Purifier Coda
Posted on Fri Feb 23rd, 2024 @ 5:38am by Erik Magnus Lehnsherr & Patrick Manco & Connor Bruin & Bobby Drake & Iris Walker & Cameron Hood & Jade Farwynd & Bliss Hawkins & Shinobi Shaw & Ethan Hale & Aurora Summers & Kennedy Kelly & Pietro Maximoff & Hank McCoy
6,107 words; about a 31 minute read
Mission:
Episode 3: X-Tra Ecclesiam
Location: Niagara Falls, NY
Timeline: August 24th, 1990 - Afternoon
Paved by the blood of his fallen men, Stryker's path had been cleared with one shaped charge against after another. Having left the remaining men inside the power station to hold their ground until glory or death, the Reverend pounded the concrete up the tunnel where his waiting chopper would evac.
Except that his trained military ear told him it wasn't a single chopper. There could be an entire helicopter squadron out there. And he had just run right into them.
"Freeze! Throw down your weapons!"
Ready to ply his cover, Reverend Stryker fell to his knees like a penitent man and placed his hands over his head. The blood oozing from his wounded arm painted him as the victim. He pressed it against his forehead and winced, glad for the painful timbre it brought to his voice. "Help! Mutant terrorists! They're trying to blow the power station! Hurry or they'll kill us all!"
The scant few Purifiers who had kept up with him threw down their weapons and followed suit.
A joint task group of New York National Guard and Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Battle Dress descended upon the handful of remaining Purifiers and secured them in restraints.
"What are you doing?!" Stryker bellowed. "They're back that way!"
Two men stepped forward, both of whom wore tactical gear. Their patches identified as FBI HRT.
"I'm SAC Fred Duncan," said the older African-American man, "and I am here to place you into federal custody for terrorism, kidnapping, and a host of other charges that Agent Murphy here will be happy to enumerate to you in full on the chopper." He nodded at the younger agent at his side. "We know what you did, Stryker. We found the camps. The children. Come clean and it will only help your case."
It took Stryker a moment to realize the FBI wasn't playing around. But he was no fool. Tactical teams like this weren't assembled haphazardly. Even international support from the Canadians showed that. That meant propaganda was running afoul. He had lost the battle and the war.
"Swing low, sweet chariot!" Stryker lunged for the nearest soldier and wrestled away his sidearm. With muzzled placed under his chin, he closed his eyes and squeezed the trigger.
CLICK.
Surprised, Stryker looked at the weapon. It was a standard 1911 .45 caliber pistol. And it was falling apart in his hands. Plugs and pins began popping out like popcorn kernels. The slide stop and barrel fell to the ground with a double clang, leaving little more than the grip and trigger assembly in his hand.
Everyone else wondered what was going on, but Stryker's eyes grew wide in fear. This was unnatural.
"Take him down!" Duncan shouted.
"Belay that!" ordered another voice.
One of the soldiers behind the two FBI agents put his own pistol against Duncan's head. The hammer locked back, primed to fire. "I'm afraid the good reverend is not going with any of you!"
Several weapons swiveled, now trained on the rogue soldier.
"Now, now," said the snide, slightly nasally voice that was filled with oral swagger. "Anyone who fires on me will not live to regret their lapse in judgment. The only reason Stryker himself is still breathing is that he has been slated to stand trial on Asteroid M where he will face mutant justice! No court in this world will guarantee restitution for what this man has done! Mutants of the world, therefore, shall make their appeal to heaven!" He thrust a finger upward in a mocking display of piety, then twisted his camouflaged face in a sneer leveled at Stryker. "How'd I do, Reverend? Think I'm messiah material?"
Before Stryker could give reply, several soldiers opened fire. The booms were quickly followed by death rattles. As stated, they wouldn't live to regret their mistakes. Their rifles exploded in front of their faces, leaving little left for an open casket funeral.
"I hope that now I have your attention!" the rogue soldier shouted. He pulled off his helmet, tossed his greasy mop of hair around, and slicked it back with his free hand. "Now that these poor fools have given their lives to show you the current score, the rest of you had better put down your weapons because your ammunition is squibbed. Any sudden moves and next your grenade pins will start getting jumpy!"
Curses rose up among the soldiers but none of them wanted to join the others on the ground who had already passed on from this world.
"Quicksilver!" shouted the young man. "Would you kindly hurry up and retrieve the reverend? I have a feeling these FBI agents are slow learners."
A streak of silver and a gust of wind moved past Maestro and the next thing he knew he was wearing a cheesy blue and white trucker hat with the words 'Niagara Falls is for Lovers' printed across it. "Hurry up? Why do you say such hurtful things? And here I was souvenir shopping for you." Pietro snorted at his own joke and how stupid the hat looked on Maestro and then in a blink of an eye he was standing next to Stryker.
"All right you hateful monster of a human being." Quicksilver talked to Stryker like he was a disobedient pet as he squatted and lifted the Reverend, throwing him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Stryker protested the action but was subdued with a single swift punch to his kidney. It would be his first and final warning "Now, now, we can do this the hard way or we can do this the even harder way."
With a playful salute towards Maestro, Quicksilver departed with Reverend Stryker in hand. His speed diminished due to his hostage's irritating requirements such as breathing. However, he still moved at an alarming rate, quickly leaving behind the military presence and their now pointless standoff.
"I'm sure I don't need to say anything so trite as don't follow us or else you'll be sorry," Maestro said as he started slowly backing away in the direction Quicksilver had run. "But I'll do it anyway." He holstered his pistol and made to trot away like he hadn't a care in the world.
Several pins popped off grenades behind him, resulting in a cacophony of shouts followed by a series of explosions.
Overhead the overwatch team arrived in time to witness most of the brief exchange.
"There he went!" Bobby pointed.
Ethan couldn't say he completely disagreed with what Magneto and Quicksilver had done, But, that was not his call to make. He flapped his wings, chasing the fleeing pair pushing himself to fly faster than he had before.
"Maestro!" called out Jace. Though he doubted anyone but Bobby could've heard. "Er, Patrick. I met him when I was captured, before this. He helped me escape. If they get away with him...who knows?"
"Yeah, he's one of Magneto's chief stooges," Bobby said over his shoulder. "Thinks he's the smartest guy in every room but usually runs from a fight." As he considered Jace's point, though, he didn't have a particularly compelling counterargument. "Let's just get that old bastard back. The Prof wouldn't want us to let Magneto do whatever sick and twisted thing he's got planned for him."
Down at the tunnel, the mutants who had pursued Stryker came to aperture only to witness the unfolding chaos of the Brotherhood's exit.
Kennedy lowered her bow and watched as Stryker began to flee. His hurried pace made him a harder target to hit and when the barricades began to blow, they created far too much dust and rubble for her to attempt another shot. Their objective had been a clear one, don’t let Stryker escape. So with swift feet, Kennedy began to run down the tunnel following behind Stryker and the few Purifiers that remained by his side. The bits of steel and chunks of cement that littered the tunnel slowed her chase, a serendipitous obstacle that caused her to remain in the tunnel when the gunfire and subsequent explosions occurred.
It was only when the sounds of carnage stopped that she dared leave the tunnel. The scene outside looked like one from a war zone. Broken bloody bodies littered the ground and all attention was now focused on damage control and the fleeing Stryker. Kennedy managed to catch Bobby, Ethan, and Jace traveling away from the dam.
Plucking a single arrow from her quiver she placed it on the ground, pointing the arrowhead in the direction everyone was moving. It was a subtle clue but hopefully, the others would notice as they exited the tunnel. With a deep breath, Kennedy returned to her running, following behind the airborne group as best as she could. She would lose sight of them soon but hopefully, they continued in the same direction.
“What in the hell did we just miss?” Aurora gave Jade a curious look. “Are we going to have to go after him?”
Jade shook her head, "yes, but we need wings. Sanguis to Blackbird, we need a pickup and then pursuit." Kennedy had a head start as did Bobby, Jace, and Ethan, but the others were not so lucky and they had injured. They needed help before they could pursue.
She tapped the communicator on the centre of her collarbone again, "Armoury, Sanguis. Have called for pickup at the end of the tunnel, Brotherhood has hands-on Stryker. Artemis, Iceman, Flux, and Gryphon in open pursuit."
Iris hobbled up just in time to hear that the Brotherhood had taken Stryker and some of the X-men were in pursuit. She would just as soon leave him with them- less headache for them and for the judicial system- but that wasn’t her call. “Reporters,” she complained, spotting the cameras pointing toward them. “Tell them to hurry. The less time we’re in view of the cameras, the fewer lies they can tell about us.”
"Is there a different exit we can reroute to?" Sanguis asked, pulling her hood further down her pale, sunken in face.
“No need.” Aurora looked at Jade. “I can cloud their minds long enough for us to get out of here. As long as we make it quick. The problem will be the cameras, I can’t fool those.”
“Surge could zap them,” suggested Iris, automatically looking around for Tammy. “Is she around?”
The Blackbird came down in response to Jade's summons. It hovered in VTOL mode, its engines filling the air with a roar. What soldiers who hadn't ran in pursuit of the Brotherhood mutants or evacuated the wounded looked on at the cloaked jet with horror at whatever fresh new hell it might represent for them.
Connor limped along toward the open rear hatch not far from the tunnel opening. He had recovered a bit of his strength but still felt weak. "HURRY BEFORE THEY DECIDE TO SHOOT. HOODWINK AND I CAN PILOT."
Escapade bounced into view, dragging Dr McCoy behind her. She relinquished her hold on the blue furball in order to scoop up Connor.
"I got you."
She gingerly placed Caveman into the seat he wanted.
"Try to stay safe here, Mama's got some work to do."
Escapade looked around for a quick moment. She had a worried look on her face.
"Does anyone have eyes on Artemis?"
The world was too slow for Quicksilver. Maestro, the FBI, the X-Men, all of them moved far too slowly for Pietro’s taste. Even now, when he ran at a painfully slow pace none of them were able to keep up with him. Quicksilver made his way to the shuttle that rested in a muddy field farther downriver from the falls. The shuttle’s sleek silver shape gleamed in the afternoon sun. Engines hummed in anticipation as it waited for the arrival of its coveted cargo.
With a brief tap to the comm on his lapel, Pietro delivered the good news to the Brotherhood. “Quicksilver here. Sky Scout is ready to fly.”
Kennedy had been forced to take a different path than the Overwatch Team as she attempted to follow the impossibly fast Quicksilver. Staying closer to the roads, she found herself on the high ground while the rest of them flew over a heavily wooded area. She cursed herself for her impulsive behavior, the temptation to follow rather than wait had been too great and now she was isolated and losing the trail.
That is until she saw the silver shuttle on the horizon, bright and shining in the sun. It was lucky that the elevation exposed the vessel to her, she never would have made it there on time. In that brief moment, Kennedy realized time was of the essence and she had to try and do something from her ranged position. Lifting her bow with an arrow in place, she aimed for the shuttle in the distance. Her hands and legs were shaking after running for so long and her heavy breathing made it hard for her to steady herself enough to take a good shot. Charging the arrow with what energy she could muster, she let it soar. But as soon as she released it, she knew it was a bad shot. The arrow landed in the field to the right of the shuttle. Upon impact with the ground, it created a muddy hole next to the vessel leaving it completely untouched.
Kennedy winced at the bad shot, if anything the poor attempt at stopping the shuttle would inform the Overwatch Team of her presence. She drew another arrow and lined up a second shot but she would have to wait a moment until her body stilled and her accuracy returned.
The unexpected detonation was annoying as all hell. Patrick's eyes scanned the field from within the Brotherhood shuttle in search of its source. Kinetic discharge. His sixth sense knew the tingle of kinetic energy anywhere. It would have been been fired from some distance. That meant a ballistic trajectory. His keen mind quickly calculated the possible parabolic ranges. It took him all of a few seconds to spot Kennedy on the rise.
"Little bitch..." he muttered, pulling up the shuttle's tactical system.
A gun turret rose out of the fuselage and swiveled to face Kennedy's direction. The scope zeroed in on Kennedy as the only humanoid target in the vicinity. Before Patrick opened fire, a sudden recognition stayed his hand. That girl looked familiar. A wicked grin came over his face.
"Quicksilver, it looks like we have a two-for-one deal today. That little string slinger out there belongs to none other than Senator Robert Kelly! Kindly go get her. Magneto has plans for her father and she will only sweeten the pot."
“No rest for the wicked, isn’t that right Reverend?” Quicksilver dropped the gasping and terrified Stryker onto the floor. Before he could respond, Stryker’s hands and feet were shackled together with heavy metal manacles before the chains were hogtied together. Pietro took a moment to examine his work, the uncomfortable and indignant position of the preacher made him chuckle.
“A Kelly huh?” Quicksilver gauged the distance to the figure on the horizon and his chuckle turned into a grin. “Get ready to take off Maestro I won’t be long.”
Kennedy’s hands had finally stilled and she felt calm enough to take her second shot. Pulling back on the bowstring, she struggled to find the strength to charge the next arrow, her body was tired and struggled to produce the power that she demanded of it. So focused on the shuttle, she failed to notice the blur that was Quicksilver as he rapidly approached.
A great force charged into her, the wind knocked out of her at the same time that her feet left the ground. Kennedy struggled to take a breath as the world turned into a streak of muddy color around her. It wasn’t until she was slammed into the cold ground instead the shuttle that she managed to choke and cough a painful breath into her lungs. Her eyes watered as the pain from the swift punch to her gut developed and nausea began. With the same lack of awareness, Kennedy found herself in the same position as Stryker, bound and vulnerable across the floor.
Kennedy turned her head to look at Stryker. They had met several times before, the last had been a dinner party at her family home where her father agreed to fund the televised debate against Charles Xavier.
“Reverend Stryker.” Kennedy nodded her head in acknowledgment of them knowing one another and what being in this situation implied.
“Let’s get going before the flyboys get here.” Quicksilver demanded as he stood watch over Stryker and Kennedy.
"Too late." Maestro pointed overhead as the Blackbird took a position that prevented their takeoff. Looking back to the hold at the two Brotherhood mutants who were guarding the prisoners, he said, "Get outside and help Quicksilver move that jet!"
The two mutants obeyed, though clearly unappreciative of Maestro's tone. One of them was lanky with a curly blonde mop of a head while the taller and stockier young man pulled a balaclava over his face.
Bobby, Jace, and Ethan showed up in the air before the Blackbird but didn't present so nearly an impressive entrance. Together, the X-Men rallied to face the Brotherhood who had pledged an untold level of injustice on their hated enemy Reverend Stryker. The battle would have to be quick. Legal authorities from two world powers were still in the area. It wouldn't take long for the humans to interfere in a protracted battle. To the victor would go the spoils.
Outside the Brotherhood space shuttle stood Quicksilver. At his left was the blonde man who threw off his coat and revealed twin flamethrowers on each wrist. On the right, the masked man split into a dozen more exact versions of himself and formed ranks into his own private army.
Escapade appeared on the horizon, each leaping bounce growing longer. In her hands she carried a length of nylon rope. Her expression was quite serious, the usual playful expression gone for the moment.
"All right, who wants some?"
Pietro had been itching for some action, the lethargy that plagued this team made his toes twitch in frustrated anticipation. When the first X-Men advanced he was more than happy to counter her move. Before she finished her sentence, Quicksilver nodded to Pyro, a silent request to watch for his signal.
Then he was off, a streak of silver that moved across the field. But Pietro was no fool, he knew that one touch from him and Escaped would light up like a Christmas tree. He rushed towards her with the guise of making full impact only to stop short with a skid. The hard stop created a wave of muck that coated Escapade, temporarily blinding her with mud. It was in that moment that Quicksilver signaled to Pyro, a silent request to light up the momentary incapacitated Escapade.
"Not the brightest crayon in the box, are ya, darl?" Pyro cackled as he sent a spiraling inferno over Escapade's mud-caked body. "Let's change that!"
Enigma saw what was happening and quickly stepped in to help. “Oh no you don’t!” She quickly used her control of fire to extinguish the flames, whilst telekinetically giving Escapade a quick wipe off. She smiled as she looked towards Pyro. “That all you got?”
“Hey look! They finally got you a girlfriend.” Quicksilver teased Pyro as Aurora dissipated the flames destined for Bliss. “You two should go out for drinks after this.”
"Ligma balls, cunt!" said Pyro. "Goes for both of ya."
Pietro returned to his position atop the shuttle and looked down at Enigma and Escaped. “Multiple Man, how about you show these ladies and any others who get off the jet a good time?” The army of men nodded in agreement and advanced upon them. A sea of the same face duplicated over and over again, each version taking a different position and stance as they swarmed and surrounded.
Prime Maddox stood back and laughed. "Douse this!"
The small army of masked men dogpiled Bliss and Aurora, tackling them like Friday night football.
Aurora was doing her best to try to anticipate the moves, just as Cameron had been teaching her, the only problem was the sheer number of attackers coming at her all at once. For the minute she was relying on her telekinesis to deflect, but she wouldn’t be able to keep it up forever.
There was a lot happening in quick succession to Escapade. First, she was covered in mud - - annoying but easily dealt with. Then she was coated with hot flame surrounding her entire body. She screamed in Surprise more than anything, but even she could feel the heat of the fire dancing around her. After just a few moments, Aurora doused the flames.
Before she could even wave a hand of gratitude to the little pregnant telepath, Escapade was tackled by a dozen copies of the same doofus. She began to fling them off one by one, but for everyone, she got rid of three appeared to take its place. It wasn't long before Bliss disappeared under a sea of doofuses. It wasn't long before the mass of copied clowns was undulating in front of the shuttle. Had sheer numbers finally defeated the blonde terror known as Escapade?
Then the dozens of Maddoxes... Maddoi? Began to move in the direction of one of the engine exhaust ports on the shuttle. The crew of copied combatants fought and flailed against the toxic nucleus at the center of their existence. Each Maddox struggled with desperate strength, but inexorably the mass of mimeographed mutant men were mashed into the engine port. The intricate electronics and fuel plumbing of that particular engine was now being clogged with dozens of cranky copies of not so merry mutants. Oh, and one very angry Escapade at the heart of the living Maddox marching inexorably deeper into the innermost depths of the shuttle's propulsion system.
“Pyro, how about you take out those airborne stooges?” Quicksilver suggested. Fire and ice was always an entertaining battle and feathers burned just as easily as hair.
"How about you shut your clacker and leave the sky to me!" Pyro put his hands downward and used the fire as a propellant to jump into the air. He couldn't exactly fly but there was no need. The wall of fire that he fanned into existence formed a nearly impenetrable shield.
Quicksilver then tapped his comm. “Maestro, I think that jet of theirs sure would look nice with a few bullet holes in it from the turret. Unless of course, you’re too busy with our latest hostage. Is blonde and rich your type?” With that, Pietro departed from his stationary position on the roof of the shuttle, in the blink of an eye he had vanished from view.
The turret swiveled again, this time pointing its barrel upward straight at the Blackbird's underbelly. The armored plating could withstand a few direct hits but sustained fire would begin to shred it before long.
Bobby saw the wall of fire but didn't slow down. "Hang on, Flux!"
It took every ounce of cold snap to penetrate the inferno but Bobby punched through. He delivered a shotgun blast of ice pellets that knocked Pyro out of his jump. "Psych!"
"Bloody h—" The words were knocked out of Pyro's mouth as he flipped head over heels toward the ground.
"Sic'em, Gryphon!" Bobby called back over his shoulder. "Don't let him back up!"
There was a lot of pent-up rage in Gryphon, some of it turned inward. "He's never getting up again," Ethan snapped as his claws descended from his knuckles. He charged into Pyro knocking him to the ground. Raising one hand ready to rip out Pyro's jugular he said, "Say your prayers asshole 'cause you're about to die."
"Not today, mate." Pyro put one of his wrists right in front of Ethan's face and blew hot fire all over him. "Get fucked!" The other flamethrower shot forward, both of them propelling him back through the mud a safer distance from Ethan.
If he had not been so close, he might have been able to avoid the attack. If he'd not hesitated and given Pyro a warning, the villain would have been dead beneath him, and the attack would never have happened. He was knocked backward by the blowback from the fire.
Burns covered his face, torso, and hands. They were far from superficial, and they were painful, but not deadly. He picked himself up off the ground, just standing there recovering for a few moments.
"I'm beginning to lose my patience," Maestro said into the communicator from inside the Brotherhood shuttle. "Why do I have to do everything myself?"
Bobby and Jace came rolling in through the blazing fire outside with Bobby sliding forward to punch Patrick right in the gut. "We'll leave you to cry by yourself too." Nodding at Kennedy, Bobby told Flux, "Get her out pronto! I'll bring Stryker."
Jace nodded and jumped off the ice slide and ran into the shuttle. There she was, one of the newer students he'd only seen and briefly talked to, but had an awesome power. "This should be pretty easy," he said to her as he grabbed a manacle in each hand. He phased himself and the manacles, bringing them straight through her wrists. Bringing himself back to his normal density, he dropped the restraints on the floor. "Grab whatever you need take my hand. We'll just walk right out."
“He knows who I am.” A rattled Kennedy babbled to Jace as he removed the manacles from her hands and feet. “He knows who I am.” The repeated statement didn’t make much sense but based on the way it startled her, it was obvious that it was a dangerous realization. When Jace suggested they walk out, she merely nodded her head in agreement, taking his hand and squeezing a little too hard. Kennedy walked out with Flux, making their way out into the sunlight and the chaotic battle scene.
Flux’s choice to walk had been a mistake, it was far too easy for Quicksilver to catch them departing the shuttle. Never one to miss an opportunity, Pietro advanced on them with breakneck speed. Jace felt the pain before he realized what was happening, a look of shock on Kennedy’s face as she watched. The snap of a swift fist that made impact with the back of his head. Quicksilver delivered a dangerous and cheap shot that brought Flux to the ground.
“They picked you over the Reverend?” Quicksilver chuckled as he moved towards Kennedy. “Idiots.”
Jace had phased both he and Kennedy so they could pass through the shuttle but made the unfortunate mistake of returning to normal density immediately upon exiting the shuttle. The sudden rabbit punch to the back of the head that sent him to the ground left his brain rattling around inside his skull. The last thing that went through his mind as he slipped into unconsciousness...fucking mutant.
While Jace was able to get Kennedy free from her manacles and get outside the shuttle, it took Bobby a few more precious seconds.
"I thought you might show up."
Bobby turned around. "Huh?" A glass bottle broke open over his face, sending him to his knees. He could feel a sticky liquid all over him. It squished like gel between his fingers.
"That's why I brought this." Maestro flicked a light and tossed it onto Bobby. A searing heat immediately lit up all around him, sending him into fits of screaming. Even Maestro flinched at the scorching temperature. He still grinned like the bastard he was. "God, I love the smell of napalm!"
"Oi! Fuck-knuckle!" Came from behind Maestro, as Jade jumped down from the Blackbird, flanked by the others. Her eyes were glowing red as thrust at him with a spear.
Maestro tried to dodge the spear, but his reflexes weren't a match for the protein-seeking hemorrhagic projectile. Was it keyed into his physiology somehow? It was a question he was unlikely to puzzle out with the spear pinning his arm to the instrumentation panel. "God damn you!" he shouted at Jade. "Look what you did! You'll pay for that..." Shock and endorphins made his sweaty face break into a mad cackle. "Oh, oh, yes... you'll pay..."
Aurora was busy trying to fend off multiple attackers from every angle but the pained cries from Bobby soon elicited an emotional response, her entire body bursting into flame. “I suggest you guys get lost!!” She lit up her nearest attackers to give her enough time to try to get to douse the heat around and on Bobby. She knew there’d be no point trying to shout to him so she focused on telepathic contact. ~Focus on your powers, Bobby! Ice up! I can cool the flames, but you need to Cool yourself down!~
"Hot..." Bobby whimpered while his body tried to take iceform. A steamy chemical stench came up from his flesh that refused to burn or turn to ice, trapping him in an agonizing limbo. "Too... hot..." His eyes closed, unable to stay open against the burning fire that had enveloped him. His gasp breathed in the chemical propellant and set his insides ablaze as well.
With his next scream, though, came a puff of frost. His eyes snapped open, devoid of pupils or any feeling whatsoever. Ice armor took over his body. More than just skin, it was a carapace with spiked pauldrons and thick plates.
"IT'S TOO HOT!!!" he screamed with a guttural growl.
As Iceman found himself engulfed in flames, he had tapped into the very depths of his power, a reservoir of strength he only ever touched in the face of death. With a determined focus, he began to counter the searing heat with an intense cold, emanating waves of frost that fought back the fire with a hissing steam.
But as the flames died down, Iceman's control started to slip, his powers surging beyond his grasp. The air around him chilled to biting cold in an instant, and what began as a desperate attempt to quell the fire transformed into something far more formidable. An icy cyclone, born from the overflow of his unchecked abilities, spiraled outward with ferocious energy.
The atmosphere beyond the two aircraft turned dark as competing pressure systems of warm and freezing pressed together, mixing into a turgid storm. It expanded, encircling the area with a growing barrier of ice and snow, turning Bobby's moment of triumph into a new, chilling crisis. The once fiery inferno was now replaced by a cold so severe it threatened to consume everything in its frigid embrace.
Even with her body still alight Aurora was starting to feel the chill of Bobby's ice rage, she shivered as the cold started to bite.
Ethan saw what was happening and flew to where Iceman was. "BOBBY!" he shouted, "BOBBY IT"S ME!" Then in a quieter tone, he continued, "Bobby I need you to focus. Focus on me."
But Bobby was dead to the world. There was nothing for him but to initiate a new Ice Age.
"Magneto!" shouted Maestro. "We need you!"
Although he had not been far, the Master of Magnetism had wanted to put his Acolytes to the test. They had been found wanting.
Magneto made a dramatic entrance, descending upon the scene with an air of authority that demanded attention. With a mere gesture, he seized control of the conflict and both aircrafts. The Blackbird was effortlessly pinned to the ground, its metallic frame creaking under the invisible grip of his magnetic powers. He held it firmly against the earth in a haughty display of his formidable strength, while simultaneously lifting the Brotherhood's craft with a grace that belied the force being exerted, directing it skywards.
The icy cyclone, unleashed by Iceman's lost control, whirled around him, yet Magneto stood at its eye, completely unfazed. His mastery over magnetism formed a barrier against the howling winds and biting cold. In this moment, Magneto made himself the arbiter of the battlefield, ending the conflict with an indomitable resolve.
"Go home, X-Men," he bellowed over the howling, freezing winds, "before I change my mind."
Aurora glanced towards Jade, right now she was ready to go home away from all this.
Pietro took Kennedy by the arm, being so close to the shuttle he knew it would be easy enough to simply drag her back inside. But Kennedy hadn't let go of Flux's hand, even as he had toppled to the ground she held on to him tightly out of fear over everything that was happening. Quicksilver began to run while holding her arm and was caught off-guard by the suddenly slick and icy floor leading into the shuttle thanks to Bobby's sudden frosty outburst. It was a perfect combination of the unexpected additional weight Kennedy was holding onto combined with the lack of traction, the two caused him to slip and lose his footing. Pietro had to let go of her arm to maintain his balance, with a graceful slide he recovered his footing but has lost his grip on her.
Quicksilver would have tried again had Magento not appeared, his warning to the X-Men told him everything he needed to know. Kennedy had not been the objective of today's mission, she had only been an advantageous addition. So he abandoned his attempts to abduct her.
"Tell your hateful asshole of a father his days are numbered." Quicksilver snarled before he retreated, knowing he had other tasking to perform in order to ensure the shuttle took off with Stryker inside.
"Quicksilver," Ethan called out. "Don't trust Magneto, he's only out for himself."
Kennedy seemed slightly unnerved by his warning but with Quicksilver's departure her attention snapped down to the unconscious Flux. She finally let go of his hand and crouched down next to him. "Jace" She muttered his name as she attempted to wake him up "Jace, come on he have to go." Wrapping his arm around his neck Kennedy moved to lift and half-carry, half-drag Flux back to the shuttle. Her frame was lean and lithe but there was some strength in her and with only a minor tremor in her legs she managed to bring him with her to the Blackbird.
The call of his name and the trip to the Blackbird caused Flux's mind to slowly begin waking up. He was still not completely aware of his surroundings or what was happening. Fleeting images of the last few minutes flickered through his mind like a zoetrope. Once on the Blackbird, the coolness of the floor brought a little more focus. He opened his eyes as if bright sunlight was illuminating a dimly lit room. Flux wasn't completely sure how he'd gotten there. But after looking around, he suspected that he owed that to Artemis. His head was pounding and he didn't feel like talking. Only a slight groan escaped and he hoped that some pain reliever was in his near future.
Iris looked back from her spot in the pilot’s seat to see Flux and Artemis arrive. That meant that Stryker was still on the shuttle. Personally, she didn’t care; he was more trouble than he was worth. But the rest of her team was still unaccounted for. “Where is everyone else?” she asked anybody who cared to answer. “I’d like to get out of here as soon as Magneto lets go.”
One by one, the rest of the team piled into the Blackbird while Magneto carried the disabled Brotherhood transport ship into the heavens like some kind of demigod ascending to his throne on high. Just before he disappeared out of sigh, an electromagnetic bolt pierced the ice storm and struck Bobby in the chest. Bobby flew backward onto his back, knocked unconscious. Slowly but surely, the ambient temperature began to normalize and the cold winds began to subside.
Armoury finally caught up to the rest of his team. He had kept up with the comm traffic from his team. But being so far behind them, he hadn't been able to contribute anything. He was breathing heavily as he climbed onto the plane.
It was a Pyrrhic victory but the X-Men flew home victorious nonetheless.
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