Chapter 42

Back with the 4 mutants hunting down Rogue they have managed to track down the car. It had been abandoned at the end of a dirt track essentially. Logan slices his claws into the driver's side door and rips it off. Sabretooth rips the passenger's side door off and the 2 sniff the interior of the car.

"Rogue," Logan confirms one scent he cab detect, his voice deeply gruff. At least it's definitely the right car even if its passengers are not here any longer. They're on the right track.

"Mesmero," Sabretooth confirms, intent on not being outdone by the runt.

They glare at each other face to face before both pulling back out of the car.

"I'm not getting Mystique's scent. Her powers are too evolved," Logan relays.

Sabretooth bangs the roof of the car. "That's because you don't know what you're talking about!" he shouts, trying to get one up on Logan even if he is as unable to detect Mystique's scent.

Logan snarls and leaps upward and lands on the roof, popping his claws, crouched and ready to strike. "I am not putting up with this any more!" he declares. Hours in Creed's company has left him this close to losing it.

"Neither am I!" Sabretooth roars back.

Before either can move Gambit places his staff between them to keep them apart while Domino aims both her guns, one at each of the hostile ferals.

"Here's a bulletin," Gambit says to them, determined they won't ruin any chance they have of finding Rogue. "D'is ain't about you pitbulls!"

"And if you push it I can assure you these weapons can take you down," Domino tells them, equally fed-up of the constant sniping and aggravation. "Logan already knows this but just to inform you, bigfoot, they were designed to put even someone with a healing factor into a coma...or if you really push me at the max setting, at point blank range, I can blow your head clean off your shoulders and even you can't regenerate from that and if you think I'm not capable of that just look into my eyes and see if I'm bluffing," she says, her voice hard in a way Logan has never heard.

Sabretooth gazes into the blue eyes now harsh and cold and paler by a shade or two and can see she means it.

Domino's not bluffing. Remember Stryker was training her to be a soldier/assassin. She hides most of it under her normal joviality but it is there.

Gambit's really impressed by this woman. "Lets go find Rogue," he states exactly what they're doing, no arguments. He retracts his staff.

Logan hops off the car, a little calmer.

"They've must have taken a boat," Sabretooth says, since they're near a river, him too getting back to business...though one day him and Logan he swears...

Domino rolls her eyes and uses one of her guns to point upward. "Or a plane perhaps," she says with exasperation at the stupidity and obliviousness as one flies over their heads, coming into land at a major airport nearby.

At the Institute...

With Apocalypse's true name Kitty has finally gotten somewhere. She brings up images taken off Egyptian walls. One image shows him in profile with the Pharaoh's headdress...and a lot of added lines and marking around the lips.

From other images they've discovered they don't believe it's decoration but an actual physical mutation Apocalypse had around his mouth. What precisely it was is hard to say. The image Kitty brings up also shows Apocalypse shooting some sort of energy blasts from his hands while people kneel before him in worship...or fear...or both.

"En Sabah Nur," Kitty begins to speak to Magneto and the Professor. "Ruled about 5,000years ago...in Giza." Kitty switches the images to more modern ones of the Giza plateau. "Logically speaking, this should be, like, the place he would be entombed," Kitty thinks. Egyptology isn't her strongest area but she thinks that's right.

The Professor leans in and absorbs the information for himself. "Except it's never been found," he lays down the bad news. "No-one knows exactly where it is."

"I fear the only place that information lies is within the mind of Mesmero," Magneto says dourly.

That gives Charles pause for thought. "I've been in that mind," he reminds them as he thinks back to what he saw within. "Perhaps...I've had the answer all along," he suddenly realises.

Kitty and Magneto share a look. Perhaps this is the breakthrough they've been looking for.

Up in the mansion the students are still trying to get along with the Acolytes as best they can. The adults have been keeping a lid on things, making sure nothing gets too out of hand.

The blond haired surfer Alex Summers is just trying to find his brother actually. Scott's been weirdly absent since they got back from the school.

He wanders the halls, passing a closet when he hears...crying?

Alex stops and leans in to listen closer.

It is. It is someone crying. A girl from the sound of it.

Alex gently raps his knuckles on the door. "Hello? Are you alright in there?"

"Go away," comes back the pleading sob.

Sorry. No can do. Alex can't just leave a pretty girl crying. He opens the door to find the green-haired girl known as Polaris. She looks...devastated and Alex can feel his heart bleed for her instantly. "Whatever it is it can't be that bad," he says.

Lorna looks at who has bothered her. "I just learned my father is a lying, deceiving monster!" she cries.

Alex rubs the back of his neck. Right. She's Magneto's daughter. He recalls that now. "Well I do have a stick firmly up his ass brother who tries to dictate my life if it's any consolation," he says to show he can offer a bit of solace.

Lorna wipes away some of her tears...and manages a small laugh at that.

Alex smiles lightly. "Look, I don't know the details, plus since I'm an X-Man I do kinda have a negative view on your father, no offence, but I'm sure deep down he does love you. I mean what's not to love right?"

Lorna smiles a little at the compliment. "You don't know me," she sniffs.

"I like to think I'm a pretty good judge from what I see. Have to be to be a surfer."

"I don't understand," Polaris says, clearly baffled by his words.

"Well I'm sure to you a wave is just a wave like every other wave but even if they appear similar they're all very different. Different feel, different attitude, almost as if they're alive. One could give you a bitchin' ride. The other will wipe you out." Alex takes a step forward. "I know it may seem bad whatever it is you have learned but trust me you find a way to find the joy in life again."

"How do you know?"

Alex decides to share the truth of his life with her. "I'm an orphan. I lost my parents. For a long time I thought I lost my brother too but we found each other again, against the odds. In fact it was because of your father we did."

"You did? He did?" Lorna asks in expectation and hope that perhaps her father has some redeemable features.

Alex doesn't want to get into the details about the whole Asteroid M thing because, despite Magneto's lies and manipulations, Alex will confess that that day wasn't his finest hour and says, trying to be honest with Polaris, "I'm not going to lie and say he's a saint because he's not."

Lorna nods. "I know there's great anger in him," she has recognised and accepted that. "I feel it too sometimes. Humans almost killed my mother just because she gave birth to me...and I was so angry at them..."

Alex nods. "And you're right to be so at those responsible. The difference in regards to your father is this. Your father blames every human alive for the acts of a few. You can't generalise like that. Just like with waves, you have to treat them all as individuals. One could judge you solely by being Magneto's daughter but that would be wrong," he tries to illustrate to her.

"He is a great man," Lorna insists...though that comes from the fact most children like to think their parents are great people.

"Never said he wasn't but that doesn't mean you can't disagree with him, does it?"

"I guess not," Lorna concedes.

"We all do bad things," Alex says, once again recalling his experience on Asteroid M. "The Professor believes that no-one is beyond redemption. Despite every argument and fight he and your father have had I think he still considers Magneto his friend...and I guess you'll still consider him your father no matter what he has done."

"Of course...but what he did..."

"Be angry at him. Scream, shout, throw things at him if it makes you feel better. Scott and I have done all that but we're still brothers."

"I don't know if I can forgive him for this," Lorna says sadly.

"I can't really say what to do without more detail," Alex tells her. "I'll listen if you want," he offers.

Lorna...chews that over. "Ok," she decides. "By the way what's your name?"

"Oh," Alex realises, mentally slapping himself for not saying. "I'm Alex. Alex Summers."

"Lorna Dane," she introduces herself.

Alex holds his hand out. "Nice to meet you Lorna."

Lorna takes the hand and shakes it. "Nice to meet you Alex."

They both smile at each other.

Wow, she really was pretty and had a fantastic smile, Alex has to say.

Lorna blushes slightly because now really looking at him he was sorta majorly cute.

The Professor and Magneto are down in Cerebro as Charles places the helmet on his head.

"Perhaps with Cerebro amplifying my powers I just may be able to interpret the jumbled knowledge I took from Mesmero," Charles theorises as he fires the great machine up. It amazes him this didn't occur to him weeks ago...but then again as usual for the X-Men they have had many, many other distractions.

Charles closes his eyes and reaches into his own mind, into the jumbled images he took from Mesmero in London. Specifically he tries to focus in on anything related to Egypt.

He sees it...Giza...the Pyramids...the Sphinx...and under that great statue...hidden chambers and within those chambers...something...an object...an Octahedron(diamond shaped) object like nothing he has ever seen...floating there above the ground...

That's it. That's the answer.

Charles snaps back to his body, breathing a little heavily.

"Charles?" Magneto inquires with mild concern.

"I've...I've found it. Buried beneath the Sphinx," he relays what he saw.

"Excellent," Magneto states. Now they were getting somewhere.

"For this task, Erik, we'll need to work together. Our issues..."

"Can wait until tomorrow," Magneto assures him.

"And our teams..."

"Will work together. I'll ensure it," he promises.

Charles just needed to be sure. "Thank you," he says.

Now they have a destination the Professor has to pick a team to take on the mission. Like was agreed only the most experienced which brings Charles to Jean's room.

"Professor," she greets him upon him entering.

"Jean, when you left the X-Men you said if the mission needed you, you would be there," he recalls her words. "I need you," he states it simply.

"Then I'm here for you, Professor," Jean assures him without hesitation.

Magneto was tiding up the loose end involving Haze before they disembarked on the mission. She may not be personally to blame for assisting Mesmero but the teleporter's mother was and Magneto knows Haze has a very strong bond with Mystique. It's something he'll need to deal with when this is over.

With him down in the infirmary are Regan and Martinique who...it's hard to describe, look extremely pleased with themselves...have this odd extra sway to their hips...have a greater than normal swagger when they walk...have this air of...know what Magneto doesn't want to know what they've been up to. Just as long as they do what he tells them.

"You're certain you don't want us to come?" Martinique inquires about this mission.

"No. Upon Haze's awaking have her take you back to the base and pass on my messages, word for word, to both Sinister and Frenzy," he instructs them. He had given them specific message for each of those people...especially in case he didn't survive this. It had occurred to him the dangers involved. As much as he would like to see his dreams come to fruition if he has to sacrifice his life to stop Apocalypse to save that dream then he is prepared to do so. Basically that's why the two sisters are not coming with him so they can perform this task.

"We will do as instructed," Regan promises. The truth is she and her sister have become quite involved in Magneto's dreams of mutant supremacy. It certainly has more appeal than of continuing to hide at the fringes of society. Beauty such as hers...and to a much lesser extent her sister should be on view for the whole world to see.

"Good. Now the mental blocks," Magneto refers to what needs to be done to protect his followers from Mesmero.

"Done," Martinique informs him that that task has been completed.

"Apart from Polaris," Regan gives the exception.

"We couldn't find her," Martinique explains.

Magneto's eyes narrow. Where could Lorna have possibly gotten to? He'll talk to Charles.

After his sunbathing Clark's feeling a lot better. Not fully recharged but good enough to go with the X-Men to Giza and stop Mesmero, Mystique and Rogue freeing Apocalypse.

He's in his Superman costume and is doing a favour for the Professor by collecting Scott who is being awful tardy by his standards.

He approaches Scott's room and his hearing picks up Scott speaking...over the phone it sounds like.

"I appreciate you'd want to help but considering Magneto's view of you it would only likely add to the tension. The Professor wants us and the Acolytes to work together so we're going to make it work. Of course I'll be careful. I'll see you when I get back...Emma."

Clark rolls his eyes. Seriously? Emma? He had a beautiful, kind, gentle and intelligent girlfriend already and he let them get broken up over what precisely? No good reason as far as Clark can figure. Scott's still his friend but Scott's also a complete moron for letting Jean go.

Clark knocks on the door and sticks his head in. "We're leaving in 5," he decides to just say.

Scott tries hiding the phone behind his back...for all the good that would do with Clark. "I-I'll be right there," he says in response. "Clark?" he then adds.

"What?"

"You ok?"

"I'm feeling much better, yes."

"Then why do you look...flushed?" Scott would describe it.

Clark flushes a little bit more. "Uh...sunbathing. Intense sunbathing to rejuvenate my powers. Has that effect," he explains it...a little too quickly.

Scott looks at his friend for a moment as if he doesn't quite believe him then shrugs his shoulders. "Alright. Give me a moment and as I said I'll be right there."

Clark nods and goes off...with a strangely quick stride.

Also now back up in the mansion Magneto is walking beside Charles as they track down his wayward daughter.

"Lorna!" Magneto shouts for her.

"Don't bother," a voice speaks that makes Magneto almost trip up over his own feet. Ahead of him and Charles has appeared Wanda, her arms folded across his chest, looking stern. "She won't come no matter how much you shout," she says, with a cruel looking smile.

"Wanda...what have you done?" Charles asks, sensing from the utter...smugness Wanda is projecting she's accomplished something she's pleased about.

"Told my sister the truth about him," she says, pointing at her father, hate slipping into her voice. "Told her what he is truly like. Told her what he did to me."

"Wanda...do you not think I regret that," Magneto speaks to his daughter, trying once again to make her see that it was a regretful but necessary decision he had to make.

Wanda lets loose a hollow laugh. "If you regretted it you would never have done it in the 1st place!" she comes close to screaming. Wanda is barely controlling her rage. "You make me sick. Did you not think I would work it out? Hmm? If she truly is my sister she's what? 2 years younger than Pietro and me? You're a bastard. How could you? How could you cheat on mom?" she asks, her voice full of whispered anger and sorrow for her late mother.

Magneto's voice grows pensive and quiet. "I could explain it to you but you don't want to listen to me."

"You're damn right I don't!" Wanda snaps. "Why would I when every word from your lips is nothing but lies!"

"Wanda, please," Charles pleads with her not to do this right now. He gets her anger. He shares it to a degree though is mostly just disappointed in Erik that he could do that to his own daughter. It's just today is not the day for this.

"I'm not going to hex him, Professor although believe you me he has no clue what I am now capable of doing to him. I will say this," she says, addressing her father head on. "I already hated you for abandoning me and sending me to that hell-hole. Can you even imagine what I feel now, now that I know what you did to my mother? I don't blame Lorna. She's innocent. You, on the other hand, have long run out of excuses. I know today is too important but let me say this, father, your day of reckoning at my hands is coming. This I swear on my mother's grave," Wanda tells him, her voice gravely serious and deadly and her expression more so.

She then turns on her heels and marches away from him before she can no longer control herself and hexes him anyway.

Charles rubs his head. This would be why he never considered bringing Wanda along on this mission.

Magneto's usually numb heart pinches in pain just a little. He gives Charles a look.

"Don't," Charles says, pre-empting what that look means. "You don't know the depth of her pain, hurt and anger. When she 1st came here it was all I could do to stop her hunting you down. The fact she didn't hex you on sight is a sign of progress. Don't push her, Erik," he warns his old friend off. "As she said you don't understand the depth of her power."

"Which means what, precisely?"

Charles sighs and decides what to say. He keeps it simple and general. "Given time to grow and learn, in all probability, Wanda is an Omega Level mutant. There is no real limit to what she can do."

Magneto knew she was powerful but that powerful? No. He's proud of the fact she is though. "I need to speak to Lorna," he still decrees. He's not leaving until he does.

Charles closes his eyes and searches for her with his mind to check she hasn't moved. No. She's still in the same place up ahead.

He and Magneto move forward...only to find their path suddenly blocked by a glowering Martha Kent.

Oh no.

Charles knew Martha had long wanted to have 'words' with Magneto as a fellow parent to tell the man how bad he was at being a parent. "Martha," he pleads, his voice strained, with her not to do this.

Magneto doesn't need to read minds to see this woman wants to say something. "You have something to say to me, human."

"Erik," Charles now pleads with him.

"No, Charles," Magneto refuses to comply. "If this human wants to say something let her. Never let it be said I don't offer even them a chance to air their views."

Charles silently groans. This will so not end well.

Martha starts with, "You're a holocaust survivor, yes?"

"I am," Magneto states coldly. "But if you wish to express sympathy for me spare yourself the effort," he warns her off. "I have long ago grown tired of hearing that. It changes nothing. My family are still dead and far too many of those responsible have been allowed to escape the justice they deserve."

"I may have expressed sympathy once...until I learned what you did to Wanda."

"It was necessary," Magneto states the logic of his actions, the sad necessity of his choice.

"She was a little girl, your little girl," Martha accuses. "She didn't need controlled or whatever wishy washy excuse you came up with to justify yourself. All she needed was her father. For what you did I would think that there's a very special section of hell awaiting you...but that is not my place to judge. I am curious though when did you stop?"

"Stop? Stop what?" Magneto wants her to clarify.

"Stop seeing people as individuals and start seeing them all as the same monsters you depicted the Nazis who murdered your family. That's the truth of what happened isn't it? You just kept hating and hating until hate was all you had left...until you forgot who were the criminals and who were the innocents. By the way your daughter is an innocent."

"You think I hate my own daughter?"

"I think you don't know how to do anything else any longer. Part of me thinks some of the things Wanda has imaginatively threatened to do to you, you deserve...but what she deserves is to never fall down that slippery slope you disappeared down years ago and no matter what justice you actually deserve I'm going to make sure she doesn't end up like you."

Martha strides unafraid right up into Magneto's face. "I have been helping look after your daughter since the moment she got here and I may just be a poor, human, not blessed with your gifts but I could never even imagine sending her away. A parent loves their child unconditionally and the reverse is true. That's why she hates you so much."

"What?" Magneto asks, puzzled.

Martha shakes her head. "I shouldn't even have to explain it," she says in partial disdain he can't see it. "She loved you. You were her father. You were all she had left after she lost her mother and you threw away like garbage. To avoid where you are now all you had to be was her father...and you couldn't even manage that. You made the choice that your personal vendetta, your personal war, against humanity was more important than her. Live with the consequences, Magneto. Live in a world where your daughter will never, ever forgive you...and usually I can forgive almost anything but for what you did not even I can conjure up forgiveness nor sympathy."

Martha has only one more argument to make. "Who's the real monster between us, Magneto? Me, a human, who has done nothing but care for your daughter, be there for her birthdays, listen to her pain, give advice as she tries to make the transition into adulthood or her father who threw her away? Her father who wasn't there for her for any of that? Do you even know anything about her? Favourite food? Colour? What she enjoys doing in her spare time? Who her friends are? What her dreams are for the future? What makes her cry? You can't even answer a single one of those can you and if that doesn't tell you what a monumental failure you are as a parent and a human being," she deliberately calls him that, knowing how much he sees that as an insult, "then you truly are beyond even the slimmest hope of redemption."

And with that Martha barges past him leaving him with her words ringing in his ears.

Charles blows out a breath. Not that all of that wasn't true nor perhaps that Magneto needed to hear it, he's just not sure this was the best time for it. He looks at Magneto who hasn't moved a muscle, his face hidden by the shadow of his helmet. "Erik..." he tries.

"I don't require your sympathy either, Charles," Magneto coldly dismisses any attempt to talk. "Can you send a message to either Regan and Martinique. Tell them to find Lorna and take her home. We've wasted enough time," he suddenly decides.

"Very well," Charles relents, not wishing to start an argument but its clear as day Martha's words have actually stung Erik. The less magnanimous side of Charles thinks 'good' because he too agrees with most of what Martha has said. Charles never could understand how Erik could just abandon his daughter like that.

Down in the hangar the team the Professor has chosen for this mission gathers. Cyclops, Jean, Iceman, Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, Beast, Storm and Superman.

He has his reasons for who he did and did not include.

"Sure ye don't want me t' tag along, Charley-boy?" Banshee asks in his Irish lilt as she sees them off.

"As much as I would appreciate your aid, Sean, I need you here to look after the students...and should we fail someone who can lead the fight against Apocalypse," Charles gives his reasons for Banshee staying behind. "I trust few more than you."

"You'll make me blush," Sean turns it into a joke but this was deadly serious and he'll do what Charles wants. He'll try not to think hard on Charles words. Should they fail...they may well not return.

Magneto's team is also there. Colossus, Pyro and Quicksilver.

"Where's Polaris?" Pietro wonders.

Magneto is about to dismiss that argument when he is interrupted.

"I'm here," Polaris states as she walks purposefully into the hangar. She's been talking with Alex...who was a good listener and a nice guy on top of being cute and has made a decision about what she learned on her father. She stalks right up to Magneto. "Once this is over we're going to be having a long, long talk," she promises with intent and then turns her back on him. She's decided she'll perform this mission, stopping Apocalypse is what is important but she is not forgetting what her sister said. She looks at Pietro. "And you're not getting off lightly either," she tells him with a jabbing finger pointed at him.

Pietro winces. When she speaks like that she sounds just like their father. She seems to take after him...which is not a good thing.

Magneto's heart feels a little lighter at just seeing Lorna and that she still wants to speak to him...however unpleasant that conversation is likely to be. At least it's not the pure hate that pours off Wanda.

"Are we going?!" Lorna asks, ire clear in her voice.

"Yes," Charles answers. "We are."

The X-Men board the x-jet while Magneto and the Acolytes get into the metal transport spheres they use.

Jean and Scott are cordial to each other but silent.

"Vhat vas zhat about?" Nightcrawler asks Shadowcat in a whisper about what Lorna was saying.

"Have no idea," she whispers back in admission.

"Avoid getting tangled in family feuds. Trust me," Superman tells them because look what has happened to people who got involved in his feuds with his Kryptonian father.

"Little late for me," Kurt says in a strained voice. His sister, his mother, his other sister. He couldn't be more involved if he tried. He kinda wishes Alicia had woken up before they left so they could have talked but he guesses fate wasn't going to cooperate with his wishes today.

"Sorry," Clark says with a small wince at being so stupid to forget that. "We'll find them, Kurt."

"Absolutely," Storm says with full confidence, getting involved in this conversation. "Logan never loses his prey once he has their scent," she gives the reason she has full confidence. Her faith in Logan.

Kurt has his own faith. His faith in God. He mutters a quiet prayer that he will find his family safe and that his fractured, split family can be pulled back together...however a distant possibility that may seem to be.

As soon as they are all aboard the x-jet it takes off, roaring into the sky, heading for Giza as quickly as it is possible to go, with 5 metal spheres following on behind.

Back with Gambit, Sabretooth, Logan and Domino they track Rogue's and Mesmero's scents not to the busy public airport but the smaller private one next to it. They bust down the door to the control tower, all tensed up, ready for action. Logan with his claws out, Domino with her guns drawn, Gambit with his staff, Sabretooth ready to literally pounce. They make their way up the stairs to find all the personnel in the tower lying around, out like lights.

Domino's guess from the way the people look is that Rogue drained them.

"Yeah, they were here," Sabretooth says as he sniffs around.

"Gee what was your first clue?!" Logan tears Creed down at stating the obvious. "Think they stole a jet too?" he mocks.

Sabretooth growls. He is not putting up with the runt mocking him.

"Hey!" Gambit shouts, interrupting before those two start again.

He and Domino are at the radar screen.

"D'is d'em?" he wonders. He's not an expert on these things.

Domino has some experience. "I think so." She points at the screen to illustrate some things. "This is the normal flight path," she indicates where most of the blips are. She then points to one lonely blip away from the others, heading west. "This one is way off that."

Logan growls quietly as he peers over Dom's shoulder and sees the situation. "They're already almost at California," he gripes as he realises how far they've gotten already. That's a big lead.

Gambit looks up, out the window and spots a fast looking private jet sitting on the tarmac that they can, ahem, 'borrow'. "Gambit hope you all brought your frequent flier miles," he quips.

"That was my line," Domino moans at being beaten to the punch...punchline that is.

Gambit smirks. "Too slow, ma jolie dame."

"You're just lucky I'm the best, fastest damn pilot there is," Domino tells him, jabbing him in the chest.

"Craziest is most like it," Logan frames Dom's piloting skills.

"It's the same thing isn't it?" Domino says with a huge shit eating grin.

"We're doomed," Logan mutters.

Giza, Egypt...

The x-jet sets down on the sand near the famous Sphinx. Darkness had long ago fallen on the plateau by the time they got here. The 5 spheres land next to the jet and they all disembark and walk to in front of the huge statue.

"I believe the door is housed in an underground chamber," Charles gives what he thinks is here. Apocalypse's tomb and the final unopened door that they must guard with their lives. "Superman?"

Superman looks down, his eyes flashing electric blue.

"What's he doing?" Polaris asks.

"Superman possesses what we call x-ray vision," Beast answers the question. "It allows him to see through almost anything."

Polaris is deeply uncomfortable at that idea and folds her arms across her chest as if covering herself.

"Every time," Superman mutters in complaint under his breath. Every time someone learns of that their first conclusion is that he must look through their clothes. He frowns. "This is weird."

"Elaborate," Magneto requests.

"There's a void under the statue, certainly. A large void. I can see that much but it's all fuzzy and indistinct. I can't see details. Either Rogue drained more out of me than I thought or there's something down there interfering with my ability to see through it."

"So we don't know what we're sending Shadowcat into," Cyclops summarises the situation gravely.

Send a Shadowcat who was being fitted up with a breathing mask because the plan always was to have her phase her way down into the tomb. The assumption is that there must be a way to connect the surface to the underground tomb. Easier to find it from the inside than from out. Only problem now is that Superman can't keep an eye on her in case she gets into trouble.

Beast finishes fitting the mask and turns on the small torch strapped to the right side of her head. "We'll be in constant radio contact," he informs her.

"I'll let you know what I find," Shadowcat says back, trying to remain cheerful and optimistic. Kitty wishes Peter was here but they do live lives that involves them doing separate things. She takes a breath and phases, allowing gravity to do the work as she slowly sinks into the earth.

Shadowcat gets as far as up to her knees and stops as a small wave of panic hits her. This is sort of her phobia. Terrified she'll one day phase and the only thing that can affect her is gravity and she'll fall...fall right to the centre of the Earth and be trapped there forever.

'Come on Katherine. Man up girl!' she mentally berates herself. It's a silly, little irrational fear and she needs to get over it.

Another breath, arms outstretched and she dives head first like a diver on a board into the ground.

Down and down she goes through the Earth...and just as she is starting to panic there is nothing here she passes through a ceiling and the light on her torch picks up walls decorated with hieroglyphs. She pauses, floating...yes she can float...well technically she changes her density so that she can literally walk on air. She lowers a bit and gets startled by a giant jackal-headed statue whose face she is eye to eye with.

She spins round and gets spooked by a giant bust of Apocalypse. She loses concentration, her body resumes its normal phase and she drops to the floor like a stone, landing on her back.

"Ok, ow," she whines softly. "So glad no-one was around to see that." Because that would have just been totally embarrassing.

Kitty gets to her feet and rubs her sore butt. She looks up at the bust that spooked her and tries not to panic at being trapped in the mega spooky tomb but when she reports back up over her communicator her voice is shaking slightly and is nervously high-pitched. "I landed in front of a stone stairway in some sort of chamber. It looks huge," she reports what is in front of her right now.

"Kitty," Beast's calm voice breaks in as he tries to imagine what she is describing and how it can help them. "Do you see any sort of lever at the top of those stairs?" he asks her to check.

"Hold on. I'll look," she says as he walks up them. She reaches a dead-end. A wall covered in marking and images. "I think I found it," she says. "Like a stone knob," she describes the circular stone in the centre.

"Push it in and then get out of the way," Beast instructs her.

It takes some effort to move it but Kitty pushes it in. The whole chamber shakes as the wall slides apart and opens up.

Up above, the ground too shakes, violently...as the earth splits apart. Magneto, Polaris, Jean and Superman all float above the ground on instinct. Two enormous doors slide apart to reveal stones which are rearranging themselves to form a stairway down into the Earth between the front legs of the Sphinx.

Down below Kitty watches the stones slide back to form the stairway. As moonlight floods in Kitty notices that it illuminates lots of tiny glowing crystals in the wall that glow with a faint blue light. Makes it look like the wall is covered with twinkling stars.

Superman looks down the stairwell, slightly incredulously, shaking his head with concern. Why couldn't he see that?

Magneto magnetically lifts Charles in his wheelchair and they all make their way down inside the tomb.

By the time they get down there Kitty is sitting, knees up against her chest, waiting nervously. This place is so creeping her out.

"Pyro. Light the way and then we'll find that door," Magneto commands.

"No problem," Pyro says with his usual enthusiastic zeal for burning stuff. He sets off a blast of fire that leaps from one standing torch to another that lights up the chamber they are in, revealing it lined with giant statues and another small set of stairs at the far end leading into a hallway leading to who knows where. There's another set of steps heading downward off to the right.

Superman is...Clark is feeling a bit weird...and he's not just meaning the ambiance. He felt it as soon as he stepped inside. He dismisses it. It's nothing.

"I'm not ashamed to admit it but I am creeped out," Kurt says as he walks past Kitty who is now back to her feet, holding the breathing mask in her hand.

"You!" Kitty whispers harshly. "I was down here alone," she reminds him. He's creeped out?! Give her a break and imagine how she felt down here in the dark alone.

They all start to walk forward and fan out looking for anything that might lead them to the door they seek.

What no-one notices is the stone cracking in the eyes on one of the giant jackal-headed statues and those eyes glowing with a faint yellow light.

Small bits of stone fall just in front of Superman. Clark bends down and pick them up, rolling them between his thumb and finger. He then looks up at the statue next to him...which looks back down at him. Oh boy!

Then another statue, one with a bird head starts to move. Another with a snake's head makes a hissing roar. Another bird head one also comes to life. Yet another snake head one also roars. Another bird head one squawks. Another jackal head statue also roars.

The chamber shakes...and the door and stairs they entered down closes up behind them.

"We're trapped!" Cyclops exclaims. They've walked right into a trap.

All the statues begin to advance on them from all sides, they're surrounded...just as the torches die out leaving them trapped completely in the pitch black dark...

Author's Note: Hey with them hanging around the mansion I couldn't not include a scene where Alex and Lorna meet...and Wanda gets to vent at her father a little...and I think I had Martha wanting to have words with Magneto since the day Wanda 1st came to the mansion. For the composition of the team that goes to the Sphinx I tried not to stray too far from the one used in the episode so the only changes I went for were the addition of Polaris and Superman. And I'm so not planning to clarify what happened with Clark and Regan and Martinique by the way. I'm just going to leave it very ambiguous. Thanks to everyone who write reviews. Next up; Dark Horizons part 5 as the X-Men fight for their lives.