Here's an exclusive look-back at the entirety of Season 1 of X-Men: Standing Guard before the Season Finale tomorrow! Also, look for an exclusive sneak peek at the new series Bishop during the Finale.
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Rogue's partner pulled out a radio. "X-23 to Sentinel, target is cryoknetic, threat level 1."
"Roger, X-23," a scratchy voice came over the radio. "Return to base."
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"He's harmless?!" Trask exclaimed. "He just attacked two police officers and mugged someone!"
"Sir, is it possible you aren't getting the full story here?" X-23 asked.
"What are you implying, Agent X?" Trask demanded.
"I trust Rogue with my life, sir, as do many people here. If she didn't get that type of reading off of the boy, then maybe the story got mixed up. It isn't the first time someone's gotten something wrong when dealing with mutants."
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"So you mugged him? When is enough going to be enough? When will someone do something about you mutant freaks?"
"I'm not a freak!" Bobby growled through gritted teeth. "And I'm not a thief!"
The officer slammed Bobby's face into the ground. "Shut up mutey."
Bobby growled, then yelled. A wave of frigid air burst from his body and sent both officers flying back. Bobby froze the handcuffs, shattering them against the brick wall.
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"Rogue, what are you doing here?" X asked. She glanced at the red-head's thigh. "Why are you carrying a gun? I did not think you had been given one yet."
"X, we gotta go. Now!" Rogue said breathlessly, grabbing the smaller girl's arm.
"What are you talking about?" X asked.
"Trask just issued a kill order for me. We gotta go, now!"
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"I'm sorry, Professor," Lorna said. "I don't know who she is and I didn't want to let her in in case—"
Charles stopped at the door in stunned silence. The girl outside smiled awkwardly.
"No, no," Charles said distantly. "It's alright, Lorna."
He turned to the visitor. "Welcome home, Rogue."
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"Rogue can absorb memories and abilities through skin contact as well as being able to render you unconscious, should she chose to."
"Shouldn't you be wearing gloves?" Kitty replied. "No offense…"
Rogue laughed. "I have it completely under control."
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Rogue rounded on Charles, her red hair swirling with her. "Kitty Pryde, as in pride with a y? As in McKenna Pryde?"
"Her sister." Charles confirmed.
Rogue just looked at him for a minute before quietly asking: "Does she know?"
"No," Charles said. "You know how good I am at keeping secrets, Rogue. I was hoping you would tell her, though."
"I can't tell 'er that!" Rogue exclaimed. "She can never know about her sister, she can never know about me, and she can never know the truth!"
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"What of our primary objective?" Fury asked, flipping open a file on his desk with one hand, looking at a picture of X-23.
"She's secure." The agent responded.
"Keep an eye on her. I put you in that position to keep her subdued, safe, and off of the path of her past."
"I understand, and I've done pretty well so far." The agent replied.
"Night Director Fury."
"Good Night Agent Rogue."
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"What are you doing here?" he asked, tucking the cards away and walking towards the cell door.
"Wanted t' see how you were doin'. I was afraid you'd done gone and busted outta here, left me all alone."
"Oh no, my dear Rogue. If ever I break out, I'm taking you with me." Gambit responded.
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Rogue laughed. "Yeah right!"
Gambit acted offended. "You don't believe me, Chere?"
"You're telling me you could get out of this base without bein' caught…with only one card?" Rogue asked incredulously, holding up the card in her hand.
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Rogue grabbed the back of his head and pushed it towards her, pressing her lips to his. Gambit's eyes widened in shock. It took him slightly longer than two seconds to wrap his arms around Rogue's waist and kiss her back, strongly, passionately.
"If that's what I get when I lose," Gambit said. "What do I get when I win."
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"Remy!" Rogue yelled. "What the hell do you think yo're doin'?" she demanded.
"One card, chere." He replied, flashing a business card at her. He tossed her wallet to her and she caught it. Rogue released her arm from in front of X, and like an unchained attack dog, she leapt at him. At the same time he tossed the wallet, Gambit threw the card into the wall and it exploded, blasting a hole big enough for him to escape through and throwing X-23 backwards into a wall.
"Au revoir!" Gambit called through the smoke. "Maybe soon, chere."
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"I ain't in a chattin' mood, so don't bother." Rogue said before the new arrival could open their mouth.
"Now, why would you go and treat me like that, Cherie?" the voice replied.
Rogue almost choked on her beer, her eyes widening. She turned and looked at the cocky Cajun.
"Gambit?" she asked. "What the hell are you doin' here?"
"This is my neck o' the woods." Gambit responded, leaning on one arm. "What're you doin' here?"
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"Dumbest person on the face of the Earth." She cried out. "Are you tryin' to get yo'rself killed?"
"Oh, yes, well, don't be thankful!" Gambit exclaimed. "It ain't like I took a—unn—bullet for ya or anyth'ng!"
"Honestly," Emma said, descending down into the alleyway. "You two sound like an old married couple!"
"I ain't old." Rogue replied.
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X-23 stood on the rooftop as Rogue walked circles around her, studying her.
"I feel ridiculous." X said.
"Oh, hush. You look fine."
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"You sure it ain't just teenage hormones?" Gambit asked, folding his arms behind his head.
"X? I'm pretty shore whoe'er made 'er programmed that out o' her. It's gotta be somethin' else... Do you think she's been compromised?" Rogue replied.
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"What of X-23?" Kelly asked. "The United States Government spent half a billion dollars making the Wolverine, only to have him become a free agent and work for S.H.I.E.L.D. We're not going to lose his clone that easy."
"We have plans for X-23." Trask replied. "After Agent Rogue is terminated, we will put her in stasis. We will wipe her memories and finish the Weapon X procedure, infusing her skeleton with adamantium. Then she will be brought out of stasis and put back in the field. We won't make the same mistake this time. She'll work alone and learn no morality."
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"This is gonna hurt." Rogue warned before digging her knife into X's back and digging with it. X clamped a hand over her mouth, but still yelled out in pain. Rogue apparently finished, because she smoothed out the skin she had cut and gestured for X to turn back around.
"Whoah." X said. Rogue was holding a beeping chip, its sinister blue light flickering in the darkening forest. "They planted that in me?"
"Tracking device."
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X took a deep breath. "I will not be accompanying you on this journey."
Rogue looked at her blankly for a minute. "What?"
"I can not accompany you to the Xavier Institute." X said.
"This place, it is not for me. I—You would call it a "gut feeling". My "gut" is telling me I must leave you here, that I must travel elsewhere." X tilted her head. "Does that make sense?"
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A small, feminine figure stumbled inside. She reached out for Jean with one arm. The arm was just a stump, no hand. Her brown eyes were mostly closed from what looked like a terrible beating and her brown hair was a mess.
"Rogue!" she gasped out before collapsing onto the floor, unconscious.
X-23 lay bleeding on the floor.
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"She totally has this new power that is so, like, awesome!" Amara exclaimed. "Show them!"
X glanced carefully at Rogue. "You two will wish to stand behind me."
Rogue nodded and took a step back. X closed her eyes and concentrated. As she did, a third claw emerged from between her second and ring finger. Rogue raised her eyebrows. "A third claw, like Wolverine?" she asked.
"That's what I thought too, but this is so much cooler!" Amara replied.
X turned to the target and aimed her fist at it. She clenched her fist and the claw ejected itself from her skin, launching itself across the room.
"Wicked cool!" Amara replied. "We even gave her a new codename: Wildecat!"
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"If we do not strike first, Charles! We will be wiped from the face of the Earth!"
"I have a personal assurance from President Hank McCoy that—"
"What about the President after McCoy? Or if that blasted Edward Kelly gets the Presidency? Then what Charles? Will you sit back and watch as they seize the students from your own home?"
Charles' entire tone changed. He had a serious, grave look that Erik had only seen him with few times. "I pity the poor soul who comes here looking for trouble."
Erik stood up. "We debate this too long, Charles. We are our own political system. We must act now! I will strike against the humans, with or without you. However my dear, old friend, I hope that you are with me."
Charles sighed. "You know I can not do that, Erik."
"Then I will end this war by myself, old friend."
"Erik! Please consider what you are doing! Consider the reprecussions!" Charles begged.
"I have considered long enough." Erik replied. "I must do this, Charles."
Erik made it to the kitchen door.
"Erik!" Charles called sadly, regretfully.
"Yes, Charles?"
Charles looked up with tears in his eyes. "You realize I will defend the humans against any attack. I still have hope for them."
Erik's face set into a determined look. "Then the next time we meet, old friend, it will be on the battlefield."
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"If you want a war, my friends. We will give you war!"
A trash can exploded. People screamed as fire erupted into the skies.
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"It's good news that the President lifted the state of emergency." Storm said.
"Yes," Charles replied. "I am confident President McCoy will continue to give mutants the benefit of the doubt for as long as possible. However, I fear that the day will indeed come when mutants will be shunned and treated like criminals."
"You think that President McCoy would outlaw mutants?" Lorna asked, feet curled underneath her.
"Perhaps, should Magneto continue to exercise his will. We must find a way to put both sides at ease."
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"Here's the situation:" Fury started, walking across the deck of the Heli-Carrier. "President McCoy was abducted at 18:03 Eastern Standard Time by Magneto, Scarlet Witch, and Blink."
"How'd they get in?"
"Blink opened a portal. They walked in, grabbed McCoy, and walked out. We tracked Blink's portals to Genosha. While you were flying over, we narrowed it down. The portal took them to a Worthington Labs Research Center. As far as we can tell, they're on a sub-level not listed on the specifications. S.H.I.E.L.D. teams will secure the surrounding area while the X-Men, S.T.R.I.K.E., and myself go in for the President. Our first priority is the President's safety, the second is capturing Magneto and his Acolytes."
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Fury gestured with his hand and the S.T.R.I.K.E. agent blew the charges, a circle almost three yards wide opening in the floor. Without waiting for the smoke to clear, Fury and S.T.R.I.K.E. jumped in.
"It's empty." Fury said, turning to face Xavier.
"Not entirely, Director." X-23 replied, gesturing at the far wall.
The walls were made of concrete bricks, as was the floor and ceiling. On the far wall however, spray-painted on expertly with dark green paint was a large circle. Inside the circle was a skull with three tentacles coming out of either side of the skull. Five letters were plastered on either side of the emblem.
HYDRA
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"Vhat are you going to do, Fury?" she demanded. "Shoot the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. right here on the bridge of the Heli-Carrier?"
"I might." Fury growled.
"No, you're not." Drew replied simply. She turned to the crew. "For those of you who have received training from Agent Sitwell's division: Out of the Shadows, Into the Light."
Several soldiers turned their guns from the guards to Fury. Fury looked around.
"What the hell did you do to my crew?" He demanded, lowly. "What does that mean?"
"It means," Drew moved lightning fast, snatching the pistol from Fury's hand, twisting his wrist, and digging her sharp, claw-like fingernails into his heart. He gasped in pain and stared at her. "Hail HYDRA."
"Hail HYDRA." Drew repeated. The bridge of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Heli-Carrier echoed back: "Hail HYDRA!"
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"I want those Sentinels ready for deployment in one week." Kelly ordered from behind the Presidential desk.
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"Sentinels." Lorna breathed. She turned to Kurt and Kitty. "Use the device, go into the past, undo my father's mistake, change this…"
She took a deep breath. "Save us all."
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The device hissed and fizzed and the two let out an exclamation as it sparked. They dropped it to the ground. A few pieces and plates of metal came off and the machine sputtered one more time before dying.
"Shit." Kitty cursed. "Looks like we've only got one shot at this, better not screw it up."
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"We traveled here from the future to prevent Kelly's assassination. We tried to convince Kelly's guards, but they wouldn't listen, so we tried to stop Magneto from killing Kelly, but that failed too, so now we're stuck in the same position!"
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Havok fired a beam of energy at a Sentinel and destroyed it. Another turned, opened its chest and fired a beam of energy at the mutants. Wanda leapt out of the way and Blink disappeared into a portal. Havok disappeared with a loud yell.
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Wanda lost it, going completely insane. She yelled, clutching her head, arching her back and falling to her knees. Red lightning crackled around her, building up as she continued to yell. A small bubble of red energy began to expand from her exposed midriff, slowly building. Wanda yelled one final time and the ball of pure energy exploded outwards, incinerating the Sentinel and throwing everyone's bodies around. The world slipped into darkness and everything became absolutely silent.
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"Uh, Kitty…" Kurt whispered, shaking her. "Kitty! Vake up!"
"Where are we?"
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"I know that in your original dimension, President Robert Kelly was assassinated by Magneto. This led to President Bolivar Trask outlawing mutants alongside the rest of the world, and hunting down our species until they were nearly extinct. That's when you two traveled back in time to prevent the assassination, but failed. You went to the Scarlet Witch for help, but Sentinels attacked and she unleashed her stupid hex energy, leaving you to wake up here: in a mutant-dominated world."
"Here's what you don't know. Scarlet Witch actually delved into the time-space continuum and created this entire dimension we live in now. I don't have time to explain the history, but basically instead of things going humans' way, they went our way. Mutants control the humans, and Wanda controls the mutants."
"Our best chance is to get you back to your dimension and right the wrongs of the past."
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Lyla reached for the doorknob to open in when a red-gloved hand grabbed hers. She fought to get free, but another red-robed guard grabbed her other hand and kept her standing still. Kitty and Kurt moved to fight back, but other guards grabbed them.
"You're coming with us!"
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Wanda shook her head. "Their friends aren't here, Pietro. Their friends are in their dimension, not ours. It would be wrong to keep them here against their will."
"You're bonkers." Pietro exclaimed, staring at his sister in shock.
Something shook in the next room.
Stryker strode through the door. "Hostile Takeover." He replied, his troops lining up behind him.
"Stryker, you piece of slime." Wanda scowled. "I thought S.H.I.E.L.D. killed you."
"Ah, about that," Stryker smiled. "It seems Director Raven has had a crisis of conscious since taking the position."
"Traitor." Wanda spat. "Neither of you will escape from this with your lives!"
"Oh, I beg to differ." Stryker replied.
The wall behind him caved in and a Sentinel emerged from the rubble, its green eyes glowing in the dust.
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"Professor! What year is it?"
"What year?" he asked.
"Hurry!"
Charles gave the year.
"What day of what month is it? What's the time?"
"Kitty, I don't understand!"
"Now!"
"March 23, six in the afternoon, why? Kitty what on Earth—"
"Oh thank God." Kitty exclaimed. "We made it. Kurt and I'll explain everything."
"Where is Kurt?" Bobby asked.
Kitty turned back to the still-swirling vortex. "Kurt!" she shouted.
The wall behind the blue mutant shattered and the Sentinel entered, its green eyes shining down on Kurt and Wanda.
Someone shouted something and Kurt teleported himself between the Sentinel and Wanda, the pipe running clean through his chest. He gasped and looked down at the blood. He kicked desperately with his foot and knocked Wanda through the portal. Stryker's men stormed the basement as the Sentinel pulled the pipe from Kurt's chest.
"Kurt!" Kitty shouted, partly in pain, partly in desperation. If he could just make it into the portal…
"Tell Amanda," Kurt said weakly as Stryker cocked a gun to his head. "Zat I love her."
The gun fired and the portal closed.
"NO!"
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"Kitty informed me we only have three days left before Magneto makes his move against Kelly. We can not let Kurt's sacrifice be in vain. He died giving us a second chance, and we should make the most of it. Kitty told me where we made our mistakes and how to fix them, but we can't do this alone. It's going to take all of us: to end this war before it ever begins."
