Umar.

The Lady had to be Umar.

Umar, sister to the Dread Dormammu. A member of the legendary Faltine race. One of the most powerful beings in the multiverse. As dangerous as she was beautiful.

And I had just laid down the welcome mat for her.

Boy, when I screw up, I don't mess around, do I?

"At long last, this world is mine! Let Dormammu have the Dark Dimension! I will make this world my own!" Umar had doubled in height since she stepped through the portal. Her entire form crackled with energy. "And I have you to thank for it, my Kyle."

I sighed. "Please. Don't mention it."

Rogue looked at Umar. She looked at me. Then she looked at Umar again. And back at me. "Ah didn't think you liked your gals so … tall, Kyle."

"She's not my gal … er girl, Rogue. She's like my Yoda … except tall and beautiful instead of short and wrinkled."

"Ah guess she's okay … if y'all like the type."

"Remy thinks we might want to be having this discussion away from the giant woman, no?"

"Cajun! Rogue! Get over here!" Wolverine waved a clawed hand at us.

Rogue grabbed my arm with one hand and Remy's with the other and lightly flew us over to where the rest of the X-Men were waiting.

I steeled myself for what the X-Men were going to say. Whatever it was, I knew I deserved it.

"Kyle."

"Yes, Cyclops?" I forced myself to look at the X-Men leader. At least I couldn't see his eyes.

"How do we stop her?"

"What?"

"We know you made a mistake, Kyle," Emma said in her frosty tones. "But we really don't have time to berate you now. The important thing is, how do we stop her?"

"That won't be easy. She's getting stronger with every second she's here."

She was now three times taller than she had been when she came to Earth. She didn't acknowledge us or even seem to care that we were here. Her face had an expression of total ecstasy on it.

"Then how do we send her back?" Wolverine stared at me. "I'm thinking that maybe if we take out the kid here then she'll be popped back into her own dimension. If he's the anchor we take out the anchor we take out the problem."

"Logan, we are not killing Kyle," Hank said. "Kindly rein in your homicidal tendencies for a more appropriate time."

"It wouldn't work anyway." I stared at Umar. "If you had killed me before I summoned her, then she wouldn't have made it here. Now it's too late for that to work."

"You said that to work," Scott noted. "You think something else might?"

"Maybe."

"I know what'll work," Wolverine boasted. "Pete, give me a fastball special. Toss me at her face and we'll see how long she sticks around once I start leaving my calling card on her cheekbones."

Piotr of the steel-hard abs picked him up and then tossed him at Umar.

And Umar knocked him aside with a casual wave of her hand as though she were brushing aside a fly. The Canadian went flying into the woods that surrounded the House."

"Wolvy!" Rogue cried and went flying after him.

"Rogue, get back here," Cyclops ordered. "Wolverine will be fine. His healing factor will have him up and running in minutes. We've got more important things to worry about."

"Yes, we do." I stared at my erstwhile Lady. "She's going to gain in power the longer that she's here. I don't suppose you guys have the Avengers or that Doctor Strange guy on speed dial do you?"

"I'm afraid not," Hank admitted. "My old allies would surely come if I called, but our communication gear has been … incommunicado since our arrival at this location. Perhaps Emma's telepathy would suffice to contact the Sorcerer Supreme?"

"I've tried," the coolly beautiful telepathy admitted. "But he's either not in my range or isn't listening. Could you reach him mystically, Kyle?"

"Not on my best day. I astral travel about as well as I dance ballet."

"So we're on our own," Kitty sighed.

"As usual," Cyclops nodded his head briefly. "So somehow we have to force her back into her own dimension before she becomes too powerful for anyone to stop."

"Sounds like a plan. Or at least a goal." An idea was tickling the back of my mind. I didn't know that it would work- I wasn't even sure if was even worth making the attempt- but I was beginning to think it might be our only hope.

"You have an idea, Kyle. Remy can see it in your eyes. Are you going to be nice and share with the rest of the class?"

"There is something I might try. But I need her to be distracted first. If she has a chance she'll be able to stop me cold."

"You want a diversion," Cyclops said. "You want us to keep her busy."

"Yeah." I was ashamed to admit it. They were heroes. They were- most of them- my friends. And I was asking them to risk their lives to help me fix a mistake that I made. And I knew they would do it- without hesitation, without regret.

Because they were the X-Men.

Because they were heroes.

"You heard the man, X-Men," Cyclops raised his visor and blasted Umar with a devastating beam of ruby light. "Keep her off balance!"

Piotr- I learned later he went by the name of Colossus- turned his entire body into metal and charged at Umar. He ripped a tree out of the ground and used it as a giant bat to smash into the back of her giant knee.

"Gambit always did like a challenge!" Remy cried as he pole vaulted with his staff and hurled a pack of energy-charged playing cards at Umar.

Hank leaped onto a tree and then onto Umar's back. He grabbed several strands of her hair and began yanking on them. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let me tie you up with your hair," he said in a singsong voice.

Emma Frost shimmered as her body turned into diamond. She ran forward and struck Umar's other knee.

"Y'all know that's not the way. Ah'm the one who can put this filly down for the count." Rogue took off one of her gloves. "All right, Missy- it's time for me to give you a right proper Rogue welcome to Earth!"

And then my Southern Belle beauty flew up to Umar's face and slammed her bare hand onto that giant cheek.

Umar had ignored Cyclops' blast.

She had shrugged off Piotr's tree and Emma's diamond fists. She hadn't flinched from Gambit's cards. Hank had been no more of a hindrance than a ribbon in her hair.

But Rogue … Rogue got a reaction.

Umar screamed … and began to shrink even as Rogue began to grow.

Finally, she manged to kick Rogue off her. "You little witch! You hurt me! No one hurts me! No one hurts Umar the Unspeakable! I'll kill you! I'll kill you and your friends and everything you have ever loved! You will beg me for death, child! You will beg-"

"Like Wolvy always says, 'Talk's cheap. Whiskey costs money.' Let's see what you got!"

I wanted to watch, but I didn't watch any more.

I didn't have time.

Rogue had gotten her attention. I had to take advantage of the moment while it was lasted.

"Eye of Agamotto!"

The Eye- for I still wore the medallion around my neck- opened once more.

Umar turned from Rogue and looked at me. "Kyle. My Kyle. What are you doing? You know that you are no match for me. You had best leave these X-Men to me. You have earned a place at my side. I would hate to destroy you now."

"I'm sure. The compassion of Umar is legendary. And in case you're wondering, that tone is what we on Earth call 'sarcasm.'"

Her eyes narrowed. "I can crush you with a thought, Kyle."

"I know you can. And you're right. I can't stop you. I don't have a prayer of stopping you."

"Then what will you do, little sorcerer?"

"Three words, Umar. Three words." I took a deep breath. "DEMONS OF DENAK!"

And the portal to that alien hell opened up again.

Umar laughed. "They cannot stop me. They are too weak to stop me, Kyle." She laughed again … and then she felt the powerful clawed hands grab her legs and start to pull her into the portal.

And the laughter stopped.

"This cannot be!"

"You're right, Umar. They aren't strong enough to hold you. At least they weren't." I smiled. "Before they ate Blythe Storm. Now … now it's a different story."

Umar screamed and cursed and fought …

But it wasn't enough.

"I will return, Kyle! I will escape! I will be free- and I will find you. Do you hear me, sorcerer? I will find you! And you will pay for your betrayal! You will spend thousands of years in endless torment! You will beg me for the death I will never give you- you will go on and on until this world is mine, Kyle? Do you hear me- you will never escape the curse of Umar!"

And just before she vanished into the Pit she blasted me with a bolt of power that knocked me to my knees.

And then the Pit closed.

I rose wearily up to my feet and smiled at the X-Men. "At least it's over now ..."

Snikt!

I stared down at my chest and saw Wolverine's claws sticking out of me.

"And this makes sure you'll never get the chance to try something like this again, kid."

"Kyle!" Remy and Rogue screamed as one.

I felt a knee in my back as Wolverine pushed me off his claws.

I landed face down in the dirt.

"No, no no-" Rogue was at my side, turning me over, staring into my face. "Stay with me, Kyle. Stay with me... Hank, we need you-"

"It's okay, Rogue." I smiled at her. "It's okay ..."

And I surrendered to darkness at last.