The Last Toast

Posted on Fri Aug 1st, 2025 @ 8:46am by Jean Grey-Summers & Pietro Maximoff & Kennedy Kelly & Warren Worthington III & Charles Xavier & Scott Summers & Connor Bruin & Hayden Davis & Bobby Drake & Hank McCoy & Maeve MacKenna & Jennifer Bryant & Desmond Greene & Sarah Mitchell & Alaric Thane & Kurt Wagner & Alex Summers

9,894 words; about a 49 minute read

Mission: Episode 6: X-Fernus Agenda
Location: X-Mansion
Timeline: January 27, 1991 - Evening

The last notes of music had faded into the brittle quiet of a winter night. The trees stood bare and black against the moonlight, their branches creaking faintly in the breeze. The cold was crisp but not biting, just enough to draw the last breath of warmth from the lantern-lit porch.

On the flagstone circle in front of the X-Mansion, the remaining few gathered to wave goodbye. Most guests, family and the caterers had long since departed. Only X-Factor and the mansion residents were left to see off the happy couple as they departed for a weekend in the Catskills. Scott leaned out the window of the Jeep, happy to be free of his tuxedo and with his hand in Jean’s. Their fingers were laced while their faces glowed in the kind of way that made silence more meaningful than words.

“Try not to save the world on your honeymoon,” Bobby quipped, raising his hand in mock salute.

Scott grinned. “No promises.”

With a low growl, the Jeep began its slow roll down the drive. The iron gates waited at the far end, silhouetted against the pale moonlight. Just when the evening drew to a close, the hammer fell upon the anvil.

WHAM!

A searing blast of plasma carved through the night, shattering the stillness. The iron gates exploded inward, ripped off their hinges like paper, and the blast struck the Jeep broadside. Metal shrieked. Glass shattered. The vehicle veered hard into the stone wall and folded like origami.

Screams erupted.

On the portico, Professor Xavier's eyes widened. “Scott! Jean!"

As the Jeep threatened to tip over onto its side a faint shimmer of telekinetic shields encased the vehicle, stabilizing it and sparing the newly weds from the brunt of the attack.

Before the stunned onlookers could react, multiple energy volleys shrieked from the direction of the gates across the grounds like streaks of blue lightning, striking the mansion's upper levels like divine wrath. The Professor's suite erupted in a flash of fire and debris. Seconds later, another blast punched through the west wing, reducing what had once been Scott and Jean's shared quarters to a glowing wound in the brick façade.

“You didn’t even send me an invitation in the mail!” Alex Summers, formerly Havok of the First Class, double agent leader of the rebels of Genosha, and brother to Scott, looked over them with a wild, angry look in his eyes.

The relic that had once powered The Machine in Genosha was anchored into his uniform, imbuing him with power that made him unstoppable and insane. What happened at Genosha was all because of Alex, his self-serving need had killed hundreds of people and unleashed hell on Earth.

“If you had bothered to send me an invitation then you would have seen my RSVP.” He unleashed another bolt of plasma and shattered the fountain in the driveway. “And here I thought you loved me, brother.”

Havok fired into the side of the mansion once more, a hole punched into the ballroom where the reception had been held. “Then again you X-Men have always done a great job at excluding anyone who didn’t live up to your standards.”

Bobby reacted first. He took to the air and ran several passes back and forth, leaving a thin wall of ice in his wake. It wouldn't serve as protection, but it would at least break line of sight and block Havok's line of sight on any easy targets. But Alex knew his tactics, which was not a good thing with no other target available

"I've wanted to do this for a long time!" Alex shouted.

Before Bobby could return to any form of cover himself, he was intercepted by another blast that sent him careening out of sight.

~Bobby is knocked out but alive~ Xavier telepathically broadcasted. ~Hank, get him to the infirmary. I fear his ice regeneration ability will be stretched to its limit~

Hank had already retrieved Bobby and was somersaulting to a rear access tube to the subbasement.

~To me, my X-Men!~ Xavier's telepathic voice shot out across the campus, alerting one and all no matter where they were to his location. As if the explosive ordnance from the crazed Havok wasn't enough. ~Try to flank Alex. His energy blasts are every bit as dangerous as Scott's and he does not appear to be holding back~

Having stepped out on to the mansions veranda, Sarah was watching the newly weds drive off and had witnessed the destruction. Frozen on her feet, she wasn’t sure what she could do exactly. Unfortunately, her first thought that came to her as her mind kicked back into gear was to get to Jean and Scott to check if they were ok. Taking in a deep breath, Sarah screamed as loud as she could, “JEAN!!! SCOTT!!!” Her voice boomed like an explosion from her mouth as she squeezed her eyes shut.

Thanks to Bobby running interference with his ice wall, Havok had no means of identifying where the shout had come from. Unfortunately he made short work of the flimsy barrier with another blast and continued his advance with even paces. "Jean and Scott are closed for business," he shouted back into the night, grinding his heel with each step toward the mansion. "All you got is me!"

Dryad circled to the left of Havok. His eyes didn't leave the Younger Summers. Quick steps moved him away from the larger group. He hoped that with his positioning he would force Havok to pull his attention from the greater group. With several meters between himself and the previously assembled farewell-wishers, Dryad moved. His long, strong legs allowed him to move faster than even the fastest quarterback. He kept his head low as he moved in for a full-body tackle. If he could get in close with Havok, Dryad's superior strength and mass at hand-to-hand range would reduce Havok's plasma powers.

The sounds of explosions, the vibrations of their impact shook the very foundations of the mansion. Maeve and Connor had polished off a few bottles of alcohol, some strong stuff, and she almost felt like the walls were shaking. Wait, they were shaking. Dust fell from hard to reach places, items in the room shook, teasing the floor with a possible impact. "I don't think those are fireworks, Connor," she said grabbing his hand and leading him outside.

"I... uh... thinka you mebbe right 'bout that," Connor murmured in a slight drawl. He let Maeve guide him outside even as the Professor's telepathic summons reached them. Shaking his head to clear it, Connor realized what a mistake it had been to sneak off and drink.

As they reached the outside Maeve saw the carnage that had been unleashed. Covering one eye she looked at the figure in the distance. She then did the opposite, covering the other eye before looking out with both. They were a little blurry but she didn't have to be a telepath to see this wasn't a friendly visit paying well wishes to the new bride and groom. A small rumble could be felt underfoot, her emotional state heightened by the alcohol she had consumed.

"Whoooo issit?" Connor mumbled.

The Professor gave him a hard look, quickly realizing the situation for what it was.

~CONNOR~ Xavier's voice was deafening inside Connor's head. ~YOU MUST FOCUS. OUR ATTACKER IS ALEX SUMMERS BUT HE IS SHIELDED FROM ME SOMEHOW. I WILL FORCE YOUR MIND TO CONCENTRATE THROUGH YOUR CONDITION. EXPECT A CONVERSATION ONCE THIS CRISIS IS ABATED~

Connor nodded. "YeyesProffessorIundaderstand."

Hayden had told Bobby that she would be behind him in a couple of minutes as Bobby headed out to see off Scott and Jean. She paused to look around the dining room, wondering in the back of her mind if they would be the ones to clean up the reception and reset the room for the school. Then the Professor's psychic call hit the front of her mind like a bullet. They didn't startle her like they had before as she'd gradually gotten used to it. She immediately ran to the location and skidded to a stop before nearly running in to the Professor's chair. Her mouth fell open at the sight of the jeep and the smoking ruins of sections of the mansion. Flanking indeed.

Hayden immediately whipped her arms upward and a wall of vapor erupted around the attacker, thick, white, and blinding. Her goal was to confuse Alex and hopefully break his concentration enough for a distraction. But it could possibly only last for a few moments if he started randomly blasting through the haze, heating and scattering it. She briefly generated a wave as she'd done in training with Connor and hopped on, carrying herself away from the Professor and to a different position fifteen yards or so from Alex and opposite that of the newlyweds. "Somebody get Scott and Jean out of there before he reloads!" she yelled. She surfed the sky to another random position and distance. Dang...Genosha all over again.

Alaric had followed the others outside to bid Scott and Jean farewell on their trip. But then chaos ensued. He'd only been in this dimension for a short time, met his father, and now this...this devastation from someone who'd called him 'brother.' Alaric was not at all accustomed to the Professor's voice inside his head, but it didn't cause him to jump. What did that was the rolling of the jeep.

"Father! Noverca!" he screamed. His instinct to protect family ballooned and he ran forward several yards before suddenly stopping. Brother?

There was so much obscuring the battlefield at the moment that he couldn't see where the attacker was. And that was probably the best for Alaric. Mystical circlets and designs began to form around his hands and wrists, rotating and twisting with what seemed to the untrained eye as randomness. The bright violet glow they gave in the evening light caused foreboding shadows to dance across his clothes. His magic was weaker in this dimension than it was in Limbo, despite his practicing for the last two weeks. Something in this realm, quite possibly the ether, was not as conducive to his dark arts as that of his upbringing. But it was still an option he had, muted though it was. That, and his mutant ability.

~* 'We're okay.' *~ Jean's voice passed through their mind. Her usually collected and silvery tone was slightly ratted as she spoke, an indication that they too had been surprised by the attack. The mangled and jammed door of the Jeep popped off it's hinges and removed itself from the dented doorframe. ~* 'We may be semi-retired but we're still sharp enough to avoid an attack.' *~

The couple exited the vehicle and took in the scene. Chaos and destruction was still erupting and Jean's thoughts immediately went to her family ~* 'Pietro, my mother and father are still here.' *~ Now there was true panic in her telepathic voice. ~* 'Get them away from here.' *~

Quicksilver was already on his feet and he sprung into action before anyone could blink. ~ I'll take them into town and I'll stay with them until this is over.~ Despite his brash exterior, Pietro would always have a soft spot for family and how important it could be. The disheveled and frightened John and Elaine Grey were quickly removed from the scene, thankfully they were the only civilians that had remained.

While the others sprung into action, there was a moment of panic that appeared inside of Warren. His organic wings were long gone and he depended on the mechanical wings that remained from his time as the Omega Sentinel. But they were bulky and took preparation to wear, plus they did not fit with his beautiful Armani suit. Warren felt worthless and unprepared for battle, a realization the cut like a knife. "The security system!" He practically shouted the words as the revelation came to him. "It needs to be activated again." Grateful that he could be useful, Warren ran off the towards the lift to the sub-basement.

As her parents were taken away and the rest of X-Factor sprung into action, Jean was free to turn her attention towards Alex. With a telling narrowing of her green eyes she reached out to telepathically stun Havok. What greeted Jean was a telepathic bolt that moved through her mind like a high pitched scream. It struck and cut at her psyche in a way that brought her to her knees. Clutching her head she moaned in pain from the barrier that was in Alex's mind.

"It's the relic," Jean whimpered from the ground. "It blocked him from the Professor and Cerebro when he fled Genosha." She looked up at Scott and he could tell she was rapidly reassessing the situation. "Scott, you have to get the Professor out of here. You and Alex are immune to one another's power's, you have to take Charles to safety." Her request was her blessing for him to leave her side, an act that pained both of them since tragedy frequently occurred when they were separated. "I'll be fine. Go!" Collecting her aching thoughts while taking a deep breath, Jean took to the sky for an overhead view of the battle.

Scott didn't want to leave Alex, not now when he had presented himself as their enemy and laying waste to the mansion. He let out a growl of frustration before loosing an optic beam at the ground and let it carve up the driveway behind Alex's feet. The optic blast had no effect on Alex, but if Scott could knock him off his feet for a moment, it would make everyone's lives a little easier.

The exploding pavement mixed with the vapor Hayden had summoned, creating a true fog of war around Alex. His lip curled as he snarled at the annoying tactics. "Stop playing games, Scott! You aren't going to outsmart me with stupid bullshit like this! I know your tricks!"

Just when Desmond's charge had nearly completed, Alex stepped to the side and loosed an arc of plasma that set the left side of the giant's body on fire.

"Ahahaha!" Alex cackled. "You were in Genosha. Wasn't impressed. Guess that's why you were in the Box in the first place." He raised his hand which glowed with a dark blue energy. "Finishing you off would be doing you a favor."

Before he could do so, Connor sprang forward through the dusty mist and took the blast meant for Desmond straight to his chest. His fists were cocked back with dual haymakers fueled by the energy he had just absorbed. A wordless battle cry roared from his mouth.

Havok ducked, cut a side angle, and punched Connor in the side of the head just below the jaw, making him stumble. Pressing the advantage, Havok charged his feet, grabbed Connor by the throat, and leapt high into the air with a wake of blue energy contrails.

Hoisted upward by his neck, Connor flailed about trying to grab hold of the turncoat First Class member, but the upward acceleration threw off his senses. Just at the peak of their ascent when they were nearly weightless for a full second, Havok leaned into Connor's face, each of their eyes glowing at one another, and said, "Absorb this, Caveman."

The blast that sent Connor downward, plummeting toward the ground launched Havok even higher. With air superiority, Havok continued his advance against the mansion.

"Come on, Professor," Scott said, not daring to look back at the unfolding battle. Every instinct he had told him he should be right there in the thick of it, but Jean was right. His place was at Xavier's side. "Let's get down below."

Professor Xavier didn't argue. He was a sitting duck out here. Any assistance he could provide would be just as tenable from the War Room. Nodding his consent, he turned his chair around and headed inside with Scott trotting ahead to call the lift.

Battles happen very fast and Jennifer had, apparently, been indisposed when the attack struck. She hurried now to where she could see Connor plummeting to the ground. She held out her hands and drew power into herself, propelling herself upwards to try and confront the threat. "Back off!" she said, somewhat lamely. She needed to work on her quips.

Watching many of her friends fall was a sobering event. Maeve had to focus on the threat that was in front of her and help protect the people she'd come to care for. Moments ago Connor and her were sharing a drink and having a laugh inside the mansion. Now he had taken a hit from Havok. She'd been practising her levitation skill, if she felt the vibrations in the earth, of all that was beneath her feet then surely she could push herself up from them and maintain some form of flight. Enough to meet Havoc alongside Jennifer.

As Maeve rose, slowly, she brought with her rock she had shaped into dull projectiles. Enough to pack a wallop but not enough to kill or maim, thankfully. She didn't think Scott would appreciate her impaling his brother, at least not straight away. There was a charge in the air, maybe from Jennifer, but it felt otherworldly to her. Whispers in her mind urging her to strike Havok down. As their eyes met she unleashed the barrage of rock missiles straight at him.

When did the X-Men have so many flyers? Havok let his momentum carry him back toward the ground, as he did not have true flight himself. His arms came together from wrist to elbow, charging up another blast while he yelled through gritted teeth. "You morons!" he seethed. "Can't you see?! He's using you. All of you!"

Before his charge reached full power, though, a low, shrieking whoosh tore through the air. Jet engines. From above, five streaks of silver light descended from the sky. Prime Sentinels in full combat mode, their plated armor refracting the estate's soft lighting into lethal hues. Most of them utilized electrified tendrils and hand-blasters, but one of them, ostensibly the squad leader, hunkered down into a half squat, heels digging into the ground, and splayed his hands outward with a metallic SNIKT. His eyes glowed with a cybernetic fury that was not his own. As soulless as the Prime Sentinels seemed, there was still a touch of an adamant rage that still pushed through.

"What in the hell..." Havok muttered as his glorious moment of revenge had been stepped on by these... these...

One of the Prime Sentinels with glowing blue circuitry under its skin and retractable tendrils cocked its head as if calculating Havok's vitals mid-air. A guttural, semi-humanized voice echoed through its throat speaker, glitchy and cold, "Unit Omicron-Twelve: Engaging hostile. Mutant signature confirmed. Lethal directive authorized."

"Sentinels?" Havok blinked, his charge weakening at the utter surprise.

Without hesitation, it fired a burst of high-frequency ion darts at Havok, forcing him into a hard bank to the left. Another Sentinel deployed a cluster of microdrones from its chest cavity. Each was the size of a wasp, glowing red, and screeching as they fanned out in pursuit of every heat source nearby.

"Target variance: irrelevant. Genetic deviation is combat priority. Execute."

A third unit sliced toward the ground with its vibro-blades spinning like turbines, tearing a trench into the soil as it moved with shocking agility. Its voice emerged, low and mechanical, "Sentinel subroutine: Overwhelm. Subdue. Dissect."

The fourth one turned toward the mansion, noting the other mutants who had not engaged yet. "Adaptation protocols: evolved. Resistance: obsolete."

While Jean would not openly attack Alex, she would also not let him hurt others nor would she allow the sentinels to attack him. ~* ‘Alex, on your six.’ *~ Jean warned him of one of the heat seeking microdrones that threatened to hit him while she redirected another. A telepathic shield rose up around her body, sparing her from any other projectiles that might have come her way.

As Jean surveyed the unexpected arrivals, her attention focused on the clawed sentinel in the middle of the pack. He was different from the rest, in the same way that Warren had been different from the other sentinels. Prime Sentinels made from mutant hosts were exceptionally dangerous. Their were practically unstoppable and always lethal. Disabling such a threat would take more than brute force. ~* ‘Hank? Do we have any of those nanities in the lab that were used on Warren?’ *~ Jean telepathically inquired as she continued to use her telekinesis to fend off Sentinel attacks.

That prompting spurred a flurry of activity in the science lab beneath the mansion.

Hayden had finished putting out the fire on Desmond and gave him a quick nod. "There ya go. I hope it didn't hurt too much. But maybe it'll heal fast?" And then she was off again, trying to evade the Sentinels that had shown up. She was surprised to see them again after that mother of all Sentinel battles. "I hate those stinkin' things," she murmured as she soaked the ground underneath the bladed one.

Alaric was glad to see that his family was safe. But now, his extended family faced another adversary. One that he'd never seen nor heard of, but knew needed to be extinguished. He had no idea if anything he did would hurt them, but he fired off several bolts of mystical energy anyway. A grin of enjoyment spread across his face as he fought with all of his might. "It has been too long, my friend."

Jennifer was not grinning. The glowing red wasps coming towards her and everyone else had her worried. She reached out with her power first, seeing if their own power was compatible with hers. If they were generating electricity and she could draw it, well, that was too much to hope for, maybe, but she would give it a try.

Watching the fourth Sentinel advance toward the mansion, Sarah was lost for what to do for a moment before her mind focused in on one task, protect the mansion. Stepping down the veranda steps, Sarah faced the sentinel straight on, took as deep a breath as she could, closed her eyes and willed herself forward, you can do this, focus and release she thought to herself as she thought back to the few instances where she’d intentionally created a sonic boom. With every piece of effort she had, Sarah let out a Sonic Scream toward the Sentinel.

Hayden's wide arc through the air. She rode her hydro-jet with chaotic grace, looping around the Prime Sentinels in a dizzying spiral. The machines turned in unison, recalibrating for her erratic flight pattern. She lured them into a tight formation, eyes scanning below for the opening her team would need.

For a moment, the drone vibrated violently in response to Jennifer's power, its flight path faltering. Then, in a chain reaction, the tiny machines veered off course, blinking red before dropping like flies. The Prime Sentinel linked to them staggered mid-air, spasming from the feedback surge.

On the other side of the battlefield, Alaric's circle of violet sigils that pulsed with binding force failed to advance his approach. Each time he advanced toward Havok, a Prime Sentinel rose in front of him. Bolts of mystic energy clashed with plasma and steel in a dazzling deadlock.

It was then that the siren's song rang out over the battle.

From the veranda, Sarah's scream built to a crescendo. When it burst free, it cracked through the battlefield like thunder made flesh. The shockwave tore up the ground in a cone-shaped blast, sending combatants toppling to the earth, friend and foe alike.

For a moment, there was only ringing silence. Then movement.

Connor rose first, hissing and grumbling. His crash landing had not been graceful but he had been spared the knockdown from Sarah. He rolled a stiff shoulder and looked across the battlefield.

Havok was next to rise, bruised but grinning savagely. "That all you got?" he rasped, staggering upright.

But it was the last figure that drew everyone's attention. The new Omega Sentinel unfurled from the rubble, eyes glowing like molten coin. With a rage that wasn't fully controlled by the technology throughout his body, he raised both fists—and SNIKT—a terrible, metallic bloom of claws.

Connor braced himself, face hardening. "This guy again?" The Alternate Class had fought him before as a member of Alpha Flight. For him to be here under Prime Sentinel control suggested he was being controlled as Warren had been. But he had been a difficult foe then. Today he would be even more formidable. "X-Men, to..." Connor was cut off.

Reunions being what they were, the Prime Sentinels rallied themselves. Repair protocols kicked into place as their components merged back together like someone had hit rewind on a VCR. The battle wasn't over yet, not by a longshot.

Maeve hovered above the battlefield, crouched low on the stone platform beneath her feet as she watched the Prime Sentinels reassemble. Limbs snapped back into sockets. Circuits reknit themselves. Their glowing eyes reignited, brighter, colder, like the dead remembering their purpose.

Her breath caught. “They’re adapting,” she whispered.

And then, she heard the whisper again. Not in the air. In her. A voice like wind through a cairn, ancient and cold, brushing the inside of her mind: "Strike deeper. Let the ground drink."

Maeve’s eyes flickered, just for a moment, with something older than fear. Her hands moved without fully thinking, the stone rising in jagged spikes beneath the Sentinels, fracturing their footing. “No,” she said to herself... and maybe to the whisper, too. “They don’t get to rebuild. Not while I’m standing.”

But deep beneath the echo of her voice, another layered it. A chilling harmony that didn’t quite belong. Not yet.

Alaric had hit the ground hard from the force of the sound waves. His ears still rang as he pushed himself to his feet. These were powerful allies, of that, he had no doubt. He stood and fought alongside them now as surely as they would with him. Everything Lorna had told him about over the years was unfolding right before his eyes. He grinned and shook his head.

“Damned machines.”

Omega Sentinel stood amidst the rubble, breathing deeply, the rage consuming him. One word was spoken, one order given to the reunifying Prime Sentinels. "Eradicate," said the deep, gravely voice.

Then he ran towards the aerial surfer that had lured the Prime Sentinels into a group and launched himself at her. She dodged his claws, but not the clothesline across her chest that sent her hurtling to the ground.

Hayden landed on her back with a thud that knocked the wind out of her. Once she managed to get her breath back, the pain of the clothesline attack was realized. She took a moment to assess and determined that nothing was broken...as far as she could tell. But it was most definitely bruised. Maybe even some deep tissue bruising. "Dang," she murmured, getting back to her feet.

Omega Sentinel landed with ease, tearing up the manicured lawn with his claws. He scanned the battlefield, seeing several engagements happening. Nearest him, though, was the source of of the sound waves. He ran towards the veranda and destroyed the columns that held up the roof.

"Don't touch her." Jean hissed as she watched the Omega Sentinel focus on Sarah. With a telekinetic tug on the clawed man she dragged him back across the lawn and away from the mansion. The evening winds shifted and with it the sentinel picked up on the sweet perfume of her body but mixed with it was the undeniable scent of Cyclops. Despite never seeing her before, there was no denying her connection to the X-Men that had blasted him out of the Blackbird several months ago. "Don't touch any of them." Jean dragged him even further away from the school's grounds.

~* 'Hank, I could really use that update on the nanites.' *~ The redhead telepathically pleaded with the Doctor once more.

Jean dragged Omega Sentinel back with raw telekinetic force. His boots carved twin trenches through the lawn as he slid. His claws tore through gravel and soil. He didn’t resist, not fully. Hunched low, he let her pull him across the field. Then the wind changed and curled around him. He lifted his head slightly, inhaling sharply and taking in the unfamiliar sweet smell that wafted from her. He didn’t snarl. He grinned. A wolf’s grin.

But it was only for a second. For beneath that sweetness, another scent lurked. It was faint, but unmistakable. An after-scent. Two more sniffs and he knew. Him. The one who'd blasted him out of that plane months ago. And then...he grinned wider.

His voice was low, gravely. "You got his scent on your skin…his rage in your blood."

Then, with a growl, he dug in. Omega Sentinel's claws and boots shredded earth as he tried to drag himself toward Jean like the apex predator he'd become. "Don’t worry, I’m gonna touch all of ‘em. Includin' him. But you? You’re first."

Maeve dropped to one knee, palms pressed firmly to the ground as the Sentinel surged forward. The weight of it hit like a freight train through the earth. It was a raw, grinding force with purpose behind it. She clenched her jaw and pushed back, turning the soil beneath its feet to loose gravel while raising a jagged ridge behind it to break its momentum. It worked... mostly. The machine kept moving, claws scraping for purchase, step by relentless step.

Her arms shook, knees straining to keep her braced, and a thin trickle of blood slipped from one nostril, soaking unnoticed into her sleeve. Her vision blurred at the edges, her head pounding under the pressure building in her skull. She blinked hard, trying to clear it, but the Sentinel edged forward again. Slower now but still gaining ground. The strain clawed at every muscle in her body, and the earth beneath her hands vibrated with effort.

She didn’t move. Couldn’t. Her world narrowed to a single purpose — hold the line. Jean was still fighting. Sarah was exposed. Her friends needed her. She had to stand between them and whatever came next. “You’re not gettin’ through me,” she muttered, voice taut and breathless. “Not while I’m here… not while they’re still standin’.”

Dryad had been more or less out of the fight for a bit. But when he came back, he saw the machine pulling against the earth itself to get to Jean. The short sprint closed the distance, and his fist slammed into the side of the Omega Sentinel's skull with all the power his hips could throw into it. The sound of tough wood cracking was barely audible.

Standing up from where she'd stumbled to as the Omega Sentinel had attacked her, Sarah was shaking in her shoes out of shear panic. These Sentinels were nothing like the news stories said they were, they were far more aggressive and destructive then the government said they could be. Stepping down the front porch steps, she stumbled down to the uneven ground and looked over the devastation she'd caused in combination with the ongoing battle.

unsure what she could do now, her scream seemed too only temporarily stop the machines, she started to look around for what her options were. ~I'm not sure what to do, should I scream again? should I run and get out of the way?~

His stance slipped for a second as the ground beneath him loosened, gravel replacing packed soil. It didn’t stop him, but it made his journey more difficult. Also, it irked him. Made the kill less clean. As he looked over and saw her suffering under the strain, instinct took over. The weakest of the pack.

Just as he was about to shift focus, he was struck in the side of the head. The force of the blow jarred him sideways. Omega Sentinel's body twisted, feet gouging deep into the loose gravel to catch balance.

His head snapped back, but not from pain. He was surprised that something managed to hit him that hard. He stood still for half a second, staring. Then he slowly turned his head, spine cracking audibly as the targeting nodes in his cybernetic systems recalibrated.

Desmond’s punch slowed him just enough to change his priority. Jean could wait...the forest had just pissed off the fire. "…Heh. You smell like bark and burnt pine. Stinks of green and old dirt. Just so ya know, that was your one free shot, bub."

He took a step forward, claws extended. "Now I mulch you."

Jennifer looked up. Her face was covered in dirt and a trickle of blood ran down over her eyes. She wasn't sure exactly when she had fallen but she had fallen hard. Every inch of her body ached. Meanwhile, this whatever he was coming straight at Desmond. Maybe she could redirect him again. She sparked slightly. Not much. Maybe he had an ego, even under the Sentinel control. She pushed herself up and forced a smirk. "Hey, buddy, leave the yard work for the spring. It's better for..." She felt dizzy. It was better for something, she was sure.

"Bring it on, Tiny Tim." Dryad had set himself in a classic boxing pose, thick fists up to his ear, right shoulder forward. The cracks in his bark-like skin had already knitted itself together again. The burnt patches had sloughed off, revealing fresh, bright brown bark. He edged forward, taking deliberate half steps and trying to stay light on his feet.

“I think you’re missing the point.” Alex snarled as he used his plasma blasts to elevate himself into the air in an attempt to gain higher ground. “It ends for all of you tonight.”

The relic around his neck began to pulse with the same cosmic radiation that fueled Alex’s abilities and then a concussive blast strong enough to level a building was released across the battlefield. The force of the impact made the ground tremble as they were all blinded by the plasma blast. Havok had always been a reckless powerhouse and with amplified powers and a desire to murder, his attack was brutal.

Two of the sentinels that took the full impact of the blast were practically vaporized. While the Omega Sentinel’s armor was melted from his body along with his skin and muscles, rendering him into nothing more than an adamantium skeleton.

~* ‘X-Men!’ *~ Jean shouted as her telekinetic forcefield was erected around them. The shield rose up and protected them from the brunt of the blast but the heat that resonated from the attack was felt by all.

MUTANT ABILITY DETECTED: MODIFYING ATTACK The remaining Sentinels replied in unison as their armor rippled and shimmered from the protective barrier they applied. While two had been lost, the remaining two were now immune to Havok’s attack.

Meanwhile the charred skeleton of the Omega Sentinel began to twitch from its place on the burned lawn, slowly rebuilding itself into a man.

“None of you will survive this.” Havok snapped as he prepared to fire once more.

~* ‘Work together, X-Men.’ *~ Jean replied as she repositioned herself in the sky. ~* ‘They can adapt to a single form of attack but a combination will take them all down.’ *~

He was just...there. On the grass, curled up and reforming into a man from what was left of him. The Omega Sentinel armor had vaporized and it would probably look pretty gross if anyone noticed, seeing someone like that. But it didn't matter much as the battle raged. Until....

In a few moments, he was complete and conscious. He sniffed the air several times and rolled his head, looking around. There was the wooden mutant that he owed big time. Rather than banter, he flipped himself upright and ran towards Desmond. Logan leapt, extending his claws with a SNIKT, and hit his target. He growled as he started carving into the tree-like mutant.

Dryad caught the Omega Sentinel on the chest. The claws chewed into his thick chest armor, like an ax in an oak. With the momentum from several hundred pounds of Metallic Canadium slamming into him, Dryad fell backwards. This was planned. With all of his considerable might Dryad threw the Omega Sentinel off him again. The claws embedded into his chest drew deeper furrows, slicing into vine-like muscle. The Sentinel flew, into thick wall of the Mansion.

With grunts of pain Dryad found his feet. He felt the vines in his chest pulling together again, making his arms as strong as before. His powerful leg muscles closed the thirty feet to the Omega Sentinel, and Dryad shoulder checked him into the wall as the Sentinel rose. The first cracks appeared under the impact. Dryad took few inches of distance, and his fists pistoned into the Omega Sentinel's chest, stomach, and occasionally into the skull.

The wall cracked, then exploded outward as the armorless mutant tore himself free, brick and mortar falling like shrapnel around him. His eyes gleamed through blood and mortar dust as his lip curled, exposing bloodied teeth. His claws had remained out.

"You think that hurt?" he snarled, voice low and animalistic. "You don’t even know what pain is yet." Then he charged. No finesse. No hesitation. Just pure, unfiltered violence.

He slammed into Dryad like a wrecking ball of rage, shoulder-first, claws raking up through vine and bark. The air split with the sound of metal shearing bark and sinew. Logan lifted him off the ground mid-sprint, dragged him across the stone wall of the Mansion like a human buzzsaw, then slammed him down so hard the ground cratered slightly.

"You tear into my chest? I tear into your roots." He drove his claws in again. This time, deep and twisting, ripping, pulling.

The metal pierced deep into Dryad. Inside were not traditional mammalian organs, but complex structures nonetheless. Pain filled Dryad's mind, and his hands came up, pushing against the Omega Sentinel. Dryad screamed, writhed, and from his hands shot forth vines.

From Dryad's left hand they invaded his chest cavity, pushing through the skin and between the ribs. They surged forth, not caring for what organs they found and crushed against the back of Omega Sentinel's ribcage. From Dryad's right hand they pushed into the mouth, the eyesockets, and the nose. Soft brainmatter was shredded as Dryad's vines filled Omega Sentinel's skull, the tips pushing through the eardrums and out of the ears.

Combo attacks, just like in training with Connor, thought Hayden. "Hey Dynamo! Water and electricity don't mix! Whaddya say we give him the shock of his life?"

"I say good thinking," Jennifer said. She drew in more of a charge from the chaos surrounding her, preparing to unleash it once Hayden got it good and wet.

Hayden excited the molecules in the snow surrounding the Sentinel, turning them into water. Adding it to humidity in the air, she encased the death machine in a pressurized sarcophagus of water. After a moment, she moved it all above the head and let it fall in a steady downpour.

"Now! Let him have it, girl!" she called out to Jennifer.

"Fry!" Jennifer yelled at the Sentinel and she let loose. A bolt of electricity, like lightning, flew from her hand. It didn't hit the Sentinel directly. It hit the water surrounding it, charging it, and taking full advantage of what an effective conductor water really was.

Hayden grinned as she watched the Sentinel overload and short circuit. Sometimes, getting back to the basics is what was needed. The Sentinel fell ground, smoking and inoperable.

Alaric had switched back and forth between fighting Alex and the Sentinels. And it was getting confusing as hell. As the relic began to pulse and empower Alex, Alaric turned and paused his attack. He squinted in the ever brightening light and then gasped in recognition, running towards Havok.

This, however, put him outside the shield that Jean had created to protect the others. As the blast vaporized, melted, and burned everything in its path, Alaric placed his arm over his eyes and expected death. But when death didn't come, the dark sorcerer laughed. He'd somehow beaten the Reaper once again. Alaric then magically brought his Limbo clothes back into existence after they'd burned off.

"Noverca!" he shouted both verbally and mentally. "I know the item that boosts his power and it does not belong here or in his hands. It is a relic of Limbo... a shard of the Soul Sword. And I intend to take from him."

Without waiting for a response, Alaric quickly closed the distance between himself and Havoc. Energy blasts did no damage to him and he didn't know why. He would later learn that Scott was immune to his brother's powers and that immunity had been passed down to him as Scott's son. Alaric was indeed a Summers.

Alaric fired two mystic energy bolts directly into Alex's chest before landing a haymaker square on his jaw. "You have no idea what you possess. But I do. And now it belongs to me," he said as he watched Alex pass into unconsciousness. When he took hold of the shard, he immediately felt it's power. Dark. Foreboding. Ancient. He stumbled backwards, away from Alex and nearer the fray.

"NO!" Shriek Alex as he pitifully attempted to fire blast after blast into Alaric but the Summers immunity to his abilities made the attacks futile. His eyes widened as the realization sunk in, "How are you a Summers?" But the question would go unanswered that the relic was ripped from his grasp and the surge of other-worldly power left him.

~* ‘Use it.’ *~ Jean replied to Alaric although she could feel the rumble or magic already moving through his psyche. It turned his thoughts dark and gloomy while power beckoned him to do more, be more. Despite the foreboding sensation that was looming, Jean trusted Alaric because inside he was still that noble warrior that she knew in Scott and the resilient provider that Lorna had become.

"I can control you. I must control you," Alaric said to the sword shard. "But I need help...."

The shadows shifted before anyone saw him. One moment, he was there as Alaric Thane, quiet, intense. And the next, something more ancient, more arcane. The change didn’t ask for permission. It never did. But he always allowed it.

A pressure coiled in the air around him, like the breath before a scream. Limbo’s dark magic stirred in his blood, ancient and wound tight. The moment he allowed, the storm surged to the surface.

Alaric bent his knees, leaned forwards, and thrust his arms out to his sides, fingers splayed. A pulse of violet-black, mystical energy burst outward from him and a ring of dark fire encircled him. The flames flickered waist high, yet consumed nothing. At the circle's base, ancient runes glowed crimson in the burnt earth.

The first change was seen in the eyes. No longer were they their usual deep brown, but glowing yellow, ethereal and sharp. They burned like twin lanterns in a void. His voice dropped into something guttural, reverberating low and primal. It was layered with an echo that didn’t belong to this dimension.

Then he spoke, solemn, like a bell tolling from a distant, dead cathedral. "Ego sum Alaricus Tantus, virtus in carne factus!" I am Alaric the Great, power made flesh!

Bones shifted as dark, curving horns erupted from his forehead with a sickening crunch, curling back over the crown of his head in smooth, spiraling arcs. It looked like some beast torn from myth or prophecy. The edges glistened in the light, ancient and regal, yet menacing. They weren’t ornamental. They were earned.

He threw off the overcoat he'd been wearing as a wrenching sound came from his back. Massive, leathery wings unfurled in a single violent motion. Their span was wide, unnerving, stretching across the tops of the flames. The deep, smoky gray-black membrane was striated with veins of pulsing dark purple. They were torn in a few places, like the sails of a war ship left too long in the winds. His wings didn’t just look otherworldly, they carried with them the stench and scars of Limbo.

Again, he called out in the Latin tongue of Lord Belasco, resonating in layers of dragonfire and void. "Ego sum Draconis, vetus furor redivivus!" I am Draconis, ancient fury reborn!

Beneath it all, his body remained almost Alaric. His skin was still its natural hue, but his shoulders seemed broader now. The runes that ran along his arms and down to the backs of his hands, glowed faintly with cursed light. But at his lower back, the change was unmistakable. His skin shimmered with iridescent shades of dark green, purple, and obsidian. There, scales emerged from beneath his vest, overlapping like armor.

A long, muscular tail extended from the base of his spine, tapering to a pointed but not bladed tip. It moved with serpentine grace, lashing behind him with precision and control, almost as if it anticipated danger before he did. In stillness it curled with a slow, ominous rhythm. In motion, it struck like a whip.

Despite all the chaos and the noise of battle, whispers seemed to rise from the flames. Finally, he roared, "Ego sum DarkFang! Ultio incarnata, umbra vivens!" I am DarkFang! Vengeance incarnate, the living shadow!

Power thrummed around him, heating the air and feeding the dark flames. The crimson runes grew brighter. In this form, the DarkFang, he didn’t stumble. He didn’t lurch. He stood tall and moved with eerie, fluid grace, like a nightmare made flesh. DarkFang could soar if he needed or be grounded when he chose. Every part of him was a weapon. Every movement, a decision. Every breath, a warning.

He wasn’t just surviving the darkness anymore.

He became it.

Maeve stumbled backward as the smoke parted and the circle of black flame ignited around Alaric. She’d fought beside him, laughed with him, even stood watch near him when the nightmares made sleep hard. But the thing rising now? It wasn’t just Alaric. Not fully. Not anymore.

Her heartbeat hammered in her ears. Horns curled from his brow, wings split the air like thunder, and shadows danced around his feet like they belonged there. Maeve’s eyes widened—not in fear, exactly—but in recognition. Of power. Of something ancient. Her own abilities, so rooted in the earth and the bones beneath it, stirred. The same whisper that had haunted her since the ruins of Genosha returned now, faint but clear: 'He is changed. So will you be.'

She swallowed hard, trying to push the voice down. “Alaric?” she said, barely audible over the chaos. She didn’t even know what she was asking. If he could still hear them. If he’d still stand with them. If whatever he'd unleashed hadn’t taken him too far. She looked down at her own trembling fingers, dusted with blood and grit. So much power in him, so much darkness—and part of her… part of her felt it call.

But there wasn’t time to spiral. She grit her teeth, forced herself upright. Whatever he was now, he wasn’t the enemy. Not yet. And right now, none of them could afford to fight a war on two fronts—especially not with the mansion already half in ruins. Maeve fixed her gaze on the monstrous new form of her teammate and set her stance, shoulders squaring. “You’re still one of us,” she muttered under her breath, not quite a prayer, but close. “So don’t make me prove it.”

MUTANT ABILITY DETECTED: MODIFYING ATTACK The robotic voices of the remaining sentinel repeated over and over again as the flurry of attacks were administered. Its twisted body realigned and strengthened as it attempted to adapt subdue the mutants once more. Hands turning into canon, it released a blast directly at Sarah.

Watching as the sentinel transformed itself again, Sarah decided to throw caution to the wind. Even if the other mutants got caught in the blast, the battle would be over sooner. Taking in another deep breath, Sarah used all of the fear and desperation she was feeling to fuel her efforts and let out the loudest scream she could muster, clenching every muscle she could think of. Ironically, the scream came out in a rather quintessential Australian fashion, “FUCK OFF!!!!”

The sentinel crumbled as it's plating was ripped from its metal skeleton. Wires tore apart and a few sad sparks popped and fizzled as the entire metallic man was stripped and torn apart by Sarah's enthusiastic but accurate words.

While Alex had lost the relic that had amplified his powers, he remained committed to the carnage he had unleashed on the mansion. Rather than focusing on Alaric and his new form he continued to fire on the mansion, walls splintered and glass shattered as his personal grudges fueled his attack.

Shinobi Shaw had excited the mansion just in time to catch the transformation. "Son of a... Lord Essex never said anything about mutant sorcerer demon."

He ran through the battlefield, phased, towards Alex. Upon reaching him, Shinobi quickly thrust his hand into Alex's chest grabbing his heart. "He said it didn't matter whether you survived or not. So I could simply take your heart back to him and he can clone a new you. But I'd rather take all of you so that to you can explain to him how you lost his relic to a damn demon dragon."

“Not Sinister…” Alex gurgled from his prone position on the lawn. When the First Class fell on Karkoa, Alex had been taken by Sinister. It would have been better if he had needed to be tortured or brainwashed in order to side with the mad scientist, but that wasn’t true. Alex was happy to betray his family, the X-Men, because corruption had been festering inside of him for years.

Sinister had originally sent Alex to Genosha with the intent of supervising the Genengineer but like any power hungry megalomaniac he became bored with his simple task. The mutant rebellion had been the perfect powder keg to set off but now he was paying the price for his betrayals. “He’ll kill you too.” Alex warned Shinobi before he lost consciousness and turned into dead weight.

"Apologies for the delay Jean." The rich baritone of Hank's voice filled the air as he lept and vaulted across the battlefield to Jean's position. "Between Bobby's medical needs and the security system in ruins, I was divided in my efforts."

Meeting him halfway, Jean reached out and took the syringe loaded with the nanites that would stop the Omega infection. The liquid in the tube was an electric blue and seemed to buzz with energy. "Good things come to those who wait." She replied before her attention returned to the battlefield.

~* 'X-Men, I need to get in close to the Omega Sentinel. Subdue him for me and I can cure him.' *~ Jean telepathically replied to the team as she assumed the position to sweep in.

After the vines had withdrawn and the fight over...for now...Omega Sentinel had remained in the exact same spot Desmond left him. He was still healing, still reforming, but somewhat slower. The brain, be it human or mutant, was an intricate and delicate thing to rebuild.

Hayden followed Jean's instructions to where Omega lay. She nearly vomited at what she saw., but managed to keep it down. That nasty taste of stomach acid lingered in her mouth, though. She formed two water pythons and put them over his arms to try to hold him down if woke up.

Desmond shook his arms. They felt thoroughly tingly and numb, as if they were asleep. The trunk that was his chest was mostly closing up by now. The nerves that had conveyed the pain had been sliced, and would probably take longer to reconnect. "Don't worry Jean. He won't go anywhere, I can do that trick again if we need to."

“Thank you.” Jean replied to them but her attention was on the mangled body of the Omega Sentinel. Despite the brutal injuries he had received they watched as his body continued to mend and heal itself. Kneeling down next to the Omega Sentinel, Jean injected the nanties and waited for them to take effect. Jean telepathically reached out to the Omega Sentinel, helping to sever the ties the sentinel connections had created. But what she found made her audibly gasp and wince.

His mind felt like tangled razor wire, sharp and confused, and there were areas that were so tightly knotted that they created empty voids in his memories. Jean pushed through that pain and chaos and she found even more trauma. This Omega Sentinel had known a life of hardship and agony, countless deaths, torture, betrayal and so much blood. She eventually gleaned a bit of him, who he was.

“Logan.” Jean whispered his name as she held onto the broken man that was hidden inside of all that pain. “I’m sorry for what they did to you, they hurt me too…”

As the shackles of the Omega programming left him, Logan felt the presence of the telepath. She was roses and sakura, a reminder that life could be beautiful if only for a fleeting moment. Spring warmth and hope resonated through Jean and it released him from his mental prison.

“Go.” Jean instructed Logan, though the words were gentle he felt compelled to follow her directions. “Leave this place and go back to the place where you last knew happiness.”

"Logan... yeah, that's me," he managed to mumble. "But I ain't seen that last place of happiness in a long time." He opened his eyes and looked up at the redhead speaking to and freeing him.

“I have faith in you.” Jean dryly replied as she summoned a pair of sweatpants and telekineticly tossed them at Logan. “Leave before someone changes their mind.”

“Sure, Red.” Logan growled as he dressed and got to his feet. His healing powers continued to work their magic on his battered body and he was able to sprint towards the tree line.

As the chaos ended, the X-Men were finally free to survey the destruction that had occurred. The mansion was severely damaged, walls were torn down and the inside exposed while the lawn was now a battle scar of mud and snow.

They heard the mansion’s security system finally turn back on, while it was too late for the battle it would at least keep any additional attacks at bay.
A long slow whistle of dismay filled the air as Warren reappeared and he took in the damage that had occurred. “Holy smokes, this place is trashed. Are you guys okay?”

Hayden looked over as she released the water pythons holding the guy down. "A little worse for wear, I guess. But everything else in shambles. And then there's him." She pointed the latest Omega Sentinel, free as he was of the technology.

DarkFang had transformed back into Alaric and made his way over to the group. "Not quite the battles I'm used to fighting, but still exhilarating."

"That's one word for it," Jennifer said, a bit the worse for wear.

Jean surveyed the grounds and searched for Alex. She had watched him fall but her attention quickly shifted towards Logan and she had lost track of her brother-in-law. Unbeknownst to her, Alex had been taken by Shinobi as requested by Sinister. Where a dark future waited for both men.

“What was that?” Jean asked as her attention turned towards Alaric. “The item you took from Alex, you know what it is?”

"I do, Noverca," said Alaric, quiet and steady. The sounds of battle were fading, to be replaced by the pop and crackle of burning structures. Falling snow added random hisses as it hit the flames. It was slowly falling on the charred and blasted areas of the ground, covering the scars.

“This...it’s called the Soulsword. It’s not forged of steel but of life force, shaped from being tied to Belasco’s soul, his hatred. It is the key to his power and right now, it’s bound to him. It disrupts magic; spells, enchantments, demonic constructs. Honestly, anything supernatural that Belasco weaves or holds in place will unravel under it.”

His grip tightened, a sense of authority pouring into the artifact. "In Limbo, whoever holds the Soulsword holds rulership. Right now, that authority rests with Belasco, his soul is tied to the blade and his control flows from it."

Alaric paused, choosing his words carefully. "But I was raised within Limbo’s shadows. I know how that bond can be broken and how it can be claimed. My intent is to take the sword for myself. When I do, I'll strip him of every chain he’s imposed on Limbo...and on my people."

His mind raced to the Mother Askani, to Lorna. “With it in my control, the magical bindings holding Lorna and others can be cut. Limbo itself can be liberated. That’s what this sword represents: power to unmake every binding Belasco has placed."

“Trust me when I say that you don’t need to know all the curses it’s seen or the bargains it’s tempted or the price it took to create it. Just know this: the Soulsword is the only force that can sever Belasco’s hold. If I claim it, I claim the right to free Lorna and the rest of Clan Askani ”

"Then we know what we have to do next." Jean said as she felt his call to action, it reminded her so much of Scott. "We go back to Kamar-Taj and open that portal once more... then you do what you must to free those people."

Jean's attention turned towards the mansion and her eyes went distant in that way that told everyone she was having a telepathic conversation with someone else. When it finished, her attention turned back towards the team on the lawn. "X-Men, put out the fires and help collect the younger students. Scott is preparing the Blackbird for take off, we will take everyone to Muir while the mansion is repaired." Her green eyes looked to Alaric once more, "Then we help Alaric in Kamar-Taj. The hidden city is heavily guarded by none other than Sinister himself. We will need to rally and all work together to get Alaric in and to the portal of Limbo."

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