Date: Thu, 1 May 2008 19:53:25 -0700 (PDT)
From: P G <phoenixfire543@yahoo.com>
Subject: Mutation: Chapter 13

disclaimer*

  I do not own the rights to any of the characters in this story, and make
no claims to the artistic visions of the marvel universe.  I know nothing
of the sexuality of any of the creators, actors, or characters involved in
the Marvel universe.  Similarly, this story contains graphic descriptions
of gay male sex.  If you don't like that, they you should probably avert
your eyes.

  This story takes place in an alternate X-Men universe from the one in
which the 3rd movie took place.  Certain events occurred after X2 which
changed the timeline.  Jean, Scott and Professor X are all still alive. The
specifics of the timeline changes may be made apparent as the story
progresses.


  Chapter 13 -- "Heroes"

  Wolverine's claws retracted with a satisfying sheathing sound, a circle
of three bodies scattered around him.  He didn't enjoy slaughtering people,
particularly other mutants, but he was very good at it, and would do it in
the name of a cause.  These three were part of a patrol group in the
outskirts of Seattle, which had fallen to the Brotherhood a week prior.
They were in his way.

  The war had not gone well for the X-Men, or for the United States in
general.  The U.S. Military continued to take heavy loses, and the
Brotherhood seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of mutants to fill in
for those who fell in battle.  They had taken over 9 major cities, and
numerous smaller cities and towns.  Nearly half of the eastern coast had
fallen, but the battle had recently spread to the west coast with the fall
of Seattle.  Every time the Brotherhood attacked with incredible speed and
in huge numbers, and quickly drove resistance out.  Thus the cities they
took were largely intact after they fell.

  They question was how.  How did Magneto and the Phoenix amass a force so
large and so powerful?  Where were these mutants coming from, and how were
they moving so quickly?

  The probable answer to the last question was that the Phoenix was
personally teleporting whole armies around the country, but what of the
others?  Surely she was not capable of creating mutants from thin air?
That was what they were here to find out.  Wolverine, Echo, Ghost, and
Beast were attempting an infiltration, an attempt to check things out
behind enemy lines.  This was the 3rd patrol party they had eliminated on
their way in, and would likely not be the last.  Fortunately, they were
nearing some of the large buildings, and would soon be able to hide more
easily.  Fortunately, there were very few people in the world who could
sneak up on Echo or Wolverine, never mind both of them.

  "The thing I don't understand" said Ghost, as the group continued to wall
deeper into the city, "is why none of the U.S.'s allies have come to help
out.  You would thing that England would have our backs at least."  Because
Echo was dampening all sounds moving away from the group, they were able to
converse normally despite the fact that they were sneaking in.

  "Well," said Beast "one of the problems is that the U.S. lost a lot of
its friends in recent years.  On top of that, nobody really knows what to
do.  Other countries are mostly likely afraid of having uprisings on their
own soil, and are attempting to address that potential issue before
interfering here."

  "Besides, it's not like the human military would be of much use, based on
what we've seen with our own" commented Wolverine.

  "Well they might be more useful if they worked WITH us rather than doing
their own thing during each battle" said Echo.

  "No doubt" agreed Beast.

  "We still have an objective" said Wolverine, though he was the least
likely to keep the overall objective in mind.  The three advanced for
several blocks until they found a safe abandoned apartment on the 3rd floor
of a ruined apartment.

  "Think I can reach it from here" declared Ghost.  He closed his eyes and
focused, and when he opened them, the world was different.

  The walls of the room appeared gray and smoky, as if they were
insubstantial.  His three partners glowed bright in his vision, white
visions in a field of grey matter.  He took a step forward, and looked back
at his own empty body, his spirit having freed itself from his mortal coil.
His body looked pale to him, empty and smoky, devoid of its guiding spirit.
Ghost's senses were very different in this state, and vision was the least
of all that he had to go with.  Sounds and smells were enhanced, but most
of all was the sense of the proximity of other life.  The spirits of others
glowed white, and were the easiest things to see in this state.  He walked
through the grey smoky walls, and traveled some distance in the direction
indicated by Echo, until he reached a place where several people were
talking together.

  As his spirit walked, Ghost traveled through several buildings, some
empty, some not.  He was forced to resist the powerful impulse to possess
the bodies of weaker beings, and continue on to his pre-determined goal.

  After walking over a mile in spirit form, Ghost suspected he was in the
right place.  The room he entered was full of people, surrounding a central
table which projected something he could not see.  Holographic light had no
meaning on the spirit plane.

  "The city is nearly subdued" stated a tall mutant that Ghost did not
know.  In truth, this mutant was Fuse.  The tall black man displayed
supreme confidence in his demeanor, which showed through to his spirit,
which was all that Ghost could see.  The stronger the spirit, the brighter
and sharper the person seemed in his eyes.  Voices were not easy to
perceive in spirit form, and therefore Ghost narrowed in on a target.

  One of the guards on the edge of the room was dim and featureless in
Ghost's spirit sight, indicating a weak mind that was not alert.  He leaned
in towards this guard, utilizing his least favorite power; possession.

  As Ghost advanced upon the weak willed guard, he knew he had to act fast.
If he took too long, the guard's body would react, drawing attention.
Ghost advanced on the guard, forcing his being inside the other man's body.
He drove forward with all of his will, gaining ground quickly against the
defender.  He quickly forced the weak mind out of the body, which he then
settled into.  The spirit of the guard was left stranded outside its body,
unable to interact with anything, as it lacked skill and strength within
the spirit realm.

  Ghost opened his now blue eyes, and felt the strength of this new body,
which was much larger than his own 5'4" frame.  He knew that whatever
powers this mutant had, they would be usable to him, though he had no idea
what they were.  Instead, he stayed back against the wall, and watched a
meeting of his enemies.

  **********************

  Wind blew in Hydrogue's face as he flew through the air, hurtling along
at incredible speeds.  A blue fiery aura of cold surrounded him as he flew,
streaking behind him like a comet's tail.  He looked to the side, where
beside him flew a fireball of a man, the Human Torch.  Johnny Storm looked
back at him and winked, before putting on a burst of speed to streak ahead.
Hydrogue laughed and pulled himself forward harder, increasing speed to
keep up.

  The months since the war began had been difficult and trying for Alex,
who had worked almost non-stop every day.  Alex's 19th birthday had come
and gone with little fanfare, it was hard to imagine having something as
carefree as a birthday party at a time like this.  Mutants who could fly or
teleport or speak telepathically were highly useful for networking
(especially with most conventional communications still down) and
responding to the Brotherhood activities.  Therefore, Alex and Johnny had
been among the too small number to be traveling all over the country
responding to anything that needed special attention.  Numerous small
battles had been fought, and many won, due to their aid.  The two traveled
far and wide, but managed to have a great deal of time on joint missions.
Alex thoroughly enjoyed Johnny's company, as he was a funny and fun loving
guy, and managed to turn simple things into fun games, a refreshing
attitude in times like this.  Alex's teleporting
 abilities were growing much greater, as he was traveling farther and had
more rigorous use of his powers.  His flying was also getting better, and
these games with Johnny only made them better.  He could fly as fast as the
Torch (most of the time), and was getting very comfortable and
maneuverable, able to weave and dodge in ways nearly as acrobatic as his
more experienced friend.

  Now the two were flying over a wide stretch of ocean, headed towards what
they could only hope were potential allies.  The intelligence network set
up by the Professor had indicated that a Navy Fleet Admiral and his ships
were in this general vicinity, circling around until an opportunity
presented itself.  Of course attempting to find ships, even a lot of them,
in the ocean without exact coordinates was not an easy task.  That is why
Hydrogue was sent.  His water sense was magnified many times above the open
ocean, and he could sense where the ships were.  And the closer they got
the more of them he could feel.

  The two fliers maneuvered around each other in a competitive dance for
several minutes before they suddenly stopped, having both seen the same
thing on the horizon.  The sun was preparing to set, and silhouetted
against the orange backdrop was an enormous U.S. Navy fleet.  There were
dozens of smaller vessels and submarines, and over 20 destroyers and
cruisers.  In the center of the fleet were 2 aircraft carriers, newer
models, and in the middle of the fleet, like a queen in her hive lay a huge
ship of a class that neither of them knew.

  In truth, this ship was the U.S.S. Basilisk, a Warlord class carrier
ship.  It was the newest ship in the fleet, a combination of a destroyer
and an aircraft carrier, designed to be a mobile platform of war.  The ship
was 1500 feet long, the size of one and a half aircraft carriers.  It was V
shaped, with a landing strip along each side, meeting at the tip of the
ship.  Over a hundred planes of various types could be housed within the
ship, at the ready.  Between the arms of the V was a tall island of
superstructure, lined with the most advanced weapons of the modern age.  On
the very highest point was the bridge of the ship, which offered an
unobstructed view in all directions.

  As the flying elementals flew towards one of the largest fleets ever
assembled, they were approached by F-22 fighter jets.  The jets circled
around and came back, flying alongside the men, one on either side.  The
pilot in the rightmost jet pointed at Alex and Johnny, and then pointed
behind him.  The jet pulled in front, and the other fell behind.  They took
this to mean that they should follow.

  The jet led them to the deck of the large ship in the center, where they
proceeded to set down on their feet on the landing deck.  It was easy to
see where they should land, since there as a ring of armed Marines around a
large yellow X.  The two set down in the center of the circle, and looked
around.

  "Hi" said Johnny, the grin on his face making it appear as though he was
greeting a friend at the door.  Hydrogue was not so confident, and so kept
quite for the time being.

  "May I ask what you are doing here?"  The questioner was behind them, and
when they turned, they saw a man in his fifties in a perfect white uniform
with 4 silver stars on his shoulder; an Admiral.  "And while you're at it,
give me one reason why I shouldn't have you shot."

  "Well the best reason not to shoot me is that it would be useless"
responded Hydrogue, who was correct; a bullet had no effect on a being of
water, however flesh-like he may appear.

  "And the reason we're here" added Johnny, "is to offer you an alliance."

  "An alliance?  With mutants?"  The Admiral nearly laughed.  "Why would I
want to do that?"

  "Technically speaking, I am not a mutant" retorted Johnny.  The Admiral
snorted in response, clearly considering the difference between a mutant
and a mutated human to be trivial.

  "And we are offering an alliance because the United States is falling
apart, and the military is powerless to stop it on its own" answered
Hydrogue.  The Admiral's superior expression wavered briefly.

  "You will be my guests for a while.  When I feel you are trustworthy, we
can talk further."  With that, the Admiral spun on his heel and walked
through the ring of guards, back toward the ship's tower.  The guards
closed around the pair, then opened a way, indicating where they should go.
Nobody seemed especially willing to come close to them and escort them.
Alex and Johnny exchanged a glance, and then went where they were herded.
For now.

  **********************

  Demon lifted the car almost effortlessly, throwing the vehicle into the
path of an oncoming purple energy ball.  The aim was perfect, and the ball
exploded on impact, obliterating the car but harming no one.  Next he
leaped high into the air, his super-dense musculature propelling him up.
He crashed through the roof of the 2 story building the energy ball thrower
was hiding in.  His high density meant we weighed a great deal, and he
smashed through the wood and concrete, traveling all the way through until
he landed on the ground inside the very room the attacker was in.  His
mutant foe spun around, his bright purple eyes wide in shock.  He launched
another energy ball from his hands, but it was poorly aimed, and Demon
easily dodged.  Demon stepped forward and grabbed the mutant's hands and
broke them in his intense grip, ending the chance of further attacks.  His
muscular tail came up suddenly and grasped the mutant by the throat,
lifting him in the air.

  "Peace my red friend" said a voice from behind.  Demon turned to see a
beautiful blonde woman in revealing white clothing and a white cloak, Emma
Frost.  She had arrived through the ruined building's door once Demon had
distracted the attacker.  "He is more useful to us alive."

  "I will never talk" spat the unknown mutant, his violet eyes flashing
with some anger but more fear.  "You are both traitors, you aren't worthy
of being in the Superior Race."

  "Take a nap" responded Emma, giving him a considerable nudge with her
mind.  His eyes rolled back, slipping into an induced coma until she roused
him again.  "Much better.  By the way, I love the skylight you put in" she
commented, a smile barely noticeable in the corner of her mouth.  The two
set out for their nearby base of operations, Demon carrying the unconscious
mutant over one shoulder.

  This was the 6th border skirmish since Demon had arrived two weeks ago.
The Brotherhood was expanding out of Boston in all directions, indeed had
control of nearly all of Massachusetts by now.  The X-Men and their allies
were attempting to halt the expansion, hoping that by winning smaller
skirmishes with minimal loses that they could whittle away at the
Brotherhood's numeric advantage.  It was tiring, but Demon certainly took
advantage of the opportunity to destroy things.  It relieved his
frustrations.

  `I can't be with you the way you want me to' Alex had said.  Demon had
poured out his heart to his friend, telling him how he felt, and how he had
never felt that way for a boy before.  He took Alex's chin in his hand and
leaned forward to kiss him.  They kissed long, and soft, and Demon's heart
had pounded in his chest.  His eyes were closed and his nips felt like they
had more nerves in them than the whole of his body.  Time stopped, all he
could hear was the beating of his own heart, and he felt like he could hear
Alex's too.  Demon leaned forward unbuttoning his friend's shirt, and Alex
leaned back, until the larger boy was on top of him.  They made out for a
long time under the moonlight which came through the window, just enough
light to see the curves of muscle across Demon's back once his shirt was
off.  The silver light played in Alex's sapphire eyes, making them shine in
the darkness.  From where he was, Alex could see the same in Demon's ruby
eyes, looking up
 at them and seeing the feelings that were behind them.  How had he not
noticed before?

  Alex felt as the considerable weight of Demon leaned into him, the
muscular boy's body hot to his touch.  Their bare chests touched, smooth
skin against smooth skin.  Alex's hands gripped the muscled back of his
friend, marveling in the cords of muscle covered in hair that was totally
devoid of hair (Demon did not grow hair anywhere besides his head and
eyebrows).  He moaned as Demon's large red tongue invaded deep into his
mouth.  His legs instinctively moved up and wrapped around Demon's trim
waist.  Then, with sudden strength, Alex pulled to the side with his legs,
throwing Demon aside and rolling on top of him.  Alex sat on the red man's
groin, his bubble butt grinding into the hardening lump beneath him.  His
hands played over Demon's body, feeling the hard pecs, tracing the lines
between the abdominal muscles.  He leaned forward and kissed the red skin
of his neck, and worked down to his left nipple.  His tongue swirled around
the nipple for a minute, teeth gently
 nibbling at it.  He moved to the side and buried his face in Demon's left
armpit, licking the sensitive, hairless skin.  He inhaled deep, reveling in
his friend's manly smell.  He could taste the fresh sweat, salty and manly
on his tongue.  He licked and kissed down Demon's body, playing his tongue
in the many grooves of his abs, and licking the pronounced V muscles on the
borders of his groin.  As he worshiped Demon's stomach, Alex's hands worked
the button-fly of the red man's jeans, opening the fly and revealing the
bulge beneath black underwear.  After a brief moment of hesitation, Alex
put his hand on the organ he had been yearning to touch for nearly a year,
moaning as he felt the hard solid mass beneath the soft cotton.  It felt
warm beneath his hand, thick and heavy, unquestionably large.  Demon's
jeans were pushed down, and slid to the floor, leaving only tight black low
rise briefs covering his gymnast-like body.

  Alex stood up at the foot of the bed, facing Demon.  He slipped off his
unbuttoned shirt, letting it fall to the floor.  His small swimmer's body
looked glorious in the moonlight, the shadows playing on the creases of his
muscles.  His chest was smooth, only a dusting of light hairs spread across
it, and a slight treasure trail from below his belly button that traveled
down into the waist of his jeans.  Next he undid his own jeans, pealing the
tight fabric down his legs until he stood in only his blue boxer briefs.
His strong swimming thighs bulged out of the legs of his underwear, and his
calves were defined and solid as he stood before Demon.  He then turned
around, showing his solid bubble shaped ass, before dropping his underwear
to the floor.  His back was wonderful to see, his broad shoulders tapering
down to a thin waist.  The twin muscles which traveled down on either side
of his spine were solidly defined, and as the traveled down they flowed
seamlessly into his
 magnificent bubble butt.  Alex turned around finally, and Demon could see
his now uncovered and fully erect cock pointing straight out, framed by
carefully trimmed black hair.  He held the pose for a moment, practically
feeling Demon's appreciative eyes traveling all over him.

  Alex climbed back on the bed slowly, working his way up Demon's body,
drinking in the heat and scent of his body.  He sat his butt down on top of
the bulge in Demon's black briefs, his legs on either side of the red
mutant.  The large and solid organ, barely contained, felt wonderful
nestled in between his cheeks, and he ground his little ass down on it,
eliciting moans from both mutants.  Demon reached up and slowly,
tentatively, wrapped his fist around Alex's solid member, and that was when
the last of his doubts vanished; he did want this.  The ample sized rock
hard shaft felt incredible in his hand, both solid and smooth, and
radiating heat.  Alex groaned as the larger boy stroked his cock gently,
causing him to rock a bit more into the solid mass beneath him.  He leaned
forward, and the two kissed again with passion and want.  Demon reached
down and tore the briefs off of himself, literally tearing them in half and
tossing them aside.  Alex could not see the cock
 that was released, and began to take on its full size now that it was
unrestricted, but he felt it standing up straight and rubbing against his
ass crack as he writhed atop Demon.  After several minutes of writhing,
deep tongue kissing, and teasing, Alex sat up again.  He reached behind
himself and grasped the huge cock of Demon for the 1st time.  It was
slightly thicker than average, which much was immediately apparent.  Solid
as a rock and with a slight upward curve, it was a beautiful member which
was crowned with a great fat head at the tip of the 10" cock.

  With a grin on his face, Alex gestured toward his nightstand, and a
bottle of lubricant flew into his hand.  He sat atop Demon and looked into
his red eyes as he applied the lube to his hole, and loosened himself up
with his fingers.  Demon watched Alex's face, in awe of how hot it was to
watch the beautiful man open pleasure his own ass.

  "I've never done this before" said Demon, breaking the silence.  He
smiled up at Alex slightly sheepishly.  Alex smiled back.

  "Don't worry, I have" he responded.  He didn't add (a LOT), but he did
think it.

  Alex next lubed up Demon's large cock, making him squirm with pleasure in
the meantime.  Finally ready, he lined up the member with his hole, and
slowly sat down on it.  Alex had done an ample job of preparing himself,
and the head popped in fairly easily, the sudden girth causing only minor
discomfort and almost no pain.  Demon gasped at the sudden pressure around
the head of his dick, a sudden and exquisite pleasure.  Alex locked eyes
with the big red boy as he sat further onto his cock, slowly sliding more
inside him.  Within seconds he had half of Demon inside him, then three
quarters, and then, struggling only with the last inch, he felt the smooth
skin of Demon's groin against his ass, he had taken it all.

  Demon released the breath he had not noticed he was holding.  The
sensations from his dick were unlike anything he had felt before, the
pressure of Alex's ass far greater than he had ever felt when fucking
girls.  His hands came up and grasped Alex's trim waist, his thumbs
pressing against the tops of the powerful thighs.  The two remained still
for a moment, just enjoying what they were feeling.  Alex moaned softly,
the huge cock of his friend pushing further and deeper into him than any
other ever had.  Slowly he slid up, and then back down, feeling about half
of the length move out of him, and then back in.  The solid *smack* sound
of solid ass muscles hitting trim hairless groin sounded as he came back
solidly to full penetration.  The two boys moaned together at this, Demon
feeling fully encased, Alex feeling stuffed to the gills.  He rode Demon's
cock faster, establishing a quick rhythm, the sound of skin against skin
mingling with moans and groans and grunts to
 create the music of sex.

  The following minutes were a complete blur to Demon, who was lost in
time, not knowing if it lasted for 5 minutes or an hour, but just reveling
in the feeling of being so close to someone he cared so much about.  Alex
rode his cock like a master, taking it easily and giving Demon the greatest
pleasure he had ever known.  The smaller boy's body moved rhythmically,
both up and down and forward and back with his hips, moving the large cock
within him in many angles.  Demon watched Alex's stomach and chest muscles
flex and ripple under the coat of sweat as he moved.  His own dick was rock
hard and slapping against Demon's abs, smearing them with pre-cum.  Soon
they were both close, both panting with exertion and coated in sweat.  Alex
leaned forward, his lips desperately searching for Demon's.  The boys
kissed, and it was hot and passionate, full of need and want as they both
made ready to explode.  Now that Alex was leaned forward, Demon was able to
thrust his hips, driving
 his cock deep into Alex's ass, screaming as he reached climax.  The
feelings of his body and his mind built and built until they reached the
blinding summit of pure full-body orgasm.  He pounded his hips, ramming his
cock deep into Alex over and over, barely conscious of the strength he was
using.  Alex grunted from the powerful thrusts, the huge member within him
driving him over the edge.  He came from the pounding, his orgasm silent as
his voice could not choose between the breathless gasps and the screams of
ecstasy.

  The boys slowly grew still, until they lay in a sweaty, sticky mess,
moving their lips only, and even the kissing came to a stop.  Alex laid his
head on Demon's muscled chest, closing his eyes and hoping for sleep.
Demon nuzzled his nose against Alex's hair, kissing the wet strands atop
his head.  "I love you" he said, his voice barely a whisper.

  This had begun the horrible, heartbreaking discussion, where Alex had
broken his heart, as surely as if he had frozen it in his hand and
shattered it against the ground.  Demon wished he had.

  "I can't be with you the way you want me to" Alex said finally after
nearly an hour, not knowing how else to explain it.  He had tried every way
he knew how.  "I can't be with anyone, not now, not yet.  I still...I don't
think I can handle having anyone that close to me.  I've been hurt so much
already, and with everything else going on, the position I am in..."  Tears
came to his blue eyes, knowing the pain he was causing.  He feared the pain
he could receive, and also the pain he could cause.  He did not know what
he would have to do in the near future, with the war, and being the only
Class 5 able to challenge the Phoenix, and he could not allow anyone to be
so close to him when he had so small a chance of surviving, physically or
mentally.  "I'm so sorry."  The truth was that he cared deeply for Demon,
possibly enough to love him back one day, and it made it all the harder.
He walked out of their shared room, not daring to look back, because he
might not be able to
 keep going.  Demon stared after him for a long time.

  Demon snapped out of his memories as he and Emma neared the Alliance
base, which was really a small collection of prefab buildings that had been
erected in a dense portion of woods between towns.  They had nothing so
fancy as a fence or security checkpoint, but Demon knew there were guards
surrounding the base, hiding in whatever way their powers or skills
allowed.  Almost as if reading his mind, a mutant stepped out of what
seemed like thin air in front of them.  He was young, Demon's age, around
18.  The skin of the mutant altered color and texture, changing from the
brown of the bark he had been leaning against into its normal mottled
green.  His skin was a shade of smooth green, but in place of hair he had a
solid darker green carapace covering his skull, following the same line as
his hairline.  This head carapace was solid and strong, and from it rose
hard green spikes.  We stood 5' 9" tall and had a fairly small frame, being
more quick and agile than strong.  The
 exception to this was his right arm, which in contrast to his normal
(though green) looking left arm, his right was vary large, and was covered
with this green skin must like the carapace on his head.  Like his `hair',
the skin on his arm rose up in several hard and wicked looking spikes, and
the fingers ended in sharp claws.  "Sup Red" said the new mutant, greeting
his fellow schoolmate.  "Whatcha got there?"

  "Hey Anole" Demon responded.  "Caught us a live one" he said, patting the
unconscious body that was casually tossed over his shoulder.  That in
itself was impressive, as the number of captured Brotherhood soldiers were
very few, and the ones who knew anything useful even fewer.  That was due
to the fact they all seemed to go completely insane once they were
captured, and died within hours.  The reason for this was unknown, though
there was a theory that Brotherhood agents who were actually privy to
information had an emergency fast-acting neurotoxin with them in case of
capture.  Dr. Halden and Elixir were investigating the possibility.

  The three mutants entered the central building of the Alliance outpost,
past a couple of their fellows and into a secure room behind a heavy door.
The last thing that was heard before the door clanged shut was Emma Frost,
saying "let's find out what you know."

  ***************************

  Alex watched as Johnny paced the cell yet again.  They had allowed
themselves to be put in the brig until the Admiral checked their story out.
Alex was content to wait for now, amusing himself by sending an occasional
lightning bolt into the force field that made up the only exit to their
rectangular cell, much to the detriment of the nerves of the two armed
guards on the other side of it.  Johnny was not a patient man though, and
as he paced, the heat from his body was making the cell uncomfortably warm.

  Both men had been relieved of their clothing save for their underwear so
that the NAVY officers could check them for weapons (which of course
neither of them needed).  Alex leaned back on the cot, putting his hands
behind his head which he leaned against the metal wall.  His body was
stretched out, and his legs spread wide, giving the soldier outside the
cell with the cute face a great view of his blue briefs.  He winked at the
guard, who blushed, but did not otherwise acknowledge, then turned his eyes
back to Johnny pacing.  Alex admired the physique of the other man, which
was displayed nicely in the black flame-resistant boxer briefs he wore.
Johnny was 6' tall, and had, in Alex's opinion, the body of a god.  His
shoulders were broad and well muscled, the mounds atop them rising to meet
his neck in a graceful curve.  His biceps were heavily defined, with a thin
vein traveling down the front of each.  His forearms were thick and solid,
and had a healthy amount of dark
 hair on them.  His chest rose in two magnificent pecs, which were both
solid and soft looking, giving one the urge to lay their head down on them.
The stomach was not defined into individual abs, but the whole area was
trim and solid as a rock, with a thin layer of dark hair in the crevice
down the center, and around the belly button.  When Johnny shifted his
body, light showed off hints of the individual corded abdominal muscles,
and the muscles which went up his trim sides.  His waist was tapered in
from his shoulders significantly, giving him a very powerful, sexy look.
The black boxer briefs he wore clung to his skin tightly, showing off his
impressive thighs, and hinting at a substantial package.  When he turned
away during his pacing, he showed his solid, meaty ass which was enough to
make Alex drool.

  "We don't have time for this" said Johnny, continuing to pace.  "I say we
just break out of here and be done with it if the Admiral won't even talk
to us."

  Alex sent another small tendril of lightning into the wide rectangular
opening of the cell, and watched the air sizzle when it struck the force
field barrier.  The soldiers outside grew agitated again.  "We both know
that we could be out of this cell within seconds, this force field isn't
very strong.  I can think of at least 3 ways to get out of here off the top
of my head, and I'm sure you can think of at least as many."  He grinned a
bit at the soldiers, who exchanged concerned glances.

  "That isn't the point" answered Johnny.  "There is a war going on, and
time is critical.  If he isn't interested, we should leave and go do
something useful."

  "Who said I wasn't interested?"  The voice came from the outer atrium,
which overlooked Johnny and Alex's cell, along with several others.
Looking over, they saw the Admiral standing there looking at them.  Two
soldiers came over to the cell, with bundles in their hands.  "Get dressed
boys, these men with escort you to my war room when you are ready."  Alex
and Johnny exchanged a confused look, and then agreed.

  Ten minutes later, Alex stepped into the Admiral's War Room behind Johnny
and several guards.  They were both fully dressed again, Johnny in his odd
shiny blue skintight suit, with the Fantastic Four logo on the breast, and
Alex in his black leather X-Men uniform, with blue piping around the X and
on the trim.  The room was large and hexagonally shaped, with 4 of the
walls covered in view screens, and the center dominated by a holographic
projector set within a hexagonal table.  The view screens had various
images of the fleet, as well as one map of the United States, with several
large areas in red, indicating where the Brotherhood was in power.  The
holoprojection showed a large image of the Basilisk in all her glory, with
indicators showing its many weapons emplacements.  It was clearly designed
to impress the visitors.

  "Welcome to my War Room gentlemen, I am Admiral Nealson.  Please, sit
down."  Alex and Johnny did as he asked.  "I have considered what you have
asked.  At first, I was absolutely against any alliance with mutants,
or...other supernatural individuals.  But, after consideration, I have
decided to hear you out.  I have seen many reports as to how poorly the
military is performing against the insurrectionists, and I fear that
without some kind of help, this country will fall into anarchy before long.
So, tell me what you came here to tell me."

  Alex was surprised how willingly the Admiral admitted that the military
was woefully inadequate in this situation.  "Well, we are here representing
an Alliance of superpowered groups, including the X-Men, the Fantastic
Four, and several other groups and individual mutants and heroes.  We have
all joined forces to stop this war, which is being orchestrated by a
power-mad psychopath who believes that she should be the ruler of the
world, and will exterminate the human race if we don't stop her.  She is
going against the very ideal of individuality and human rights, and is
using mutant angst to get them to help her.  We have also seen the
ineffectiveness of the military so far, but we believe that if you join our
alliance, the combined forces and intelligence can be used in an effective
way.  We have information about the enemy that you do not, and you have the
ability to monitor the entire country and provide up to date intelligence
and information distribution.  Together,
 we stand a chance, but divided, the Phoenix will destroy us all one by
one."

  The Admiral was quiet for several moments, looking grave.  "And why have
you come to me for this offer?"

  "We came to you" started Johnny, "because you are one of the highest
ranking surviving members of the military hierarchy, and because you have
the largest force.  The NAVY has been fairly unaffected by the attacks so
far, unlike the ARMY or the Air Force.  They have largely been staying
divided, with individual bases operating independently to defend themselves
and the towns around them.  With you, we may be able to get others into the
fold, and really turn this war around.  I think we both know that if things
keep going the way they are, there won't be enough people left to oppose
the Brotherhood."

  "And the Alliance's view of how the country will be run once the war is
over?"  It was an unexpected question, one which they had not been briefed
on before this mission.

  "Sir, I don't think you understand here" said Alex.  "We have no interest
in government forming.  I think we can all agree that the United States
Government has been insufficient so far; giving rights to some and not to
all, and has been generally making a mess of almost everything it has done
for decades.  But the decision as to how we will all move forward, if and
when we defeat the Phoenix, is not in our hands.  That is for all the
people of the U.S. to decide, once the shadows of tyranny and death have
been lifted."

  "That was a very good speech young man.  But what assurances do I have?
Who is in charge of this Alliance, and how do I know that they are
trustworthy?  Once this war of the mutants is over, who will stop you all
from making your own utopia, the human race be damned?"

  Alex's blood boiled at this question, its very nature an insult.  "Sir,
with all due respect, if I wanted to rule humanity, why wouldn't I simply
join the Brotherhood?  And furthermore, Professor Xavier is the most fair
and just man I have ever known, he has fought his entire life, not for
mutant rights, but for EQUAL rights, for everyone, and to accuse him of..."
Alex's words trailed off as winced, holding his head as if he had just been
hit.

  "Are you okay?" asked Johnny, looking concerned.  Alex looked up, looking
alarmed.

  "One of the telepaths in San Francisco, she reached out to the nearest
agents she could find, she was trying to warn us, to tell us something, but
she died while in contact with me.  I felt her pain, heard her screams in
my head.  It was the Phoenix.  She entered the woman's mind and burned her
from the inside to stop her, and I felt it."  He looked into Johnny's eyes.
"I think the Brotherhood is attacking San Francisco.  She was killed to
stop her from warning us, but she managed, in part."  He turned to Admiral
Nealson, standing up and placing his hands on the table.  "Admiral, this is
your chance to help.  We have never had advance warning of an attack
before, and now we may actually be able to stop a city from falling.  Will
you help us?  Will you help the innocent people who live there?"

  The Admiral's face was unreadable, though this was not a sign of
disinterest in a seasoned military commander.  The gears turned in his head
and he fought with his private fears, but he did it all quickly and coolly.
"I will help, but it will be many hours before this fleet can get to San
Francisco, over half a day.  I don't know how much help we will be able to
lend."

  Alex smiled, his bright blue eyes sparkling with an idea.

  "I can get your ships there in time."

  *************************

  Ghost breathed in deep as he felt the familiar feel of his own body
again.  He kept his eyes closed and breathed in through his nose.  After
hours without any type of smells, even the dusty, dirty smells of the
abandoned apartment where he, Wolverine, Echo and Beast were hiding out.
His soul vibrated with pleasure at being back in its home, even though his
heart was pounding from the news he had to deliver.  The meeting he had sat
in on was for the most part extremely dull, involving status reports on
supplies, details of patrol patterns, and other mundane topics.  But the
end of the meeting discussed more interesting events, like troop movements,
and news of the war.

  "So kid, did you learn anything good?" asked Wolverine, who sat sniffing
the air and listening intently, trying to pick up signs of anyone
approaching.  "You were gone awhile."

  "Yes, I managed to sneak into a meeting of the Brotherhood group that
runs this city now.  And they talked about the next invasion."

  "What?" exclaimed Beast, his blue eyes wide with anticipation.  "Where?"

  "The next target is San Francisco, and the attack is happening today,
very soon."

  "Well, then we don't have much time" said Echo.  "We need to tell the
others, and we need to get to San Francisco."

  Wolverine was already on it.  He pulled from his pocket a special
cellular phone.  It was keyed to connect to a satellite that was owned by
Reed Richards, also known as Mr. Fantastic.  The brilliant scientist had
his own satellite that he used for research, but was now the only way to
have instantaneous communications across long distances.  There were a
great many limits to the satellite's ability to perform this task, as it
was not designed to replace a cellular tower, but it could get the job done
in an emergency, and this was one.

  "Scott," he said into the receiver.  "We need an emergency pick up, we
have big news."  The others could not hear Scott's response, but Wolverine
then said "We'll be on the roof, you can use this signal to home in on us?
Good."  He closed the phone, and motioned to the others.  "Time to go
upstairs."

  Cyclops, Storm, and Will had been waiting only a few miles from the city
in the X-Jet, and came barreling in at a moment's notice.  The jet had the
capability of flying smoothly and silently, avoiding all sight and all
detection.  Its midnight colored armor was capable of fooling almost all
forms of detection.  They did not use this ability.  Instead, the Jet
hurtled into Seattle at top speed, the sound of the engines roaring,
sending sonic booms through the city.  Emergency forces were scrambled by
the Brotherhood, fighter jets and assault helicopters, as well as many
mutants able to fly or attack from a distance.  The Jet slowed down enough
to take on 4 more passengers on the roof of an abandoned building not far
inside the city, then looped around and hurtled south.

  Alarms blared inside the Jet's cockpit as Beast, Echo, Ghost, and
Wolverine buckled in behind Cyclops and Storm, who piloted the Jet from the
two front-most seats.  Will sat just behind them manning the sensor and
communications systems.

  "We've got company" said Cyclops, indicating the half dozen blips on the
radar screen coming in from behind the Jet.  As they watched, another 3
appeared in front of them.

  "Do we have any weapons?" asked Ghost, looking at the unfamiliar console
in front of him for something to fire.

  "We ARE weapons" replied Echo, whose dark eyes stared unseeing into the
wall.  The sound quality in the X-Jet suddenly changed pitch, the roaring
of the engines becoming less defined, but louder.  What was really
happening was that Echo was gathering the powerful sound waves emitted by
the engines and was pooling them together.  When he had enough, he released
the sound waves in a powerful pulse, directed behind them.  The air rippled
out behind the Jet, a nearly invisible force of destruction.  The 4 fighter
craft and 2 assault helicopters behind them could not see the ripple until
just before it hit them.  The 2 copters were able to bank out of the way,
but the fighter jets were moving too fast, and had too large of a turning
radius, and were hit full on.  Two of the fighters were smashed apart in
the air, returning to earth as chunks of metal.  The other two were knocked
from the air, but managed to crash land in only a few pieces.  The
surviving helicopters opened
 fire, using cutting edge laser weapons systems, scaled down versions of
cutting mining lasers developed for industry.  Twin red beams lanced out
from each attacker, cutting through the air, missing the X-Jet only because
of Storm and Cyclops's skilled piloting.

  "Nice job kid" said Wolverine, noting the damage from the sensor station
over Will's shoulder.  "Wanna do it again?"  He looked over when Echo did
not respond, and saw him slouched in his chair and breathing heavily.

  "I'm gonna need a minute" he said in between breaths.  The overextension
of power had been a bit much for him.

  Storm's eyes turned white as she drew in her powers.  She felt her
awareness of the weather patterns expand exponentially, and felt them obey
her wishes.  The skies darkened, a thick black cloud cover appearing as if
from nowhere.  The sun died behind the clouds and left the city in sudden
darkness.  A thick, white fog formed from the ground and rose as it grew
more and more copious.  The X-Jet slipped into the fog, vanishing from
sight.  Still red lights stabbed through the fog from their attackers, who
continued to attack despite being blinded.  The radar screen showed that
these were the only pursuers left on their tail, and that the screen of
enemies in front of them had scattered with the coming of the blinding fog
and darkness.  Lightning flashed as Storm attempted to pick off the assault
copters, but the strikes missed.  The split attention between maintaining
the weather and flying through it as only she could was extreme and
precision lightning strikes too
 difficult when added to it.  She tried again, and missed once more.

  "I can't hit them" she said through her teeth in frustration.  Another
laser blast came at them, coming so close that it melted a line along the
outer plating.

  "I can" said Will.  "You make the lighting, and I will tell it where to
go."  As always, his voice was confident, unwavering.  His power came
directly from his absolute conviction, and doubt was not a trait he
possessed.  Strom nodded, and prepared.


  Will's attention floated back behind the Jet, and focused on the skies
above.  Inside his mind he could vaguely feel anything when he concentrated
on it, his mental attention becoming an almost physical force, just waiting
to exert itself at his command.  The lightning bolt formed in slow motion
by his reckoning, coming down from the skies with its powerful, brilliant
glory foremost in his mind.  At the key moment in its path, Will spoke a
single word, a word of conviction and command: "TURN!"  The bolt did
something a lightning bolt would never do in nature; it made a right hand
turn as it passed by the leftmost assault copter.  The bolt passed directly
through the copter, blowing it apart instantly.  The bolt missed the second
copter, but passed in front of the cockpit, melting the bullet-proof glass
and momentarily blinding the pilot.  When the shockwave of the explosion
hit the second copter, it was knocked off course, driving it to the ground,
where it made a rather
 spectacular crash landing.

  The X-Men were able to breathe easy as they made their way off into the
fog.  Once they cleared the city limits, they took the Jet high into the
air and engaged stealth procedures, making them undetectable.  They set a
course for San Francisco at maximum velocity.



  The Jet arrived barely in time.  As they descended on approach to San
Francisco, Storm and Cyclops piloted the Jet over a battlefield already in
progress, though still in early stages.  The forces from the military bases
nearby seemed to be doing their best to hold back the tide of Brotherhood
mutants, but slowly losing ground.  The main Brotherhood force had landed
in dozens of landing boats north of the city in Golden Gate National Park,
and was proceeding in a swift marching line toward the Golden Gate Bridge,
where they would enter the city proper.  A force with several tanks and
dozens of soldiers stood in the center of the bridge attempting to deny the
marching army with every weapon at their disposal, waiting for
reinforcements coming from the south.  The wreckage of several military
jets littered the bridge and the water, ruined in their attempts to strafe
the Brotherhood line.  Several Brotherhood boats landed south of the bridge
in secret, and their inhabitants
 vanished into the city.  It was these last forces that the 7 X-Men in the
Jet chose to hunt down, knowing that they were likely sneaking behind the
human military to prevent them from forming a unified front.

  As the group of X-Men proceeded north form their landing spot, they
fought against the tide of citizens fleeing the fight on whatever
transportation they could find.  Several times people screamed and ran away
from them, mainly when they saw the tall blue furry form of Beast.

  They never noticed when they were spotted by the enemy.  While the X-Men
traveled north, they were tailed distantly by a single Brotherhood agent, a
telepath, who eagerly awaited the reinforcements that were coming to wipe
the do gooders from the face of the earth.  Normally speaking, Wolverine or
Echo would easily detect anyone approaching long before they came within
range of attack, but this was not a normal day.  The enemy ambushed them in
an empty open area of a park as they passed by a large stone fountain
underneath a stone dome supported by 4 stone pillars.  The Brotherhood
mutants appeared out of thin air within the X-Men group, brought all at
once by a teleporter.  With a loud CRACK and a puff of red smoke, suddenly
6 mutants were standing amidst the X-Men.  In the center, with everyone
touching him stood the teleporter Flash, a tall boy with light skin and
flame red hair in a faux hawk style.  Next to him stood Holy with his white
hair, gold eyes and silver
 armor reflecting the sunlight powerfully.  The tall bald black man Fuse
stood beside Holy, his all black dress contrasting with the bright white of
the younger man.  The stocky young man Eco was there, his jungle green hair
and eyes bright in the sun, and the vines coming from various locations on
his bare muscular torso were twitching in anticipation.  The tall Amazon
woman Animal with dark red hair in long braids and brief lizard hide
clothing, and the short young spiky-haired blonde man Electrode rounded out
the group.  The Brotherhood group exploded into action immediately.

  Holy targeted his own biggest threat, firing an orb of photonic energy
directly at Echo.  Echo could see the whole group of mutants appear in a
flash with the loud sound of their arrival, the sound waves transmitting an
instant picture of what they looked like.  He could not, however, see the
ball of light coming at him, which made no sound, and thus was invisible to
his radar-style sight.  The attack hit Echo full in the chest and released
its energy; sending him hurtling backward, out from under the dome, and
into a nearby tree.  He slumped to the ground unconscious, his head
bleeding from where he hit the tree.  Holy winked at Echo's fallen body,
then faded from sight as he became invisible, knowing that the one person
who could see him was out of the fight.

  Electrode immediately send two arcs of golden lightning from his hands in
the direction of Storm, who partially dodged, but caught a glancing blow in
the side, which sent her to the pavement.  Storm rolled with the attack and
came up, her eyes pure white with power.  Flash vanished in a puff of red
smoke and appeared again in front of Beast, kicking him in the face.  He
vanished and reappeared again and again, turning acrobatics and
teleportation into a devastating and evasive form of hand to hand combat.
Animal initially lunged for Cyclops, her arms morphing into those of a
tiger, fur, claws and all.  Cyclops was the fastest to react though, and
sent Animal flying away with a full force optic blast, the beam casting a
blinding red flash across the scene.  Before Cyclops could turn to take out
a second attacker, Fuse came after him.  Where the big man's right arm
usually was, he had a large cylindrical mining laser fused into his flesh.
He pointed the laser at Cyclops,
 and a searing beam of purple-red light flashed out.  Cyclops dodged to the
side, and the mining laser cut deep into the earth behind him.

  Will ducked as a thick green vine whipped at his head.  He slid to the
left as another came shooting for his right side.  He grabbed the vine as
it passed, intending to pull it and send Eco off balance, but went down as
he caught another two vines across the back.  The vines hit at high speed,
and hit just like a leather whip, tearing open the back of Will's black
leather X-Men uniform and cutting the flesh beneath and drawing red lines
across his back.

  Wolverine circled around, sniffing the air and listening intently.  He
could tell than an invisible Holy was circling him, but his exact location
was difficult to tell, with all the noise.

  "You can't find me old man" Holy said, his voice mocking.  Wolverine spun
on the spot and sliced out with the claws on his right hand.  He heard the
clang of metal on metal as his claws hit Holy's signature samurai sword.
Wolverine staggered slightly when, instead of slicing right through, his
claws STOPPED when they met the sword.  The two fought back and forth,
trying to force the other back.

  "New toy?" Wolverine asked.  Holy laughed.

  "Adamantium sword, a gift from Magneto after my little spy trip to the
mansion."

  "You mean the one where you got your ass kicked?  I didn't know Magneto
rewarded spectacular failures."  Wolverine received a surprisingly strong
punch in the face for this, but laughed it off.  He swung in Holy's general
direction with his left claws, but the invisible fighter pulled away before
he could hit him.  He heard the sword whirling, but before he could discern
its location, a deep, long cut appeared across his thigh, and another
across his chest from left shoulder to right hip.  Wolverine staggered
back, pain flashing through him as he threw himself toward Holy, missing
him again.  The wounds had closed before Wolverine turned around, leaving a
sliced apart uniform and blood stains, but flawless and unbroken skin
beneath.  He received a flurry of similar wounds, which drove him madder
and madder, but did not hinder him greatly.  Suddenly, he felt binding pain
as the tendons of the back of his left knee were sliced apart, and he fell
to his knees.  He then felt
 the air leave him and saw Holy's sword, now visible, protruding through
his chest, having slid between his ribs from the back.  Wolverine gasped
for breath, but his lung had collapsed and could not heal with the sword
still in it.  Holy twisted the sword, but could only do turn so much due to
Wolverine's adamantium-coated ribs.  The pain magnified within Wolverine,
who tried vainly to slice apart the man behind him with his strength
failing.  Blood poured from the wound, and his vision began to fog.  Holy
kicked him in the back, striking solidly over the kidney, and Wolverine
teetered on the edge of consciousness.

  Ghost dove behind the concrete fountain when the Brotherhood mutants
appeared.  He wasn't a coward; it was an instinct to dive to the side when
loud, unexpected noise occurred in a battle zone.  He found himself on the
other side of the fountain and saw the disaster occurring.  He saw Holy
take down Wolverine, saw the older man gasping for breath, blood flowing
from the wound that his body could not close.  Ghost could not run out and
take on Holy this way, his skills were in close in fighting and grappling,
he would be cut apart by the skilled swordsman.  But Ghost had a whole
separate way to attack, something nobody else was practiced in, and that
few could resist.  He hid himself safely behind the Fountain, and closed
his eyes.  When he opened them, the world was gray, and he stepped out of
his body.

  Light flashed through the area as Storm and Electrode met each other head
on.  Golden arcs came from Electrode's hands, meeting Storm's white
lightning dead center between the two.  Her eyes were a pure white color;
his green eyes squinted to adjust for the brightness, and bored into her
with great intensity.  The skies darkened, and Storm pulled her trump card.
Electrode generated his electricity within his body, but Storm could draw
upon the power of nature itself.  Lightning flashed from the skies, arching
down into the palm of Storm's upraised right hand, then into her left hand,
which she trust forward.  The sky-lightning drove through Electrode's
bolts, striking him in the chest.  He flew back, sent out from under the
dome, his shirt on fire in the center.

  Will rolled out of the way of a trio of descending vine-whips, and came
up on one knee, his seafoam colored eyes glowing with power.  His chest,
arms, legs and one of his cheeks were bloody from the relentless whips of
Eco, his uniform in tatters.  Eco thrust both arms forward, nearly a dozen
vine-whips singing through the air towards him.  "BURN!" he shouted, and
the vines burst into intense flame, turning to ash in moments.  Eco
screamed in pain, as he had nerve endings within the vines.  Will stood and
spoke again, shouting "BACK!"  Eco hurtled back, smashing backward into a
tree.

  Ghost turned towards the fight, and the whole thing looked so much
different from this perspective.  The bright flashes of lightning strikes
and other energy-based powers were dimmed in the spirit realm, being
inconsequential.  All of the mutants were bright in his vision, the sign of
a strong and attentive mind.  He saw the white figures of Electrode and Eco
fly away from the battle area at almost the same time.  Eco's figure dimmed
as he passed, Ghost was sure he fell unconscious.  He looked at Wolverine,
and saw the man on his knees, the bright white of his spirit aura actually
leaking out through the wound in his chest.  The sword itself was barely
visible, physical objects usually were.  But Holy, who was invisible to the
normal world, was as bright as day to Ghost.  His aura was very bright, he
was in a high state of alert, and had a sharp and disciplined mind.  This
would not be easy.  Ghost threw himself toward Holy, attacking with all of
his power.  His goal was
 not to possess, or to distract.  His goal was soul versus soul
destruction.  He felt Holy resist, though he clearly did not understand at
first.  The mind was unable to understand the spirit realm unless it had
actually been there, but the body knew how to defend itself.  Instinctually
Holy strove with all of his willpower against Ghost, the pure, raw power of
each mans mind striving against the other.  Ghost forced forward inch by
inch, but felt himself growing weary.  He had never done this before, and
would never have attempted it on such a strong opponent if the situation
were different.  Losing was not something he wanted to think about, he was
not even entirely sure what would happen.

  <What is this?  What is happening?  What are you doing?> Ghost heard in
his mind, the voice of the mind of Holy.  Their minds were so connected
that they could communicate.  He chose not to, it would only make this
harder.  Ghost strove forward, using the last of his strength.  He felt the
spirit of Holy begin to crumple, he forced it back.  In a single moment,
just as he felt his strength failing him, Ghost suddenly had no resistance.
Holy's spirit fought, struggled, and finally broke.  In this moment, Ghost
saw a blinding flash, even FELT the shattered pieces of Holy's aura
dissipate into nothing, like a piece of glass shattering, and grinding to
dust.  With is was a desperate cry, the sound of a man dying, falling away
into nothing and becoming nothing.  The empty shell of Holy's body fell to
the ground, with nothing in it to keep the heart beating or the blood
flowing.  Ghost let go of the spirit realm, and felt himself snap back into
his body.  The world came
 suddenly into sharp focus, with full color and sound.  He felt a wave of
exhaustion hit him, threatened to overwhelm him.  He had just felt himself
crush another mind; take a life in the most intimate way he could conceive.
He wanted to vomit.  So he did.

  Wolverine was on his feet with incredible speed, pulling the sword out
from his chest, feeling his body stitch itself back together.  His lung
inflated, and air came easily again.  His body generated more blood at
hundreds of times the normal speed, and his head felt less light.  He
looked down at the body at his feet; saw the golden eyes of Holy staring
into nothing.  It was strange, a completely intact, completely healthy body
lying dead before you, not apparent damage done to it.  As soon as he was
convinced it was not a trick, Wolverine moved to aid the others.

  Will saw Fuse block an optic blast from Cyclops with a slab of concrete,
which he had fused onto his left arm like a medieval shield.  He hurled the
broken parts of the slab at Cyclops, causing him to duck and roll out of
the way.  Will came in as Fuse aimed the laser at Cyclops, going for the
kill.  "TWIST!" he shouted.  The metal on the muzzle of the cutting laser
squealed as it twisted shut, closing off the end.  When Fuse fired the
laser, it exploded, tearing itself apart, and throwing him back into one of
the stone pillars.  Dazed, the black man looked into Will's eyes, still
glowing with anger and power.  "SHATTER!" he shouted, and the pillar behind
Fuse blew apart violently, the chunks of concrete slamming him in the head,
sending him unconscious to the ground.  For a moment it seemed as though
the dome would stand, but then a loud CRACK filled the air, and a chunk of
the dome broke off, slamming down on Fuse, crushing him.

  Flash, the red haired teleporter, vanished from his fight with Beast,
having sent the big blue man into the dirt, despite his greater strength.
He appeared again beside Electrode, then Holy, Eco, and vanished in red
smoke, fleeing the failed ambush.  The X-Men gathered together, and escaped
from under the unstable dome.

  "Is everyone ok?" asked Cyclops, holding his side.  He looked around, and
saw the state of his team.  Storm had minor burns in several places, but
seemed otherwise ok.  Will's uniform was sliced apart in over a dozen
places, with red welts or oozing cuts beneath from the whips of Eco.  Beast
was bruised a bit, and his fur was ruffled, he held Echo's unconscious body
in his arms.  Wolverine's uniform was cut up as well; especially a long
wide cut across the front, giving Cyclops a great peak at the incredible
hairy muscular body that he knew was beneath.  His eyes lingered over the
hole in Wolverine's chest, where a large amount of blood had dried from the
wound that was much too close to his heart.  Will seemed unscathed, but had
an exhausted, slightly haunted look on his face, his grey eyes were
distant.  He was also slightly pale, as though he didn't feel well.

  "Storm, you and Beast take Echo back to the Jet, keep him safe" commanded
Cyclops.  "Then, provide us with air cover.  The rest of us will continue
towards the bridge. We need to..."  Further conversation was cut off by a
piercing roar that cut through the air.  The X-Men all whipped around, and
saw that not all of their enemies had fled after all.

  Where Animal had landed, there now lay a beast of incredible size.  The
serpentine body was covered in black and green scales, and great black
spikes rose regularly along the spine.  The four legs were thickly muscled
and the feet ended in huge, razor-like black claws.  The head was enormous,
with a large bony ridge protecting the vulnerable snake-like neck.  The
eyes were an acid green, and the teeth were large, sharp, and black.  Its
black, bat-like wings spread wide, blasting the area with wind.  It stood
on its hind legs and roared a primordial roar, the earth thundering beneath
its power.  Animal had used her creature-morph power to become a dragon.

  With another roar, the dragon took off into the air, flying toward the
Golden Gate Bridge.

  ******************************

  Demon stood shoulder to shoulder with Colossus on the Golden Gate Bridge.
The large men batted aside cars, ruined planes, and Brotherhood mutants,
trying to get keep the remaining Army line intact.  As soon as the captured
mutant had given Demon and Emma the information about this attack, they had
made contact with the Professor, who sent out a call to arms.  Psionic had
shuttled everyone he could to the area in order to defend San Francisco.

  Despite the reinforcements, the battle was ugly.  The Brotherhood simply
had MORE soldiers.  The Army line was losing ground, and now they were
being attacked from behind.  The X-Men and other mutants tried to hold off
the rear assault, but there always seemed to be more enemies.  In the
distance, Demon could see a stream of landing boats materializing out of
thin air and heading to the shore on the northern side of the bridge,
bringing yet more of the Phoenix's forces.

  Demon looked up at the sound of flapping wings, and saw the Dragon
descend onto the bridge.  It landed in the midst of the rear battle,
scattering Brotherhood, Alliance, and Army soldiers alike.  A great and
terrible roar split the air, and it tore into the tar with its claws.  The
great tail whipped around, smashing three cars aside and let loose an
intense breath of fire.  The flames melted the tar, turning a large section
of the bridge into a molten death pit.

  Demon ducked under the tail as it swept by again.  He grabbed the nearest
car, a red convertible, and threw it with all his strength at the Dragon,
catching it in the side.  The Dragon staggered to the side, but stayed on
its feet.  It swung its tail at Demon, thinking to crush the insolent red
bug.  Demon dashed to the side, but caught a glancing blow, which sent him
headlong into a van.  A blinding red light flashed, and the Dragon fell to
the ground before she could finish him off.

  "You ok kid?" asked Wolverine, who was suddenly beside Demon.  He and
Cyclops had arrived with Will and Ghost, having trailed the Dragon at full
speed.  Demon pulled his head out of the side of the van, trailing blood
from his scalp, but otherwise fine.  "Good" said Wolverine, who unsheathed
his claws and sprinted toward the Dragon.

  The Dragon was up again before Wolverine got to her, but he was too fast,
and was soon slicing at the beast, though the steel-hard scales slowed him
down a bit.  The Dragon shook itself hard, throwing Wolverine into the
melted tar portion of the bridge.  Wolverine screamed, though it sounded
more like a roar, as the hot liquid burned into his skin, and held him
down.

  Cyclops came running in, using his optic blasts to clear a way through
the empty cars that littered the bridge.  He and Colossus attacked the
Dragon together.  Cyclops blasted her with an optic blast at full strength,
which Colossus leaped up and drove his fist into her elbow.  The joint
shattered, then she was knocked back out of reach by the optic blast.  The
Dragon was sent off the edge of the bridge, but rose into the air, circling
back around.  It strafed the X-Men, causing more of the road to melt and
cars to explode.  She whipped her tail and knocked Cyclops aside, then
landed and went straight for Colossus.  The stream of fire she sent at him
was white with heat, and Colossus stood his ground and took it, shielding
his face with his arms.  His metal skin started to glow, and Demon worried
that he would melt.  Could he melt?  Demon looked around for a car to
throw, knowing that he could not survive the heat to save Colossus.

  Several things happened in the next few seconds.  First, a barrage of
vehicles thrown by a powerful mind smashed into the shelters of the Army
soldiers defending the center of the bridge, and the Brotherhood charged.
Second, a series of huge explosions erupted along the shore north of the
bridge, tearing through the marching Brotherhood reinforcement line.  More
explosions hit the water, shattering various landing boats, sending them to
the bottom of the bay.  Third, twin meteors of flame descended, one orange,
one blue.  The blue meteor flew over the rushing Brotherhood line, and two
small blue orbs fell from it, exploding on contact and scattering the
mutants.  The orange meteor Landed in front of Colossus, forming a shield
of fire between him and the Dragon.  Colossus rushed away, moving slowly.

  Alex and Johnny had arrived, having ridden with Admiral Nealson's fleet,
with Alex's water powers moving the ships along at many times their normal
speed on a controlled current.  The ships had opened fire on the
Brotherhood forces, but Alex and Johnny had flown forth to join the battle
on the bridge.

  The Human Torch stood before the Dragon in all his fiery regalia.  He
shaped the fire from his body with his powers, manipulating the flames into
a great ball of fire, and bushed back against the force of the Dragon's
breath.  The Torch's powers proved the greater, and the fireball exploded
against her head, throwing her back over a hundred feet, landing on her
back.  Johnny flew into the air, and rained down a jet of fire on the
Dragon, pinning her to the ground.  Wolverine, having been freed from the
tar, jumped onto her chest, claws extended.  He endured the burning flames
as he quickly and painfully cut out the Dragon's heart.  Johnny released
the flames, and they watched as the Dragon shrank back down and resembled
the woman Animal again.

  "You ok there Logan?" asked Johnny.  Wolverine turned to him, and Johnny
watched as the blackened skin of his face, arms and chest returned to
normal, and grew hair again.  Johnny smirked, but chose not to point out
that almost all of Wolverine's uniform was burned away, and he wore only
black leather pants, one of which was missing half of the leg.  In a less
disastrous situation, it would have been hot.

  "I'm fine.  Where's your chilly counterpart?"  Johnny smiled and nodded
back towards the center of the bridge.

  The blue meteor streaked back around, and settled gently onto the bridge,
the blue flames extinguishing and revealing Hydrogue.  Hydrogue stood alone
between the Brotherhood army and the ruined and disarrayed defenses of the
U.S. Army and the Alliance forces.  In his hand, he held what looked like a
clear orb of water, though it had a strange quality in the center of it.
All of the action came to a halt for a moment, and the only movement was
the flickering of flames.  A rustling came from within the Brotherhood
crowd, and they parted to let someone through.

  "Step aside my dear boy" said Magneto, stepping to the head of his mutant
army.  He was arrayed all in gray, with his customary matching cape and
strange helmet.  "This is no place for a child."

  Hydrogue flicked his wrist, sent the water orb in his hand straight
towards Magneto.  It was no ordinary orb, but something he and Johnny had
worked on together.  The orb was hollow, filled with highly explosive
hydrogen gas, which Hydrogue formed by pulling apart water molecules.
Outside of the hollow globe was a second hollow globe, but the space
between the layers was filled with coursing electricity.  Magneto pulled a
truck between himself and Hydrogue, and when the orb hit, it broke open.
The energy in the outer layer struck the gas on the inside, and ignited it.
The truck detonated, reduced to shards of metal and glass in an instant.
Hydrogue had made fire.

  "Impressive, that you would have the gall to attack me.  But run along
now, we serve a much higher purpose than you."

  "You mean the Phoenix?  She's insane, a power hungry lunatic who only
serves her own ego."

  Magneto laughed.  "My dear boy, you are a fool.  The Phoenix is
everything, the perfect culmination of human evolution.  She has brought
the human government to its knees, and she will sit on the throne of
civilization, and give mutants their rightful place as the ruling class, as
only a goddess on earth can."

  "She is not a goddess, she is a mutant.  A Class 5 mutant, just like me.
She is not special or unique; she wasn't even the first one."

  Magneto's laugh was louder, more genuine this time, as though he were
really and truly amused.  "My boy, she is not a goddess because she is
Class 5.  Class 5 is merely a human way of trying to understand her.  She
is the embodiment of cleansing fire, her pure potency enough to shatter any
man.  Her power is grander and greater than anything you could possibly
understand, much less duplicate or challenge."

  Johnny saw Hydrogue, facing away from them toward the Brotherhood army.
His hands were clenched by his sides, his shoulders squared and unnaturally
tense.  Johnny stepped forward, and the others joined him, to take up
position beside Hydrogue.  But Hydrogue raised a hand, turned his head to
the side.  He did not meet their eyes, but they could see his, wreathed
with blue flame, smoldering with anger.  His jaw was clenched tight, even
as he spoke.  "Stay back" he said.

  "So you want a god do you Magneto?"  Hydrogue's voice was low, but
carried so as to be heard by everyone on both sides.  It was cold sounding,
but carried the distinct taste of deep seeded anger.  "I'll show you a
GOD!!"

  With that, Hydrogue raised his hands into the air, and when he did the
water on either side of the bridge rose high, hundreds of feet into the
air.  The San Francisco Bay parted like the Red Sea, rising like walls on
either side of the bridge.  Below the bridge, the water was completely
gone, and the floor of the bay could be seen.  Lightning crackled and
flashed from one wall to the other, giving the canyon a ceiling of energy.

  "I command you all to turn back" said Hydrogue, his voice rising over the
rushing sound of water and the shocked yells of the crowds.  He rose a few
feet above the ground, his entire body glowing with a faint blue aura.
"Turn away now, don't make me stop you."

  "You cannot defeat us all, child" said Magneto, sending three cars
hurtling at Hydrogue.  Without even moving, Hydrogue knocked the cars away,
using water molecules in the air like a giant hand.  As two more vehicles
rose up, lightning forked from the sides of the water canyon and blasted
them from existence.

  It was impossible to tell what drove the Brotherhood army, whether it was
fear, courage, or absolute faith in their cause, but they rushed forward in
a surge, swarming at Hydrogue.  A barrage of attacks came forward, fire,
lightning, light, shadow, energy, objects, assaults of all kinds.  A flick
of Hydrogue's mind batted the attacks from the air, but still more came.
He could not hold against hundreds of mutants with unknown powers forever.
Not if he played fair.

  Hydrogue brought down a section of the water canyon wall, morphing it
into a solid column of water.  The column came down between Hydrogue and
the advancing force, smashing through the old bridge, ripping the street
apart and snapping support structures.  At the same time, a second column
fell onto the very northern part of the bridge, cutting off escape.  They
all realized what would happen, and those who could fly or teleport did so,
though for many it did not help.  The water canyon collapsed down onto the
bridge, pouring millions of gallons of water onto the Brotherhood mutants.
Lightning flashed and forked, destroying several mutants who took flight,
though Magneto could be seen ascending in an orb of electromagnetic energy,
deflecting the lightning bolts from his path.  The weight and force of the
water collapsed the northern half of the bridge, sending it crashing down
into the bare rock below.  The water poured down and resumed its normal
place in the bay,
 bubbling and roiling with the trapped air and debris from the collapsed
portions of the bridge.  There were many mutants swimming to the surface,
those who had not been crushed by the weight of the falling water.  They
screamed in agony as the entire bay suddenly froze solid, entombing them
all.

  Hydrogue descended to the ground, and turned back to his teammates and
friends.  He no longer glowed, though his eyes were still bright with
power.  His face was blank, that of a man who had done something he did not
want to do, but felt he had no choice.  The remaining Brotherhood fighters
on the southern half of the bridge surrendered quickly, or else escaped in
whatever way they could.  The Battle of San Francisco was over.

  Johnny ran over to Alex and wrapped him in a big brotherly hug, lifting
the smaller man into the air for a moment.  The others crowded around to
congratulate him on leading the first big victory against the forces of the
Phoenix.  Mutants and soldiers alike patted him on the back, even some
civilians who had not fled when the attack began.  Alex's heart pounded
from it all, the glee and pride at having saved the city, the horror and
guilt for having killed so many.  One guy who came to congratulate him
shook his hand, and when he did Alex relaxed, his heart slowed, and he felt
his eyelids grow heavy for a moment as he went into a mild, trance-like
state for a moment.  When the feeling subsided, mere second later, he was
calmer, and he looked at the mutant, a shorter guy with dark eyes and dark
hair buzzed short.  The mutant smiled and turned away, getting lost in the
crowd.

  Demon watched from the side, watched his friend, his everything, his
once-only lover get showered with praise by many.  He watched closely the
man who stood beside him, the ever handsome and charismatic Human Torch,
who kept a hand on Alex's shoulder the entire time.  Demon turned and
stalked away, his bare feet hitting the ground with enough force to crack
the tar.  He saw the companionship between those two, and relived again the
horrible conversation where Alex had told him they could not be together.
He walked away from the scene, wallowing in the pain and the sorrow from
his heart.  He walked away, and it consumed him.

  *******************************

  The Phoenix sat alone in her chamber in the darkness, a roiling ring of
fire before her.  Within the flame she saw the scene of the ruin of the
Battle of San Francisco play out.  She sat on her huge obsidian throne, her
red hair cascading down her shoulders.  She watched as the battle finished,
saw Magneto flee for his life, and watched as a large portion of her army
was ruined, by the bombing of the naval ships or by Hydrogue himself.  But
she was not moved to anger.  There were more soldiers, always more.  No,
the Phoenix was glad, her smile broad and unrestrained, though nobody was
there to see it.

  He was coming along so very well.

  *****************************

  Nobody saw him, the shadowy figure who stood upon the highest tower of
the Golden Gate Bridge.  He stood, cloaked in darkness, wearing it like one
would wear a jacket.  He had watched the battle, seen the actions of the
heroes and villains there that day.  He still watched the celebration, the
praise rained on the fighters, most particularly the figure with the
brilliant blue eyes, the ones that glowed brightly enough to be seen even
from this distance.  That powerful being had proved his worth, swept in and
saved the day, holding back a tide that many had viewed as unstoppable.
The future of this war was in question now, with supremely powerful beings
on either side.

  But the shadow man had to wonder about this mutant, this beacon of
righteous blue flame.  He rose away from the bridge, flying through the air
with the ease of walking, gliding smoothly and silently, far faster than
any plane or being of the sky.

  He would continue to watch.

  //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

  Ok, Chapter 13 is all done!!!  I hope you don't all hate me for it taking
so very long, but I think the final product is worth it.  Once again, any
questions or comments can be sent to me at phoenixfire543@yahoo.com.  There
is also a yahoo group for you guys, you can go to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HydrogueFans if you wish to join.  I love you
all, thank you!!  -Matt