X-MEN

#94

Being the third chapter of Atomic War

A Step Over the Line

Brought to you by Stephen Crosby

Even looking down at his cold, lifeless body, Kitty Pryde could not believe he was really gone. She gripped her hands against the edge of the casket, resisting the urge to reach out and touch his face. Of course he was there. Kitty’s father, Carmen Pryde, was dead.

"It’s all my fault," Kitty whispered, her words barely discernible over the choked sobs escaping from her throat. "Revealing who I was to the world the way I did, I wasn’t thinking about who else it would effect. I did this to him, mom."

Mrs. Pryde placed her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. "You know that’s not true. Most of the people in the neighborhood knew long before you went on television. Your father and I never tried to hide what you are. Maybe if either one of us had spoken to you about it…" Her words trailed off in tears.

Kitty understood, though, and it pained her even more. If only they had talked more, all of them. For the longest time, the Prydes had been estranged from one another, had grown more and more distant. Even before the divorce, it had been clear to Kitty. And instead of talking to her parents about it, instead of trying to salvage what she could out of shattered family, she had shut herself off from them. Every ounce of her energy had instead gone to her family in the X-Men.

"I know," Kitty choked out. "You grow farther and farther apart, always thinking there’s more time. It’s only when time runs out that you realize how little of it there was to begin with." Turning from the casket, Kitty hugged her mother close. "I’m sorry it took this to bring me home."

At the far end of the room, Peter Rasputin saw Kitty and her mother embrace. He had offered to accompany Kitty to Chicago upon her hearing the news, and she had gladly accepted. Such tragedy was not unfamiliar to Peter, whose entire family had been taken away from him.

Though Peter had been uncomfortable about attending the funeral with Kitty, he knew in his heart she needed him there. Despite everything they had been through, Peter still loved his Katya. Her loss was his. Her pain, his own.

Kitty and her mother broke away from each other, and together they looked down at the body in the casket one final time before turning away. The viewing was nearly over. Soon, the casket would be closed and taken off the cemetery. There, the final service would be held, and the body would at last be laid to rest.

Leading her mother towards Peter, Kitty looked up at him. "Mom, you know Peter."

"Of course," Mrs. Pryde wiped the tears from her eyes and presented her hand. "I’m pleased to see you again, Peter. Thank you for…for coming."

Even though he couldn’t see it in her eyes, Peter knew it was there. The silent accusation that, somehow, Peter was partly to blame. In a sense, Peter understood the idea. He had been among the X-Men that had first come to the Prydes about Kitty, back when her mutant ability had first manifested. That had been the beginning, and of course Mrs. Pryde would mark every tragedy in her life from that event.

Perhaps if they had never come to the Prydes about Kitty…no, Peter knew better than. Emma Frost would only have taken Kitty instead. Still, Phoenix had gone into the minds of Kitty’s parents, manipulated their decision in allowing Kitty to study at the school. Perhaps that moment had been the start of everything.

The Phoenix was a cosmic entity, and so it was easy for Peter to assign blame towards it.

"I’m sorry for you loss," Peter said, uncomfortable.

Mrs. Pryde wiped again at her tears. She didn’t reply. Kitty bit at her lip and turned her head. "I guess should, uh, ride with the….with dad. Mom, is it all right if, if Peter accompanies you."

"Really, Kitty, I’ll be fine. I’m sure that Erin wouldn’t mind if I went along with her."

"It’s no trouble, Mrs. Pryde," Peter added. "But yes, if you feel more comfortable going with a friend…"

"No, wait," Mrs. Pryde went on. She looked at Kitty. "You would feel better, knowing that I was safe with your friend, wouldn’t you?" Kitty nodded, started to say something, but her mother continued. "Then I’ll ride with him."

Several minutes later, the two of them were in the car. Mrs. Pryde was in the passenger seat, barely saying a word unless it involved directions to the cemetery. Peter was driving, slowly and cautiously.

"I’m sorry if I seem a little…inept at this," he apologized. "I don’t drive very often. Hopefully we can make it in time for the ceremony."

"I don’t mind," said Mrs. Pryde. "To be honest, I’d rather we missed it altogether. It might sound horrible, I’m sure, but…Carmen and I had said our goodbyes a long time ago. This was really just Kitty’s loss."

His eyes locked on the road, Peter responded. "No, I do not think that is horrible at all. You and your…and Kitty’s father grew apart. What you’d once had for one another…it was gone. You didn’t lose a loved one. Just…somebody you only knew through association."

Choking back a cry, Kitty’s mother nodded. "Yes, yes that’s it exactly. Kitty wouldn’t understand, though. I don’t think children ever do when their parents…when it doesn’t work out. God, I remember how angry she was when I finally told her. I think she suspected though, long before."

"She did," Peter confirmed. Mrs. Pryde nodded.

"We all knew it was coming, even before Kitty left for school. Her being away made it easier, of course. We didn’t feel as though we had to pretend for her sake. Even if she’d stayed, the illusion wouldn’t have lasted. What about your parents, Peter?"

"They were married until…until their deaths." Peter had taken a slight breath when he’d said it. "Through the good times and the bad, they remained by one another. I suppose they were one of those couples that were truly fortunate to have found each other." After a pause, Peter added, "It was in their children that they were unlucky."

Mrs. Pryde stared at him, then shook her head. "Oh, you can’t be saying that because…"

"No," Peter quickly continued. "They loved the three of us dearly, my brother, my sister and myself. But we…we gave them only heartache. First, when my brother had supposedly died, then later with my sister. I can only be grateful that they did not see what Mikhail had become, nor that were not there to see Illyana’s suffering before she died. I’m sorry, but…I do not like to talk about it."

"Yes I…I understand. I couldn’t even imagine the kind of loss that…that both you and Kitty must feel. At least your both there for each other. I suppose that’s really what a relationship is really about. Just…being there for each other."

Peter opened his mouth, about to dispute what she was implying. She continued on, however.

"When you first came to us, with Professor Xavier, I took an instant dislike to you. I’d noticed the way Kitty looked at you, and like a mother I grew protective. She was so young at the time. Looking at her now, I can hardly believe it’s the same person. It’s not just that she grew up, but that she…grew up. I should thank you, for being a part of that."

"There were others that played much larger roles than I," Peter answered. "But in a sense, I suppose you are right. Katya has paid me back in kind, however. She was like a sister to Illyana, especially at the end. For that, I will always be grateful to her."

"We both love her, don’t we?" Kitty’s mother asked, already knowing the answer.

"In our own ways, yes. We both love her very much."

The entrance to the cemetery came up on the left, and Peter turned into it. The body was just being lowered when they arrived.

________________________________________________________________________

There was a noise. Startled awake, Elaine Grey reached over and nudged her husband.

"John? John, I think somebody is in the house."

It took several nudges from Elaine, but eventually Professor John Grey awoke with an annoyed groan.

"Nnnn, what is it, dear?"

"John, I just heard a noise. Somebody is in the house."

"S’probably just Joey or Gailyn getting a snack. Go back to sleep."

"It didn’t sound like them. John, just go check."

"All right," John muttered. He reached over to the table and turned on the lamp. It took a moment for John’s eyes to adjust to the light.

Hanging from the ceiling over the Greys by his hands and feet, staring down at them with a wide smile on his face, was Toad.

"Time to get up, it’s time to get, it’s time to get up in the morning!" Toad sang out in a high tone.

Elaine screamed. John felt his chest tighten. They recognized Toad from the news.

Dropping from the ceiling, Toad landed on the bed between the Greys. He crouched down, shifting his eyes between the two elderly people.

"Now, before I do something that I won’t regret," Toad whispered. "I just need to clarify something. The two of you are John and Elaine Grey, correct? The parents of one Jean Grey?"

Though she was shaking like a leaf, at the mention of her only surviving daughter’s name Elaine found her courage. "You stay away from our daughter, you-"

Toad clamped his hands over the mouths of both John and Elaine, and leaned in. "Whisper," he told them softly. "Little children are trying to sleep." The wide grin returned. "I’ll take your outburst for an affirmative answer, then. I wasn’t planning to tell you before, but threatening me changes things. I don’t intend to go near your daughter, Mrs. Grey."

Though his words were spoken in whispered tones, their chill was not lessened. "Oh, but I will hurt her, very much. You see, I’m going to kill her parents. Then I’ll have some fun with her niece and nephew."

________________________________________________________________________

On the back lawn of the Grey residence, a man shimmered into being. He was tall and well-built, with long blond hair. Held at his side was an axe, and in his other hand were three knives. More knives were located on his person, to be used at a moment’s notice.

Seeing where he was, Adam X looked up at the house. One of the many sensors he’d placed throughout the world had sent a distress signal. His personal teleportation unit, made from technology many light years ahead of human technology, had immediately brought him to the site in response. Once he was in close proximity, Adam would be able to pinpoint the location of the threat to those he had sworn to defend.

Picking up the ultra-sonic messages of the sensor, Adam knew that there were multiple hostile threats. Five in all, three outside of the house. Two were inside, however. One downstairs, in the living room. The other was in a bedroom, with...

Rushing into action, Adam X ran and leapt for the room of the back porch. He easily made the jump, and leapt again for the window into the bedroom.

________________________________________________________________________

Toad had barely begun to secrete his paralytic fluid through his hands and into the mouths of the Greys when the window beside him shattered. Turning from his victims in surprise, Toad saw that a man had entered the room. A man who was leaping at Toad with a huge axe.

"Who the...?" Reacting far beyond human capability, Toad leaped over the swing and flipped over his attacker. Toad attempted to slam his feet into the man’s back, but he displayed reflexes equal to the Toad’s. Rounding about, he held the axe sideways, and Toad’s feet slammed against the handle.

Falling backwards, Adam X rolled back against the floor. When he stopped at the wall, he flipped his arm up and hurled three knives at Toad, who at that moment was soaring out the broken window. Twisting his body in mid-air, Toad avoided the knives. He shot his tongue out towards the gutter on the roof, and used the grip to flip himself up onto the roof.

Adam X was on his feet and running for the door. Somebody was still in the living room. He called out to the Greys behind him. "There are others. Take the children and go somewhere safe. I know you’ve prepared for this." He didn’t wait for a response, instead running into the door and slamming it off it’s hinges. He held two knives in his hands, and these were imbedded into the door so that it was held in front of him. The axe was strapped to his back.

Immediately outside the bedroom was the landing to the stairs that went to the first floor. Adam X leaped over the landing, door still held out as a shield. As he fell, Adam felt the door grow hot, could see flames licking in through the edges. In one motion, Adam hit the floor with a forward roll and slid his knives out of the door. He then slammed the door with his feet, sending it hurtling away.

The door vaporized as the came towards Pyro, utterly engulfed by his flames. But just behind the door was a knife, thrown by Adam X. It grazed Pyro in the ribs, drawing blood.

"Burn," snarled Adam X, otherwise known as X-Treme. On command, the electrolytes in Pryo’s oxygenated blood ignited. He screamed in agony as burning pain engulfed his body.

"Aaaarrrgghh! You just set me on fire, ya bloody poof!"

Behind the door and the knife, there was X-Treme, rushing the distracted Pyro now that the flames were gone.

________________________________________________________________________

Toad ran across the rooftop and leaped off it to land in the front yard. Standing around there were Mountjoy, Unuscione, and Blob. The plan had been for Toad to kill the old people and take the children, to be used as leverage later on. Pyro would have burned the place down to cover the abduction.

Obviously, Toad’s presence without the children meant that the plan had been altered. Unuscione said as much.

"We’ve got a new playmate," Toad answered. "Some guy I never saw before, came crashing through the window like some kind of hero, swinging an axe and throwing knives."

Mountjoy smiled. "I’d like to play with him. Where is he?"

Toad looked up at the roof. "He didn’t follow me. I heard something crashing inside. Heh, maybe Pyro dealt with-"

Pyro went flying out of the house through a window and crashed on the lawn. He wasn’t moving. Adam X came leaping out after him, axe in hand.

Toad snarled. "That’s him! Attack!"

This last word was uttered as Toad leaped to meet X-Treme. A knife was thrown at him, but Toad twisted and knocked the weapon out of the air with a kick. His other foot caught the flat of the axe blade, and it was knocked out of X-Treme’s hand.

X-Treme reacted by back-handing Toad across the face. The high-leaping mutant was sent flying, senseless. Bearing down on X-Treme was the Blob, running as fast as he could. Adam had all the time in the world to flip over the large mutant, cutting him in both shoulders with thin daggers.

"Burn."

Along with a scream, the smell of cooking bacon was evident. Adam threw one of his daggers into the air, knocking aside a crossbow bolt that had been fired by Mountjoy.

"Get out of the way!" Unuscione screamed at Mountjoy. "Do you see what he did to Fred! I’m going to kill that son-of-a-bitch."

"She was a whore, actually," X-Treme replied with a chilled tone. He threw the second dagger at Unuscione, but her force field deflected it. Much to her surprise, he smiled. "I can smell your blood. It’s that time of month, isn’t it?"

Unuscione’s eyes widened. "Oh shi-"

"Burn!"

The agony that Unuscione experienced was unspeakable. Mountjoy shifted his glance to her writhing form and grimaced. He then looked back at X-Treme.

"Oh, you’re a cruel one. I’m going to enjoy breaking you."

X-Treme drew another set of knives in each hand, glaring at Mountjoy. The two were slowly circling one another. "What makes you think you’ll get the chance? You’ve seen what I’ve done to your friends."

Mountjoy smiled, displaying his own sets of knives. "They’re idiots. Me, I’m a skilled expert at what I do. You’re running low on knives, and I see that you’re injured."

Adam did have blisters on his arms, and his hair was singed.

"And let’s not forget that Toad is already rising to his feet," Mountjoy continued. "Between the two of us, you won’t be fast enough."

Indeed, X-Treme could see that Toad was on his feet. It wouldn’t be long before he regained his senses and attacked again. X-Treme shifted his eyes back to Mountjoy.

"I guarantee I will be."

Smiling, Mountjoy was about to make X-Treme prove this. But as the two were circling each other, Adam stepped under a street light. Seeing his opponent’s face for the first time, Mountjoy froze. His eyes were widening with surprise. "By Summers," he whispered. "You’re the rebel."

Though a normal human would not have been able to hear Mountjoy’s words from that distance, Adam X did. He frowned. "What does that mean?" He demanded. "Who are you?"

"Someone who’s not crazy enough to risk killing you," Mountjoy replied. He slowly began backing away. "You win. We’re gone. Don’t press your luck and try to stop us."

Near Blob and Pyro, the Vanisher popped into view. X-Treme glanced at him and then back at Mountjoy. He wasn’t moving. Despite his claims, Adam was uneasy about facing both this man and Toad at once. He could sense that the Greys and their grandchildren were safe in the house, alone. That was the important thing.

Toad, however, was angry. He began to move towards X-Treme, but Mountjoy raised his hand. "We can’t risk it, boss. Trust me, this guy’s important to our future."

Toad glanced at Mountjoy, but back at X-Treme with hatred. "I’m gonna get you for this," he snarled. But he did nothing.

"The families are off-limits," X-Treme told Toad. Vanisher had teleported out Blob and Pyro and Unuscione, and was starting for the last two. "They’re under my protection."

"Get in my way again, you will die," retorted Toad. Then he and Mountjoy were gone.

Sighing, X-Treme put away the knives that he’d been holding. They were all gone. The Greys were safe. Adam started back for the house, searching the ground for his knives and the axe. All were unique to the planet, and far to valuable to leave behind.

"What do you think you’re doing here?" A voice asked from behind Adam. All of a sudden, he could smell sulfur.

________________________________________________________________________

Back when Professor Xavier had first opened his school, attacks against the families of his students had been common. In an effort to safeguard their loved ones, the X-Men would place surveillance around their homes. Very rarely did they ever have to respond to a distress, however.

After learning of the attack on Kitty’s father, Professor Xavier paid extra attention to the family of every X-Men that unmasked before the public. It was because of this that he became aware of the attack on the Grey the moment somebody first teleported in the vicinity.

Kitty and Peter were in Chicago, and Bobby was visiting Henry. That left Kurt and Warren, Nightcrawler and Archangel, to initially respond. In the Blackbird, it took them only minutes to fly in. Once they were over the house, Nightcrawler set the jet on auto-hover and teleported straight down while Archangel opened the hatch.

On the front lawn, Nightcrawler found a man he had never seen before. There were knives strapped to him, and he was moving for an axe that lay on the grass.

"What do you think you’re doing here?" Nightcrawler asked. From the compartments on his forearms, long thin blades shot out. Nightcrawler caught them both at the hilt, and raised the swords.

Slowly, X-Treme raised his hands and began to turn around. "My name is Adam," he replied loudly. "I am a friend. Like you, I came here to protect the people in this house."

The was a great swish sound, and reacting extremely quickly X-Treme rolled along the ground. He had just avoided a volley of razor feathers launched by Archangel. X-Treme leapt to his feet, and flicked his wrist up towards Archangel. Several of those feather, quickly snatched by X-Treme, struck Archangel in the legs.

"Gggrraa!" Screamed Archangel as he flew low towards X-Treme. His wings were spread wide, and they did not look inviting. Fortunately for X-Treme, he had rolled to the spot for his axe lay, and was now hefting it in his hands.

But before X-Treme could use this weapon, he was struck on the side of the head by Nightcrawler, who had teleported the distance. This could very well have saved X-Treme’s life, for it drove him just out of reach of Archangel’s razor sharp metal wings.

"You say you are a friend, yet you attack us!" Nightcrawer roared. His foot was placed on X-Treme’s chest, and his swords were crossed over X-Treme’s neck.

"He moved first," X-Treme said with a cool tone. "The Greys are safe in the basement. The real enemies are already gone. You should know them. Toad, Blob, Pyro, and three others I never saw. A woman with a force field. A teleported with a bald head. A red-haired man with the eyes of a killer. You’ll find proof of what I say in the house."

Nightcrawler stared down at X-Treme, considering. "Archangel," he eventually said. "Watch him. I’m going inside to check."

"Go right ahead," Archangel replied. Hovering in the air, his arms crossed, he glared at X-Treme. "I’m looking forward to some alone time with this one."

When Nightcrawler teleported off of X-Treme, the alien looked Archangel in the eyes and muttered one word.

"Burn."

When Nightcrawler returned from the house several minutes later, he found Archangel lying on the ground, unconscious. X-Treme was nowhere to be seen. His weapons were also gone.

________________________________________________________________________

"Whywhywhywhywhywhywhy didn’t we kill him!" Toad was screaming.

The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants had returned to their headquarters, the ancient monastery in France which had once been used by the Acolytes. Unuscione, Pyro, and Blob had all been taken into their rooms by Vanisher, to recover from the wounds inflicted on them. Toad and Mountjoy had been teleported last, and were in the main cathedral of the monastery. Vanisher hovered over their heads, watching as they argued.

"Tell me!" Toad yelled at Mountjoy. "Because I would really like to know why we didn’t kill somebody who ruined my plans!"

"Because he’s important," Mountjoy replied. "Trust me, Toad, in fifty years you’ll be glad I let him live. Well," he shrugged. "You’ll be dead, but then I’m thinking more about my own future. Or past, rather."

It took everything Toad had not to slap Mountjoy. Usually, he liked to act on his instincts, but Toad was a little afraid of Mountjoy. Only Unuscione or Mastermind could hold him in check. With their abilities, Mountjoy could never get close enough to use his power.

"Future?" Toad spat. "I am the future! If I don’t act now, mutants won’t have a future!

"Magneto certainly doesn’t care about us," Toad continued, muttering more to himself. "He saved a traitor, and he didn’t even kill any humans. Once, he wiped out a whole city because an attempt was made on his life. But when a mutant is killed, and her murderer walks free, he does nothing!"

"And you’re sure showing him," Mountjoy replied. "Attacking old humans and children. I warned you against this, Toad."

"You were the one who suggested it!"

"Eh, I suppose." Mountjoy shrugged. "But that was before I knew the rebel was protecting them."

"Who is this damned rebel!" Toad screamed.

Mountjoy rolled his knives over his fingers, without a care. "Oh, just the leader in some Summer Rebellion that ended Sentinel rule or some such. A child in my position didn’t get much of an education. You would have to ask Bishop for the details. He and his were practically nurse fed on the stories. But I do know that the rebellion isn’t supposed to happen for another fifty or sixty years." Mountjoy tapped a knife against his lips. "It doesn’t make sense that he would be alive now. I don’t care how much shape your in, there’s no way an eighty-year old man could lead a near-extinct species to victory against millions of giant robots."

Above their heads, Vanisher cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but as interesting as this is, I’d like to bring up a minor point. Toad, sir," he quickly added after Toad shot him a look, "five of us failed to kill four weak humans. I don’t have to tell you what a defeat like this could do to morale."

Fuming, Toad nodded. Having himself failed to kill that man in two brief encounters, Toad was beginning to doubt himself. His self-confidence was beginning to drop. Magneto would never have been slapped around like that, and he certainly would not be afraid of one of his own minions-

"Hey!" Mountjoy snapped his fingers in front of Toad’s face. "Wake up. I think Vanisher’s saying that you to do something about morale. I mean, devastating Boston was great and all, but since then all we’ve done is kill a handful of humans and get our asses handed to us by one guy. Well, not me, I was smart enough to walk away. But the others must feel humiliated. Especially Unuscione. I couldn’t begin to imagine the pain of that much burning down there…"

"You’re right," Toad mumbled. "Right right right. We have to do something. Bigger and better and badder than Boston. We’ve sunk cities, incited rebellions, paid back one death with the suffering of millions. Top it we must. Our superiority must be proven. They have to cower at the very thought of us!"

Eyeing Toad, Vanisher was certain the little mutant was insane. Or at least on the verge of insanity. When Toad smiled, Vanisher was convinced that the verge had long since gone.

"Terror," Toad declared. "Of course, it’s so obvious. Mutant terrorists must be so much better than human terrorists. Look at how many planes Avalanche brought down all by himself. How better to scare humans than by killing the people they’re already scared off?"

Suspecting what Toad was saying, Mountjoy shared the smile. "Are you saying we go Medieval on the Middle East?"

"No," Toad shook his head, madness in his eyes. "I’m saying we make a nice big mirror out of all that sand. Then we smash it."

________________________________________________________________________

"What do we know?" Professor Xavier asked. He was in the War Room with Nightcrawler. One level up, Archangel was recovering in the Med-Lab.

"He’s a mutant, with some kind of ability to incapacitate his victims through blood," answered Nightcrawler. "The traces that I found, in the living room and on the front lawn, were all very warm. So his power may be heat-based. But I don’t think he’s the issue right now, Professor?"

"Yes," Xavier agreed. "He was telling the truth about what happened."

"Toad’s secretions were in the bedroom, and on Jean’s parents. Our mystery man saved them in the nick of time. There was fire damage, so Pyro could have been there too. A study of the blood we found should tell us who else was there."

"I see," Xavier sighed. "Then our worst fears are confirmed. Toad and his Brotherhood are now attacking us through those we love."

"Could Kitty’s father have been…"

"No." Xavier shook his head. "That was the independent act of teenagers, though it was no less frightening."

Nightcrawler nodded. "Should I contact Kitty and Bobby?"

"No, I’ve already done so. Bobby was at the McCoy farm, visiting Hank. That place is the most secure, with the measures Henry took, and they’ve agreed to take people in. Kitty will be flying down with her mother tonight while Peter returns here. She and Bobby will then fly up in the morning, hopefully with Henry."

"He’s been through a lot, Professor."

"Yes," Xavier agreed. "But with Toad involved, I don’t think we’ll be able to keep Henry away. And we will have need of him." Professor Xavier turned to the large monitor on the wall. "Now, for the information we’ve been given."

Nightcrawler recalled what X-Treme told him. "We know they have a teleported. It’s the only way they could have gotten to and away from the Grey home so quickly. From what I was told, it’s most likely Vanisher."

"I agree." On the monitor, the images of Toad and Vanisher appeared. "From the evidence of fire, and the deep foot prints, Blob and Pyro were also present." Images of them also appeared on the monitor. "The chances are high that Avalanche is also with them. What happened in Hammer Bay fits his abilities." An image of Avalanche also appeared. "That leaves two unknowns, a woman with a force field and a man with red hair. He gave no indication of the man’s mutant ability?"

Nightcrawler shook his head. "Only that he had a killer’s eyes. I found a broken arrow. If it’d belonged to our mysterious ally, he would have collected it with everything else. It’s being scanned for fingerprints and DNA."

"With each encounter, we’re learning more about our foes," Xavier stated. He’d pressed his hands together in front of him. "Everything piece of information we uncover lessens their advantage over us. Soon, we will meet them face-to-face."

Nightcrawler nodded agreement, his hands gripping the swords held at his sides. "Then we’ll shove those advantages down their throats."

_______________________________________________________________________

The air was full of soot from the fires. The streets were littered with rubble, all that remained of the Baxter Building. This was where Rachel Summers knelt, clutching tearfully at the lifeless body of Katherine Pryde-Rasputin.

"I told you it wouldn’t work," Rachel sobbed. Desperately, she tried to smooth Kate’s hair. But it was no use. There was simply too much blood in it. "Why didn’t you listen? I begged you."

Nearby, there lay a metal skeleton that Rachel tried not to look at. That wasn’t the way for Logan to die, she knew. In mid-air, his claws clean. None of them deserved to die like that.

And Rachel had had to watch it all happen again.

"Oh, sister," a lilted voice called out to Rachel from the distance. "Come, sister. Nimrod will be here soon, to search for survivors."

"I don’t want to survive," Rachel sobbed. "I want to stay here, to die like them. I was supposed to, before. It’s what should have happened."

Heavy footsteps came near Rachel. The voice that had called her sister continued.

"You think it will kill you? Sister, I know that you are not so naive as to believe that. Why would they kill you, when you know they can use you to kill so many more?"

Holding Katherine’s body tight, Rachel turned her head to see the person. "Then you do it, before it comes. Please, sister. I’ve never asked you for anything before. Please kill me."

Standing before Rachel Summers, admiring the knife in her hand, was Martinique Jason. In response to Rachel’s plea, Martinique smiled.

"Why, sister, I thought you’d never ask."

________________________________________________________________________

NEXT ISSUE: As good gathers, evil turns on itself. Blood is the greatest of all torment.