I dont own the X-men or Slayer, I do however own the Black Phoenix, Sieg, Soldier and James
The Cry of the Phoenix
Chapter 8: The team united
The X-men lunged at the Skrull. Nightcrawler grabbed his shoulder, and the whole team, excluding Elixir, Blindfold and the Cuckoos grabbed Kurt's shoulders as he teleported. They reappeared in the middle of the city, catching the attention of all civilians passing by. The Skrull glared at the X-men as they jumped on top of him. His body erupted in a white pulse similar to Havok's, throwing the team off of him. Gentle and Rockslide ran at the Skrull, both of them delivering an incredible uppercut to his chin. The Skrull shot Gentle in the chest with his optic ray and grabbed Rockslide by the head, crumbling it to pieces.
"SANTO!!" Cessily screamed.
Mercury slashed the Skrull across the chest and Dani hit him from behind with a psionic arrow. The Skrull clutched his head as he was haunted by visions of the Kill Krew slaughtering his kind. This gave Colossus enough time to punch the Skrull across the cheek. Then Colossus swung his fist back,, punching the Skrull in the chest and sending him stumbling back. Domino and Soldier unleashed a barrage of bullets on the Skrull, who growled in annoyance at their defiance. Sunspot skidded across the floor, knocking the Skrull to his knees. Thunder crackled around the Skrull as he knocked Sunspot away and shocked Wolfsbane and Mercury. Then the Skrull stretched his arm out like Mr Fantastic, grabbing Wolverine by his head and swinging him around, before throwing him straight through a building.
"You Bastard!" Emma snarled as she ran at the Skrull.
In her diamond form, Emma swung her fist at the Skrull. But the punch didn't even make the Skrull flinch as he grabbed the diamond woman by her neck, lifting her off the floor.
"Foolish woman, you actually thought that Summers fell for you, humans are a pathetic breed but some of them surprise me like that Summers character, believe me when I say he never would have fallen in love with a woman like you" The Skrull said truthfully but sadistically as he deactivated his organic metal.
Suddenly a blade tore through the Skrulls chest. The Skrull let go of Emma, who used this moment of weakness to punch the Skrull, sending him stumbling back. Jean and Emma stood side-by-side and nodded to each other, both willing to put their rivalry aside in order to punish the alien who had mimicked the man they loved.
"Well well well, two Earth women united, I must say there was a certain quality about your kind that I found intriguing, you're much better than any of the Skrull women back home" The Skrull said with a grin across his face as he brushed a hand across his chin, practically admiring the two women.
Emma and Jean merely glared as they ran forward. The Skrull unleash a flurry of fire balls on the women. But Emma stood in front of Jean, her diamond form taking the flames for Jean. The Wife of Scott Summers slid out her wrist blades and swung them at the Skrull, who dodged the swipe by bending his body. He then changed his arm into the Thing's hand, smashing Emma across the face. Jean's eyes glowed an intense red colour as she continued to slash at the Skrull, who dodged each swipe with quickness comparable to speedsters. The Skrull howled in pain as Magma and Surge struck him from behind with fire and electricity.
Jean widened her eyes as a smirk spread across the aliens face. He hit Magma with electricity and Surge with fire, sending both falling to the ground.
"NORIKO! AMARA!!" Cannonball yelled.
"BASTARD!!" Warpath roared as he, Hephzibah, Emma and X-23 ran at the Skrull.
He stood ready for their assault, until he was consumed by a sandstorm.
The Skrull laughed as his body began to generate intense levels of heat "You fool Sooraya, I would have thought you'd learned from your fight with Magma, and with the powers of the Human torch and many other super humans at my disposal what makes you think your pitiful powers can hurt me?" The Skrull asked with an evil cackle.
"Because it makes a great distraction!" A voice said through the sand.
Victory Peace tore through the storm, slamming his fist into the Skrull's face, sending him flying out of the storm and into the arms of Tattoo and Anole.
"Coming your way Beast!" The Two men said as they threw the Skrull towards Beast.
Hank smiled as he kicked the Skrull into the air, where Cannonball flew into his chest, knocking him back towards the ground. The Skrull growled in anger as he blasted Hank with his optic ray and hit both Greymalkin and Warpath with his plasma waves.
"You X-men were so foolish, you couldn't see what was in front of you, I mean come on, Summers would have seen the fault in sending the depowered students back home on of all things a bus, and kissing another woman at his wife's grave, humans are despicable creatures but he wouldn't have done that" The Skrull said, cackling as the team was laid out across the floor, licking their rooms.
"SHUT UP!!!" Sieg yelled, flying at the Skrull.
The Skrull hovered feet from the ground as the asgardian symbols on his chest glowed. A hammer appeared in his hand just as he fired his optic rays. Victory Peace, blocked the shot and slammed his fist into the Skrull's hammer. The shockwave shattered the glass around them and forced some of the X-men to clutch their ears in pain. Sieg tried to punch the Skrull, but the shape shifter merely grabbed his fist, squeezing it until the armour around the hand cracked. Even with a crack running down his armoured arm, Sieg didn't back down, head butting the Skrull.
"Unorthodox but impressive non the least" The Skrull said before hitting Sieg across the head with his hammer.
Sieg was sent flying into the side of a building. The Skrull smirked as he began marching towards Sieg's crouched form. But a black shield flew into his shoulder with enough force to break it. The Skrull growled as he bent the arm back in place and turned his attention to Soldier.
"Leave the boy alone!" Soldier said sternly as the shield returned to his hand.
"You are just a man in a mask" The Skrull said.
"Wrong, I'm a determined man in a mask!" Soldier said as he ran forward.
He ignited his beam shield, blocking a swing from the Skrulls hammer. Soldier smacked the Skrull with his regular shield, then used his bema shield to deflect an optic blast into the aliens chest. The Skrull clutched his burning chest and growled in anger. Red armour plates spread across his legs and hands, until blasters and rockets like the ones on Iron man's armour appeared on his hands and legs. He held his hand out and shot a beam into Soldier's shield, the force of which pushed Soldier across the floor until he stopped near a street lamp.
"I am the most powerful of the Super Skrulls, my power outranks even the first" The Skrull said, casually blasting Sieg deeper into the building.
"Very well Skrull!" A powerful voice declared.
The Skrull turned his head towards Jean, whose form was covered in both shadow and flames, her right eye covered by the phoenix insignia while her hair flowed freely, orange like flames.
"Taste a fraction of the White Phoenix's power!" Jean said as she held her hands out.
She fired a telekinetic blast at the Skrull, pushing him back miles away from the team. The Skrull fell to his knees, panting from the Phoenix's power. He suddenly felt the world around him freeze and next found himself on a dead husk of a world. The Skrull turned around, and saw Jean in a mixture of her second uniform and her phoenix costume.
"You took my husband from me and for that you will feel my sorrow and my rage!" Jean growled telepathically.
A massive Halo of fire engulfed the Skrull as he yelled in pain. He growled as he used his own telepathy to fight the psychic assaults, creating a rainstorm in this world that put out the Phoenix's flames. Suddenly, the scene shifted into a chessboard and the Skrull was caught in between two sides, the white pieces led by the Hellfire clubs White Queen, and the black pieces led by the Black Queen Jean Grey.
"This seems so terribly cliché Jean, though I enjoy what you have in mind for our friend here" Emma said with a smile.
The chess pieces suddenly shattered, revealing different versions of Cyclops. They all fired their optic blasts, hitting the Skrull from all sides. He yelled out in agony, but shocked expressions ran across Emma and Jean's faces as he grew to a gigantic size.
"YOU FOOLS I HAVE ENDURED COUNTLESS PAINS DURING THE KREE-SKRULL WAR AND MANY MORE DURING MY TRAINING!!" The Skrull roared as the board disappeared, replaced by the charred remains of the institute.
"Doesn't it confuse you that no matter what happens things always seem to go bad, I mean almost every mutant was depowered because of the Maximoff woman, who also killed her own comrades, then after that countless innocent children" The Skrull said mockingly "Are BOOM! Blown up right before your eyes, and after that more students are killed, including an innocent girl who would have been saved if Cyclops had enforced a curfew, but he didn't…I don't know how you believed he once operated but did you truly think he wouldn't have set some kind of curfew for the children at a time like that?" He asked the two women, who lowered their heads as he spoke.
This Super Skrull was hopelessly powerful; he was able to battle the women telepathically while also beating the teams. He stomped Gentle into the ground, and batted both Hellion and Cannonball away. Sieg was the one always the first to get back up again, flying the Skrull into the air. The Skrull smiled as he faced Victory Peace down. Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew him away courtesy of Storm. This was soon followed by a telekinetic blast from Hellion. Eventually Storm and Hellion managed to blow the Skrull as far as the golden gate bridge. But Sieg wasn't done; he slammed his fist into the Skrulls stomach, and was repaid in full with a blow to the head, which sent him crashing into the bridge.
Slayer slowly got up off the floor, the burns on his chest and face having been healed by Elixir; he was also able to recover half of his energy.
"Thanks Josh, now we'd better get you guys to the battle so you can attend to the other wounded" Jack said, tearing off a loose piece of armour on his shoulder.
"Oh god, Sieg's been taking a beating out there" Celeste said with her eyes glowing a red colour.
"Wow he is!" Mindee and Phoebe said, and cringed as they saw Sieg take a very unpleasant blow to the back.
"The hopeful hero will survive…but he is not who you should be concerned with" Blindfold said cryptically.
'Oh great here she goes' the sisters thought.
"Hey why are you so concerned about Sieg Celeste?" Josh asked.
"Our little sister by several seconds has a soft spot for the young hero" Mindee said.
"Which is understandable, he's naive but cute, he's powerful and brave, like a knight in shining armour" Phoebe explained.
"And lets not forget his style, that shirt of his really shows off his tone" Mindee added.
"Oookay girls as much as I'd hate to interrupt I think that Blindfold has something vital to add" Slayer said.
"He approaches, the shadow bird approaches, to punish the deceiver…the hope of mutant kind and her guardian have returned, a battle will be fought and someone will be sacrificed yet again"
"Oh shit…a vision of death and sorrow, how wonderful" Phoebe said sarcastically.
"Nothings going to be lost while I'm around, time to see if I can do this right" Slayer said, putting his hands together and performing a teleportation spell like Pixies.
The next thing Josh knew he was in the middle of the golden gate bridge, and already saw a wounded Angel who needed tending to. Slayer reappeared a few seconds later, holding a few jetpacks in his arms.
"I figured some of you guys needed something to help you fly" Slayer said, handing the packs to Dani, Beast and Domino. "Okay guys, I'd hate to leave you in the middle of a fight but right now the Black Phoenix is on his way, the cuckoos are going to buy you some time telepathically while I go and get some help for a mission" Jack explained.
"What kind of mission?" Ink asked.
"We're going to rescue the real Scott Summers" Slayer said with a smile.
"If that's the case then I'll go with you" Soldier said.
Slayer nodded his head, happy to have the mans help. The two men stood side by side as Jack chanted the teleportation spell. They disappeared in a flash of light, and the X-men turned their attention to the Skrull, who was now flying feet away from the bridge. Jean smiled as she used her TK to alter the shape of the teams clothing, switching their casual clothing into their X-men uniforms. Sieg got up off the ground just as the X-men stepped forward.
"This seems like a classic pose moment" Iceman said with a smile.
"Indeed!" Hank agreed.
"All right X-men, like the kid said, kick his ass!" Wolverine said as his claws slid out of his knuckles.
The X-men flew forward, each one of them letting out a battle cry as they flew towards the Super Skrull.
Slayer and Soldier appeared on a fresh green field. The two men looked around and a smile crossed Jack's face while Soldier widened his eyes. Sitting on a rock was a silver haired man, wearing a blue military outfit with numerous guns strapped to his boy. But perhaps the most shocking part of his outfit was what was strapped to his harness, a baby.
"Nathan Summers AKA Cable! And this must be little Jeannie" Slayer said.
"Who the hell are you people?" Cable asked, drawing his gun.
"We're…friends of the X-men, a lot has happened so your going to have to sit down while we…I mean I explain" Jack said, knowing Soldier would probably contribute little to the explanation.
Suddenly another portal appeared beside Slayer and Soldier. The two men stood ready as another future X-man stepped out of the portal.
"BISHOP!" Cable yelled.
The X-man from the future aimed his pistol at Cable while the tentacles on his arm lashed out at Soldier and Slayer. Slayer formed a barrier around Cable and the baby while Soldier ran through the razor sharp tentacles, punching Bishop across the face and knocking him to the floor.
"ALL RIGHT THAT'S ENOUGH!!!" Slayer yelled.
Soldier was in midswing when Slayer yelled out at them to stop. His fist froze inches from Bishops nose.
"Ok, I'm going to deactivate the barrier around Cable and Soldier is going to let you go Bishop, so how about you cut this shit out then we'll all sit down and have a talk about what's been going on while you've had your head shoved up your…"
"Watch the language Slayer!" Soldier said, pointing to the baby while Cable looked at the warrior disapprovingly.
After a long explanation, Cable and Bishop were left shocked at the revelation. Cable ran his hands through his hair; it was hard to believe that the man who had entrusted the mutant hope to him wasn't actually his father. Bishop himself had a hard time believing it, even if he did technically betray the X-men he still thought of some of them as his friends.
"So you guys can fight all you want or you can actually do something worth the time, that baby isn't just the first born mutant, she's also a remnant of Jean…so if we reunite her with Jean then not only will the destruction of the universe be prevented, but the baby will become one with Jean and Bishop's future wont come to be" Slayer explained.
Bishop raised his head at that possibility while Cable immediately got off the rock he was sitting on.
"But what about the rest of the mutant population?" Cable asked.
"Not to insult your intelligence Cable but right now the universe seems a little more important than more mutants being born" Slayer said.
"And if one baby can be born that bears the mutant gene then many others might follow" Soldier said.
"Okay then, so where is Scott exactly?" Bishop asked, getting off his stump.
"I'll explain later, right now we've got more team mates to pick up" Slayer said with a smile.
Bishop and Cable reluctantly walked to Soldier and Slayer's side as he began chanting the words for the teleportation spell. They disappeared then reappeared in the ruins of the mansion. Cable and Bishop looked at the ruins, the memory of that day fresh on their minds. Soldier turned his attention to a motorcycle leaning against one of the walls as they walked towards the entranceway to the subbasement.
"Ah don't believe it!" A thick southern accented voice said as the four men got into the ruined war room.
A smile crossed Slayer's face, for leaning against the wall was the southern belle, Rogue. She was now dressed in her old green and white costume, and lifted off her hood to reveal her signature white streaked brown hair.
"Good to see the Phoenix managed to reach someone" Slayer said as he walked further into the room.
"I do remember hearing some ones voice, but I don't think it was the Phoenix" Rogue said.
"The arrival of the Phoenix corps probably pulled Cable and the baby out of the future, but who called Rogue?" Soldier asked.
"I've got a theory that it could be the heroes spirit inside Sieg's sword, but that's just a theory" Slayer said.
"Anyone else this spirit might have called?" Cable asked.
"Glad you asked!" A thick accented voice said from the doorway.
The "team" looked towards the doorway, Rogue growled at the man leaning against the frame, shuffling his deck of cards. Gambit strode into the room, his eyes focused on his former lover.
"Oookay guys…I think its time we discussed why we're here" Slayer said, stepping in between the Cajun and southern belle.
Another long and shocking explanation later.
"I don't believe it, Scott was a Skrull" Gambit said.
"I guess it does explain some things, god I can only imagine what Emma must be going through" Rogue said.
"Hell hath no fury like a woman who's just found out her lovers been lying to her eh Cheri!" Gambit grinned while Rogue shook her head.
"So I guess the plan is to rescue him right? But where exactly is he?" Cable asked.
"A Skrull prison complex, he's been kept heavily sedated in a dark room for years now" Slayer explained.
"So I guess we cant discount the fact that his mental state will be under strain" Soldier said.
Slayer nodded his head "But I think that we've got a chance of helping him, that's why Cable's here, he can reach out to his father, while the power of little Jeannie here!" Slayer said, scratching the giggling child's head.
"Can heal the strain on Scott's psyche" Rogue said, remembering how the mutant child had purged strain 88 from her mind.
"We aren't seriously going to be taking the baby with us are we?" Soldier asked.
"Of course not, which is why your with us" Slayer said with a grin.
Soldier raised his eyebrows, not quite realising where this was going while the others contained there amusement.
"You…are joking right?" Soldier asked.
"Don't worry, she grows on you pretty quick" Cable said, throwing the masked man his harness.
"Aaaah, you two actually look kind of cute" Rogue said.
Soldier remained relatively stoic as he cradled the baby in his arms. The team gathered around Slayer, who drew his sword.
"I don't have nearly enough magic power left to get us into space, so that's why Rogue will absorb my power and teleport us in and out" Slayer explained as Rogue removed her glove.
"You sure about this sugah?" Rogue asked.
"Just do it and I'm sorry if my memories get to you" Jack said as Rogue planted her hand on his cheek.
The two of them yelled out as Rogue absorbed some of Jack's power and memories.
A child was born, without family, but he was destined for greatness.
"I'd hate to imagine what the child will go through, with how screwed up things are in the public sector now" The doctor said as the nurse cradled the crying child.
The boy was haunted every night ever since he could remember with dreams. Dreams of a powerful voice calling out to him, claiming they were connected. The children at the orphanage looked down on him because of this, called him weird and never let him in to their games. No family wanted him, and even the people in charge of the orphanage cared little for him. Eventually he was bought into the sex trade, spending his nights with paedophiles and anyone else with some kind of fetish for eight year olds.
"COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT!!"
Enough was enough, he ran away from it all. For once in his life he felt free, he felt happy. Then he found true happiness, he now felt like he was in heaven. But not even happiness can last forever.
"LAYLA!!!"
The girl he had fallen in love with was raped, and gunned down right in front of his eyes. And now he was faced with a sorrow he had never felt before, being enslaved was one thing but seeing the one person you cared for more than anything in the world was something else. His sorrow turned to anger and hate, and then a power awakened inside him. He unleashed his rage, but not even his awakening mutant powers could save him from death.
"You may be dead Jack, but your work in the land of the living is not done yet…not by a long shot!" The great voice of the warrior spirit Yoshinto spoke to Jack from beyond death, and Jack Robinson was reborn as the warrior Slayer.
Rogue fell to the floor, puffing and panting, her eyes wide in utter shock at how much suffering Jack had endured.
"Cheri, are you all right?" Gambit asked, planting his hands on Rogue's shoulders.
"All that pain…I'm so sorry Jack" Rogue said.
"Please just…don't go on about it" Slayer said, lowering his head, for letting anyone access his memories like that was hard for him.
Not only would he have other people pitying him, but he'd also have to think about that time of his life, and he couldn't afford that distraction. Rogue stood in the middle of the gathered group, while Soldier stood a few paces away. The woman began chanting the words for the teleportation spell, picturing the ideal entrance point in her mind, which she accessed from the memories Slayer absorbed from the Skrull. Soldier saluted the group before they disappeared.
"Good luck team" Soldier said.
Suddenly the masked mans nose twitched and he looked down at the baby. She giggled innocently, taking what she had just done as funny. Soldier sighed as he clutched his sensitive nose.
"Mission…reluctantly accepted!" he said before tearing another cloth off of his belt, for use as a makeshift diaper.
Back in San Francisco, the battle between the X-men and the Skrull continued. The Super Skrull had unbelievable power, flying across the sky; lighting was useless against him so Storm opted for strong bursts of wind. She managed to throw the Skrull backwards, scrambling his senses with a miniature tornado. Cannonball flew to the left while Sunspot flew to the right, both of them crashing their fists into the Skrull's sides. The Super Skrull fired a stream of flames at the young X-men, who scattered in order to confuse him. Ink managed to land a lucky hit to the Skrull's head, while Rockslide managed to hit him with one of his launched limbs.
"Pixie, make him see unicorns!" Wolverine said to Megan, who began showering the Skrull in her pixie dust.
"Let's add a little fear into the equasion!" Moonstar said.
Dani activated her powers, and along with Pixie's dust she created a very convincing illusion. The Skrull widened his eyes as he saw the Kree hero Captain Mar-Vell flying towards him. Captain Mar-Vell crashed his fist into the Skrull's face, and then elbowed his head. The Skrull was sent flying into the sea, where the Kree captain followed.
"I suppose you enjoy playing the hero Sieg" The Skrull said as the Captain was revealed to be Sieg.
"SHUT UP!!" Sieg roared.
He flew at the Skrull, punching him across the head. The Skrull swam back, landing a kick across Sieg's chest. Then he grabbed Sieg by his neck and unleashed a surge of electricity. Sieg yelled in pain as the electricity conducted off the water, but the Skrull was unaffected, smiling in a ghost like appearance, which probably meant he now had a form of density manipulation. Sieg's lifeless body began sinking to the bottom while the Skrull flew out of the water.
"SIEGFRIED!!" Nightcrawler yelled.
"Has been dealt with" The Skrull said smirking.
"YOU BASTARD!!!" Wolverine yelled as he flew at the Skrull, followed by Jean, Hank and Iceman.
Iceman created an ice spike, which he threw to Beast. Hank threw the makeshift javelin straight into the Skrulls belly, causing him to yell out in pain from the blow. The Skrull blasted Wolverine with his optic ray, then knocked Iceman off his slide. Beast landed a lucky kick to the Skrull's head before he "flamed on". Jean promptly absorbed the flames and unleashed them in a telekinetic wave. The Skrull was sent crashing straight through the bridge.
"FOOLS I AM INVINCIBLE!!!" The Skrull yelled as he began to grow in size.
The Skrull hovered at a size twice that of the bridge. While some of the X-men looked up in utter shock, Jean flew towards the invader.
"Ve need to get to Siegfried and fast" Nightcrawler said.
"It's no use Kurt!" Emma said, lowering her head.
"Vhat do you mean?" Kurt asked.
"He's dead Kurt" Emma said, her voice neutral.
"No, the kid cant be dead" Wolverine said.
"I think Emma's right, I cant feel any thoughts off him" Dani said, lowering her head as she spoke.
"I don't have enough strength left to fight him" Gentle said, his muscles returning to their ordinary mass.
"Sieg…DAMN YOU!!!" Wolverine yelled.
Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Storm, Wolfsbane and Warpath took flight towards the Skrull, joining Jean in her attack. Storm bombarded the Skrull with massive chunks of hail stones, while Warpath pulled on the Skrulls left ear. Wolverine stabbed his claws into the Skrulls back and began climbing up his spine. He came towards the base of the Skrulls neck and readied his claw.
"THIS ONES FOR YOU SIEG!!" Wolverine yelled, digging his claw into the back of the Skrulls neck. "AND LET'S NOT FORGET ABOUT GOOD OLD CYKE!!!" The Canadian mutant roared as he stabbed his other claw into the same place and began tearing into the Skrulls neck.
The Skrull flicked Wolverine off of him, his own shape shifting abilities helping in healing his wound. He suddenly yelled out in pain, as he felt Nightcrawler biting his eardrum. The Skrull changed into his flame form, but Nightcrawler managed to port out in time.
"YOU PATHETIC WEAKLINGS! IT'S POINTLESS TO OPPOSE ME!!" The Skrull yelled in a voice that shook the city.
His thunderous voice could be heard from miles away, it practically deafened the Starjammers as they approached the scene on a truck they had picked up.
"Hey, where are you guys going, it's a war zone out there" One of the police officers said as they blocked the area off.
"Sorry buddy but our families back there, Gabriel it'll probably be dangerous there so you can stay with these policemen" Alex said to his younger brother.
"No…I want to see the rest of my family" Gabriel said.
Alex nodded his head as he drove through the police barricade. At the Greymalkin building, the cuckoos couldn't access their telepathy to stop the approaching Black Phoenix. Part of it was the amount of power the masked man generated, another was the distraction of the battle.
"Sieg…no…oh god no he cant be dead!" Celeste whimpered while he sisters hugged her.
"BASTARD! YOU TOOK MY HUSBAND! YOU DECEIVED MY FRIENDS AND NOW YOU'VE KILLED AN INNOCENT BOY!!!" Jean yelled as the phoenix aura glowed around her.
She slapped the Skrull across the head with her wing, sending him stumbling backwards. The Skrull fired his optic blast, which flew past Jean. She turned her head and widened her eyes as the beam flew towards Hellion, Greymalkin and Hephzibah. The blast slammed into the bridge, the shockwave sent Hellion and Hephzibah flying onto the trunks of abandoned cars.
"Oh no…GREYMALKIN!!" Ink yelled.
"Wait, where is he?" Rockslide asked.
"He must have been in the middle of that blast" Sunspot pointed out.
"GET HIM!!!" Hellion yelled, flying at the Skrull with Wolfsbane, X-23 and Ink by his side.
"FOOLS!!" The Skrull cackled as he used Havok's blasts to disable X-23, tearing most of her costume and skin off.
"LAURA!!" Hellion yelled, scooping the clone up in his arms.
The Skrull then threw numerous fireballs from his fingers at Ink and Wolfsbane. Ink managed to fly out of their path, but his left arm received a serious burn. Rahne wasn't as fortunate.
"Oh god…RAHNE!!!!" Dani screamed as her best friend's charred remains fell to the ocean floor.
The remaining founding New Mutants looked at where Rahne had sunk in utter shock.
"Josh, X needs some help quick!" Julian said, landing beside Josh.
The healer didn't react, his thoughts occupied by the image of the woman he had once had an affair with.
"JOSH WAKE UP!" Nori yelled.
"RAHNE'S DEAD JOSH! NOW GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME OR LAURA'S GONNA DIE TOO!" Julian yelled in Josh's face.
Josh, snapped out of his haze, laid Laura out on the floor and pressed his hands against her wounds. Jean and Storm continued their assault on the Skrull with hail, wind and telepathy while the others stopped, mourning their dead, or just realising that they couldn't do a thing against this threat.
The rescue team had not reappeared in the place that Rogue had aimed for. They were instead in the heart of the Skrulls cafeteria.
"GREAT JOB ROGUE!!!" Cable yelled as his guns blazed, shooting down a hoard of Skrull guards.
Numerous Skrulls jumped at Rogue, but a flurry of explosive cards blew them away before she could launch her attack.
"Careful Cheri, your central to the escape plan" Gambit said as he kicked one Skrull across the head.
"He's right Rogue don't use up your energy" Slayer said as he blocked a swipe from one Skrull.
"And what about you?" Rogue asked.
Slayer slashed two Skrulls in half, and then impaled one on his blade. He threw the body on top of two more and swung the blade around, beheading six more Skrulls in a circle. Rogue dropped her jaw at the mans skill as he ran straight into a crowd of Skrull guards.
"I don't need my powers to deal with these guys…you shouldn't either!" Slayer added as he kicked another Skrull across the head.
Rogue nodded her head and used her own self defence skills to knock one of her attackers to her knees. She then removed both her gloves and grabbed one of the Skrulls by his cheeks. Rogue's skin turned a green colour as she accessed the Skrulls shape shifting abilities, changing her hand into a claw she used to slash the throat of one Skrull.
"I almost couldn't stomach working with you Bishop!" Cable said, banging one Skrull's head with his arm while Bishop blasted three more away.
"I did what I thought I had to do Nathan, to avoid a future that wasn't worth living in" Lucas said as his tentacles suffocated a Skrull guard.
"Less banter more running, follow me!" Slayer said as he sliced open one of the doors.
The team began running through the corridors of the one cell prison complex. Despite it being one cell it was still considerably large, and many guards tried to get in their way. Slayer's eye glowed as he dodged the swipes and gunshots of the guards, using his own superior skills to hack them down. A door opened ahead of them and four more Skrulls stepped out to face them.
One of the Skrulls wore a visor like Cyclops, with armour similar to Iron man's. The second had Angel's wings and a mark on his chest like Havok's logo; he also had claws like Wolverine's. A much bulkier Skrull obviously had the strength of some Avengers or X-men powerhouses while the much smaller female Skrull beside him had diamond skin and long red hair like Medusa's.
"I see Clerr Knot failed!" The armoured Skrull said.
"I knew all that power got to his head" The female Skrull muttered.
"Queen Veranke made a mistake gifting him with all that power, she should have given a more capable Skrull the chance to deceive the X-men" The Winged Skrull said.
"Are you guys going to banter all day, or are you going to come over here so we can kick your ass?" Slayer asked.
When the Skrulls didn't answer, the X-men plus Slayer ran forward. Bishop fired an energy blast into the bulky Skrull, smashing him through the wall. The Medusa type Skrull lashed at the X-men with her hair, slapping Slayer across the face. Jack immediately recovered and cut that strand of hair off her head. Rogue ducked underneath a punch from the Iron Skrull, allowing Gambit to throw an explosive card into his face. Cable shot at the female Skrull, who used her hair as a shield. The iron Skrull shot at Rogue and Gambit with Sunfire's flames. Gambit and Rogue ran across the room, avoiding the streak of fire that the Skrull created.
"You shouldn't have come here alone fool!" The Winged Skrull said, changing his hand into a liquid metal blade.
Slayer blocked the slash with his sword and countered with a thrust. The Skrull teleported, appearing behind Jack and slashing him across the back. Jack fell to the floor, breathing heavily as blood ran down his back. He closed his eyes and focused on using the eye. Slayer stretched his blade outwards just as the Skrull teleported. The Skrull reappeared, with Slayer's sword in his chest. As the Skrull yelled out in agony, Slayer tore the sword out of his chest, and then rammed it into his head.
"One down, three to go!" Jack said as he leant on his sword.
The bulky Skrull threw Bishop into a wall. The tentacles on his arm lashed out at the Skrull who ignored the cuts and grabbed Bishop by his neck.
"BISHOP!!" Cable yelled.
"Don't turn your back fool!" The female Skrull said.
"Try watching your back" Slayer said.
The female Skrull turned around to see Slayer behind her. He wouldn't have killed an opponent from behind, but luckily for him this Skrull's reflexes were slow and she could do little do prevent her death. Slayer's sword pierced through her diamond chest and straight into her heart. Bishop yelled out as the Skrull dug his teeth into his shoulder and tore off his robotic arm.
"Fool, you probably could have tried revealing the deception in the past, but then again it wouldn't have done you any good anyway, because your future would still come true" The Skrull cackled as he let the wounded Bishop fall to the floor.
"SKRULL!" Cable yelled as he bombarded the powerhouse with bullets.
The Skrull threw Bishop into Slayer and readied an energy blast for Cable. As Cable reloaded his gun the Skrull fired. But Bishop jumped into the path of the beam, absorbing its energy. Slayer threw his sword like a javelin, using his own magic to increase the speed it was flying at until it pierced through the Skrulls heart.
'That's three down, where's that other Skrull?' Slayer wondered, looking at Cable and Bishop, who gave one another a nod of respect.
"That future doesn't matter now, I've done terrible things in order to kill an innocent child, I killed Charles" Bishop said, dropping his head in shame "But I hope that I can gain some small redemption, by saving Scott"
"You don't need to ask for forgiveness from me Lucas" Cable said, patting Bishops shoulder.
"Aaaah how sweet!"
The three men turned around to see the Iron Skrull, dropping the battered Rogue and Gambit to the floor.
Sieg was alone, slipping into a black void.
'So this is death' Sieg thought to himself.
Suddenly he saw a light and images. Images of great heroes dying, images of Captain America, Hawkeye and Banshee. He then saw Rahne with the New Mutants, the countless adventures they had shared, the moments they laughed and cried, and her short but passionate romance with Elixir. Also came the image of Greymalkin saving Blindfold and fighting alongside his fellow X-men. But then he saw their deaths.
"Wolfsbane, Greymalkin" Sieg said.
"Sieg, get up!" He heard a voice call out.
"My hero!"
"If you want to accomplish something, if you want to be a hero then get the hell up"
"Come on Sieg, they need your help"
"Your not dead yet Sieg, your spirits still burning, so get back up and fight"
"These voices, they feel so familiar"
Sieg looked at a red-gloved hand reaching out to him. He grabbed the hand and felt a new strength within him. Wolfsbane was dead, so was Greymalkin and their murdered, the one who had deceived and upset Jean and Emma was allowed to go free. Siegfried opened his eyes, which glowed with a blue colour. He yelled out, his muscles expanding until the armour shattered. Energy sparked and crackled around him as he began floating to the surface. Jean, Emma and the cuckoos sensed Sieg as he was revived. He poked his head to the surface and saw the giant Skrull, and a smile crossed his face.
"What are you gawking at Grey?" the Skrull asked.
Jean merely pointed her finger down, where the Skrull looked.
"THIS IS FOR MY HEROES!!!" Sieg yelled.
Sieg, as bulky as the Hulk and definitely as strong applied a devastating uppercut to the Skrulls chin. The Skrull flew backwards, clutching his bleeding face. Sieg hovered in front of Jean, his arms folded as he looked at the Skrull with a stern expression on his face.
"Wow…that must take a lot of steroids!" Rockslide and Iceman said together.
"Nice abs!" Cessily said.
"So, you've seen muscles before" Hellion said.
"Not like those!" X-23 said weakly, with a smile on her face as she looked at Julian.
"Laura, are you all right?" Julian asked.
"Well enough to do this!" She said as she grabbed Julian's collar and pressed her lips furiously against his.
"Looks like she's all right" Josh said.
The Starjammers van pulled up beside Hank and Colossus, and the others were quite shocked to see the said team get out of the vehicle.
"Alex, firstly how the hell are you here and whose that kid with you?" Wolverine asked, pointing at Gabrielle.
"Long story short, that Black Phoenix bought us here and reversed Vulcan's ages and erased his memories" Alex said.
"Long story short here, Cyclops turned out to be a Skrull who kidnapped the real one" Wolverine said.
Alex and Gabriel widened their eyes in shock. They had been looking forward to a happy family reunion but now that was quite impossible. The two brothers turned their angered eyes to the Skrull, both of them giving off the familiar aura's they generated whenever they used their powers.
"SKRULL!" They both yelled.
Jean and Sieg turned around, to see Alex and the Starjammers standing on the bridge. They both flew out of the way as the two Summer's brothers held their hands out. Havok and Vulcan yelled as they unleashed a magnificent blast of energy that tore straight through the Skrulls shoulder, slicing off his arm. The X-men, despite their losses couldn't help but laugh as the Skrull yelled and cursed in anger.
"AAAAAGH FUCKING SUMMERS!!!" He cursed.
"Oh god I cant resist it, "has anyone seen my arm you…""
"IT WASN'T FUNNY IN THAT STUPID ANIME AND ISNT FUNNY NOW!!!" The Skrull yelled at Pixie.
"You can't miss it its green" Sieg finished smugly.
"YOU! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!!" The Skrull yelled as his eyes glowed a fierce red colour.
"Skrull!"
The Skrull and the X-men looked up at the sky, and immediately a look of pure fear crossed the Skrulls face as the Black Phoenix hovered above him.
"You have been revealed…and for your actions you will be punished!" The Black Phoenix said as he aimed the palm of his hand at the Skrull.
The Skrull suddenly began crying out as flames began trailing up his legs. He continued to scream until he disappeared.
"He will be punished, he will die over and over in the white hot room, for that should be his price for deception and murder" The Black Phoenix said as he disappeared.
The X-men were left speechless as the man disappeared. Alls that was left for them to do was go back home to mourn and wait.
The rescue team was left with a difficult situation; the Iron Skrull now had his lasers ready to melt both Rogue and Gambit while Slayer, Cable and Bishop looked on.
"The five of you made a vital mistake even thinking you could stop me" The Iron Skrull said.
"Fuck you!" Bishop growled as his arm glowed with pink energy.
Bishop blasted the Skrull away from Rogue and Gambit. While Bishop kept the Skrull busy, the rest of the team ran to the cell. Slayer cut the door down and the team members were visibly shocked by what they saw next. Scott Summers was chained to the floor, his face covered by a ruby quartz mask, and his body as thin as bone.
"Oh my god, Scott, what the hell did they do to him?" Gambit asked.
"This room generates waves that disrupt a humans brain when they're here for a long time, the only way we can wake him up is with Cable and Jean's help" Slayer explained.
Gambit reached into his coat for his lock picks, but stopped as Cable shot the chains.
"Party pooper!" The Cajun muttered.
Gambit and Slayer rested Scott's arms on his shoulders as delicately carried him out of the cell. Rogue and Cable followed close behind as Bishop rushed past them.
"Is Scott all right?" Bishop asked.
"What do you think?" Slayer asked.
Bishop lowered his head at Slayer's response knowing that was a stupid question. He looked behind Cable and Rogue and widened his eyes. The Skrull may have had his armour shattered but that wasn't the end. He held a diamond spike in his hand and was ready to throw it. As the Skrull javelin threw the spike Bishop didn't question what he did next. He ran forward, shoving Cable out of the spears path. Nathan watched in utter shock as the spike slid through Bishops chest and stuck out the other end. As Bishop slowly fell to his knees, Cable rushed forward.
"LUCAS!" He yelled.
Bishop coughed as blood flowed out of his wound, Slayer and Gambit rushed forward to deal with the Skrull while Cable held the bleeding man close.
"Come on Lucas stay with us, we'll get you home where Elixir can heal you" Rogue said, encouraging the man she had worked with numerous times.
"No way, the kids probably tired after all the healing from the battle with this other Skrull, besides I don't deserve it" Bishop said.
"Don't be ridiculous of course you deserve to live" Slayer said as he walked back up to the group, his sword stained by the Skrulls blood.
"I'm proud to die like this, proud to have made up for something that I've done…I wanted more than anything to prevent my future, or rather my past, but then I realised there's more than one way, my time with the X-men has been some of the happiest of my life and I wished those times had never ended" Bishop coughed heavily while the others gasped.
"Rogue, you've got to get us out of here, I don't have nearly enough energy for us to make it back to Westchester" Slayer said.
Rogue nodded her head and wiped her tears away as she began to focus the mystical energy she absorbed.
"Cable…Nathan, I'm sorry for trying to kill you and the baby all those times" Bishop said.
"You don't need my forgiveness, you did the same thing I would have done if I lived your life" Cable said.
"I need someones, after all I did kill Charles"
"No you didn't Bishop" Gambit said.
Bishop looked at the Cajun with a confused expression on his face.
"The Prof's still alive…looks like you're an even worse shot then you thought" Gambit said with a light smile on his face, but tears welling up in his eyes.
Tears of joy ran down Bishop's face as he felt his life slipping away. He smiled as he closed his eyes, the memories of his past fading away as he remembered all his adventures with the X-men. Cable slammed his fist into the floor while Rogue burst into tears, and was comforted by Gambit. Slayer bowed his head in respect for Lucas Bishop, the X-man till the end.
As the team reappeared outside the mansion the baby burst into tears. Soldier bowed his head, recognising the babies wails as wails of sorrow. He picked the baby up and rested her in another room, not wanting her to see Bishops body being carried in respectfully by Slayer and Cable while Gambit and Rogue carried Scott.
"He died a hero?" Soldier asked.
"He died a hero, an X-man!" Slayer said.
Soldier walked into the room he had kept the baby. He looked at his reflection on the reflective wall. First he checked whether there was anyone besides the baby inside the room before he removed his mask and looked at himself.
'Had you been there…no stop thinking like that…but no more, no more death or sacrifice from the X-men, ever if it costs you your life again Soldier, don't you let any of them die' Soldier vowed as he bowed his head and thanked god that men like Lucas Bishop had lived.
Next chapter 9: The reunion
With the end of the universe approaching the X-men return to Westchester, to reunite Jean with her happiness and Scott. Having little time to mourn, the X-men plan their final assault against the phoenix corps while Jean is reunited with Scott. Meanwhile Rachel bears witness to the beginning of the Black Phoenix's plan.
I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, there may be some inconsistencies with Bishops death in comparison to the comicbooks now, consdiering I havent actually read Cable's new series. I wanted to give Bishop a death that would redeem him for what he did during the Messiah Complex, I originally had the thought of Bishop blowing himself up with the prison complex, but then I stuck with the idea of Bishop taking a bullet for Cable and dieing a happy man
Next chapters the real reunion of Scott and Jean.