Mystique remained deceptively docile under Logan's grip. She relaxed her muscles, hoping he would subconsciously relax his, and give her the chance to break free.

"You idiot," she hissed to him. "You grabbed the wrong person! He's already gone, that way!"

"Who? Magneto?"

"He's not Magneto! He's an impostor!"

Mystique twisted round to see more figures in black hurrying on to the scene. Shit. The rest of the X-Men were here. Obviously Gaia hadn't hit them hard enough to keep them out of it. Logan tried to tighten his hold on her, but she'd been expecting it, and she leapt, pushing away from the wall with both feet, throwing herself and Logan backwards until they landed on the ground, Mystique on top. Before he could extend his claws, she drove her fist into his throat, leaving him desperately choking and gagging for air, instinctively curling into a ball on the ground. A little more power behind the punch would have shattered his windpipe and killed him instantly, but she had no desire to do that. Rising to her feet instantly, she had less than two seconds to avoid the next attack. Cyclops crouched, firing a ruby red optic beam towards her.

Rolling to the side, Mystique morphed, taking on the appearance of Cyclops himself. Hopefully it would confuse them, and the black uniform would help her blend into the dark night. A burst of frost from Iceman's fingertips came hissing through the air towards her, but she avoided it and began running in the direction Davor had taken. She didn't have time to fool around with these idiots. She had to get after the impostor before he did anything further to bring shame to Magneto's memory.

Cyclops turned as she went, and fired another optic blast. Strange as it seemed to be attacking his own fleeing figure, he was now well used to Mystique's trickery. She was clearly not hanging around to finish the battle. Was she running in fear? It didn't seem like her to run at the first sign of danger. Odd.

"Scott?" came a confused voice.

Chloe approached, her hands touching her head in confusion, "I don't understand what just happened, I – "

"Don't come any closer," he snapped.

Still holding his throat, Logan stepped forward and said hoarsely, "She's the one who did it, Cyclops. She's the one who knocked us out. I would have smelled anyone else if it was them."

Chloe shook her head quickly, "No, you don't understand! I had to do it, you see– "

"I said: don't come any closer," Scott commanded, his hand on his visor. "Where's Oculus?"

"He's inside. That doesn't matter! Davor is the one we want!"

"Who?"

"Don't listen to her!" Logan said. "She's in it with him! She is his wife, after all!"

"No, just let me explain!" Chloe cried.

She took another step towards them, but Scott's suspicions and uncertainty had got the better of him. Whatever Oculus was planning to do, Gaia was clearly part of it too. They couldn't allow her to stall them while Oculus exerted even more psychic control over the city. War could be imminent. Lives could depend on their actions. Scott pushed his doubts aside and fired.

The optic blast hit Chloe square in the chest, throwing her backwards on to the ground. Howling with pain, she tried to get to her feet to run away. Logan was already hurrying forward to grab her. Before he could get there, however, there was a flash of orange as an enormous Siberian tiger leapt from the shadows to stand protectively in front of the fallen Gaia. The beast roared angrily, fur standing on end and claws out, advancing towards Logan. The furious X-Man extended his own claws, and gave a feral growl. The tiger stopped, surprised and worried by something it had never encountered before.

"Go! Don't stay! You'll get hurt!" Chloe called desperately.

Even as the tiger fled from the scene, she was still struggling to crawl to safety, forcing herself to ignore the pain in her chest and keep going. Logan grabbed her arm and hauled her upright.

"What the hell is going on?" he demanded. "What is your bastard of a husband doing? Where is he?"

"It's not him! It's Davor!"

He tightened his grip on her shoulder, "So you keep saying, but I don't know who you're talking about! I'm talking about Oculus and the world war he's about to start! Now where the hell is he?"

"It doesn't matter! Listen! Davor Rosiçky is Neil's father! He's posing as Magneto to hide his own identity and to make it easier to get what he wants! We had to find some way to make him confront us!"

The rest were beginning to cluster round.

"I don't believe you, Chloe," Fliss spat. "What do you think you're playing at? You can't go along with Neil's crazy ideas! It's not going to benefit anybody! It'll start a war!"

Chloe snapped, "I know! He isn't trying to start any war! It was all a deception to lure Davor towards him! You're just letting Davor get away!"

"What – it wasn't for real?"

"Of course it wasn't for real! Neil doesn't have the power to control the whole of London! And the Cerebro parts he's taken aren't enough to recreate the power of the whole machine!"

Some of the X-Men looked at each other. But Scott shook his head, "No, wait a minute. That can't be true. If he's not controlling the city, where is everybody? Why are the streets so empty?

"Yeah," said Iceman. "And we heard that newsflash too, didn't we? The Prime Minister made an announcement that he was voting in favour of the nuclear treaty, and disbanding the armed forces. That was Oculus behind that! It had to be! You're lying!"

"I'm not lying!" she screamed. "It's a deception to fool Davor! The city is deserted because we faked an alert of an incoming nuclear missile! Everybody has fled out of London or to the nuclear bunkers beneath! That's why the city is empty! We faked up the news report as well! It was to draw Davor here, to make sure he had to react to us!"

Logan released his grip on her arm. Rubbing her shoulder, she glared at him, "I've been your friend for years and you didn't trust me?"

"Don't blame them, Chloe," came a voice from one side. "We've all been fooled by my father."

They turned in surprise. Neil Rosiçky stood a few yards away, with Pyro alongside. The X-Men weren't sure how to react. Logan's claws stayed out. Scott's hand rose to his visor once more, "Can we trust you? Are you our friend or our enemy?"

"Scott, I've been your student and then your friend since I was a boy. Nothing's going to change that in the space of a few days. I'm sorry for the deception – I genuinely do apologise – but it was necessary."

"But the nuclear treaty," said Iceman. "You've been talking about that for the last few days. You haven't been meddling with people's minds to try and influence the decision, have you?"

"Of course not. I don't have the power. It isn't just as simple as controlling the Prime Minister's brain and getting him to make the decision I want. He still has to justify it with his advisors and his fellow ministers before it becomes official. And believe it or not, the humans do have methods of psychoanalysing, to tell whether a person is acting under their own volition or by telepathic control. They know there are telepaths in the world who might try to influence government leaders. They've taken measures to deal with it."

"So how has your father gotten away with it? He's manipulating some pretty high-level figures, isn't he?"

"Yes. I don't know how he's doing it. I don't think he's a telepath. I think he has some other persuasive power, but as yet I haven't been able to fathom what it might be."

"He was using it on us, wasn't he?" Scott realised. "On the way over here. He was convincing us of everything he said. I didn't notice it at the time, but looking back…we can all see it, right? We never questioned him…never asked him to back up what he was saying…never disbelieved him…"

"I did," Pyro argued. "Neil, are you saying Magneto had nothing to do with what happened to my daughter? This Davor was the one who had her taken?"

"Correct. I think Davor knew her mother; she was one of his research colleagues. He, well, he has a long history of using children – his own and other people's – as part of his experiments. He took Alexandra, used her, abused her, and then…the real Magneto found out about her. We still don't know how. He sent you to get her out."

Pyro breathed a sigh of relief, "So Magneto really was the man I thought he was. He had nothing to do with my daughter's abuse. He isn't a liar and a hypocrite."

"Yes he is," Logan muttered under his breath.

Rogue frowned, "But…why did he pretend to be Magneto in the first place? Who was he trying to fool?"

"I don't know that either," Neil admitted. "But I think I do know where we'll find the answers."

"Where?"

"The ocean labs. Where our teenage students are just now. Where Davor is heading. Where the heart of his operation lies."

Scott nodded, "Then let's not waste any time."

"Sir, sensors report an unidentified vessel ahead."

The captain of the US navy nuclear submarine looked over, "Another sub?"

"Yes sir."

"Distance."

"Four hundred yards and closing. Closing fast. Recommend evasive, sir."

"Do it, Lieutenant. Prepare torpedoes. Try to open communications."

"You think it's the French, sir? A pre-emptive strike?"

The captain merely said, "Keep me informed, Lieutenant."

The communications officer spoke into the microphone, "Attention, unidentified submarine. You are in United States waters and we do not recognise your profile. Your course suggests hostile intent. Identify yourselves immediately or we will treat you as hostile."

There was no response. He tried again, "I repeat, identify yourselves or we will treat you as a hostile vessel. You are in United States waters. Your present course suggests hostile intent. We have full jurisdiction to defend ourselves."

The navigation officer exclaimed, "Sir, distance is two hundred yards and still closing fast! We're not going to manoeuvre wide in time, sir!"

The captain grabbed the microphone, "You are on a direct collision course with us! Alter your course now or we will open fire! This is your last warning!"

No response.

"Sir, they aren't slowing or altering course!"

"What the hell do they think they're doing? They'll kill themselves and us! We have no choice. Open fire. All torpedoes!"

The weapons officer sent the order down to the torpedo rooms, "Fire all torpedoes! Target oncoming vessel!"

"Captain confirms."

The captain forced himself to remain calm and impassive in front of his men. In reality he was thinking furiously. Who did this mysterious vessel belong to? Clearly it wasn't another American sub. Was it an enemy spy vessel? The US had a long list of potential enemies to choose from. The French, the Germans, the Russians and the Chinese were probably the only ones bold enough to try something like this.

Or could it be non-military? There were some criminal organisations rich and powerful enough to own their own submarines for smuggling purposes. No…that couldn't be right. Smugglers would certainly not be out in the open waters off the Florida coast. He walked to the communications officer and spoke in a low voice, "Lieutenant, prepare a communication to send to shore. Tell them we encountered an unknown submarine with presumed hostile intent, and took offensive action when there was no alternative. Recommend a full sweep of the area for further enemy vessels."

"Yes sir."

The captain turned to the weapons officer, "What's the status of the other vessel?"

"No damage, sir!"

"Say again?"

"All torpedoes hit, sir, but other vessel has taken no damage?"

"Their course?"

"Unchanged! Still collision course, sir!" said the navigation officer.

"The next barrage will take them, sir," said the weapons officer confidently.

The men waited and watched as the second round of torpedoes was launched towards the oncoming enemy vessel.

"Report!" the captain commanded.

"I don't believe it, sir, still no damage!"

"Course unchanged, sir! Fifty yards and closing!"

"Third barrage won't be ready in time!"

"They're going to hit, sir!"

"Brace for impact!" the captain yelled. "Send emergency distress signal!"

But the communications officer had no time to send the emergency distress signal. The very next moment, the nose of Davor Rosiçky's constantium-hulled submarine cut through the American vessel like a laser through butter. The in-rushing water killed every man on board, and the ruined vessel began to sink towards the ocean floor. The constantium submarine continued on its way as if there had never been another craft.

"Cassie! What is it? What did you see?"

Cassie grabbed at her friends and pushed them in the direction that would take them to the elevator, "I don't have time to explain! Just run!"

Gemini was used to reacting without thinking when Cassandra gave her a warning. She began running. It took Dominic and Marina a couple of seconds extra to reach the same conclusion, then they began running too. Cassandra was right behind them. They reached the fork up ahead. Going to the right would take them to the elevator. Going to the left would take them…Marina glanced that way. Surprise crossed her face when she recognised the figure who was running towards them.

"Hey, it's all right!" she exclaimed. "It's – it's Annie!"

"No, it's not!" Cassie yelled, grabbing her shoulders and bodily forcing her away from Crusader. "She's going to kill us! Magneto's controlling her mind or something! Come on!"

Marina hesitated for a second, and that pause was fatal. Annie Rosiçky's hand shot out, and her telekinetic power gripped the aquanoid and the foreseer, lifting both of them from the floor. Helplessly they beat at the air, unable to get any purchase on anything to escape.

"Annie, what are you doing!" Marina screamed.

But Annie didn't respond. There were no outward signs that she was being controlled. Her movements were normal, her eyes no different, all of her little mannerisms still present. But there was no doubt somebody was manipulating her. Either that or she had lost her mind.

"Cassie!" Dominic yelled, looking back to see his friends' predicament.

"Run! Get out of here!" she screamed back at him. "No! Helios, no! Don't come back for me! Get out of here!"

But he wasn't listening. He'd rushed back to her side, and began pulling her down towards the floor so she could run to safety. So intent was he on rescuing his girl that he didn't notice his own body lifting from the floor until it was too late. Annie's power had grabbed him also, and levitated him into the air. Gemini, at the door of the elevator, looked back in terror at her three helpless friends.

"RUN!" Cassandra screamed at her.

Gemini was caught in indecision. The elevator door in front of her slid silently open. She didn't notice the person inside until it was too late. Gary Rosiçky's hand grabbed her around the throat and lifted her off her feet. She struggled and kicked, but there was no way of breaking that iron grip of his.

"What are you doing?" Marina shrieked. "Let go of her! Have you gone crazy!"

He didn't say anything. He didn't seem to be aware she'd spoken.

This can't be happening! thought Marina's panicked mind, this is impossible! Magneto can't be controlling their minds! They're too powerful for that! What's happened to them? Why are they trying to kill us?

"Let them go!" Helios was demanding. "Let the girls go! I'll stay!"

He didn't really know why he'd said that. He wasn't expecting it to be agreed to. It had just seemed like the thing to say. He thought about shining blinding light at Annie – he knew it would hurt her sensitive eyes – but then he remembered he had already used all of his solar power on the way in here. Damn it, if only we'd taken a different route, I wouldn't have had to waste my stored light getting us through that tunnel!

Angrily Gemini swung at Gladiator, trying to kick him between the legs, but she hadn't the strength or co-ordination to do it. Her entire body weight, slight though it was, was now hanging from where he gripped her around the throat. It had been uncomfortable to start with, now it was getting extremely painful. She tried to take some of the weight away by holding on to him tightly with her arms. It didn't seem to make much difference. She knew she'd pass out soon.

Cassandra hung helplessly in mid-air. There was nothing she could do to help the situation, and she knew it. Her fore-warning had not been sufficient to preserve them from this danger. She didn't know exactly what was going to happen now. She could only assume they were going to be killed. If their friends had been turned against them somehow by their enemies, that seemed like a logical conclusion. She reached for Dominic and managed to grab his hand. If she was going to die now, she wanted at least to have the opportunity to express her feelings for him.

Marina knew there was only one thing she could do, and she knew she had to do it quickly, before either of the enslaved Rosiçkys did something terrible. She ceased her futile attempts to escape. She closed her eyes, breathed in deeply, tightened her muscles, and concentrated. At first there was nothing. Then she could begin to feel it. Through the reinforced walls and ceilings, she could feel its presence and its power.

Water.

Mastery over the Earth's commonest substance flowed within her veins. Gasping with the effort and straining every sinew and fibre, she pushed her power to a level she had never known before, summoning the entire might of the Atlantic ocean to pound the cliffs, shatter the rocks, break through these walls, and to come to her side. She almost lost consciousness through the effort, but she managed to keep it together, and with a shriek that rang from one of the corridor to the other, she performed the miracle.

The lower level of the ocean labs disintegrated in seconds as water with the force of a blastwave pulverised the cliff-face, ripping through rock and reinforced concrete as if it were paper. Doors, walls, furniture, machinery, everything in its path was smashed until it reached Marina. By the time Annie and Gary had realised what was happening, it was already too late. The corridor was flooded and Marina was now the supreme being. Easily breaking free from the telepathic lock, she grabbed the terrified aquaphobic Cassandra and pointed her towards the lift shaft, that would take her up out of the water. Dominic was already heading that way. Like a torpedo Marina shot over towards Gemini, and with the merest of effort pulled her free of Gary's grip. Her bewitched boyfriend struggled clumsily underwater, but he was swimming towards the elevator and pulling Cassandra away from it. Marina forced the water around him to flow towards her, and he was dragged away from the foreseer.

But now Annie was approaching, swimming much more easily than her brother, also heading for the lift shaft. Cassandra and Gemini had already ascended it to safety, Dominic helping them up before climbing out of the water himself. They were safe. Marina needed only to worry about herself now. Annie and Gary would not drown. She could be sure of that. They could hold their breath for a little while longer. All she had to do was stall them long enough for her friends to get far enough away. She herself could stay down here forever. Breathing easily through her gills, she swam over to the lift shaft, blocking it, preventing them from getting through to where they might hurt the others.

But she hadn't taken one thing into account. A human being can hold his or her breath for about a minute underwater. Trained divers can manage two or three minutes. But only a human being with sufficient warning can actually inhale enough air to last a full minute. Annie and Gary had not had any warning, and their lungs were already empty. They were already swimming desperately towards the lift. Marina was horrified by her sudden dilemma. She couldn't let them out of the water or they might kill the others. She couldn't keep them in the water or they would drown. What do I do? What do I do?

Annie was the first to go. With her smaller body and smaller lung capacity, she was already beginning to convulse and hyperventilate. Within moments, Gary was doing the same. Marina made up her mind. She had to take the risk. These were her friends. It didn't matter if they were being controlled by Magneto. These were her future husband and sister-in-law. Grabbing both of them, she swam effortlessly over to the shaft. Pulling them out of the water, she laid them down on the floor of the level above. As she climbed out of the water she instantly felt the nervousness and helplessness that came whenever she left her natural environment – the water – for the one she was manifestly not suited for – the surface.

Brother and sister gasped hungrily at the sweet, life-giving air. Breathing hard, both of them curled reflexively into a ball while their bodies concentrated on only one thing: taking in enough oxygen to remain alive. Gary was still instinctively holding on to Marina, and his grip tightened slightly as his strength began to return.

"Marina?" he panted weakly.

Cradling his head in her lap, she smiled down at him, "H – hey. You're back."

His eyes opened and he focused on hers, "Where was I? I mean, where am I?

"We're in the ocean labs. Can you stand?"

"Ocean labs? What are you talking about? The last thing I remember is blacking out in McKenzie's study. How much has happened since then?"

"Um, quite a – quite a lot. I don't have time to explain. It'll be quicker if – if you just read my mind."

He did so. At that moment there was a low groan as Annie came around. Struggling into a sitting position, she began looking round. Eventually her eyes lit on her brother and his girlfriend.

"Marina?" she said. "I don't understand…where are we? I don't remember coming here."

"You – you were knocked out, r – remember? And M – M – Magneto has – has been controlling your mind."

"Magneto…" said Annie slowly. "No…it isn't Magneto. I don't know who he really is, but…I remember coming face to face with him at one point. I think it might have been just before he started, as you say, controlling our minds."

Marina frowned, "I don't get it. Aren't you too powerful to be – to be psychically controlled?"

"I guess not. Where is everybody else?"

"Uh, Dominic and the rest are – are here. We think the other X-Men were being held here too, but they managed to escape. A – Annie – can you make any sense out of what's going on? Read my mind to find out e – everything we've learned."

A few moments later Annie was up to speed.

"Let's call Scott and the others," she decided. "And tell them what's happened. I'm worried about this mind control. Maybe they can shed some light on to who our enemy really is, and how he's able to manipulate us."

Shapeshifter was manning the jet's communications panel when one of the displays began warning him of an incoming call.

"Who is it?" said Scott

"It's one of our hand-held communicators. It must be Marina, or Dominic. Hold on, I'll put it on speaker."

He hit a couple of switches, then said, "We're receiving you loud and clear. Who's calling?"

"It's Annie."

Neil and Chloe both breathed a sigh of relief. Their daughter was safe.

"Annie?" said Chris. "Where's Marina? Is she OK?"

"Yeah. She's fine. Where are you guys?"

"Headed for the ocean labs, in pursuit of the impostor."

"The fake Magneto?"

"Yes. Where are you at the moment?"

"We're at the ocean labs too. Listen, we need to ask you something."

Pyro had pushed Shapeshifter aside to speak into the microphone, "Crusader – is Gemini with you?"

"Yeah, she's here. Don't worry, she's not hurt. Can I talk to my dad?"

Neil stepped forward, and Pyro relinquished the mike to him.

"Annie, I'm here."

"Dad. It's good to hear your voice. Listen, I need to ask you something. This impostor, whoever he is, was controlling both me and Gary. I don't remember what happened during that time, but Gemini's just told me we were trying to kill them. We were trying to kill our friends! I don't understand how we could have been manipulated that way. It would take a telepath as strong as the Professor to do that to me."

"Understood, Annie. I don't think it is telepathy. I think it's something else, something that none of us are immune to."

"Like what?"

"I don't know for sure…yet. Listen, Annie, there's something I need to tell you. We know the impostor's real identity."

"Uh-huh. Who is he?"

"His name is Davor Rosiçky. He is…your grandfather."

"My what? I don't have any. You said they were both dead."

"Yes. I was wrong. My father deceived me – deceived everybody – into thinking he was dead."

"Are you saying he's the one? My own granddad? He's the one posing as Magneto and trying to control our minds?"

"Yes. It isn't easy to take, Annie, I know. It isn't easy for me either, but I had to tell you."

"Hold on, Marina wants to talk to you."

There was a pause as the communicator evidently switched hands, then Marina's voice filled the jet's interior, "H – hi, it's me. I've been hacking into the computers here and trying to find out what I can. It looks as if this Davor Rosiçky was working with two other men. One is – is Van Gaarde, who we know about – "

Pyro's hands tightened into fists and he muttered something under his breath.

" – the other is a man called William Stryker. D – Dominic says you guys have had dealings with him before. Is that right?"

"We know Stryker all right," Logan muttered.

"I thought maybe he might have s – some bearing on this. I think one of the files I read said he did some work in t – telepathic research."

Fliss had taken over the communicator, and she spoke to her adopted daughter, "Thanks, Marina, you've done a great job. We'll talk it over and call you back, OK?"

"Y – yeah. Talk to you later."

"Bye, honey."

Shock ended the call. Neil frowned, "What does Stryker have to do with my father's apparent mind control power?"

"Of course!" Scott said suddenly. "Do you remember Jason Stryker?"

"The creepy guy in the wheelchair?" Pyro said. "Or should I say, the other creepy guy in a wheelchair? Magneto told me about him."

Rogue nodded, "Storm and Kurt were the only ones who saw him. They told us too."

"What are you getting at?" said Logan.

"Don't you remember his powers of illusion?" Scott asked. "He was capable of projecting images into a person's mind, scenarios and such, to make them act in whatever way he wanted. It was a method of mind control, but it wasn't the same as telepathy. Even the Professor had no defence against it."

"You think my father has the same power?" said Neil.

Scott nodded, "It fits. It makes perfect sense. We know your father had developed the technology to steal mutations from other mutants, right? If he worked with Stryker, he had the opportunity to take Jason's power."

"Right," Chloe agreed. "And that explains how he was able to make us think he was dead."

"Yes! You're right!" Neil exclaimed. "Don't you remember what he said to me at the time? He was fleeing on his helicopter and leaving behind a bomb to cover his tracks. He told me he wanted to make it look as if he'd died in the explosion. He wanted the Professor to believe he was dead."

"I remember," said Chris. "Only you killed him."

"Or so we thought. He was a step ahead of us all the time. He cast the illusion of his death into our minds. He wanted the Professor to believe he was dead, and he found the perfect way to do it. He fooled our perception…and the Professor had no reason to disbelieve us when we told him."

"Brilliant," said Scott with grudging admiration.

"Yes. He was brilliant. He had the kind of genius that only comes along once or twice a century. It's just a pity he was so consumed by his own desire for power and self-fulfilment."

"I knew there was something fishy about him," said Logan. "When we first set eyes on him, I knew there was something that didn't feel right. It wasn't until we got to London that I finally figured out what it was. He didn't smell right. It's been years since I last met Magneto but you don't forget a scent that easily. This guy, Davor or whatever his name is, smelled totally different. I knew something was bothering me, but I couldn't pin it down."

"Because part of your mind was still being taken in by his illusions," said Neil. "He could fool your eyes and your ears, but he couldn't fool your nose. He wouldn't know how to fake up the right scent and make you perceive it."

"We can use that against him, right?" said Iceman. "If Logan can see through the illusions – at least partially – we've got to use that to our advantage."

Chris was less optimistic, "How are we going to deal with him? I mean, we can kill him, but how will we know he's really dead? How do we know it isn't another illusion? How will we ever know he's really gone?"

"I'm working on a plan," Neil said. "But it's only at the idea stage."

"I wish we knew exactly what it is he wants with us," said Fliss. "Does he want to kill us? Or does he want to control our minds and use us as slaves?"

"I think the latter is what he had in mind. My father isn't one for doing something himself if he can get somebody else to do it for him. He tried to kill me in London, and after that I think he would have kept on manipulating the rest of you with his illusions. That's what I predicted, anyway. That's why Mystique and I set up our little trap for him."

"Mystique," said Scott. "I'd forgotten about her. Where is she? What's her interest in this?"

"She wants to clear the name of the man she loved. My father is threatening to tarnish Magneto's image and Mystique can't allow that. I don't know where she is right now. The last I knew she was in pursuit of him. She has her own means of transportation."

"I guess we'll get there before she does. Guys, we need a plan. We can't allow ourselves to be fooled by any more illusions. We have to find a way to see past them. Neil, you said he was trying to kill you. Does that mean the illusions don't work on you?"

"They did before. I don't see why it should be any different now. I think he genuinely believed I was going to start World War III, and he couldn't afford to take any chances. He had to dispose of me immediately."

"You deceived him pretty well."

"Not really. I just took advantage of his nature. He would naturally assume that whatever I was doing, I was doing for my own personal gain. The concept of doing something to benefit others is unknown to him. The only conclusion he could reach was that I was trying to dominate the world with my psychic control. It simply didn't occur to him that I might be trying to fool him to protect the lives of others."

"Maybe we can use that to our advantage," said Iceman. "I have an idea. He values this constantium stuff pretty highly, right? What if we pretend we're coming to steal it for our own use? If he believed it, he'd be forced to act quickly and irrationally. He might not have time to conjure any convincing illusions."

"But we'll have the same problem as before," Chris pointed out. "Even if do manage to defeat him, how do we know it's real? Hell, how do we know any of this is real?"

A few worried glances were exchanged. Nobody had thought of that before. What if this entire discussion was simply an illusion itself? What if Davor was finalising his plans while they were trapped in a dream? How could they be sure it wasn't? How could they be sure of anything?

Neil frowned, "I think the very fact that we are questioning this, means it isn't an illusion. A genuinely convincing illusion wouldn't allow us to doubt it that way."

"How long till the ocean labs?" asked Scott.

"Twenty minutes or less. I'm going to call Annie back and tell her what we've deduced."

Back in the computer room, Marina was once more seated at one of the terminals, determined to use her burgeoning expertise to delve into the data-vault stored here. There had to be more facts, ones she hadn't found before, that would put together some of the final pieces in this extraordinary puzzle. Why was Davor masquerading as Magneto? What was his plan for the constantium? What was he going to do now that he was unmasked? As she worked, the others discussed their theories.

"It's obvious he's been using his illusions on his eleven associates," said Annie. "We know that he needs something each of them can provide. Whether he's offering them any incentive, or simply manipulating their minds, we don't know. And we don't know exactly why he's pretended to be Magneto. Why him in particular?"

"Because Magneto could control metal," Dominic suggested. "Maybe he needed to convince them that he had full control over the constantium, or something."

"What if it wasn't for their benefit at all? What if it was for ours? What if he specifically wanted to lure the X-Men towards him?"

"Why would he wanna do that?" said Gemini. "Sounds like a good recipe for suicide to me."

"And why did he launch the attack on the school? What did that accomplish?" said Cassandra.

"We don't even know who he was targeting," Gary said. "Unless it was my dad."

"Maybe he just wanted to wipe us all out."

"Wait a minute," Gemini said. "I know who he was targeting. He was targeting my dad."

"Pyro?"

"Yeah. Think about it. Like, who in the whole world knows Magneto better than anyone? Pyro and Mystique, that's who. I bet Davor was trying to kill them both. Otherwise they might have seen through his tricks and realised he wasn't really Magneto. They might have given him away and spoiled everything he'd planned."

"Right. That makes sense," Gary nodded. "And the X-Men? Same deal? They knew Magneto too."

"But he didn't try to kill them," said Annie. "He only captured them and had them held here. What if," she paused for thought, "what if he wanted to capture the X-Men, enslave them with his illusions, and then use them as his own personal army?"

"And with the constantium to protect him…" Dominic continued. "He'd be invincible."

"Right," Cassandra agreed. "But the X-Men needed something to lure them towards him. He pretended to be Magneto. He started the terrorist attacks to get their attention, to force them to try and prevent further attacks."

"The adamantium badges. That was another piece of bait. Our friends had safety in numbers, but he made them split up by luring them to different countries all over the world. They were ambushed and captured."

"Then he launched the attack on the school to kill Pyro," said Gary.

"But it failed, and he realised he'd forgotten about Dad," said Annie. "Maybe Dad didn't know what was going on, but he knew he had to act rather than just react. He went to London and set up this deception to lure Davor across the ocean, to make him dance to our tune."

"So Davor used his illusions on the X-Men to convince them Dad was the one in the wrong. He'd been thrown off balance and he had to act fast. He took them to London to try and kill Dad."

"But that didn't work either. He'd forgotten about Mystique. She and Dad fooled him, and he didn't have time to think, he had to run."

"And now he's coming here. I wish we knew what he's going to try now."

"Maybe he'll just cut his losses and try to disappear," suggested Cassandra.

"Hey, take a look at this," said Marina.

They moved over to the computer terminal where she sat.

"What do you have?" Gemini asked.

"It – it talks about the President. About his wife, actually."

"The President's wife? I thought she was dead."

"Yeah, she died not long ago. Brain tumour, I think," said Gary.

"So what about her?" asked Cassie.

Annie was leaning over Marina's shoulder, reading from the computer screen, "According to his, she didn't die of a brain tumour. Davor killed her."

"What?" said Gemini. "How? Don't the First Family have, like, security and stuff?"

"It doesn't say how he managed it, but he implanted some sort of device into her brain. When triggered, it mimicked the effects of a cancerous tumour. To the world it appeared as if she died of natural causes."

"Why'd he kill her?"

"To get the President's attention, of course. Because according to this, the President's two teenage daughters have got the same implants."

Gemini's eyes widened in horror, "Oh, shit…you mean he's controlling the President? He can tell the President what to do and threaten to kill his daughters if he doesn't do it! That's not the way America's supposed to be! We're supposed to be the greatest democracy in the world! We can't be run on the whims of a single man!"

Cassandra nodded her agreement, "This goes against everything our country stands for! How the hell did he get away with this?"

"This explains one thing," said Dominic. "The involvement of one of Davor's twelve. Marina, remember we surmised he had to be an electronics expert? The guy called Green. He must be the one who developed these brain implants."

"R – right," Marina agreed. "He must also be the one who developed the brain implants that were used in the Horsemen. Yeah? That was a – another of Davor's projects. The Horsemen had implants in their brains that allowed Van Gaarde to – to control them."

"Until I broke the implants," said Annie. "So what's the link between the Horsemen and constantium? What's Davor hoping to achieve with either?"

"We were wondering that earlier," said Dominic. "We couldn't work it out."

"I'll keep looking," Marina said. "I think I – I'm getting somewhere in that regard."

Something occurred to Dominic. He glanced over to the corner of the room, then frowned.

"Marina? Remember that guy who walked in on us when we were in here earlier?"

"Uh-huh."

"I knocked him out and left him lying in the corner over there. He's isn't there any more."

"Well, maybe he woke up," said Gary.

"But I tied him up. I guess he must have broken free…"

For a few moments, silence fell. Gemini glanced at the door nervously. What were they to do if this man, this Davor Rosiçky, suddenly appeared? Did they have the ability to fight against him? Could they stop him from controlling their minds? Dad had begun teaching her how to block telepaths from her mind, but she wasn't sure if that would be of any use in this case. From what she'd heard, it wasn't the same thing as telepathy. She sighed unhappily and looked at the floor.

There were two men who abused me. I remember that. Van Gaarde was only one of them. It hurts to cast my mind back to those times, but if I really think about it…he wasn't the worse of the two. The other man, Davor Whatever, was the first to rape me, and he did it far more often than Van Gaarde did it. But…I guess because Van Gaarde was the one who was around all the time, using me for experiments, he was the only one I could remember at first. My memory had blotted out the other man. Maybe my brain thought I couldn't handle those memories, so it kept me from having them. Now that I'm old enough to deal with it – at least I hope I am – I'm starting to remember. I'm starting to piece together two years of hell.

Her stomach felt uneasy. She felt as if she was going to be sick. This Davor was Crusader's grandfather, which meant he was way older than Dad. How can somebody that age get off on abusing little girls? What kind of person would do that? Who the hell could be such a monster? Why is a man's brain capable of such depravity? Surely this proves there's no God. If there was, how could He allow things like this to happen?

She remembered what Oculus had said about free will. It didn't make any sense to her. If God was a loving God, then why did He allow evil to exist in the first place? Why were people allowed to do it? What did God get out of it? Was it some kind of biological experiment? Was our universe just a speck in God's petri dish? Gemini raised her eyebrows slightly. It was an interesting thought…but it wasn't something she had time to think about right now.

"Crusader," she said, and Annie looked over. "What happens if he finds us? Do we fight him? Can we fight him?"

"I don't know. I'm hoping the X-Men will get here before he does. If he does confront us, we have to try and take him by surprise. I – "

She paused suddenly, her mouth still open in mid-speech. Gemini blinked in surprise, "Crusader?"

Then Annie gave a jolt, breathing hard, stumbling slightly. It was only momentary, and she regained balance.

"What was that?" said Dominic.

"I – I don't know," Annie gasped. "Gary, did you feel it too?"

"I felt…something," said her brother uncertainly. "I don't know what it was. It was something I've never felt before."

"Is it Davor? Is he here?" said an apprehensive Cassandra.

Annie's brow furrowed as she tried to think, "It was as if there was a sudden burst of emotion, somewhere in the world. Thousands of people experiencing the most extreme feelings…but I don't know who they were or where they were or what kind of emotion it was. I've felt it before…but never this intense."

"You think something's happened?" said Dominic.

"I don't know. I'll find out."

Annie sat down at the computer terminal beside the one Marina was working at. Marina had already cracked the security protocols that controlled access to the machines, so Annie simply logged in as a high-level user and launched a web browser.

"What are you looking for?" asked Gemini curiously.

"Breaking news stories. I think something terrible has happened, something that affected so many people so much so badly, that my telepathic receivers picked it up."

"You think Davor's done something?"

"It could be anything. It could be some sort of natural disaster. I've had similar experiences before. Whenever a really major earthquake or hurricane hit somewhere in the world, for example, I would feel the shock and the terror of those affected, even though I was thousands of miles away. I was only four when it was first happened. It was terrifying, until my dad managed to explain to me what was going on."

"Hey, I just had a thought," said Gary. "Not related to what Annie just said. It's about Davor. The X-Men reckon he has the power to create illusions to make people believe whatever he wants. If that's true, I think one of us might be immune to it."

"Who?" said Gemini.

"I don't think he'd be able to fool Cassie's foresight," Gary replied, turning to face his former girlfriend. "Cassie, do you agree? I mean, we don't even know where your fore-flashes come from. I don't see how he could fake them up."

Cassandra folded her arms and glared icily at the guy she hated, "I don't know how my power works and neither do you. I can't give any guarantees about what it will or won't do."

He shrugged. She went back to pretending he didn't exist. Silence fell back on to the room, aside from the noise of Marina and Annie both still typing away. Eventually Annie stopped typing, and her hands suddenly rose to her mouth in horror.

"Oh no," she breathed. "This is awful. This is terrible…"

"What is it? What's happened?"

"The Azores. They're gone."

"Gone?"

Gemini frowned, "What're the Azores?"

Dominic answered quickly, "It's a small island community in the Atlantic ocean, between Britain and America. Annie, what are you talking about?"

"I told you: they're gone! Where the Azores used to be, there is nothing but ocean! I found it on a news website."

"So what's happened?"

"How should I know? The only explanation is the islands have sunk into the ocean. But I don't see how that could happen. Only a significantly large explosion on the sea bed would be able to destabilise the islands' foundations enough to make them sink without trace."

"Earthquake?" Gemini suggested.

"I doubt it. I don't think they get any there. There must be some explanation."

"That's what we felt, isn't it?" said Gary. "The inhabitants of the islands as they sunk into the water. They had no chance to escape."

"Is it something to do with Davor?" said Gemini. "Hey, what if it's an illusion? What if it's not real at all?"

"No. It's on all the major news websites. And besides, he'd have to be right here to cast an illusion into our minds."

Gemini's ears suddenly pricked up at the sound of footsteps running down the corridor.

"Someone's coming!" she exclaimed.

"Relax. It's Vertigo," said Gary.

Vertigo and Atlas arrived at fast pace, and finally relaxed when they saw the rest of the teenagers gathered in the computer room.

"Here you all are, we've been looking all over for you!" Atlas declared.

"You guys OK?" said Cassie.

"Yeah. We've kept out of trouble for the most part," said Vertigo. "Listen, Magneto's submarine has left the docks. We don't know where it's bound, and we don't think there's anyone on board. What have you guys been able to find out?"

She quickly told them. An idea had already occurred to Annie.

"Tell me about the submarine," she said. "Describe it to me."

"Its outer shell is made of constantium," Atlas told her. "We couldn't see evidence of any weapons it was carrying. Other than that…I don't know what to say. I don't know anything about them."

"Marina, see if you can bring up a schematic of the sub."

"R – right here."

Dominic, who knew a little about submarine design, moved forward to take a look. He frowned, "Hmm. That's unusual."

"What is?

"The nose of the submarine has an odd shape. It seems narrower and, well, pointier than normal. Can you find a more detailed schematic of the nose?"

While Marina searched, Annie spoke once more, "I've just found a news story about another unexplained disaster…an American submarine disappeared off the coast of Florida. A search has just begun to try and find some trace of it."

"D – Dominic?"

He looked over her shoulder at the new schematic.

"What's that?" he said in surprise.

He hadn't really been talking to anyone other than himself, and wasn't surprised when he didn't get any response from the others.

"What's the matter?" said Cassie, laying her hand gently on his shoulder.

"I don't understand why, but the nose of the submarine has been fitted with some kind of drilling mechanism. And get this, the drill is also made entirely of constantium."

"But that could, like, drill through anything," said Gemini. "Am I right?"

Annie nodded slowly, "Yes…you are. Wait a second."

A few mouse clicks later she had brought up a map of the Atlantic Ocean on her computer screen.

"If we're here," she said, pointing to Florida, "and the US navy sub was lost here," pointing near to the coast, "and the Azores are here," pointing to the island colony, "look! It's a straight line through the three points!"

"Davor's submarine!" Dominic exclaimed. "The constantium drill! He must have attacked and destroyed the American sub! Then he – bloody hell – he must have drilled right through the foundations of the islands! The constantium drill can go through anything! There's nothing can stand up to it!"

"But where is the sub headed now?" said Gary. "What will it hit next?"

Annie continued the straight line, "Oh, no! It's going to hit Ireland! Vertigo, how long ago did the sub leave?"

"I don't know. Half an hour?"

"Fuck, then it's travelling at some speed," Gary swore. "How long will it take to reach Europe?"

Marina did the calculations the fastest, "It'll – it'll hit Ireland in less than an hour."

"And it won't stop there," said Dominic. "It'll destroy half that country and keep going. What's going to stop it? Britain will be next, then mainland Europe. Then Asia, then America. I mean, there is literally nothing that will stop it. There is nothing on this Earth that can withstand a constantium drilling torpedo, which is effectively what it is."

"What do we do?" Gemini screamed. "We have to warn people! We have to find a way to stop it before it can kill anyone else!"

"It's too late for that," said Annie, suddenly gasping. "He's here. I can feel it."

"Davor's here?"

"I can sense his presence. He's just arrived. And the X-Men aren't here yet."

"What do we do?"

"He must have a way of controlling the submarine. We have to find out what it is, so we can stop it! We can't just kill him! If we do, there might be no way to stop the destruction!"

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A/N: I know this is implausible, you don't need to tell me :-)