay celebrity? For what?"
"I was an ex-skier. Ahh, good times. Plus, I even have a book published."
"Splendid! Good for you, honey."
"Thank you, my dear. One day, Professor Xavier invited me to join the X-Men and offered me a position at the Institute as a teacher in business."
"Well, you know the Professor. He has a way with words, as eerie as it sounds. So what team are you in right now?"
Northstar narrows his eyes at his coffee. "When I was first joined, I was placed with Nightcrawler, Iceman and Archangel and then with Havok, Polaris, Husk, Jubilee and Juggernaut."
Hearing her ex-boyfriend's name, Psylocke shrugs and leans on her chair. Northstar notices this. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No dear. If you don't know this by now, Warren and I used to be an item back then. Because of our differences, we split up. If I recall correctly, based on the files of Ororo's mouth, he's dating Cannonball's sister. Am I right?"
"Yeah. After the rebuilding of the mansion, teams were re-arranged again and I was left with no team and my only status aside from being a celebrity and an ex-skier left is being a teacher."
"Ouch. Why were you left out?"
"I'm not the only one. Jubilee and Husk were left out also and Warren was sent to Genosha with the Professor to help rebuilding the place."
Now this brings Psylocke to a surprise. "Warren went to Genosha? No wonder I couldn't find him." Why the bloody hell Ororo didn't tell me about this?
"Yeah". Northstar sips his coffee and decides to tell his new friend something. "Betsy, I've decided to leave the Institute."
At this time, Psylocke looks at him. "What? Why?"
"To tell you the truth, I even don't want to join the X-Men but I decided to restore my superhero status. After I became a teacher fulltime, I felt as if I was out of place. I barely made friends here. My only confidant, Annie, left with her son because she doesn't want to stay in a very dangerous environment. Plus, added the fact that I feel that my students hate me."
Psylocke pauses for a while. "Why didn't you leave then? What's keeping you here?"
"Can I tell you a secret?" whispers Northstar. Psylocke nods. "I…have a crush…on Bobby Drake."
Hearing this, Psylocke begins to laugh out loudly. "Bobby? Are you, he he he, serious?"
Northstar look offended. "What? What's wrong with that?"
"You don't have to be so shirty about it. Bobby may not be the brightest bulb you came across in this room. Sure he has redeeming qualities, but he's so bloody immature I could Psi-stab him several times."
"Well, that's for you. But I admit he's very cute and handsome."
"Does he even know about this? Plus the fact that you're gay?"
"I think he knows that I'm gay, but I don't know if he knows that I have a crush on him."
"No offense, but I doubt he'll acknowledge you feelings, luv. I can't really picture him going on to you."
Northstar looks at Psylocke and smiles. "Thanks for listening and being a friend."
She smiles in return. "No problem. I notice the atmosphere is kind of depressed. Nice talking to one guy. Hey, since we're friends, how about I introduce to you to my favorite hobby?"
"What is it?"
Psylocke grins as she opens a fashion magazine. "Criticizing celebrities and their clothes."
Currently, Rachel is in the Cerebra Room, aiding Cyclops' team through her and Emma's telepathy. This would be the first time Rachel has aided her father since her return to the X-Men. What she didn't know, or didn't want to know, was that Scott has been trying hard to reconnect with her as a father and a daughter, but none of his attempts has been so successful. She tried to hate him, but inside, she yearns for a father like him. Problem was, even if she and Emma made a truce and the latter has taught her about mastering her powers, Emma was no Jean Grey. She disapproved of her relationship with Scott. Then again, would it hurt for her father to be at least move on and be happy? But, she had learned of their psychic affair when Jean was alive and started doing each other after her burial. Not surprisingly, her "grandparents" disapproved of Scott's current relationship. Behind her, Nightcrawler appears with a worried look.
"Any luck?" asks Kurt.
Rachel didn't look back but she shakes her head. "Nah. Sinister is an expert at hide-and-seek. I'll still keep looking."
Kurt nods. Rachel continues to concentrate to find Sinister. "That reminds me. Which team is Scott going to place Psylocke?"
"Don't know", shrugs Kurt. "It would be most likely to be in our team, but I think Alex's team is in need of another member."
Rachel growls in frustration. "Arrgghh! I can't find that son of a bitch!"
Easy, Rachel. Concentrate.
It was Emma communicating Rachel through telepathy. Rachel decides to do the same thing. I tried to scan around the globe but no sign of him. Maybe he has a telepathic-proof ship.
Now you're telling me? Emma sarcastically comments. But nice suggestion. Any sign around the mansion?
No. None so far.
Just be ready.
Fine, may I be excused for a moment? My brain's going to explode.
Go ahead.
Rachel shuts down her link to Emma and removes the Cerebra head. She leans on the chair while stretching her arms up. Kurt approaches her.
"You should rest", Kurt tells her. Rachel looks at him and feels a slight blush.
"Thanks. You have no idea how taxing the Cerebra can be!"
"How do you feel?" asks Kurt.
"Try riding the fastest rollercoaster with loops several times or the whole day."
Kurt chuckles as he finds it amusing. "That was tough?"
Rachel glares at him and stands up. She looks up to his face and looks at his face. At this moment, both felt very awkward yet inside they want to consume their so-called "flames of passion". She wanted to read his mind, but that would mean violating his privacy. Kurt yearns, meanwhile, for Ororo, his African goddess. Worst thing is that Rachel knows this. After a few moments of staring each other, Kurt excuses himself by stepping away from her.
"You look tired. You should rest", advices Kurt. "I better look for Storm."
Rachel nods. "Yeah, you go do that."
Kurt teleports away as Rachel slumps on the chair, mentally banging her head on a very hard wall.
"Any luck?" asks Cyclops.
Emma shakes her head. "She couldn't locate him, but she'll continue later. Interestingly, she offers a theory that Sinister and Ord may be on board on a telepathic-proof ship."
Wolverine grunts. "Knowin' Sinister, he's not goin' to fight us empty-handed. He has tricks up on his sleeve." He then unsheathes his right claw. "If we do find him, can we really kill him?"
"First things first", Cyclops interrupts him. "We need to find out what's he up to. Then, we'll kill him. The rest of you though will have to fall in line behind me."
"Heh, so you're pullin' a nasty Black Mamba on him?"
Cyclops narrows his eyes. "More than that, Logan. More than that. But something's not right."
"Everything with Sinister's not right", Beast scoffs. "Seems he's after the Big Bad of the Year award after Apocalypse and Magneto are dead. But I see your point Scott. He may want Ord to build some kind of machine using his technology. Question is, what?"
Storm, Bishop and Havok are walking to the hallway, inspecting on the students. The rest of the X-Men are scouting outside the Institute.
"You know, I think now's a really good time to call Sage back", comments Bishop.
Havok looks at him. "Why? Where is she?"
"Serving in the Hellfire Club as Sunspot's chief adviser", Bishop plainly answers him.
Havok looks at him in surprise. "What? Why?"
"If you don't know, Sage back then works for the Professor as a spy in the Hellfire Club. Her reason for working there now? Making a better place for mutants. She wants to be the Obi-wan to Sunspot's Anakin…or Luke. What I don't know are her real reasons."
"So, she's a traitor now?"
This is where Storm intervenes as she looks at Havok. "No…or so I would like to think. I hope. But, Bishop is right, we need her right now, even though I don't trust her right now."
Havok contemplates on Storm's last words. "But she's your friend."
Storm sighs at Havok's "naïve" thoughts. "Friends don't betray their friends, Alex. I am sure you have your share of similar experiences, am I right?"
The leader of the X-Men realizes she had him on the spot. Alex did realize he has betrayed some of his friends, including Lorna and his own brother Scott. Just then, they come across a very tired Polaris, walking casually through the hallway. She missed the short-lived party, which didn't concern her, to say the least.
"Uh oh, here comes crazy", Bishop jokes. Havok glares at him and then looks at his ex-fiancée.
"Where have you been?" asks a concerned Alex. Even up to this time, he was still concerned with her. Of course, with him, her and Iceman on the same team, things can get bumpy.
Lorna looks at him in the eye and yawns. She still has a love-hate relationship with him. "Sleeping."
Alex didn't buy this. "For so long?"
Lorna was annoyed at him. "So? What's your problem?" She looks at Storm and Bishop. "What's going on?"
"Sinister's back on our X-radar", Storm tells her. "And we fear that he maybe attacking us soon."
"Oh", was the only thing Polaris could say. "Where shall we begin?"
"The others are scouting the Institute. If you like, you can come with us."
Polaris thinks about Storm's offer and then looks at Alex. Then she looks at Ororo. "Okay."
The four then proceed to scout inside the Institute. A thought then hits Storm. "Alex, listen. Since Elizabeth has returned, would you like her to join your team?"
Both Havok and Polaris look at her. "Why?" asks Havok.
"Psylocke? I thought she's dead?" asks an incredulous Polaris.
"WAS dead would be the correct statement", Bishop corrects her. "Besides, Sam will be returning soon and in Sage's case…well, we might pull her out of the Hellfire Club and into the loving arms of the X-Men."
Now the other three looks at him in confusion. "You're not…just saying that, right?" asks Storm.
Bishop scoffs at their fears. "Heh, times like this, all you gotta do play a little joke to soothe the nerves. If all else fails, run like the Roadrunner. Faster, Roadrunner! Run! Run!"
"Anyway, Alex, I thought Psylocke would be beneficial to your team. If you guys don't want, it is okay for she'll be in our team."
Havok thinks about this choice. "Sure." Deep down, he knows Rogue, Gambit and Iceman needed someone they can talk to. Iceman has grudge against him and Rogue and Gambit aren't happy with their team right now, so Psylocke would be the one to calm things down and that she's very close with the 3 mentioned mutants. "Speaking of Psylocke, where is she?" asks Havok.
"She said she went to the kitchen", Bishop answers him. "Is it just me or she's been avoiding me for a while?"
Storm then remembers what had happened in Spain. "This will pass, Lucas. I promise you that. If not, I'll deal with her."
"Does she know where Neal is?" asks Bishop. Storm shakes her head. The four head to the kitchen to talk to Psylocke about her new team. When they arrive, they were surprised to see her and Northstar laughing so loud like old friends.
"Well, this is a new picture", surmises Havok. "Seems Jean-Paul and Betsy quickly bonded as friends."
"What were they laughing at?" asks a curious Bishop.
They find the answer when Psylocke sees a picture in a magazine. "Oh, Britney Spears! Who told you look dashing in that skanky yellow leather pantsuit deserves to be shot!"
Havok and Bishop raised their eyebrows while Storm and Polaris somehow agree with her. "Well, at least she still has her good sense of fashion", comments Polaris. Just then, Nightcrawler appears from his teleportation in between the four X-men and Northstar and Psylocke,
"I take it, this is an awkward time?" asks a sheepish Nightcrawler. Northstar just smiles at him and then realizes Storm and the others are looking at them.
"No", answers Northstar. He looks at the other four. "What do you guys want?" Jean-Paul felt stupid at asking that question.
"None really, we want to speak to Psylocke", Storm informs him. Now, this got Psylocke's attention. "What is it?"
Before Storm could answer, the electricity at the Institute suddenly shuts down. Everything went dark and as for the X-Men, they are on full alert.
"Guess Sinister's little game has started", Polaris states dryly. "Shutting down the electricity, having his men coming here to attack us. I think he's off his game."
"All right listen up! Our main priority is to protect the children!" Storm announces. "Kurt, alert the others for an attack. Also, get Rachel to contact Cyclops. Alex, Lorna, circle around the area! Bishop, you and I will remain inside in case they attack from inside. Psylocke, Northstar, protect the children at all costs."
The three remaining Stepford Cuckoos are in their bed yet they couldn't sleep. They sense distress among the members of the X-Men.
"Funny, they seem stressed at a time like this", sensed Celeste.
"Maybe there's no electricity so that they went nuts", jokes Phoebe.
"That is not funny. It seems they are anticipating for an attack of a man named Mister Sinister", Mindee informs them.
"Mister Sinister…not a good name for a villain", Celeste comments. "Why attack here?"
"I think he wants all of us dead. But I sense, there is something that he wants here", Phoebe tells them as Celeste and Mindee looks at the window.
"I can sense 100 armed men, carrying weapons that can kill us. Plus, their breaths stink like rotten garbage but their intention is to capture someone very valuable", Mindee snipes with disgust. "We can contact Miss Frost about this development."
Phoebe now approaches her sisters. "Yes, but she's miles away with Mister Summers. Both wanted to get this thing over with. They are in love with each other too much that…"
"It could kill them with all its might", Celeste finishes.
Is that so?
The Stepford Cuckoos tensed up as they hear a strange voice in their minds.
"Who's there?" the sisters asked simultaneously.
Where is she? Where is she?
10 meters away from the Institute, 15 heavily armed men with black outfits and gas masks have managed to enter through the back unsuspectingly.
"Any developments?" asked the squad leader.
"None. Too quiet. I hate it. I knew sabotaging the electricity would be a dead give away for those muties", one soldier tells them.
"What do you know, soldier? It would distract them a lot."
"Yeah, whatever. Like I said, it's too quiet."
"Are you done complaining? The sooner we accomplish our mission, the sooner you can go back to your whores."
"Look who's talking."
The squad leader turns around to the soldier. "You got a problem with me punk?"
"No siiirrr", hissed the soldier. The two were about to argue when they notice that they are alone.
"Wait a sec, where are the others?" wonders the squad leader.
But another voice answers them. "What? No love for both of you?"
They turn around now to see Rogue and Gambit standing above the soldiers who they just knocked out.
"Aaahh, yah guys fighting? What a shame", pouts Rogue as she crosses her arms. "Where's d'love?"
The two soldiers begin to attack by quickly aiming their guns at the couple, but the two are quicker by disarming them. Then, they successfully knock them out.
"Ah, good times", Gambit reminisces as he crack his knuckles. "Dis is too easy, chere. We could jus' lie down an' look at the stars while beatin' dem up."
Rogue takes a good look at the squad leader but he catches her off-guard by punching her with a powerful taser, which knocks her on the ground. The squad leader removes his gloves and releases two wooden skewer from his hands. Gambit rushes to Rogue's side.
"You okay chere?" Gambit asks her.
Rogue mutters softly. "Very…peachy…" She stands up and they face their opponent. The squad leader doesn't look fazed.
"I think it's time you puny mutants to die!" he threatens them harshly.
"Hey! Dis from the guy who tried to kill chere!" Gambit mouths off. He grabs three cards and kinetically charges them. "Gambit thinks it's time we teach you a lesson to mess with us X-Men."
Rogue thinks of a different subject. "Sinister hired you to kill us, Ah'm a right?"
The squad leader disappears in a blink of an eye. Gambit and Rogue tries to find him. He then reappears behind them and begins to attack them. They quickly turn around and dodge while the squad leader ferociously attacks them. Rogue manages to grab his right hand and uses all her strength to break the skewer and punches him in the face.
"Now, now, don't be a bad boy and attack us like that", Rogue taunts. "We obviously come in peace."
"Chere, we're not aliens", Gambit dryly comments. He looks at the squad leader grinningly. "Listen, man, just tell us what you're after and we'll set you free."
The squad leader decides not to heed Gambit's warning as he grabs a machine gun. Gambit throws his kinetically charged cards at his direction and hits the ground, resulting in an explosion and the man collapses.
"Manners, where'd they go?" ponders Gambit.
"Remy, somethin's not right. We have to get back now!" Rogue orders him. "This is too easy for us and-"
Rogue is interrupted by a large explosion at the mansion. The two quickly rush to aid their friends.
The men came out of every area accessible to the Institute, from the rooftops to the front door itself. But they are greeted by Storm, Bishop, Havok, Iceman and Polaris. Storm uses her winds to move the men away but they came prepared using the latest equipment. Storm realizes this as they didn't move an inch. The rest of the men are now aiming at them with tear gases and grenade launchers. Bishop tells them to spread out and attack. Polaris complies this by magnetically grabbing their equipment and aims it at them, resulting in several deaths.
But the armed men still keeps on coming, this time attacking from behind the Institute. They quickly split up into several groups. Iceman and Havok are waiting for them to come.
"Too many of them", Havok mutters.
"Yeah, enough of us to hold them off! Scott and the others better haul their asses here right now!" Iceman hissed.
"Alex, this is Bishop. Do you copy?"
Havok responds with his communicator. "Yep, what's up?"
"Have the children been evacuate?"
"Betsy, Jean-Paul and the others have already done that a while ago."
"I can't contact Kurt or Rachel! Do you know where they are?"
Just then, the soldiers crash from above the rooftops and surround the two mutants. They were about twenty of them.
"Great", Iceman sarcastically groans. "This night got interesting."
"Stop whining. Let's take this wannabe-Medabots down to their asses."
"Yeah, don't let Lorna see you crying like a baby."
Havok glares at him and they begin to attack by Iceman attacking on one side and Havok on the other. Bobby freezes all of them while Alex blasts them. Then several grenades land on them as the surviving men escape. Havok sees it and grabs Iceman to an empty room and closes it.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
"Grenades!" Havok shouts at him as the grenades explode, resulting in nearly destroying one part of the Institute.
"Shit! I think they are serious in killing us!" Bobby realizes the fact.
"What? You think they're here for a lovely Last Supper?" Alex replies.
"What was that?" Rachel wonders. She didn't get the message that the mansion was under attack as she is still in the Cerebra Room. She is also wondering why the lights were out. She was about to leave when Nightcrawler appears in front of her, surprising Rachel.
"Kurt?"
"Ah, there you are! I thought you left", Kurt breathes easily.
"What's going on?"
"The mansion. It's being attack!"
"WHAT!"
"Storm and the others are trying to fend them off. We have to help them!"
Rachel nods and hugs Kurt as he teleports them to where Storm and Polaris are at the moment. When they arrived, the leader of the X.S.E. sees them. Rachel quickly unleashes a force field to protect her and Polaris while attacking. Storm flies upward and throws lightning bolts at several of the men. Nightcrawler attacks them offensively as he knocks them over as teleports to the others. But, just as they are winning, a sniper shoots an unknowing Storm using an electric gun. Storm screams in pain and falls to the ground. Nightcrawler teleports to save her and brings her to Rachel's side.
"Storm! Is she okay?" asks a very worried Rachel. She feels that the odds are begging to trash them over.
Nightcrawler checks her pulse. "She's okay! But she needs medical treatment!"
"Kurt, teleport her out of here! Rachel and I will handle this!" Lorna sternly tells him.
Two soldiers, carrying small laser cannon, begin to activate it. Lorna, seeing this, tries to destroy the machine but it was too late. The cannon begins to shoot at them. Rachel uses her force field to protect them as she telekinetically slams the soldiers. But the beam was too powerful as she struggles to push it away.
"Kurt! Get Ororo out of here now!" Rachel yells at him while struggling. The beam was too much for her to deflect. Then, as fast as they realize it, beam overpowers Rachel's force field and blasts her, Polaris, Nightcrawler and Storm 20 ft. away and crash into several parts of the mansion. The soldiers see them unconscious. The beam wasn't powerful but it was enough to knock them down. They were ordered to not to kill the X-Men as they are to complete their objective: to retrieve2 very valuable mutants.
In an area unknown, the students of the Xavier Institute are scared but a few of them are ready for action. Five of the older mutants, Karma, Moonstar, Wolfsbane, Northstar and Psylocke are protecting them in case the soldiers attack them.
"I hear loud noises. You think everyone's okay?" Moonstar asks the others.
"I don't know, Dani. I can't smell blood but I lost trace of the others", Wolfsbane tells her.
Psylocke is alarmed at this. "Can't you tell whether they're alive?"
Rahne shrugs. "All I can smell is smoke. That's enough to cover the others' scents!"
"We have to help them!" said Northstar.
"We can't. We are to stay here to protect the children", Karma reminds them.
Psylocke notices something strange on the Stepford Cuckoos. Moonstar notices this and faces Psylocke. "Don't worry. They're like that. They're telepaths. They used to be under Emma's." But what did concern her is that they begin to babble something to no one.
"What are they talking about?" wonders Northstar.
"I…I don't know. They've been like that since I found and evacuated them in this shelter."
"Looks like they're channeling their Inner Linda Blair. But I don't like the looks of this. Can you tell them to contact Cyclops or Emma?"
Hearing that statement, the Stepford Cuckoos look at them. "Yes, can we help you? We were very distracted", they simultaneously replied. This alone gives them the wiggins.
"Oookay, very much Children of the Damned", mutters Northstar.
Psylocke wanted to get out and join the fight. But, to her mind, she thinks that Storm, of all people, is still skeptical at her. Her thought was broken when they hear a loud explosion. "That bloody does it!" she nastily mutters. She begins to depart just as Northstar stops her.
"Where are you going, girl?" Jean-Paul asks his new friend. Psylocke wasn't about to back out.
"Sorry, darling, but I have to help my friends to fending those wankers off! Now step aside or I'll do it for you!"
Northstar is about to answer her when they notice a very frail and old looking young mutant opens the door.
"Ernst! Where are you going?" Karma asks as she approaches her.
"I can't stay here! They're after me!" Ernst warns her. "I don't want you to get involved in this!"
Ernst is about to leave when Karma grabs her at the shoulder. "No, too dangerous! You'll get killed! Martha told me they're after me!" Ernst then pushes her away and quickly leaves the shelter.
"Ernst! Come back."
Psylocke then looks at Karma. "Stay here. I'll go after her. Jean-Paul, you coming or what?"
Northstar grins at her. "Sure thing. Betsy. Sure thing."
The Stepford Cuckoos, watching all this, decides to give Emma the heads up.
"Miss Frost has to be alerted of the recent developments", Celeste tells them.
Emma shrieks as she receives a telepathic message from the Stepford Cuckoos like the way they did while she was on Benetech with her team. The message was clearer but a little bit fuzzy. This alone has everyone's attention.
"Emma! What is it?" Cyclops asks in a very concern manner.
"The girls…they're calling…me", Emma gasps. "Scott, we have to go back! The mansion is under attack! One student is missing and Storm, Kurt, Lorna and Rachel are injured!"
"Rachel…", Scott mumbles.
"Scott, I hate to say this and I hope I never will, I have to agree with Emma", Kitty replies. "I think the men Sinister sent are more than just your typical mercenaries!"
Cyclops is now torn between pursuing Sinister and saving his daughter and his friends. On one part, he wanted to finish Sinister once and for all for manipulating him and Alex. On the other hand, Emma telling him that Rachel is injured alarmed him. Despite her hate for him, Scott wishes he and Rachel could at least have talk that doesn't require evil glares.
"Summers!" Wolverine yells at him. "Make up yer bloody damn mind!"
Finally reaching his decision, Cyclops decides to head back to the mansion. But, as he turns the X-Jet around, they are hit by a missile, hitting one part of the left wing, but nothing serious at the moment.
"What the hell?" Wolverine loudly yells.
"People! Brace yourselves", Beast warns them.
"What's wrong? Are we being pursued?" asks Colossus.
"Worse." Beast points out two jet planes chasing them on the scanner. Both planes are actively pursuing them. "So much for the road home safety", Hank mutters miserably.
"Emma, can you force them to back out?" Cyclops asks his girlfriend. Emma senses his tense voice, probably in a hurry to save Rachel. She tries to mentally control the pilots' minds but soon learns that she couldn't get into their minds.
"I can't! They're wearing scramblers!" Emma blurts out.
"Great. Any plan, Summers? Coz I got one", Wolverine informs Cyclops.
"One. We have to lose them fast! People, have your seatbelts fasten!" Cyclops orders them.
Beast alone is alarmed at this. "Scott, what are you—WHOOAAAA!"
Cyclops quickly pushes the controls down as the jet descends downwards. The two other jets do the same.
"SCOTT! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" Hank yells at him as the jet descends towards the ocean. He thought Logan should join in the shouting fest but finds him very uncharacteristically quiet. It seems he knows what Scott is doing. Meanwhile, the two jets continue to shoot them but Cyclops, the excellent pilot that he is, avoids it by maneuver it very quickly. But as the X-Jet is near the water, Kitty and Colossus are now worried.
"Scott! What are you doing!" asks a worried Colossus. Kitty grips on her seat's handles nervously. Emma also knows what Scott is doing but she realizes that he is descending the X-Jet much faster. Of all the six X-Men, Hank, Peter and Kitty are sweating bullets. Their fears have been added when they are hit again, this time on the right wing. Scott knew his plan has to work or else, they're done for. When they finally reached the water, Scott maneuvers the controls into making the jet fly across the ocean as quickly as he can. The two jets that are actively pursuing them realize this but they are too late. One of the jets crashes into the ocean while the other barely makes it alive and now pursuing them. Inside the X-Jet, Hank looks as if he has a heart attack while Colossus silently thanks God for not killing him again. Kitty cradles herself in her seat as she sarcastically mumbles, "that was fun".
An agitated Hank looks at his friend very seriously. "Next time, please warn me of this. You better thank the heaven I didn't eat heavily or else we're going to be in one disgusting jet."
Scott doesn't look at him as he is focused on piloting the plane. "You're welcome", he tells him half-heartedly.
"Hate to disrupt your thanksgiving, Hank, but we got one more", Emma points out at the scanner. "We have no choice Scott, we have to shoot it down."
Scott nods in confirmation. "All right. Hank does this jet already have back-missles?"
"Back-missles?" Colossus answers. Hank decides to answer his friend. "In situations like this, I, along with Scott, Lucas and Sage, created this specific kinds of missiles wherein we shoot it at the enemy behind the jet's back. Saves a lot of movement."
Cyclops presses the button for the missiles but it didn't respond. He looks at the monitor only to realize that the damage at both wings has the missiles stuck.
"So much for safety", Kitty casually replies. Cyclops continues to press the button, but it doesn't work, much to everyone's dismay.
"After all that work…we never get to see it work for the first time!" Beast mockingly whimpers. Just then, the remaining jet shoots at the X-Jet's behind, causing damage to it.
"Arrggh! We have to do something!" Emma yells at them.
Out of the blue, Wolverine decides to speak up. "Got one. Bit risky, but it's all we have."
"We ran out of options, so this better be good", Cyclops tells him.
"Lift the plane up, Summers. Higher", Logan commands him.
"What?"
"Just do it!"
Cyclops raises the X-Jet upward slowly.
"Hank", Wolverine continues to give orders, which Cyclops doesn't like. "Open up the roof." Beast complies at his request and presses the button as the rooftop of the X-Jet is now open. Wolverine stands and looks at Colossus. Even if without words, Peter understood his friend's request and joins him climbing above the jet. Both men look at the jet below them. Wolverine unsheathes his claws and looks at Colossus.
"Ready for an encore, bub?" Logan asks him as if he was suggesting something. Peter nods and grabs Wolverine. He carefully aims at the jet until the right time came. Using the Fastball Special, he tosses Wolverine downwards the jet as Logan crashes at the pilots' windows. Logan smashes the windows and destroys the main controls, though he wants to rip out the pilots' throats as well but decides not to. The pilots quickly evacuated by ejecting their seats up to the air. The X-Jet lowers down the plane to rescue Logan. The door opens, revealing Colossus calling out to Wolverine.
"Logan, grab my hand!" Peter yells out to him. Logan backs himself up a little as dashes to the plane. Then he jumps of it and tries to reach Colossus' hand. The latter manages to save him and lifts him up back to the X-Jet while watching the last plane crash to the ocean. Logan and Peter settle down to their seats as they head back to the others.
"That was fun. Let's do it again", Beast uncharacteristically tells them. Everyone looks at him weirdly.
The soldiers have made their way into areas only accessible by the X-Men save for the Danger Room and the Cerebra Room. Along the way, they toss out tear gases on the hallways to prevent from being ambushed. Unknown to them, Bishop is secretly hiding out in a secret passage with a gas mask, stealthily aiming his blaster at another group of soldiers. Like the shooting gallery in a carnival, Bishop manages to shoot the soldiers one by one using a high-voltage laser beam that will guarantee to hit the enemy no matter how powerful their protection may be as they claim. He manages to shoot three men out of five people. Now that there are two left, Bishop decides to come out of his hiding place to attack them. But as he comes out, he sees one soldier being slammed on the wall as another is being blown away. He looks at Rogue and Gambit, all beaten and bruised up.
"You guys look like hell", Bishop disturbingly notices this. Gambit responds by spitting blood at the floor.
"Oh, Bishop. Yah don't know what hell really looks like", Rogue tells him. "Beating up…um…Remy, how many did we-"
"15, Chere. Not 'xactly Gambit's Book of World Records, but it'll do", Gambit answers her as he continues to spit some more blood. "Where're the others?" he asks Bishop.
"Lost contact with them", Bishop responds. "We have to find them fast."
Both mutants nod. Rogue quickly turns around and spins kick the soldier who is about to ambush her from behind and knocks him out. Bishop leads them towards where Storm is at the moment. On the way, they bumped into Alex, which freaks everyone out as Bishop is about to aim at Alex's head.
"WHOA! PUT THAT DOWN! IT'S ME!" Alex begs at Bishop. Bishop puts the gun down.
"Alex! You scared the hell out of us! You should be lucky Ah didn't have my strength or Ah'll kick ya in the nuts!" Rogue scolds him.
"Believe me, mon ami. You don't wanna experience dat", Gambit tells Havok. Havok looks at the three mutants as Bishop realizes someone is missing.
"Alex, where's Bobby?" Bishop asks him.
"We split up and I couldn't reach him through his communicator!" Havok alerts them.
Gambit stretches his neck and arms. "Hate to say this, but Bobby's a big boy now and he can take care of himself."
"That not the only thing I'm worried about. I saw majority of the soldiers going down to the basement. Where's Lorna?"
"Couldn't contact her or Ororo", Bishop reports to Alex. "Wait a sec, they're heading to the basement?"
Alex nods. "What I don't is what's in there. Since there are four of us, we have to split up. One group has to find Lorna and the others and the other will have to go down to the basement. Gambit, wanna join me in hunting down some mercenary punks?"
Gambit grins at Havok's request. "Sure thing. Just waitin' for some more action." Gambit and Havok give each other a high five as Rogue rolls her eyes.
"Welcome to the Divine Secrets of the Low Low Brotherhood", Rogue mutters.
"Okay, Rogue and I will find the others. Any word from Scott?" Bishop asks them.
"No. Not a thing. We better keep moving now!"
Havok and Gambit head toward the basement as Bishop and Rogue are now looking for Storm, Polaris, Nightcrawler and Marvel Girl. Bishop and Rogue went to the place where the four mutants where previously. Much to their surprise, they couldn't locate them. But, Bishop can sense the soldiers, who were actually hiding, are now aiming their guns at them.
"Rogue, duck!" Bishop yells at her. They both quickly dodge at the mercenaries began to shoot at their direction. Bishop grabs a large, wooden table and uses it as a protection for him and Rogue. Bishop continues to shoot at them but he somehow misses. Rogue, on the other hand, could only sit there and wish she has her previous powers back. The mercenaries continue to shoot at them when all of the sudden, they were lifted and crashed at the walls while bullets that were aiming at Bishop and Rogue hit the other mercenaries. Bishop and Rogue come out of their hiding place to see Polaris and Marvel Girl floating above them.
"About time", Rogue thanks them.
"You're late", Polaris gives them the face of guilt-trip.
Bishop sheepishly chuckles. "He, he, sorry. You girls okay?"
"A few scratches here and there, but we're okay", Marvel Girl reassures them. "Storm and Nightcrawler are after the other soldiers."
A mile away from their exact position, they could hear men scream and loud sounds of thunder. "Yep, they'll do just fine", said Rachel.
"Where are Alex and Bobby?" Lorna asks Rogue.
"We split up. Alex and Remy are after the bastards to the basement. We couldn't find Bobby!" Rogue answers back.
In the unknown parts of the mansion, Ernst is hiding under a bed while contemplating on her escape from here. She knew the "bad men", according to Martha, are after her and that they were ordered by an unknown man. She gets out of the bed and carefully opens the door to see if the men are still after her. No sign of them. She then makes her escape, but unfortunately, as she turns around to see the "bad men" looking for her. She accidentally gives a loud yelp, which causes the soldiers to turn around and see her. Ernst is now frightened and tries to escape but one soldier manages to grab her.
"Help! Help!" Ernst yells at no one in particular.
"We got one of the subjects. Where is the other one?" the leader asks on his radio, speaking to the soldier.
"She is here in the basement, we are getting her out as we speak", the other soldier responded on the radio.
"Good". He looks at his men and said, "All right men, move out now!"
"Let me go now!" Ernst continues to yell at them.
"Tough freak. Our orders are to turn you in", one soldier spat back.
But before they could move out, Psylocke surprises them by telekinetically slamming them away. Northstar uses his super speed to quickly beat them up. The leader and some of the men made their escape with Ernst while the remaining soldiers draw their guns. Psylocke unleashes her telekinetic katana and with her ninja skills, she slashes the guns and proceeds to fight them. Northstar assists Psylocke in defeating them. Soon after, the two of them are the only ones standing.
"Betsy, we have to chase them now", Northstar reminds her. Psylocke begins to float and the two begin to find Ernst.
Meanwhile, Havok and Gambit are fighting the soldiers in the basement. Gambit throws his kinetic cards at them while Havok shoots plasma beams continuously. The odds, however, are against them as many soldiers are attacking them with their guns. While both men couldn't see what was exactly inside the basement, rest assured that they know that the soldiers have finally reached their objective. Gambit quickly jumps above the soldiers as a distraction as Havok blasts them away.
Gambit finally reaches the depths of the basement but he was too late as the men are now carrying with them an unknown containment tube. One soldier uses laser cannon to blast through the wall for an open escape. Gambit begins to attack them by throwing cards at their direction, managing killing some of the men but the soldiers fire at the Cajun. He quickly hides in one corner. Gambit is now beginning to wonder what was inside the tube and whether Professor X or Cyclops knew about this. He charges at them while the soldiers whisk the containment tube away, leaving Gambit to not learn of what is inside of it.
It was cold, dark and empty. It wasn't to suppose like this. I came here to find you and yet…yet…you're dead. You're dead. I need you.
How did you get here?
Does it matter? I need you to wake up.
No.
I'm dying! I can't take this much longer!
Aww, how pitiful but no. It's not time.
Your home…is under attack. Yet you want to remain in this filthy place!
I'm not ready.
I don't care. I need you NOW!
NO! I'M NOT READY! Leave me be!
Help me. Help me. Help me.
Let go of me.
Stop denying. You know you want to live again. You know you want to destroy that bitch who stole your loser of a husband. You want to see your "daughter" again. You want to see your family, real and pseudo. Stop denying because I know you need me.
Get out.
No.
GET OUT!
Never! Live because I need you! I'm dying! Please!
NO! NO! NO!
Rachel stops at the moment as if she was sensing something…so powerful. She felt cold yet she felt warm. She doesn't know where it came from. But, it was very familiar. Very comforting. She looks around for the source of that presence but couldn't find it. A while ago, she, Bishop, Rogue and Polaris separated to find Iceman while fighting the soldiers. She is currently at the kitchen, looking for the missing Bobby Drake. Nightcrawler reappears in front of her, which startles Rachel a lot.
"Kurt you scared me!" Rachel gasps.
"Sorry", Kurt answers sheepishly. "What are you doing here?"
"Looking for Bobby. He's gone."
Kurt notices Rachel's tense look. It's as if she felt something so powerful.
"You okay Rachel? You look as if you felt something", asks a very concerned Kurt.
"I'm…I don't know."
Rachel froze again. She can hear the anguish of a woman. She can hear the screams of pain from a woman. She can hear her, sense her and most of all, feel her. Then she could utter one word very softly.
"Mommy?"
Nightcrawler is alarmed at this when he heard Rachel uttering the worm "mommy". He knows what it means.
"Rachel, what are you talking about?" asks Kurt.
Rachel looks at him in pain. "Kurt…mom…it's mom…I…can feel her…"
"Rachel, what are you talking about? Jean's dead." Kurt now thinks Rachel's in deep denial.
"No Kurt…you don't understand. Mom…I don't know…I don't know…if she's dead or alive!"
"Rachel, snap out of it!"
"Kurt please. You have to understand. I…Kurt, LOOK OUT!"
Rachel pushes Kurt away as the soldier begins to shoot them. Rachel was slow in using her telekinesis as she was hit on the left shoulder and on the stomach with two bullets. It was happening so fast that she realized that she got hit by two bullets. Kurt watches in horror as he sees her collapsing to the floor. The soldier is now aiming at him. This causes Kurt to get angry. No, not angry. Kurt Wagner is now seriously pissed off. He dodges the bullets and teleports behind the soldier's back and snaps his neck furiously, like the time when Wolverine decapitated Xorn/Magneto's head when he killed Jean. He quickly approaches Rachel and carries her. He begins to shout for help as he silently prays to God to save her.
Iceman finds himself with the frozen soldiers around him. Back then, he and Alex decide to separate and cover all areas as he scouts outside the Institute. He then senses something else. For reasons unknown, he goes to the cemetery. As he reaches there, he finds the graveyard empty. Bobby looks around to see no one there. All of the graves are still intact, save for one and…
Bobby realizes one grave is completely empty. He has this sudden fear that he recognizes the owner of the grave.
Jean Grey-Summers
She will rise again
Iceman remembered this place. The place where they buried one of his dearest friends, his pseudo-sister and perhaps even something more. It was also the same place Hank told him that he saw Emma and Scott kissing at her grave. He wonders how this was possible. Then, it hit him.
Phoenix.
But why? Where is her corpse? Where is she?
"Hey Bobby."
He looks around to see what he has been fearing and at the same time, hoping for.
"J-Jean?"
He noticed she is wearing her green Phoenix uniform, which is good news. Red means he's done for. Bobby couldn't believe in his eyes, because one thing that is noticeable is that she looks…younger.
Bobby decides to muster the courage to ask his friend. "Jean…is that y-you?"
"Something's wrong, Bobby. Something's wrong with the Force."
All of the sudden, she shifts her green outfit to her red one. Deep down, she hopes Bobby will take it as a sign. He, however, was stunned and speechless,
"Bobby, you have to kill me please."
"Jean…no…I couldn't. I-"
"KILL ME NOW PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO KILL ME OR ELSE-"
Jean, out of the blue, winces in pain as she feels something different. She felt that the Phoenix Force is controlling her, but she has to fight it.
"Leave me alone!" she yells mentally at the Phoenix Force.
This causes Bobby to worry. "Jean? Are you okay?"
"Bobby! Please! I…I-"
Then, she disappeared in the flash of light that knocks Bobby out. A few minutes later, Bobby wakes up and wonders how he got here. He felt dizzy and somehow, he doesn't remember a thing that transpired here. But what he did notice is that Jean's grave has been opened and her corpse is missing. He hurriedly goes back to the mansion to see helicopters flying away as he sees the other X-Men fighting the last of the soldiers.
UP NEXT: Scott learns of Rachel's condition, as Xavier, Magneto and the X-Force learn of the attack at the school. Sage decides to return to the X-Men without open arms from anyone, save Bishop. Bobby (without remembering his encounter with Jean) drops the bomb by reporting to Jean's empty grave, causing almost everyone to realize that Dark Phoenix may return.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
1. The fight scenes are heavily inspired by "X2: X-Men United".
2. Jean's resurrection is also inspired from "Phoenix: Endsong" 1.
3. Interestingly, the writers didn't address to what has happened to Ernst since New X-Men.