Disclaimer: i dont own the X-men or Slayer
The truth is finally revealed and it becomes the opening of one epic battle
The Cry of the Phoenix
Chapter 7: The Truth revealed
Sieg summoned his sword and slashed at Quentin. With the mans reduced power, Sieg managed to pierce through the aura of flame that Quire had created. He slashed Quentin's shoulder and kicked him across the head. But the green Phoenix thrust his hand forward, batting Sieg away with a wing. Slayer drew his sword and ran at Quentin with Beast, Colossus and Wolverine by his side. Emma put her hands to her head, along with the Cuckoos and James. The psychics lashed out at Quentin telepathically. But their telepathic assaults did nothing to faze Quentin as he swatted his attackers away. Rockslide launched his hands at Quentin, who burnt them to ashes.
"Dumbass!" Anole sighed.
"Homo!" Rockslide snapped back.
"Shut up you two!" Tattoo said as he and Greymalkin ran at Quinton.
"Fools, you cant stop me!" Quentin said calmly as he blasted both Young X-men.
"WE CAN DAMN WELL TRY!!" Sieg yelled as his sword changed into its crystallised form.
The young hero landed in between Quentin and the Cuckoos, holding his sword out in front of him.
"Sieg, that's enough leave it to us" Soldier said as Emma changed into her diamond form and Sunspot into his solar state.
"You know darling guns aren't going to do much against him, its too bad Scott's beams are out of the question"
"I'm not going to let you…HURT THEM!!!" Sieg yelled as he stabbed his sword into the ground.
The hilt of Sieg's blade glowed an intense red colour and Quentin widened his eyes in shock as for a split second the image of a red armoured warrior appeared over Sieg.
"Think very carefully on what you do next Siegfried" Quentin said, motioning to the downed X-men and Slayer behind him.
Sieg widened his eyes and the glow on his sword ceased. The hint of a smile went across Quentin's face before he thrust his hand forward. Out of the phoenix aura stretched a fiery hand, which sped past Sieg's face. Realising that it was heading towards the cuckoos, in a flash Sieg appeared in front of the girls. The hand phased through Sieg's chest and straight into the hearts of the three girls.
"GIRLS!!!" Emma yelled at her cloned daughters as they and Sieg yelled in agony.
Soldier drew his guns and began firing at Quentin. Though they hit his body, the immortal powers of the phoenix merely bought him back to life each time. Sieg grinded his teeth together as he looked behind him, and saw that of all things the three girls were crying.
"What are you waiting for? Save them!" He heard in his mind.
Sieg looked to his sword and could have sworn that an armoured man was giving him the thumbs up. He glared at Quentin and yet out a magnificent yell. His hair spiked out in all directions and blue armoured plates began covering his chest as his muscles expanded. Sparks flew as Sieg's pupils disappeared and his eyes went completely red. Veins throbbed on his forehead and arms, his feet floated inches from the floor, which crumbled as energy sparked off his boots. The fiery hands that were inside the Cuckoos hearts began to slowly travel out, each of them holding a tiny flame.
"No, we need more!" Quentin said.
"I DON'T THINK SO!!!" Sieg yelled.
The hand flew out of Sieg's chest, but Sieg wasn't done yet. He snatched the flame that the hand had taken from the sister's chests.
"You went inside these girls bodies, you tried to use them to experience what only humans are meant to experience…you keep coming back…I know you're the phoenix but that sounds annoying" Sieg said.
"Exactly the point I've been getting across" Emma said with a smirk.
Quentin actually began to step back as the bulky Sieg walked towards him, clenching a fist around the phoenix fragment.
"Now beat it!" Sieg growled.
"Go on, stick around…please!" Wolverine said with a smile as he and the other X-men got back up.
"I have a duty to fulfil!" Quentin said.
"Then fulfil your duty!"
The X-men turned around to see not only Jean, but also her other fragments floating before them. Quentin floated backwards at the sight of the three Jean Greys.
"Fulfil your duty and do as the White Phoenix of the crown tells you, return to the egg and await the eventual return of the corps to the white hot room" the three Jean's said together.
Quentin nodded his head before he disappeared in a flash or orange. The other X-men sighed in relief, the three Jean's each fell into the arms of Roberto, Bobby and Warren. Sieg's body returned to normal as he fell onto his knees.
"Damn, nice job kid" Logan said, clicking the cricks out of his neck.
"Yeah great work…what exactly did he do apart from look totally badass?" Rockslide asked.
"He woke the rage and love fragments up long enough for them to drive Quinton away, he also did a little something for the Cuckoos" Jack said with a smile.
"Oh my god!" Emma gasped.
Both Mindee and Celeste were crying with joy. They felt hundreds of emotions pour throughout their individual minds, and the two sisters chose to cry knowing that they had what they sacrificed back. Sieg smiled while Emma hugged the two girls.
"Hey wait a minute, where's Phoebe?" Anole asked.
"I'm right here!" Phoebe said, standing over Sieg. "And I'm going to show our hero my appreciation" the girl smiled.
"Oh there's no thanks necessary, right now we need to work on reummmfff…" Sieg was caught back in surprise as Phoebe gripped his hair and pressed her mouth passionately against his.
Sieg was too shocked to even react; he just sat on the ground with his eyes wide open. His skin took on a fierce red colour as Phoebe's mouth separated from his.
"Gratitude, I'd stick to the simple thank you" Mindee said.
"Oh please, I could top that!" Celeste said.
The young X-men widened their eyes in disbelief as Celeste kneeled down and dived her tongue down Sieg's throat. Cyclops shook his head while Emma and Slayer grinned.
"Despite your taste I'm quite proud of you girls" Emma giggled.
"Yeah, who knew you'd reduce a being as powerful as the phoenix to…well how would you describe that James?" Slayer asked the man beside him.
"Lets see…a simple term would be shocked but for a Naïve boy like Siegfried I'd class it as red as a tomato on the verge of exploding" James said with a grin.
Celeste drew her tongue out of Sieg's mouth, and smiled sweetly as Sieg fell to the floor.
"You know now that I think about it, he's actually kind of cute" Mindee said to which the other X-men plus Slayer and James burst into laughter.
Burn to ashes, that was the fate of any that stood in the Phoenix's way. The Black Phoenix faced the entire Shiar fleet alone. With simple waves of his hand he crushed the greatest ships in the fleet, while his flames melted others. Vulcan, the emperor of the Shiar watched from his flagship in utter shock at the Phoenix's power. The third Summers brother was arrogant enough to think that something as simple as a fleet of ships could destroy the Phoenix.
"Gabriel Summers!" The Black Phoenix called as he flew past the wreckage of Shiar ships.
Vulcan narrowed his eyes in anger as the masked phoenix approached the bridge of his ship. Despite the pilot's best efforts, the ship wouldn't move.
"You are so full of hatred, you're a very pitiful man!" The Black Phoenix said as he phased into the ship.
"GO TO HELL!!" Vulcan yelled, unleashing an energy blast on the masked man.
As soon as the blast struck the Phoenix, everything disappeared and went white. Vulcan soon found himself on the surface of a lush and green field. He looked around, seeing no trace of the Shiar. Instead he saw Polaris, Havok and the rest of the Starjammers, all confused until they laid eyes on the emperor. Vulcan powered up, ready to kill his brother once and for all. But he stopped when he saw the fearful look on the heroes' faces. He slowly turned around and gasped.
"Even now with your army destroyed, your empire ripe for Lilandra's picking and your wife dead with the ships, you choose to hate, how pathetic!" The Black Phoenix said, looking down at Gabriel as if he was a child.
"What did you say?" Vulcan asked in a furious rage.
"Beyond omega, yet not beyond pettiness"
"You don't know what I've been through, you've no right to judge"
"I know what you have been through, and frankly I don't see what justifies your actions…Naïve true but that doesn't mean I'm not right. You have been overcome by hate, but in order for you to spend the remaining days of your life in happiness, I will erase that hate!"
"No stay away!" Vulcan growled.
Alex and the other Starjammers watched in shock as the Black phoenix engulfed Vulcan in his flames. The third Summers brother yelled in agony as the fires burnt his skin and consumed his form. As the Phoenix turned his attention to the Starjammers his wings disappeared, revealing a brown haired boy, no older than fourteen, wearing a white shirt.
"Give him a new start, love him as he deserves to be loved, be his brother Alex Summers!" The Black Phoenix said firmly.
Havok couldn't help but nod in the presence of this all-powerful force. The Black Phoenix nodded as he began floating up into the air.
"You are currently in Manhattan, go to San Francisco and rejoin the X-men" The Phoenix ordered as it floated upwards into the air.
Havok didn't know what this Phoenix wanted, but he knew it wouldn't end well for humanity if it were allowed to fulfil its plans. But right now Alex's eyes turned to the confused boy that had replaced Vulcan.
"Alex, what are you doing?" Lorna asked.
"Giving him a new start" Alex said over his shoulder before he continued walking towards Gabriel.
Gabriel nervously stepped back as Alex knelt down beside him.
"Gabriel do you remember anything?" Alex asked the boy.
"I remember a cruel man, and a bird…who are you?" The boy asked innocently.
"I'm Alex, your brother Gabriel, let me tell you about our father and our brother…and the rest of our family" Alex said, motioning to the Starjammers behind him.
Gabriel blinked at the unique people behind his brother, he thought Polaris looked normal enough, in fact he thought she was an angel, but he found Ch'od's lizard appearance quite scary as well as the cyborg Raza.
"My family…is kinda weird" Gabriel said sheepishly.
At first Alex looked at the boy in shock, before he burst in laughter and hugged the boy.
"I think that's the greatest term for describing our family" Alex chuckled as he squeezed his baby brother tight.
Gabriel, at first shocked by Alex's gesture but returned it as he hugged his brother.
"What happened, I remember being in prison and then I saw this white light" Ch'od said.
"The Phoenix must have teleported us off the planet and onto Earth, I think this black phoenix wants us to spend out last moments on the earth, of course we're not going to do that, we'll go join up with the X-men and see what they have planned" Polaris explained and the rest of the Starjammers nodded their heads.
It was another long training session and Sieg once again fell to his knees. He huffed and puffed as sweat ran down the side of his head. Celeste watched the boy from the training rooms control area. She deactivated the simulator and headed down to the training level.
"You know you could try resting" Celeste suggested.
"I don't think so" Sieg said as he got up off the floor, wiping the sweat off his face.
"Don't get me wrong I think it's amazing, but why exactly are you so determined?" Celeste asked.
Sieg paused for a moment before making his sword disappear.
"I knew a guy, not many people knew him but I'd say he was one of the best men there were, his example taught me to never give up even when things were hopeless, he taught me that even when you get knocked down, if you can then get back up and try again…and above all else never run away from the right thing" Sieg explained, looking at Celeste with strong and determined eyes.
"Ah yes your hero, I'm probably the last person who should be saying this but I think if he saw you now he'd be proud of you" Celeste said and Sieg nodded his head.
A smile crept across Celeste's face as she took a few steps towards Sieg. He stiffened nervously as Celeste gripped his top and pulled it off, revealing his well-toned chest and sweat stained shirt underneath his hoody.
"Celeste what are you doing?" Sieg asked.
Celeste merely smiled as she dropped into a fighting stance and beckoned Sieg to come at her. Sieg smiled before he too dropped into a stance and ran at the stepford cuckoo.
"Okay here's my theory" Jack began, standing in the medical bay with Dani, Kurt, Pixie and Beast around the three Jeans. "Since this phoenix flame came from three people, the cuckoos, then we'd be able to separate this flame and put them inside the hearts of these three Jeans, this will trigger a chain reaction with the unification rune I placed here earlier, drawing the three flames and in turn the bodies that they reside in together" the warrior explained.
"Um, how do we know this wont mangle them together?" Pixie asked sheepishly.
"This is magic Meggan not science" Kurt said and Jack nodded his head with a sheepish smile.
'Damn…I never actually thought of that' Jack thought.
"So why don't we get started?" Hank asked.
Slayer walked in between the sleeping Jeans and first pressed his hand into the White Phoenix's chest. She stirred in her sleep as the single spark entered her heart, Jack then moved to the Dark Phoenix, taking care not to wake her. The anger side of Jean aggressively slapped at Jacks hand in her sleep before she peacefully relaxed. Slayer sighed before moving onto Mutant Zero, he used both his hands to push the third spark into Jean's chest.
"Ok Pixie go ahead" Slayer said and Meggan nodded her head eagerly.
She clapped her hands together and pressed them against the rune that had been drawn out in the centre of the room. The rune began to glow and the other X-men tensed as its glow intensified. Suddenly each of the Jean's began floating in midair, their eyes glowing with the flames of the phoenix. The three bodies began floating towards one another, the three of them glowing a gold colour as their bodies began to merge. Their golden glow intensified, practically blinding the inhabitants of the room.
"Somebody get me a visor" Dani said.
"Its working, the rage, love and sorrow fragments have merged into a single being" Slayer said, glad that his theory had actually been proven to be correct.
"Woah, I can actually feel the Phoenix's power, it feels so good" Kurt said in awe.
Suddenly the flames of the phoenix swept across the room. Slayer put his hands to his face in a bid to protect himself from the flames, but much to his shock the flames didn't burn. He turned to the X-men behind him and widened his eyes. The flames disappeared and Jean, dressed in the Mutant Zero gear floated onto the bed peacefully. She stirred as she woke up and turned her head to the people in the room. Surprisingly they were no longer watching her; instead they were watching Hank.
"What, have I got something on my face?" Hank asked.
"Something like that" Dani said nervously while Slayer grinned.
Hank felt his back, surprised at the fact that it was slightly hunched. He also noticed he seemed a bit shorter than he remembered. Beast looked down at his feet and gasped, they were still blue and furry, but they were no longer paws but proper feet though abnormally large, then he looked at his hands and noticed they were less furry.
"It looks like he's back" Jean said with a smile.
Beast looked at himself in the mirror and a small smile crossed his face. No longer did he have his cat like appearance, now he was returned to what he originally was.
"The Bouncing Beast!" Slayer said.
"I feel strange" Dani said.
"Wait a second, my wounds are healed" Slayer said, just noticing that some of the cuts and bruises he had claimed from his fight with Soldier were gone. "Dani, I think this strange feeling of yours is your mutation, I think you've got your powers back, that wave that the Phoenix unleashed gave off a healing affect, for Beast it turned him back into the form we all love, for me it healed the cuts I got from Soldier and with you Dani it restored your X-gene" Jack explained.
"I think it has" Dani said eagerly.
"Well I suppose there's only one way to find out, a trip to zhe danger room perhaps" Kurt said.
"I think I'll need a trip there too" Beast said.
Jack grinned as the others in the room looked up to see Beast clinging to the wall. The group left the medical room, each one of them feeling as if they had just recovered something they lost. But Slayer sensed conflicted emotions from Jean, and he understood her feelings, she had returned to a world that had moved without her. He decided that he would go with her to the top while Kurt, Dani, Hank and Meggan walked into the danger room.
"Ah Celeste, its good to see you improving your martial arts skills" Hank said as the four of them entered the room.
Celeste turned her attention to Hank just as she swung her leg at Sieg, who smacked the leg back with his arm. The girl stumbled forwards, tripping Sieg over onto his back. Blush crept across Sieg's face as the X-men crossed their arms together, looking at the two teens on top of one another.
"Tell me Celeste, has Emma given you the talk yet?" Beast asked with a laugh.
"Yeah, she even gave me a few tips" Celeste said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around Sieg's neck.
"Um…I think we should get back to training" Sieg said.
"Says you!" Celeste giggled.
Sieg gulped, and much to the X-men's shock the two of them disappeared in a flash of red light.
"Ok, that might not be too good" Hank said and Kurt and Dani shook their heads at the mans comments.
Kurt immediately ported up to the top levels, enveloping the living area in purple smoke. Wolverine and X-23 coughed as the smoke began to rise up.
"God damn it elf, I didn't think you could leave that much of a stench" Logan said.
"Sorry Mein Freund, its just, Dani and Hank and I went to the danger room, we were teasing Sieg and Celeste and then they just suddenly disappeared" Kurt explained.
"What!" Logan said, getting off his chair, while Laura was only mildly interested.
Wolverine sniffed the air and growled in frustration.
"Damn it, I can't pick up their scent" He said.
Suddenly Mindee and Phoebe rushed into the room, followed by Emma and Cyclops.
"Celeste, we can't feel her" The two sisters said.
"I can't detect her anywhere, Sieg either" Emma said, more concerned for her cloned daughter than the young hero.
"What's going on?" Roberto asked, rushing into the room with the new arrivals Surge, Gentle and Elixir.
Jean walked into the room with Slayer, both of their eyes shining with concerned looks on their faces.
"We can't feel them either" Jean said.
"It's almost as if they've completely dived off the map" Slayer said, putting a hand to his chin as his eye stopped shining.
Dani and Hank walked into the room while Meggan flew him. The Welsh girl immediately flew towards her old classmates to hug them, though they, like the X-men were too shocked over Hank's new, or rather old appearance. Beast merely grinned as he brushed them off and walked towards Emma.
"Emma, have you been able to detect Sieg and Celeste?" He asked.
Emma merely stood there with her mouth open, and Hank took that as his answer. Storm, Dazzler and Angel soon walked into the room, joining Emma in shock. Soldier also ran into the room, covering his left eye, before he dropped his hand to look at Beast. He looked over Hank's appearance, up and down before shrugging his shoulders.
"Good, I preferred the ape!" he said and Slayer couldn't help but laugh at the mans reaction.
"Though I would have preferred to be missing the fur, I must say it feels quite good to be back in my second form…but alas I'm afraid we must turn our attention to locating young Siegfried and Celeste, Emma, you and the girls should use Cerebra to search the planet and quite possibly the galaxy"
Emma nodded her head as she; Celeste and Mindee marched towards the lower levels. Jean considered joining them, but then turned her eyes to Cyclops, who avoided eye contact.
"Slayer, could you please try focusing your eye more to find them?" Hank asked.
The warrior shook his head "I could try a mass sweep but in all honesty I don't think it would do any good Hank, I'd only be tiring myself out, if the other cuckoos couldn't feel their sister then its most likely they've transcended to another plane of existence" Jack explained.
"What did he just say?" Meggan asked Surge, who shook her head.
Soldier walked up to Slayer, grabbing his collar and looking at him eye to eye.
"Then use your eye to search these other plains of existence" he said forcefully.
"Listen Soldier, I know you might be concerned for their well being, but in all honesty I think all the concern is wasted, I have a good feeling on where they are right now" Slayer said.
Soldier frowned before letting go of the warrior and marching off. Jean looked to Scott, who was already walking out of the room. She followed her husband, putting her hands together as they walked into Scott's bedroom. Jean took note of the double bed and knew for sure that Scott must have truly moved on from her. But she still held hope as she walked up to Scott, laying her hands on his shoulders.
"A lot of things have happened Jean" Scott began, swinging round and placing his hands on Jean's cheeks. "When you died a part of me shut down, if not for Emma then I don't know what would have happened to me" the leader of the X-men said, and Jean detected thoughts of the moment he had shared with Emma in front of her gravestone.
"It was because of me" Jean blurted out and Scott looked at her in confusion. "You see, I rose again, in a future that wasn't worth living in…and so when I was in the white hot room, I dived into your mind at that moment, and I pushed you towards her, I forced you into loving her!" Jean said with tears in her eyes.
Scott looked at his wife in pure shock, taking his hands off her before he spoke.
"Whatever happened in the past is in the past, Jean…I love Emma now" those words sliced into Jean's heart as she let the tears flow down her face. "Now that I'll always care about you Jean, but I'm afraid I just don't love you anymore" Scott said sincerely as he walked out of the room.
Jean burst into tears, banging the wall as she cried. Storm and Angel passed the room and heard her moan in sorrow. Warren walked into the room, seeing the woman he had once been attracted to crying without anyone to comfort her. He hugged the woman, wrapping his wings around her form while Ororo looked on, feeling pity for the woman that been like a sister to her.
"Wow…this looks familiar" Warren said, he couldn't help but feel nostalgia for the situation.
Jean wiped her eyes as she spoke "Yeah, except this time he isn't married and doesn't have a child" She said.
"Jean, every time you die it tears us apart, no every time any team mate dies it affects us but you Jean, your our spirit and our heart" Storm said.
"Yes but…it seems I'm no longer needed in the team"
"Don't be foolish!" A stern voice said from behind Storm.
The three mutants turned around to see Soldier, holding Jean's mutant Zero helmet with an emotion in his eye that Jean had never seen before.
"There is no such thing as no longer needed, you are precious Jean, if not to Scott then to your other team mates, you are not precious as Marvel Girl the X-woman or the Phoenix of the white crown, but as Jean Grey the person" Soldier explained, throwing the Mutant Zero helmet aside. "You have people who love you, return to them as Jean Grey, Stark will understand that he's lost his mutant zero"
"I can understand your words Soldier, but I just cant believe in them" Jean said as she walked past Soldier and picked up the Zero helmet.
"I'm no longer an X-woman, I'm just Mutant Zero!" Jean said as she put the helmet on.
"We are who we choose to be Jean, but you can't make the choice on your own until we reunite you with joy" Soldier said, but Jean ignored him and walked away.
"What ever happened to the bad ass masked man?" Warren asked.
"Sometimes my orders don't involve the right thing, and sometimes the right thing is more important" Soldier said before he walked after Jean.
Once minute Sieg was in the danger room, just inches from meeting Celeste's tongue. Now he and the cuckoo were in a white void, and area outside of their reality. Celeste looked around the endless whiteness before turning her attention to Sieg.
"Well I did want some alone time, but this is just too much" Celeste said.
"This has got to be some kind of joke" Sieg said to himself.
"Where exactly are we?" Celeste asked.
"Well, this is kind of like the inside of my sword, you see it has a degree of sentience because inside it lies the spirit of a hero, and this is where my hero watches me…but where could he be?" Sieg wondered.
"Why would he bring us here?" Celeste asked.
"Well…um how do I say this, he only really brings me here when he wants to impart words of wisdom, or when I need to be encouraged, I once escaped the Mighty Avengers thanks to his words" Sieg explained.
"Honey…now's the worst time to be talking about your experiences with other heroes" Celeste said, placing a hand on Sieg's chest.
"Sorry Celeste, maybe he bought me here to tell me something about the phoenix" Sieg said, his heart skipped a beat as Celeste called him honey.
"Or maybe he bought you here to think, I mean you've been training non stop, you need to find some other way to relieve your stress" Celeste said, placing another hand on Sieg's chest.
"Uuuh maybe we should wait for him to show up" Sieg said nervously, taking a few steps away from the girl.
Celeste didn't give up easy as she walked up to Sieg, again wrapping her arms around his neck. She bought her face closer to his, smiling as he blushed.
"I've seen inside your mind, out of all the thoughts in your head there was one thing that caught my attention" Celeste said. "I must protect them and my personal favourite, is this really happening? Celeste's cute but I don't think we'd be right for one another…guess what Siegfried, you don't have to be right for each other to be in love" she whispered.
The girl softly pressed her lips against Sieg's, who widened his eyes in shock before closing them. His blush disappeared and he wrapped his arms around Celeste's waist. She moaned as Sieg deepened the kiss, moving his hands up her back while she gripped his hair tightly.
"I expected you guys to be at least an hour before you started making out"
Blush crept across Sieg's face as he quickly separated from Celeste and turned his attention to the armoured warrior who had just appeared. Vein's throbbed on Sieg's forehead as looked at the warrior with his arms crossed.
"You…WHAT THE HELL IS THIS YOUR IDEA OF A JOKE!!" Sieg yelled in embarrassment.
"You know saying that isn't as affective when you've just enjoyed the kiss"
"He's right you know" Celeste giggled as Sieg crouched on the floor and moaned.
"Jokes aside I bought you here for something serious Sieg" The hero said as he walked around Sieg and Celeste. "I tasked you with helping Slayer find the truth and what have you been doing, training and making out with girls, granted you've given the sisters something back you've got to play your part" He explained and Sieg looked at him in confusion.
"I cant spell it out for you Sieg, if you truly want to be a hero, if you want to truly accomplish something then figure it out, have faith that your hero will forever be your hero, have faith that he would never cross certain lines, have faith that the love between two people will never die. More importantly when the time comes, never look back or regret your choice, believe in both your own power and your choice"
Sieg stood where he was, thinking about what the hero had told him. Then realisation hit him. Never cross certain lines, meaning that Cyclops must have never done certain things. Have Faith that the love between two people will never die. He tried to remember what Cyclops had said to him, and then he remembered.
"The way I see it this whole thing started because Jean can't stay dead"
"If you had let me finish…" Cyclops began casually, "Jean isn't coming back, she'll just die again and rise again then die again, Emma sticks around and I love her, I respect Jean but I love Emma!" he said in a serious tone, looking at the woman that had once been his wife.
Scott walked into the bedroom and to Emma's side. He laid a hand on her shoulder and kissed her diamond skin.
"That woman…Jean, she always comes back!" Emma whispered as she changed her form back to skin.
The woman swung around, wrapping her arms around Scott's neck, while Scott placed one hand on her waist and the other on her shoulder.
"Emma, no matter what happens nothing changes all right, I still meant what I said on break world" Scott said.
Emma smiled before brushing her lips against Scott's.
"THAT'S IT!!" Sieg yelled, causing Celeste to jump in shock.
"That's more like it Siegfried, have Faith in your heroes and faith in yourself, now return to your world and find out the truth" The hero said.
Sieg nodded his head in agreement before he closed his eyes. One moment his crystallised sword appeared in his hands before it shattered. Red crystal guards covered Sieg's shoulders, waist and Shins. Then blue and grey armour covered his chest, legs and arms and a black fabric covered his hands. His eyes shined for a moment before a diamond shaped helmet covered his head.
"I'll keep moving forward without regret, Celeste" Sieg said, picking the girl up bridal style.
Siegfried, or rather Victory Peace turned to his hero and gave him a nod of respect. The grey and red armoured warrior retracted his faceplate, revealing dull grey eyes but a grin so full of life that Sieg rushed forward, flying past the young man, all the while smiling underneath his mask.
"Don't regret Sieg, mourn but never regret, do that and you wont be the hero that people want, rather the hero they need, joy is on her way along with her guardian" The hero said with a smile as somewhere far away a former tough guy turned baby sitter sneezed.
Sieg and Celeste appeared in the middle of the living room, just as Soldier caught up with Jean. The other X-men looked at Sieg in shock as his faceplate retracted, revealing a stern expression.
"Where's Cyclops?" He asked Slayer.
"Why do you need to know?" Jack asked.
"Because its time we found out the truth" Sieg said.
Slayer nodded his head and walked with Sieg towards the kitchen, Soldier and Jean following close behind. Cyclops had just finished pouring himself some coffee, when he saw Sieg walking towards him.
"Sieg, where have you and…" But Cyclops could not finish his question, as Sieg punched him straight in the stomach.
"Sieg what are you doing?" Jean asked in shock, throwing her helmet off.
Soldier grabbed Jean's shoulder firmly, looking at Scott suspiciously as the rest of the X-men and their guests showed up. Elixir and Emma walked up to a kneeling Scott while Rockslide and Tattoo moved aggressively towards Sieg.
"What is the meaning of this Sieg?" Emma asked, glaring at the boy.
"That punch should have shattered the mans ribs, but they didn't" Sieg said, narrowing his eyes at Scott.
"You didn't shatter them, you cracked them!" Elixir said, putting his hand to Cyclops's chest in order to heal the bruise.
"They didn't even do that" Sieg snapped back.
"What the hell do you think your doing Sieg?" Wolverine asked.
"I expected better from you Herr Sieg" Kurt said.
"Damn it! Don't you people see what's in front of you, the guy's clearly milking it, just like he milked that hit from the Black Phoenix's optic blast, he must have changed the shape of his ribs or something"
"What exactly are you talking about boy?" Domino asked.
"It never occurred to be before, but then I got thinking, about what Cyclops's had said to me earlier about all the things that had happened, letting everybody from the institute that was depowered go, not batting an eyelash over Emma's schemes, doubting himself. At first I thought it was just a change he had gone through because of Jean's death but then it occurred to me, the affair, would Scott Summers really have had an affair with Emma Frost, a former enemy, would he have talked to his problems to her over his wife when they've known each other for most of their young and adult lives and love each other very much, you might say yes…BUT I SAY HELL NO!!!" Sieg roared.
While some looked at Sieg the way they would look at a mental patient, some such as Slayer, Wolverine, Soldier and Storm began to see where he was getting at. Conflicted thoughts went through Jean's head while Emma stood her ground, ready to defend her lovers actions.
"He was doubting himself, he was a changed man after he had been separated from apocalypse" Emma said.
"She's right, besides I felt something with Emma, a young person like you couldn't possibly understand love" Cyclops said.
"No, I think that Sieg has been getting across a good point" Slayer said, stepping in between Emma and Sieg.
"Da, indeed he is beginning to make sense" Colossus said and Kurt nodded his head in agreement.
"I think he's just gone crazy" Hellion said.
"Not that I don't agree but who asked you Keller?" Surge asked, glaring at Hellion.
"Even if he is crazy it doesn't mean he isn't right" Slayer said grinning, knowing the amount of times people had called him crazy when he'd been right.
"He's wrong because I'm a telepath dear, I can read minds you idiots" Emma growled.
Colossus and Nightcrawler almost crept back in fear under the woman's gaze while Sieg stood his ground.
"She's right, I pushed Emma to be with Scott, please Sieg don't embarrass yourself anymore just give it up" Jean said.
"GOD DAMN IT THERE ARE WAYS TO GET AROUND TELEPATHY!!!!" Sieg yelled.
"Oh please, nothing could be…what's that stupid song going through your head?" Mindee asked Soldier.
"A way of getting round telepathy, and you'll have to figure out the song for yourself" The masked man said, taking Slayer and Sieg's side. "Mental blocks, replacing surface thoughts, repressing memories and meditation techniques, these are some of many ways to fool telepathy…of course there's also telepathy itself" Soldier said, narrowing his eye in Cyclops direction.
"I don't get it, what are you saying that this guy in front of us isn't Mr Summers?" Armour asked.
"That's exactly what I'm saying" Sieg growled.
"This sounds like a good theory but there's not much proof to back it up" Hank said.
"What about what he said about Jean?" Sieg asked.
"What did he say about Jean?" Ororo asked.
"He basically said that he was getting tired of Jean coming back" Sieg said.
"What…when did he say that?" Colossus asked.
"On the jet, in front of all of you" Slayer said.
The other X-men had confused looks on their faces while Soldier and James kept a suspicious gaze on Cyclops.
"What exactly are you generating Summers, if that is your name" James said, a rare frown on his face.
"Not you too" Cyclops growled, shaking his head at the four men.
"This guy, he isn't Scott Summers…HE'S A SKRULL!!" Sieg yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Cyclops.
"Scott would never have had an affair with Frost, even if he was changed after Apocalypse the love between him and Jean is too strong" Slayer said.
"It's possible that Summers was replaced before he returned to the mansion" Soldier said.
"The Skrulls did evolve apparently, what's to say they couldn't get past the cosmic knowledge of the Phoenix" James put in his two cense.
"Don't listen to them, they've obviously gone insane" Cyclops said.
Sieg glared at Cyclops before he turned his attention to Slayer.
"Jack Robinson…I think its time you used that eye to see the truth" He said.
Slayer nodded his head as he walked forwards, his eye giving off a red glow like the armour of Sieg's hero. Iceman, Hellion, Surge and X-force stepped in front of Slayer's path, not trusting where he was going with this.
"Look if you want to know the truth then let me do what I have to do" Slayer said.
"Don't believe him, for all we know he could be trying to kill us off" Cyclops said.
Soldier and James furthered their suspicious brows as they looked at Cyclops visor. The masked man raised his head, drawing his pistols.
"I don't think its just telepathy…I think he's using hypnotic suggestion" Soldier said.
"NORIKO IMMOBILISE THEM NOW!!" Cyclops yelled.
Surge thrust her hand forward, throwing a flurry of electricity at Slayer. But much to her shock the lighting was drawn into the palm of James's hand. With a smile James launched two electrical blasts from his middle and index finger, throwing Domino and X-23 back. Soldier rushed forward, slamming his shield into Warpath's chest, pushing him back. Sieg flew forward, clothes lining Bobby and Julian, with one blow both X-men were on the floor groaning.
"Stay back!" Emma growled.
Slayer held onto Emma's shoulder and with one motion of his hand Emma was thrown aside like a rag doll. The warrior gripped Cyclops shoulders and the glow on his eye intensified. Cyclops, pulled on Slayer's head as he felt some force diving into his memories.
"You're resisting, why would you resist if you didn't have anything to hide?" Slayer asked, more to himself than Scott.
"GET OUT!!!" Cyclops yelled.
Cyclops fired his optics right in Jack's face. The warrior used the mystical energy he had recovered from the Phoenix to cover both him and Cyclops in a barrier. Mystical energy protected Jack's face, but the heat from the beams began to melt his armour. Slayer and Cyclops growled at one another, and slowly Cyclops strength began to increase as he pulled Slayer's head back further.
"Look into my eye!" Slayer began, pushing his face towards Cyclops, who actually ripped a chunk of his hair out. "Look into the eye that sees no lies!" He growled as his vision began to blur. "Look into the eye and reveal the truth! Look into the eye and reveal…YOUR TRUE FORM!!!!" Slayer roared.
A magnificent light enveloped the room and Jack saw everything. His vision became clear and he saw. He saw Cyclops, alone for just a moment, and taken. Jack saw the experiences that this impostor had, he felt the enjoyment as he deceived the X-men, watched the avatar of the Phoenix die, and made love to Emma. Slayer growled as he felt his vision blur. The light that covered the room disappeared and Jack fell to the floor, sweat running down his face, worn out from using both his eye and his mystical energy.
The X-men gasped at what they looked upon. No longer was it Cyclops standing before them but a Skrull. He was taller and bulkier that the average Skrull so that obviously meant he had been augmented, his eyes were glowing red with anger as he looked down at the warn out Slayer.
"JACK GET OUT OF THERE!!!" Sieg yelled.
"YOU…YOU RUINED EVERYTHING!!!" The Skrull roared as he thrust his hand forward.
"Oh shit this is gonna HUAAAAARGH!!!!" Jack yelled as a force blast identical to the Third Thunderbird blew him through a wall.
"JACK!" Sieg snarled as he turned his attention to the Skrull.
The Skrulls purple and black costume began to change shape. His boots took on the form of Wolverine's, while the asgardian symbol that normally covered Thor's chest spread across his, organic steel covered his exposed head and arms while his eyes took on a fierce red glow as electricity crackled around him and fire enveloped his right hand. Sieg snarled and his face took on a blue colour, his pupils disappeared and his hair spiked out in all directions. The X-men joined his aggressive stance, and so did Jean.
"Tell me…WHERE MY HUSBAND IS!!!" She screamed, her eyes taking on a fierce orange glow as she drew her blades.
"Bub you'd better answer the ladies question" Wolverine growled. "Ah screw it, we're so pissed off that we'd rather beat the answer out of you, X-men…"
"KICK HIS ASS!" Hellion took the words right out of Wolverine's mouth as the X-men, Soldier, James and Victory Peace charged towards the Skrull.
Across the galaxy, a masked man smiled as he and his army landed on a Barron planet.
"Finally…they see the truth in front of them" The Black Phoenix said with a sigh of relief.
Next Chapter 8: The team united
X-force, The Astonishing, Uncanny and Young X-men take their fight with the Super Skrull through the streets of San Fran, to the Golden gate bridge in a moment inspired by Greg Land's Uncanny X-men #500 cover. Slayer isn't out of the fight yet as he goes all out against remnants of the Skrull invasion in an effort to rescue the true Scott Summers, but he isn't alone.
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, and dont worry I havent forgotten about the Phoenix corps threat