Magnetic Resurgence
In his lengthy career as an X-Man, Hank McCoy was trained to deal with all manner of danger the world could possibly throw at him. Whether that be more out-of-the-ordinary dangers such as buzzsaws, robots, and automatic turrets, to more mundane dangers such illness or, in this case, legal troubles.
While lacking a law degree, Hank knew enough about the US legal system through years of study, just in case. Failing that, he knew enough about the system to stay quiet until he had proper legal counsel.
In the meantime though, he decided to read up on his George Orwell as he awaited his trial.
"Aww, does monkey want a banana?" one of the prison security guards asked as he and his companion laughed and taunted Hank from the other side of his bars.
"What's that? A book? It can read?!" the second guard asked incredulously.
"Nah," the first guard countered with a snort, "Check out the title."
"Animal Farm?"
"Yeah, it's probably just a picture book. You like all the cute animals, ya big blue gorilla?"
Hank knew that arguing with sheer and utter ignorance would get him nowhere, so he remained silent as the guards continued to act like dysfunctional tourists at a zoo. How he wished to show the ignoramuses what he could do and show off the intelligence behind his exterior. However, he just took in a breath and chose to ignore them.
Before he could get back to his book though, he began to notice a high-pitched humming and whining, a sound he was all too familiar with thanks to years of electrical work. He then noticed the lights of his cell, as well as the entire cell block, began to flicker before glowing brighter and brighter until they exploded out of their sockets.
Before Hank could figure out what was going on for himself, the universe provided an answer as the wall to his cell facing the outside was ripped from the foundation of the prison. A force that would've taken massive construction equipment to achieve for any normal person, but such a feat was nothing to the man that floated atop a metal disc before Hank.
Dressed in red armor with a purple cape and a matching metal helmet, standing before Hank was arguably one of the most dangerous Mutants that he and his friends had the misfortune to encounter time and time again. Leader to renegade Mutants and a terrorist wanted by governments the world over. Visionary to some, monster to others. He is The Master of Magnetism: Magneto.
"Quickly, we must leave while we have the chance," he stated firmly.
"I think you might be confused, Magneto. I would've thought you'd be laughing at the sight of one of the professor's students behind bars," Hank replied, staying his ground despite the chance at an easy escape.
"Please, Dr. McCoy, I am not so heartless as to leave a fellow Mutant to rot in a jail cell," Magneto replied, offering his hand to the blue-furred inmate.
Every fiber of his being told him that this was his chance to escape, that he could easily run away… But how long would that last? How long would he have to be on the run from the law, constantly looking over his shoulder everywhere he went. And with his outward appearance, he'd stick out like a sore thumb. So with a final shake of his head, Hank made up his mind.
"I'm sorry, but I can't," he said downheartedly, "I will await my day in court."
"So be it," Magneto replied, releasing the large piece of stone and steel bars from his magnetic field and dropping the debris that was once Hank's jail cell wall to the ground three-stories below.
Seeing that Dr. McCoy was unwilling to join him, Magneto began to take his leave.
"Halt! Do not move any farther or we will open fire!" one of the guards exclaimed as guns were aimed at the magnetic mutant from both the guard towers and the ground.
Magneto only scoffed at their actions. Like a giant looking at ants trying to attack him from stepping too close to their colony, their actions were useless. He created a magnetic force field around his body, floating down from the jail cell. His mere presence drew the soldier's weapons, and anything metal they had on them, towards him like moths to a flame. Extending his arms out, the master of magnetism turned the soldier's own weapons against them, firing at their feet with a fraction of his full might.
"Let this be a reminder to you humans, I, Magneto, shall always defend my kind against those that would do us harm." Magneto then took to the skies, leaving the prison and everyone with their hearts up their throats.
Back at the Xavier Mansion, Jubilee was running through the obstacle course set up in the back of the mansion grounds. She panted, running down the track as she kept her eyes open for the next obstacle. Suddenly, three disks came out from the bushes, making her hands go up on instinct. Her colorful flares shot out and shattered the three disks flying at her; she continued down the track. A smile formed on her face as she continued onto the next obstacle. A large net fell down from the sky on top of her. She jumped ahead, rolling out of the way, barely getting caught under it.
"Disks, nets? Come on, what is this, Level 1?" Jubilee picked herself up once more.
Spotting bullseyes popping up on either side of her track. She raised her hands firing her flares, blasting one to pieces and missing one of them. She was about to try again, only to fall down into a muddy pit.
"Curse you, Level 1." Jubilee groaned as she spat mud out of her face and pulled herself out.
"Not bad, Jubilee," Ororo offered up her hand to the young Mutant. "You've gotten much better at controlling your powers. Now, we just need to see what to do with your awareness and your aim," she pointed to the targets she missed and barely struck.
"Yeah, I bet this is easy for someone that can summon lightning from the sky or just fly super fast enough to break the sound barrier," Jubilee wiped the rest of the mud off of her.
"We all had our challenges, Jubilee. You've only been here a week; you can't rush your development," Ororo told the young Mutant. "It took me months before I could summon a cloud big enough to produce lightning. Not to mention all the times Adam crashed when he tried to practice his flying. And you do not wish to go into what the others had to go through to make it to where they are."
Jubilee sighed. As much as she hated to admit it, the X-Men were on another level and she was just getting the hang of her powers. Like it or not, she was the baby of the team and had to catch up if the Sentinels ever came back.
"Say, where is everyone else?" Jubilee asked. "I was expecting Gambit to help me train. Similar powers and all."
"Gambit and Rogue went grocery shopping, Adam, Scott and Logan went to watch Hank's hearing today," Ororo explained. "As for the Professor and Jean, well…"
Charles and Jean watched the news showing Magneto's attack on the prison. A pit formed in their stomach at the sight of their greatest foe's return, more so with Xavier than with Jean. The sight of his old friend made him feel both joy as well as worry. Even after all these years, he still held hope that he would come to his senses and try to see the truth.
"Professor, what do you think was Magneto's intention going to the prison?" Jean asked her mentor. "He could've taken Hank yet he left him there?"
"I suspect that Magnus will use this as a platform to reach more disenfranchised Mutants to his Brotherhood," Xavier replied. "He respects free will, but he still believes his way is the only way to fight for the survival of Mutantkind."
The doors to the mission briefing room opened up to reveal Ororo and Jubilee.
"Whoa, who's the guy with the bucket head?" Jubilee asked. "He looks like he's got a toothache."
"His name is Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, and he is a Mutant like us, Jubilee." The Professor stopped the video. "However, unlike the rest of us, he suffered through the worst of humanity when he was younger. Born into a Jewish family in Germany during WWII, he spent most of the war in one of the concentration camps where he witnessed the death of his parents and the destruction of his hometown."
"Oh man," was all Jubilee could only say.
"I met him after the war when we both worked as doctors, each secretly using our Mutant powers to help the sick and the wounded caught in the conflict," Xavier said. "But the constant attacks of the remnants of the enemy army and the rebels made Magnus relive his childhood days. From then on, he swore that he would protect his people from any and all threats, through whatever means he could."
"You think that he is planning on inciting a war, professor?" Ororo asked.
Xavier wished he could say for certain. The scars ran deep in his old friend's memories and the attacks by the Sentinels would've undoubtedly reached his ears. If Xavier was truly going to uphold his oath, then he and his X-Men would have to stand between Magneto and his misguided ways.
Adam, Scott, and Logan all sat a few rows behind Hank, keeping an eye on him as his hearing was taking place. Sadly, they were the only ones that were seeing this as a hearing.
"Hang the Mutant!"
"He's a terrorist!"
"That thing ain't human!"
"Leave it to Beast to know how to start a party," Logan whispered as the rest of the witnesses kept on shouting like monkeys, parroting anti-Mutant propaganda.
"I just hope Hank gets a fair hearing," Scott whispered back.
"He's bound to get some leeway, what with the news about what the Sentinels were doing in secret with the MRA's backing," Adam added.
The judge slammed his gavel down loudly, hoping to silence all the people making a rabble.
"Order! Order in the court!" The judge slammed his gavel once more before everyone calmed down. "We're here to see if the defendant, Dr. Hank McCoy, is eligible for bail or if he is a danger to himself or others. I will not have my courtroom turned into a lynch mob. Now, let the prosecution make their case."
"Your honor, this man here, is accused of attacking a government backed facility, destroying sensitive data and injuring several of the workers. And there is enough evidence to conclude that he may be working for a Mutant extremist group known as the X-Men," the female prosecutor stood, making her case to the judge. "The people ask that he remain in custody without bail."
The people behind her cheered for her words.
"Objection your honor, my client is not a threat to anyone and the so-called 'Mutant extremist group' didn't kill or severely injure any of the aforementioned workers," The Defense stated.
"But he did attack the facility and destroy the records of many other Mutants that had registered," The Prosecution countered.
"Which was being leaked to the men responsible for the Sentinels to secretly hunt down Mutants as revealed to several news outlets, your honor," The Defense objected.
The judge struck his gavel, silencing the shouting match between the two sides.
"Order, order!" The judge ordered. "It is true that the news has revealed the situation with the Sentinels, but it is an ongoing investigation into their actions. Please, refrain from making any assumptions or claims before the whole story is revealed."
At that moment, Hank stood up.
"Your honor, if I may, I would like to speak on my own behalf about the reasoning behind my actions," Hank said.
"Very well," the judge said.
"Thank you, your honor. Although my actions broke many laws, my allies and I saw it fit to take action against the MRA," Hank began. "Not only did we witness a young Mutant no older than fifteen get chased and attacked through a mall, but we found out something even more disturbing. In the past three months, eleven Mutants registered with the MRA."
"Objection your honor, what does that have to do with the case?" The prosecution asked.
"Those were the same eleven Mutants that went missing shortly after registering, and all taken by the Sentinels as test runs." Hank turned to the prosecutor. "What we did was to prevent a Mutant hunt by people that claimed to want to help Mutants only to then use their information to hunt them down."
Adam noted that Hank's words were slowly wearing down the judge. Sure, they broke the law but it was for a good reason.
However, he was so caught up in his thoughts that he and his friends failed to notice a couple new arrivals that sat all the way at the back of the courtroom. None of them looked all too friendly under their trench coats and big hats.
"We Mutants only want to live in peace with our fellow man. If I may paraphrase The Bard," Hank continued. "'I am a Mutant. Hath a Mutant not senses, affections, fed with the same food, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer as a human is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?'"
However, as soon as Beast finished his quotation, a tomato hit him in the back. Everyone turned to see an angry man, looking at Hank with a glare that could kill.
"Big talk for a Mutant, but what about all those people at the detention center last night! My brother was one of those guards!" The man demanded.
The judge quickly called for the bailiffs to remove the man from the room. He was dragged out, cursing Beast and all other Mutants for what had happened. The people started to rally behind his angry accusations, forcing the judge to slam his gavel demanding silence in the court.
"You've made your point, Dr. McCoy, but given the situation with the Sentinels as an ongoing investigation and the attack on the detention center last night, I'm afraid this court must deny you your bail," the judge decreed. "You are to remain in custody until your trial."
The crowd cheered, believing this to be justice.
"Well, it seems that I will have time to catch up on my Dostoyevsky," Hank sighed as the bailiffs handcuffed him once more.
However, amongst the crowd, Logan was not all too pleased by what he'd heard and seen.
"I'll show these punks who's a danger to the community," Logan growled.
"Easy, Logan. This isn't the end of things," Scott said.
As Hank was being taken to the door, the covered up men jumped out of their disguises, revealing themselves. The first was a short man wearing a green suit with a metal chestplate, and a greenish face that made him look like a toad. The second was a tall man dressed completely in a gray and silver bodysuit with a gray helmet. The third was a skinny blond guy with a red and orange suit and what looked like a flamethrower in his hands. And the last was a tall muscular man that looked more like a prehistoric beast with the face of a man.
"Brotherhood, let's save our fellow Mutant!" The animalistic man called out.
"It's time to party!" The short man shot out his long green tongue, wrapping it around one of the crowd members before tossing them at the prosecutor.
The gray and silver clad man slammed his hands on the ground causing the whole room to shake and people to fall.
The skinny blonde started shooting fire from his hands while laughing maniacally.
"Who are these lunatics?!" Adam held the door open as everyone else ran out.
"I don't know, but they're gonna kill someone," Scott said.
"That big one is Sabertooth," Logan popped his claws. "Leave him to me."
"Logan, wait!" Scott started, only for him only to get pushed back by the fire. "Invincible, take care of the pyromaniac and the walking earthquake."
Adam nodded, putting on his mask before anyone else showed up. He took off flying towards them, grabbing them by the back of their suits.
"Sorry folks, but the demolition crews get their permits someplace else," Adam flew them out of the room and out of the courthouse.
Once outside, Adam tossed the two Mutants out onto the street before putting on the rest of his costume.
"You're getting in the way of Mutant liberation, clown! That means, Avalanche is going to bury you!" Avalanche cracked his knuckles.
"That is if Pyro doesn't roast you first, mate!" Pyro shot out flames, forming them into a large tiger.
"Well, be sure to tell those guys to take it easy on me when they get here," Invincible charged at them both, flying through the flames like they were nothing to him.
Avalanche thrusted his arms forward, sending strong enough vibrations into the ground to shoot rocks at Invincible. Adam punched through the rocks with ease as Pyro intensified the flames around him, trapping him in a spinning orb of fire. The heat grew hotter and hotter around Adam, but he wasn't at all bothered. He pulled both his arms back as far as he could before clapping them together.
The shock wave was strong enough to disperse the flames, but as soon as he got the flames away, he was met with a large rock hitting him in the face. He grabbed hold of the large rock, tossing it right back at the two Mutants.
Acting quickly, Avalanche used his quake powers to blast the rock to rubble, only to find Invincible charging in from behind it. Before either could react, Invincible shot his arms out to the sides before clotheslining the duo into the ground. A large crack appeared on the ground as Invincible stood before them.
"Are you two still conscious?" Adam asked.
"Ow, mate, you hit like a shit brick house," Pyro coughed and groaned.
"The boss never mentioned him," Avalanche groaned.
"Boss?" Adam asked, grabbing the silver-ensembled Mutant and getting him at eye level while pinning down Pyro with his foot. "Believe me when I say, I always wanted to ask this: Who are you working for?"
Just then, the toad-like man spat something green and sticky in Adam's face.
"Party's over, guys! We gotta hustle!"
Avalanche took his chance. He punched Adam's stomach with a seismic blast, pushing him back while also freeing him.
"Toad, I'm never gonna say this again. But you've saved us," Avalanche said, helping up Pyro.
"We must've died and gone to hell for this to happen," Pyro groaned as they all ran.
"You're welcome!" Toad indignantly exclaimed as he hopped away with his team.
Adam pulled off the green goo from his face, only to see they had gone.
"Who were those guys?" Adam asked, looking for any signs of them.
"Invincible," Scott called for him, carrying an unconscious Sabertooth. "We need to get this guy back to the school."
"Whoa, you caught one of them," Adam flew to pick up the large man with ease.
"Yeah, a bad one," Logan muttered as they left. "I can't wait to see what Xavier says about this."
As soon as Adam, Scott and Logan returned to the mansion, Sabertooth was placed in the infirmary, much to Logan's distaste.
"So, we don't know anything about this Sabertooth?" Xavier asked.
"Only that Wolverine knows him, and hates him," Scott replied.
"He kinda reminds me of a bigger and meaner Logan," Adam added as they watched Sabertooth through a monitor.
"I was just about to say that," Jubilee said. "Didn't he say why they don't get along? Or where they met?"
Adam looked away. Out of everyone in the X-Men, Logan was the one that kept his past and life a closely guarded secret. Adam had once tried to get him to open up, which landed him drunk and making a fool of himself before Ororo in what Logan simply called "The Beer Incident." After that, he respected Logan's privacy, but that didn't apply to everyone.
"He didn't say, if he ever does," Scott scoffed.
"Still, if Sabertooth is part of something bigger, we must get him to tell us," Xavier said.
"Um, we should go ask him now," Jubilee said. "He's heading to the infirmary."
Wolverine entered the infirmary with dark thoughts plaguing his mind. In another life, this would've been an easy task. In and out. Even with their history and all the times Sabertooth had attempted to kill him, Wolverine was not the monster they thought he was.
"If it weren't for Xavier," Logan unhooked Sabertooth from the machines. "I hope you're listening, Creed. You owe these people your miserable life."
"Wolverine!"
Logan turned to see Scott, Xavier, Jubilee and Adam standing by the door.
"Step away from him," Scott ordered. "Now," his visor lit up with energy.
"What is the meaning of this, Wolverine?" Xavier asked.
"I'm getting the trash out of here. It isn't safe to have him here," Logan got behind Sabertooth's bed and started pushing it out.
Adam raised an eyebrow at Wolverine's words. He'd never seen him this serious before. Despite often playing the lone wolf and angry badger roles to a T, Logan always had a bit of a mocking tone in his voice. If he was telling the truth, then there had to be a reason behind it.
"You know we can't kick him out," Scott stood between Logan and the door. "Our mission is to protect all Mutants in danger. And that includes him."
"You don't know him like I do. He's dangerous." Logan growled.
"We used to say the same thing about you, remember?" Scott narrowed his eyes, making Logan growl like a challenged animal.
Adam stepped between them, pushing Scott back slightly.
"Okay, let's all take this new thing called a chill pill, and take a second," Adam turned to Logan. "Logan, we can't kick him out in his condition. Plus, there are some things I want to ask him."
"And what would that be?" Logan asked.
"His friends spoke about a boss that sent them to the hearing. I wanna know who that was and why," Adam replied.
Logan didn't seem all that convinced. But thankfully, the alarms went off in the infirmary.
"There's trouble at a military base, someone is attacking it," Ororo informed as she arrived.
"Magneto," Xavier said.
"Are you sure, professor?" Ororo asked.
"Giant metal weapons capable of great destruction? Yes, this sounds just like Magnus," Xavier turned to Scott and the rest of the X-Men. "Scott, take Storm, Invincible and Wolverine to the military base and stop him as best you can."
Scott nodded before he and Ororo ran out of the room.
Adam turned to Logan.
"Well, you coming?" Adam asked.
Logan gave Sabertooth one last snarling look before roughly tossing him out of the way.
"Why do we get to beat up your enemy but have to play nice with mine?" Logan grumbled as he passed Xavier.
Xavier noted Logan's tone and he had to admit that he was right. Something had to be done about Sabertooth, and hopefully, he could find the answers through peaceful means. Though as he heard the larger Mutant growl, he made a note of getting strong restraints when he was stronger. He was compassionate, not insane.
The Blackbird split through the skies as Invincible flew next to it at top speeds. They could see the military base up ahead and the stacks of smoke from the battle taking place.
"Okay team, the plan is simple: Find Magneto and keep him from activating the missiles," Cyclops called through their comms.
"Let's see, the only guy floating above everyone else with a fashionable red helmet and long purple cape? I see him," Wolverine replied back.
Adam spotted Magneto flying over the base lifting the tanks and the weapons of the soldiers with his powers. And as easily as he'd lifted them into the air, he tossed them back down at the fleeing soldiers. Adam sped up, leaving a sonic boom behind him. He landed between some of the soldiers and a falling tank, stopping it from crashing down on them.
"Are you guys alright?" Adam asked, dropping the tank away from them.
"Y-Yes," one of the soldiers replied.
"Good, get as many of your friends out of here. We'll take care of Mr. Magnetic Personality up there," Adam helped the soldiers to their feet.
The soldiers nodded, taking off to help their fellow soldiers.
Adam turned his sights to the Master of Magnetism before taking off into the sky to meet him.
"Magneto, stop this before someone gets hurt." Adam floated before Magneto, who merely looked him over.
"It seems that the descriptions of my agents were spot on," Magneto's eyes landed on the 'X' on Adam's chest. "It seems my old friend has gotten himself a brand new misguided youth to fight his battles for him. What might they call you, boy?"
"The name's Invincible. And I'm here to stop you," Adam replied.
"That's very brave of you," Magneto slammed another tank down on Invincible's head, sending him crashing towards the ground. "But the brave always fall first."
Adam pushed on the tank, stopping his abrupt descent. He punched the tank off of him as the Blackbird landed behind him.
"How are the peace talks going, Invincible?" Ororo asked.
"Oh, you know, badly," Adam replied before taking off into the sky once more.
"Storm, go and aid Invincible. Wolverine, you and I will take down as much of the debris as possible," Scott ordered as he fired an optic blast at one of the jeeps being thrown about.
"Don't order me around, boy scout." Wolverine jumped ahead, popping his claws.
Wolverine wasted no time, he sliced through the tanks and the jeeps being thrown their way. It was like watching a samurai use their katana to cut through paper. But one could easily see that Logan was letting off some steam with each strike he landed against the falling metal pieces. Seeing his so-called team distrust him and taking the side of Sabertooth really irked him, especially from the boy scout himself.
Scott fired his optic blasts, destroying any of the pieces that Wolverine had sliced away. He spotted a truck going right for a group of soldiers, only to blast it out of the air. It was getting too chaotic, and some of the humans could get hurt if they weren't careful. All he could do was continue to blast away the falling debris as Invincible and Storm stopped Magneto's attacks.
Ororo took to the skies, joining Adam as he punched another chunk of metal sent his way. Summoning the winds to her aid, she swatted away a pair of surface-to-air missiles as Adam kept on going through the heavier pieces of machinery and artillery. Each blow he landed was strong enough to push back the power of the rogue Mutant, but something told her that this was only the beginning. Flicking her wrist, she used the wind around her to fling back the smaller pieces of metal before throwing a large orb directly at Magneto.
But, as expected, magneto held up his hand, stopping the attack.
"Did you truly expect that to work against the Master of Magnetism?" Magneto sounded disappointed.
"No, but it was a good distraction!" Adam came in from the side, reeling back his right arm.
Magneto turned the ball of debris towards Adam, hoping to block the punch. But Adam was stronger. His fist collided with the ball of debris, smashing it to pieces with ease without slowing down.
Adam continued his attack, forcing Magneto to dodge out of the way, only for Adam to turn mid-air and shoot himself right at the Master of Magnetism, tackling him down to the ground. He held onto the scruff of his suit, pushing him down as Magneto tried to keep himself up in the air. Punching the man crossed Adam's mind, but he didn't think the Professor would appreciate it. Magneto, for his part, certainly didn't.
Pieces of random metal collided against Adam's body, trying to slow him down. But Adam pushed through them, knocking them away when he could or pushing on despite them wrapping around his body.
"You truly are stronger than I expected," Magneto grunted. "It is such a waste for you to be protecting these humans. And even more so that we're enemies."
"What can I say, I don't like the easy route of blaming all humans for the actions of a few," Adam replied as more metal wrapped around him. "Still have time to surrender before we hit the ground."
"How about, no." Magneto encased himself in a magnetic field, making his eyes glow a bright red.
Adam was pushed back, shooting off of Magneto like a bullet out of a cannon and into the sky. The metal that surrounded his body had become a containing suit that kept him from moving.
"Adam!" Ororo flew after her friend. "Winds of the sky, your mistress calls upon you to aid her. Stop my beloved's forceful ascension!" She commanded the winds to pull Adam back down, slowing him down but only a little.
Adam used this chance to push back against the power of magnetism that encased him. His body pushed against the heavy metal and the magnetic force, slowly bending it off of him. Letting out a mighty war cry, he broke free from the metal that had trapped him, smashing through it with pure force of will.
"Invincible!" Ororo hugged him. "Are you alright?"
"I'm okay, thanks to you. Storm, I am so happy to see you," Adam replied.
Their happy moment was cut short as alarms blared beneath them.
The missile silos of the military base opened up as Magneto launched the missiles out into the sky.
"Your choice, heroes: me or the missiles?" Magneto flew away from the military base.
Cyclops and Wolverine watched the missiles launching into the sky, unable to do anything without taking the whole base and themselves with them.
"Professor, this is Cyclops, Magneto has launched the missiles!" Scott called the Professor. "We got to stop them."
"I have an idea, Cyclops. Invincible, Storm, open your minds to me," Xavier called to Invincible and Storm through their communicators.
"Um, sure professor," Adam accepted.
Adam and Ororo listened to the professor's voice inside their minds, instructing them on where they could lead the missiles and where to strike to avoid causing large amounts of damage to anything around them. It wasn't the first time the professor had done something like this, but it was still rather trippy to feel someone else's voice in their heads.
They flew after the missiles with their respective goals in mind. Ororo called forth the lightning from above, striking the circuitry inside the missiles. The electricity did its job, frying the circuits without triggering their payload. Adam followed up with his own attack. He flew upwards before plunging down on them, punching through the missiles' rockets right beneath the explosive charges. It was risky, but the attacks had to cut the fuel to the rockets before they struck any number of possible targets.
The missiles lost power and it was time for them to be brought down to safety.
Ororo called forth the winds, wrapping them around the missiles like a tight binding rope as Adam carried them on his back. They spotted an open field not far from the military base, setting them down carefully.
"Professor, we've disabled the missiles and put them down safely," Ororo called through their communicator.
"That's a relief to hear. Good job, my X-Men," Xavier replied. "Now, return to the mansion. Sabertooth's healing is almost finished."
"Wolverine isn't gonna like that," Adam pointed out.
Back at the mansion, Professor X was delving into Sabertooth's mind with the aid of Cerebro. Charles watched monstrous versions of people and places, making him feel like he was in someone's feverish dream. The rage and animalistic impulses that coursed through Sabertooth were almost as strong, seeing himself as a cornered animal with the rest of the world against him, with even Wolverine amongst those that would do him harm. But then he came across a wall, a strong barrier that kept him from delving deeper. He pleaded with Sabertooth to let him in, but a roar sent him back out to the real world.
"How much suffering has this man gone through," Xavier sighed.
"Did you find anything, Professor?" Scott asked.
"Only that Sabertooth suffers from an acute sense of persecution from the whole world," Xavier said. "Something not uncommon with many Mutants. But sadly, I didn't have much luck in learning what he was doing with those other Mutants."
Logan watched everything from outside the infirmary, feeling his stomach turn.
"You know, the more you make that face, the more it'll make people think you are unapproachable," Adam walked up to Logan.
"What do you want, superman?" Logan asked. "Here to tell me to play nice?"
"I know you don't love talking about your past, Logan. But this is affecting the team," Adam said. "What's your story with Sabertooth? You clearly know and hate him."
Logan growled at Adam, tightening his fist as a reflex. But then turned his eyes back on Sabertooth as soon as he heard him stirring.
"You know how some people call me and Beast animals in human form?" Logan sighed. "Well, Sabertooth is one. And the worst kind of animal. The kind that enjoys doing whatever he can because he can. Whatever reason he has to be here is not a good one. And when the moment comes, don't hesitate to knock his teeth in." Logan walked away, leaving Adam to think on his words.
Adam looked at Sabertooth as Scott and the professor were discussing Magneto's actions. There were still many things they didn't know about Sabertooth, and Logan and Scott's animosity wasn't helping matters. He walked away just as Sabertooth briefly opened up one of his eyes, watching him leave.
Magneto stood at the top of a cliff, looking down on a town no different from the one that he'd been born into. The sight of it made his heart ache, remembering the painful past that tormented him. He rubbed his left arm at the memories of it all.
"What's the status of Sabertooth?" Magneto turned to look at Toad.
"He's still in the Xavier Institute like you predicted, Lord Magneto," Toad replied.
"It's just Magneto, Toad. Oh Charles, that big heart of yours will be your doom sooner than you think." Magneto turned his sights on a chemical plant just outside the town. "His students proved far more prepared than I expected, but let's see what they can do when I have them in a more volatile scenario."
"Shall I rally the rest of the Brotherhood?" Toad asked.
"No, this is my battle, Toad. Have them be ready to extract Sabertooth should he be discovered and move to another of our bases," Magneto replied. "The Brotherhood of Mutants must survive no matter what."
Toad bowed to Magneto before hopping away.
Magneto floated down to the chemical plant, causing the metal around the plant to bend to his will. Without even putting much effort, he tore a hole in the ceiling of the plant, scaring all the workers inside. He spotted the chemical vats and all the damage they could do to his people, narrowing his eyes.
"You have one chance," he said. "Leave as fast as you can before I destroy this poison producing plant!" Magneto watched everyone run out quickly save for a few people he caught by closing the doors and magnetically sealing them. He needed some hostages, after all.
Back at the mission briefing room, Xavier and the X-Men all watched the news talking about the attack on the chemical plant.
"I don't get it, isn't this a step down from attacking a military base?" Jubilee asked.
"Perhaps, but Magnus has seen the damages that the chemicals of that plant can cause, he is baiting me to go confront him," Xavier said.
"Then we'll go meet the challenge," Ororo said.
"I'm afraid we all can't go, Storm, some of us will have to stay behind." Xavier pushed a button, bringing in Sabertooth strapped to a chair much like his own. "I need someone to look after our guest."
Logan growled at Sabertooth only for him to growl right back.
"Wolverine, enough," Scott said.
"Yeah, didn't you hear, runt?" Sabertooth bared his sharp teeth. "I'm a guest here. Aren't all Mutants?"
"If this is your idea of a prank, Chuck, then you are twisted." Logan all but snarled before he walked out of the room.
"Cyclops, Storm, Rogue and Invincible will accompany me to face Magneto, the rest of you will stay here and look after Sabertooth," Xavier said. "Jean, I hope you can use Cerebro to learn more about him while we're gone."
"I'll do my best, professor," Jean replied.
Adam gave Sabertooth one last look before he and the rest left the room. He couldn't help but be weary about the man. His tone was all wrong. Sure, Logan was no prince charming, but his words and Sabertooth's attitude seemed to align a little too well for his liking.
Adam, Ororo, Scott, Rogue and Professor X approached the chemical plant where Magneto waited for them.
"So, how are we gonna get in? The front door?" Rogue asked.
"Or we make our own," Adam suggested.
"Wait, there are still people in there, but I can't sense Magneto anywhere," Xavier focused his powers, trying to sense his old friend. "We must be cautious, this could very well be a trap."
"Then we go in through the front and the back, catching him by surprise with a Pincer Maneuver," Scott instructed. "Invincible, Storm, you go in through the back. Rogue, you're with me and the Professor and-"
"And knock on the front door? You got it sugah!" Rogue took off as Adam and Ororo went off to their position.
"Be careful my X-Men, it is not just our lives that are at risk here." Professor X and Scott followed Rogue to the front entrance.
Adam and Ororo arrived at the back of the plant.
"No signs of Magneto, Invincible," Ororo noted. "He must be inside."
"Alright, want me to knock on the door?" Adam asked.
"If you'd be so kind," Ororo replied.
Adam reeled back his left arm before punching through the thick brick wall like it was a piñata. The bricks came crashing down to the ground, making a hole big enough for them to go through.
"After you, my lady," Adam gestured Ororo inside.
"What a gentleman," Ororo giggled.
Ororo flew inside followed by Adam. They looked around for any signs of Magneto, but they didn't see him anywhere. The plant was in ruins and without a soul in sight. Quietly, they floated deeper into the chemical plant, keeping their eyes open for any movement. If even one bolt started to move, they would've jumped into action. They watched as the front door was knocked down by Rogue's gentle touch from the other side of the plant.
"All clear," Scott said as they met up with the rest of the team.
"No signs of the hostages or Magneto, Cyclops," Ororo revealed.
"They should be here, I can sense them with my powers," Xavier pressed his hand on the side of his head, using his powers to locate them. "There!" He pointed to the ceiling where a small makeshift metal cage hung with four people inside it.
"Please, help us!"
"He said if we made a noise he'd drop us into the chemicals!"
"Please, get us out of here!"
"Hold on, I'll get you out in a second," Adam took to the air, reaching for the cage.
But just as he was about to touch it, the bars of the cage wrapped around him, binding him.
"Magneto!" Professor X called out.
Adam tried to break free from the iron bars wrapping around him, only to see a large industrial boiler slamming down on him from above. He was sent to the ground before he could do anything to free himself.
"Adam!" Ororo flew quickly to save her beloved, but was caught in another trap.
Pipes burst from the floor, wrapping around her in a tight bind, keeping her in place.
"Hang on, girl!" Rogue and Cyclops rushed to their friend's aid, only for a large metal container to slam into them from the side, knocking them against the weakened brick wall.
Cyclops barely managed to look up to see the wall coming down on them, burying them under the bricks.
"No!" Professor X's chair was pulled away from his students by a strong magnetic force.
Xavier levitated up, coming face-to-face with Magneto after many years.
"Hello, Charles, it's been a while," Magneto said.
"Magnus, but how?" Xavier asked.
"The helmet I'm wearing is made out of a special blend of metals that block out any and all psychic abilities." Magneto tapped his helmet. "The only way to keep myself safe from your ever wandering mind, my old friend."
"What is it that you seek to win here, Magnus?" Xavier demanded.
"Oh Charles, I've already won and you don't even know it," Magneto replied.
Back at the mansion, Jubilee was keeping an eye on Sabertooth while Jean prepared Cerebro. However, the large Mutant kept clawing at his restraints, growling and readjusting himself like a coyote caught in a trap.
"Ugh, could you stop fidgeting so much?" Jubilee asked.
"These things are too tight, I can't move with these shackles," Sabertooth replied. "Could you loosen them up a little? They… bring back some… bad memories…"
Jubilee thought about it for a second. She'd been told not to mess with his restraints while being on her own. But the large Mutant seemed to be chill enough not to try anything. Besides, she knew how uncomfortable bonds like those felt.
"Okay, but no funny business," She held up her hand, letting off a few flares.
Sabertooth gave her a small smile as he stopped moving his arm.
Jubilee loosened the restraints on his arm, and then he made his move. He pulled out his arm, wrapping it around Jubilee's body with the strength of a literal bear hug. His claws dug into her side as her arms were caught against his.
"Thanks a lot, shortstack. Now, be quiet or your insides become your outsides." Sabertooth dug his claws into Jubilee's side slowly, making her try to blast his face with her powers. "Guess you can't use your powers without your hands, huh? Lucky me," he laughed.
"Why are you doing this? We helped you," Jubilee flinched.
Sabertooth merely laughed at this, "Wolverine sure knows how to pick 'em. You guys bought that little scene hook, line and sinker," Sabertooth cackled with savage glee. "Magneto sent me with his other stooges to infiltrate the Mansion. 'Make a scene at the hearing,' he said, a few shots and wounds and here you have me."
"Why?" Jubilee asked.
"To blow this stinking den of weakness to Kingdom Come from the inside," Sabertooth snarled. "Maybe if you're good and help me, I'll take you with me."
"That's all I needed to hear."
Jubilee and Sabertooth saw Wolverine standing in the room, claws drawn.
"You didn't seriously think I'd leave the half-pint to guard you on her own, did you?" Logan walked towards Sabertooth. "You were always a scumbag, Creed. But I thought you were above playing the wounded animal."
"You stay there, runt! Or this little morsel loses her lunch," Sabertooth snarled.
Jubilee spotted the circuitry from the cuffs being exposed. Her arms were pinned down by the beast's savage strength. But she could move her fingers just fine. Slowly, she lifted her index and middle fingers at the circuits, making sure not to give Sabertooth an idea of what she was doing. With a deep breath, she fired her colorful flares at the circuits, causing sparks and a small explosion to happen.
Sabertooth released her, covering his face with his arm.
Jubilee jumped away from him, giving Logan his opening.
Logan pounced on Sabertooth like a wild animal fighting its natural enemy and most hated rival. His claws plunged into Sabertooth's flesh as Sabertooth clawed himself free from his restraints. They roared and rolled on the floor, clawing and scratching at each other like their namesakes fighting to the death.
Back at the chemical plant, Magneto held Xavier in his magnetic grasp.
"You send your students to help Mutants and protect humans, risking their lives for a world that would see them dead without a second thought," Magneto said. "If the treatment of your student Dr. McCoy is anything to go by, even when their own actions make us take action, they will paint us as the evil ones. What do I have to do to get it through to you, Charles? They will never see us as anything but the enemy."
"I know why you believe that, Magnus. But that is not the reason for us to stop fighting," Charles countered. "It may not happen in our lifetime, but our actions will shape Mutant and Human relations for the better."
Down below, Adam struggled to free himself. One of his lenses was broken, but he was no worse for wear. He slowly pushed himself against the weight on top of him. The metal bars that held him in place bent out of his way. As quietly as he could, he lifted the boiler on top of him, his skin sizzling beneath the heat, but it felt like an electric blanket set to "high" for him. He fought the urge to groan against the heat, managing to get a peek on what was happening. He spotted Magneto and Professor X on top of him, Ororo not far from him, but he could not see where Rogue and Cyclops were.
He would need a distraction to get to them without Magneto noticing him. Taking in a deep breath, he lifted the boiler as quietly as he could before quickly making his way to Ororo and then to the professor.
Just then, Rogue shot out of the fallen brick wall, carrying an unconscious Cyclops with her.
"Alright, now I'm mad!" Rogue called out.
Good enough.
Adam shot out of his spot, zipping to Ororo's side like a blur of light. He grabbed all the pipes that restrained her, tearing them off with his Herculean strength, freeing Ororo from her metal prison. The pieces of broken pipes fell to the ground, alerting Magneto of their movements.
"Are you okay, Ororo?" Adam asked.
"I am now," Ororo replied. "Let's get the Professor and the hostages!"
"Leave the buckethead to me!" Adam shot up into the air against Magneto.
He tackled the Master of Magnetism away from Xavier, causing the professor to fall back to the ground. Adam reeled back his fist, punching Magneto out of the chemical plant and away from his friends and hostages.
Ororo called forth the winds creating a miniature cyclone, slowing down his descent back down to the ground.
"Professor, are you alright?" Ororo asked.
"I am, what about Rogue and Cyclops?" Xavier asked.
"Cyclops is out cold, but he's still breathing." Rogue dropped Cyclops next to her friends. "Where's our resident superman?"
"Taking Magneto away from the hostages," Ororo replied.
"Let's get them out of here then," Xavier added.
Rogue and Ororo took to the air, helping the three workers out of their makeshift cage and out of the plant.
"That's the last of them, professor," Rogue said, dropping off the last worker.
"Now only Adam remains," Xavier looked up to the sky as Adam and Magneto engaged in their battle.
Up in the sky, Adam and Magneto clashed at great speeds. Every punch that Adam sent Magneto's way was matched by the power of magnetism, repelling him each time. But that was not stopping the young hero. Narrowing his eyes, he spun in the air, landing a roundhouse kick to Magneto's side. Magneto grunted in pain, holding his side as he was still reeling from the pain of the first punch. But Adam wasn't done with him. He caught up to the magnetic mutant, grabbing his left arm before spinning him back down to the ground. Magneto encased himself in a magnetic bubble, making himself bounce back up to the sky and sending Adam back with added force.
Magneto called forth all metallic objects he could reach, levitating cars and trucks from the nearby town to his aid. Adam shot forward towards Magneto once more, as the Master of Magnetism sent the vehicles at him, like a rain of metal. The young X-Man tightened his fists, preparing for the incoming barrage. Punching the first few cars away with ease, he jumped over a truck before kicking it with a metal bending stomp. Using the destroyed truck as a stepping stone, he pushed himself forward against the rest of the cars.
"You are truly powerful, young man!" Magneto complimented with sincerity as he threw more trucks his way.
"Thanks, I do a lot of weights!" Adam tore a car in two with a swipe of his hand. "Ready to give up now?! I can do this all night long!"
"Maybe, but can you do that and get to the mansion before my agents do?" Magneto asked.
Adam slowed down just enough for three trucks to slam into him from different angles, pinning him once again between Metal and a hard place. Gritting his teeth, Adam pushed the trucks off of him with a strong shockwave. Tearing through the metal in front of him, he searched for Magneto. But in the middle of the night air, he was alone in the sky.
"Next time, you're not getting away, Magneto." Adam flew back down to his friends.
"Adam, are you alright?" Ororo hugged him with worry.
"I'm okay, how's Cyclops?" Adam asked.
"My back is killing me and my head feels like that one time you punched me," Scott rubbed his head. "But I'm good. What happened to Magneto?"
"He bailed," Adam said. "We should head to the mansion in case his cronies are headed there."
"Then back to the Blackbird everyone," Professor X ordered as Adam took off the skies once more.
"Man, I hope to do more next time," Rogue moaned.
Back at the mansion, Logan and Sabertooth were still fighting. Their claws cut and sliced at each other in a battle to come out on top. Several of the computers were torn and slashed apart around them as they each tried to get the upper hand against their hated foe. Sabertooth managed to get a hold of Wolverine by the wrists, stopping him from attacking long enough for him to drive his fangs into Logan's shoulder.
With a roar of pain, Wolverine kicked Sabertooth as hard as he could between the legs, getting him right in The Boys with his steel-toed boot, knocking the wind out of him as the two split from their deadlock, their wounds already starting to heal over.
"Hope you had your rabies shot, you runt!" Sabertooth said with a growling laugh.
"Joke's on you, bub, I already had rabies!" Wolverine snarled back.
Sabertooth pounced at Wolverine, ready to tear out his throat with his teeth. But Logan was ready. He ducked under his opponent, stabbing his claws into his stomach before flipping him around and into the ground. He jumped on top of Sabertooth, pinning him down. He pulled back his right arm, aiming his claws at Sabertooth's neck.
"Let's see you heal from a cut off head!" Wolverine roared.
"Wolverine!"
Logan stopped, seeing the professor, Scott, Rogue, Ororo and Adam back from their mission. Talk about bad timing.
"What have I told you about vendettas in this school?! They have no place here!" Xavier narrowed his eyes at Logan, angry and disappointed at his student's actions.
"Wait, professor, it's not Wolverine's fault," Jubilee walked up to them, holding her wounded side. "Sabertooth is working for Magneto, he was faking being injured and wanted to blow up the mansion. Wolverine-"
Sabertooth took his chance, slashing at Wolverine's stomach with his claws, nearly disemboweling him.
"No!" Adam shot himself forward at top speeds.
Sabertooth took a very angry punch to the face, courtesy of Invincible. His teeth were shattered, his nose was broken and his jaw was split by the sheer strength behind the attack. The strength was certainly strong enough that it sent him flying out of the mansion through a wall.
Sabertooth hopped to a stop right before the Brotherhood of Mutants.
"Well, I ain't saying no to a free delivery," Toad said.
Avalanche picked up Sabertooth before they all ran back into the night.
Back inside the infirmary, Logan had been patched up and was now resting on one of the beds.
"This is all my fault, if I had listened to Logan's words of warning, none of this would've happened," Xavier apologised.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, professor. You wished to see the good in all Mutants," Ororo said. "If anything, this is a lesson that not all Mutants see themselves in need of help."
Logan stirred awake.
"Hey there, Logan. Take it easy," Adam told him.
"Where's Sabertooth?" Logan asked.
"You should've seen it, Logan!" Jubilee spoke up from her infirmary bed against the opposite wall, "Sabertooth managed to get you in the side, but then Adam shot off like a rocket and WHAM! Right in the kisser! Sent him clear through the mansion and probably into the next county!" she recounted before wincing and holding her side.
"Heh, not bad superman, not bad." Logan chuckled.
"Wasn't a big deal. You did say to hit him hard," Adam shrugged.
"We all owe you an apology, Logan. Your judgement of Sabertooth was right from the beginning," Xavier said.
"What do we do now, Professor?" Ororo asked. "Magneto is back and he is not working alone."
"Then, we must prepare, my X-Men," Xavier said. "Our war for the future of Mutant and human-kind has truly begun."
"Don't worry professor," Rogue said. "I think we will be ready, because we're-"
Invincible & The Astonishing X-Men