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#29, September 1999
Visions presents the X-Men in: "You made Magneto what?!!" Tom & Link, doing it all for the nookie
Long strands of pure white hair fell to the floor soundlessly, steadily creating a pile as the scissors snipped and clicked. He sat in the chair silently, watching himself in the mirror as his long hair disappeared under the blades, changing the whole look of his thin, long face. Erik Lehnsherr was getting a haircut.
"Thank you for cutting my hair, Rogue. It was long overdue," he said to the woman above him, whose gloved hands worked skillfully on his hair.
"No problem, sugah. Ah fully agree 'bout your haircut being overdue. The grunge era is so gone and Remy's the only one who still pretends it's actually trendy to have long hair. Now, you'll at least look fashionable."
"Fashion has been of little concern to me, Rogue, but the long hair I had was a disaster. I'm glad someone in this house was able to cut it."
Afterwards a long silence followed as the two reflected on their own thoughts. Erik smiled to himself slightly as he watched the last of the long strands fall down. This marked the end of a significant era in his life. The innocent era when he tried very hard to make up for his mistakes and come out a better man than he had been. It also marked a brand new era for him and hopefully for mutants as he took on the leadership of the X-Men. This was more than just a haircut for him, it was a new start.
"Ah'm surprised that you agreed to it," Rogue said suddenly breaking the silence and Magneto's train of thought.
"To what?"
"Leading the X-Men. Yah always said our ways were too peaceful, that we couldn't make any real difference. Joining us seems like contradictin' yahself," she said while she clipped Magneto's hair above his ears.
"First of all, Charles and I agreed that the X-Men need to take a different course of action, a different direction. What we need is a more direct approach, we need to get out there and show the world that we are there to make things better. That, plus we need to take part in pro-mutant activities, such as the recent Reach Out campaign. From my point of view, the X-Men have been slacking for the last few years. Hopefully, I can change that, and hopefully it will help mutant kind. What do you think Rogue?" he said suddenly turning around to face her.
"First of all, sugah, don't move when Ah'm cutting your hair. Not unless you don't want to keep your ear. And as for what Ah think..." Rogue stopped for a while as if to gather her thoughts. "Ah think you can do it. Ah hate to blow mah own horn, but Ah was the one that believed the most in you. Ah am very proud of yah that ya didn't prove me wrong and that yah are headin' the right way."
"I'm glad I didn't disappoint you, Rogue. I'm glad I didn't disappoint myself," Magneto said absentmindedly as if to himself.
"As for if yah can lead the team. Well yah're a good leader and that's what we need now. One thing though..."
"What's that?"
"Not everyone on the team is going to trust yah. Ya're gonna hafta win them over, show them that you truly want to do the right thing and that this isn't some twisted plan to take over the world or something." Rogue knew how it was when Magneto tried taking over the world and when she had to stop him. She had to put her friendship for him aside and fight him like her worst enemy. That was the last thing that she wanted to happen again.
"I fully understand their concerns. After all in their eyes, I did betray them once already. But I can assure you that it won't happen. I'm dead set on making a positive difference. Pushing the law slightly won't hurt, but I won't abuse it."
"Yah got it right, sugah! And if someone like Bobby or Remy gives yah a hard time, I'll knock them down in no time!" Rogue said in a cheerful voice, making Erik chuckle. Silence fell on them once again.
^I just can't. I can't bring that stuff up,^ Rogue thought to herself as she put the finishing touches on Magneto's hair. ^I made it clear to Joseph that I didn't want to be involved with him and I can't just jump all over him now that he's back to his old self. Whatever happened before.... when he was Joseph or even back in Savage Land, it's all past now. You gotta learn to put your past behind you, Rogue, otherwise it'll ruin you...^ Rogue's internal dialogue was stopped by Erik opening his mouth again.
"Oh and once everything settles down, I promise I'll get back to work on your powers. I have several ideas and theories that could tell us just what exactly is wrong with your power and how we can fix it. I believe that Hank and I can work this problem out, Rogue. We can help you gain control over your powers again."
Rogue smiled while running her gloved hands through his newly cut hair. She had heard that promise so many times and it never came true. "That would be nice, sugah. Now what do ya think of your hair?" she asked, stepping back to admire her handwork.
Magneto looked at himself in the mirror, running his hands through his hair feeling the lack of volume. The hair wasn't fully short, it started on top of his head and ran down to his ears in various lengths. His face looked much slimmer and longer as the result. "Thank you very much, Rogue. I looked similar when we spent time in Savage Land and fought Zaladane. I must say this is a great improvement over my last hairstyle."
"Ya're welcome, sugah," Rogue said smiling.
***
"I don't believe it!!! And there I was being called irresponsible by Jean and what happens? Magneto becomes the leader of the X-Men! This is Magneto we're talking about here, Charles. Like our archenemy or something! He's our leader now! Are you out of your mind? He betrayed us once already. He'll get us killed the first time we go out!" Bobby's voice was loud and angered as he confronted the calm Xavier before him.
"First of all, Bobby. Calm down. You are not going to convince me of anything if you shout at me. Now, take a seat and I will explain everything to you. I assure you that I knew what I was doing when I made the decision and if you just let me explain..."
"I don't want an explanation! I don't want buckethead on this team! Is that too much to ask?"
"Robert..." Xavier began, but was cut off by Bobby.
"I thought so," Bobby replied. "If he turns out to be full of it, don't blame me." With those words Bobby spun on his heel and furiously stormed out of Xavier's study. He passed Bishop at the door and gave him a little notice.
Bishop came in to find Charles at his desk, his face buried in his hands, sighing. "I knew it was going to be hard but I never expected Bobby to take is so seriously," Charles said out loud as if to himself.
"Don't worry about Iceman, Professor. He'll get over it. He's Bobby after all, to him, everything is a joke," Bishop said walking up to the desk.
Charles looked up at Bishop blankly as if to ask what he was doing here.
"I came up to thank you for resolving the leadership problem, sir," Bishop announced. "While I'm not entirely sure about your choice, unlike Robert I'm willing to give Magneto a chance. After all, in my time Magneto was regarded as a hero. There has to be a point in time when he finally step onto the right path. But that is not what I came to talk about."
"What concerns you, Bishop?"
"I want to ask for a leave of absence for few days, maybe a week. I need to see my sister in Denver. She and I have a lot to talk about concerning our future and past and since everything seems to have settled down I thought this would be the perfect time to take few days off," Bishop said almost in one breath.
"I see no problem with that, Bishop. You can take the week off. It's funny how more and more X-Men are just leaving," Xavier answered, smiling to himself at the last sentence.
***
"So Gambit, what do you think of me being the leader of the X-Men?"
"Me?" Gambit asked clearly surprised. Magneto had just stopped him in the hallway and asked him that question.
"Yes you. You're part of the team, tell me what you think. What do you expect of me? I want to know everyone's point of view on this so I can be sure to make the right judgments."
"Yeah, yeah I get ya. Nice haircut. What do I t'ink.... Hmmmm," Remy said scratching his chin. "Good luck trying to get accepted, especially by Bobby but as long as you do your job properly, I'll be satisfied. It's not like I'm a great leader to complain about you. I still wish Bishop had the job."
"You do know that Bishop himself had refused the position before I was offered it," Magneto begun but Remy turned around and began walking away.
"Yeah whatever. See you around Magneto," Gambit said lighting up a cigarette.
"And do try to call me Erik when we're around the mansion," Magneto called out after him.
Gambit just chuckled to himself without saying a word.
"***
"Yep, this must be it. Looks like a place Blob would love to be in. Full of freaks," Frank Bohannan, otherwise known as Freedom Force's Crimson Commando said while he walked down the center of a large settlement erected by the mobile circus. He and Senator Robert Kelly had come here to seek out the Blob, one of the original members of Freedom Force and ask him to rejoin the group. Fred had been spotted traveling with this circus for quite a while now.
"I thought you were a friend of the Blob," Senator Kelly said.
"I am, Senator Kelly. I was being sarcastic," Frank said smirking as he, Kelly and a couple of security guards approached a caravan with a large sign on it saying: The Unmovable Man. They were stopped by a large African American.
"We're sorry, the Unmovable Man doesn't sign autographs anymore. I'm going to have to ask you to leave," he said in a deep, menacing voice.
"Uh, we're not fans sir. We're friends of the Unmovable Man and we need to see him about a urgent matter," Commando spoke up. "If you could just call him out here, I'm sure he'll recognize us."
The tall man looked at Commando then back at the caravan behind him hesitantly. "What's your name?" he asked Commando.
"Frank. Frank Bohannan," Commando replied.
"FRED!" the black man shouted.
"WHAT?" answered someone in a deep, loud voice.
"There's someone here to see you. Says he's a friend of yours. His name is Frank Bohannan."
There was a moment of silence and then the Blob's enormous body appeared in the doorway. "Well I'll be damned!" he shouted getting out of the caravan. "Frank! How have ya been?" he asked running up to Commando. He grabbed his hand and shook it. "Haven't seen ya for ages. You haven't changed a bit! Whatcha doin' now? Still with the government? I suppose so, if you brought company," Blob said nodding his head towards Kelly and the two security agents.
"Yes Fred, I'm still with the government," Commando said, shaking the Blob's arm. "But I'm here to make you an offer. The government is restarting Freedom Force. They're trying to find all old members. I was the first one they managed to contact. You're the second one. Are you interested my friend? You must agree that those were the best days when we were together."
"Hell yeah! We'd catch Magneto, whoop the X-Men's ass, it was great!" Blob replied enthusiastically. "I'm in! This job here sucks. I get moved by a bunch of useless kids and loose my pay for a week (the Gen. X kids managed to make the Blob move in Gen. X #8) . I'm in under one condition."
"What's that?" Senator Kelly asked from behind Commando.
"Mimic here gets to come with me," Blob said pointing behind himself where a man was standing. They hadn't even seen him arrive. He had short, roughly cut brown hair and a beard and was tall and thin. "We hooked up after we got out of Onslaught's control and he's been my manager in this dump. If I'm leaving then he's coming with me," Blob said in a definite statement.
Crimson Commando looked towards Kelly. "Well I can't give my answer right on the spot. We would have to look into his history, check his records. I am vaguely familiar with him. I just can't say right now."
"Look, Kelly," the Blob said pointing his finger at Senator Kelly. "Mimic's my mate now and it's either both of us or no one at all. He's been with the X-Men before, if that means anything these days. Make up your mind Senator."
"Okay, okay I suppose we can let him join too. We will of course need to research his past and make sure he's acceptable," Senator Kelly said and then paused as the Blob gave him another evil look. "But that should be all just formality. Either way, welcome to Freedom Force."
"Woohoo!" Blob shouted and lifted his hand up in the air. "Just like the good old times. Now c'mon Edwin, let's go tell the boss to stick his contract where the sun don't shine."
Mimic simply smiled and followed Blob towards one of the caravans. The four men left behind looked at each other, shrugging.
***
Mansion, later
"Robert what do you think of me leading the X-Men?" Magneto was now in the Danger Room where Iceman had just finished a lengthy work out. The holographic images of Sentinels, Sauron, Acolytes and Magneto himself were slowly disappearing and the Danger Room returned to its proper look. Magneto raised an eyebrow noticing his holographic body frozen in mid air but he said nothing.
Iceman walked up to him without a word and looked him straight in the eye. "I hate it. You might have fooled Charles with your sudden outburst of heroism but not me. I don't trust you, I never did. You can ask me, or Hank or any of us we'll never trust you. And if you think that we'll suddenly forgive you and get on like best pals then that bucket you wore must have cut off your oxygen supply or something. I'll be watching your every move and if you make a mistake, you'll be freezing your ass off for a year. That's it, fearless leader." Bobby's breath was heavy and beads of sweat ran down his forehead.
Magneto opened his mouth in response but Bobby sidestepped him and stormed out of the Danger Room, leaving the new X-Men leader to his own thoughts. ^Bobby has always been the difficult one. I guess I'll have to deal with him somehow.^ Magneto sat down on a nearby chair putting his head in his hands, sighing.
***
Anchorage, Alaska
Jean hung up the phone and turned back to her husband who was stirring awake in the bed beside her. "Who was that?" he asked in a sleepy voice.
"Hank," Jean answered, pulling the covers over her body and snuggling close to Scott.
"What did he say?"
"Charles made Magneto the leader of the X-Men," Jean announced with a as straight face as she could put on, but she already knew that the news would have Scott up on his legs within a second.
"WHAT??!!!" Jean's predictions were right. Scott shot up from the bed, pulling the covers off and getting up. "Magneto...? Has Charles gone insane again?"
"Calm down Scott," Jean said reaching out to place her hand on Scott's left shoulder. "I'm sure Professor knows what he's doing, and this is Joseph we're talking about here. However much his transformation changed him, he still spent a year with us, that should set him straight."
"I don't think so Jean. This is Magneto we're talking about here," Scott said looking back at his wife with concern in his eyes. Jean had a hard time fighting against that concern, she knew how important it was to him.
"Scott.... you promised," she said, her eyes lowering to the ground. "You promised that we'd have time off."
He looked down at his wife and saw the disappointment in her misty green eyes. She was right. The free time meant a lot to her and he had promised himself that he would get his marriage back on track, even if it meant turning a blind eye on mutants and hero stuff for a while. Smiling, he got back under the covers. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'll talk to Charles about it later." Scott paused as Jean looked up at him, with one of those looks. "Just to talk about it. It's not like I'm going back to Salem. I'm staying here with you, honey."
Smiling, he carefully pulled her wife into an embrace, kicking her tenderly. "That's better, Slim," Jean whispered returning the kiss.
***
Mansion again
"Psylocke, what do you think of me becoming the leader of the X-Men?" By now Magneto was in the kitchen where he saw Betsy, surprisingly in normal clothes. She was sipping her tea and staring out the window. She didn't notice him until he spoke to her again and then she looked at him for few seconds, blinking and then finally spoke. "It depends."
"What on?" Erik asked, sitting down beside her at the table.
"On who you are right now. If you're the Magneto that helped us against the Beyonder and took over the school after Charles went away then I think you're the most appropriate person for the job," she said staring Magneto straight in the eyes. "But if you're the maniac that tried to kill Logan then I suggest you quit before you even start. Do yourself and us a favor."
Magneto blinked, looking at Psylocke, surprised. This had to be the most honest answer he got. "What do you think I am, Elizabeth?"
Betsy smiled, while still looking out the sunny window. "Good question. You tell me, Erik. Did we teach you anything while you were Joseph?"
"I... I... I think so..." Magneto was hesitant.
"There's your answer," Betsy said turning to face him again, her face beaming. "You'll do fine. It's not going to be easy but I've seen you do harder things. Just don't slip, don't get sidetracked. I think Bobby will do a fine job at reminding you what your job requires. Good luck."
"Thank you, Elizabeth. That's the most helpful answer I have received today. I can assure you that I won't mess up, as long as you all are willing to collaborate," Magneto assured.
"We'll try. By the way, nice haircut. Did Rogue do it?"
"Yes.... how did you know?"
"She cut Remy's hair once," Betsy said chuckling to herself. "She's gotten better since then though."
They both laughed.
***
Bishop rubbed his temples staring at the computer screen before him. The search has proven unsuccessful once again. Sometimes he wondered if he was going to succeed. But, now it was time to get going. His plane was leaving in two hours and he had ordered a cab, which would be here soon. As he shut the computer off he heard someone walk in. He turned around and found Magneto. "Bishop, I've been looking for you all over the mansion. I need to ask you a question before you leave."
"Fine, I'll be leaving in about ten minutes. What do you want to talk to me about, Magneto?"
"My leadership position. What do you think about it?"
"First of all, we needed a leader. I was supposed to do it but I backed out, I'm glad that Professor Xavier found someone. However I do remember who you are, Magneto. You've been the X-Men's enemy since the beginning. You've threatened their lives many times, and I don't think they'll forget you that easily. As much as I understand your good intentions, I am wary. I have heard that you have walked on the good side before, but I wasn't there, I can't make decisions based on that. The files I have read aren't enough evidence," Bishop announced with a stern voice and a firm voice.
"I can assure you that I'm trying to head down the right path. During my time as Joseph I stood on the other side of the wall and I saw what my actions had caused, and where they lead. I had not helped my race at all, in fact I made things worse. My key aim this time is to actually do something to help."
"I sincerely hope so. Last time I saw you, you were trying to take over the world," (Marvel's Fatal Attractions crossover) Bishop said his expression growing serious for a moment. "It was not a pretty sight. And I'm afraid your words aren't going to convince me, you need to back them up with actions. Unlike Bobby....."
"Has Robert told everyone what he thinks of me?" Magneto interrupted clearly frustrated.
Bishop grinned for a while before speaking again. "Yes. I'm afraid he has. Anyway, unlike Bobby I am willing to give you a try to see if you're really meaning well. I assume everyone else on the team will too. Good luck."
"Thank you Bishop. I am prepared to assure you of my honesty, as long as you trust me," Erik said his lips curling upwards slightly. This was a great improvement over Iceman's reaction. "Also I just wanted to know how long you're going to be gone for."
"I think about a week. Me and my sister have a lot of catching up to do but her duties with X-Factor won't let her take a longer break...." Bishop's voice trailed off as he heard the computer beeping. In an instant he was by the keyboard typing.
"What is it?" Magneto asked walking up behind Bishop.
"Few days ago me Hank and Charles set this computer to monitor TV broadcasts about mutant affairs. It's an substitute for Cerebro, a very primitive one true, but it will have to do until we work out a way to rebuild it. Now here's the CBNC report."
"This is Roger Kren reporting from outside of Our Mother of Mercy Hospital in South Bronx where a young mutant is holding the entire hospital hostage. The young boy, whose name we haven't been give was being hospitalized when his powers raged out of control. The first ten levels have been evacuated but the top two are still held under the mutant's control. NY Fire Department is at the scene but so far no attempts have been to rescue the remaining patients and staff. We do understand that the mutant's power is electricity based and that the water mains have been damaged. We will update you again as soon as any news become available. This is Roger Kren reporting for CBNC."
The news reportage finished and Bishop and Magneto looked at each other knowingly. "I'll cancel my flight," Bishop said reaching for the phone.
"No," Magneto said, putting his hand on Bishop's arm. "You'll go. The X-Men can handle this, you've paid for your flight, go and see your sister, this to me looks more like a rescue mission rather than a fighting mission."
"Are you sure?" Bishop asked not fully convinced.
"Yes. Have a good time and I'll see you in a week," Magneto said already running out of the War Room.
***
INTERLUDE
The woman known as Lukin packed her bags slowly with a grim expression on her face. She was leaving Africa. It was where most of her planning against Storm took place and now that she failed it only reminded her of it, and of her failure. She hated this place, where her father died, where she became a monster. She needed to move on, she needed to get on with her life. Hopefully start anew, and forget about Storm. ^You keep telling yourself that Melissa, and maybe it will come true,^ she thought.
END INTERLUDE
***
Our Mother of Mercy Hospital
The crowd around the hospital was growing every minute. Mutant haters and people who just wanted to see what was going on were arriving like sheep. When the Blackbird landed on the closed off street, the bystanders all stared, some watched with awe, some told them to go away, some were excited that help was here. Nevertheless when the hatch door dropped the hate group was the most vocal one. The X-Men paid little attention as they left the Blackbird and proceeded to the entrance of the hospital, where the firemen were gathered.
"Probably working together with that little bastard."
"I hate mutants, they're ugly."
"Saw one of them once...."
"Go back to where ya came from ya stinkin' muties, we don't need ya here!"
"Officers, we are the X-Men. We understand there's a mutant out of control there, we're here to contain him," Magneto said in his stern, serious voice. He was jumping in headfirst.
"And what makes you think we'll even let you in there, X-Men? I mean for all we know you could be planning on blowing the hospital up, together with that little sucker who's making this whole mess," said one of the firemen, obviously the leader of the team.
"If that would be true officer, wouldn't we just force our way into there without bothering to talk to you?" Magneto said his lips curling up in a smirk.
"Uh... yeah whatever," the fireman said, clearly off track. "Now listen. We've got a young boy, about 16 on the 11th floor. He's knocked out the electricity in the whole building and we have people trapped on the 12th floor and up. Eleventh is flooded, we think he managed to bust one of the water mains. Since the kid's all charged up the whole floor with electricity, we can't just walk in there, you're going to have to fly through there or something. I hear there's about ten patients and six staff. Try to get them out, and if you can deal with the boy. Do you need any of my men?"
"No we'll be fine, there's enough of us," Magneto said opening the door letting the other X-Men in. "Thank you officer."
"Yeah right, just get those people out of there. Wait, haven't I seen you somewhere before?" the officer said running his hand through his hair.
"Most likely," Magneto said from behind the closed door. Before the fireman could ask anymore questions they were flying up the stairs. This was the best way of getting up to the floor without causing any property damage.
"Electricity, out of control, it's gotta be Chris," Gambit said to Beast who was standing next to him on Magneto's platform.
"I agree. Poor Christopher, he has gone through so much suffering and obviously things aren't getting any better," Beast said lowering his gaze to the ground.
"You know this boy?" Magneto asked clearly surprised.
"Well we're not quite sure if it's him Erik, but yes we do. Cerebro located him few months ago and we invited him to the school. He came but soon we found out he had the Legacy Virus. He left shortly afterwards (this all happened in Marvel's X-Men Unlimited #8) and we haven't heard of him since. I suppose that things haven't gotten better. It's my fault, as his doctor I should have checked up on him...." Beast's voice trailed off and suddenly the air was filled with uncomfortable silence until they reached the main door to the 11th level. Looking in through the little windows in the door they saw water spilt all over the floor. There was no sign of the electricity but they knew that if they stepped into that corridor they would get electrocuted.
"I can't go in there, my magnetic field will disrupt the electricity and could cause harm to you and everyone around ," Magneto said looking over the team. "Rogue, you take Psylocke to the room, fly as high from the floor as you can. Iceman, you take Beast with you and go with Rogue," Magneto turned to Hank. "Beast. Once you get there, try to snap Chris out of it. Maybe he just needs to see a familiar face. I'm not quite sure how Legacy works but if there's no way to make him stop the electricity then I want Psylocke to turn the power off temporarily." As soon as Magneto said those words all heads turned towards him in question. "He's a danger. It will be for his own good."
"Or your good," Bobby mumbled to himself.
"What's that Robert?" Magneto asked looking up at Iceman.
"Nothing," Bobby brushed him off looking around his teammates. "So are we going or not guys?"
They prepared to leave and Magneto looked over them for the last time. "Once he's neutralized, let me and Gambit know and we'll come in to help carry out any patients if necessary. There's no need for all of us to go there. Psylocke," he said looking at Betsy ",we're going to need some sort of a telepathic communication."
"All of the team is already connected in a telepathic link, I'll just add you in. That way you can 'talk' to anyone in the group."
"Great. Now go in there X-Men...." Magneto stopped for a while, taking a long last look at Psylocke, Rogue, Beast and Iceman's back turned to him. "And be careful."
"Will do, sugah," Rogue said picking up Psylocke and disappearing through the door behind Bobby and Hank. He and Gambit watched as they disappeared behind a corner and then, turning around leaned on the nearby wall.
Gambit pulled out yet another cigarette and began lighting it up, not paying much attention to his companion, standing opposite him. All they had to do now was wait.
***
Finding room number 42 took a while but it wasn't hard. It was the room that was glowing from inside. All the way there everyone, especially Bobby kept quiet and once they arrived at the door, they saw the terrible sight before them. The young boy was indeed Chris. He was sitting on one of the beds, curled up in a ball, silent sobs coming from his direction. Across the room, on another bed sat a Puerto Rican woman dressed in doctor's clothes. She seemed relieved the moment she saw the X-Men.
"Don't worry miss...?" Hank asked looking towards the doctor.
"That's Doctor. I'm Dr. Reyes."
"Don't worry, Dr. Reyes. We'll take over from here."
"Just help that boy. He's in a lot of pain," she said pointing at Chris.
Hank nodded and headed with Iceman and the rest towards Chris's bed. "Chris? Chris can you hear me?" Hank asked looking down at him.
Chris slowly lifted his face. The X-Men had to fight hard not to gasp in shock. His face white as paper and skinny, flesh and bones it seemed. His eyes were misty and hollow, his whole face looking as if he was dead. "H....Hank?" he asked in a husky, quiet voice.
"Yes Chris, it's me. I've come here to help you. You've got to fight it, Chris. I know that the Legacy Virus is messing with the control of your powers but you've got to fight it, remember what we taught you, try to revert all this power back, try to contain it inside," Hank's voice was calm and soothing and everyone help their breath in order to keep the room as silent as they could.
"I.... I can't Hank..... it's taken me over I can't control it...." Chris mumbled through the tears trying wearily to wipe them off but not succeeding.
"Try Christopher, just try it," Hank's tone of voice had now changed to assuring.
"I... can't..... ARRRGHHH!!!!" he screamed in pain grabbing his head. "Make it stop!!! God please make it stop!!!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, sobbing in between breaths. Hank looked at Psylocke and nodded. Magneto was right, this would be for Chris's own good.
Betsy jumped over to Bobby's platform and stood inches above the ground next to Chris. She pulled out her arm in front of her and pointed at him, a pink butterfly appearing on her forehead. Chris moaned and then fell unconscious towards the floor before Betsy caught him. As she picked him up she noticed all the electricity disappearing as if it was never there. #I've done it, Magneto. Come in and help# she said simply as she lifted up Chris. His breathing was slowing down but he was still unconscious. He would be that way for a while. Shutting down someone's powers, even temporarily tired them terribly.
"C'mon guys lets help people out of here," she said as she headed out the door, Chris in her arms, looking down at the floor.
***
Later, outside
The doors to Our Mother of Mercy Hospital slammed open and the X-Men walked out, carrying patients. The crowd was strangely silent and calm as they watched the X-Men helped the last of the patients into the ambulances. The X-Men all looked over the crowd once more and slowly began lifting off the ground, still in silence.
Then the silence was broken.
A man at the back began clapping slowly and then the woman next to him started clapping too. One by one, the whole crowd began clapping, turning into a roar.
Magneto smiled.
***
Mansion, later
"So my Acolytes, what will be your decisions? I'm staying on as the leader of the X-Men. What you do is your choice, whether you want to start your life anew or stay here," Magneto finished off his sentence looking over the four Acolytes and Maggott gathered at the couch and chairs before him. He had called them in to talk to them about their future. He wanted to make sure that they get their fresh start. Delgado, the former SHIELD operative was the first to break the deadlock of silence.
"I think me and Nance fit in the 'starting our life anew' category," he said wrapping his arm around the Nance who returned his embrace. Magneto winced, he had not realized these two were together.
"That's okay, Delgado. Thanks for your service and leadership. You kept the Acolytes alive after you woke from chrome, thanks a lot. Do you need any financial help?"
"No we're fine, don't worry about us. It's been an honor serving you, Magneto. I hope our paths cross again," Delgado said.
"I do too, Delgado, I do too..." Magneto said his voice wandering off. He now turned his attention to Anne Marie Cortez and Chrome. "I know that you two didn't finish school because you wanted to follow my cause. I intend on fixing that. You'll both receive full scholarships from Xavier so you can study here and finish off your education. At least you can still make something out of your young lives. Also, if you want, you may join the X-Men, maybe I'll be able to give you the leadership that I never gave you... the choice is yours," Magneto said leaning back in his chair.
Anne Marie looked at Jeremy, Jeremy looked at Anne Marie and they nodded. It was obvious to Magneto that they had discussed this before. Anne Marie was the one to address Magneto. "We've agreed that we'll stay here for the scholarships. We're not so sure about joining the X-Men though."
"That's fine," Erik said leaning forward. "You don't have to join the X-Men. It is all your choice. Now for you Maggott," Magneto said turning to Maggott who up until now had been left out of the conversation.
"I know you want to join the X-Men Maggott.... You're in," Magneto simply said lighting up the young man's face.
"Struesbob! I'll be the best X-Man ever! I won't dop your china, you can trust me on this. Maggott the X-Man huh? Sounds great!" Maggott's enthusiasm was clearly showing. Magneto knew he had one keen X-Man lined up.
"This is it, my Acolytes," Magneto said once again looking over the team, together for the last time. "This is the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. It's the turning point for the dream and us. Let's hope we end up in a better position than last time."
***
New York
Senator Kelly had come to stay in New York with the Blob, Mimic and Crimson Commando for one night before leaving for Washington next day. He would be back in three days to help organize the Reach Out facet of the Heroes Memorial next week. As the sun set, he sat on his bed, his chin resting on his palms, and stared out the window. His work was tiring. Every minute of it brought another grey hair on his head. Sometimes, he wondered what it would be like to just stop and give up, but the memory of his dead wife kept reminding him what would happen if he closed a blind eye to human-mutant relations. He heard a soft knock on the door.
"Come in."
A tall, bald man dressed in an expensive black suit opened the door and walked in. Robert Kelly gasped. He looked exactly like Charles Xavier.
"Who are you?!!! What do you want??? I'm calling security!" he threatened reaching out for the phone.
"There is no need for concern Senator Kelly, I mean you no harm. I've come here to talk to you," the man said in a calm, assuring voice.
"Who are you? You're not Charles Xavier. Xavier is dead. Is this some kind of a sick joke?" Kelly asked pulling his hand back but still eyeing the stranger with distrust.
"My name's Francis Xavier, I'm Charles's twin brother. You are quite right that my brother is dead. That is one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. I truly am Xavier's brother. I have kept a low profile up until now, but I feel I can no longer stay idle and watch as innocent people die. Charles was killed by the Operation Zero Tolerance troops because he had been associated with mutants in the past. I think it is time someone came out of the shadows and did something about it."
"Charles Xavier didn't have a twin brother," Kelly said with harshness in his voice. He didn't like someone making fun of a dead man.
"You can check my records Senator. Charles did have a brother, and I am him. After Charles died I took over the school from him and I've been rebuilding it, preparing to reopen it to students and hopefully, hold seminars teaching about mutants. I have already hired Dr. Henry McCoy as the main teacher. By doing that, I can hopefully improve human-mutant relations." Xavier stopped, looking at the hesitant Kelly. ^My lie is paying off. I feel terrible lying like this to Kelly but I'm believed dead and if faking being my own brother will gain attention to the pro-mutant cause then it's worth it,^ "Francis" thought to himself.
"If you really are Charles's brother, which I still doubt, then why are you telling me all this? What's your point?"
"I've heard about your Reach Out Campaign, Senator. I think it's a noble and great idea and I want to continue my brother's work by aiding you in any way possible. I have learned a lot about mutant genetics alongside my brother and while I may not be as informed as he is, I may be of some help. Also, I want to speak at the Heroes Memorial next week, as part of Reach Out, and I want to back Reach Out in any way possible, just like my brother would. I've seen him work hard to bring humans and mutants together and I'm not about to let it all go to waste," Francis finally concluded leaning back in the chair that he sat in when he came in. He looked straight at Kelly's face and saw mixed feelings on it. He could tell the Senator was already thinking of the pluses that Francis would bring to Reach Out, but he still wasn't sure if he was who he claimed to be. Finally he looked up at Francis, taking a long deep breath.
"We're going to have to check your records first, but if what you're saying is true, then welcome to Reach Out," Senator Kelly said getting up and extending his hand to Xavier.
"Thank you, Senator Kelly. I assure you of my best intentions and I hope that together we'll be able to succeed in Reach Out's goal."
"Amen to that Xavier. Amen."
END :)
NEXT ISSUE:
"Remembrance"
Join us as New York grieves for their lost heroes, the Avengers and
the Fantastic Four, a year after their death. There's a Heroes Memorial being held in New
York and surviving members of Avengers will be attending. But this Memorial is mostly
about Reach Out, and humanity facing the fact that mutants are their only protectors right
now, and learning to live with the fact. This will give Francis Xavier a chance to appeal
to the whole world, and hopefully gain support for Reach Out. That's what the Memorial is
about... And then some more. All that, plus a return of Fenris, Maggott settles in as the
new X-Man and Rogue gets a date??!! Oh yeah and the return of a certain woman that hates
Psylocke's guts. See ya in 30.
Or