A/N: I actually had this scene dreamt up and written for a while now, but since Red Witch just put up hers I thought I'd add this disclaimer just so I don't here any accusations or complaints about how similar it is to her scene. I still love what she did with hers though. Hope mine measures up…I should warn you it's not pretty and there will be character death…a lot of it! Those with sensitive hearts and stomachs should consider themselves warned…

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THE SLAUGHTER

The Xavier Institute – A Few Hours Earlier…

"XAVIER!" Emma Frost bellowed as Beef ripped the door of the Institute open for her. "GET YOUR SHINY HEAD AND CRIPPLED ASS OUT HERE NOW AND GIVE ME BACK MY DAUGHTER!"

"Stars and garters?" Hank gaped as the Hellions swarmed into the Institute.

"Emma! Calm yourself and call off your students!!" Xavier demanded telepathically. "What are you talking about--?"

"Sharon is gone! Missing and I KNOW you and your pet wolf were responsible!" Emma shrieked.

"You are being ridiculous!" Xavier snapped back as the New Mutants assembled around him. "Neither Rahne NOR Sharon is here…"

"Ah but the ones I want are." A new voice chuckled. Xavier and Emma turned to look. Standing behind the Hellions was a man with green hair and a goatee encased a futuristic looking suit of armor with a transparent helmet. He appeared to be shielded telepathically as neither one of them detected him.

"Who are you?!" Emma hissed, her eyes narrowing.

"My name…is Trevor Fitzroy. A lesser member of the Hellfire Club no one YOU would have heard of." He said airly as he waved a well-manicured hand for emphasis. "But that's about to change. You see some of us are tired of waiting for you Inner Circle types to pass on…so we decided to FORCE the issue."

"The Lord Imperial will never allow an upstart like you a place in the Inner Circle." Emma spat.

"Upstart? I rather like that." Fitroy chuckled. "But you're wrong. You see he's decided to go with the sentiment of 'survival of the fittest.' If you're strong enough to take it, you deserve it. If you're too weak…then it's your own fault. Actually, me and my fellow 'Upstarts' as you call them, have decided to make a game out of it. We get points for the money we make, the heroes we dispose of, and the Inner Circle members we dispose of! And taking care of you and Xavier here—" Fitzroy grinned. "Will put me in the forerunning for a spot on the new Inner Circle!"

"Don't count on it!" Evan shouted as he launched a flaming bone-spear at Fitzroy, only to see it bounce off him.

"You people are so backwards." Fitzroy sneered. "I knew coming here from the future would make me a king among the savages. You see, my power allows me to make portals based on life-energy that I drain. Like so!" He shouted for emphasis as he grabbed Jetstream's arm and drained the life out of him. A dessicated husk fell to the ground. Over Emma's cry and Xavier's yelling, the battle—no, the massacre—began.

After Jestream, Beef fell next drained of his life too. Tarot was killed next, this time by a hail of gunfire from a pistol embedded in Fitzroy's suit. Emma and Xavier tried to overcome him telepathically…Betsy and Yvonne helped as well.

Fitzroy pushed a button on his suit that sent a telepathic shockwave back along the connection Xavier and the others were trying to make with Fitzroy's mind. Emma cut the connection in time…the others weren't so fortunate. They fell to the ground, clutching their heads and falling into a coma.

With a primal roar more suited to Wolverine, Hank leapt at Fitzroy next. Fitzroy grabbed the broken door and swatted Beast aside with it. Amara, Jubilee, Tim, Roberto, and Ray used their powers on Fitzroy, but he was protected by some sort of forcefield.

"Watch out!" Everett cried right as Fitzroy lunged and grabbed Roberto by the arm, draining him of his life energy.

"The son of Emmanuel DaCosta! I'll earn points for myself and undercut HIM at the same time!" Fitzory laughed as he activated a flamethrower that boiled Roulette alive.

Her agonized screams gave Monet pause. She turned and fled out the door, taking to the sky. "Coward!" Emma spat not noticing as Fitzroy shot Ray through the throat and proceeded to absorb both Amara AND Tim's life force. Everett fell next.

Fitzroy laughed contemptuously as Angel tried to stop him from killing Jesse. Not only did Angel fail…but Fitzroy did have EVER so much fun as he tore the pretty boy's wings off! He left Angel alive…but bleeding badly.

Momentarily distracted, Fitzroy didn't notice Sam cannonballing towards him until he was blasted through the wall of the Institute. But Fitzroy bounced back, climbing through the hole and firing madly at the pitifully few survivors. Danielle caught a bullet in the chest and collapsed.

He started to advance on Paige, the poor girl who was too shocked by the horrors she'd just witnessed to run.

"Paige MOVE!" Sam screamed.

"Too late!" Fitzroy laughed as he reached out his hand—only to have it pierced by a bone-spear." Howling in pain, Fitroy was helpless to stop Evan from scooping Paige up and carrying her out of his reach.

Dead Girl tackled Fitroy from behind, trying to pull off his helmet, the thing that protected him from telepathic assaults. Fitzroy grabbed her.

"You're next!" He shouted as he started to drain her. "What?"

"Can't drain me…I'm already dead!" Dead Girl shouted. "Penny now!"

"What?" Fitzroy wondered as he looked around. Penny, scampering across the floor on all fours, lashed out with her tiny pink claws tearing away at the armor protecting Fitzroy's ankles. "YEEOWCH!"

Jamie's clones mobbed Fitzroy as the real one hung back, confidant that he couldn't drain HIM. Jamie's belief proved unfounded: Fitzroy drained one of the clones and Jamie felt more terrible than he ever had in his entire life. He couldn't even maintain his clones.

Fitzroy tossed Dead Girl off of him and marched towards the few surviving New Mutants and Hellions…Sam, Paige, Jubilee, Forge, Dead Girl, Jamie, Penny, Betsy, Yvonne, and Evan. Hank was still unconscious, Angel bleeding on the floor, Xavier was in a mental state of shock from telepathic backlash, and Emma—now in her diamond form—was the only thing between Fitzroy and the remaining students. He laughed.

What could stop him now?

That was when he noticed the crack in his helmet. It must've been caused when Sam crashed into him. Emma reached out with her mind and brushed Xavier's…still active despite his body's paralysis. "Xavier…now! With me!" Using their combined telepathic talents Emma unleashed a horrible psychic attack on Fitzroy's mind, channeling all the pain and anguish the survivors felt and the residual screams of the dead, right back into the murderer's mind.

Clutching his helmet, Fiztroy screamed and screamead. Blood bubbled out of his ears and his nose. Finally, his eyes rolled up into his head and the collapsed on the floor, dead.

That was when Emma collapsed too.

The battle was over, but at what price? The Velocity landed a few moments later.

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