Disclaimer: I don't own X-men.
The March to Second Coming
Chapter 12: Escape Plan
They had to remember, actually, they had to just do what they had been told. No thinking, no looking forward to what they would be doing, or what he had planned. First they needed the essentials, things to take for the journey ahead, no loud noises as they got up, no talking to one another. It had to be coordinated, quick and in perfect synch, after all their warden was himself a master of observation, his spatial awareness even surpassing Steve Rogers and he slept with one of the most powerful telepaths on the planet. But they needed this, they needed this escape.
So on Utopia, the X-Students Gentle, Armour, the Stepford Cuckoos, Surge, Prodigy, Elixir, Pixie and Loa gathered with their instructors Iceman and Colossus. Bobby raised his finger to his mouth, making a hush sound to Piotr's embarrassment. In a flash of light they were gone, whilst at the mansion in Westchester, the student body of Rockslide, Shark-girl, Hellion, Icarus, Trance, No-Girl, Ernst, Glob, Mercury and Squid boy gathered in the woods, then another flash of light took them away from the mansion formerly in Charles Xavier's care.
Within seconds both groups emerged from the portal Magik created. As if emerging from a plane, the humid air of their destination hit them, some immediately feeling the need to take off their jackets. The sun shined down on the young X-men as they walked across the Samoan ground. They looked across the field outside a small family house, their eyes drawn to the group of Samoan children. Amongst those children was Chamber, Psylocke, Nightcrawler and Moonstar, no costumes or weapons, just them. Lazlo stepped up from behind the X-men, holding a ball in his hand, towering over him was his friend Rick, whom also went by the name Brute, the armoured hulk whom had aided the Avengers against Deathblade.
Underneath that armour was a tall and muscular Samoan man.
"Welcome to class X-kids, and to game day," Rick said.
"All right kids, we're breaking off into teams, Kurt will be the coach of one team, and Dani the other, after some drills we're going to be playing Soccer," Lazlo said.
"Football," Chamber and Psylocke both corrected him.
"Yeah, that just doesn't work for some of us," Lazlo chuckled.
"Oh yeah, your own American football…which is played mostly with your hands, makes perfect sense," Chamber rolled his eyes as he spoke.
"It's basically rugby but with helmets," Betsy huffed.
The teams began their prep and warm ups, and both coaches broke down the rules.
"No offensive use of powers, Pixie, this is as Ms Braddock says football, so no grabbing the ball and flying over, Mr Kellar, when the ball is kicked for the goal, you can't use your telekinesis to redirect or guide the ball," Kurt explained.
"Have fun, be good sports but mostly have fun, remember we're guests here, but try to have fun too," Danielle said.
"Feels good to have Dani as a teacher again," Josh said to David, who smiled.
"I miss those days, she was good at all of this," he uttered.
"You could be too buddy," Josh clapped his shoulder.
"Thanks again for this Rick," Lazlo said as Rick prepped the local team.
"Hey, when you came to me with this idea I thought, hell yeah, anything to meet even the young X-men, I miss the whole fighting for a world that fears and hates them thing, even that was better than this whole isolation thing they're doing…you know when I joined the Initiative I was honoured to be part of the Avengers, but I never supported the whole separation thing, why should X-men problems only be their problems?" Rick asked.
"Preaching to the choir, good luck to your team okay," Lazlo said before he ran over to Magik, the young woman kept her sword on her shoulder.
"Hey Illyanna, liking the whole buster sword redesign, thanks for agreeing to my plan, even though I know you're more in Cyclops's camp on this," he explained.
"Just remember our agreement," Ilyanna smirked before she walked away.
Rick and his team lined up on the field to face the X-men, the man taking a deep breath as he lifted up his arm.
"Samoa," he began.
"Sauni e Tau, le tau!
"Tau e matua Tau!
"Fai ia Mafai!
"Le Manu!
"SAU IA!" the Samoan teens suddenly yelled behind him.
Then they did it, the Siva Tau dance, each team member moving in perfect synch, intimidating, honouring their heritage and delivering the chant:
Le Manu Samoa e ua malo ona fai o le faiva
Le Manu Samoa e ua malo ona fai o le faiva
Le Manu Samoa lenei ua ou sau
Leai se isi Manu oi le atu laulau
Ua ou sau nei ma le mea atoa
O lou malosi ua atoatoa
Ia e faatafa ma e soso ese
Leaga o lenei manu e uiga ese
Le Manu Samoa
Le Manu Samoa
Le Manu Samoa e o mai I Samoa
Le Manu!
The team finished their delivery and silence hung in the air, the X-children looked at their opponents with bewildered expressions.
"Is it too late to go home?" Trance asked.
Mojo World
Time had been difficult to keep track of in Mojo World, especially in the arena. Occasionally a ridiculous idea of the Mojo producers would come into play and someone would be taken out of the arena.
"Presenting the new romantic comedy, Mr and Mrs X, hot power couple Magneto and Rogue…"
"No, no, no…" Slayer shook his head, faking a vomiting sound.
"Mah god, in what world would I be in a relationship with him?" Rogue asked and Slayer sheepishly chuckled.
The Rogue that was questioning was a native of a world where every mutant had a type of physical mutation. This Rogue's skin was similar to a leeches, and the palms of her hands (when not wearing gloves) had suction cups on them. She was hardly the strangest counterpart, apparently one Multiverse had some variant of Psylocke being every Captain Britain (and that was a lot of different versions) there were gender bent X-men, X-men who were noir detectives and X-men that looked like famous actors.
"Believe it or not I used to be played by Ryan Reynolds," a Deadpool said to the small pocket of X-men sitting with him.
"You don't sound anything like him," Cyclops said.
"Because I had to be recast…well actually it was a whole time travel thing, you see what happened was I went back through time to fix the multiple inconsistencies with my universes timeline, I killed a past version of me that had his lips sown shut and had Baraka blades…"
"I really wish I could sow your mouth shut," Revanche said.
"That didn't erase you?"
"Of course it didn't, why would killing my past self erase me? Anyway, after putting several bullets in the worst part of X-men Origins, I went to Ryan Reynolds house just before he accepted the Green Lantern role, then I put a bullet in his head!"
"Wait…WHAT!"
"Because he did Green Lantern."
"You murdered a guy for a film?"
"It was a gag all right, and I had to save the world from seeing Green Lantern."
"Unpopular opinion but I don't think Green Lantern was that bad!"
"Shut your fucking mouth with that sacrilege…so, it turns out killing Ryan Reynolds wasn't for the best because if he didn't do Green Lantern or Wolverine Origins then it wouldn't have led to him playing yours truly, but Fox still wants to milk me for all the money I'm worth so they still made the film…except now I'm a CG character voiced by…Jonah Hill!"
"Hey you think that's bad?" a Deadpool who did sound like Ryan Reynolds asked. "I'm part of the MCU, they finally introduce the X-men and they don't even include Logan, they just introduce X-23 as 'The Wolverine', I mean I know Marvel is going woke now, but I mean…"
"WHAT THE FUCK MARVEL!" both Deadpools yelled.
Slayer returned to the small barracks that he shared with the group that had dedicated the most time to getting out. Magnus was sparingly gathering the smallest particles of metal in between his fights, Rachel spent a few seconds each day reading information from guards and even Mojo himself, Storm and Cyclops made their fights as messy as possible and missed target purposefully to test the limits of the defences around the arena. Soldier sat between them and Slayer could see the figurative gears turning as the masked man ran through multiple escape scenarios. Revanche stood over him and put her hands to his head. The butterfly aura appeared around his head for a few seconds, then Rachel did the same with her Phoenix aura. Marvel Girl's affect was a simple pink glow.
"What is he doing?" Iceman asked.
"Observing the battles up top, a few seconds for each encounter arena combatants have with Hyperion," Rachel said.
"FIGHT!" Tion yelled.
"Why a few seconds, is it the same principle behind the reason for scanning the guards?" Captain America asked.
"No, because that's how long the fights last, seconds," Slayer said.
He recalled his encounter with the monster known as King Hyperion. His knees and back still ached from the battle, which was why he had taken to wearing his sword at his hip. King Hyperion, the man who killed every last super human on his world and led to the total decimation of life in his universe. The eye of Yoshinto already told Slayer of the futility in fighting a force of nature, charged by cosmic energy Hyperion was as powerful as the Eternals, and with none of the restraint. Yet still he fought, charging his sword with magical energy and launching it at Hyperion. He returned fire with his eye beams, burning up the ground beneath Slayer. The warrior employed invisibility spells, but Hyperion's eyes could see in multiple spectrums. He was able to trap Hyperion at one point with seals, but with a simple flex of his arms, Hyperion broke the cell and threw Slayer back with a shockwave. Charging his sword with energy again he rushed Hyperion, intend on one final stand.
But Hyperion grabbed the blade, and over the course of a few seconds crashed Slayer through the walls of the dark barracks, smashing him into the ceiling and burning him with his atomic vision. When Slayer was returned to them, Layla and Soldier saw to his treatment. She became a physical therapist of sorts to him, helping his body to recover by sparring with him. Through those moments, the terror of Hyperion faded and the courage of a warrior returned. So in his next match, facing versions of Deadpool, Adam X and Kylun, all swordsmen, Slayer emerged the victor. His body was slower now, bones and nerves perhaps permanently damaged by Hyperion's assault. So he relied less on his strength and more on his technique, less on the physical enhancement of his body and more on the projection of the energy he controlled.
"Hyperion is something else, but there's no discipline to his fighting style, this man has never been trained in how to fight so if you took away his powers then you have just a man," Slayer said.
"We don't have dampeners on us, what other way is there?" Spider-man asked.
"Was he vulnerable to magic?" Layla asked.
"Briefly, once he finds something he's weak against then we're done for because he takes things seriously, I mean you all saw him face the Norn didn't you?" Slayer asked.
It was a troubling memory to the arena combatants. People cheered as Hyperion entered, the gold aspects of his suit reflecting the light. He had his hands on his hips and smiled proudly like a super hero from the old serials. His opponents were to be some of the best of the arena, a team called the Contenders.
The leader of the team was a man called Vandal Noble, a counterpart of an immortal from another Multiverse. Though his counterpart was a villain in most variants, he was a super hero and even wore a blue and grey suit that drew from super hero influences. He had enhanced strength and all the benefits that immortality offered. Hyperion ended the fight by ripping him apart, spreading blood across the arena.
Quicksilver was another member and had been popularised by Mojo studios for scenes that conveyed his super speed. Most of the time some kind of music was played in the background, like Sweet dreams and others. He carried out greats feats of rescue, but when he faced Hyperion he was unlucky enough to get his head grabbed by the crazed eternal. The young man broke his hands when he tried to rapidly punch Hyperion off of him; his perception of time was different from any other humans. So he felt his death at an agonising pace as Hyperion crushed his head.
A version of Moonstar came the closest to beating Hyperion. She was the wielder of Mjolnir and wore Amazonian armour that exposed some of her skin; a Valkyrie head dress decorated her hair. Bringing down incredible blows with Mjolnir, she engaged him at close and mid range, hitting with lightning bolts and manipulating the course of her throws with Mjolnir. For a while the crowd thought that Moonstar would defeat Hyperion, until he cut off her hand with his eye beams. Since then, Mjolnir had been imbedded in the arena, no one seemed worthy enough to take it away.
The Norn was the final member to pose the greatest threat to Hyperion. A man with silver equipment that had an Egyptian influence, he employed magical blasts first. These blast amused Hyperion and the audience, until Norn summoned something with his magic. Tentacles emerged from the portals he created, grabbing Hyperion. That was the moment people saw Hyperion weakened for the first time, his skin went white and his cheeks sagged. But then, the rage took over and he ripped the creature apart. Norn was obliterated when Hyperion flew into him like a bullet.
Despite this though there was still a hope.
"Rogue, Earth 444," Soldier said.
His plan would finally be revealed, and those he fought in the arena were apparently vital to it. On Earth 444, the X-men never attained celebrity status and worked in the shadows of society, protecting people, even assassinating those whom threatened mutant and human relations. The wife of that world's Cyclops, Rogue wore the typical X-men uniform, a black and grey suit with a hood and mouth mask. When she fought Soldier, she employed military training in her close combat skills. But it was in other battles that she employed a control of her siphoning abilities most of her counterparts didn't have, not experiencing any kind of physical pain or backlash when she touched and absorbed their powers.
"Synch, Earth 2021," was Soldier's next candidate.
The reborn native of a world where the X-men had turned Krakoa into the mutant nation, this Synch later joined the X-men for real. He had the experience of his Generation X days, had proven himself a hero capable of self sacrifice, and was capable of mimicking abilities, often wielding them with greater skill than the original owners of the powers.
"Darwin, Earth 250511!"
Unlike most Darwin's, this young man didn't have a physical mutation. A man of colour growing up in the nineteen fifties, he didn't even have an extensive history with the X-men. It was 1962, during his job as a cab worker that he was approached by Xavier and Magneto. Brought into the first group of mutants found by the two friends, Darwin would oppose the plans of Sebastian Shaw and his pro-war mutants. When Havok attempted to blast Shaw, the man contained the energy and pushed it down Darwin's mouth. What the young X-men didn't know however was that Darwin wasn't disintegrated by the blast. His ability to adapt and survive made him a man whom was perhaps unkillable, and he had been a frustration to opponents in the arena.
"Nightcrawler, Earth 83," Soldier followed with another unlikely candidate.
Every person on his Earth was some type of fairy tale or fantasy based character. As befitting a Kurt Wagner, Earth 83's version was a jolly pirate sailing the seas of the Stark Empire, basing himself in the pirate republic of Genosha, occasionally working with infamous Captain Claw in his crusade against Jubi Lee, the girl who never grew up. Within Mojo arena, he had proven to be an honourable opponent, it was during his sword fight with Soldier that he sat down with the masked man and remarked his story, that one day he would find the man who killed his mother and say 'hello, my name is Kurt Wagner, you killed my mother, prepare to die!'
"Douglock, Earth 409."
A merged Doug and Warlock, nuff said was what some said of his background. But his history was extremely complicated, Doug's personality and intelligence was present more than Warlock's. Though he married Wolfsbane on his world, he still became one of the more obscure X-men with what some considered a useless power.
"Network, Earth 161," another member, another obscurity to some of them.
A student of the Xavier institute, she was one of the students whom got to keep her powers after M-Day. In fact a great many of the students who kept their powers on 616 lost their abilities. Network would join DJ, X-23, Rubbermaid, Specter, Tag and Preview in becoming the New X-men after the Decimation. In the arena Network was given weapons and tech to work with, as her primary power was controlling technology, which had been restricted by Mojo's dampeners.
"Tag, also of Earth 161," yet another obscure X-man, with an ability Soldier decided was vital to their escape plan.
"Throughout their battles, they've been given melee weapons and forced to fight in power dampened areas, but if we use them appropriately then we'll have all we need to take down Mojo and Hyperion, and hopefully keep the Dark champions away from any peaceful Earths," Soldier explained.
"We're with you, so what's the plan?" Slayer asked.
Earth
Each of the young mutants had an ice cold drink, courtesy of Rick and his mother. The mother of four was courteous to the mutants, and Quentin couldn't detect an Anti-mutant thought in her head. She was amazed by some of the X-students, genuinely amazed by them and in awe of them. But it was the same awe she had whenever she looked at any child.
'You're all so precious,' was her generally thought.
Quentin sat away from some of the other students, whom sat around Lazlo as if the field was their classroom now.
"You've been dead too?" Wallflower asked.
"Here, I got an energy blast through my chest," Lazlo said, touching the area of his wound. "What I remember most is waking up in a coffin, digging my way out, I'd been resurrected by my brother," he explained.
"Your brother was a mutant?" Prodigy assumed and Lazlo nodded.
"He said he was giving me a gift for the future, an ability to accumulate power," Lazlo said.
"That's what your abilities are, you absorb energy," Surge said.
"No, power accumulation, we all absorb light, Vitamin D, Ultra violet rays. Dazzler's power involved sound and light, I was simply using the body's natural process to draw power into my body," Lazlo explained.
"What about that trick you pulled when the Squadron attacked San Francisco, you gave all the X-men your power," Elixir said.
"I did, and that's where my story continues, my brother gave me the ability to accumulate power because my body was brittle after being resurrected, it was his twisted way of protecting me. But then I was kidnapped by an alien warlord, infected with power from the spirit realm, the armour of a spirit knight and a second gift that made my previous benign gift practical," Lazlo explained.
"The ability to release the power you store," Hellion said.
"Unleash, and pass on, that is my main power, to give stored energy to another," Lazlo said.
"What about you Brute what's your power?" Rockslide asked.
"Standard super strength," Glob said.
"I'm not a mutant, my strength comes from my heart, but my spirit realm armour just amplifies that to the extreme, you know in anime when the main character gets a severe power boost because of anger or 'the power of friendship?'"
"Don't forget love," Anole added.
"That's pretty much what I have, but there is a limit, there is always a limit, if Lazlo didn't get his second gift his body would have been destroyed from storing too much power. Anyway what are you guys doing calling me Brute, I'm Rick, your parents didn't call you Rockslide man did they?" Rick asked.
"Well no, but we're X-men and we're mutants," Rockslide said.
Lazlo stroked his chin and chuckled.
"Everyone go around, say your names, your real names, the ones your parents gave you," he requested.
So they went each spoke and gave a name, Julian, Cessily, Santo, then Josh, Jay, David, Sophia, Laurie, Ben, Megan, Hope, Alani, Paras, Victor, Hisako, Ruth and Roxanne.
"Quinton," the telepath spoke for the first time that day.
"You guys are undoubtedly the future, regardless of you being mutants or not…mutants," Lazlo huffed. "Most of you are probably going to think that it's easy for me to think this, I mean come on, white, blonde hair and blue eyes here," he laughed whilst Rick rolled his eyes.
But then he rested the palm of his left hand on his fist and leant forward on the rock he sat on.
"We've pretty much earned the right to have our history of abusing, labelling and segregating minorities shoved in our faces every time we get into some kind of debate, or we try to accuse someone else of being racist, my grandparents were British immigrants, that still makes me whiter than most people in America. Maybe being of a nation isn't something to be proud of anymore, maybe you guys could make your own nation one day, make your own rules," Lazlo explained.
"Now that sounds like heaven," Julian said and a few of the students laughed.
"Or maybe you could take the mistakes of the last generation and learn from them, you could wear your difference proudly, wear your label like a badge of honour. Then again maybe the labels are the problem, we keep coming up with news way to label something. Ideally we should all just see each other as human, ideally I want you guys to remember the places you were born, flaws and all, to remember that before that moment when your powers awakened, you were human, that you still are human.
"You are all human, and you are all mutants, there's the ideal of the world and there's the truth of the world. I look at you guys and the first thing I think is mutant, just like the first thing you think when you look at Rick and me is 'flatscan' or just human…"
"You're quoting Black or White," David said.
"The Michael Jackson song?" Josh asked, earning a slap from Jay.
"What part of what he said sounds like the song?"
"The film, Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer, good film," David muttered.
"How does the quote go David?" Lazlo asked.
"It isn't the first thought that makes you a racist, it's the second, the third and the fourth," David said.
"Like you said, good film, now I want you guys to think," Lazlo said and the students groaned. "No test, no essays I promise, think about your heritage, your family if you know it, an experience you may have had where you've faced the hatred of the world, I know all those bad experiences with the Purifiers, but you need to think of something different for this occasion, no super hero things, no life wars or X-men stuff, just you as people and when you've faced that ignorance, that hatred. And then, in your own words, they can be as eloquent as you want, you guys tell me why I ultimately don't know a damn thing about it…because I'm still just a straight white man," Lazlo explained.
"Now you're doing that thing from A time to Kill that McConacay…"
"You still can't say his name right," Lazlo laughed, punching Rick's arm.
"It's weird how you can be your student's best friend and worst enemy at the same time, being with the X-men has really helped you huh?" Rick asked.
"It has, I'm glad I started working at the school and I'm glad I've been allowed into Utopia, even if it is just to honour Sieg," Lazlo said.
"Hey Professor Collins," Kurt called out to Lazlo, walking to him with Danielle and Betsy.
"Thank you for organising this, the kids were going stir crazy and it's good for them to be normal for a bit. I don't know if I would have set them such a heavy assignment though," Danielle explained.
"I know, and it isn't really an assignment, I just wanted them to have a think about things, think about what their individuality means to them, what identity means to them. And then I'm going to teach them, that sometimes you never figure it out, that that fight you have with yourself to determine who you are is an eternal one," Lazlo explained.
"Very poetic," Kurt muttered.
"These kids don't have to know who they want to be, I'm nearly forty and I still don't know what I want the rest of my life to be," Lazlo said.
"Still got a new girl every month?" Rick asked, playfully punching Lazlo's shoulder.
"Believe it or not that part of my life is over."
"Lazlo Collins settling down, it cannot be!"
"I wouldn't say settle down, it's complicated," Lazlo shrugged.
"Oh how cute, Lazlo still hasn't figured out that everyone knows about him and Emma," Psylocke relayed to Kurt.
'I don't think they've actually figured themselves out yet either,' Kurt thought, knowing Betsy would hear him.
"Aren't you and Collins…" Jono's projected voice drifted slightly as he spoke with Illyanna.
"Oh you think he and I…no, the agreement we had was for us to have a sword fight," she said, brandishing her soul sword.
The moment seemed ruined when a portal opened behind the group. Manifold stood holding his staff, dressed in a yellow and black coat. He created the portal, but the people walking through seemed less than happy. Cyclops was standing with his visor on and a leather jacket over his regular clothes, Jean had opted for her costume.
"Wow, back to old school look, love the classics Marvel Girl," Rick said, in reference to the green dress and gold mask that Jean wore.
Emma was also with them, her arms crossed over her chest and looking at Lazlo with disapproval.
"You didn't clear this with us," Cyclops was the first to speak.
"You wouldn't have approved if I did," Lazlo countered.
"They're our responsibility, when we accepted your application to the school we did so because you had stellar references as a guidance councillor but there are still safety rules you have to follow," Jean explained, remaining the calmer of the two mutants.
"We could always cut your contract," Scott said.
"Wait, contract, is he actually getting paid to work at the mansion?" Kitty asked.
"I'm the art teacher and I've never seen a pay cheque," Piotr said.
"You all live at the mansion, room and board is your payment," Emma retorted.
(X-men TAS Opening OST)
"Every mutant child we have is important," Scott said.
"Every child matters, the sooner you stop making the distinction between mutant and human then the sooner I can get on board with some of your ludicrous rules," Lazlo explained.
"Your entire lecture to them earlier was about accepting differences," Scott retorted.
"Yes but if you can accept the fact that we are all human, that we all suffered the past few years because of the registration acts, Hammer, the invasion and…"
"Your friend Cade Hunter's campaign," Scott huffed and Lazlo frowned.
"You want to talk about campaigns Summers, we've made head way on the Hellfire Club, we've shut down Purifiers, U-men…"
"Bastion is still out there, until he is…"
Scott and Lazlo suddenly swung around, looking at Rick.
"RICK PICK UP YOUR PHONE!" both men shouted.
The music stopped playing as soon as Rick pushed the pick up on his phone.
"Sorry, hey mama, yeah we're still on for barbecue, I think," Rick muttered.
"Whatever you think the X-men are, that doesn't exist anymore," Scott said.
"You're turning these kids into soldiers, you're encouraging them to be the very thing people hate and fear," Lazlo said.
"I'm teaching these kids survival; the X-men have always been child soldiers."
"SO WERE WE!" Lazlo yelled.
He had yelled with utter fury, shocking the X-men, his fists were tight and he looked ready to punch Cyclops. But then he seemed to calm down, stepping back and shaking his head.
"Rick and I were both taken, both brainwashed, both forced to fight for the ego of a brilliant scientist. Except when our fellow soldiers died, the deaths stuck, we did terrible things. I tried to kill my best friend, I paralysed his wife, and every night when I sleep I can still see that moment. Then I heard about the X-men, kids, mutant kids fighting for a world that hates and fears them," Lazlo explained.
"Classic," Rick muttered.
"Here was a group of kids like us, fighting for something that was decent, that was right!"
"Scott, we should probably cut this short," Jean relayed to her husband.
"It's just a dream Lazlo, that's all it ever was," Scott retorted.
"It was a dream that saved us, it saved Sieg too," Lazlo said.
Scott couldn't say anything after that, he just looked at the students whom had been watching the exchange. They all had a type of conflict in their eyes, remembering Sieg.
"Okay then," Rick sighed.
He drew their attention, despite the heavy air the man smiled.
"Who's up for barbecue?"
Scott was about to speak again, when he felt Jean in his mind.
"Love, can't we just once pretend we're still fighting for that dream?" she asked.
"You can all have a meal, then you come back to the mansion, and we run combat drills," Cyclops said.
"Scott, we're all pretty hungry, you're not serving pork right?" Kitty asked.
"You can all join them if Rick's mother doesn't mind," Scott said.
Scott and Jean walked back through the portal, but the X-men leader was shocked to see the majority of the people he had bought with him stay.
There was no ambush, no great crisis for the X-men to solve. They sat in the Samoan family home and ate, spoke and were merry. The children helped to clean up and continued their games. Lazlo looked to the sun and took a deep breath, soaking in the humid air.
"Thank goodness I didn't wear my costume," Emma said, walking up behind Lazlo.
"The cloak would have been out of place, but if anything it would have helped with the climate," Lazlo said and Emma punched his shoulder.
"What you said earlier about Sieg, he isn't dead, you and Sven both need to stop acting as if he is," she said.
"Sven feels guilty because he was his son, in every way that mattered, and me…"
"You have always felt guilty, about serving a mad man who was stopped in the end, about hurting a woman who recovered from the paralysis, you didn't kill Sven's wife Lazlo, and there was nothing you or Sven could have done to keep Sieg from being what you both taught him to be, a hero, for all," Emma explained.
"Well that's very poetic of you," Lazlo scoffed. "What next, will you mmmff!" as he turned, Emma silenced him with a kiss.
She gripped the collar of his shirt, pressing her lips firmly against his. Lazlo caressed her cheek before pulling her away by her shoulder.
"What is this Emma, am I a rebound from Scott?" he asked.
"I could ask the same thing of you, I heard you were quite the womaniser once," she retorted.
"You and Tony Stark, Namor…" he stopped talking half way.
"It's okay," Emma whispered, pressing against his chest. "You can say…SHAW!"
Lazlo turned and Emma changed into her diamond form, just as a portal appeared. The electricity it generated drew the attention of the X-students and Rick, whose muscles expanded whilst bulky plates of brown armour covered his body. It was Sebastian Shaw who emerged from the portal, his nose bleeding, with an eye gouged out, but he wasn't dressed in the attire often associated with the Hellfire Club.
Instead he was wearing the yellow and blue colours of the X-men.
"Finally, I finally found you, please if you are with the X-men, I need your help," he said.
Next Chapter 13: Breakout
I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, the explanation of Lazlo's abilities, his origin and the Scott confrontation.