X-Men: Fate

Sealed Fate

Reva found herself alone in darkness, but she saw The Phantom Phoenix standing across from her ablaze.

Adrian found himself alone in light, but he saw The Phantom Phoenix sitting across from him ablaze.

RJ punched The Phantom Phoenix as soon as he saw it before it got its bearings.

"You're not a fast learner," RJ said and laughed, "are you?"

The Phantom Phoenix staggered and fell to the floor of Reth's mind.

"I might not be a true psionic," RJ told it, "but I'm close enough. The new X-Men are going to stop you." He laughed. "You're going to get beat by a bunch of newbies. I hope that really pisses you off."

"RJ," The Phantom Phoenix said calmly. The Phoenix appreciated how calm Leon was and receptive to it. It loved his ability, and it believed his strategic way of thinking would grow on it: more importantly help it accomplish its goals. "Don't you want to be your own person?"

"If I'm in my own mind," Reva half shouted, struggling against rope that had her bound, "why can't I move! I can't wait to get rid of you!" She had been talking to herself, but then she decided to aim her anger at The Phantom Phoenix.

"Reva," The Phantom Phoenix said calmly. Leon knew how people worked: how minds worked. Most people were broken, and if you found their cracks you could find a way to change their thinking. He didn't want to say he manipulated people. This wasn't about manipulation. This was about changing people's mindsets. He would do that with these three: not only to protect them from the Phoenix but to draw them to the side of the Brotherhood. He wanted to respect his teammate's, Aimi's, wishes, but he also thought it best and what the Brotherhood was all about. "Aren't you only going to get Reth and Adrian killed?"

"You're our age," Adrian said. He sat with his legs confined to a chair and his hands and arms cuffed behind him and the back of the chair. "You're with the Brotherhood. I was invited to join them at one time. Magneto never would've gone for killing all of the X-Men. You have to overcome the Phoenix."

"Adrian," The Phantom Phoenix said calmly. This mutant was the first to direct his words toward Leon. This irked the Phoenix. This left Leon uncertain about his plan. "Isn't it better you be alone?"

We should just kill them. The Phoenix addressed Leon.

These three aren't X-Men yet. Leon addressed the Phoenix. They shouldn't count. I think that's reasonable.

Very well. The Phoenix replied. If they claim to be X-Men, they die.

!

Reth stood from bended knee to face off against The Phantom Phoenix. He turned to see that Adrian and Reva had been laid on the ground, but Jean was gone. He hoped they would survive this. He hoped Jean hadn't been taken, and by the looks on the faces of The Phantom Phoenix, Nova, and Obsidian, they looked like they had recently been surprised by something. RJ was preoccupied by The Phantom Phoenix in his head, so he assumed the same could be said for Adrian and Reth. Seemed as though The Phantom Phoenix planned to have their inner demons consume them. Reth would have to stall…fight to make sure The Phantom Phoenix, Nova, and Obsidian didn't put an end to the new X-Men before they even got a chance to get started or be the new X-Men team.

"Jean's gone," Reth said. "You don't have to do this. You all can leave without causing any more trouble or damage."

"Now why would we do that," Nova said to him. They wouldn't leave until they heard back from Rogue. There was no way she would leave without her.

"Maybe it would be best if we did," Obsidian said. "If the X-Men get the upper hand, they'll probably apprehend us."

"They won't get the upper hand," Phantom Phoenix said. "The X-Men have been a menace for me far too long. Nova, Obsidian, he's alone, those two who he considers his friends will hinder him. Destroy them. Capture them. I don't care. I will kill Reth and turn the X-Men to nothing but a memory."

"I won't hurt them," Obsidian said. "They're fellow mutants, but maybe if we bring them on our side… We might be able to persuade them to join us."

"I don't think there's a chance that'll happen," Nova said, "but we can give it a shot."

Reth's mind was split between the conversation happening that allowed him to stall for time, and the conversation RJ was having with The Phantom Phoenix in his head. Reth preferred to lay low, discuss, support, and defend, but he thought about what Reva and Adrian would do to keep him safe and out of the hands of their opponents. Time to act.

Reth took a deep breath. Nova was at Reva in the blink of an eye, but with his eyes on her Reth kept her from picking Reva up and moving her. He manipulated Nova's aura and next Obsidian's as she ran toward him. He stopped her from advancing. Then, he stopped the flames The Phantom Phoenix sent his way. Finally, he brought together their three auras and threw them across the mansion grounds at its gates. Reth exhaled.

!

"I'm not my own person," RJ told The Phantom Phoenix. He grabbed hold of them, and he began to freeze their body. "I'm Reth. When Reth remembers that, allows himself to be himself, we'll be in sync. Until then, I gotta keep the riff raft from getting out of control."

Once frozen, RJ broke The Phantom Phoenix apart. They disappeared.

"I'd never let that happen," Reva shouted. She pulled an arm free. "They're a part of my team whether we're X-Men or not!" She pulled herself free, and she sent several solar energy-shaped sparrows toward The Phantom Phoenix, causing them to explode in the process. She quickly got up and tackled it after she emerged through the explosions. "So no, we're going to beat you and live!"

Reva hit The Phantom Phoenix with an explosive punch. It disappeared.

"I thought so," Adrian said, closing his eyes. "Thought I had to punish myself. I don't need Kurt, Emma, Forge, Reva, or Reth. I realized that. Just like I realized I didn't need my father. The difference between the two?" He opened his eyes, and he glared at The Phantom Phoenix. "I want them around. I'm better with them."

His gaze left The Phantom Phoenix unnerved.

"Get out of my head," Adrian told it.

Adrian had a shadow sword construct materialize in The Phantom Phoenix's chest. It disappeared.

!

Nova returned with a vengeance and sent Reth flying with a single, unexpected punch.

Reth found himself surprised when a giant sparrow, Reva's sparrow, snatched Nova from the ground and carried her off.

A column of fire surrounded Reth. Before it engulfed him, he managed to keep it at bay. The Phantom Phoenix let him watch as Obsidian threw Reva and Adrian on her shoulders. Reth couldn't break from the column, and he couldn't use his ability stop Obsidian or draw Reva and Adrian to him. Nova reappeared at Obsidian's side and the two of them moved together. He was trapped, and the flames began to move in on him.

The Phantom Phoenix came down upon him within the column.

"Reth," The Phantom Phoenix said calmly. "Won't becoming a member of the X-Men just make your life worst? Won't you just lead Adrian and Reva to their deaths? Won't your poor decisions just cause others to suffer? It happened before. It's happening again."

Reth stopped the flames about to come down on him.

"No Phoenix," Reth said. "No Leon. You won't use the memory of my best friend against me. I'm not part of the X-Men. We're X-Men. And as a team, we're going to stop you, The Brotherhood, and do some real good in this world: for humans and mutants alike."

Reth and The Phantom Phoenix heard an explosion and a scream.

"I concur," Reva shouted.

"Here here," Adrian exclaimed.

Reth heard the the two of them laugh together.

Reth pushed back on the flames and extinguished them. A second later, Reth unleashed an aura burst: paralyzing The Phantom Phoenix.

Kurt and Kitty teleported before Reth.

"What is going on here?" Kurt looking around and taking in the scene.

"Rogue and her Brotherhood brought trouble," Kitty answered him, "but it was nothing the X-Men couldn't handle."

Reth smiled and nodded to them. He quickly turned to find Reva and Adrian. They had to find Jean too.

Reva had caused the explosion to distract Nova and Obsidian. Then, she surrounded Obsidian with her solar energy-shaped sparrows to prevent Obsidian from making any moves against them.

Adrian had caused Nova to scream when he sent two shadow sword constructs through her legs to keep her from using her speed against them, pinning her to the ground where she kneeled and groaned in pain.

Jean returned with Rogue.

"I'm taking these three with me," Rogue told Jean. She drew everyone's attention.

"I understand," Jean said. She was joined by Kitty and Kurt.

"I'm sorry," Rogue said to both Kitty and Kurt. They nodded in response. They both had questions, but they both knew they wouldn't get any answers right now.

"Keep me updated," Jean said.

"I will," Rogue said. She was joined by Azazel, Psylocke, Quicksilver, and Havok. They grabbed Lupita, Leon, and Aimi.

"What about the Phoenix?" Aimi asked Leon.

"It's…" Leon struggled to say. "Catatonic."

Ororo came down from the sky.

"We're leaving," Rogue told Ororo and instructed her fellow Brotherhood members.

The Brotherhood disappeared with the acolytes, except Rogue.

"We are going to come for you," Ororo said to Rogue. "You have your reasons for all this, and we expect you to explain yourself. I expect you to give us the truth. As a part of the X-Men family, you owe us the truth."

"None of this is simple," Rogue said to her, "but Ororo know that you were always right. We all had to rebuild because everything did happen for a reason."

Rogue left them.

"You guys made it," Reth said, joining Adrian and Reva. He couldn't help hug the both of them.

"You care about us too much," Reva said, laughing out loud. "Of course we made it." She hugged him back.

"Mission accomplished?" Adrian asked Reth, grabbing a hold of him and bursting into laugh.

"Yeah," Reth said. "I'd call this mission a success."

"We would too," Logan said. He, Remy, Emma, Danielle, and Forge joined them.

Ororo, allowing Jean to lean on and hold onto her, stood with Kitty and Kurt.

"What you three did was dangerous," Ororo said, "but you have returned Jean to us, managed to restrain The Phoenix Force, and assisted in protecting the school from the Brotherhood. There is much we must discuss. There will be consequences for your actions. However…"

"Tonight," Remy said. "Despite certain circumstances, we celebrate!"

Reth, Reva, and Adrian stood together. They watched all the veteran X-Men crowd around, embrace, and love on Jean.

Ororo and Emma looked after the group before they went to attend the students in the school. They had to address the situation and preempt any media that might draw attention to this incident.

Reth, between Reva and Adrian with his arms around their shoulders, kissed Reva on the cheek and then gripped Adrian's head to pull him into a kiss.

Reth didn't dwell on the kisses. He didn't wait to see the responses on their faces. He didn't need to. He returned his attention to the X-Men while grinning.

Adrian had kissed Reth back. Now, he was kind of in a state of disbelief, trying to hide the fact he was blushing a bit, sharing a look with Reva, and then focusing on the old guard.

"All right gentlemen," Reva said, looking over the two. She chuckled. She looked to everyone. She continued speaking with Adrian and Reth. "Congratulations are in order. While our plan didn't go off without a hitch, tonight it's cemented. We're X-Men."