Storm

Storm and her comrades stared up at the skatepark. It was all they could do to keep from breaking into tears. The skatepark was blocked off with dumpsters and, according to Jean, there was no one inside.

The Vulgates were huddled in a group, whispering to each other and the mutants were all staring, horrified, at the skatepark. The leader of the Vulgates, K'vas nec Allel nodded to his companions and left the group. He stood a few feet away from Storm and cleared his throat to get her attention. Jean, who was hyperaware of her position as translator, scurried to Storm's side to mediate between them.

"They've noticed a nest of activity on the other side of town." Jean translated. "The problem is, they don't know if its the rest of the Vulgates or something else. The leader wants to know what you suggest the best course of action is."

"We should send someone to check who it is." Storm said. She frowned slightly as she tried to decide who to send. All the mutants were much too weak to handle any problems that might come up- and there were a lot of potential problems with the plan- but Storm's better judgment warned her against sending a Vulgate alone. Besides, Storm couldn't order the Vulgates to go into a dangerous situation on their own. Her only hope was to pick someone who could complete the mission without getting hurt. Storm's gaze fell on Mystique. The woman was competency personified, but still an unknown element. Storm looked at Wanda for a second, but then dismissed her. The girl was not known for her subtlety.

Nor was Jean-Paul, but, in the end, he was the one that Storm decided to send. He could always run if he was discovered, and if cornered, he had a few tricks up his sleeve. He was too much of a coward to abandon the rest of the mutants and run to play lapdog to the enemy, as Mystique was infamous for doing. He would complain and make a big show of his sacrifice, but it was a good chance for him to do something.

Even as Storm decided that Jean-Paul would be the one to case the strange 'nest', as Allel had called it, Jean was fixed in avid conversation with the Vulgate. Once Allel had caught on to Jean's telepathy (which happened incredibly fast considering she tried her hardest to keep it a secret from them) the two had ceased communicating aloud. In a way it was comforting to Jean. She didn't have to worry about hiding her powers any more and thoughts were passed between them instantly. She also didn't have to worry about mistranslating anything, since ideas not words were the basis of communication. What really helped, though, was that she didn't have to worry that the Vulgates were plotting against the mutants. She knew, for a fact, that Allel and his group intended to return the mutants to their leader and then abandon them completely. As far as Allel was concerned, saving the Jean, Storm, Mystique, Jean-Paul and Wanda was nothing important- just another order from a higher authority. What the Vulgates were really after was Valzinameku.

Jean had pretty much guessed that either she or Jean-Paul would be sent to investigate the hideout the Vulgates had found. Allel and his men didn't realize the true extent of the mutants' abilities. The Vulgates had only seen the mutants at their worst and now considered them irrelevant creatures who were unworthy of notice. If Storm sent only one mutant out, and he (or she) came back unscathed, then the Vulgate's attitude might switch from dismissive to oppressive. Jean could see that the Vulgates would stop at nothing to destroy their enemy, and if they had to exploit the mutants to do it, then they wouldn't hesitate at all.

The problem was simple. If the mutants showed their power and let the Vulgates know their true strength, then they would be exploited. If they didn't the Vulgates would leave them in the violated remains of Bayville to fend for their own. The solution was a lot more difficult.

Adding to the complexity was the fact that Allel wanted to send a team of three people to investigate the hideout. One mutant and two Vulgates. One Vulgate was intimidating enough, but to be alone with two of them... Jean could sense disaster encroaching. She tried to convince Allel to send only one Vulgate, or perhaps a group of four, which would give the mutants less of a disadvantage, but Allel refused to argue the point with her.

"Alright, I'll send Jean-Paul." Storm finally announced. He sighed heavily and, as Storm had predicted, started complaining.

Jean cleared her throat. "Storm, he says he wants to send two Vulgates with him."

Storm stared at Jean. "What do you mean, 'he wants to send two Vulgates?' What does he take us for?"

Jean glanced at Allel. The Vulgate was staring calmly at Storm, with a slight smile beginning to creep across his face. He spoke to Jean, aloud, though in his native tongue.

"Shall I explain to her why she has no say in this matter?"

Jean eyed the Vulgate as she translated for Storm. A sudden darkness began to descend on Jean's vision and she knew, without a doubt, that she had made a fatal error.

The Vulgates were telepathic too. They already knew about the power of the mutants and Jean had been the one who told them.

"By all means." Storm answered Allel's challenge, oblivious to Jean's moment of insight.

Allel locked eyes with Storm. Without breaking contact, he raised one long, elegant hand and pointed it directly at Jean. He smiled briefly and disappeared.

When he reappeared, he was directly in front of Jean, hand positioned right in front of her face. With a strength that seemed beyond all comprehension, Allel pushed Jean, sending her head-first across the street. Her flight was arrested rather quickly by a brick wall.

Jean-Paul, Wanda and Mystique stared, completely numb with horror.

Storm just yawned.

A second later, three Vulgates were blasted to pieces by a bolt of lightning.

"Now look what you've done." Storm said. A strong breeze began blowing. "You've gone and killed one of my students. This," Storm's eyes shined white and the mutants scrambled for cover. "is between us. Come, Vulgate. Let us decide once and for all who is in charge here."

The Xavier Institute

Pietro, still under the alias of Slim, stared through his telescope for a moment longer before sighing and turning away. Things were getting complicated again.

Storm had just arrived at the Institute with Jean-Paul, Wanda, Mystique and a mob of Vulgates in tow. Pietro took a moment to notice that Jean Grey was not with them. Apparently, neither was the Vulgate who Hiva had put in charge of the group. Storm's only answer was a careless shrug. The Vulgates immediately fled to the other side of the room and Jean-Paul and Wanda winced. Mystique was, as usual, imperturbable.

Pietro stayed in his dark corner of the Hall while Kurt ran to spread the news that Storm had finally shown up. In the excitement that followed, Pietro slipped back into the infirmary. There were things creeping around in the back of his mind, and the longer he put them off, the worse they got. At last, he gave in and sat back to plan the survivors' next move.

The mutants and Vulgates had gotten along well considering the language and cultural barriers. The mutants could relate to the Vulgates because they all had strange powers and the Vulgates accepted the mutants as their backwards cousins who had no control over their power. The fact that the two groups accepted each other for completely different reasons hadn't affected anything yet. The problem was, though, that the awareness of difference made leading the group difficult. Even though mutants and Vulgates could relate to each other, they didn't identify with each other. If a decision had to be made, both Scott and K'vas nec Hiva had to agree wholly, otherwise there was no point. The survivors were still only allies, a group only by virtue of the fact that they all lived in the same shelter. The Vulgates and mutants needed a name, a banner of sorts, to unite under. To start, they needed a leader they could all agree on, and a name to identify themselves with. The X-Men, Brotherhood, Vulgates, and Wanda's group needed a name and leader that represented them all.

Once a name was established, there would be practical issues that would have to be handled. Finding food, survivors and drawing accurate maps of the new Bayville would be the next step. All were things easily accomplished with the help of the Vulgates, so Pietro didn't worry much about them. His third dilemma was the most critical, and as the rest of the group settled into survival, Pietro felt the problem crushing his spirit.

The problem was that no one had entered the shelter with the idea of staying for very long. In the beginning it had just been a place to recover while building strength for the final fight. Now, almost six months after arriving in Bayville, fighting Valzinameku was the last thing on anyone's mind. Pietro would have been content to leave it at that and gradually push everyone to preparing for the battle. As far as he could see, there was no need to rush to fight the monster. If the group could build its strength slowly and wait until Valzinameku got careless, the waiting would be worth it. Unfortunately, events were playing themselves out. There wouldn't be time to wait for Valzinameku because he was already on his way.

Pietro looked at Lance. "Well, any suggestions?" The silence of the infirmary was broken by a roar of laughter from the Hall.

In the distance, Jean-Paul yelled an answer. "I'll pound his brain in, that's what! Maximoff's the rip-off here!" There was more laughter at that, but it was cut short by something Pietro couldn't hear.

Still, Pietro smiled. "I see. We just will have to pound his brains in, won't we?" Pietro stood slowly and stretched. "Let's see just how fast this broken body will move, shall we?"

Jean Grey

Jean struggled to a sitting position. She had no idea how long she had been unconscious, but it must have been a while. Night had fallen, and she was alone.

She put a hand to her head and checked how badly she was bleeding. She needn't have bothered. Her entire arm was dripping blood. Jean tried to use her telekinesis to lift herself to sitting position, but failed when the pain forced her to stop moving. It had been luck that had saved her life. Before Allel had even moved, Jean had been gathering her strength to rush him. When he threw her against the wall, she was already using her telekinesis to push herself forward. The impact hadn't been as hard as it should have been- would have been if not for her telekinesis- but it had still taken its toll. Jean reached her mind out towards the Xavier Mansion. The first mind to greet her was Pietro, who was halfway between Jean and the Mansion. As he ran back to the Mansion to get help, Jean extended her mind to watch for trouble. She was convinced that she could sense trouble with her telepathy and ward it off with her telekinesis.

Jean almost cried with relief as she telepathically felt Logan and Scott come barreling into town for her. It was that moment that cost her everything.

As Jean relaxed her guard, a roc settled on the ground next to her. It took a moment to look at her as she stared, completely dumbstruck. Then, it began its feast.

Logan and Scott

They both ran as fast as they could over the broken sidewalk, diving between debris and jumping over it whenever possible. They had almost made it when they heard her scream.

Less than a block in front of them, one of Valzinameku's creations, an enormous reptilian bird, stepped away from a broken wall with something dangling from it's mouth. With a disdainful look at the two mutants, it took to the air, sending a maelstrom of dust and dirt through the street. Scott was poised to blast the bird to smithereens when he heard a small noise behind him. He and Logan whirled around to see Jean sprawled on the ground. Her eyes stared upward and her face was bloody and twisted with fear. Her legs were completely gone and her arms were flung akimbo.

"Jean?" Scott whispered, half hoping to hear her voice gasp in his mind.

"I'll kill them all." Logan growled. "Every damn bird. We were almost here. Why..." he balled his fists. "Why is all this happening to us?"

"Does it matter?" Scott clenched his teeth. "There's nothing we can do. Let's get her..." Scott choked back a sob and gently closed Jean's eyes. "Let's take her home and bury her there. At least one of us will be buried properly."

Logan was snapped out of his tantrum. "Scott-"

The younger mutant shook his head. "Don't. Let's just go. I can't stand seeing her like this. The sooner, the better."

The Xavier Mansion

The funeral lasted all day long. It was Kitty who proposed to put up markers for everyone else who had died. Everyone had agreed that it was a good idea at the time, but counting the dead was a lot harder than any of them had imagined. Magneto had died saving Lance from Logan's claws. No one had seen Freddy since they had escaped from Fort Braddock. A few people dared to hope that meant that he was alive, but Slim corrected them quickly. Freddy was dead and there was no point in hoping for help from him. Dr. Hank McCoy had been killed by one of Evan's spikes, and Xavier himself was crushed in a cave-in. Someone remembered Remy mentioning that Rogue's death and the Cajun himself had died in a gas explosion with Alex Summers. Phoenix was long dead, and after a vote of 7 to 8, it was decided that she would get a marker as well. That made the death count nine. Hiva asked if a marker would be placed for Lance, and after a hot argument between the X-Men and Brotherhood, everyone decided to postpone placing a marker for him until they got proof of his death.

They had no flowers, or a coffin for Jean. They didn't even have shovels. Two of the Vulgates offered to dig Jean's grave. It was a sorry burial for one of Earth's heroes, but the best they could offer.

Slim stood to the side through it all, further alienating himself from the others. Every now and then he would sneak back to his telescope and watch Valzinameku come closer and closer. He wanted to tell someone, but who?

He was still thinking about it at breakfast the day after the funeral when K'vas nec Hiva sat next to him and cleared his throat purposefully.

Slim stared at the Vulgate who, for the first time since his arrival, had opted to not sit at the head table with the other leaders.

"What is your title?" Hiva asked with a sidelong glance at Slim.

Slim thought for a moment. Even though the Vulgate's vocabulary was improving, explaining that he had no title would be difficult. "K'vas. Or K'ten. Maybe both depending on how you look at it."

Hiva nodded as if Slim had just confirmed something. "I am to understand that you are the son of one of the dead kings?"

Pietro considered this. Hiva probably thought of the X-Men and Brotherhood as names of kingdoms, which would make Xavier and Magneto kings. Technically, then, Hiva was right, but Pietro wasn't in a rush to have people realize who he was. "I'm Slim." He said simply. "No title, no parents. Nothing."

Hiva just gazed at Pietro calmly. "I see. Slim." Hiva glanced at the head table. "Well then, Slim. Here is what I propose." Hiva's voice lowered, and suddenly he sounded disturbingly fluent in English. "If you will take position as leader of the humans, I will heal your friend. Scott and Todd are incredibly deaf to my suggestions that we look for Valzinameku, but I sense that the monster is very prominent in your thoughts."

Pietro hid his surprise with a curious look. "And how do you suggest I take control?"

Hiva waved as one of his subordinates walked past. "I have heard that K'vas ten nec Storm can summon bolts of fiery light from the sky to destroy her enemies."

Slim smirked. "Meaning you want me to summon lightning and fry Todd, Scott, Storm and Logan?"

"Want? Me?" Hiva sat back with a hurt look on his face. "I want no such thing. However, if it is necessary and somehow comes to pass, I shall not interfere."

Pietro stared at Hiva. A little voice in his head warned him not to laugh. This must be how politics were played underground, but if Hiva was planning things as ridiculous as pitting a crippled Pietro against the four strongest mutants left, he had a lot to learn.

Pietro cleared his throat and glanced at the table of leaders. "Look, K'vas nec Hiva, don't take this the wrong way, but things don't work like that here."

Hiva's answer was a slow blink.

"I'm not strong enough to take on one of them, and if I was, starting a fight with one means starting a fight with them all. It's..." Pietro struggled with an analogy that Hiva could understand. "Suppose all of us are kings representing our kingdom. There were three permanent alliances, the X-Men, the Brotherhood of Mutants, and another alliance made of everyone else. Then a... a spy from an enemy that isn't in any of the alliances came. She set us up, turned us against each other and as some of our allies started to die, the system fell apart. The X-Men and Brotherhood don't really exist anymore, but the kings still remember those days and try hard to pretend they haven't ended." Slim stared at Todd who was arguing with Scott. "Now what's left has formed a new alliance."

"A survivor's alliance." Hiva whispered. He seemed to be getting the point, so Pietro continued.

"Yeah, that's what we are. But in the alliance, you have about six kingdoms that are still incredibly strong. Of them, two are pretty much neutral." Pietro struggled to find an analogy. "Have you ever heard of the Balance of Powers? Its something humans came up with a long time ago. Basically, you have countries, kingdoms, I mean, that ally themselves with each other on a temporary basis. Like, if Scott and Storm allied, they'd be monstrously powerful. So then, Logan and Todd would ally with each other to keep their power in check." Slim sighed. "That's how it is here. Scott and Storm usually agree with each other and Todd and Logan are almost always on the same side." Hiva was now staring intently at the head table with a look of comprehension creeping across his face. Slim continued. "But sometimes, neither side wants to give. That's when the last two come in. Lucifer and Haiden always side together because if they didn't then getting involved wouldn't solve anything." Pietro waited to see if Hiva had any questions.

Hiva tapped the table idly and turned back to Slim. "I see, so when the deadlock occurs, K'vas ten nec Haiden and K'mas vas nec Lucifer enter the fray and swing the war in favor of one side."

"Yes, that's the general idea. But its not a war that's going on here. Not really." Pietro swore softly. "Well, okay. It is a war of ideals but no one will actually attack anyone. We're all allied, remember?"

Determination settled on Hiva's face. "I see. So I have been talking to the wrong people."

"Basically. Don't go to the big four if you want something done. I can pretty much guarantee you that you'll either get approval from all of them, none of them, or only two. Talk to Haiden and Lucifer first. They're both walking ice cubes, so you'll never know how they'll lean, but at least when you do raise the suggestion to Scott and Todd, you won't have to listen to endless arguments."

"Hmm. Thank you, Slim." Hiva stood to leave.

Slim coughed. "And, Hiva, just so you know, if someone did manage to kill one of the big four, they'd find that the remaining mutants would turn against them. Even Todd would fight if Scott's life was on the line. They don't hate each other, they just both want supremacy."

Hiva nodded and smiled. "I think I understand my error. One person can not overthrow all six alone. In a way, this makes things easier." Hiva ran a hand through his hair and laughed. When he finally spoke, it was with the broken English and rough accent that he had had before. "My, what a mistake. I am grateful to you for explaining, Slim."

Pietro smiled as Hiva walked away. "Who would have thought that he'd get the concept of politics so easily?" Pietro lifted an apple to his mouth, but he paused mid-bite as the significance of his statement occurred to him. "Oh, hell, what did I just do?"