I don't own Marvel sighs at repetitiveness but Morgan, Argus, Umbra, Psyche, Techno, and this general storyline are MINE. My preciousssssssss...mwa ha ha.

Ahem.

Argus at her side, Morgan gripped Iceman by the temples, diving into his mind.

"Bobby!"

Bobby glanced around uncertainly, hearing the familiar voice. Jean beckoned him forward with a graceful hand, her smiling face drawing him towards her.

"Bobby, no!" The call became the high pitched shriek of an eagle. The massive bird danced before him, trying to distract him from the now frantic Jean. He stepped forward to reach his former teacher, but the eagle remained in his way. Angrily, he tried to dodge it. It hovered, hesitating. He could almost imagine that it was looking at him sadly, but before he could discern the bird's true expression it vanished. He walked towards the woman smugly, Jean's proud smile fueling his ego. Abruptly, he stopped. Jean watched him, concerned. He tried to lift his foot but found it far to heavy to do so. An immeasurable cold was creeping along his limbs, making him shiver violently. He brushed the feelings away, trying to free his foot. He looked down to see what could possibly be obstructing him, finding that it was frozen to the floor. All of the coldness he had tried to ignore came rushing in once more, bringing him back into the real world with a gasp of pain. His face was inches from Morgan's, her hazel eyes opening with a deep sigh. He pushed away from her, confused. She let go of his head, struggling to breathe. He glanced around, trying to figure out exactly what was going on.

"Go…help…Wolverine," she gasped, her arms crossed behind her head as she fought for air. He moved toward her, concerned. "Go, dammit!" she cried, blocking his view of the other entranced X-Men. Her tone carried such an authority that he hurried to find Wolverine.

Morgan collapsed, her long untapped abilities unused to such strenuous exercise. Wiping her sweaty forehead, she closed her eyes for a moment. The sounds of the cavern and the impending battle filled her ears. This needed to be faster. But how? She was nearly spent!

She opened her eyes to watch the party of stunned X-Men. One by one would never be fast enough. She would have to take out the problem at the source. With her mouth set in a grim line, she crawled over to Psyche and Cyclops. Grasping the pale woman's hand, she tumbled into the inside world.

The three remaining X-Men appeared, Cyclops clutching Jean as she kissed his face and neck. Rogue and Storm standing around them.

"I'm here for them, Psyche!" Morgan cried, her voice echoing weirdly in the nonspace.

"You!" Jean shrieked, momentarily flickering into the snake-headed demon of Morgan's nightmares. None of the others noticed.

"Me," Morgan replied angrily. She stepped forward, feeling Psyche's weakened mind trying to push her back. But she had lost a lot of blood, and was struggling to remain in control. She glared at Morgan with her pearly eyes, her grip on Cyclops tightening. "Hurry, my friends, this girl wishes me harm. I must warn the Professor!"

Storm and Rogue turned to face Morgan, their eyes unrecognizing. Storm raised her hands as if to call up a gale, but Morgan pushed past them. Rogue tried to grab her, but the other girl slipped between her arms. She reached out for Psyche/Jean, trying to wrench her from Cyclops's grip. He turned to her, anger dripping from his expression. But Morgan was undaunted. This had to end.

She felt Rogue and Storm's cold hands gripping her shoulder, dragging her back. She shoved them away and returned to the woman, trying to peel her from his arms. Jean's face leered up at her, grasping her "lover" more tightly. "I have them now. Magneto is coming. And then he will kill them. It will be your fault. More blood on your hands…" she trailed off into a high-pitched cackle. Morgan could feel the illusion of blood trickling down her hands as she pulled, but ignored it. A hand grabbed her in the face, suffocating her…She could feel Cyclops's fury as he powered up his laser…

But in this last desperate attempt to rid her self of Morgan, she had lost control of Storm and Rogue. Falling sharply back down to Earth, they rushed to free Morgan from Cyclopes grip. She fell back, gasping, only a trickle of her power remaining. "Wolverine…the door…"

Storm looked up, lines of worry deepening. "Stay with her," she said to Rogue, then stood and ran towards the rapidly diminishing door.

Rogue watched her go, then turned to Morgan. She supported her in her arms. Morgan smiled up at her. "Be right back," she whispered, then passed back into the world of spirits.

"Leave, demon!" she cried. With one tremendous effort, she forced Psyche away from Cyclopes. He howled in anger, but "Jean" was too far away now. Morgan continued to push her away from the distraught mutant, clawing at the source of all of this pain.

It was Psyche who had lured her here under false pretenses. Because of her actions, her friends were in danger. Her cruel minds tricks held one of the most dangerous mutants at bay. This had to end!

Using the anger to fuel her fight, she drove the apparition away. Even when she became the medusoid, Morgan fought her. She could feel the woman's powers trickling away; her prey was weakening. The thrill of the hunt coursed through her veins; unknowingly, her body had become that of Argus as she stalked the snake-woman. Psyche ceased fighting and ran, but the Argus/Morgan easily closed the gap between them. Leaping upon her prey, she readied for the kill…

She was thrown forcefully back into her body, panting. She sat up with a great effort to see what could have possibly led to her return. Bloodlust still clouded her brain. The stunned Cyclopes staggered to his feet; she had let him go? She could hear Rogue call out to him as he rushed towards the fight near the door. The battle had begun, a dull buzzing in Morgan's ear. Psyche lay on the ground, in a pool of her own blood, her unseeing eyes staring up at the cavern ceiling. She breath was very, very shallow; no illusion presented itself. She must have fainted. It was the only explanation. She was no longer a threat.

Morgan turned her eyes to the fight at the door. Iceman and Pyro were battling each other to a stalemate, identical hatred flaring up between them. Two Wolverine's wrestled on the floor, teetering precariously near the edge. Storm fought to keep Magneto at bay with an electrical storm, but the bolts of lightning were dangerously close to the steel walkway. Umbra battled fiercely with Cyclops, dancing tantalizingly around his head as he fired at the vaporous tormentor. All in all, it was going badly.

Contemplating for a moment, Morgan decided on a plan. She had got them into this mess; she would get them out. She was too weak to battle herself, but another was ripe for a fight…

She lunged unexpectedly, gripping one of Rogue's supporting arms. Before the other girl could react, she yanked off the protective gloves and grabbed her hand tightly. Rogue tried to pull away, but Morgan's grip was firm. "Stop struggling! You must fight for me!"

"How did you know?" Rogue gasped, still pulling futilely as the power surged up her arm.

"Logan…the garden…fight fire with fire," Morgan mumbled, clearly delirious. She smiled up at her as she passed out, her grip loosening. Rogue pulled away in shock, quickly stuffing her hand back in her glove. Argus pawed his mistress's limp form, whining. Rogue slid the unmoving form gently to the ground; Argus curled protectively around her. Rogue smiled slightly as she stood. Morgan was in good paws.

She turned and ran across the causeway, rushing to the aid of the other X-Men. One of the Wolverines seemed to be gaining the upper hand, though whether or not it was actually Logan was uncertain. She flew past them, cycling mentally through her new powers. First, Pyro.

She harnessed her ice power and fired, showering him with hard, round hail. He yelped in pain, trying to fend off the hail with a blast of flame. This distraction was all that she needed; using the Professor's telekinesis, she snatched the lighter from his hand. He grabbed for it and stumbled, his feet incase in blocks of ice. Iceman grinned, freezing him to the ground. "Tough luck, Johnny," he said, turning to help the others.

Rogue felt like she would overflow with ability as she flicked on the lighter. A ball of flame gathered excitedly in her palm, the dancing fire drawing her eyes. She caught Cyclops's eye as he struggled against Umbra. "Move!" she cried. Cyclops ducked out of the way, but the semi-solid shadowman was taken by surprise. His firm parts burst into flame. He shrieked in pain and batted at the flames with insubstantial hands, but to no avail. Repulsed by what she had done, Rogue snuffed the flames and the mutant crashed, writhing, to the ground. He, like his sister, wouldn't be any more of a problem.

She turned, observing what still needed to be done. One of the Wolverines was clutching the other, who was bleeding profusely from a gash in his side. So the real Wolverine had Mystique under control. Pyro was still struggling in his icy prison, but in vain. Only Storm battled Magneto. Fight fire with fire.

Rogue rushed forward, creating a magnetic field. "Storm! Get everyone out! I'll hold him off!" Storm looked at her and, realizing what had happened, dropped her arms. "Hurry," she replied, heading back towards the others. Rogue positioned herself in her place, raising her arms…

She was blown backwards as the identical poles made contact. Magneto collided with the wall with extreme force; Rogue was sent skidding out into the abyss. For one horrifying moment she hovered, time stretched into eternity. She saw Iceman reach out towards her, but she was too far away. Her yell echoed around the cavern as she plummeted into the darkness.

"Rogue!" cried Iceman, leaning over the edge of the pit. But there was no time to consider what had happened; they had to escape.

"Ice, come on!" said Cyclops, grabbing the boy around the shoulders. Iceman struggled against his grip, but the bigger man was stronger. "We've got to get out NOW!"

"But Rogue…"

A dark shape blurred past them from the chasm, rocketing back onto the platform. Rogue stumbled slightly, landing awkwardly on the steel. Iceman broke free of Cyclopes and ran to her, dragging her away from the gate. Two hovering robot drones had appeared in the doorway, cameras mounted their heads. A voice emanated from them, arrogant and spiteful. "Run, puny X-Men! Techno's coming for you!" They swooped low towards the retreating mutants.

Cyclopes covered their retreat as Wolverine scooped up the unconscious Morgan. Argus galloped after, glad to be leaving the Place Below.

They left the way they had come, rushing up a set of carved stone steps to the world above. The drones pursued them until Cyclopes blasted them out of the air. They ran up the ramp and into the SR-71. Storm collapsed into the pilots chair and took off, leaving the misty isle far behind.