#80

"Dissolution and Rebirth Four - From the Top"

April, Year 4

by Will Short

"Damned American maniacs! Just listen to me fer a second, and ye'll stop this madness!"

The large (and growing) red-haired man in plain street clothes was throwing dozens of people off his back and arms, easily done with his increasing size and strength.

"Damned Americans?? Damn freakin' Irish muties, is more like it, you freak!" a man in the crowd yelled, and jumped at Blockade with a small pocket knife. The surly mutant turned and held the man in the air with one hand, and stared him in the eye with a frustrated sneer on his face.

"What'd ye call me? Ye little....." Blockade began as he threw the man harshly into the crowd, their multitude padding the crash. "Ye come at me with bloody knives! What do ye expect me to do?"

"We expect for you to get the Hell out of here!" a woman holding her child while standing on the sidewalk said. "Mutie freaks like you has been running these streets recently, and we're all tired of it! Go back to Europe! We don't need any more gene-trash."

"Well, personally, we expect for him to defend himself peacefully and calmly, but you folks aren't really giving him much of a chance to do that." A loud, bold voice caught the ear of most of the crowd and Blockade, and they all looked up to find the daring sight of the X-Men. It was Iceman who had spoke.

"People, please, step away from this man and let us deal with him. You're only going to get hurt if you get involved." Cyclops said, trying to calm down the chaos before him.

The people, however, didn't heed his words. They continued to fight against Blockade, who himself was fighting back rather roughly, pulling few punches in his defense. The X-Men knew that it was risky to mutantkind's reputation for this type of behavior to continue, so they decided to act.

"Iceman, Angel, and Shadowcat handle the civilians. Get them out of here, hold them back, just keep them away from this guy. Gambit and Jean, you two follow me for a direct attack." Cyclops ordered. The others obeyed. How could they not?

As more and more citizens came to the scene, Iceman formed a large wall of solid ice around certain rioters, which would hold them for only so long in the summer weather, and with so many around to crack its barriers.

"You people just don't know what's good for yourselves." Bobby said with a sound of amusement. "Hey! You! Don't get too rowdy in there! You'll be free soon enough."

Shadowcat did her best to grab the children running free in this disorder, and phased them into buildings further away, or simply showed them the way to someplace safer.

Archangel made the most obvious use of his wings, and took on the role of the avenging Angel, which he had done so many years ago to save people from a flaming building. But that was so long ago...The blue-skinned playboy easily carried two or three people at a time and dropped them inside Bobby's ice-walls or just further away from the danger.

Meanwhile, Cyclops and the other two were not having such an easy time with Blockade.

"Surrender now, and we can bring you back to the academy. We don't want to fight you, we want to help you! But you're going to have to let us bring you in, for the sake of these people's safety." the X-Men's leader spoke.

His answer was, in short, Blockade walking up to the tall figure of Cyclops, who was dwarfed in comparison to the Irishman's now nine-foot frame, and quickly punching him in the stomach.

"Scot!!" Jean yelled in fright, but she knew he was okay almost immediately. She also knew that was one of the hardest hits Scott had ever taken, and that Blockade had been holding back. The blow sent Cyclops flying, but already he was letting loose the power of his optic blasts.

The ruby gleam of his eye-blasts went screeching through the air, directed solely at the chest of the towering Blockade. But the beams' owner, Phoenix, and Gambit, were all astounded when the stream of power broke up and dispersed horizontally directly in front of their opponent, as if absorbed or blocked by an invisible wall. "What th' Hell?" Gambit shrewdly said.

"Come now, me friends. Ye did't think I was all about hittin' and such, did ye?" Blockade said tauntingly to the X-Men. "I know who ye are, X-Men...I respect yer work. But ye've got this all wrong. I'm not the enemy here..."

Jean was, however, already on the task of manipulating Blockade's distraction. He failed to notice, at first, that he was being lifted into the air slowly, and his limbs were forced to lay attached and helpless at his sides. "What th'.....Ye have a telekinetic among ye?"

"Just one." Jean stated, assured of herself. "And a telepath, in the same.."

With that, she delved into his mind, and quickly, all at once, relived his life in bits and pieces, sounds, pictures.....and he forced it back on her.. His willpower was astounding. "Get.....outta.....me head....wench!" Blockade said in a strained voice. Jean moaned at the pain, and nearly fainted. She had never experienced such a strong mind.....such an indominatable will.

"Jus' one." Gambit stated calmly, as he jumped onto the muscular back of the monsterous man, and attempted to get some sort of hold on his head. He failed. The large Irishman easily picked up Gambit's skinny body and threw it to the ground, knocking the wind out of him.

"I don't remember there bein' a telekinetic on th' team.....or one who looked like ye, beanpole. The doc's files must be out-o'-date....."

Cyclops has been helping Jean back up, and he realizes that they could really use Piotr's strength now.....they could really use the whole team. But he knew that they had to stop Blockade, at full strength or not. And at less than full strength, Cyclops knew that there was only one way to keep things peaceful.

"Blockade, listen up, because here's the deal.....we're going to end this right now. Not the hard way, but the easy way. We're going to take you to someplace safe let you talk, and you're going to tell us what you know and leave these people alone." Scott says, attempting to sound as peaceful as possible.

"Alright, but I dinna start....." Blockade began.

"I know, I know. But you know how much humans distrust us.....and that's why we're here. I don't know if your 'doc' files mentioned it, but we're trying to get things between humans and mutants to a better state of mind. You understand?"

The three X-Men who had been helping the civilians, Shadowcat, Iceman, and Archangel, came to the scene together, all of them ready for a fight. Archangel's wings at their full size, Iceman preparing ice blasts and objects for battle, and Shadowcat already in her best fighting stance, for all it was worth.

"Let's put an end to this, Irishman." Warren, the Archangel, says threateningly as he begins to sweep down on the large mutant.

"Warren, no! Stop!" Cyclops cries out.

Warren is only thinking of finally getting a chance for the real action, instead of just "helping civilians". He never really gets to use his powers to their extent.....he hungers for it. He barely hears Scott over his thoughts of fighting.....maiming.....cutting Blockade.

"Warren, for God's sake, wait a minute!" Cyclops yells, and Warren finally snaps out of it, stopping himself merely a foot in front of his target. He lands abruptly, and nearly falls over from the sudden halting.

"Woah, Worthington.....that's a close call, no?" Gambit states.

"Warren, we've gotten things settled with Blockade for now...he's coming with us." Jean says, sounding a little worried without saying it.

"Oh.....haha, sorry guys. I guess I got a little carried away." Warren says, trying to laugh it off.

He knows he shouldn't. Cyclops makes a note of it.....he almost didn't stop. He had a look in his eye.....almost like Logan*. That's not usual for him.

(*Logan is Wolverine, a former X-Man and Marvel mainstay, for those of you who don't know.- Will)

"Just who is 'doc', anyway, friend?" Cyclops asked. Before the Irish mutant could answer, a heavenly voice made itself heard from the street nearby. A familiar voice.....

"Do ye really know that many Irish doctors, dear?"

"I think I know a few....." another familiar femenine voice said.

Turning, the X-Men and Blockade all saw two women standing on the street, easily out of place, since most citizens were out of the area. Two beautiful women.....

"Moira! Rhane!" Shadowcat exclaims, and runs over to her two friends. She wraps her arms around both, and hugs them as hard and close as possible.

"Aye, good to see ye too, lass." Rhane, also known as Wolfsbane, said to her friend.

"What are you doing in the U.S.? Not that I'm unhappy to see either of you, of course." Cyclops says.

"Tracking this big hunk of man meat around, of course. Can't let one like that get away....." Moira says, looking at Blockade as she does so.

"Aw, ye didn't need to, luv....." he says, embarrassed.

"Well, I hate to interrupt this, but the Blackbird's on its way, so why don't we all just continue this conversation inside?" Iceman says, as the X-Men's black plane hovers above the scene.

"Sounds good to me." Shadowcat says, and they all begin to board.

"Hit 'em fast and hard, Brotherhood!" the unnamed young woman said as the group descended on the rebellion's meeting place. Below, the leaders of the rebellion, Longshot and his wife Dazzler, began to command their small army's troops, prepping them for the battle that they had prepared for. The three visitors, the mutants Nightcrawler, Colossus, and Rogue, were shocked at the sight above them, but quickly shifted to their mode of battle.

"Looks like Mojo's up to his usual tricks…..okay, X-Men, let's do what we came here to do." Nightcrawler said, assuming control of the situation almost by second nature.

"Ah dunno…" Rogue said, feeling uncomfortable in the fray. She still didn't feel all that comfortable without her power, even with the Inviso-Suit she had received from Mister Fantastic. "Ah dunno if we can take all these little critters alone, guys."

Still, into action they leapt, followed from behind quickly by Longshot and Dazzler.

"Don't worry, Rogue," Longshot said as he jumped into the air, throwing his small blades at the little child resembling Quicksilver. The child was already falling, though, and easily dodged the blades with his super-speed. He landed beside Dazzler and began running around her quickly, throwing so many punches she hardly had time to realize the last one before she was hit again.

"Stupid resistance dummies," the child said in his pre-pubescent voice. The punches were small and not very powerful, but they were thrown with enough speed to anger the Dazzler.

"Ow! Hey, you little punk…didn't your mom tell you it wasn't nice to hit girls?" she said, firing bursts of solid light from her hands and knocking the child down.

"Owie! My daddy Mojo says it's okay to hit girls like you!" the child said, jumping back to his feet to attack once again. Longshot came to his wife's aid, though, picking up the small speedster by his shirt.

"And what are you called, friend?" he said, looking the white-haired child in the eyes.

"I'm not your friend! And even if you were, you'd still call me Speedy!"

"Well, Speedy, I think it's time you figured out that you and your friends are doing something very wrong, and that you definitely will lose."

"You're a liar-liar pants on fire!" an even higher voice yelled, and Longshot found himself dropping the child, as Speedy began to feel too heavy to carry.

"What in the heck?" Longshot exclaimed, turning around and seeing a small girl in a red hood and cape and a pink body suit.

"That's my brother, and the only person who messes with him is me!" she said, her hands glowing with energy.

"I'm afraid that's about to change, lil' missy." Dazzler said, her light blasts hitting the little girl lightly. The girl began to cry, and her brother Speedy ran over to her. "Scarlet Hood…sis! Are you okay?"

"I…..I think so…" she choked to say through tears.

Longshot and Dazzler looked at the small scene before them and they couldn't help but feel bad. They were battling children. They were battling them, and they were completely overpowering them.

Meanwhile, the three X-Men were attempting to handle the remaining Brotherhood members, including their new leader, Mirror. The attractive young woman was dressed in a simple blue and yellow body suit, similar to those worn by the original X-Men. Despite her relatively plain clothing, she was giving the X-Men more trouble than any of the other five Brotherhood children combined.

"Lenin's ghost…..she is just as strong as I!" Colossus said as the girl, now made organic steel like himself, grappled with him, easily shaking off the vain punches of Nightcrawler from behind her.

"So it would seem, mein friend. There seems to be little that she cannot do." The German mutant said, and then was thrown off the back of the girl called Mirror.

Rogue was having a somewhat easy time with most of the Brotherhood. Her Inviso-Suit seemed to do some good, as she ran around invisible to the young children's eyes. Matchstick, Lil' Mastermind, and Toadie were easily taken out by basic hand-to-hand combat. Matchstick ran out of fluid for his flame-thrower quickly, and without fire to control, he was hardly a threat. Lil' Mastermind's illusions could only effect Rogue's adult mind for seconds at a time, and what she saw were presents and candy and other childish items. Toadie, like his adult conterpart, was a push-over. Rogue just knocked him out, even without her super strength.

But Rogue was finding it hard to stop Mini-Mag and Helmet-Head. The young version of Magneto could easily sense Rogue's electromagnetic field, and he would tell Helmet-Head where to direct his nearly immeasurable strength.

"Over here, HH! There's the icky girl!" Mini-Mag said, pointing towards Rogue's invisible form. Quickly the small juggernaut charged at Rogue, and she was knocked into the nearest wall painfully.

"Ahhh!" she moaned, as her back burned with pain and her suit malfunctioned, revealing her body to her foe's sights.

"I get her! Nothing stops Helmet-Head!" the brown-suited child yelled, but Mini-Mag halted him with a shield magnetic energy.

"Stop, Helmet! I want this girl." Mini-Mag said, and approached Rogue. His hand was raised in front of their faces, a ball of energy forming around it.

"You're helping the resistance…you're the grossest girl I've ever met." He said, and it was obvious to Rogue that he was going to hurt her. She didn't want Erik to hurt her…not again. Not in any form. Rogue had tried to avoid using her powers on these kids, but…..

"Ahhhh!" the child screamed as his body and mind merged with that of Rogue.

"What're…..you….doing to me? Please, stop!" the child yelled. But Rogue had reacted, even if it was overly so.

"Ah'm…sorry, Erik." She said, straining. She was absorbing his thoughts…his "birth" from Mojo…his brainwashing…his training. Rogue knew when to let go. When she did, the child dropped.

Rogue raised her body into the air with her new magnetic powers. Helmet-Head tried to charge her, but she simply stopped him with a wall, sending him flying backwards again. Seeing the situation that Nightcrawler and Colossus had, she joined in.

A bubble of magnetic energy surrounded Mirror once she was shoved back by Colossus.

"I've been told about you, girl…you're the most dangerous out of these three. Absorption powers, super strength, flying…..and obviously, you've got Mini-Mag's powers, right now. But any powers you have, I have."

Mirror threw a punch at Rogue, who barely escaped the blow. Colossus ran to his friend's aid, holding Mirror in a full Nelson while Rogue used her magnetic powers to send jolts of electromagnetic energy through the girls body, enough to knock her out. Colossus let her down gently, and the three X-Men turned to Longshot and Dazzler.

"Friends Allison and Longshot, it would seem that you don't need any assistance." Colossus said almost jokingly, seeing Speedy and the Scarlet Hood on the ground.

"Of course we don't…..we're fighting kids, for Pete's sake!" Longshot said, worry apparent through his tone.

"Ah know, 'Shot! Ah took care of three of 'em by mahself…and the two that gave me trouble were still done real quick." Rogue agreed.

"It would seem that Mojo's standards have fallen." Nightcrawler stated, and the others agreed.

"This is horrible…..these are just children…..toddlers, almost." Dazzler sounded melancholy as she knelt over the Scarlet Hood and Speedy, making sure that they were alright.

"Look at all th' little sweeties…kinda cute, when they're not attackin' ya." Rogue admitted.

"There is still one problem to be dealt with, friends…Mojo is still at large." Colossus reminded them, hinting that he was ready for action.

"That's right. But…we never found out where his headquarters was." Said Longshot a little ashamedly.

"…..but I…know" a girl's straining voice said. Turning around, the group of five saw Mirror, trying to get up and not looking at all threatening.

"Don't worry…..I'm…sensible now. A little sore though…" she said, and with trust, Longshot and Nightcrawler helped her up.

"Are you okay to walk, child?" Nightcrawler asked charmingly.

"I think so…yeah, thanks." She answered.

"Are you one of Mojo's creations, also? I do not remember seeing a mutant like you on Earth…" Colossus asked.

"No, I was kidnapped by that guy in the middle of the night. He…brainwashed me, I think. I was supposed to be the star of his show, or some crazy crap like that…it's hard to remember. I'm still a little dazed."

"Well, I'm sorry to ask you so soon, but can you tell us where Mojo's headquarters is?" Nightcrawler asked.

"Tell you? I'll show you…I plan to show him just how much I appreciate being stolen from my home." She said with anger.

Longshot informed his troops of the situation and left them to take care of the still unconscious children on the ground. Those who could fly, Rogue and Mirror, carried two people each, Jenny Livenhill showed them the way to the tyrant of Mojoworld.

"Moira! I'm so happy for you two!" Shadowcat said happily inside the passenger area of the Blackbird, after her good friend Moira McTaggert revealed that she and the new mutant Blockade, whose real name ended up being Barry Fitgurd, were living together.

"Thank ye, Kitty." Moira said happily.

"How did you two meet?" Phoenix asked, obviously very interested in her old friends apparent settling down.

"Well…..'tis a funny story, really. He was doin' his superhero business in th' area, and one day th' boy encountered some trouble on Muir Island. I helped 'im out, and at th' end of it all, he was injured, so me and Rhane took the boy in."

"The Irish Florence Nightengale." Bobby said jokingly.

"Th' boy seems ta be a lil' young, though, no?" Gambit said, making most of the others a little awkward, but Moira and Barry were fine with it.

"I like older women." Barry said, sounding satisfied.

"There really isn't that much of a maturity difference…well most of th' time…" Moira teases her lover, and he holds her hand.

"Gosh, Moira…ye'd think I had enough o' this at home." Rhane said, and the others laughed with her, untill Cyclops asked Archangel to pilot the ship.

"Moira…I've heard about you and Barry's commitment. That's great." Scott said, sounding only fairly caring and really more concerned with what he was leading up to.

"Thanks, Scotty." Moira answered.

"But I'm afraid that still doesn't tell us what brings you two to the states." He's staying serious, getting right down to business, like usual.

"Oh, yes! I'd almost forgot, in all this craziness 'n happy reunions." Barry responded. "I followed one o' me enemies here, name o' 'The Word'. He's a crazy man, really, and he's committed serial murders back at th' homeland and now here…I'd come to investigate it, 'n when I got here, th' locals…well, ye all were there." Barry said.

"The Word? I haven't heard of him." Shadwcat admitted.

"He's a nutty one. Believes he's the mutant word of God, 'e does."

"How's that?" Iceman asked, leaning forward more.

"Th' man thinks he's God's own angel o' death. Kills mutants 'n humans alike, n'….."

KRAKOW!

The Blackbird was torn in half, sending its passengers flying every direction through the air. Startled but adjusting quickly, Cyclops barks orders to his team.

"Warren! Jean! Bobby! Get us non-flyers down safely!" He yelled, and immediately his loving wife held him and Gambit aloft with her telekinetic field.. Archangel zoomed by and held onto Kitty and Moira, and Iceman made a comfortable ice slide for Rhane and Barry to find their way down on. Luckily for the team, they are already over part of the acres of estate that make up Charles Xavier's academy. The green grass below them is charred and sprinkled with pieces of debris from the Blackbird.

As the nine men and women landed, a lone figure was standing in the middle of the littered grassland, dressed in a long, brown buttoned-up trenchcoat, not unlike Gambit's own, with brown slacks and a matching dress hat.

"Who the Hell is that?" Bobby exclaims as he helps Rhane off of the slide..

"That…..is the Word." Blockade says, already preparing for battle. His height increased to ten feet on command, and he thickened out to weight at least four hundred pounds.

"Don't just sit there, X-Men…..this it going to take all of us."

Moira stayed back, out of trouble, and worried for Barry and for Rhane as she changed to her half-wolf state as Wolfsbane and joined the other seven mutants in approaching the man.

"X-Men." The Word said, his voice deep and booming.

"You have defied the words of the Lord…for that, you must be punished."

"This…..this is not what I expected." Colossus said, astonished at what he saw. The headquarters of the once great ruler Mojo was in ruins. TV screens that covered the endless metal walls were broken or filled with static. Doors remained open or halfway open. Mojo's many followers were nowhere to be found, leaving almost no evidence that they had ever been there.

Nightcrawler, Colossus, Rogue, Longshot, Dazzler, and their new found friend Mirror, or Jenny Livenhill, walked through the abandoned halls and rooms, amazed with the complete contrast between the former state of the quarters and the current way in which they found it.

"That yellow pile of snot…he just up and left! I didn't even get a chance to pay him back for the little 'Clockwork Orange' bit he pulled on me." Mirror exclaimed, angered and frustrated.

"Don't speak so soon, my dear." A booming, annoying voice said. The voice was familiar, but it had an unfamiliar tone in it…..a tone of shame, and of sadness. Following the voice, the group quickly finds what they had come for, although in a different state than they expected. The bloated, yellow, spineless body of Mojo sat atop its spider-like cybernetic frame, his eyes open and his mouth pulled into a permanent smile, but his smile did not match with his tears, which rolled down his fat cheeks like small waterfalls.

The others held back, shocked by Mojo's state, but Jenny felt differently..

"You…..you ugly…..ohhhh, I hate you!" the teenage girl yelled as she ran at Mojo and pounded her fists on him. Luckily for the former tyrant, she was not using her mimic powers to replicate Colossus's stronger blows. Mojo turned around and halted the girl gently, trying to calm her temper.

"Please, Jenny…I really am sorry." He said. The others, especially Longshot, were shocked. Those words were never spoken with such sincerity by this creature. But his eyes showed sorrow, his movements showed pain, and his voice showed remorse. Even Jenny was surprised. Still, she remained angry.

"I can't believe what you did…..I don't even know who you are…or what you are! My parents are probably worried sick about me right now, and I'll be in a Helluva lotta trouble when I get home! Not only that, but you brainwashed me and sent me against these innocent people that I don't even know, and you made me lead those poor kids into a fight they were sure to loose." She was very angry. She seemed to be that way a lot.

"I know…oh, I know!" Mojo sobbed, crying louder and nearly uncontrollably. His huge tears fell on Jenny occasionally, but she found herself less interested in that and more in the situation at hand.

"Then why? Why did you do these horrible and stupid things?" she asked.

"Because…..I wanted one last shot in the limelight." He said quietly and very ashamedly.

"…what the Hell are you talking about?" Jenny asked forcefully.

Longshot stepped up to inform Jenny, joining the conversation. "Mirror…" he began.

"It's Jenny." The girl said with a fire in her eye and tone.

"Uh…yeah. Sorry, Jenny. Anyway, this place is Mojoworld. Mojo created it. When he did, he made sure that almost all of the citizens of the universe loved TV, and that they loved Mojo's productions most. So he would organize huge battles, sometimes involving the X-Men or others, to keep entertaining the people and keeping them in the dark about his complete control over their lives." Longshot told the story well, as he knew it by heart, and by his life.

"So this whole thing was just a big, stupid try at getting back your ratings?" Jenny nearly yelled, and stepped forward to beat on Mojo once again. Longshot held her back, though, trying to calm her.

"Please, Longshot…I think I deserve it." Mojo said dejectedly. Another phrase very uncharacteristic of the maniacal ruler.

"You're damn right you deserve it!" Jenny flared, "You deserve any and everything you get! These experienced heroes were fighting kids, for God's sake. The Brotherhood didn't stand a chance…and I didn't have much more of one, myself. How can you live with yourself? It's a disgrace." Jenny shamed the yellow, spineless Mojo even more.

"…..it's all true. I can't deny it. I…..I was so close to losing that I didn't even care if I lost. I just wanted another big bang…..one to go out with." Mojo admitted.

"Go out with…?" Nightcrawler was concerned.

"As of today, Mojoworld will be no more."

"What???" Longshot exclaimed. While Mojoworld was a war zone most of the time, it was still his home. He cared about its inhabitants, and the world as a whole, the one he had fought so long and hard to keep safe.

"I created Mojoworld soon after I was created, and even I do not know my reason to create or my reason for being created. There is no…reason…for this place, its people, or myself. I have the power to deconstruct it."

"You can't, though…..it's a world full of people! You can't just take their lives away…you said you felt sorry for doing that before." Longshot pleaded.

"I…..that's true. I wish I could do it without killing off all of them…but I don't know another way."
"Just send them to another world!" the Dazzler interjected, sounding frustrated with the absence of ideas on Mojo's part. "Send them someplace else, and then get rid of this place, if you have to."

"That's really a good idea," Mojo said, sounding more lighthearted. "Thank you very much…that lifts a burden off my soul, to know I won't have to kill them all."

"Wait a minute…you're just destroying this whole place because you don't know what to do with it?" Jenny asks lively, sounding hostile again.

"Not just that…I never really knew what purpose it served. It was just…there." Mojo answered.

"Whatever," she said sarcastically, and turned away to walk back towards the others.

Longshot stood alone near Mojo, and the room was silent. He appeared to be in deep thought. No one but Dazzler knew what he was thinking….He's going to go down with the ship, isn't he? Allison Blaire, Longshot's lover, thought. He's going to leave me all alone back on a planet where no one takes me seriously…where I'm either just a singer or just a second-rate superhero.

Longshot turned to his friends and spoke quietly. "Then I must be destroyed with Mojoworld….." he said, and none of his friends could say that they were surprised. Longshot was a natural hero.

"No…no, Longshot, I can't allow you to do that." Mojo said in a concerned tone.

"Why not? You are allowed to rid yourself of this world, so why can't I go down with it, too?"

"Because, out of all my creations, you are the most special. You have the most reason out of anything that came from this place, Longshot…you must return to Earth with your friends. You'll have even more purpose there."

"You can't stop me…"

"I can, and I will, if I have to. You won't be ending your existence anytime soon. Don't try it, because I will stop you."

Longshot sat in silence again, and seemed to come to some sort of decision. He looked in the Dazzler's eyes, and he saw the tears being held back, and the love burning in them.

"Okay, Mojo. You win. I'll leave for Earth."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Mojo stated while Longshot and Dazzler hugged and kissed passionately, completely happy with his decision.

"I suggest that you all leave quickly…I can't bare to leave this place as it is much longer."

As the six heroes joined together again in a group, an uneasiness was felt between them.

"So that's it?" Jenny asked without amusement or understanding. "We just let him completely destroy this place?"

"We don't really have a choice, Jenny," Nightcrawler said. "This is his place…we couldn't stop him if tried."
"Ah…can't believe 'Shot's losin' his home. Ah'm so sorry…" Rogue sympathized, but Longshot wouldn't have it.

"Please, don't worry about me. Let's…let's just go."

"Goodbye, X-Men, Dazzler, Mirr…I'm sorry…Jenny, and Longshot." Mojo said sadly, and then created a portal to send them back to Earth. One by one they stepped through, Longshot being the last. He took one last look at his first home and at his creator and former enemy…and he stepped through.

Mojo turned back to the wall. There was no noise to be heard at first, but soon enough, had any been present, laughter could have been heard. The supposed tears of sadness turned to tears of joy as Mojo cackled and giggled maniacally.

The Resistance was not saved. They were not spared. No citizen was sent to another world.

Mojo destroyed Mojoworld, missing only two of its former inhabitants. While the universe collapsed on itself, its creator continued to chuckle to himself in a mix of suicidal humor and amusing horro.

The greatest actor or any world had finished his final performance.

"C'mon, X-Men! If ye be heroes, ye'll help me more'n ye are now!"

Barry Figurd, Blockade, could be heard by his new friends as they battled the Word, the religious serial killer mutant who had destroyed the X-Men's plain.

The fight was not going well.

Already, Iceman and Shadowcat had suffered bad enough injuries to knock them unconscious, leaving them useless for battle. The young man Blockade, who had dealt with the amazingly powerful killer before, was basically leading the remaining mutants with his expertise. All of their skills were needed…the Word's power was great.

Barry had explained the Word's powers as the fight had just begun.

"He's got all the major powers ye can think of…telekinesis, telepathy, strength, invulnerability…other stuff, too. It all seems to be derived from a source of white light…from where, I dunno."

And the mutants did learn how powerful the Word could be.

"Do you truly think you can win againts the messenger of Christ?" the killer would ask as the team would attempt to fight him. They did their best. Cyclops's optic blasts did him little or no damage…Scott couldn't tell. He tried to tell the others what to do to help. Archangel's blade wings were no help, and Warren nearly got himself killed when he tried to fight the Word up close, enraged as his uselessness against the threat.

"Dammit, Warren!" Scott said as he caught his falling, winged friend of years. "Use your head, buddy, or you're going to get yourself killed, and that's not going to happen while I'm leading this team."

Stepping to the ground from Cyclops's arms, Warren apologized.

"I…I'm sorry, Scott. I don't know what came over me…"

"Just keep your head where it should be, Warren, and we'll get through this."

The others suffered similar failures. Gambit's charged cards did no better than Archangel's blades. Phoenix was nearly knocked out by the chaos of trying to force her way into the Word's clouded mind. Rhane tried her best but had to stay back…physical assaults were harmless against her foe. Blockade knew this too, although he tried his luck at wrestling with the Word.

"Blockade, you know that the Lord's strength is my own! You cannot overpower me any better than you could have in past fights." The Word boasted.

The loosely assembled team was at their wits' end. They simply couldn't think of a way to defeat this…this force of nature. But it could be said that science is the enemy of nature…and Moira McTaggert is a very dear friend of science.

"Barry, dear!" She called to her lover, and he listened.

"I hope this is important, Moira…" he answered, trying to focus on the battle.

"Believe me, luv, it is. I think I know a way ye can stop this crazy man."

"Then lay it on me, dear, and be quick about it!"

"It's simple enough, Barry. Your energy 'blockades' aren't biological energy, but are a source o' energy from another dimension…like the Word's, but in a different way."

"So?"

"So…if ye can manifest your own energy within his, then maybe that will disrupt his power source."

"I hope ye don't mind me sayin' that it sounds risky, Moira…"

"It's the best idea ye've got, and ye can't deny that."

"True enough. Alright…let's do it."

Running out in front of the others, dangerously close to the Word, and stood completely still.

"Barry! What're ye doing?" Rhane yells after him and tries to knock him out of harm's way.

"Don't worry, lass! I know what I'm doing…just trust me." He answered, and began taunting his opponent.

"C'mon, ye self righteous evangelist! We both know ye're not th' Word of God…Hell, I've seen more pure people in my favorite tavern!"

The Word's body glowed with his white energy, and he became very angry.

"You sacrilegious fool…you should be glad that I'm putting you out of your misery."

As the extradimensional energy began to flow from the Word, Barry created a field around him with his mutant power. The energy from the Word hit the field, and it held…but just barely. Barry had to struggle and sweat just to hold the field in place around the Word's shape, and it was a battle that he was losing.

"Ahhhh!" he grunted and yelled in pain and concentration, the intense force of the Word's power working like mad against Barry's. He knew it wasn't going to hold. All of them realized it.

Oh God, no. Moira thought. I've sent him to his death…Barry…

But Gambit wasn't ready to admit failure. Sprinting his lean body across the field, Gambit jumped on the back of the Word, resting on top of the force field created by Blockade.

"Gambit, what do you think you're doing? Get back here!" Cyclops yelled, sounding more angry than concerned. "I'm not going to have anyone hurt any worse than we already have!"

"Don' worry, Scotty…I know jus' what 'dis plan needs…..a little more power!" Gambit ignored Scott's orders and placed his gloved hands on the field surrounding the Word, who was still struggling against Barry's weakening field.

As Gambit concentrated, his mutant power activated, and the kinetic energy began to flow through the field, which was mixing with the Word's energies itself. The field turned red, and the white power of the Word seeped in, creating a field of a deep pink around both Gambit and the religious killer. Gambit, the Word, and Barry were all screaming in unison, but none of them let up on their efforts. Their energies built and built, and soon the will power of two defeated that of one, as strong as it was.

As the Word's powers were corrupted, Barry let go of his mental hold on the shield he had created. As he did so, the kinetic energy that Gambit had pumped through the shield finally took over then area which the shield was occupying, and in a last attempt to escape and disperse into the air…..

The energies were spent and done. Barry lay on the ground, weakened greatly by the effort put forth on his part. The others crowded around him, and waited for the dust to settle around the area where their team mate and enemy had battled. And once it did…

There wasn't a person there.

NEXT MONTH: Dissolution and Rebirth - Epilogue

Plenty of letters for #79. I'm so proud! Thanks to all for writing…keep it up, if you can.

First letter was posted by Barry Reese on the MV1 Talk list. Barry Reese is one of the older and better writers at MV1…if you don't know who he is now, you should go find out…

"Just read Will Short's first issue of X-Men and wanted to comment on it. Considering that it's a continuation of a storyline that he never started, Will does a good job of continuing the story and introducing a few new elements into the mix. I'm pleased to see that this will be a direct pick-up of a previous storyline than Will's work on Dr. Strange (I must admit, I feared that this book would feature all-new, all-different characters operating under the x-men banner -- I was wrong. It's the X-Men.)
The story didn't feel as assured as Will's work on the Strange title. On that book he seems to be in complete control and I have a feeling that his Strange storyline is someone with a distinctive story to tell, whether or not I agree with the direction. This X-Men story is a bit more muddled, but I lay that blame on Will having to come in during the middle of something. I have no doubt that as Will progresses, this book will become "his" and the muddled feeling will pass. The Brotherhood of Mojo is a great idea -- the mere name made me smile. I'm not sure about Rogue's invisibility suit, though. I'm sure it'll be interesting but I hope it doesn't stick around very long. I'm glad to see Rogue's Ms. Marvel powers gone and I'd like to see her gain a bit more control (and have less fear of) her natural power. Anyway, I'd recommend the issue to fans of the X-Men. Will comes in and tells a nice story, with good characterization.
Barry"

The next mail is from MV1's Biggest Fan, Steve Crosby. He sent it to me directly, and like usual, he is helpful and honest in his words…

"I've been a fan of the X-Men for years; its the title that introduced me to comics. Unfortunately, I've been moving away from the books in recent years, mostly because of potentially great stories that ended badly (Zero Tolerance, Search for Xavier, Magneto War, the Twelve, etc.).
Alas, I felt the MV1 stories weren't much better. The moment I read the first issue, I wondered what the hell I missed. Then, when it seemed like an awesume status quo of three teams was set, two are wiped out with little explanation and the really confusing Sinister story occured. The recent Desolution and Rebirth stories have been a welcome change, though there are parts I'm not fond of.
Now, the X-Titles are getting a major makeover. X-Force is great, X-Factor likewise, and I heard Gen X is coming out soon. Now, with you taking over on X-Men, the surgery is complete (with the exception of Wolverine). Xavier using the X-Men as his personal Senate team should worry some of the members, since he was Onslaught not to long ago. I always dislike Cyclops, and now you've given me a reason: he's one of those stupid suck-ups who always has to be the teacher's pet and doesn't like anybody making him look bad. The Brotherhood of Mojo is hilarious, and I hope we see an appearance by the X-Babies as well. I'm not sure, but are Helmet Head and Matchstick versions of Avalanche and Pyro. If so, where's Blob?! If you left him out cause you're stuck on a name, here's one: Blubber.
I hate to say this, but the Fantastic Four don't live in the Baxter Building anymore, its Pier 4 now (unless the current writer plans to change that, in which case thank you for yet another spoiler!). A lot of the characterization is dead-on, and the story itself is wonderful. The X-Men are different from other teams because of the many internal conflicts, and you achieve this wonderfully.
I used to get most of my X-Stories from (gasp) Marvel X, but now MV1 is starting to fix that. Congratulations, Will, you've helped turn me away from Marvel X!
A Grateful Steve"

The last letter is from another MV1 legend, Lonni Holland. Lonni has written many great titles, including "Hawkeye" and "Untold Tales of the West Coast of Avengers", both at the Avengers Branch. She's also the Branch Editor of the Knights Branch, and maintains MV1's main page. Sounds like a lot of work…I'm surprised she found the time to write about little ol' me…

"I end up with very little reading time but since I had this on my browser I took a few minutes and read it. Very nice issue and I particularly liked the handling of Rogue's power problem. I'm not a gigantic fan of Mojo world but that part of the story still flowed very nicely. Just out of curiosity, since I haven't kept track of the X-iverse in some time - what ever happened to Longshot's wife? I recall he was married at one time. Only minor quibble, the Baxter Building no longer exists. Will, you may want to check with Barry and see if he plans to move the team back to Four Freedons Plaza; I know Tim had intended to make this move in his next issue. Still, a very small thing - and I do like the idea of making use of Reed's expertise. Nice to see interaction like this instead of the tendancy I often notice in the *real* MU to ignore the fact that there are other people out there besides those who are germain to the title.
Lonni"

Thanks to all who wrote, and all those who read.. Next issue is another important one…the three prodigals return, Gambit's dissapeared, and tempers flare. One phrase comes to mind: "The Old Order Changeth!" Keep the letters coming, folks!