I used to be a god. I have fallen along ways since I left that small African village, to join Xavier's cause. It is times such as now that I wish I'd remained in Kenya, worshipped as a god instead of joining the X-men. In all my years among the X-men I've never seen it in as bad a shape as it is right now. To put it another way, as of this moment there is no X-men. I'm all that's left and I'm in no position to continue the fight for Xavier's dream of peaceful co-existence. Right now I'm public enemy number one. If you don't know who I am right now, you haven't been paying attention. I'm all over the television and the newspapers. I'm the crazy mutant who went on a rampage though central Manhattan. It was a mistake to follow the man who killed Logan into the city. I wasn't thinking right... no strategy, just pure rage. Now I'm alone... a prisoner in the Vault and I have no allies to call upon. Scott, Jean, and Sam vanished while I was away looking for Psylocke and I watched helplessly as Logan died in my arms. The Daily Bugle sitting in front of me tells me I can expect no help from Excalibur or X-force. Muir Island was destroyed late last night by a mysterious explosion that was felt as far away as London and X-force was taken down by Operation Zero Tolerance in a furious battle down in Florida a few days ago. I spent my one phone call this morning trying to get a hold of Sean only to find out him and Emma have been gone over a week searching for the children, who according to the person I talked to, were kidnapped by Black Tom. The only hope I have left is that the remainder of the X-men return from their mission in outer space. It doesn't look like they'll make it in time to help me. The prisoners of the Vault are loose and instead of making a break for freedom they're trying to kill me. One against an army... how do you like them odds?
Storm's Last Stand
I can't sleep. This cell they have me in seems to be getting smaller and smaller by the minute. I know it's all in my head but that knowledge is of very little comfort right now. This small, windowless room has sent my claustrophobia into overdrive. I could ask the guardsmen passing my cell right now for a larger cell but I don't. I deserve this. I failed Xavier... I failed the X-men. I've destroyed years of Xavier's work... peaceful co-existence with the human race became even more implausible thanks to my little fit. Logan wouldn't have wanted me to do what I've done. I caused massive property damage...sent several bystanders to the hospital. I lost my temper and now a young mother of two may die after being struck by one of my stray lighting bolts during the battle. My God... what have I done?
I am a murderer. A guardsman woke me up early this morning to tell me the young mother didn't make it though the night. It wasn't suppose to happen this way. I've always considered myself one of the more level headed members of the X-men. People, innocent people aren't suppose to die when I'm around. I save people, at least I use to. I've been feeling my control slipping more and more over the past few months. Ever since the day that I crushed Marrow's second heart in my hand I've been plagued by nightmares... violent images. I was meaning to bring it up with the Professor but he was taken into custody before I could speak with him about it. My powers have become more erratic, less controlled. This lack of control scared me and now my worse fears have come to life. Somebody has died because of my loss of control... I no longer control my powers... they control me. I've become one of the mutant menaces the X-men were created to battle in the first place.
I didn't see it coming. The blow that sent me slamming into the back wall of my cell. I don't think anyone could of seen that one coming. The huge fist rose straight out of the water in the sink I was washing my face with. I struggle to my feet just in time to see my sink explode, as a river of water erupts out of it. I watch in silence as that river quickly reforms itself into the shape of a man. Hydroman...I think. What is he doing here? Trying to kill me it would appear as a wall of water erupts out of both of his arms and drives me back into the electrical force field that serves as the door to my cell. His water body served as a perfect conductor for the electricity sending a very nasty shock though the both of us before the force field shorted out sending both of us crashing out into the hallway. It would appear that he got the worse of it though. Hard to imagine that as I've lost all the feeling in my entire body, but at least I'm able to hold my body together unlike my attacker. It would appear my attacker isn't the brightest of people. I rethink that last statement when I see that I'm not alone in the hallway. It would appear that the inmates of the Vault are no longer trapped in their cells. It would also appear by the way they are screaming toward me, that they don't like me very much either.
I feel the rush of air as the wrecking ball races just inches over my head, embedding itself into the wall behind me. Someone threw a wrecking ball at me! Where did they get a wrecking ball from? As a matter a fact all of the inmates racing toward me are packing their weapons... dressed in their armor and such. Where did they get all their stuff? The Vault isn't stupid enough to lock these people in their cells with their weapons are they? They put me in a collar that prevents me from using my mutant powers, I would think they'd have done the same to the other inmates as well. A lot more questions enter my mine as I leap out of the way of a fire blast that melts the floor I was standing on into slag. How did these people get out of their cells? Why are they coming after me when they could be making a break for freedom, before the guardsmen arrive? A better question where are the guardsmen... this place should be swarming with them by now. A final question crosses my mind before the wave of super villains catches up with me. How in the world can I survive this without my powers?
As it turns out I do have my powers. The electric shock I'm still recovering from must have shorted out this collar as well. Not that this knowledge does me much good... there's very little weather for me to control inside the sealed confines of the Vault. Still the pitiful burst of wind I manage to create stops a majority of the crowd for a few seconds. Except for the Rhino, whose charge carries him though the front of the pack to slam into me. I think the impact shattered a few ribs... that's extremely lucky because I just missed being impaled by that horn of his. I just manage to roll up over his right shoulder seconds before I would have been sandwiched between him and that cement wall he just plowed into. Landing on my feet I look up just in time to catch a boomerang, full in the face. The blow sends me sprawling to the ground in a heap. That really hurt. A huge hand grips the back of my neck and picks me up off the ground like a rag doll. Though a red haze I see what appears to be a massive crow bar screaming toward my head. The electrical charge I send out causes the man holding me to drop me and the crow bar slams into him a second later. Hitting the ground I try to run and I actually make it a few feet before a heavy chain wraps itself around my legs sending me falling to the ground. I try to crawl forward but who ever is holding the other end of this chain yanks back hard on it, nearly tearing me in half. I hear something snap in my back. This isn't good.
As I try and get up a very heavy foot slams down on my back, forcing me back down. I stifle a scream as my cracked ribs explode in pain. I can't take much more of this. That's when I hear his name again. Bastion! Someone just mentioned his name. I know that name! That's the name burned into the desert floor where Bobby died. The name, painted on the floor of the ruins of Warren's log cabin. The name, that was carved into the side of Jean and Scott's boat house in eight foot high letters. The name, that the man who killed Logan screamed out when I questioned him about who hired him, before he got away from me the second time. Bastion is doing this. He's killing the X-men! He's trying to kill me! He's somehow managed to free the Vault inmates and set them against me. I can't die like this! The X-men will not die like this... taken down one by one, by a coward who hides in the shadows. Xavier's dream will live on, it has to. That's when I make the decision. I've never tried this before... I'm not sure it will work. To tell the truth I've never tried this before, because I was scared of the results. This may kill me but it's my last chance. It was a huge mistake. I opened Pandora's box... I let loose my full powers and what I unleashed was far beyond my ability to control...
"I'm impressed... I never knew you were that powerful, create a full fledged tornado like that... " stated Bastion before continuing " I guess the fact that it killed you explains why I've never seen you do it before."
Bastion began to laugh... another X-men had fallen and unlike the others this one had killed herself. He didn't have to reward a single person. The most powerful X-man... the one he felt he had to unleash the most power against, had done herself in. It had taken him well over two hours to visit each and every inmate in the Vault, giving them back their tools of the trade and make them the offer of two million for the person who killed Storm. It had taken him only a half hour to kill all fourteen of the guardsmen in the Vault. All that work and she had gone and killed herself... by accident of course, but still...
"Oh I almost forgot, congratulations on becoming the most hated mutant in the world... thanks to your efforts here tonight, a war between humans and mutants is inevitable!" toned Bastion before he heard the noise in the darkness.
"Why are you here?" asked Mr Sinister, stepping out of the shadows.
"I was wondering when you would make your appearance..." said Bastion before being cut off.
"Answer me! Why are you here?" threaten Mr. Sinister, advancing toward Bastion.
"Why am I here? I'm killing the X-men, that should be clear even to you." stated Bastion before being lifted off his feet by Mr. Sinister.
"You killed Scott Summers... he was mine... you're a worthless little toad and now you shall die." Mr. Sinister snapped Bastion's neck, killing him instantly. Dropping the lifeless body to the ground, even Mr. Sinister was surprised when it vanished in a flash of light. A second later a very much alive Bastion emerged out of another flash of light.
"Don't do that again!" Bastion said as he straighten his shirt "The medical miracles of the 34 century can only fix a broken neck so many times."
"You are more than you appear to be... never the less, I know your secret, so even if you won't die now, you will eventually." Mr. Sinister stated before turning to leave.
"We all die eventually... take you for example, you're going to die right now... " Bastion said causing Mr. Sinister to stop.
Turning Mr. Sinister began to laugh "You threaten me little man... you haven't the power to stop me... I shall never die, Mr. Sinister always comes back."
"You may be powerful now, but once you were a very ordinary, very human scientist by the name of Nathan Essex, I believe. Just imagine if someone were to travel back in time and kill that very ordinary man... why you would never exist... just imagine that." toned Bastion before vanishing in a flash of light.
A second later the mighty Mr. Sinister vanished from existence. One of the deadliest villains the X-men had ever faced was gone, never to be seen from again.
"What is wrong?" asked Apocalypse showing very little concern to his writhing servant on the floor beneath him.
"My... my carvings, they are being changed... history is being changed...the... the pain is unbearable." cried Ozymandias.
"Sinister! He found Bastion's secret. Bastion's trying to erase it... hide his weakness." Apocalypse stormed into Ozymandius's chamber staring at the wall as several carvings vanished from sight to be replaced instantly by new ones.
Staring intently Apocalypse found the one he was looking for and scanned it into the computer on his wrist before the carving was replaced by a new one. A second later when the new time stream came into existence Apocalypse forgot he had done this. His computer had not...it existed in a pocket outside time, thus was protected from the time stream's change. Apocalypse's computer knew Bastion's secret and a few seconds later so did Apocalypse.
The End?