Deep Waters

DISCLAIMER: Everyone here is Marvel's, except for Soraya, Cathleen and Gareth Cassidy. Please don't sue.

Cable struck down yet another dog-soldier, not even trying to restrain the technovirus or his rage. The interior of En Sabah Nur's base shook with psionic and other energies, as Apocalypse chuckled and allowed the psi-collectors to draw in the world's excess psionic energies, heightened by the fear and joy of the coming Millenium.

"In mere seconds, Dayspring, my Ascension will be complete," En Sabah Nur grinned mirthlessly. "The strong will be above the weak for all time, and the world will either tremble or die before the High Lord."

Cable cut totally loose, feeling the TO-virus surge once more inside him. *Oath... goodbye, Dom,* he thought. "STAB YOUR EYES!" he roared, diving at Apocalypse as the Ascension began.

Dayspring's TO-arm punched through Apocalypse's force field and connected with the External's chest. He began to writhe as the Ascension energies flowed into Cable instead of him and drove the TO-virus into Apocalypse - conducting uncontrolled psi-fury into Apocalypse's soul. He roared, wordlessly, and discorporated, as the backlash consumed each and every work of the fusion of mutant and machine.

Each and every work except the one which slew Apocalypse, that is. Cable shrank, further and further, until a mere baby sat amidst Cable's costume. The boy began to sniffle, until a black-haired figure appeared in a bright light and picked him up.

"Well, the 'high lord' proved he was the weaker after all," the figure smiled. He brushed the baby's head gently, and the child slept. "Yes, rest, little Stryfe... for your true purpose is about to begin," Paris Bennett smiled.

A screaming woman in a yellow, spiked bodysuit appeared before Exodus and roared, ~RELEASE THE ASKANI'SON!~

~Ah, Sanctity,~ Exodus bowed. ~I am unimpressed. Shouldn't you cease to exist with Apocalypse's death?~ Tanya Trask frowned and replied, ~I was born in this timeline, spawn of darkness! Now - AIERGH!?~ She screamed, this time in agony, as Exodus dragged her off the psi-plane into physical form.

"Enough, daughter of the Sentinels' creator," Bennett scowled. "Know true power." He stared into her eyes, and Sanctity failed to live up to her name.

For the final time...

The New Mutants fell onto the ice amidst a blizzard. The shock of the teleport, combined with the sudden brutality of the storm, prevented the telekinetics from shielding the teens. Joe looked about in helplessness as the Mutants began to freeze.

~HELP! Anyone, please!~ he called telepathically. *I'm immune to the cold now, but the others are in their underwear - they'll freeze in minutes!* Joe moaned inwardly.

Rhian took his hand and tried to keep her ears warm. "M' costume's insulated, but I cannae feel m'ears 'r nose!" she yelled over the gale-force winds.

As Charles tried desperately to warm himself and generate a magnetic shield, a sudden shadow swept over the Mutants. *Him...,* the boy thought, falling unconsious at last, relieved at the mental signature he detected.

Joe and Rhian gasped in awe at the blue-blazing force bubble which gathered them and the other Mutants in its' warm, safe embrace. A towering figure, clad in the now legendary red and purple uniform, stood before them, seemingly aloof and yet somehow personable. *He's like a grandfather - if'n I'd e'er had a grandfather,* Rhian thought, relieved to feel a tingle in her extremities. The sheer personality of the twin blue infernos beneath the helmet mesmerized the kids, and the bubble headed towards a vague shape in the distance.

"Welcome to Antarctica, children," the figure said with the faintest amusement and concern in his voice. "I really must recommend you bring more garments the next time, unless you were en route to the Savage Land. How did you come to be here?"

Joe and Rhian finally began to babble their tale, while Charles smiled and stirred. *Same old Dad... dryer sense of humor than the Sahara,* he thought...

Exodus nodded slowly, studying the Mutants' biosignatures as they rapidly recovered in Haven's medical wing. *The Summersspawn present a serious danger to my plan,* he thought. *But they and the Twelfth are still weak. Perhaps... it is time to put forth my plan.*

He turned to a small figure, clad in a simple blue skinsuit, who stood eagerly before him. The boy had a blazing left eye, and the vaguest hints of a white stripe could be see at the close-cropped bangs of his forehead. "Is it time to cast down the false god, Brother Paris?" the boy asked. Exodus smiled and knelt before the boy he had come to call Stryfe.

"Very, very soon, Stryfe," he said. "You will carry out our High Lord's prophecy of the strong subsuming the weak, starting with the most arrogant among them - the false sheperd, Erik Magnus Lehnsherr. I have had you raised by our fellow worshipper, Ozymandias, all these years for just this moment. Let nothing turn you aside. Do not strike until I begin my own machinations." Exodus stood and let his telepathy enter the minds of the Acolytes, not noticing an angry-faced woman in an Acolyte skinsuit watching him from another monitor.

She depressed a button on her wristcom and called, "Agent Fortuna reporting. Subjects Fox and Kit are loose in the Henhouse. Repeat, Fox and Kit are loose in the Henhouse. Subject Rooster, subjects Chickens and designates: NewMutes are unaware of Fox and Kit. Requesting permission to initiate Operation Payback."

An irate British voice on the other end replied, "Permission granted, Fortuna. Bloody 'ell, girl, be careful!"

"Always am, Agent Sage," the woman smiled viciously. She deactivated the com and hoisted her blaster, muttering, "And now, you loser, we'll see just who's leading who... "

Magnus smiled as Charles and those Mutants who had been afflicted by the storm came to. All of them had been dressed in replicas of their New Mutants costumes. "Dad!" Chuck cheered, hugging his father. Bill, Tom and Luna ran to their grandfather, while Lucas, Soraya, Cathy, Rhian and the Baileys stared in mute fascination.

"Ah never thought ah'd live t' see... y'know, him , up close," Luke whispered.

"Tell me about it," Cathy said. "He must be approaching 100, and yet here he stands, not looking more than 50 or so."

Frank and the Summers kids exchanged quiet greetings with Magnus, who smiled wryly and said, "Still wielding near-infinite might, Franklin? I remember when you came after Joseph..."

Frank cringed and said, "Sorry about that, sir. I was a little grief-crazed..."

Magnus snorted a laugh and said, "It's understandable. Please, any and all of you, explore Haven and partake of its amenities. I've called Miss Frost and Banshee, and they have reassured your families. I have yet to find Illyana, but when I do, I'll send her to you as soon as I find her." He glanced at Lucas and Cathy and smiled wryly again.

"You must be relatives of Samuel's and Danielle's," he said.

"Erm.. yessir," Lucas said meekly. "Ah'm Lucas Guthrie, Sam's li'l brother, an' this is Cathy Daystar, Dani's cousin. Nice t' meet you."

Magnus shook each of their hands and said, "Please excuse me. I have to check the mutagenic sensor net for Illyana's biosignature." He departed, and all of the non-Lehnsherr Mutants breathed a sigh of relief.

"No offense, Chuck, guys, Luna - but your dad and granddad is just a LITTLE intimidating," Nate smiled.

"None taken," Luna smiled back. "You didn't have him as a kidsitter when we were growing up, and his... personal magnetism IS a little strong." The Mutants groaned, as Luna shuddered and added, "At least Exodus isn't here. I can't stand that creep."

"None of us ever could, cos," Tom agreed.

Nate looked about, suddenly dizzy, and held his hand to his face. "I feel... holy!?" he gasped. His hand came away bloody from his nose.

Ray helped him to a bed, while a low rumble began to reverberate through all of Haven. "B-but, you never get nosebleeds! Not unless... no. It can't be," she breathed in denial.

Frank caught a hint of Rachel's concern through their psi-link. "You think Cable's around here somewhere?" he asked her.

"It couldn't be - there was no trace of him at Akkaba, even when Wildchild sniffed the place from top to bottom!" Ray replied.

"Well, something's making me - OW!" Nate yelled.

Chuck stared down at the floor and grabbed the others in a magnetic field. "HANG ON!" he yelled -

-and a titanic fireflower enveloped the entire complex. Charles' shield barely held, as a small boy flew out of the top of the explosion. The Acolytes and their families followed mutely, buoyed aloft in a massive telekinetic web generated by a glowing angel of the abyss.

"EXODUS!?" Magnus roared. He flew out of the other side of the blast, but was staggered by the boy who had caused it. Nate doubled over in pain, while Rachel's face fell.

"I can't believe it - it has to be him!" she yelled. "Chris!? It's us!"

The boy turned to Rachel, confused. "Ignore them, Stryfe!" Exodus called. He looked stressed, and a silent assent enveloped the Mutants as Frank hand-signalled them. Ray grabbed Nate by the arm and flew to the boy, while Chuck staggered Exodus with a wrathful EMP. Bill opened up with a heat blast, and Luna accepted a "fastball special" from Joe's telekinetic power and pummeled Exodus with hyperspeed punches.

"You want the heirs of Magneto, traitor? HERE WE ARE!" Chuck called defiantly. Exodus wiped blood from his nose and smiled in anticipation.

"I am not impressed, boy," he replied. "Stryfe! Ignore the unbelievers!"

"Stryfe" looked scared as Rachel brushed his psi-shields, and sent, ~Don't be afraid, please! You're not Apocalypse's servant! You're our... little... brother, Christopher Charles Summers! We love you, kiddo! Fight what Exodus's done to you!~

The boy looked as if he wanted to listen, and took Rachel's and Nate's hands. ~I... remember stuff,~ he sent, slowly smiling. The siblings shared memories and tales, on levels Exodus's panicked telepathic calls could never reach. He began to rave and rant, but a doubled magnetic storm shook him like a rag doll.

"NO ONE BETRAYS ME AND LIVES, FOOL!" The Master of Magnetism and his Heir grabbed Exodus by either side, their magnetic powers and Chuck's telepathic blasts tearing apart Exodus' attempts to strike back psionically. The Acolytes shook their heads and panicked, but Unuscione's exoskeleton and the Baileys' TK helped them and their children to the ground safely.

*It... cannot... end this way!* Exodus thought in rage. He drew upon the very core of his powers, trying to backlash the Lehnsherrs -

- but a spiderlike metallic device pierced the base of his skull, propelled by a ceramic dart. "Who!?" Magnus called.

He dropped Exodus to the Antarctic ice and looked upon an Acolyte with purple eyes. The Lehnsherrs and Mutants descended, while the woman strapped an inhibitor collar on Exodus. "You have the right to remain silent - oops, that neuroscrambler's already doing it," she joked.

She turned to the crowd of mutants and bowed. "I apologize for the deception, 'Lord' Magnus, friends, but I'm not an Acolyte," she smiled. She wiped at her face with a towel from her belt, revealing white skin and a black spot over one eye. "SHIELD Agent Beatrice... well, my last name doesn't matter," she smiled again.

"Domino!?" Frank called.

"Yepper, Richards," she said. "I was sent to keep tabs on your little mutant hideaway, Magnus. At least you've kept your word."

Magneto smirked and replied, "You forget who allowed SHIELD to have an agent here in the first place, 'Domino.'" Domino raised an eyebrow and laughed.

"Figures I couldn't hide from you," she said.

Scanner and the other Acolytes surveyed the ruins of Haven. A boy among them moaned, "Where'll we live now, Lord Magnus?"

"Fear not, young Eric," Magnus reassured the son of Harlan and Carmella Kleinstock. "We will rebuild."

A flash of light and a growl of an outraged faerie sorceress presaged a huge chant and a rustle of metal. "You're not as young as you look, Maggie," Illyana sighed. The shell of Haven flew together, while Illyana pointed to the multitudes of sprites which reassembled the ruined structure. "Saves me mana - especially important in this godsforsaken, lifeless waste," she told the Mutants. "Ready to fly?"

"We have to make a detour to Westchester first, 'Yana," Ray smiled.

Illyana's jaw dropped as she recognized the boy at her friend's side. "Oh no - not another miraculous resurection," she sighed.

"What about Exodus?" Charles asked. He thumbed over his shoulder at the broken, moaning heap of sentient which drew glares of rage from the assembled mutants.

"He lied t' me!" Chris yelled.

"Shh, little bro," Nate comforted the former Dayspring.

"I have the PERFECT fate for that backstabbing weasel," Illyana grinned. "Nasty... just the way I like it." She opened a stepping disc and whistled.

Several hideous faeries in leather, with grey faces and red caps, hefted the dazed Exodus in unison. "Our thanks, Y'r Majesty, f'r this... dinner guest," their leader smiled evilly.

Magnus' face fell as he realized what the creatures were. "Illyana...! Those are redcaps - cannibal faeries!" he whispered to the darkly amused Russian.

The fae and their now-screaming captive were teleported away, while Illyana shrugged and replied, "He was going to eat YOUR people alive," she said. "Later, big guy. Dom, you need a lift?"

Beatrice stood beside the Mutants and replied, "If you're going north anyhow."

Charles, the Shades and Luna waved farewell to Magnus, who sighed and smiled as they teleported, and Frank berated Illyana about "We don't KILL people!"

*Even Illyana presents a definite hope for the future,* he thought, following the Acolytes inside.

Amelia Voght took his arm and whispered, "You need to rest, sir."

Magnus smiled wryly again and replied, "'Rest' and 'Voght' are two words I don't associate with each other, Amelia." She merely smiled and transubstantiated them away to their bedchamber...

Scott Summers, Headmaster of the Institute, paced impatiently about the office he had inherited from his mentor. "They should've called us themselves," he groused to an exasperated Jean Grey-Summers. "Especially after what you felt."

Jean sipped her water and sent, ~You're not giving them enough credit, Scott. Whatever I felt, the kids are a lot more resourceful than you and I were at that age - especially because we taught them to be from the moment we got them back. And if I hear ONE more paranoid thought about Magnus... I mean, come on! He's not the raging demagogue we fought. He hasn't been for years.~

"I know... but old concerns don't go away overnight - HUH!?" A stepping disc deposited Rachel, Nate, a bored-looking Illyana and a small boy in the study.

"Mom! Dad!" Scott and Jean hugged their teenage children and "heard" of the day's events.

"And, we have some GREAT news," Ray grinned. "Here they are, Chris..." She motioned the boy, about six, forward.

He looked at Scott and Jean and smiled, "... Dad? Mommy?" The adult Summers gasped and took Chris's hands.

"It... oh, my, GOD...," Jean cried. Scott barely kept from crying himself, and the Summers group-hugged again.

"If you guys're gonna be a while, I still have dark elves to spank," Illyana smiled despite herself.

~Oh, get over here, you goob!~ Ray told her friend, dragging Illyana into the hug...

"...and so, Exodus is faerie chow, Subject Kit is returned to childhood and his parents' custody, and Magnus knew of your presence ever since you took this assignment," SHIELD Chief Sharon Carter sighed from behind her desk.

Domino shrugged and replied, "That's the long and short of it, chief - "

"DON'T call me chief!" Carter yelled with a small smile. She played with a personal item - a photon-shield-generating gauntlet from a long-lost old flame - and sighed. "Why is it that every time I send you and Agent Sage on a mission, it turns into a rejected 'X-Files' plot? At least everything turned out for the best." She dismissed Domino and called after her, "You and that loser Sage take care, Bea!"

"Always," Domino smiled. She headed for the teleporter room and sniffed the air, sighing as she smelled an "unauthorized environmental breach." "You had to smoke those for our last mission for SHIELD, didn't you?" she asked her companion to Paris.

"Hey, I c'n light 'em f'r free," the trenchcoat-clad mutant smirked. Beatrice stood beside him and nodded to the teleporter tech.

"We're ready," she said. The tech opened the wormhole to Paris, and the mutants arrived at their destination under the cover of image inducers.

"So, how'd you take seeing the old man as a tyke?" Domino's "flame" asked her.

"I'm happy for him - maybe he can finally find the peace he never seemed to have," she smiled sadly. "Lord knows, after Akkaba, he deserves it."

"Well, he's not th' only one who c'n impart a little... Wisdom," Bea's lover grinned salaciously.

She rolled her eyes and dragged Pete Wisdom after her towards the City of Lights. "I finally realize what Kitty Pryde saw in you - the need for a woman to civilize you," she deadpanned. They kissed and walked, hand in hand, towards their life together.

NEXT: Girls' Night, as the most exclusive social club in the Marvel Universe returns - and it isn't the Hellfire Club's Inner Circle for once!