Disclaimer* I do not own the rights to any of the characters in this story, and make no claims to the artistic visions of the marvel universe. I know nothing of the sexuality of any of the creators, actors, or characters involved in the Marvel universe. Similarly, this story contains graphic descriptions of gay male sex. If you don't like that, they you should probably avert your eyes.
This story takes place in an alternate X-Men universe from the one in which the X3 movie took place. Certain events occurred after X2 which changed the timeline. The specifics of the timeline changes will be made apparent as the story progresses.
Chapter 11 -- "Annihilation"
Ok guys, I cannot apologize enough for how long this chapter has taken to come out. As I have said before, I am in grad school and free time is extremely limited. But that being said, I promise that it will never take me this long to post again. I hope that you do not hold it against me. Without further delay, please enjoy the story.
The Phoenix stood atop one of the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco Bay. She had a beautiful view of a beautiful city, with the warm sun in her face, and a gentle, refreshing breeze blowing in her long red hair. She cared for none of that however. She looked out over the bay toward Alcatraz Island, the site of the Worthington Lab's production facility for the mutant cure'. How she loathed that place, a monument to human stupidity. The audacity of the human attempt to eradicate mutant kind made her blood boil. Mutants were the future, the superior. Inside that facility was a unique and dangerous mutant. This mutant had a chemical in his blood which neutralized the powers of other mutants. Normally speaking, he would be a powerful ally (so long as he stayed far away from her), but that would not be young Leech's fate. Leech's unique chemical was being extracted and used to strip the powers from mutants deemed dangerous', and to turn self hating mutants `normal'.
It was disgusting. The fact that a mutant's gifts were being used to destroy others like him was a travesty, a bastardization of the evolutionary process. But all of that would be put to an end, and so would the source of the `cure'.
It would have to be subtle though. The Phoenix hated that fact, wanted to go in on wings of fire, showing her great and glorious powers, and showing the human world what terrible mistakes it had made. But no, this had to be a very precise move, one which sowed doubt and suspicion, but no clear evidence.
The vast telekinetic powers of The Phoenix reached out toward Alcatraz Island. She ignored the annoying sphere of space around the young mutant Leech where her powers could not penetrate. She focused her powers on the tiny electrons within the electric power plant of the island. Several times she slipped up, struggling with the more precise, detailed control necessary for her work. Always the Phoenix personality had used the greater, vaster powers of her body; it was the Jean Gray personality who knew control.
But nothing was beyond The Phoenix Force, she reminded herself. She channeled the electricity of the power plant, disrupting the natural flow. She broke the devices which grounded the station, blocking the plant's ability to diffuse excess power into the earth. The power built and built within the system as technicians ran around frantically trying to identify the problem. Of course, this problem was beyond any of them. Within minutes the red alert sirens were blaring, warning all personnel to abandon the island. Before a single boat could disembark, or a single helicopter could lift off, the generator blew. The explosion vaporized everyone in the generator building instantly, and the walls blew out like they were paper. The force of the explosion encompassed the entire small island, causing numerous secondary explosions on everything the least bit flammable. The primary research and production building, being directly next to the generator building, was torn apart, killing almost everyone instantly. The fires burned high and hot (given a bit of extra fuel from the Phoenix's rage, and soon consumed every burnable substance on the island.
The Phoenix smiled like she had rarely smiled before. She felt a glorious satisfaction when she felt the bubble of emptiness around Leech collapse, knowing that he was dead and his body burned beyond any possible research. The threat of the cure was no more, its source destroyed. Furthermore, the resulting uproar and fear would be just the springboard she needed to bring her plans to life.
The Phoenix laughed loudly and heartily as she turned red and vanished like dust in the wind.
"Please try again," Echo pleaded. He looked over at his friend Hydrogue, who looked just as miserably depressed as he had been since he woke from his coma. The two sat in the sand on the shore of the lake opposite the mansion. Hydrogue sat with his legs folded under him, hands on his knees, and wearing only a trunk-style bathing suit. The color was blue, though this was unknown to Echo, who could not see colors. The only other adornment on Alex was a sapphire colored blindfold tied around his eyes, which he could no longer use. Echo felt a pang on sympathy as he considered this, and he understood that Alex wore the blindfold for the same reason that he wore his sunglasses all the time: blind eyes are disturbing to look at. He had heard from his friends their dismay at not seeing Alex's eyes, as they were strikingly beautiful, but this was unimportant to Echo, who again, could not see them. Through the sound waves being generated by the gentle breeze, he could `see' the face and body of his dear friend, which were unchanged and just as beautiful as they had been before the attack, though now sadness permeated his being.
"This isn't as easy for me as it is for you" Alex commented back, being ruder than he really wanted to be. Echo ignored the tone, knowing his friend was not angry with him.
"It took me time to do this too. But I learned how, because I had to. And now you have to."
Echo was trying to teach Alex to use his water sensing powers as a new form of sight, the same way that he himself used his echolocation ability. He had talked with The Professor, who applauded the effort.
"A lot of mutants have to learn how to keep their powers on in the background at all times, to learn how to deal with the sensory input on a constant basis, without thinking about it, and without overdoing it. For example, many telepaths learn to keep a constant, low-grade sensory network up around themselves, which tells them when people are near, and a general sense of their emotional state, without intruding into their minds or overwhelming their senses. I know that you can do the same, you're making great progress." Echo smiled, but then realized that Hydrogue couldn't see it. Instead he rested his hand on his friend's knee and squeezed it gently. "I know you are accustomed to learning things fast because you are Class 5, but this is a subtle, highly controlled exercise, it will take time, but you CAN do it." He thought he saw a weak attempt at a smile from Alex, and it made him happy to see it.
Once again, Alex easily reached out with his powers, and instantly could see' again. He knew exactly where he was, could see the details of his friend's face with each minute water molecule in his skin, could see the trees and the ground and the lake and the clouds in the sky. He could even see' the air itself, watch the air currents move as they blew water molecules around. This sensory state was very easy for him to attain, but that wasn't the trick of it all. The hard part was to continue about his life while keeping his senses up, allowing him to see the world around him.
Once the sensory state was well established, Hydrogue stood up, and began to walk around. He and Echo walked around and talked, and this time, the water sense stayed active for several minutes before Hydrogue's mind became too preoccupied. At this point he stopped walking and held out his hand to Echo, who took it and led him back to the lake safely.
"See? That was better" Echo praised, truly happy that his friend was improving. He was concerned though, because there was obviously something brewing in the world, and he knew that Alex would be in the middle of it. Not because Alex was a champion, not because he was impassioned toward a cause, but simply because he was a Class 5 mutant, a fact he could not in the least control, he would be involved. That being the case, Echo NEEDED to help his friend, to make him able to fight again. And if Alex ever regained his sight, he would find his senses increased by this exercise, would find it useful and empowering.
It was then that Echo's own background senses kicked in. His extraordinary hearing picked up an alarming statement. He looked over across the lake to where the Xavier Mansion stood, and knew that they needed to get inside right away, but the walk around the lake would take far too long.
"Hydrogue, remember when you teleported us all back to the mansion from downtown?"
"Yes" he answered, sounding confused.
"Can you do it again? We need to be in the main lounge." Hydrogue smiled a real smile this time. At last, a task he could do. Even though he had only performed this feat once before, and under extreme duress, he felt confident that he could do it again. He opened his mind to the powers within him. He keenly felt his own form through the water molecules which made it up, and he then added to that the molecules of Echo's body. He pulled both bodies apart, dissolving the non-water molecules in with the water, and moved them both into the mansion at the speed of thought. Sensing the locations of the other students and the furniture within the lounge on the main floor of the mansion, Hydrogue reformed them both next to Psionic, who glanced over in greeting. The other students saw a watery globe seem to form from nowhere, growing larger and larger, and then splitting in two. The two forms took on the shapes of Hydrogue and Echo, and then re-solidified into their normal bodies. Psionic Quickly linked both Echo and Hydrogue to the low-level group meld shared by the friends, allowing both of the blind men to see through his eyes and watch what was on the television.
The news reporter was giving a breaking story.
"Just hours ago, a large explosion took place at the Worthington Lab's facility located on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay. The explosion had obliterated the facility, killing most of the personnel, though there are survivors. The explosion is believed to have been caused by an overload in the power generator, which has not yet been confirmed. Due to the fact that this lab was the only production facility of the new Mutant Cure developed by Worthington Lab's, a mutant terrorist attack is suspected by many. In the wake of a string of bombings of Mutant Registration facilities and an assault on a military task force, could this be the latest in a growing series of attack from organized pro-mutant groups such as The Brotherhood of Mutants or The X-Men? There is no evidence yet, but we at channel 14 are certain that this is one theory that will be looked at once the rescue work is completed. We well bring you any further developments as they happen, but for now, back to John in the studio."
The screen switched scenes to the Channel 14 news room, where a young but pompous looking male reporter took up the story.
"Despite the short time that has passed, and the lack of time to compile or consider evidence, many citizens have already drawn their own conclusions about who is to blame for the Alcatraz Explosion. There are reports of anti-mutant riots in the streets of several major cities, the largest, naturally, in San Francisco. The police are on the scene to prevent any injuries or property damage, but there seems to be no stopping these citizens from voicing their opinions. No word of response yet from the Federal Government as to how they will respond to the explosion, or to the demands of the enraged citizens."
The story continued on, but the room exploded into protest and angry discussion, drowning out any attempts to hear more of the news.
thought Psionic into the meld. The others couldn't help but agree.
Pyro usually hated every minute of the meetings he had to attend as one of the higher-ups in The Brotherhood. However, today was different. Today, they were actually PLANNING the events that they had only talked and dreamed about before. The majority of the small, subtle plans did not interest him, but the talks of fights and battles and using their powers to destroy intrigued him to no end. He admired this new addition to The Brotherhood, Phoenix. He had lived in the Xavier Mansion for several years had had Jean Gray as a teacher for 2 classes, and yet had never know that she had such fire, such power, within her. What a waste, he thought. The Phoenix had told them little, but he knew that she had been trapped within Jean's mind since childhood, had grown in power and rage over the years, and that she was the mastermind behind everything that was happening. She had been using her telepathy in secret to influence many weak-minded humans, slowly maneuvering the situation to this point. It was surprising; really, that such a rage-filled being could actually come up with a slow, detailed plan like hers. But, he supposed, when you are trapped within your own head for your entire life, you must have time to think.
As the meeting ended, various leaders went to pursue their various tasks, and Pyro followed Magneto, Mystique, and The Phoenix out of the room. The Phoenix led them down a hallway which was known to only a few. This hallway led to some of the more secret research facilities on Superior Island, and also led to their detention center. At first Pyro believed that they were heading to Doppelganger's cell, so that The Phoenix could re-absorb his DNA morphing ability. She had to do this periodically, because apparently even she had not yet learned how to use Rogue's powers indefinitely. Pyro looked at Doppelganger's cell and remembered his frequent trips there in the night hours for sexual trysts with the shape shifter. Doppelganger had the DNA imprints of many of Pyro's former classmates form the X-Mansion, and he liked to play with them all. But when they passed by the detention center, Pyro knew something interesting was about to happen. The small group traveled into the rear-most door and entered through a magnetic lock that only Magneto (and presumably The Phoenix) could unlock. The room beyond was filled with glass-enclosed rooms which resembled hospital rooms. Almost every room was inhabited, and most of those people lay in the gurney-like bed. Some seemed completely normal, and some had the strange disfigurations from having unfortunate mutations such as third eyes, discolored skin, or in one case, transparent skin. A small number of the patients had horrible disfigurations, appearing more at home in a side-show or medical show than in their current location. A relatively small number of mutants were walking around in white lab coats, some taking notes, some checking readings, and others injecting the patients with a strange yellowish liquid. The Phoenix smirked just a bit when she looked around, but quickly returned to her usual emotionless expression.
The door at the far end of the room opened before the group got to it, whether by Magneto's or The Phoenix's powers Pyro did not know or care. By now he was absentmindedly playing with a small ball of fire he had conjured from his wrist-lighters. The next room was much smaller, and contained a dozen or so tall transparent tubes. The tubes contained what appeared to be sleeping people of various ages. The youngest people were in a tube full of some clear fluid, but the adults were simply laying there in slightly-less-than-vertical beds. Pyro eyes one tube curiously, where a young girl with long white hair floated slightly in her fluid. He did not entirely understand the need for this particular pet project of the Phoenix's, but he would not argue. He tried to stay out of the scientific parts of the planning, as they bored him. Finally, the last door opened, and on the other side was a very small room no larger than a closet. This small room contained one last tube, which was fogged, and the contents hidden.
The Phoenix stopped beside this final, fogged container, and faced the others. As they all watched, her shape began to change. Her face filled out, her cheeks less sunken and more full. Her skin grew paler, and her hair grew darker, the vibrant red vanishing into soft brown, except for a streak of white in the very front. She shrank a few inches, and at last fully reassumed the form of Rogue. She spoke then with the strange two-layered voice she always spoke with when in Rogue's form.
"As you all know, I have periodically needed to re-absorb the morphing powers of the mutant Doppelganger in order to retain my natural powers. This is a weakness, a flaw for which I was not designed. My powers are infinite, and this fact has repeatedly gotten in my way. But no more." The Phoenix hit a switch on one side of the cylinder, and several lights turned green. The cylinder shuddered slightly, and steam hissed out the sides as the seal broke. The front of the cylinder slid aside, finally revealing the contents. As the fog inside the tube cleared, Pyro realized what was inside.
"Behold, a perfect, flawless clone of my true body" spoke the Phoenix, her tone for of unflappable pride. "This body with grant me access to my full powers without restraint or weakness of any kind, and I will be invincible again. And best of all, the insufferable Jean Grey will have no presence in this body to slow me down."
The others watched as the Phoenix closed her eyes, focusing her powers. Even though she was outside of her normal body, the Phoenix was at her very core a telepathic being, a creature of thought and willpower. She reached out with all of her mind, leaving behind the useful but limited body she had used for the past month, and entered into her brand new home. As she melded with this new body, she could feel how PERFECT it was, every inch, every cell, and every molecule. She solidified her hold in this body in a way she never had in Rogue's taking it fully as her new home. As her consciousness left, Rogue's body slumped unconscious to the ground.
All was still for a moment, as nothing happened. But then the eyes of the Jean clone opened, and they glowed red with passion and power. The Phoenix stood before her lieutenants restored, complete. Her glory was unsurpassed, and her joy was of manic proportions.
Pyro couldn't help but smile. This was going to be so much fun.
Alex knocked on the Professor's office door, wondering what he had been called in for. It had taken him 3 times as long to get to the office as usual, as he did not want to have o ask anyone to bring him there. Therefore, he had stumbled his way along, using his thus far unreliable water sense to guide him.
"Come in Alexander" he heard from within, and he opened the door. The room, so far as he could tell, was empty except for the Professor, who sat beside the large window behind his desk. The Professor granted Alex the mercy of not asking if he needed any help, and instead waited for him to find his way to the chair in front of the desk.
"I am glad you came" the Professor offered, smiling.
"Thanks for having me, though I'm not sure why I'm here."
"That is fair. I asked you here because of your little project with Kyle. I believe I can help you."
"Ok" Alex answered, sounding doubtful. The Professor ignored it.
"I believe you two have been taking the wrong approach. You are attempting to PUT UP a sensory network, when in fact I believe you already have it there, and are filtering it out"
"What?"
"You see, people with vast amount of sensory power, such as you and I, often need to build up a way of ignoring some of that information, or it would drive us mad. I, for example, do my best to not hear the thoughts of the hundreds of people in the building all at once. My mind has unconsciously learned to filter that information out, keeping only a small range open to sensing, but still allowing me to hear anything of critical importance. If I needed to, I could lower this filter, and immerse myself in the thoughts and minds of everyone within several miles."
"Ok, but what does that have to do with me?"
"Well, I believe your mind does the same thing for you. I believe that you have a constant ability to sense all of the water around you for a considerable distance, but since all of that information would be too much for you to handle on a daily basis, your mind filters it."
"But I've always had to actively try to feel water in other people and objects before." Alex still sounded doubtful, but hope was beginning to tug at his self-depression.
"Have you?" Alex stammered at this question. When had he ever sensed anything without trying to?
"The fire" he said. The words slipped out of his mouth without him really thinking about them, for he was too busy remembering that night when the Mutant Registration building had been destroyed. He had been quite occupied at the time, but after the explosion went off, he instantly sensed where it came from, though he had not summoned his water sense consciously. Instead, it had just supplied him with information when the explosion put him at the ready. Furthermore, he remembered his duels with Cyclops and Holy, recalling how he could sense them, every molecule of them, without trying. He had assumed that this was because his body activated his senses automatically when the 'fight or flight' reflex was activated, but perhaps it was as the Professor said. Perhaps he had actually LOWERED his guard instead.
The Professor could see the dawning of realization in the young man's face, despite the cloth covering his eyes.
"Are you ready to try again?"
Echo was really not looking for trouble. He was in the main dining room on the bottom floor of the mansion eating lunch quietly, alone as was his custom. He was really never bored, as his exponentially heightened hearing allowed him to overhear many interesting conversations. He did not choose to eavesdrop, but as he could not prevent himself from hearing at least some of the conversations, he had stopped feeling guilty about it a long time prior.
As he ate, he heard far in the background, a click of a door shutting. This was not the ordinary sound of a door shutting; this was the very distinctive sound of the hidden door to the basement headquarters for the X-Men. Echo thought this was odd, as all the casualties from the fight with the Brotherhood were recovered, and the only person still being tended was Jean Grey, who still lay in a coma. Furthermore, as a junior member of the X-Men, Echo would have expected to be privy to any activities going on today.
Not really suspecting foul play, Echo consciously heightened his hearing further, and his ability to `see' sounds allowed him to all but see through walls. He could faintly detect someone standing outside the door to the basement, looking around to see if anyone had noticed the door being opened. The hallway which housed this door was all but unused, and rarely had traffic, and thus he was alone in the hallway. Echo got a slightly better image of this individual as he began to walk, the faint sounds of feet against the tile was more than enough to give Echo an overall impression of their appearance. The individual was male, and young, in his early 20's at the latest. He was dressed oddly, with a cloak covering form-fitting chest armor of some smooth material. He also had a strange helmet on his head, which seemed out of place. He reminded Echo of someone, but the guy was too far away and too quiet for him to clearly see his face. He decided to investigate.
As Echo left the cafeteria, the stranger began to move towards the front of the mansion, bringing him in Echo's general direction. Thus, Echo was quickly able to catch up with him. The stranger walked very quietly, but not nearly quietly enough to elude the sound mutant, who dampened his own noises completely.
As Echo fell into step behind this man, whom he was now certain was not a student at the school. He watched and observed that none of the students walking in the hallway seemed to notice the intruder, as though he was invisible to them.
Invisible, of course. Echo realized who this mutant was, recognized him immediately now that he stopped to think about it. This intruder was Holy, the light-bending member of the Brotherhood! He had apparently learned to use his light powers to render himself invisible, and was now spying on the X-Men!
But wait, Echo thought, wouldn't the Professor have sensed the intruder with his powers? Then he recognized the helmet, it was of the same design as the one that Magneto wore, which was somehow able to block telepathic powers.
I need to stop him from leaving with whatever information he gained in the mansion, Echo thought.
And so he followed.
Dr. Halden could hear the blood pounding in his ears. He was taking a big risk, a huge risk. He walked through the halls of the medical headquarters for the Department of Defense. This was the heart of the beast, the den of the dragon. Only a month ago, Dr. Halden had left from this location, which was disguised as an office building in the center of New York City, and headed towards the Xavier Mansion as part of the registration team. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
He greeted a couple of other personnel who recognized him, but did not exchange more than nods or hellos. He could not afford to be distracted, and even more could not afford to have anyone realize that a doctor who had been missing for a month had finally returned with no explanation for his absence. He only had one shot at this. As a human, there were few things that he could do to help the whole of mutant kind, but this was his opportunity.
Dr. Halden took a deep breath and entered the anteroom which guarded his real goal. He nodded to the secretary who vaguely recognized him, but didn't know him well enough to realize that he had been gone so long. He swiped his ID badge, and placed his thumb on the scanner for confirmation. The door hissed, and slid open, revealing a smaller closet-sized room. He stepped into this closet, and once the door had closed securely behind him, the wall in front of him opened.
Security is a bit high considering this guy's ability, he thought. For once the 2nd door opened, Dr. Halden stepped into a small but sparce living quarters, the secret cell of a very secret mutant.
"Hello Mike, long time no see" he was greeted by a friendly voice. "Where have you been?" Dr. Halden looked long and hard at the man in front of him, considering his words carefully. He had developed a rapport with this man, was always kind to him when the others had been so cruel. He hadn't thought until that moment what a difference his disappearance would have made in this mutant's life. Michael had always been the one to deal with this patient, because the patient responded to him, and because he was the only one who wanted to be anywhere near the guy.
"Hello Elixir. How have you been?" The young mutant smiled, his golden skin reflecting the lights slightly as it moved. His white clothes only increased the intense glare of the young man under the bright lights.
"Well," he said, running a hand through his golden hair, "I've been kind of shitty. I sit here, day after day, and the shitty doctors and their shitty assistance and their shitty guards come and harass me, poke me, and prod me. They force me to take part in their experiments, and the one person who was actually nice to me, the one person who actually treated me like a person, stopped showing up." Mike winced at this, knowing it was all true. He had not fully considered the implications that his absence would have for Elixir.
"I'm sorry" he said, meaning it deep in his heart. "But I have come on an errand that I hope will make it up to you."
"And why should I trust you? You're one of THEM."
"I had nothing to do with your capture 2 years ago, or your imprisonment since then. I have only been a part of this project for the past 6 months, and I have tried to do what I could for you in that time. But now I know that it has not been enough. I know that what this government is doing is wrong, and that if the world is to ever exist in peace, mutants and humans need to work together toward that goal."
The golden boy Elixir looked up at this, clearly intrigued. He stood up and cleared the room quickly, putting his hands on Dr. Halden's shoulders.
"Do you know what they've been having me do lately?" Elixir's blue eyes were wide with alarm.
"I have an idea. You've had to use your ability to alter organic matter to create a certain chemical for them haven't you?" Elixir's mouth opened slightly in surprise. "I've been doing some searching through the files that I am privy to (for now), and I know what they are doing. You have been manufacturing the Mutant Cure."
"The what?"
"The Mutant Cure. It's a chemical which blocks all mutant powers within a certain radius around it. Up until now, the source has been a young mutant codenamed Leech, but they have been using your abilities to create the compound independently of him. The chemical is too complex to synthetically create, but the government needs more of it now. They are using you to double production, and they are stockpiling it. But this morning the primary facility was destroyed, and the mutant Leech is dead. You are the only remaining source of the Cure."
"But why?"
"For a war against mutants. They are afraid that the Brotherhood of Mutants is escalating events towards a full scale conflict, and they need all the firepower they can get. In the meantime, they will continue to `cure' as many mutants as they can to prevent them from joining the fight once it begins." Elixir looked dismayed, as if his worst dreams had come true.
"What can we do?"
Echo stalked the intruder Holy all throughout the main floor of the mansion. He stayed out of sight by staying around the corner at all times. His echolocation allowed him to still `see' Holy despite not being in true line of sight. Holy stopped only during this period, glancing into the main lounge for just a minute. The news was still on, and a crowd of mutants were standing and sitting around, keeping up to date with the anti-mutant surge. Mobs were forming in the streets of most major cities, and in more that one instance the mobs were met with smaller mobs of mutants and mutant supporters. For now the situations had remained non-violent, but things were getting worse instead of better. The government was calling an emergency session to decide on a course of action. As of yet, none of the evidence from the explosion at Alcatraz Island was released to the public.
Echo thought he saw Holy smirk after catching the most recent news. He turned away then, and headed not towards the exit as Echo expected, but deeper into the mansion. When Echo caught up, he saw Holy pressed up against a doorway on one wall of a large open area, his ear pressed close. He had on his ear some sort of device, presumably helping him to hear. Echo was a bit confused by this, but then he used his echolocation to see inside the room, and saw that inside were The Professor and Alex. They were discussing Alex's injury, and ways to overcome it. Right now the Professor was sharing with him tips on how to split his mental focus to pay attention to multiple things at once.
I can't allow this, Echo thought to himself. Hydrogue's condition needs to be kept secret, especially from the Brotherhood. His friend was weakened right now, and needed to be protected.
Echo came around the corner, his body making the decision before his mind had finished thinking it through. Holy was directly ahead about 20 feet, with his back to Echo. He formed his words carefully, altering the sound with his powers so that it seemed to Holy that he had whispered quietly into his ear from right behind him.
"I see you."
Holy whipped around suddenly, his eyes wide with alarm. There were several people in the hall around and behind him, but none should be able to see him, as he had wrapped the light around himself so tightly that his invisibility should be complete. But as he came around, his spotter was clear. Echo thrust out his hands before him, loosing a pulse of sonic energy directly at Holy. The pulse took him totally off guard, having not recovered from the shock of being spotted. Holy was struck in the chest, the force of the pulse driving him backward, smashing through the thick wood door of the Professor's office.
The door shattered as Holy flew through it, landing in a heap on the floor inside the Professor's office. The Professor stopped mid-sentence, legitimately surprised for once. Hydrogue stood up slowly, his blindfolded eyes trained straight at Holy. His water sense flowed into him, like it had been there all along. He knew exactly who it was, would never mistake the water profile of a person who had hurt him so much.
The Professor could feel the deeply rooted pain and hatred welling up within his student. It grew until it loomed within his mind like a tidal wave. The Professor extended a tendril of calming thought toward Hydrogue, but it was thrown aside by a wall of red rage.
Hydrogue was pissed.
Dr. Mike Halden had never been so anxious. As the outer door to Elixir's cell opened before him, the two guards in the anteroom came into view. As he stepped out, he lifted his right arm, and as the cuff pulled back it revealed a high-tech stun weapon that had been developed by the Department of Defense for the capturing of mutants unharmed. Dr. Halden had been given one of these weapons before the incident at the Xavier Mansion, and had thought it the perfect tool for his heist.
Three times he squeezed the palm trigger, sending a small blue ball of energy into each guard and the flabbergasted female secretary. All three slumped to the ground, quietly and unharmed. Once he checked to be sure that all three were fully unconscious but in no danger from the not-fully-tested weapon, Mike started to breathe again. He used his ID badge on the door again, and tossed the ID into the small room between the double doors of Elixir's cell. Elixir emerged a minute later, having used the ID to get out of the cell.
"Well, I never thought I would see the outside of that room again. I can't thank you enough for this.'
"Consider it a small part of my debt paid for being a part of this business for so long. Besides, we aren't nearly out of the woods yet. We're still 30 levels up."
"Well then we have some work to do." Elixir donned the wrist stun weapon from one of the guards, while Mike took a second for himself, giving him one on each arm. They left the more deadly weapons on the ground. No reason to sink to their level. Elixir then donned the black uniform and light armor vest of the smaller of the security guards, though that would not stand up to much scrutiny. After all, he did have bright golden skin.
The two partners in crime exited the anteroom into the main hallway of the security sector. They walked swiftly past doors to other anterooms on their way to the only exit from the high-security area. Mike wished deeply that he could set free the other mutants who were here (only a couple of the rooms were occupied), but that was not in the cards today. They did not have enough time or manpower for the job, and Elixir's powers were not offensive in nature, though he claimed he could theoretically use them for such a purpose.
There were 4 guards, 2 on each side of the large security door at the end of the hall. Then, there were 4 unconscious bodies, as the renegades opened fire without warning. Dr. Halden's ID worked one last time to open this door, but as they passed into the main hallway of the facility on the way to the exit, the security scanners registered the weapon's fire, and the alarm sounded.
The pair broke into a full sprint down the main hall, the exit elevator in sight. A trio of security personnel came at them from a side corridor, but the pair took down two before they brought any arms to bear. The third guard fired his pistol, catching Mike in the left deltoid. The young doctor spun form the hit, but remained standing. The pain was intense, and he lost most control of the arm. Elixir raised an arm toward the guard, who was now very close to them. The guard stopped and clutched at his chest, where his heart pounded like it was going to explode. He dropped his weapon to the floor as he slumped down. Elixir released his hold over the man, and stunned him. He then grabbed Mike's good arm and continued running. Mike looked up in surprise at the young mutant, his skin had turned black.
The elevator arrived with a `ding' onto to floor, but as the doors parted, the pair saw half a dozen guards with their weapons trained directly on them.
Elixir didn't wait for them to fire. He reached with his powers into the men, who were close enough to him for him to affect. All 6 of the men screamed in pain as their hands went to their heads. It felt as though their skulls were splitting open, the pain was so bad. Elixir had activated all the pain receptors in the brains of the guards, giving them the sensation that a bomb had gone off within their skulls. As the guard fell to the ground, Elixir pulled the guards into the elevator and hit the button for the bottom floor. The six guards had all passed out on the floor from the pain.
It was a tense minute while the elevator raced down, all the while both men expected to hear the emergency breaks starting. But the security office could not stop the elevator in time, and they escaped onto the bottom floor. When they stepped into the foyer, they saw that an immense blast door had been lowered, blocking exit onto the street. They heard the thundering sounds of dozens of guards coming down the stairs, but for the moment they were alone. Elixir had to help Mike to the door, as he was now bleeding copiously from his bullet wound.
Elixir activated the last-ditch plan of Mike's. He had brought with him a small sample of an extremely corrosive organic acid, which Elixir had examined with his powers. The acid was now in a dormant form within Elixir's sweat glands, and he activated it now, as he pressed his hands to the blast door. The metal only sizzled at first, but very quickly it began to break down, and by moving his hands around, Elixir burned a hole large enough for the men to escape through.
They were home free. The two sprinted onto the street, where they knew the soldiers would not follow them. They received many stares, a black skinned mutant and a bleeding doctor, but they ran too fast to be stopped. Dr. Halden had parked his car one black down, and they drove away with all due haste. Elixir slumped into the passenger seat, more exhausted than he had ever been.
There was a loud cracking, shattering sound erupted as Holy came hurtling back into the hallway. He came not through the broken door, but straight through the wall of the Professor's office, propelled by a force unknown. Students screamed as splinters flew, and all gasped as the invisible form of Holy rippled and came into full view. He stood up very quickly considering that he had just smashed through a wall, but he was still too slow.
Hydrogue appeared in front of Holy as if out of thin air, his form familiar and yet terribly different. The blue blindfold was gone, but the eyes that were usually bright and brilliant blue had turned to a pale silver. His skin was pale like death, and frost was on it. His hair appeared black, but was in truth wet with glacier-cold water. His expression was blank, but with an underlying malice the belied a deep, cold fury the likes of which few had seen.
Holy's eyes widened in fear and horror of what he had awakened within the powerful mutant. He drew a long sword, a replacement for the one that Demon had snapped. The blade grew cold in his hands, so cold that he could not hold it. He dropped the sword to the ground, where it shattered into a thousand pieces. He lifted his hands and a brilliant white light erupted, a light too bright to look upon.
But Hydrogue could no longer see the way others did. He saw through his eyes only the brilliant blue pinpoints that denoted each and every water molecule around him. The light hindered him not, and he came forward. He moved impossibly fast, and gripping Holy by the neck, lifted his opponent up. The skin of the water mutant was as cold as glacier water, deathly cold. Holy felt his skin freezing, his throat closing. The fingers of Hydrogue's hands ended in sharp animal-like claws made of hardest ice, which dug into Holy's flesh, chilling his blood. With incredible ease, Hydrogue threw his nemesis to the side, easily 20 feet, into the far wall. Holy smashed into the wood and fell to the ground, leaving a broken and dented portion of wall above him. He rolled on impact, and came to his feet. Once standing, Holy launched at Hydrogue a ball of photonic energy. The ball flew at high speed at Hydrogue, but impacted a protective sphere of hardened water. The explosion flashed brightly, blocking all view, but when it subsided, Hydrogue stood exactly where he had before, completely unharmed.
Hydrogue appeared suddenly in front of Holy and slashed once, twice with his clawed fingers. In this moment, Holy's life was saved by the silvery armor across his chest, which bore the brunt of the attacks. The armor was torn through, and blood poured from the cuts beneath. Hydrogue grasped him by the throat and threw him again, but this time straight up, his strength supplemented by his rage and power. Holy crashed through floor after floor, and emerged through the roof of the mansion and hurtled high into the air above. Hydrogue rose straight up into the air, lifting his water molecules in order to fly out the hole he had just created.
Hydrogue rose high into the air, hovering above the mansion. In the sky above him spun a great disk of dark clouds, with the eye directly over him. Snow and hail fell from the clouds, and they lit from within with lightning. The temperature outside had plummeted, and the ground was thickening with snow. The wind whipped wildly, chilling
Holy took in the incredible scene in the blink of an eye as he spun wildly, nearing the arc of his flight. Just as he felt himself start to fall back to earth, he was suddenly seized by the arms, and stopped in mid fall. Long tendrils of icy water had reached up from the lake and grasped him, holding him fast before Hydrogue. He looked up and saw the enraged mutant, looking terrible and godly against the backdrop of his arctic hurricane.
The scene was still for a moment, as if frozen in time. By this point, a large number of students and the majority of the X-Men had come outside onto either the lawn or the various roofs of the mansion. Angel attempted to take flight, but the winds proved too much for him. Hydrogue could feel the will of Storm straining to tame his thundercloud, but even the considerable abilities of Ororo Munroe could not slow the unstoppable force of Hydrogue's anger. The storm raged on.
Hydrogue looked down on his foe, which he had trapped and terrified. He spoke now for the first time since he had seen Holy.
"I owe you pain." With that, the water tentacles coursed with inner electricity, which tore through Holy's body and lit every nerve on fire. He screamed in agony, the sound tore through the previous silence like a blunt knife. The students below cringed, some ran inside.
"Please!" Holy yelled, begging Hydrogue to stop. Before he could speak again, another shock tore through him, longer than the one before. The voltage was not enough to kill him, but Holy dearly wished that it was.
"Why are you here?" Hydrogue asked, his cold, emotionless voice surprisingly loud. He punctuated his question with another excruciating jolt.
"STOP!!" A voice rang out, loud and commanding. Hydrogue let the jolt stop, though was unable to discern why. He looked to the rooftop, where Will stood, looking up sternly. His seafoam green eyes were bright and compelling.
Will's strength was considerable, his command compelling. But the anger and willpower of Hydrogue was too great to be more than distracted by Will's powers. He turned back to his helpless enemy.
The blast of energy was stronger this time, and did not relent. Holy screamed and screamed, his golden eyes were wide in terror. His skin began to blacken in places, his clothing caught fire. His back arched involuntarily, as his muscles all seized at once.
"Alex, please stop!" Hydrogue glanced to the side and saw his dear friend Demon standing beside Will and Barrier on the rooftop. The large red skinned man was crying, a very uncharacteristic thing.
"Why should I stop?" answered the chilly voice of Hydrogue.
"Because what you're doing is no better than what he did to you. You're a good man; you don't torture and maim people. Please stop, I can't watch my best friend turn into a monster."
As they watched, color flooded back into Hydrogue's skin. His eyes turned from slivery back to their normal sapphire color. His hair dried, and the frost drifted from it. The storm's spin slowed, and then stopped altogether. The temperature rose quickly, as nature reasserted itself. Alex blinked, as if he had just come out of some kind of spell.
"Oh my god," he said to himself in a whisper.
As the sun began to peak out again, Hydrogue flew to the rooftop, and Holy's unconscious body landed beside him. As Beast came over to tend to Holy's wounds, his body suddenly glowed red, and blew away like dust. The Phoenix had summoned him back.
Alex's gaze was downward, his shame unbearable. Demon went to him, and enfolded him in his large arms. Alex buried his face in Demon's shirt and began to cry softly, unable to accept what he had done, and what he had wanted to do. Demon ran his hands through the smaller man's dark hair, but said no words. The others departed the roof, leaving only Alex and his close friends.
Hydrogue pulled his face from Demon's chest and looked up at the larger man. The blue eyes met the red, and Demon could tell instantly. Alex had fallen so deeply into his powers that he had made himself flawless. Hydrogue could see again.
The President of the United States had rarely felt so anxious. He had spoken before these people dozens of times in his 5 years as president, but this time it was different. This emergency meeting of the government was a rare instance, brought on by the huge unrest within the U.S. population which was pushing them all toward a civil war.
The entire U.S. Congress was together, the House and the Senate. Nearly every member of the Legislative and Executive branches of the U.S government had met to decide how to proceed. Should they arrest mutants by the thousand? Should they support a seemingly dangerous minority? The government could not come across as cruel or unjust, but could also not bow to terrorism.
President Richardson was only a man. He was a rich, powerful, driven man, but a man nonetheless. How could he decide the course of the human race? Other countries had yet to have the situation come to this point, but they were on their way. Mutant unrest was growing all over the world, and humans were fearful of the fact that there were so many more mutants than they had previously thought. He was the first world leader to have to make these decisions, and he knew that the decisions would set the tone for the next decade, if not the next century.
He got an approving nod from his Vice President, a good, competent man who had unflappable faith in him. He stepped up to the podium to address the Congress.
He never got a single word of his prepared speech out. As his mouth opened to begin, a piercing sound breached the silence. In the center of the room, between the podium and the first row of tables, a great flame erupted from nothing. The flame took the shape of a great bird, which spread its flaming wings, and opened its mouth and cried out again. The Phoenix's song was hauntingly beautiful, but terrible all the same. The heat of the fire could be felt from a hundred feet away. In the center of the flames could be seen the tall, slender silhouette of a woman. With the same suddenness as the flames appeared, they vanished, leaving behind a tall, beautiful woman with long, vibrant red hair. She was dressed all in red and black, and on her shoulders was a long trench coat of red leather, which billowed about as with wind. Her eyes were dark, but showed a deep intelligence and a powerful mind. Her face was lit with a humorless smile.
"Who are you?" the Secretary of Defense demanded.
"I am The Phoenix" she replied evenly, her voice echoing in the large room. "I am the beginning and the end, the source of all life and all death, I am the Alpha and the omega. And I am your doom." The words echoed in the silence that followed.
"The human race has reached the end of its usefulness. Your purpose was solely to bring about the next stage in evolution, the race of homo superior. That race has arrived, and has become plentiful and powerful. Humans treat us with fear and hatred, when they should look upon is as their betters. You have oppressed mutants long enough, and have proven that your rule is insufficient. Therefore, your rule will be ended."
She held out her hand, and hovering above that hand was a small grayish orb, surrounded by a shimmering field.
"Do any of you know what this is?" The assembly seemed confused by the sudden question. "This is antimatter" she answered herself. "Now, do any of you know what THAT is?" One of the President's scientific advisors answered.
"Antimatter is the polar opposite of regular matter, its exact reverse. An antimatter electron is called a positron, and is positively charged instead of negative."
"Very good" The Phoenix replied condescendingly. "Now, I take it from the look on your face that you know what happens when matter and antimatter come into contact with each other?"
"Annihilation."
"Correct, annihilation. This is when the matter and antimatter cancel each other out, and all of the contained energy within each is released, causing a tremendous explosion with only a small amount of matter. The up side to this is that where nuclear weapons leave behind radiation and render a place uninhabitable, this will instead destroy you all and leave Washington D.C. useful to its rightful owners."
The Secretary of Defense gestured to the nearby guards, who opened fire immediately on The Phoenix. The bullets never reached her, but dissolved in midair, disassembled on the atomic level. The Phoenix glared at the soldiers, who then burst into flames and were consumed in moments.
"And now for a demonstration." With that, The Phoenix released the field protecting her small orb of antimatter.
As soon as the field went down, the process began. In less than a second, the antimatter came into contact with the matter in the air, and annihilation occurred. The energy released was incalculable, and expanded violently in all directions. The blast radiated out from the Capital building in all directions for over 5 miles, eliminating the heart of Washington D.C. The Capital Building was atomized, as was the nearby White House. The Pentagon was mere miles away, and was shredded by the outer waves of the explosion. In only an instant, the head of the United States government was obliterated.
The Phoenix stood alone in the center of the crater, surveying all that remained. The ground about her was bare, not a sign remained of the building she had been standing in only seconds prior. As she laughed, The Phoenix rose into the air, her body wreathed in flame. She spread her arms wide, and the shape of a firebird shown behind her. Her eyes blazed with fire, and the echoes of her laughter could be heard for miles, and those who heard knew that the doom of humanity had come.
Ok everyone, Chapter 11 at last. Once more I apologize for the extreme delay. Please email me at phoenixfire543@yahoo.com with any questions/comments/suggestions you may have, I am always willing to answer mail. I hope to post again soon!
-Matt