Mutation

Disclaimer

I do not own the rights to any of the Marvel 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, then you should probably avert your eyes.

This story takes place in an alternate X-Men universe from the one in which the 3rd movie took place. Certain events occurred after X2 which changed the timeline. Jean, Scott and Professor X are all still alive. The specifics of the timeline changes may be made apparent as the story progresses.

Chapter 19 - "Doppelganger"

"To see one's own doppelganger, their perfect duplicate, is often considered an ill omen, and an imminent sign of death."

The S.H.E.I.L.D. mobile headquarters, the Helicarrier Alpha sailed through the skies above Dallas, coordinating the Alliance assault upon the city. Dallas had been essentially left unclaimed after the fall of IceHeart, as the entire occupying Frost Legion had vanished at once, leaving it under the rule of a mere handful of mutants who no longer knew which power to back. They had surrendered quickly to the fairly small Brotherhood force which had come against them in the following month. But the Alliance, seeing an opportunity to prevent Brotherhood occupation of their western-most major city, chose to attack and drive the small force out before they could become entrenched too deeply.

The human air forces launched off the great flying ship's flat upper deck, and rained down fire on the defensive position of the Brotherhood soldiers. The explosions lit the darkness briefly before being swallowed up by the night. Teams of foot-soldiers and mutants were being brought down in assault shuttles. The resistance was fierce, but the Alliance had the advantages of surprise, numbers, and the literal high ground.

They still didn't stand a chance.

The night sky in front of the carrier burst into brightness, an explosion coming out of nowhere. The flames from the blast fanned out, and formed the shape of a great bird with wings raised. Silhouetted against the fiery raptor was the shape of a tall thin woman with long flowing red hair. The Phoenix smiled wickedly as she heard the frightened thoughts of the highly trained S.H.E.I.L.D. crew. The Alpha began to turn sharply away from her, thought it's progress was slow.

How she loved when they tried to run. She was tempted to simply wipe the airship from existence, but that would not be nearly satisfying enough. She glided through the air on her thoughts, and came down toward the deck raining destruction. Crimson lightning lashed from her hands, chasing fleeing soldiers and deck crew around the launch platform, blasting some off the edge to fall horribly to their certain deaths. Flaming meteorites came streaking down from the sky, and began punching holes in the deck.

The defenses of the Alpha were formidable, and they all came to bear against the Phoenix. Artillery guns, missile batteries, and brilliant lasers all let loose against her, but to no avail. The bullets stopped well short of her, the missiles all changed course randomly and struck each other, and the lasers were simply absorbed by a shimmering defensive shield which surrounded her. Many soldiers were haunted by Phoenix's laughter as the last sound they ever heard.

The Alliance soldiers on the ground looked up as blinding fire erupted from the belly of the Alpha as Phoenix drove through the deck and emerged on the other side protected by a shining golden sphere. The men and women of the Alliance watched as the great airship began to fall in flames.

The Phoenix settled herself on a rooftop. She couldn't stop herself from laughing as the flaming carrier lost altitude despite moving at full speed. She burst out with glee when the airship slammed into its first tall building, sending a huge chunk of the building down toward the street. The Alpha struck more and more buildings, smashing them and itself apart and filling the streets with flaming wreckage in a ruinous line through the city. At last the Alpha could not withstand another hit, and struck a skyscraper full on. The explosion reduced the S.H.E.I.L.D. headquarters to shrapnel, and broke the building in half, and both smashed to the ground in a shower of fire and death.

The Phoenix laughed again at her handiwork, and watched the flames build through the city. The Alliance would no longer have any quarter, would feel no reprieve. She was done sitting back and commanding the war from afar. It was time everyone remembered who this war was really about.

Her laughter echoed as she vanished in a flash of fire.

Psionic walked through the trees, making his way toward the river. His body did not want to go there, urged him away powerfully with adrenaline and fear. But he knew it was time, he had to face his fears. How long could he avoid this? He stepped out into the clearing beside the river, and saw the solitary figure sitting on a rock beside the water.

Alex sat very still, staring at the ripples in the water. He stared like a man possessed, the way married men stare at attractive women who are not their wife. Psionic was struck with how extremely attractive the smaller man was, not a trace of the stress he had been through was etched on his face. But it was carved on his heart so deeply it would never fade, and Psionic could see that just as clearly.

Alex's voice traveled softly, as he sang to himself a darkly humorous song.

"I used to rule the world, Seas would rise when I gave the word. Now in the morning I sleep alone, Sweep the streets I used to own..."

Psionic did his best not to extend his mind outward, though he was having a great deal of difficulty controlling his powers since he had mentally commanded an army of psychics during the fight against IceHeart. The channeling of so much psychic power had awakened him to his ability to create illusions, and seemed to have broken much of his self control and pre-conceived limitations of his strength. He randomly had bursts of telepathic sensitivity when he wasn't planning on it, resulting in much embarrassment as he inadvertently intruded into the minds of those around him. A simple touch against Alex's mind brought forth a wave of painful emotions that made Psionic's knees nearly buckle. It was one such touch which made Alex turn.

"Oh, hey Psi" he said softly, looking somewhat surprised.

"You couldn't feel me?" Psionic asked curiously as he came over and sat next to Alex. His friend smiled weakly, his brilliant blue eyes reflecting no joy.

"I'm not using my powers. I haven't used them at all, not since..." He let the sentence trail off. After being placed in a psychically-induced coma, he had been shipped back to Alliance HQ, and kept in the secure-most sub-basement. It had been debated fiercely what to do with him, but in the end the Professor had convinced everyone to allow the Alex to wake up and begin dealing with what he had done. Their only other option had been to kill him without trial or chance at redemption. Alex had stayed alone and secluded by choice even after the military stopped pretending they had the ability to keep him locked up. It had been 8 weeks since the Battle of Chicago, and this was the first time Alex had been seen by any of his friends.

"Are you afraid?" Psionic asked.

"Yes" he answered, his voice shaking. "I don't know what it will do to me if I connect to it all again."

"Connect to what?"

"The water. The power. It's all connected, I figured that out during my tenure as the enemy of the world. It's how I did so much, how I spread so far. From this river I can feel a bead of sweat on the forehead of a man in China. It's too much. I'm not ready."

"What are you afraid will happen?"

Alex sighed. He reached out his hand toward the river. It was the littlest thing really, to put his fingers into the river. After all, people touched water every day, it was necessary for life. He held his breath, and pushed forward. He felt every molecule of the membrane of the water as it separated, allowing him within it, welcoming him home.

Psionic leapt up in shock as Alex's head flew back, his eyes wide and mouth open. Blue-white light burst forth from his skin, and the river's surface began to roil as if in a storm. A chill wind whipped through the clearing, blowing his hair. Psionic looked through the light to see Alex's eyes shining silver, and considered running for it. Instead he rushed forward, and tackled Alex off of the rock and onto the grass. Instantly the light vanished, and Alex rolled up into the fetal position. He rocked back and forth, and when he looked up at Psionic, tears streamed freely from his sapphire eyes.

"I don't want to hurt anyone" he said, his voice pleading. "Please."

Psionic held Alex's tortured face in his lap, stroking his hair and swallowing the lump in his throat. "I know."

Psionic understood now, both from what he saw and from what he had felt in Alex's mind. His friend was addicted to his powers. He had run with his powers on so hot for so long that he may never be able to separate them from the darkness in his heart. Would he ever be able to use them again without endangering everyone? Was the evil too deeply rooted to ever be cast out?

Demon, completely red and long-tailed once more, surveyed the ruin that was Dallas. The Alliance had taken the city from the Brotherhood, but at a very heavy cost. The Phoenix seemed to only be interested in the destruction of the Alpha and had left soon after, leaving the battle to play out with the remainder of the Alliance forces eventually victorious. Demon stood on the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings that remained, and looked down where the Alpha had met its ruinous end. The explosion of the powerful helicarrier had taken down several buildings and left an ugly crater of melted tar, metal and stone.

"They never stood a chance" Demon stated.

"No, they didn't" answered Echo. "But they knew that. They knew this might happen one day. They were courageous, to go into battle every time knowing that someone as strong as the Phoenix might be up against them. At least you and I, and the other mutants, we have some kind of defense against her."

"It's not enough" said Ghost, who stood beside them. They both agreed silently. The debate had been raging a great deal lately among the heads of the Alliance: should someone as powerful as the Phoenix be allowed to live? The trigger had been the capture of IceHeart/Alex of course, and the determination of what to do with him. But everyone knew it was also setting the stage for the later eventuality of deciding what to do with the Phoenix, for as long as she was on the loose this war would never end.

"Do you think he will ever be the same?" asked Caleb. They didn't need to ask who he meant, because Alex was on all of their minds.

"I don't know how it's possible" Ghost said honestly. "That much guilt, shame, and anger has to do something to you."

"I think he will eventually find a medium" said Echo. "Between what he was before, and what he became. I think maybe he will be similar, but darker, less innocent. The elements of the guy we all care about are still there, but the scars he gained are on his soul, they will never go away." The others nodded in assent.

"I heard Psi is trying to teach him how to use his powers without going evil" said Demon.

"Yea, let's hope he succeeds" said Chi. "And quickly. I'm not totally sold that he can be trusted, but he may be the only one who can stop this" he said, gesturing at the crater.

"I never knew a mutant could get addicted to their powers" commented Demon. "I mean, they were always inside of him right?"

"Well yes" answered Chi, "but it's different now. When he is embracing his power, letting it flow through him, it must make him feel different, better, stronger, maybe even more confident or less afraid. It's like a thrill seeker, getting high on endorphins from things like cliff jumping or sky diving. Whatever he feels, he felt it continuously for the months he spent as IceHeart. Now, not only does his body want to go back to feeling so strong, but whenever he tries to connect to his powers he automatically starts down that path." A moment of silence followed the doctor's answer.

"It makes me glad that my power is contained within me" Demon remarked. "I can't connect to any greater power, and therefore it can't control me."

"No, especially now that Elixir has removed your secondary mutation permanently" added Echo. Upon realization that Caleb's original mutation was resurfacing, Elixir, Beast, and Chi had done a thorough exam and determined that Caleb had a second copy of the mutant X gene. This gene was then removed with the same procedure used to give Chi his mutation.

"It scares me sometimes" said Chi. "The power, I wonder if it might be too much."

"How do you mean?" asked Echo. As one who manipulates existing energy without absorbing it, he did not share this fear.

"I can draw in the energy of other living things, absorbing and harnessing it. It feels incredible to do it, makes me feel stronger. As a doctor, it disturbs me to enjoy something which is weakening another person's health. I'm afraid of what could happen if I were ever in a situation where I might use my powers in anger. What if I couldn't stop? How much power could I take, and what would it do to me? What would it do to the people I took it from?"

"We will never have to find out" answered Echo. "Your principles will keep you in line. You're too strong."

"Alex is strong" Caleb interjected.

"No, Alex is POWERFUL. He is not especially strong. He's a wonderful guy, and I love him, but he broke a long time ago."

"It still scares me" said Chi. The three stood in silence.

"Are you going to get back together with him?" Echo asked Demon out of nowhere. Caleb blinked in surprise. Despite the seeming randomness of the question, Echo still had his unerring quality of putting his finger directly on the problem on another person's mind.

"I don't know" Caleb answered, his voice low. "I'm not sure I even know who he is anymore."

Gravity leaned on the railing overlooking the water, and gazed out over the newly thawed Lake Michigan at the Chicago skyline. He stood atop the recently repaired Navy Pier, which had been nearly cast into the water during IceHeart's occupation. On the restored pier now sat the easternmost Alliance base in the northern US. This base served as a tactical coordination center, and aid center for the victimized citizens of Chicago, and as a hospital for all those injured during the occupation of and battle for the city.

"Still not quite the same" said Johnny, who leaned up against the railing beside Aaron. The sun shone on the Torch's bare muscled shoulders. He wore only a pair of blue scrub pants, and a large bandage wrapping his ribs. The collapse of Castle IceHeart had broken several of the man's ribs, and caused him a number of other injuries, most of which were now healed.

"No, I don't think it will ever be the same again" Aaron answered, indicating the ruined skyline, the destroyed buildings along the river, and the icebergs still floating in the lake. "But maybe someday, when the war is over, it will be a beautiful place again."

"Hard to believe this war will ever end sometimes" Johnny remarked.

"Hard to believe it was made so much worse by my own brother" added Aaron.

"That depends on how you look at it" said Rogue, who came walking up to the two of them. Her injuries from the battle had not been quite as severe as Johnny's, and she was now fully healed and ready to be back in action. The large disfiguring burn scar on her neck and face, left from an unfortunate encounter with the overpowered Demon, was gone, having been healed during the time Rogue absorbed Wolverine's healing power.

"You mean there is a way of looking at it where he didn't kill countless people and topple several governments, plunging most of the world into chaos?" Aaron asked sarcastically.

"No, but that doesn't mean that he made the war worse" Rogue answered.

"How do you figure?" asked Johnny, an amused and confused look on his face.

"Well," Rogue started, "the war was going all wrong before. The Brotherhood had the upper hand, and Magneto and the Phoenix were beating us at nearly every turn."

"Then the Boy Wonder goes nuts" finished Johnny. Rogue nodded.

"And in the process, he kills Magneto, destroys the Brotherhood cloning tanks which were swelling their numbers, and then as IceHeart divides the Phoenix's remaining forces' loyalty. Now, after his downfall, the Phoenix has LESS territory than she did before, and a huge chunk of her non-clone army has run off, defected, been captured, or killed."

"So we're winning now?" Johnny asked, grinning. "I love winning."

"No, we're not winning. But I think our odds are a bit better. Plus, maybe if we are lucky the rest of the world will join us against Phoenix now."

Aaron snorted. "Unlikely. It will take them years to clean up the mess he left in their own backyards."

Further conversation was cut off by the echoing sonic boom which ripped through the air. The three mutants looked up and saw a shining brilliance high in the sky. The light grew larger quickly, expanding into the shape of a huge ball of fire streaking down from the upper atmosphere.

"Shit," Johnny yelled, "it's a meteor!"

"The Phoenix" concluded Rogue, her face grave.

"I've got this" said Aaron, reaching out with his powers. He energy had been utterly depleted during his fight with his brother, and it had taken him weeks to feel like he was back to normal capacity. Unlike his brother, his power had limits. But now Gravity reached out with his power, and grasped the meteor and attempted to slow its descent. He felt the pull of gravity on it, and manipulated the force of nature to make an exception of this rock. The fireball slowed, but Gravity still felt an intense pressure from behind. The Phoenix was telekinetically shoving the rock downward faster. He reversed the flow of gravity, attempting to pull the rock upward, directly against her force. The rock slowed more as the two mutants strove for supremacy, with the implacable will of the Phoenix against the power of gravity itself.

The meteor slowed. It ground to a halt high above the city, a roiling ball of malevolent flame. Gravity's body broke out with sweat as he gasped for air, the strain on him was incredible. He could suddenly hear Phoenix's laughter in his mind, and the meteor, torn between powerful opposing forces, detonated in the air, sending hundreds of flaming projectiles in all directions at high speed. Rogue and Gravity shielded their eyes from the brightness.

"Shit" said Johnny, wishing he were wearing his blue heat-mutated suit. He leaped into the air as his body burst into flames, consuming his scrub pants and bandages. Alarms came to life all around the base as surface-to-air missiles locked onto meteor fragments and launched. The Human Torch danced between the missiles and deftly blasted some of the largest rock fragments off course to send them into the lake.

Gravity's forehead was soaked in sweat as he tried to move or slow as many meteor shards as he could. Rogue turned and hurriedly began ushering some of the recovering wounded who had been outside the base back toward cover. Out of the building Barrier came running, his hands raised projecting protective energy shields around the base. Moments later, a flaming projectile smashed into the shield and exploded, blinding everyone nearby but harming no one.

Gravity grimaced as a meteor slipped from his grip and smashed through a skyscraper, leaving a flaming hole in its wake.

It took only minutes for all of the meteor pieces to find their resting places, whether it was gracefully placed on the ground by Gravity, deflected, destroyed, or violently plunging itself into a building or portion of ground. Aaron desperately scanned the skies with his powers, trying to find the Phoenix's next attack, but it did not come. The sudden terror and devastation of an already ruined city seemed to be enough to satisfy her for now.

Aaron began deep-breathing exercises to ward off the weariness in his mind and calm the trembling in his limbs. Maybe he hadn't fully recovered his powers he thought to himself. Barrier walked over to check on him, and was releived to see that he was unhurt. Aaron's eyes unwillingly went to the taller mutant's right arm, which was now crisscrossed with strange green scars from prolonged exposure to the hellfire of Belial. He had heard that the skin was different from normal scar tissue, that it was changing readily, and that the mutant's right arm was already considerably thicker-skinned and solid than it had been before.

The air heated up as The Human Torch came in for a landing. At the last minute the fireball that was Johnny plunged into the lake, causing an eruption of steam. When the steam cleared, Aaron and Barrier looked over the railing to see Johnny treading water completely nude.

Amidst the laughter of the others, Johnny asked "think you guys could go grab me a towel or something?" He flashed his trademark grin to show he appreciated the humor of the moment, and didn't mind being the brunt of a joke that cheered up people who had been in mortal danger only minutes before.

Belial blinked his eyes against the sudden brightness as the door to his cell was opened. He breathed heavily due to the low-oxygen environment designed to keep his fire powers from posing a threat. He looked up to see Storm and the Professor entering the cell. His eyes filled with fear to see the weather witch who had sent lightning bolts burning through his body. Fortunately for him those grisly wounds had somehow been fully healed when he awoke in his cell.

"Hello Joshua" greeted the Professor, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he was in a prison cell with a criminal of war, and a rather ripe one at that. Belial could smell his own stink with every breath, and wished he could take a shower.

"Hi" Belial responded, not sure how to proceed.

"My name is Charles Xavier" the Professor began.

"I know who you are" Belial blurted out. "What are you going to do with me?"

"It has taken some doing to convince the military branches of the Alliance to allow me to see you, but I am here to make you an offer."

Belial eyed the Professor suspiciously. "What kind of offer?"

Xavier smiled. "I offer you a chance to change your fortune. I know about your conflicting thoughts on supporting the Brotherhood and IceHeart."

"What? Who told you that? I never said anything of the sort" Belial demanded, looking around as if expecting to see one of his former masters listening in from one of the corners of the cell.

"You do not owe them anything Joshua. You are your own man, and can decide whom to support in this war."

"So what, I say I wanna defect and I get let out? Just like that?"

"No, not just like that" answered Storm, her voice hard.

"Of course you would need to earn our trust. You would be watched at first, you would not go anywhere or do anything without us knowing about it" the Professor clarified.

"Like parole."

"Yes, very similar. And of course, you agree to help us in any way we ask, including revealing any strategically useful information you might have."

"Can't you just pull the secrets out of my mind?" Belial asked skeptically.

"Yes, I could. But that could kill you, or drive you insane. I would rather not do that." Belial gulped quietly.

"Ok" he said, very quietly. "It's true. I lost faith in the Phoenix a long time ago, her focus was too much on herself, and not enough on mutant freedom. And IceHeart....Well toward the end I began to see that he had just gone off the deep end. He was too focused on the world he wanted to create that he couldn't see why the things he was doing were so horrible."

"Then why did you defend him?" demanded Storm. "Why did you attack the Alliance when they stormed the fortress?" She stood stiffly, her hair much shorter than usual due to the fact that much of it had been burned off while fighting against Belial.

"Because, it was all I could do" he whispered. "I had made choices, turned a corner, and knew that nobody would let me take it back. Even if IceHeart or Phoenix didn't kill me, what would stop you from doing it if I changed sides?"

The Professor came close to the younger man's cell, compassion in his eyes. "We offer forgiveness here. Redemption. It is not a thing often found in life, but I offer you that decision." The rest of Belial's answer came directly into his mind.

Pyro stalked his way through the halls of the Baxter Building, heading toward Phoenix's throne chamber on the top floor. His long black leather jacket billowed out behind him as he walked. The past few months had not gone well for him, or for the rest of the Brotherhood. Half of their forces had deserted the cause to follow King IceHeart, and had now been captured, killed, or had changed sides or gone into hiding. Many were beginning to doubt the Brotherhood's leadership, though none would ever dare do so openly. Pyro had been through more battles than he could count, and it had hardened him considerably. He sported a new scar which began on his forehead and went down across his left eye onto his cheek. A narrow miss that had nearly blinded him, but of course the fire mutant had had the last laugh. He felt it added to his bad-ass image nicely.

He thrust open the doors which led to the throne room, and groaned when he saw exactly when he had expected to see. Phoenix sat upon her throne, surrounded by attendants and scantily-clad worshipers as usual, but the thing out of place was the man standing before her. At just under average height, with brown hair spiked up and blue eyes shining brightly, it was a perfect representation of Alex Wental, the fallen IceHeart King. But it wasn't him.

Pryo of course, had found this out the hard way. Upon seeing the impostor the first time, he had believed him to be what he appeared. And when the attractive man had come on to him, Pyro hadn't thought anything of it. The real Alex was, after all, a total slut. So they had fucked in Pyro's room, and he had been amazed at how incredible a fuck the water mutant was. But afterward, the image had warped and reshaped into Pryo's old fucktoy Doppelganger.

Now Doppelganger was here, with the Phoenix in her throne room.

"That isn't IceHeart" Pyro declared loudly as he strode into the room. "He's an imposter."

Phoenix turned to face Pyro, the look on her face was one of amusement. "Of course it is. Isn't it obvious?" The way she looked at him told him she knew exactly what had transpired between the two men earlier.

"It's a perfect genetic duplication" Doppelganger/Alex said. "Of course it isn't obvious."

"Maybe for mortals" the Phoenix answered, smiling.

"Why are you here?" Pyro demanded. The Phoenix's eyes sparkled with flame.

"Why, he has come to join us" she answered.

"The IceHeart King will rise again" Doppelganger/Alex said, his face widening into a horrifying grin.

Doppelganger could not believe his good fortune. Not only had he managed to acquire the DNA of someone who was ridiculously more attractive than himself, but a staggering, mind-bending amount of power came along with it.

He sat in the Phoenix's obsidian throne, while she was off on one of her murderous rampages. The entire seat of black stone was covered in clear blue ice, and a fog of cold surrounded it. The usual crowd of underdressed male worshipers remained, and struggled to hide their shivers. His mastery of his powers was growing rapidly.

At first he had ignored them, power had never really been his thing. This body had originally been a way to escape his identity, to hide, and to have a LOT of sex. He succeeded at both, but soon it became apparent how much more he could do with this body. The rise of IceHeart and the covering of half the Earth with ice showed Doppelganger that even if he did not love power, he had better learn to use it anyway. His self-directed training was slow, but he learned to manipulate water and ice. When IceHeart had broken off from the Brotherhood and was subsequently defeated, Doppelganger realized an opportunity. He had come the the Phoenix's city and walked into her throne room in the best approximation of IceHeart he could manage, with an offer of alliance.

It had been less than convincing. Doppelganger still could not hold on to enough hatred to perfuse his entire body with deathly cold. But the Phoenix saw the potential in his offer. She had lost much in IceHeart's betrayal, not only territory but a huge portion of her army had been lost to him. Even after his fall, her force was diminished. But Doppelganger offered a way to bring much of her disbanded army back into the fold, and to silence all misgivings and doubts within her ranks.

So she had trained him, and under her tutelage his mastery of his borrowed powers expanded. It was coming time for the announcement to the nation that the gods were working together again, to instill fear in those who would resist, and sow doubt about the Alliance's ability to save them. After all, hadn't they claimed to have dealt with this threat already? How often would one of the 'good guys' be allowed to run rampant?

A girl entered he throne room and walked towards Doppelganger. She was in her mid-twenty's, tall and had what would normally be described as classically good looks, though it was marred somewhat by a facial piercing and a black tribal tattoo which began on the right side of her face, crawled down her neck, and dove into the collar of her shirt. She dressed in upscale black leather with shiny metal trim and jewelry. She was Matrix, and her power was technopathy, the ability to speak with and control electronics. She was the source of the Brotherhood's complete control over the communications and television grids of the United States. And she rarely left her computer room which allowed her to tap into world wide web.

Doppelganger/Alex shifted on the throne, and did his best to look powerful and important, as though his power actually belonged to him. "Report" he said.

Matrix's voice was surprisingly girlish for someone with her rather hard style. "All the preparations have been made my Lord" she answered. "Whenever you wish, I can activate every television in the United States which is still connected to the cable grid and display your announcement."

"Will Alliance security measures pose a problem?"

Matrix smiled. It was actually quite pretty when she did. "Security measures pose no problem for me, they will not be able to stop me before you finish."

Doppelganger/Alex smiled. As soon as the Phoenix returned, it was time to put on a show.

Psionic sat patiently, though the mood of the crowd around him hammering against his overly-sensitive mind. He did his best to tune them out as he looked forward.

Alex stood in the center of a large amphitheater, dressed in a sapphire blue dress shirt with th sleeves rolled up and the top two buttons undone. The room's seats occupied 3/4 of the space surrounding the stage, which was merely the polished wood circle of floor in the center. In these seats sat the entire remaining military hierarchy of the United States, a cluster of Senators who now composed the last shreds of government in the war-torn country, the acting leader of S.H.E.I.L.D. in the wake of Nick Fury's death, every single X-Man led by the Professor, The Fantastic Four, and a host of other Alliance heroes. Alex recognized many of these men and women, though there were also many that he did not know. All of Alex's friends and fellow students had been recalled for the event. Here, in one place, sat the core of the Alliance, and it was here for one purpose: the trial of Alexander Wental.

A man stood up on one end of the room. He has greying red hair and was dressed in an impeccable white military uniform covered in medals. He was Harold Nealson, promoted to Grand Admiral, a newly created rank which granted him general command over the entire U.S. military. He stood tall and proud, and read from a document in his hand. Psionic could feel the man's inner purpose, the conviction upon which he based his every move. He also felt the tiny voice of fear the man buried as he spoke.

"Alexander Wental, You have been charged with treason, war crimes, mass murder, crimes against humanity, and contribution to the destruction of sovereign governments. The penalty for many of these charges is death. How do you plead?"

Alex stood stoically, staring ahead and above, looking over the heads of those present. He appeared to be unfeeling, but Psionic felt as though his emotions were screaming at him, the pain and guilt too much to bear. Alex answered simply "guilty."

"Have you anything to say in your defense?" the Grand Admiral asked.

"No. There are no excuses for the things that I did, and I do not deny that I did them. I accept what punishment the council sees fit." His voice sounded cold and calm, but again Psionic could feel pain, guilt, and shame carefully hidden.

"Even if the punishment is death?"

"Yes. I ask only one thing."

"And that is?"

Alex turned to look into the Grand Admiral's eyes. "You may have whatever punishment you want, and I will not stop you, even though you know I could." He paused for a moment as the various humans shifted uncomfortably in their seats. "But first, I ask that you let me complete one task."

"What task is that?"

"Allow me to destroy the Phoenix." A collective rumble went through the crowd.

"Explain yourself Mr. Wental."

"I have done...unspeakable things" Alex said, and for the first time seemed to lose his rigid pose and show his tattered emotional state. "Thinks that are unforgivable. I can't ask for understanding, or forgiveness, or compassion. I can't ask for leniency or restraint, because I don't deserve any of those things. All I ask for is a chance at the only possible thing I can do to redeem my name and soul: destroy the only being more evil than myself. I feel it is the only thing I can do to attempt to heal the scar I have left on humanity."

One of the Senators stood, an older woman with a severe look about her. "Do you really believe that anything you do can correct the wrongs you have done?"

A wave of pain washed over Psionic before Alex answered "No. But I do think I owe it to the world to try."

"What if we refuse?" asked another Senator Psionic did not know. "Will you resist the will of this council?"

"I don't think you will refuse" Alex answered. "The simple fact is that you have no idea how to destroy Phoenix, and throwing me at her is mutually beneficial. If I destroy her, this war is a long way toward over, and if she kills me, then I will have died for my crimes anyway."

"This is absurd" declared a man in a General's uniform. "What proof do we have that you will answer to us once this is all over? How do we know you will cooperate?"

Alex's annoyance radiated outward as he answered "how do you know I will cooperate with you now?" Psionic winced as a ripple of fear and anger tore through the room at this. "Everyone here knows full well that I could have left this place at any point since my capture. I'm here because I choose to be here, because the error of my ways has been made apparent to me, and because my morality compels me to submit to punishment for what I have done."

The Professor came forward in his wheelchair, and addressed the rest of the Council. "I would like to say that Alexander has spent a great deal of time with me since his return, and we have had extended counseling sessions. I truly believe that he feels remorse for what he has done. He is here to accept his punishment, but needs to redeem himself in some way. I do not wish for him to pursue a vendetta against the Phoenix, such an act could lead to a relapse of the state which cause him to do so much harm in the first place. But I believe that his place is here, working with the Alliance and doing as much good as is in his considerable power to do."

The Council was silent for a moment, Psionic could feel the concentration in the many minds in the room. Some had already made up their minds one way or the other, but many were conflicted on the issue. Psionic himself was somewhat conflicted, unsure of what to do. He wanted to believe in his friend, but he also knew that the darkness was still within him, that the potential for evil would never go away. Though he and Alex had made great strides against his power addiction, there was much work to be done.

Further conversation was prevented when several large television screens throughout the room, forgotten due to the long silence of the airwaves, turned on by themselves. The screen showed a woman who Psionic recognized as a national news anchor, though the he never remembered seeing her looked so stressed on the air before.

"We go live now, to an urgent announcement from the Baxter Building in New York" she said. The screen changed to a view of the top floor of the Baxter Building. Psionic heard protests from the Fantastic Four members Johnny Storm and Ben Grim at seeing the new state of their former headquarters. The large chamber had been essentially emptied out, and the room was now surrounded with windows offering a panoramic view of New York City. In the center sat a huge throne of black stone, and on it, dressed in a striking outfit of black and red leather, sat the Phoenix. Psionic had not actually seen the Phoenix since her escape from Jean Gray's mind, and the experience was not pleasant. She still looked beautiful, with her long red hair cascading down her shoulders, but it all appeared tainted. Her eyes were darker than he remembered them, and they poorly hid a lust for power and blood.

"For those of you who do not know me" the Phoenix began, in a tone that sounded amused at the idea what she would actually not be recognized "I am Phoenix, leader of the Brotherhood of Mutants. For nearly two years my brethren and I have fought against the tyranny of human rule, and sought to create a safe and secure society in which people are valued for their abilities, not shunned. There have been many setbacks along the way...."

As Phoenix rambled about the unfortunate events which had thus far delayed her conquering the world, Psionic looked around the room. All eyes were on the television, though some were hastily discussing what was happening and why they could not turn the television off.

"...but now that has all changed. Tonight I am announcing a renewed alliance, one that will give this movement all the strength it needs to forge the future of this world. I am announcing the return of Lord IceHeart, now a sure ally of the Brotherhood of Mutants, back into the fold."

Confusion rippled through the room as everyone watched the impossible. From offscreen walked the exact image of Alex as IceHeart. The blue-white skin, silver eyes, and the look of detached heartless cold were all perfect, and a shiver when down Psionic's spine. He looked at Alex, and was reminded of the fact that he could animate any water with his mind. Was it actually possible that he now possessed two bodies? Could he have been duping the Alliance all this time with his 'redemption' while simultaneously joining the Phoenix's ranks on the other side of the country? Could the dark part of his mind have spilt away to form its own body, much like the Phoenix herself? Psionic had no immediate ability to refute these possibilities other than his heartfelt belief that they were not true.

He was distracted from further thought by the powerful sensation of wrong which invaded his mind. He looked over at Alex, who stood transfixed by the image on the screen, his eyes wide and teeth clenched. A rush of images blasted into Psionic's mind unhindered, and he instantly understood: this was an impostor. The faux-IceHeart on the television was the answer to a puzzle Alex had been trying to figure out for some time. The guy Caleb had mistaken for Alex, who broke his heart and sent Demon over the edge, the one who caused Demon and Hydrogue to fight each other and indirectly caused Caleb's death at the hands of the Phoenix and Alex's subsequently going mad with grief, was right there on the screen. Psionic felt a well of fury rise within Alex, and it took his breath away. The water mutant's powers were building, fueled by his emotions. Psionic prepared himself for the onslaught of cold, deep, fathomless hate he knew must be coming, the herald of Alex's IceHeart persona. But it did not come. Alex steered himself away from hate, did not lock away his feelings as had been his destructive habit in the past. Instead Psionic felt within Alex a building force of anger, a white hot eruption of fury he had never felt before.

Alex's fists tightened by his sides so hard his knuckles turned white. His jaw muscles bulged out he clenched them so hard. His teeth were bared like an animal as he glared at the image on the television, though he could no longer hear the words through the pounding heartbeat in his ears. Professor Xavier came forward, caution filled his voice.

"Alexander, please" he began. "You must control your anger, use the techniques I taught you. You can master this, I know...."

The Professor was cut off as Alex abruptly burst into brilliant blue flames. He waved his arm and a section of the wall behind the stage smashed out, letting bright sunshine pour through. In a flash of blue Alex flew out the hole and into the sky at shocking speed.

The room was in stunned silence for a long moment, and in the background the Phoenix finished her speech about creating a 'better world'. Psionic's heart pounded in his chest as Alex's projected rage began to fade with distance.

On the other side of the country, The Phoenix felt the change in the air. Her broadcast ended, at which point she dismissed the television crew to leave her alone with her attendants and Doppelganger/IceHeart. She felt the great force of rage which erupted from the west coast and was speeding toward New York with tremendous speed. She walked toward the windows on the western side of the throne room, the one closest to her oncoming enemy. She could feel his power increasing by the moment, could practically smell it. It was astonishing and delicious. If she had been any other person she would have been afraid.

Instead she turned to her faux-ally, and told Doppelganger/Alex "I have something I need to do. You will mind the house won't you?"

Her dim-witted companion nodded his head and smiled, eager to be given a task. He was too much like a puppy, it was a shame he would never measure up to his borrowed potential. It was simply not in him. That was fine, this act certainly didn't need a second fiddle. She turned to look back out the window and vanished in a flash of flame, only slightly regretful that she would not be able to see the fury of Hydrogue.

The landscape flew by beneath Hydrogue with astonishing speed, though he did not spare it a glance. Azure fire blazed around him, leaving a long trail behind him as he flew faster than any plane had ever dreamed of. His power was mounting by the second as he opened the floodgates he had held tightly closed for so long. As he passed overhead, rivers overflowed, pools froze, fire hydrants erupted. He crossed the width of the United States in a matter of minutes, and angled northward up the east coast over the Atlantic Ocean. In a place with so much water available, Hydrogue could practically smell power brewing.

Before long the skyline of New York City began to appear on the horizon. As he approached, Hydrogue began to build his power within him, and began to pull ocean water along his path. He could have summoned a tsunami, or generated an immense storm to follow him into the city to destroy his enemies, but they would not suffice: this was far too personal. He wanted blood, wanted deadly vengeance up close and personal. All of his lessons from the Professor had steered him away from the cold fury and hatred which had created IceHeart, and they had succeeded. What he felt now was altogether different. This was Bloodlust.

Hydrogue flew over the shoreline and into the city, and was amongst the tall buildings almost immediately. As he passed the pillars of steel and glass, the shock wave of his passing caused all the windows to shatter and rain down to the street in deadly shards. But that was nothing compared to what followed him. Alex pulled with him billions of tons of water into the city through the sewer system. He flooded the water into every water main, pipe, faucet, and drain, and froze it. The expansion of the water as it froze caused every pipe inside every wall and pillar in every building along his path to burst. Skyscraper after skyscraper, symbols of wealth and power and culture, simply collapsed under their own weight on either side of him. Hydrogue flew at the tip of a horizon-wide arrowhead of ruin which drove into the city. There would be nowhere for this impostor to hide from him.

Doppelganger could feel that something was wrong. His senses were not yet fully tuned, but something was making his pulse quicken. There were others around the throne room, guards sensitive to signals beyond what could be seen and heard, begin looking around for a source of unrest. Soon a rumbling could be heard, and trembling could be felt through the floor of the building. All gazes began to converge on the same horizon, where a cloud of dust was beginning to rise above the skyline. Doppelganger began to realize what his senses were telling him, that there was a massive buildup of water under the control of a true master of the element. And it was coming for him.

Hydrogue flew through the skyscrapers, and at last his goal was in view: the former Baxter Building, now the seat of the Phoenix's power. It was there he could sense the only other powerful hydrokinetic in the world. The distance to his target closed swiftly, and in his hands he readied his opening salvo. Twin orbs of condensed hydrogen and lightning grew in his palms. He flew toward the building so fast he risked colliding with it, but at the last moment he turned to the side. He released his missiles from his hands as he passed, and they continued onward. The first orb struck the reinforced outer glass of the throne room, and as the orb crushed the contained lightning sparked the condensed hydrogen and exploded, ripping a hole in the building. The second orb entered this new gap and struck its own target: the obsidian throne of the Phoenix. Doppelganger leaped off the throne at the last moment, but when the orb struck his chair he was sent flying by the shockwave. The throne vaporized in an instant, and fire ripped apart the entire upper floor of the building, consuming anyone who had not escaped in time. Doppelganger was sent smashing out the glass into the open sky of New York.

Doppelganger spun through the air, shards of obsidian and glass ripping at his flesh as the fire scorched him. He plummeted, the ground rising rapidly toward him, threatening to end him in a spectacular splatter. But somewhere in his mind his training with the Phoenix kicked in, and he grasped the water molecules of his body in his mind, and moved them. He stopped falling, and quickly flew through the buildings, trying to put as much distance between himself and his hunter.

Multiple explosions ripped the night as Hydrogue send more blasts into the Baxter Building before giving chase. The structure began to weaken from stress and heat, and when the wave of water caught up to it, the massive building was ripped apart from within, and fell to its ruin.

Doppelganger flew as fast as he could, but felt the force of water closing from behind him. By instinct he dodged to the left, and another blue orb flew past him and into the nearest building. The explosion knocked him to the side, but he remained in the air. More and more missiles flew from Hydrogue's hands, and Doppelganger dodged with all the speed that his power and fear could muster. He knew he could not keep this up, that Hydrogue's power would not run out. Doppelganger turned a corner around a large building, and spun around. As Hydrogue took the turn, Doppelganger unleashed water from his hands, which rapidly formed into spinning saw blades of razor-sharp ice. Hydrogue was caught by surprise and had to rapidly dodge the unexpected obstacles. Spinning blades passed above and below him, and on either side. He dodged many, but Doppelganger lashed out with dozens of them, and he soon took a hit to his side, a saw blade sinking into his ribs despite the adamantine ice they were made of. Hydrogue stumbled from the air, trailing droplets of super-cold water-blood. Doppelganger pursued now, followed his attacker downward, launching more attacks.

Hydrogue landed hard, but on his feet. He tucked and rolled to one side, and let loose bolts of blue-white lightning from his hands as he came up. Doppelganger screamed as the bolts tore through his water-filled body and crashed into the street, cratering the pavement. Hydrogue stalked toward Doppelganger, more lightning flashing from his hands. Doppelganger did not understand this power, had never learned how to use water to make electricity, and the agony it caused prevented him from figuring it out now. As Hydrogue drew closer, nearly standing over him, Doppelganger exploded with violent force. Hydrogue was thrown backward from the blast, and went rolling across the wide street. When he came back to his feet, he watched as a swirling maelstrom of water vapor gathered where Doppelganger had stood. Hydrogue pulled the icy circular blade from his side as he watched, and tossed it to the ground. The deep cut bled ice water freely for a moment before it sealed up as if it had never been.

The cloud of vapor condensed into the rough shape of a human being, and shimmered with power through the multitude of droplets.

"You think that will save you?" Hydrogue asked, hissing through his teeth.

"I don't want to fight you" Doppelganger answered, his voice echoing and oddly wet-sounding. "I don't want to fight anyone. I don't even know what this is about."

Hydrogue's eyes flashed silver for a moment before returning to blue. "This is about how you ruined my life. How you drove the man I love against me, and caused to his death. This is about how if not for you, I would still be able to look my friends in the eye. This is about how before you came along I WASN'T going down in history as the worst human being to ever live."

Doppelganger was throughly confused. How had he caused IceHeart? He had only met this guy once before in his life, and it had been very brief. Only long enough for Doppelganger to acquire Alex's DNA.

"I don't understand" Doppelganger pleaded. "I never did..."

"Enough talking!!" Hydrogue shouted as lightning flew from his hands again. The cloud of vapor expanded, the lightning dissipating harmlessly across a wide space. The cloud whirled toward Alex, and as he closed the distance Doppelganger raised the temperature of the water molecules to extreme levels. The result was a multitude of searing hot droplets striking all over Hydrogue's icy body. Steam erupted from the ice mutant as the burning onslaught ripped into him and the steam ate at his icy skin like acid. The cloud condensed and turned into liquid water, which wrapped around Hydrogue and squeezed him in a vice grip. Then the water raised him up and slammed him down into the pavement with enough force to create cracks all through his frozen body. Alex screamed as the pain tore through him, and a pulse of blue knocked the cloud back away from him. Hydrogue reached out and used water molecules of his own to surround the cloud in a sphere, containing it. Doppelganger's cloud struggled to escape, but Hydrogue continued to shrink the encapsulating sphere. The cloud was reduced from the size of a building to the size of a car relatively quickly. The water vapor began condensing, and soon the sphere was filled with liquid water struggling to be free. A quick shock of electricity through the globe ended the struggles.

Hydrogue brought the sphere close to his own face, and stared into it, knowing that Doppelganger could see him.

"It's time to end this." Hydrogue flew straight up into the air, and did not stop. He did not even look back down to survey the ruin of New York City he left in his wake.

"So, he just took off in the middle of the trial?" asked Belial. He was walking the halls of Alliance HQ beside Psionic and Echo, his guides and guards now that he was allowed out of his cell. Having gotten a hot meal and a much needed shower, he was out and about learning more about the Alliance and how he might earn their trust. It had been a long time since he had been a part of something he could actually believe in, and was willing to give them a chance. As long as they weren't all as nauseatingly goody-goody as they seemed at first glance.

"Yea" answered Echo, "just ripped the walls out of his way and flew off." Belial was hardly surprised, he had witnessed IceHeart's intability on a number of occasions.

"I wonder why he reacted that way" pondered Belial. "Can he be that jealous that someone is impersonating him?"

"No" answered Psionic, who still seemed a bit troubled by the encounter. "I felt him, he was practically forcing his emotions into my mind. It was pure fiery rage, but it felt almost righteous, as though he was enraged about a terrible wrong committed by whoever is wearing his face."

"So maybe he's not evil again?" asked Belial. Echo laughed.

"He was never really evil" Echo answered, "not the way I see it anyway. He did evil things, certainly, but that was only part of him. The full picture of Alex is...complicated. He truly wants to be a good man, and I think that puts him into more of a gray area than good and evil can describe."

"Fascinating" Belial answered, clearly not convinced. His follow-up was cut off by the look on Psionic's face. "Are you OK?"

Psionic was staring ahead, his emerald eyes not seeing either of his companions. His face filled with dread and fear. "Oh God no..."

"What? What is it" Echo asked. Psionic finally managed to draw his eyes back to the present to stare into Echo's dark glasses.

"She's coming" he said, right before he blacked out and collapsed to the floor.

Demon heard the whooshing sound before anything. He spun on the spot to see a ring of fire burst from thin air across the room, and from within began to disgorge mutants in Brotherhood colors. He wasted no time thinking about how they got there or what was happening, and charged. Whatever the mutants coming through expected to be on the other end of the portal, it clearly wasn't a huge red demon-spawn charging at them. His first super-strength punch took the wind out of the lead Brotherhood mutant, and sent him flying backward into the others. The mutant who had just come out of the portal was knocked backward into it. Having a being enter the portal from the wrong direction seemed to destabilize it, and the ring of fire collapsed. Only 5 mutants had gotten through, and one was already out of the fight.

Demon grinned, his ruby eyes flashing. 4 to 1? No problem.

Echo ran through the halls, with Belial right behind him. Psionic was unconscious in Belial's arms as they raced to get outside to join the fight that had come out of nowhere. As they ran down the large staircase leading to the main entrance, a group of 4 mutants stood in their way, all wearing the black and red of the Brotherhood. Belial recognized the mutant in the middle, and so did Echo: their former schoolmate Pyro.

"Hello boys" greeted Pyro. "Long time no see."

"What are you doing here John?" asked Echo. Pyro grinned, held his hands palm upward and summoned fireballs within them.

"I'm here to bring the place down."

"You're here to try" answered Echo, releasing a pulse of sonic power which blew out the small fires in Pyro's hands and knocked all 4 mutants, staggering them back a few steps. Echo felt an invisible hand knock him to the side, and he lost his footing. Before he could regain his balance from the telekinetic attack, he was kicked hard in the stomach by a foot that appeared from nowhere. He was assailed by the teleporting mutant from above, and by the telekinetic from all around. Echo yelled, and the force of the sound drove the teleporter back long enough for him to launch a full-strength sonic boom at the telekinetic, blasting her back out the open double doors of the building. The teleporter began a furry of attacks, vanishing as quickly as he appeared and striking at lightning speed. Belial looked on, uncertain how to help, reluctant to put down the unconscious Psionic lest he be harmed while unattended. All he saw was a puff of red smoke whenever the teleporter appeared and just as quickly vanished.

But that was not what Echo saw. Every time the teleporter moved, a CRACK would sound, and with Echo's radar-vision, this sound send ripples of light which perfectly illuminated the opening of a hole in reality where the teleporter would next appear. Echo screamed as he pushed a sound wave with all of his strength at the opening from which the teleporter next emerged, and as the mutant re-solidified he was hit with the force of a truck. The strike smashed the mutant through the brick wall of the entrance hall and out of the building.

Echo turned back to the 2 foes still standing, ready for a sarcastic remark, when Pyro and on of the others covered their ears. The girl to the right of Pryo opened her mouth and let loose a banshee scream, a sound which vibrated the walls and seemed to blur the air. Belial was forced to lower Psionic to the ground to cover his ears form the horrible sound. Echo's super-hearing and radar-sight where completely overwhelmed, and no amount of ear covering would help him. He cried out before falling to his knees, and then to the ground as he slipped into unconsciousness.

The screaming stopped, and Belial looked up, tears streaming from his eyes from the pain of the auditory attack. Pyro and the banshee began walking up the stairs toward him and his two unconscious Alliance guards. He was torn, not knowing what to do. Belial knew Pyro, had fought beside him several times. But he was growing fond of Echo and Psionic, and finally felt he may have found a cause he could really believe in. He had spent years following the strongest force he could find, and questioned their motives. Now he was in the untenable position of wanting to be in good graces with those in power and fighting for what he knew was right. Uncertainty ruled him, but he soon overcame it. He stood to face the Brotherhood mutants, stood between them and his unconscious fellows. His arms grew slick with sweat, which then burst into vivid green fire covering both arms, which dripping from them like acid.

"Don't come any closer" he said.

"You must to be joking" said Pyro. "You're defecting? To the losing side? Are you retarded?"

"I'm doing what's right, something I should have done a long time ago" Belial answered. "The Brotherhood has turned into something I didn't sign up for. If you leave now though, we don't have to fight."

"Yea, but the thing is, we really DO have to fight." In an instant Pyro sent a jet of orange fire at Belial. Belial intersected the attack with his own green fire. The two opposing fires strove against each other, Belial unable to control any fire but his own, and Pyro able to control all fire, but not this strange green variety of Belial's. In the center the orange and green built up against each other until they exploded, blasting all 3 standing mutants to the ground and setting small fires throughout the entrance hall.

As Belial struggled to his feet, he was immediately driven back to his knees by the screaming of the banshee mutant. He put his hands to his ears, but had to pull them away to catch the renewed fiery onslaught of Pyro. He shielded himself with a thin layer of green fire, but was trapped on his knees, and his ears were beginning to bleed from the sound. His vision began to blacken at the edges, and Belial knew he would soon lose consciousness, at which point Pyro would burn him alive.

Faintly Belial heard a whooshing sound as a large brick flew past him and directly into the face of the screaming banshee. With a shout and a thud the nightmarish sound stopped. Pyro looked up from his attack just in time to see the immense red form of Demon coming at him. The red skinned mutant leaped down the stairs and hit Pyro with a full-speed football tackle, smashing the fire mutant to the ground and sending him sliding down the stairs. Belial fell to the floor, spent and hurt, his ears ringing intensely. He saw Demon slowly stalk down toward Pyro. The red man stood beside his unconscious foe, looking down at him with fury in his face and his huge fist clenched.

"Don't" Belial croaked through his pain. He barely heard Demon's questioning reply through the ringing in his ears. "It's not worth it to kill him now, while he's helpless. Trust me." Demon nodded his understanding. He walked over to help Belial up, and together they checked to ensure that Psionic and Echo were alright. Demon scooped Echo into his arms to carry him, the sonic mutant feeling very small to him.

"Come on" said Demon, nodding toward the broken doorway. Now that the immediate battle was resolved, Belial could hear the sound of a much larger fight outside. He nodded, and followed.

Outside the building was a war zone. Throughout the complex of buildings that made up Alliance Headquarters, mutants did battle in pairs or groups, their myriad powers flashing through the darkness and wreaking havoc. Troops of soldiers fought from defensive positions, and jets and helicopters flew overhead seeking targets. Fiery portals opened periodically to admit more Brotherhood soldiers. Demon and Belial took cover as the building next to theirs collapsed under enemy fire. They hid Echo and Psionic's bodies in the safest place they could find, and went to join the fight.

The Alliance was holding their own. Despite surprise and utter chaos, they had managed to pull together something resembling a defense. But attrition worked against them, for the clone mutant army of the Brotherhood kept coming, where the Alliance was only losing soldiers. For a moment, Demon let himself believe that they could still turn the tide, but then the scales tipped drastically the wrong way.

An impossibly loud laughing echoed out of the black clouds above the battle. The clouds parted as a massive metal structure descended toward the heart of Alliance HQ. Demon gasped as he recognized the huge shape of the U.S.S. Leviathan, flagship of what remained of the United States Navy, hovering in the air above San Francisco. On the prow of the huge ship was the resplendent figure of the Phoenix, dressed in crimson and gold, with fires in her eyes and hair. On her face was a smile.

Every weapon on the warship burst into life, spewing death and ruin upon the buildings below.

Hydrogue felt the air grow increasingly cold as he flew higher and higher. The oxygen grew thin, but that did not matter to him. He dragged Doppelganger, still trapped in water form, behind him like cargo. Ahead of him the sky grew dark, and soon the stars were visible against the blackness. Had Hydrogue stopped to look, he would have seen the incredible view of the Earth shrinking behind him. He hurtled forward on a mission, and the lack of friction from the void of space increased his speed until he was moving at nearly the speed of thought, the fastest he could move his molecules along.

The brilliant yellow orb of the sun grew before him. As he approached, it burned brighter and hotter, and its fiery rim could be seen. Soon he could see solar flares cresting off the sun's surface, and after that he could make out sunspots. The Sun took up his entire field of view, blindingly and impossibly bright, though he shielded his eyes from damage with thick layers of ice. Eventually, he was approaching the outer edge of the star, looping around an arching solar flare. The trapped Doppelganger struggled like never before, and at last Hydrogue released him.

Doppelganger's water burst from the bubble and quickly reformed into his corporeal form, identical to but very unlike Hydrogue's. Hydrogue maintained the 'high ground', further from the Sun with Doppelganger between him and it.

"Please" said Doppelganger, the heat at his back unbearable. "Don't..."

"You know," Hydrogue began, "I was starting to wonder if, impossible at it may seem, I might be immortal. Indestructible. Hell I can be in a thousand places at once, can transfer my mind into any grouping of water molecules, how could I be destroyed?" Hydrogue floated closer to Doppelganger, looked into his identical blue eyes. "I'd like to test that theory."

"Please, I'm sorry! You can't.....!" Doppelganger was cut off as Hydrogue backhanded him in the mouth. The move did not injure Doppelganger in his ice form, but it was surprising. Hydrogue looked at his own face, the same face he had seen in the mirror ever since being brought back from the brink that was IceHeart. The face that was responsible for so much pain and death.

"I hate you" Alex said quietly, looking directly into his own eyes. In a burst he shoved out with his power, driving Doppelganger backward toward the Sun. Doppelganger pushed back, throwing all of his borrowed might into resisting the fatal plunge. The two titans shone in brilliant blue-white energy against the backdrop of red-yellow flames as they pushed against each other.

Neither moved at first. Limitless power met limitless power, and the two could not move each other. But slowly, the gravity at Doppelganger's back drew him downward.

Out of the corners of their eyes, the mutants saw a man appear out of absolutely nowhere.

"Go away Psi" Hydrogue growled.

"I can't do that Alex" answered Psionic.

"Are you going to tell me it's not worth it?" Hydrogue asked sarcastically.

"No. But you're needed elsewhere. There are more important things than this impostor's life."

"How did you get here anyway? And how can you breathe?"

"I'm not really here" Psionic smiled. "Apparently I can perform Astral Projection now. I came to find you."

"I'm busy."

"I can see that. He's stronger than you expected."

"Only his body."

Psionic laughed. "Yes, but his body is what you have to contend with. And I don't have time for that." Psionic gestured toward Doppelganger, who suddenly felt himself flying backward, and the heat at his back rising impossibly. He focused all of his strength on holding himself together despite how his molecules wanted to scatter in the intense heat. This only led to him falling faster, as he was no longer able to contend with Hydrogue's assault. He felt himself bleeding water molecules, he felt them dissipate into the fire and vanish from his senses. He did not know it, but he was slowly succumbing to the fusion reactions of the Sun, his water molecules being altered beyond his ability to control or exist within them. The last thing he saw was Hydrogue's pained, self-loathing face before he was ripped apart forever, adding to the fuel of the mighty star.

Hydrogue glared at Psionic, rage and pain in his eyes. He clearly felt robbed of his vengence.

"I see all that time we spent on anger management has paid off" Psionic responded darkly. He was quietly pleased that Alex was expressing his emotions rather than bottling them up, a habit which had caused IceHeart. Psionic would have preferred that a man not need to die in order for Alex to admit his hatred of himself for his actions, but time was of an extreme essence. "The Phoenix is attacking HQ. She's pulled out all the stops, they need you, and they need you right now."

Hydrogue's eyes widened. "Can you get me there faster?" he asked.

Psionic shook his head. "You're too full of power, I can't move you anymore. Fly, as fast as you can."

Hydrogue moved so fast he appeared to vanish, hurling himself back toward the Earth and away from the Sun.

Demon dashed behind cover, narrowly avoiding a pulse of plasma-like energy which burned the earth where he had just been standing. He turned to check on his companions. Belial and the now-awake Echo were both worse for the wear but alive, and Psionic was still unconscious in Belial's arms. From behind the limited cover of the remains of a wall, he surveyed the battlefield.

The broken ruin of the Leviathan lay where one of the largest Alliance buildings had previously stood. The Alliance had striven valiantly to deprive the Phoenix of the ship as her own personal weapons platform, and she had rewarded them by dropping it on their heads. Scattered around were various skirmishes and entrenched defenses. Things were going badly for the Alliance. There were still places where they were strong, but they were only the places the Phoenix had yet to pay direct attention to. Clone Brotherhood mutants had many Alliance mutants and soldiers running or pinned down. The Human Torch, Iron Man and War Machine were making wonderful nuisances of themselves, flying all over the battlefield and attacking the enemy from on high. Demon kept his eyes out for any more of his friends, but was unable to see many in the chaos.

But far more attention grabbing was the battle going on in the center of the field. The Phoenix, dressed in red and gold hovered above the empty field. In front of her floated the Professor, his wheelchair left on the ground below him. Their seemed to a be a massive whirlwind spinning about the two powerful mutants as they stared into each other. Demon could not sense psychic energy, but even so goosebumps rose on his skin. So great was the power exchanging between them that the Phoenix did not have fire surrounding her for sheer intimidation and awe. The maelstrom around the two mega mutants formed a barrier preventing interference by anyone else. This fight was to be a duel. Demon heard the Professor's voice, shouting at the Phoenix, threatening her. Demon sorely hoped the Professor was capable of fulfilling the threats.

From off to one side Demon saw Emma Frost sprinting toward the Phenix and the Professor, no doubt hoping to add her psychic strength to his. But she was assailed along the way, rocks and trees and pieces of shattered buildings were turned to shrapnel in the whirlwind, forcing Emma to change into her diamond form. In this form she glittered and shown like a living gem, and became neigh impervious to damage. But being in her diamond form made Emma unable to use her psychic abilities, and she was unable to help the Professor at range. She strove forward to attempt to get close enough the to Phoenix to lend a hand, though the stones smashing her continued to slow her down.

Demon looked down at Psionic, who lay quiet and still ever since the Phoenix had silenced him just prior to her arrival. "Wake up" he whispered to his friend. "The Professor needs help, and I can't do it. He needs a psychic, a strong one. That's you buddy. Please, you need to wake up." But there was no response, Psionic was unreachable, his eyes moving rapidly beneath his lids as though he were in a nightmare. Demon could not know that at this time his friend's mind was across the solar system ending a different threat.

Belial had placed Psionic on the ground, and was now building a powerful green fireball in his hands. Bits of liquid green fire dripped down to burn the ground. When he launched his attack, the fire lit up the battlefield with an acid-green light. The fel-fireball stayed on its course until it hit the protective whirlwind, at which point it dissipated almost instantly, torn apart in the wind.

Demon looked around, searching for Storm or Gravity, the only two mutants he knew had a chance to tear down that cyclone, or at least punch a hole through it. But he could not spot either of them in the vicinity. He had not seen Gravity since he had taken down the U.S.S. Basilisk, and Caleb was not convinced that Storm was even here at the moment. A great CRACK sound echoed through the night as a huge chunk of stone shattered against Emma Frost as she fought her way through the maelstrom. She had nearly reached the center when the stone drove her to the ground. But the diamond-form woman would not be stopped, and surged through the last few feet to the eye of the storm. Demon knew that in order to aid the Professor psychically that Emma would have to drop her diamond-armor protection, due to her inability to use both powers at once.

As Emma burst through the cyclone, the Phoenix finally turned her attention on the glittering diamond woman. The air in front of the Phoenix rippled and condensed until a tiny point of brilliant diamond formed. The diamond bullet flew away from the Phoenix at supersonic speed and toward Emma Frost. Few people were aware of the fact that the White Queen's nigh-invincible diamond form possessed a single flaw, located right between her eyes. But the Phoenix could sense this flaw easily, and drove her diamond bullet straight into it.

The shattering sound echoed like the death-cry of worlds as Emma Frost was rent into thousands of glittering pieces. Caleb dodged right as flash of reflected light passed by his head. Looking back, an 8" shard of diamond was embedded in the wall behind him.

A shout turned Caleb's attention back toward the confrontation as the Professor threw his full mind powers at the Phoenix's mental walls. The renewed assault cut off the Phoenix's triumphant laughter as she gathered herself in a desperate defense. The Phoenix's mind was powerful, more so than nearly every other mind on the planet, but her telepathy was not greater than Charles Xavier's. But, they didn't have to be. While Phoenix held the brunt of Xavier's power at bay, she gathered her real strength: all-powerful telekinesis. Before he was able to overwhelm her mental defenses, she struck.

What came next was instant and world-changing. One instant, Charles Xavier hovered in the air, challenging the greatest foe of humanity. The next, he was ripped apart on the atomic scale, scattered to the four winds in the blink of an eye.

All of the fighting stopped as the entirety of both armies felt the ending of Charles Xavier in the marrow of their bones. The only sounds were the crashing of debris as the Phoenix released her protective whirlwind, and her victorious laughter. As she laughed she rose higher into the air, and power began to build around her. Energy crackled red and gold around her, and her body was outlined in fire.

"Now to end this ridiculous war" she breathed, her very voice the avatar of flame. She raised her arms, and power crackled along their lengths as she prepared to unleash its puissance against her enemies.

Fury began to build in Caleb, the kind that once lit his inner furnace during his time as the Phoenix's fiery Demon general. He rose, an insane attempt to crush her with his bare hands on his mind. He was about to place Psionic on the ground to begin his charge when the unconscious mutant's eyes suddenly opened.

"Don't" he said, knowing full well what Caleb intended.

"She killed the Professor! I'll crush her bones" Caleb growled, his big red hand squeezing into a fist.

"Just wait" Psionic said softly. "He's coming."

"Who?" As Caleb asked he heard the sound of a sonic boom echoed. Looking up, he saw a streak of blue and red flames. Caleb watched as Hydrogue hurtled toward the Earth, wreathed in power and flame, using gravity to hurtle himself downward at supersonic speed. Power seemed to concentrate around him as he came down on the Phoenix.

A pulse ripped through the very earth as an irresistible force met an immovable object. Hydrogue had his arms wrapped around the Phoenix from behind as they both hurtled to the ground, her red and gold lightning burning into him instead of being released onto the embattled Alliance. His face screwed up in agony as they slammed into the ground, the Phoenix's power burning his insides. The ground exploded where they landed, throwing dirt and rocks high into the air and obscuring the view of the combatants. When the dust settled, the two stood opposite each other across a crack in the ground, where the earth itself failed to withstand their force. Red and gold power crackled between the Phoenix's fingers, and Hydrogue's hands were shrouded in blue cold fire.

"The Professor is dead, this war is over" the Phoenix gloated. "Give it up."

"The Professor was my friend, my teacher" Hydrogue answered. "He believed in me, when nobody else did. This war won't be over until I see your corpse."

"HA!" the Phoenix laughed. "Good luck with that." She threw her power at him, forcing him to raise his power as a shield in his defense. The blue orb sparkled as power smashed against it, but held it's solidity. The Phoenix grasped the entire shield orb with her telekinesis and pulled it with all her might. So unexpected was this that Hydrogue was completely unable to stop her from throwing him and his water orb down into the crevice in the earth. She pushed with all her power, and simultaneously widened and deepened the fissure. Hydrogue cried out with shock as he plummeted into the depths of the earth. A reddish light suddenly lit the Phoenix's face as she looked down the crevice as she reached enough depth to hurl Hydrogue into the magma that lived beneath the Earth's crust. With a laugh, she sealed the fissure shut, trapping the water mutant in the depths of the planet.

Hydrogue screamed as he was sent straight into Hell. The magma of the Earth's core ripped away his protective water shield and assaulted his flesh directly. The intense heath and pressure threatened to tear him apart molecularly. His mind flashed back to Doppelganger's very recent death, which proved that Hydrogue was not immortal. This knowledge fueled his panic as he forced all of his power into simply holding himself together. He had no knowledge of time, or anything other than the burning fires of hellacious magma against his icy skin.

Gradually, as Hydrogue's skin forcibly cooled the magma, it began to harden into rock around him. Soon he was trapped in a rock tomb inside the sea of magma at the center of the Earth. The benefit of this was that he no longer needed his full strength and will in order to remain alive, and began to build up power within himself. Once he had gathered as much force as he felt he was able under this duress, Hydrogue released it all in the direction of the surface, shattering his rock tomb and carving a way back up. He flew with all the speed he could muster as magma continued to burn him. He flew upward through the crust, but still the magma followed, seeking a release from the pressures of the core. He exploded out of the earth from the same spot he had entered, tearing the fissure back open in his own personal volcanic eruption. The duration of the eruption was short, as he closed the hole behind him. He crashed into the ground hard, his entire body smoking and steaming, his skin badly burned despite its near-indestructibility. He gathered himself quickly, rolled to his feet to face the Phoenix once again, and was horrified at what he saw around him.

There were bodies everywhere. Broken, twisted, lifeless bodies, most with looks of terrible pain frozen on their faces. Hydrogue didn't know how long he had been trapped, it could have been minutes or hours, but it had been long enough for the Phoenix to slaughter every single person in the vicinity of the battle. The bodies of Marines, mutants, and clones, heroes and villains covered the silent battlefield. She had indiscriminately murdered every solder on both sides, her own minions as disposable to her as her enemies.

Hydrogue sank to his knees, the weight of the horror, the sheer scale of his failure too heavy for him to bear. He buried his face in his hands and succumbed to despair.

Dr Michael Halden, newly named Chi for his artificially given mutant powers, ran up the stairs. He was followed by his golden-skinned boyfriend Elixir, the two of them heard and felt the violent concussion and eerie silence that followed. They stepped out of the thickly armored and hidden bunker where the Alliance housed its hospital and into a scene of massacre.

"My God" said Chi, his heart wrenching in his chest. The battle appeared to be over, with every participant falling dead where they stood. He instantly began scanning the area for signs of life, but every body felt empty of all but the residual life energy of the recently dead. But one source of energy shown bright to his mutated sight, the slumped figure of Hydrogue in the center of the most blasted-looking area of the battle. Chi and Elixir ran over to Hydrogue, seeking answers to what happened, which he could not supply. Chi had to squint when looking at Hydrogue, who glowed with more energy than anyone he had ever seen. He had spent so much effort trying to hone his health-sense that he never learned how to turn it off. He mead a mental note to do so, in order to be able to look someone as powerful as Alex Wental in the face.

"It's over" Alex said, his face red and shiny from burns, his hair smoldering and his clothes half scorched away. "She's won, the Alliance is gone."

"It doesn't have to be. There are other bases, plenty of people weren't here.." Chi started before Alex interrupted him.

"No, there aren't enough left. All the leaders were here, all of our strongest people. We're broken." Waves of despair and defeat came off of Alex as he looked around with tears in his eyes. "I couldn't save them. I wasn't strong enough."

"Maybe I can" said Elixir suddenly.

"What?" Alex asked, confused.

"Well, they are all recently dead" Elixir answered. He turned to Chi, "do they still have life energy in them?"

"Yes," Chi answered honestly, though feeling uneasy about the question "just about all of them."

"Good. We've proven before that we can bring someone back from very recent death. We can do it again." Elixir smiled, his golden eyes full of optimism.

"Josh, we did that with one person at a time" Chi argued, his voice shaking. "There are over a thousand people here, and we don't have much time."

Elixir smiled, and took his boyfriend's hand in his. "Let me try Mike. Please." Chi nodded, unconvinced, but unable to think of another argument.

Alex rose to his feet as Elixir closed his eyes, and spread his arms wide. He threw his powers out as wide as he could, felt the damage in each body across the battlefield. "There's so many of them" he said. "Some I can't save. They are too broken, or died too long ago. But some, many, I can heal." As his power began to flow out of him, his golden skin and hair began to glow. His chest could be seen through his thin shirt as his skin lit it from below. The hair on Alex's neck rose as he felt the power moving. Chi, on the other hand, could see the waves of energy coming off of his boyfriend, watched them flow into the dead and dying. His efforts were working, the wounds of the fallen were healing, but his energy was running out quickly. There was no way that he will be able to revive more than a handful, Chi thought to himself. He watched his love grow dim in his sight as his energy flowed out, exhausting and draining him. Elixir's face was screwed up with strain as he forced all of his energy out. He looked at Chi, and with a weak, gasping voice said "Mike, please. Help me." Chi had already seen the way to help Elixir, but feared to use it. Elixir was limited, a channel for miraculous healing power. But Hydrogue was SOURCE of power, one that shown so brightly in Chi's sight that the possibility could not be overlooked or ignored. Hydrogue may have felt beaten and broken from the day's ordeals, but in truth he still had a limitless well of power within him. Chi stepped between the two mutants, and reach out his hands. He placed one palm through Elixir's open shirt and placed it on his smooth golden chest, and could feel his rapid breathing and racing heart. His other palm hovered over Hydrogue's chest, his eyes asking silent permission, and simultaneously pleading for refusal. Hydrogue ripped open one of the larger burn holes in his shirt, and placed Chi's other hand against his own icy chest.

Chi staggered from the force of the energy, but maintained his contact with both mutants. The torrent of power blasted its way from its wellspring in Hydrogue, through Chi, and into Elixir, who threw it all out into the thousands who needed healing. Chi could barely see as Elixir filled the night with a brilliant golden light, resembling a star come to earth. He watched as still hearts began to beat again, as blood began to flow inside recently lifeless bodies. Not all could be saved, no, but many could. Chi wondered at the marvelous act his lover performed, and swore he saw angel's wings in the golden light behind him.

But he also felt what was wrong. Elixir used Hydrogue to fuel his power, enacting a mass resurrection and surpassing himself in every way. He saved none of his attention for himself, and was overloaded with the sheer force of the power he commanded. Chi, too late, broke the connection, the force blasting him from his feet and onto the grass. He looked up and saw the heavenly body that was his love. He saw Josh's smiling face, his blonde hair alight, and gold skin emitting a brilliant holy radiance unlike anything ever seen by the living. He watched as his best friend, his lover, his everything, burst into flames. It was nearly instantaneous as Elixir was consumed by power which his body was never meant to contain, a price he gladly gave to enact such a miracle. Chi screamed into the sudden darkness as the light of Elixir's glow and subsequent fire went out.

An eerie blue light came into being as Alex lit a blue flame in his hand, and stepped over to where Elixir had fallen. Chi crawled across the grass, his vision blurred from tears. He could see enough to recognize the ash that was all that remained of his beautiful soulmate.

The following day, Alex was meeting with all of his friends. Or at least, those who were his friends before his time as IceHeart, and now did not know what to think about him. Demon, Barrier, Psionic, Echo, the Human Torch, and Iceman were joined by Alex's twin brother Gravity and the newly defected Belial. 90% of the fallen in the battle had been revived, and most of the Brotherhood forces had either defected from their leader murdering them, or were captured. The Alliance complex was in ruins, but there were still some buildings intact. HQ would need to be moved soon, as the complex was largely unsalvageable.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Echo.

"Well" Alex said slowly, "the Professor is dead. So is the Admiral."

"So the Alliance has no leader" finished Gravity. "Great."

"Well, Cyclops or Mr Fantastic might take over" offered Psionic. "Or maybe even Storm." A few of the others nodded.

"But what do WE do now" asked Echo, indicating those in the room.

"Well," began Alex, "I've come to a decision." The others looked at him expectantly. "I have to hunt her down. The Phoenix. Bringing her down is the only reason I have all this power, I'm sure of it. And it's the only way I can even begin to make up for my own crimes."

"What about the trial?" asked Demon. "What if they decide to execute you?"

"They won't" Alex answered bluntly. "I'm their only shot now. No offense, but none of you can stop her." The others looked at each other, irritated but reluctantly conceding the point.

"Besides," Alex continued. "Once she is gone, I'm going end this. I can't control these powers, and I shouldn't have them. Once this is all over, I will give myself the Cure." After that, if the Council or the government decides to execute me, then I won't be able to stop them.

Chi stalked through the underground passages of his hospital, not even bothering to turn on the lights. He knew these passages, and had no desire to see anything but darkness. The darkness which raged in his heart was the stronger anyway. He opened the secure blast doors in the deepest parts of the hospital.

Images of his lost love crowded his vision as he punched in his passcode, the only passcode, which allowed entry into the last room. The door closed behind him before he flipped the switch for the lights. As the room brightened, an array of machinery came into view surrounding a hospital bed. Most were machines you would see in any hospital heart rate monitors, breathing apparatuses, and so forth. But others were machines to that few in the world had ever seen, designed to gather as much information as possible from the wholly unique individual that occupied this room. Screens showed incomprehensible and ever-changing graphs in many colors, swirling lights, and other strange means of displaying their readings. Leads snaked out of these machines and attached all along the hairline of the room's single occupant.

Chi gazed down at the flowing red hair of Dr Jean Gray, who had been in his care for well over a year. Her body had not atrophied or fallen into disrepair due to his constant vigilance. Now she bore the face of the one responsible for his love's death.

As Chi stalked to the edge of her bed, the thick doors closed behind them, shutting out the world.

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Well, there it is. I know it was an unforgivably long wait, and I'm sorry, but I hope the result was a good one. There will be only 1 more chapter in the story. As always, please give me any and all feedback, good or bad. Feel free to ask me anything you want, except how the story ends!

• Matt phoenixfire543@yahoo.com