The mission is over. God, Erik will never forget the horrors he's seen in the last few hours. Mutant after mutant in varying states of experimental dissection and forced holdings. Mutants dosed with what turned out to a lobotomized Jason Stryker's brain fluids, controlled and made to guard this house of horrors.
Charles, Erik, Logan, and Alex had arrived at this particular facility to shut it down for good, while Mystique, Colossus, Banshee, Emma, and more X-men in separate groups had made simultaneous strikes on various other sites. This one, though, with the tightest security ... disguised as an anti-mutant sympathizer at the very top of the chain, Mystique had caught the barest whiff of a top-secret extra-governmental project and reported the information and codes to Charles, who used Cerebro to investigate. He'd emerged shaking and covered in cold sweat from the experience, and immediately put together teams to salvage the remains of the mutants he'd discovered, and destroy the rest.
Everyone is gray with exhaustion, Charles more from withholding and defending than attacking. Charles had managed to put down the mutants without harming them, but as for the humans involved ... the others had no scruples regarding the scientists or officers. Logan had positively dug in, Erik had deflected the weapons, and Alex, well, he'd blasted the entire underground structure to nothing.
Erik is doing last minute checks for any moving metal signaling approaching guns, and consequently, human reinforcements. Alex has just stepped onto the Blackbird and is holding out his hand to help Charles up when Charles stumbles back and would have fallen if Logan had not caught him. "Some sort of ... supernova went off ..." Charles stammers, then recovers himself. "We have to go back. Logan, fly the Blackbird to the mansion."
They glance at each other. Alex voices the obvious question. "Um, Professor, how will we get back?"
Charles smiles grimly. "Erik, Alex, and I will go another way. Our ride happens to less than 50 miles from here."
Suddenly Azazeal is in their midst. Alex steps back, hand glowing red and raised to blast this new unexpected threat before he takes note that the other mutant is quite impressively under-dressed to attack anyone. In fact, if anything, Azazeal looks prepared only to go to bed.
Charles orders, "Westchester. Now."
The devilish looking mutant regards them with an impressive glower, though in reality his expression might have been merely blank. It is hard to tell, with his usual face akin to that of a ritual mask used in Satanic worship. "I'm not your private chauffeur, Xavier."
"Nice trick," Erik comments. "I could never get him to play fetch properly, myself."
Alex is about to make a petty remark on revealing male sleepwear but the intense worry on Charles' face precludes this occasion being one of levity.
''I won't ask again," Charles tells him, voice steely, as he holds out an imperious hand. Now definitely glaring, Azazeal complies, transporting Charles, Erik, and Alex back to the school.
They arrive at the estate to a scene of flaming ruin and screams of fearful confusion. Ororo is bravely trying to extinguish the flames by calling down rain but she is only a scared 13-year-old. Hank and Mystique are herding the children away from the collapsing mansion wing as Sean uses his shrieks to blow the debris in the other direction.
"Better look to your own, Xavier," Azazeal shrugs nonchalantly before disappearing in his customary red smoke.
Charles, Erik can see, is too stunned by the destruction to act immediately. After only a moment to take in the situation, Erik throws up his hands to stop the metal in what had been a bedroom ceiling from falling down on a boy who is simply standing there, eyes open and blaring panic-
"Scott!" Alex yells, sprinting toward his brother. "You have to shut your eyes!"
Scott starts to turn toward them, eyes still wide and shocked. Alex is immune to the glare, but Erik sees death for himself and Charles in the boy's gaze-until Charles, face blank, starts to push. Push back. The force of his own optic beam is going to to blow Scott into oblivion.
"Charles!" Erik barks in warning, reaching out a hand and shaking him.
The telepath looks past him, through him. In Charles' sightless blue eyes he sees ice enveloping fire.
"Stop!" Alex screams, halfway across the lawn and looking agonized.
When Charles only continues to look on with a closed expression, Erik tackles him to the ground. The action is effective; it gets the telepath's attention and takes them out of the line of fire before Alex can calm his shell-shocked brother.
Charles shoves him off. "What the hell-" he starts to snap, then trails off as he looks around, "... happened here?"
"Talk later," Erik commands. "We have work to do."
Colossus has done an admirable job of holding up falling floors, it is discovered. However, at least a third of the mansion is decimated, partly from Scott's optic beams, and partly from ...
"... the emergence of the Phoenix. That's what Jean called herself," Hank reports from his seat on what had been a fireplace mantle and is now a burnt-out hollow.
"What the hell kind of name is that," Logan mutters.
"The Phoenix is a mythical creature that rises from her ashes and-" Hank retreats at Logan's brittle stare.
Charles does not appear to paying attention. His lips are moving, mouthing again and again, "Oh, God. Oh, God-"
Erik gazes at the incredible destruction wrought by the Phoenix, the huddled groups of students in pajamas on the lawn, and perhaps even more worrisome, Charles' reaction. "-help us all," he murmurs, with only the barest trace of irony.
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*author is sad because no one leaves reviews* Huh. Guess I'm doing something wrong. :(