High School X

High School X Chapter 16c

HSX: Requiem

The ground around us was charred and red. Blood had been spilled and the smell clung in the air. I looked around and wept. We had never stood a chance. But, this was... This was something different. Hate at its core. The bodies of my slain friends decorated the pavement around me as I looked at them in front of me. I couldn't hide the hate that was in my eyes.

I got up and ran at them as fast as I could. I was hurt, but I wouldn't let this stand. I was almost upon them, when Rayne turned to me and disappeared. I was in shock, but I kept moving. If I couldn't kill that bitch, then I would kill whoever I could get my hands on. I set my sights on Vayl and charged him. He was quick enough to avoid my fists, but not the blade of kinetic energy I had ready. It sliced into his abdomen and he screamed in pain. He didn't fall, but he had no energy to attack me. I pushed him down to the ground and moved to the next. I was about to jump on Celia, but before I could, I was grabbed around the neck and a blade was put to my throat. I thought she was going to do it. I wanted her to end it all. My friends were slain for standing up for Nazarus and now, we were the only two standing. The only two left alive.

'' Just kill me. Get it over with.”

Rayne: “Kill you? We would never. We know about you and Nazarus, Jude you silly boy.”

'' You're a coward. You didn't have to kill them. They didn't deserve that.”

Rayne: “They knew the risks! Well, just be happy you had friends willing to die for you.”

She laughed and I snapped. I grabbed the arm holding the blade and I ripped it away from me. I swung around her and broke her arm. I knew it wouldn't stay that way for long, but all I needed was a chance. I swung around and kicked her right in her neck. I heard a sickening snap and she fell down limp beside me. I ran over to Nazarus and tried to shake him to consciousness. He had passed out from the loss of blood and he needed to wake up... like now.

-25 Minutes Earlier-

Vayl: “What's it going to be Nazarus? We don't want to have to kill your friends, but we will.”

I saw the smile creep onto his face and I knew he wanted nothing more than for Nazarus to fight him. He wanted to destroy us. While he was waiting for Nazarus' decision, it gave me time to take a second look at all them. All ridiculously beautiful in a crazy, wrong, kind of way. Celia was simply beautiful. She had long white hair, yellow eyes with red irises, and horns coming out of her head. Her body was to die for and she had long nails that looked super sharp. The thing that caught my attention the most though, was the tail she had coming down her back. I had never seen anything like it before.

Nazarus: “ No! Don't go near them. I swear I'll kill destroy you Vayl. I'd find a way!”

Rayne on the other hand was a completely different story. She looked as if she came straight out of the Amazon Forest. She had sexy caramel skin and her hair was extremely long and very bushy. She was truly beautiful. The only way you could tell that she was a demon were the horns coming out of her head. I could tell she was used to fighting, because one of her horns was broken in half. She had beautiful warm brown eyes and blue markings on her face and body. They looked to be tribal, but there's no telling what it was.

Vayl: “Idle threats. We don't have all day Nazarus. Make a choice.”

As they prepared to duke it out, I looked at the guys who were equally as attractive in a deadly way. I looked at Kyros, who honestly looked the most dangerous out of all of them. He was really slim and he had on an all black leather outfit. He had two bladed chain whips on either side and his gloves had silver talons on them. But what he was wearing wasn't half as scary as he was. His face was gorgeous, but with the way his hair fell down around his shoulders like spilling blood and the way his eyes were so cold and calculating. Like mine, his eyes were completely pale with just the black iris visible. He added a whole new level of creepy to the group.

On the other hand, Vayl, he completely complimented Celia. Even for a demon, he had swag. He was slim with a great body and he just had a look about him. He only had what can be described as a loin cloth on, but without the clothing, you could see the golden tattoos in his bronzed skin. He had pointed ears and long brown hair, with ram like horns coming out of the sides of his head. He had beautiful brown eyes that seemed to stare directly into your soul. He was gorgeous! but deadly all the same.

Nazarus shakily got to his feet and he turned to us with an apologetic look on his face. I had never seen him look so vulnerable before.

Nazarus: “I'm sorry guys. I just can't go back there. I can't.”

Kevin: “We won't let them take you. We'll fight until the end if we have to.”

Casey: “Never. We stand together.”

Nazarus turned around and faced them.

Nazarus: “I won't go back!”

Celia: “Then Nazarus, I must apologize.”

She jumped for us and instinct had me erect a shield around all of us. She stopped just short of slamming into it and rage lit up her face.

Celia: “If you think for a second, some puny shield will stop us, you're quite wrong.”

She backed away slowly, but I could see that she was mouthing something. I didn't know what it was, but something was definitely off. All of a sudden, a portal opened up right inside my shield. The others dived out of the way as demons poured out of the portal. I had to keep my shield going, but I turned around to face the threat now inside with us.

'' Kill them!”

Nazarus: “No, she'll just invite more.”

I hardly heard him as one of those things jumped into the air and came right for me. Completely on instinct, I created another shield around the portal hoping to stop the demons, but another portal opened up an even more poured out. I hated to do it, but I dropped all the shields I had created. There was no way I could fight and hope to protect us at the same time. I turned around just as a demon jumped at me and I telekinetically sliced it down the middle. Black blood covered the ground as two halves of the same body crashed into the ground. I turned away from the corpse and then slung out a whip of telekinesis and sliced several demons in half. I turned around to face the next horde of demons and Rayne was right behind me. I swung at her once and then twice, but like mist, she was never hit. What the hell was I going to do?

Rayne: “It doesn't have to end like this Jude. We can make it all better. Just give us what we came for.”

'' Better for who? I'm nobodies slave. He's as much a part of me as I am of him.”

Rayne: “So be it then. You would have lived a long life in Demos, Jude. Now; well, we'll have to see if you're really as connected as you thought you were.”

She lunged at me. I tried to fall back, but before I even moved, she had a hold on me. I struggled against her hold, but she wouldn't budge. I focused all of my energy and let a force field expand from my center. It ripped Rayne's fingers from me and threw her back. I moved as fast as I could and formed a ball of energy in my hand. I directed it right at her, but as it got closer to her, she vanished. It hit with the ground with the force of a mini grenade and part of the highway started to crumble. I scanned out for her, but I didn't have to as she 'ported right in front of me. Her hand shot out so fast that I missed it and she grabbed me around the throat. I tried to fight her off again, but she didn't acknowledge my struggles.

Rayne: “You're not even worth the effort Jude.”

She slammed me into the ground and then erected a shield around me. I tried to get out of it, but when I slammed my hand into the shield, I was shocked so hard that I hit the ground. I tried to stand, but whatever was embedded in that shield, it was still coursing through my body. All I could do was watch in horror as my friends met their doom.

Jubilee
I never thought my funeral would be like this.
Never thought my funeral... My death, would be the destruction of my friends.
Never thought it would all end like this.

Debris crashed down around me and I tried my best to get out of the way. I got separated from the rest of my friends, but I couldn't worry about that with demon after demon attacking me. As time went on, the demons started getting more and more powerful. I blasted apart another demon and watched as the pieces fell to the ground. There was a burning car in front of me and as I tried to get around it, I thought I saw a figure in the smoke. With smoke being all I could see, I just wasn't sure. I was about to turn around and try to find another way back to my friends, when a hand shot out and grabbed a hold of my wrist. I tried to struggle away and when I looked back into the smoke, the face of Vayl came into view. The twisted smile on his face brought me up short and fear coursed through my veins. I created a firework on the tips of my fingers and as I went to slam it into his face, he let my arm go and kicked me right in the chest. The firework exploded in the air and I slammed into the side of someone's car. The most horrifying scream came out of my mouth as I heard and felt one of my ribs break. I looked ahead of me as Vayl slowly walked towards me. His cocksure attitude pissed me off, but with the pain I was in, I'd be surprised if he didn't just quickly put me out of my misery.

I got up as quickly as I could and made my way behind the car I slammed into. Although I was in immense pain, I did my best to make as little noise as possible. I weaved through empty cars and debris trying to put as much distance between myself and Vayl as possible. I could hear his demonic laugh behind me, but I tried to not pay attention to my fear and put all of my energy into keeping his position in mind.

Vayl: “Little Jubilee... Come out, come out, wherever you are!.... Come on now, Jubilee. Do you really think you can hurt me with those fireworks of yours? Good for a light show, but not taking down a demon.”

It took everything in me to not blast him with all the power I could muster, but I had to remember to stay quiet and think of some way to help. I heard him coming closer and I crouched low behind a car.

Vayl: “Come on Jubilee. I don't have time for this bullshit. Just let me kill you and we can be done with this.”

I knew that I could never kill him, but that didn't mean I couldn't find a way to hurt him.

Vayl: “You know, I can almost taste your soul Jubilee. One of the perks of being a demon. Your soul has a wonderful aroma. No wonder Jamie is so smitten with you. You're delicious. When I kill you, I wonder what he'll do? Maybe I'll take over your body and I can see how delicious he is too!”

That did it! I formed the biggest firework I had ever created and launched it into the air. As it rose higher and higher, I made it explode into a million tiny fireworks and directed them all at Vayl. As the onslaught of energy headed towards him, he had the largest smile on his face.

Vayl: “Really Jubilee?”

'' Really Vayl.”

I ran at him as fast as I could and as he dodged the millions of tiny fireworks, I started concentrating on his brain. When we were facing off against the teachers and I blew apart the door without even touching it, it gave me a few ideas. I had a very strong stance on killing people, but seeing as Vayl was a demon, and said demon was trying to kill me and my friends.... Well I could make an exception to the rule. As I concentrated on Vayl, the last of my fireworks exploded into the ground. I didn't expect him to be able to dodge all of them, but they were just a distraction anyway. As Vayl started to advance on me again, I let loose on his ass. I had never been so volatile before, but as the firework I was silently building up in his brain went off, I knew I had to do what I had to do to protect my friends. He stopped with a scream and crumpled to the ground. I could see the blood flowing out of his mouth, ears and even out of his eyes. I was so sickened by the sight, but I couldn't dwell on that.

I turned around and ran as fast as I could back to my friends. I had made it to a clearing and I could see them in the distance. I could see Jamie fighting against a horde of demons and I sent globule after globule at the few demons around him. I watched as they were struck and exploded into a burst of black demon flesh. He turned to smile at me, but that look immediately turned to a look of fear. I turned around to see what he was so afraid of and there were two cars flying through the air. I was about to dodge them, but they soared over my head and crashed into the ground, effectively blocking my way from my friends.

I turned back around to see Vayl walking my way and my heart damn near stopped. That was funny, because in a few seconds, I'm sure it would be stopped completely. As he got closer to me, I could see the blood still slowly dripping down his face. He looked livid, but his eyes had gone from a beautiful brown to a dead black. I knew I was dead. But I was nobodies push over. I created fireworks on both of my hands and waited.

Vayl: “Nice trick Jubilee. Definitely did not see that one coming.”

'' I'm full of surprises today Vayl. Just leave us alone.”

Vayl: “I have the best surprise of all though Jubilee.”

'' Vayl....”

Vayl: “Yes?”

'' Go fuck yourself.”

I let my powers rip out of me and slam into him. He was thrown back, but he wasn't anywhere close to dead. As I did before, I wove my power into the ground around him and let it explode. The ground crumbled and exploded around him, but for all I did, Vayl was hardly ever more than scratched.

Vayl: “My turn Jubilee!”

I ran.

I didn't get very far.

The ground below me shook and then I was flying through the air. I looked down and I could see the explosion under me. The expressway we were on seemed to be exploding and sending debris into the air. While there was no fire, the sheer power that Vayl was sending out was enough to freak anyone out. This high up, there was no way I was going to survive. I scrambled higher onto the rock I was on and then jumped for the next rock. As I slowly, plummeted to the ground, I just tried to keep moving. The chunks of pavement were big enough that I could actually move around and I sent firework after firework down on him. They exploded into the ground, but he had already vanished before the first one was even close to making contact. I whipped my head back around to concentrate on my descent to the ground and when I did, Vayl was floating right in front of me. As my neck slammed into his hand and the wind exploded out of my body, I knew it was over for me. The only thing I could do was give my friends the gift of sacrifice

I concentrated as hard as I could and the atmosphere around me became my playground. I had never planned on using my power so forcefully, but as I began to weave my powers into the billions of tiny particles floating in the air, I knew this was the only way. I strained my eyes to try and find Jamie, but all I could see was dust and flashes of power.

I was all alone.

Jamie
Love is such a funny feeling.
Loving too hard or not hard enough...
Always striving to show you care, but afraid to look like a fool

My love for you was eternal......
And yet, when you needed me most, I failed you!
All I ever wanted was to protect you.
I failed!

Jubilee: “I love you, Jamie.”

As I heard those words, my heart stopped. So final.

As the thought resonated in my head, my eyes turned to the sky as it exploded. Jubilee was the epicenter of an explosion that no one would have survived. No one human anyway. I screamed out for Jubilee and ran as fast as I could in her direction. As two figures fell from the sky, I knew they were both dead. Demon or not, an explosion like that... No coming back from that. But as the logic played out in my head, I ran to her all the same.

Hope was all I had and hope made me do crazy things. Jubilee had once told me that she could pull her power back into her without harm. If that was the case, then maybe she wasn't hurt at all. Maybe she was just unconscious from that massive display of power. I acted on instinct and threw out my telekinesis to catch her. As her decent started to slow, I finally started to breathe easier.

250 ft.

200 ft.

150 ft.

100 ft.

As her descent slowed and as I got closer and closer, I could see that she was relatively unscathed.

50 ft.

All of a sudden, I was grabbed and tackled to the ground. My concentration slipped and I lost a hold of her. I rolled onto my knees and immediately sent a telekinetic blade through my assailant's chest. It keeled over and then fell into two bloody halves. I was about to send my powers out to catch Jubilee again, when I heard the most terrifying noise ever. In my soul, I felt Jubilee slam into the top of a car. As I heard the metal creak and protest at the sound of her impact, my heart died a million times. I turned around in horror and saw that my girlfriend was caved into the top of some car. The metal created a cocoon around her, almost like a casket. As I ran to her, tears clouded my vision and I yelled out for help. Help from anyone. But as my girlfriend lay there dead, I knew no help was coming.

I pulled her body to me and pulled her out of what remained of the car. Just a few seconds longer and she would have been safe. Just a little more concentration. Just trying a little harder. I stroked the side of her bloodied jaw, as I berated myself for a duty failed. All I ever wanted to do was protect my girls.... I had failed. As my promise came to my mind, I realized that I still did have two girls to protect. Morgan was safe at the Mansion, but Casey was out there right now, fighting for the same thing I was fighting for.

Freedom.

I clutched Jubilee to my chest, kissed her forehead and then laid her back on the ground.

'' I love you Jubilee. Always remember that. I'm so sorry I couldn't save you.”

As I turned away from one of the few things that mattered most to me, I wiped away my tears and I readied myself for the onslaught I was about to unleash on these demon freaks. As I made my way back to the group awaiting me, my heart hardened. These monsters had taken away one of the few people in this world that I could count on. One of the few people who could actually understand what I was going through. Understand having powers. Understand being a mutant. Understand being a teenager. These monsters stole her from me and I was going to steal the life from as many of them as I could. It was WAR!

As demon after demon came into view, I lost it. I had never met a person with control over seismic tremors, but as I stomped my foot to the ground and the earth exploded around me, I thanked that person from the very core of my body. As the ground separated and those demons were sucked into the earth, I smiled. I left the void as it was and continued on. Demon after demon jumped out at me, but they never had a chance. I sliced apart so many demons that I was walking through pieces of bodies, all disjointed and covered in black blood.

Any other day, this would have made me sick to my stomach. Today, I didn't have a heart to feel with. My heart was lying 70ft. away, crumpled and broken. As the pile around me grew bigger and bigger, the demons started to lessen and lessen. Soon there was only my friends and the three demons that remained.

Rayne: “Very impressive. Only down one I see. Well we'll have to work on that won't we?”

I ran at her as fast as I could. Before she could react, I sent beam after beam of laser power at her. She dodged them quite well until one hit her right in her abdomen. My friends distracted the others as I confronted Rayne. While she was no pushover, neither was I, and I was a hundred times more upset. As she tried to regain her balance, I ran over to her and grabbed her up by her hair. It wasn't very respectful, demon or not, but I slammed my first into her face over and over again. As I heard her nose break and the blood spill down her face, I knew that somehow, I had changed. I would never again be the innocent boy who just wanted to be happy. The kid who wanted to raise his daughter and be with the person that was right for me. Never again would I be so optimistic. As I slammed my fist into her face again and again with no remorse, a part of me felt dead.

Although she was shocked by my attack at first, Rayne quickly regained her composure and threw me off of her. I slammed into the ground, but I was instantly back up on my feet and I was ready for her.

Rayne: “How dare you?”

'' How dare I? You came here to take everything from us. You came here to kill our friend and that demon fuck killed my girlfriend.”

Rayne: “Oh-fucking-well!”

As those words left her mouth, I created a beam of pure heat and light and launched it at her. As it hit her right in her chest, there was a scream, and then she was on the ground. There was a hole in her chest exactly where her heart used to be. I wanted to throw my hands up in celebration for the feat of killing another of them, but I couldn't bring myself to be happy.

Said happiness was short lived anyway. As I walked over to confirm the kill, I could see her chest regrowing and repairing itself. I stared on in horror as a new heart formed in her chest and new skin grew over her wound. It wasn't fair.

Rayne: “That tickled.”

Fuck me.

With the speed of lightning, she was beside me and there was a sharp pain in my stomach. As she stepped away from me, I could feel the blood in my abdomen pouring out. There was a blade in Rayne's hand that had appeared out of no where and as I fell to my knees, I realized that it was the end. I played this moment in my head over and over again, but it all ended the same. Me fizzling out. Not being able to protect my friends for just a few lousy minutes. Well, that wasn't how this was going to play out, not while I still had breath in my body.

I concentrated on my wounds and healed myself the best I could. I had only ever intentionally healed other people and my powers usually just started healing me automatically, but I think this wound was too deep and I was losing blood too fast. As my body repaired itself, I watched as Rayne started to move towards my friends. I wouldn't let her touch another person that was important to me.

I got to my feet and ran at her as fast as I could. She grunted in surprise as she crashed to the ground and when she rolled over and saw it was me, she laughed. I didn't understand what was funny, but I was going to wipe that smile off of her face.

Rayne: “Oh how wonderful? I wanted you to die quickly, but apparently you want the extended cut.”

As she said this, another blade appeared out of thin air and fell into her hand. She stepped into a stance and waited for me. Not one to be outdone, I created psionic claws like Logan's on my hands and ran at her. As we met in the middle, she assumed that her sword would tear right through mine, but that wasn't the case at all. She was surprised, but she didn't let that show. She backed up a little and then she came right back at me. She came at me hard and she came at me fast. She swung both swords wildly, but with a style and grace that was centuries old. She knew exactly what she was doing and as her sword cut my chest three times before I even knew what was going on, I realized that no matter how hard I fought, she did have centuries of power over my 17 years.

As that weighed down on me, I didn't let it stop me though. As my wounds started to heal, I advanced on her this time. She prepared herself, but she didn't know what was coming her way. I teleported behind her and slammed my fist, blades included, into her back. She screamed out in pain, but I didn't stop there. I knew that Betsy could cause pain in the mind and not affect the body, but that's not the effect I was going for. As the blood poured out of Rayne's pores, I reveled in her pain. She screamed in agony, but her screams were carried into the wind as I repeatedly stabbed her. After a while, the screams stopped. As I let her limp body drop the ground, I knew I wasn't done.

I turned around to face off against the rest of them and saw that my friends were facing off against a new horde of demons. Celia had again summoned more demons and she stepped back to watch the show. The difference was, these demons weren't just imps and minions. The demons now were big hulking shapes. Some had weapons. Some had tentacles and some even had steel colored armor. While I didn't think they were on the same level of awareness as demons like Nazarus and Celia, they were definitely an upgrade. These demons weren't summoned, they were invited.

I jumped into the fray, but immediately, I was in trouble. These demons attacked with a vengeance and they attacked with understanding. They learned from weaknesses and they exploited it. In mere seconds, the wound that Rayne inflicted was just one of many. In the short time I was fighting, I had lost so much blood. I tried to blast them back with telekinesis, but I was so weak. The were simply nudged and they were back on me. All to soon, I was taking too many hits. Too many wounds. Too many opponents. Failure. My gift to you.

Casey
My daughter.
My only thought.
Morgan.
I'm sorry.

As Jamie fell, my heart lurched. What had we done to deserve this? What kind of terror did Nazarus inflict on Demos for this? For all of this? For the destruction of everything that we loved. I couldn't even mourn the loss of my best friend, the loss of my daughter's father. I was in a state of shock.

There was a group of demons in front of me and fear didn't even register with me. I jumped at the closest one and my hands grasped his neck. I twisted his head as hard as I could and snapped his neck. His body fell limply to the ground and I moved onto the next one. As his bladed arms came into view, I hardly noticed. I ran up to him and as he swung his arm at me, I slid under his legs and created telekinetic blades of my own and sliced right through his legs. He fell to the ground and as blood covered the ground, I stepped on his chest and drove a telekinetic spike through his head.

As blood dripped down my arms, I moved onto the next demon. I turned to face it and immediately I was thrown back. As I crashed to the ground, a sense of dread immediately washed over me. I didn't want to fail. Not like that. As I rolled back to my feet, I damn near fell into the demon that attacked me. As I went to blow a whole in his chest, his eyes glowed and I was thrown back again. Now I was nervous, not only were these demons stronger, they had powers. I did a backwards roll to my feet again and as I got to my feet, I sprinted right at him. As his eyes glowed, I felt the pressure I had been waiting for. As I was flung sideways, I used the momentum I had to circle around the demon's back. Halfway there, I created a telekinetic blade and sliced him right through his middle. He fell into two chunks, but I didn't pay that any attention. As I looked at his dead body, Kyros moved into my line of sight.

As the sadistic demon stopped in front of me, my heart turned to stone. No fear. No regrets. Nothing. This was it. I knew I was going to die, but I was going to go out like the fighter I was. He took the blade whips off of his waist and started taunting me with them. I knew he was getting ready to do something, but I couldn't be sure. I had only moments to move as those whips flew at me. I dove back, but I was still hit. I crashed to the ground, but I got back up instantly. I pushed him back with telekinesis and just tried to put as much distance between us as I could. I turned to look back at him, but I instantly knew that was a mistake. He had disappeared and as I realized it, I felt a horrible pain in my chest. I didn't see his blades coming at me and I didn't feel when they wrapped around my arms and legs. I struggled against the bindings, but he pulled them taut and I was left motionless. I screamed for him to let me go, but he just ignored me like I wasn't there. He started to walk away and I was looking for a way to get down. But as I looked at each chain, they weren't being held by anything. They were just floating in the air. I screamed out again, but it fell on deaf ears.

Story
Not like this.
I could not let it end like this.
Not to them.

As Celia stood over me, I wept. She was way stronger than me and this was the third time she set me on my ass. She was playing with me and enjoying it. I looked around me and saw the damage that had been done. I looked into Serenity's cold and lifeless eyes and a fresh wave of tears started. We had been squaring off against Celia together, but we were no match for her. We weren't a match for any of them. Serenity had tried to kill Celia, but her attempts were futile. She made one wrong move and that was all it took. There was still blood pouring out of her throat. To my left, I could see the dead bodies of Jamie and Jubilee. If I looked behind me, I would see Kevin. He was hanging from his neck dangling in mid-air. Somehow, from all the way across the highway, Kyros' bladed whips had pulled Kevin off of Celia and strung him up like that. He died slowly and painfully.

I looked around for Carson, but he was nowhere to be found. I had told him to run and it seemed he listened to me. If he could be spared, then I was okay. It only took me a few seconds to catalog all of this, and when I looked back at Celia, she was reaching right for me. I kicked her hand back and rolled away from her. She snatched for me again, but I put a shield up between us. I didn't have time to think of any type of plan, I just had to act. I extended the shield away from me, hoping to knock her down, but she just flew back and landed soundly on her feet. I had no way to even attempt to attack her, but I had to do something. I was just about to send an orb of plasma at her, but I heard something that stopped me up short.

I looked behind me and there was a helicopter floating in the sky. It was for a local news crew and they were filming. They had to get away, it wasn't safe for them to be here. I tried to wave them away, but before I could, Kyros had appeared right in front of their cockpit. I knew for sure they were dead, but instead, Kyros did an about face and flew down to Celia.

He whispered something in her ear and when she replied in the negative, he shrugged his shoulders and set his eyes on me. My heart stopped. There was just something so menacing about him. He started advancing on me and I prepared an orb of energy on both of my hands. I knew I didn't have a chance, but I was ready for anything. He was about to attack. I could feel it, but instead, he stopped. Although I was confused, I stayed on my guard.

Then, the most horrible thing happened. Vayl, who I had seen Jubilee blow out of the sky and Rayne, who Jamie had bled out, walked towards us. They didn't look as pristine as they had before. Vayl's skin was darkened with ash and char and Rayne's skin was a paler version of her rich caramel complexion, and she had dried blood caked into her clothing. This was so not fair. None of my friends had the luxury of rising from the dead.

'' This isn't right. Not like this.”

Celia: “You're the last woman standing, Sweetie. That's too bad.”

I was about to retort in the negative, when Casey's dead body fell down in front of me. At the same moment I started screaming, I heard Kevin's body hit the ground too. As Kyros smiled in victory, his chain whips reformed themselves and rested on each side of his hips. I couldn't help the tears that wouldn't stop flowing down my face. I was a young girl and there was no way I should have to be dealing with shit like this. Demons and Death. It was all too much to bare.

I was about to do my best to kill them. Do whatever I had to do, but what happened next will be burned into my mind forever. I heard the unmistakable sound of large feet hitting the ground and my heart dropped. It seemed like I was moving in slow-motion, but as I looked in the direction Carson was coming from, I couldn't help but yell out to him. I sent a volley of fire at the demons, but they simply waved it away. I was setting up for something else, when all of a sudden, Vayl disappeared. I searched for him, but I didn't have to look far. He had appeared right in the path of Carson and he had a ornate metal spear in his hands that came out of nowhere. I screamed for Carson to stop, but he ignored me and kept charging Vayl.

I knew what was going to happen before it did and there was nothing I could do to stop it. When Carson, in werewolf form, lunged for Vayl, I knew it was a vital mistake. He soared in the air and when he was almost on top of Vayl, the demon moved the spear in a movement too fast for my eyes to catch and then all I heard was a howl of pain. I screamed as the spear came out of Carson's back with a spray of blood. My heart fell apart as Carson clawed at the ground to try and raise himself up, but his attempts added up to nothing. As he reverted back to his true form, his head slumped and his body went limp.

My world seemed to be coming apart around me and there was nothing I could do about it. I tried to find the will to fight, but it wasn't there. I didn't have anything left in me. I wanted to fight. I wanted to avenge the murders of my friends and my boyfriend, but I just couldn't. I couldn't even stop myself from falling to the ground in exhaustion. They all looked at me cautiously, but I wasn't the threat here. They were.

Celia: “What do we do with her?”

Kyros: “Kill her.”

Rayne: “Why? She's clearly broken. She has no fight left in her. Besides, if we have her, that might make Jude come just a little quieter.”

My ears perked up at that, but I knew there wasn't anything I could do. It amazed me how they talked about my fate so nonchalantly, but I guess they didn't really have anything to fear. There was no way in hell I could kill all of them.

Kyros: “I still think we should kill her. I'll even do the honors.”

I was in a daze as they talked about me and it just seemed like I was being pulled under the tide. I was floating on a wave of detachment that I had only felt once before. I had nothing to live for, so what was the point of being present? As I was pulled further into my darkness, I couldn't help but hear the battle that happened around me. I heard someone say something, it sounded like Celia, but I couldn't be sure. I couldn't be sure of anything. All I knew was that, for me, everything had stopped.

Jude
…..There are no words.....
p.s. I'm Sorry.

'' Get away from her.”

I sent an orb of power at Kyros' outstretched hand and watched with glee as he recoiled in pain. He shook the flames off of his hand and set his death glare on me. Any other day, I would have been shaken to the core. But right now, he had made the biggest mistake of his life. He hurt my friends and he was about to hurt my sister. I ran over to him and bobbed and weaved around the many powers he was sending my way. He was cocky and right now, he was careless. I got as close to him as I had ever been and when my fist met his face, the crunching sound it made was sweet bliss. He fell back in pain, but before he really went anywhere, I grabbed him by his hair and reintroduced my fist to his face multiple times. He finally fell back dazed and I dropped him to the ground.

Rayne was the next closest to me and she was barely holding herself up. She was still quite pale from Jamie's assault, but I knew that on her worst day, she could give me the business. It may have been a mistake, but I moved away from her and advanced on Vayl instead. He was moving sluggishly as I swooped down on him. My foot connected with his face and he recoiled in shock. Before he hit the ground, I created telekinetic binds and trapped him against the concrete. He struggled against his binds, but I didn't let them up.

I heard Rayne behind me and her breathing was as ragged as I had ever heard it. I searched around for Celia, but as usual, she wasn't anywhere near me. Everyone had been so active in the fight, but Celia always stayed back. She handled Serenity and Story with an age old grace, but she still seemed to not be as confident as the others. Instead of searching for her, I turned my attention to Rayne. She was so vulnerable right now. Her hand was clutching her abdomen and her face kept a very green look. She was in pain. Demon or not, the punishment she was introduced to was horrible. I never thought Jamie would have done something like that, but the situation wasn't very kind on anybody.

Rayne saw my approach and she immediately tried to back away from me. I had never seen a demon scared of anything and I enjoyed her fear much more than I should, I knew in her glory, I wouldn't stand a chance against Rayne, but right now, she was at a severe disadvantage. She continued to back away and when she tripped over Kyros' still form, she crashed to the ground with an audible thump. It was my chance to strike. I created a whip of telekinetic energy and wrapped it around her throat. She instantly started to choke and wheeze, but I didn't care. I wanted her to die in the most painful of ways.

It was not lost on me that Celia was still M.I.A., but when I scanned for her, there was still nothing. She had left! I watched as Rayne's face went from green to blue and I knew this was it. While she wouldn't be dead forever, she was going to be out of commission for a while. I tightened the hold on her neck and just when it seemed like she was about to fall over, I was grabbed and flung back. Hard. I crashed into the ground and skid several painful feet until coming to a stop. I looked for my attacker and Celia was standing a very short distance away. She was beautiful and right now, that beauty was completely disarming. This whole fight, I hadn't seen Celia do much of anything. She had summoned a few demons, but she hadn't done much fighting. It was starting to look like I was about to be the one introduced to that side of her.

She started circling around me and after I got to my feet, I just tried to keep her in my sights. She was dangerous. I could see that written all over her. She was poised as if she was ready to strike and I knew it was only a matter of time before she did. I thought about creating a shield, but I didn't want her to summon anymore demons. I might have a chance against her alone, but having to fight off a horde of demons was not an appealing prospect either. I watched her with more focus then I had ever used before and when she shifted her weight the tiniest bit and lunged at me, I was ready. She flew at me with more force than I would have expected, but when she was almost upon me, I grabbed her around her shoulders and flipped her onto the ground. She was down for less than a second and I was still righting myself by the time she was back on her feet. She jumped at me again and this time, I wasn't fast enough to counter her. She grabbed me around my collar and lifted my off of my feet.

Celia: “You really are a wonderful specimen, Jude. Nazarus has always had fine taste.”

'' Let me go.”

Celia: “Gladly.”

She brought me close to her face and then she pushed me back as hard as she could. I flew hard and fast. I slammed into a guardrail and it curved around me. I tried to sit up, but the pain I was in was excruciating. She slowly walked over to me and in that time I was able to get back to my feet. As she loped toward me, I couldn't help but study her. She was predatory. There was nothing better to describe her. She moved gracefully, but with a raw edge. But what scared me the most? It was the hunger in her eyes.

I opened up my mind and let the largest telekinetic explosion blast out of my mind. I almost slumped over at the release of energy, but I had to stay focused. As my power rushed toward Celia, she simply jumped into the air. She jumped higher then I had ever seen and when she landed, she was standing right in front of me.

Celia: “Silly boy.”

Before I could move, she had struck me three times. Her hands were as fast as a cobra's strike and I crumpled to the ground. My nose was bleeding freely and my eyes were watered in pain. I tried to right myself, but I didn't have to as she grabbed me around my shoulders and stood me up. She forced me to look into her eyes and what I saw there shocked me more than anything. Regret.

Celia: “I apologize about your friends. But, orders are orders. I was told to bring the two of you back at whatever costs and damn the casualties. I'm going to carry out that mission, Jude.”

I swung at her. She dodged my attempted attack so quick that I spun out of control and landed on my ass again. She sighed heavily and she picked me up as if I weighed nothing. She slung me over her shoulder and she carried me over to where the other demons were. I could feel Nazarus and I knew he was close, but he was unconscious. I could feel that too. This was a horrible scene. My friends were dead. My sister was comatose and my demon half was laid-out unconscious. Definitely the bullshit. Celia set me down and after wobbling for a second and trying to find my bearings, I was able to stand upright. I took in the scene around me. The ground was charred and the scene was dismal, but I pushed those thoughts and way and got my shit together. I moved towards the group of them, and I moved quick.

-Present-

I knew I didn't have much time as I tried to shake Nazarus into consciousness. I could feel the hourglass over my head draining out. I didn't have time for this shit. We were about to get royally massacred and he wouldn't even know it. I reached into his mind and after feeling my way around, I jump-started his body. He awoke with a start and he was instantly alert. Maybe too alert. When the pain that he had been hiding from ripped through him, he almost passed out again. I stood him up and just tried to heal him as best as I could. I was still in quite the daze and I knew I wasn't effective by myself. Nazarus knew them. He knew their strengths and weaknesses.

'' What are we going to do?”

Nazarus: “The others?”

He looked at me for a split second and when I shook my head, his chin fell to his chest. I had never seen Nazarus show any emotion before today. But as the tears slowly fell down his face, I knew that he really did care about us in his own way. We really had become a family. But, his emotions only played out for so long and when he turned his eyes to the other demons, there was nothing but hate in them. I couldn't be as effective as him, but I wasn't useless either.

Nazarus jumped at Celia with a determination in his eyes I had never seen before. The build-up of power between the two was amazing and the ground cracked in protest. As those two opposing forces, Nazarus and Celia, crashed into each other, I was thrown back by sheer force. I hit the ground, but otherwise I was okay. But while I was looking in the sky, I noticed for the first time that a news crew was filming all of this. It surprised me that the demons hadn't destroyed them in a show of power, but I guess they were truly only after one thing. As long as those cameramen didn't pose a threat, they were left unharmed.

I was finally able to get myself up from the ground and when I did, the sight before me shocked the hell out of me. Nazarus, who I had pinned my last hope on, was down on the ground with Celia's delicately clawed feet to his throat. She had a grim smile on her face, but as she summoned another creature, I knew it was over. The air around us got very thick and for a moment, I thought she was going to simply destroy everything, but when a portal twice the size of the original ones she constructed formed in the middle of the road, I truly got scared. I watched a figure all but lumber out of the portal. It was so big that it even had to crouch just to get out. If I was shocked by the one, imagine my terror when six more followed out. It only got worse when another set of demons came out of her portal. There were just two of these though, and they looked crazy dangerous. I shuffled up to my feet and I could only watch as the first group lumbered towards my downed friends. They were huge. Easily ranging from 8 to 10ft tall a piece. It looked like the were made of boulders stacked on each other and then covered with skin. They had small heads, but then their bodies ballooned up into a mass of muscles. The other group, the two menacing ones, they were just as scary. They looked cybernetic in the way they had tubing and masks covering their faces, but their bodies were ripped just as well.

I took all of this in and I knew we had truly lost. I watched as those things headed for my friends. One by one, my friends were grabbed up and then they were sucked into the ground. In just a few moments, my friends, my family: Jamie, Casey, Kevin, Serenity, Carson, and Jubilee, they were gone. Sucked into wherever by those gigantic creatures. I closed my eyes in sadness, but I couldn't dwell on what couldn't be helped. I scanned the ground for my sister and when I saw one of those creatures standing over her and studying her on the ground, I snapped. I sent out the largest sphere of compacted energy I had ever made. I watched in satisfaction as my power gained on the creature and when it struck, my heart jumped in elation. That was until I saw that there was no damage. The creature had red glowing from it's insides, the color my power had been, but after a few seconds it faded away. I screamed out, but my cries were muffled by the sound of an approaching Jet. I looked to the sky and I could see the X-Jet shooting towards us and two black outfits flying alongside it. As they got closer, I could see the flaming-red hair of Jean Grey and the beautiful skin of Ororo Monroe coming into view. I wouldn't let myself get excited though. As Storm flew down, she let loose a lightning show the likes of which I had never seen before. Celia, who had been overseeing the removal of my friends from the scene of this massacre danced around the striking thunderbolts, but Kyros, Rayne and even Vayl were struck. They had still not been able to fully recover and that gave me a small thrill of glee.

As Ororo closed in, she created another wave of electricity and focused solely on Celia. Unfortunately for her, Celia was quicker and faster. She swerved, ducked and danced her way away from the many electric bolts until Storm let up on her attack. When Jean and Ororo both landed, they took on Celia as a team. They were good as a team, they complimented each other, but Celia was better. She seemed to have gone purely on the defensive and wasn't even attacking Jean or Ororo. She simply evaded their attacks the best she could and she always evaded them. The X-Jet finally landed and when it did, a number of teachers and students ran off of the X-Jet. Running behind Scott, Logan, Rogue, Remy and Psylocke were Victor, Sooraya, Loa, and Julian Keller. The cavalry had arrived, but all they could do was get themselves hurt. It wasn't worth it. I heard Bobby rather than saw him as a stream of ice crashed into Rayne and Kyros. They were instantly frozen to the ground and when I looked for Vayl, he was surrounded by a sandstorm created by Sooraya. Victor and Julian were both squaring off against the creature who had been about to take my sister, but everything they tried to do to it amounted to absolutely nothing. Whenever Julian would use telekinesis, it would flow right around the beast and when Victor ran and did a jumping kick at it, he flew right inside of it and came out the other side. The only indication that the creature had even been touched was the fact that for a second, he blended into the surrounding area, a power that was distinctly Victor's.

I was about to run over and help them, but before I could even take a step, one of the other two creatures stepped in my path. I had completely forgotten about them, but the same couldn't possibly be said for them. I watched as the other creature, the other Brute roughly grabbed up Nazarus and descended into the ground. Jean tried to trap it with telekinesis, but it sent out a black tentacle and knocked her off her feet. As Nazarus descended into the ground, I literally felt like a part of my soul had been pulled away. He didn't just get sucked into the earth, he got sucked into another dimension. We had never been split by such a distance and I could literally feel the shock to my system.

I tried to get my bearings, but before I could, the creature was already upon me. He moved with deceiving speed and he had my by my collar in seconds. I tried to fight his hand off of me, but he wasn't giving at all. I was simply about to give up, but I heard an unsheathing of claws and then the creature was tackled. I hit the ground and I saw Logan and that thing rolling around taking swipes at each other. For a while it seemed as if Logan was going to win the fight until a tentacle snaked up away from the demon and wrapped itself around Logan's throat. It was a futile fight as his air was cut off and he struggled to cut the tentacle. I couldn't bear to see another person hurt because of me, but I didn't have a chance to make a move as a sharp command stopped the beast short. Celia was looking right at it and it instantly dropped Logan to the ground and headed for me. I didn't even put up a fight as the creature grabbed me and I was pulled below the ground. As my head was encased by the cement, I saw Logan's body soar towards me as he tried to grab my arm. The last thing I saw was his tortured expression as he failed to save me.

-Loa-

It was a futile attempt as Mr. Logan tried to claw Jude from the ground. His claws took chunks and chunks out of the ground, but Jude was gone. They all were. This was crazy. Tears fell down my face as I looked at the damage to the highway we were on. As Jean, Ororo, Sooraya, and Bobby faced off against several of those hulking creatures, I tried to find Story. As far as I could tell, the creature, who almost seemed pacifistic had moved away from Story so she wouldn't be harmed. There was a large dust cloud around it, so I couldn't exactly spot Story, but I moved closer all the same.

At the mansion, a girl had been flicking through the channels and when she saw bright flashes of color across the screen, she stopped to see what it was all about. Almost instantly we all recognized the “Outsiders.” That was the name most people called them behind their backs. We watched in awe as they battled these “demons.” As human as they looked, it was evident that they were anything but. I don't know who yelled out first, but several students ran around looking for the teachers. As my teammates fell one by one, I almost passed out from the shock of it. These were some of the strongest mutants in our school and they were getting handled. Although people didn't trust or like them for whatever reason, there were more than a few students with tears in their eyes. We were all mutants and we were all in this together. Seeing that kind of battle and not seeing those faces again at our school, it was hard. It didn't take long for Ororo and Logan to make it to us and when they saw the television, they immediately broke into action. I saw a single tear drop from Ororo's cheek and then she was gone.

I had turned back to continue watching the television, but when I got a tap on the shoulder I turned my attention to who I found out was Victor. He was suited up in a pair of jeans and a hoodie, but I could see his training uniform peeking out from under it. I immediately understood and I got up and raced after him. There was a large crowd forming around the television and it was only getting bigger. We fought our way through and when we made it to the Subbasement elevator, Sooraya, Bobby, and Julian were already waiting for us. When I asked where Kitty, Cessily and Eric were, I was told that Kitty and Cessily had gone to look for Xander and Eric was M.I.A., as usual.

When we boarded the X-Jet behind the teachers it almost became an altercation between Julian and Logan. They wanted us to stay behind where we were safe, but our teammates were out there getting slaughtered and there was no way we weren't going to go and do what we could. It took a moment for them to relent, but once Victor pointed out that they were wasting them, they told us to buckle up and when we got to the fight to stay far back. The way Storm's voice cracked when she spoke indicated that she knew we would do anything but. She was afraid to lose anymore students, but now wasn't the time to worry about that. When we got to the site, I truly knew what a war-zone looked like. I was the last to exit the X-Jet, but I could barely move I was so scared. It was all so horrible.

As I moved closer to the fight, I got a view of what I assumed was Story's body. She wasn't moving at all and I didn't know if she was alive or dead. Between the wind that Ororo was kicking up and Sooraya's dust form, it was hard to fight my way towards her, but I kept moving regardless. I didn't have the offensive capabilities that my other team members did and I didn't have great fighting skills like Victor, but I wasn't useless. I moved a little faster as Storm's winds smoothed over and I finally saw Story. I rushed over to her and immediately saw that she was unconscious. I tried to shake her awake, but she wouldn't move. I was about to try and drag her towards the X-Jet, but before I could, one of those big hulking creatures stopped in front of me. It was the monster that the others had been fighting and when I looked around for them, they were all squaring off against the pretty female demon with the white hair. She was sending out orbs of power, but she seemed to purposely be missing. She avoided all of their attempts and she still managed to keep an eye on the hulk in front of me.

I turned my attention to my own problem and as he reached his hand for Story, I sent a wild kick towards its face. My foot glided right through and for a second there was a crumbling as the creature sunk into the ground where he was standing. His insides had flashed a bright pink and then it stopped. I backed away from him, but he didn't seem to be paying me any attention. His hand reached out for Story again, but I grabbed her arms and pulled her towards me. She was a light girl, but I still didn't get very far with her. I struggled to get further back and I was just about to try and face the monster again, but before I could, Rogue slammed into him. For once, one of our attacks didn't flow right through him. As I looked at Rogue, I noticed the black tint her skin had taken on. She looked a lot more demonic and her beauty had tripled significantly. She slammed her fist into the creature again and it fell down to its knees. I grabbed Story under her armpits and started dragging her away again. I had finally gotten Story a good distance away, but a tentacle came out of nowhere and wrapped itself around Story's legs. I could only fight its strength for a second and then I, along with Story was being dragged back the way we had come.

For once, the creature went on the offensive and it had wrapped several long tentacles around Rogue. He dragged us until we were only about a foot in front of him and when he reached out for Story, I dived on top of her. There was no way in hell I was letting him take her. Rogue was struggling against the binds he held her in and Story wasn't easy to protect since she couldn't fight either. I was about to try and phase through him again, but when I stood up, Rogue's uncovered hand came into contact with my arm and I immediately hit the ground. The shock going through my system didn't hurt, but it was uncomfortable and I was extremely disoriented. It took a while to get my bearings, but I slowly made it to my feet and I saw Rogue and that creature fighting. She was able to land attacks that none of us had been able to before, and with my power, she was cutting it down to pieces. Not that helped much though, since it seemed to be growing those pieces right back. I thought Rogue was about to finally gain the upper hand, but things changed for the worse when she tried to attack again. The creature turned into a completely pliable form and when Rogue attacked, she was sucked into the creature whole. She was gone. There wasn't even a sense of movement as she was... digested.

I screamed out for her, but she was gone. I reached for Story again and this time I was determined to get her far away. I hooked my arms under hers again and started dragging her towards where the others were fighting. I was exhausted, my back was hurting, and that thing was heading right for me. I tried to shake Story awake, but she was comatose. Tentacles zoomed out for us and I dropped Story and jumped right for them. They had just about reached Story, but I landed in them instead. I was instantly entangled and as I was getting sucked into the ground, I tried to activate my power. For a second it seemed like I was getting free, but more tentacles appeared and I was further sucked into the ground.

'' Help me!”

-Victor-

As Loa screamed out and disappeared, I lost it. I jumped at the white-haired demon and kicked her right in the chest. She recoiled in pain, but she didn't seen to want to attack me back. She looked towards the ground where Story lay and sighed regretfully. It looked like she was calculating the risks and it didn't seem worth it. She took a second look at us and then she disappeared in a swirl of cloth. I turned wildly to search for her and as she appeared near the other demons, who were still frozen, she created a portal behind her. Storm was the first to take off in flight and Jean herself seemed to be doing something with her powers. I couldn't be sure, but I didn't have time to worry about that. I took off running and it only took me a few seconds to make it to where the portal was and the others were trailing behind me. I jumped right into the air and landed on who I assumed was Celia. Her breath flew out in a long gust of wind and she crashed to the ground. I tried to slam my fist into her face, but she moved faster than anything I had ever seen and she evaded me easily enough. I tried to punch her again, but she kicked me off of her and got back to her feet. I sent my tongue out at her, but she jumped into the air and landed a few feet away from me. I was about to head for her again, but she mouthed something and instantly I was frozen in my spot. I could still move my eyes and hear, and I feared the worst. We were all frozen in place.

Celia moved away from us completely, and after reigning in the other demons, who were barely moveable, she walked into the portal. She looked back at us for a second and then they all winked out of existence. As my motor skills were returned to me, the weight of our defeat set in. Not only were our teammates slain by these things, Loa and Rogue were gone too. That monster had taken them instead of Story.

Story! Thinking of her brought her to the forefront of my mind and I raced over to where she last was. She was still in the same spot Loa had left her and she was still unmoving. I picked her up as gently as possible and carried her to the X-Jet. I could see the depressed look on everyone's face and I knew we all were feeling the loss. Ms. Monroe was openly crying and the storm clouds were moving in fast. She usually kept a perfect lock on her emotions, but even she lost it right now. Jean, who was practically in hysterics was on the phone with who I assumed was Professor X and she was relaying to him what had happened. Scott was prepping the X-Jet and Logan was just standing off in the distance. He was looking out at the battlefield and I couldn't be sure what was going through his head. When he turned back to us his eyes were cold and angry.

We all boarded the X-Jet and we all made sure to steer clear of Logan. He was clearly angry and none of us wanted to make it worse. I laid Story down on one of the jet's cots and after I strapped her in, I walked over to a seat and strapped myself in. The winds were picking up along with the intensity of Ms. Monroe's anguish and Scott had to take the Jet into the sky as Jean tried to console her. It was a failed attempt. Ororo cared so much about all of the students and she had lost several today. Not only that, she had lost her friend Rogue. She didn't need to be consoled right now, she needed to be sedated.

Scott expertly flew the Jet back home and we all exited the jet and as we exited the hangar, it seemed like the whole student body was waiting for us. Many students had tears in their eyes and for once, the “Outsiders” weren't the enemies. As Story came into view, many people gasped audibly. She was unconscious, but she was alive. Luckily for us, everyone parted easily enough and I carried Story down to the MedBay. She was hurt, but her problem seemed more mental than anything else. Jean had attempted a mental scan of her on the jet, but there was hardly any activity. As far as we understood, Story had disappeared inside herself. As I laid Story down, Hank swooped in and immediately started checking her over. I motioned to the others and they all followed me out into the hallway.

'' This is crazy.”

Sooraya: “Loa is gone. Rogue is gone. They're just gone.”

Julian: “But alive. More than we can say for the others.”

Sooraya: “Do you think they're okay?”

'' Of course they are. Those demons weren't even attacking us. They got what the wanted. The others will be okay. Hopefully.”

-Xander-
–Massachusetts Academy –
(One Hours Earlier)

For a while, everything was just a swirl of random thoughts and emotions. I didn't know where I was and I didn't know what had happened to me. All I knew was, my body hurt all over and I was chained up. I tried to struggle against my bonds, but it didn't help at all. I was too drowsy to attempt to use my powers. I didn't want to hurt anyone and I didn't want to do something before I could fully assess the situation. As my head cleared of the fog it was in, I tried to listen to the sounds around me. I could hear rhythmic breathing for one and it wasn't far away. I didn't dare open my eyes for the headache I knew would come, but I could only avoid that inevitability for so long. Postponing the torture a little longer, I used my other senses to try and get a sense of where I was. Unfortunately, besides the breathing there were a million other sounds. It sounded like a washing machine was going off all around the room and I could hear metal pings all around me. I could also here what seemed to be water, but I couldn't be sure.

The smells were just as pungent. I smelled something that wasn't very pleasant. It smelled like stale sweat and that was completely unattractive. I also smelled the scent of boiling water. It had a very distinct smell and it seemed like I was being held in a laundry room or something. I tried to understand the sense of that, but it wasn't adding up to much of anything. I knew what I had to do and I forced my eyes open and.... nothing. There was no headache. I thought the lighting would be monstrous, but instead I was in a room with little to no lighting at all. The little lighting there was seemed to be coming off of the many machines that were in the room. I tried to focus on some of the labels to see what they were, but I just couldn't commit to that. I scanned the room a little more and that's when I noticed the lump of flesh that was propped up on the other wall. She was wearing a school uniform like myself and she seemed to be just as disheveled as I felt. I wanted to call out to her, but I didn't want to freak her out. I took a better look at her and despite not being able to see her face because of the mop of hair covering it, I could see cuts in her stockings and what seemed like little tears in her clothes. She had a few clearly visible spots of blood in some of the bigger holes in her stockings and I couldn't help but wonder what she had done to get this treatment from Jolen's crew.

I again tried to pull at my restraints, but as before, they weren't going anywhere. I didn't have the energy to deal with this shit and after a few seconds of careful consideration, I created a blade of telekinesis and set upon cutting the binds holding me. Only, nothing was happening. Nothing at all. I tried to access another of my powers and there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. Panic immediately set in, but other than that, fear was hot on its tails. I had never been completely defenseless in a situation and with the powers of Jon, Jolen, Regan, and Maddysin.... I wouldn't last a second. Hell even with my scope of powers, Jolen took me down pretty easily. I tried to find a weakness in my binds, but what I thought was just regular cloth was really some type of steel-enforced fiber. I struggled in vain, but I didn't get to do that for long.

A door, that I hadn't seen before, opened and in walked Regan and Jolen. Immediately my heart rate spiked and lead fell into my blood. I knew they were going to kill the both of us, but there wasn't anything we could do about it. It took me completely by surprise when Regan and Jolen did a quick scan of the room and then Regan turned around and walked away. I watched Jolen carefully, but he simply pulled a folding chair away from the wall, sat down and made himself comfortable. He quickly glanced over at the mystery girl and seeing that she was still unconscious, he turned his attention back to me. My eyes had never left him and after he saw the confused expression on my face, he started talking.

Jolen: “It's my turn to take watch. The others are working.”

'' You're not going to kill me?”

Jolen: “No. Not yet.”

He honestly looked regretful, but he masked that emotion almost as soon as it showed. I was just part of a massive plot.

'' So what's your end game, Jolen? What's all this about?”

Jolen: “Can't tell you. Sworn to secrecy and all of that paranoid bullshit.”

'' Who would know?”

Jolen: “Jon and Regan, I assume. He put a spell on us. He has some magical abilities aside from his power. Being Egyptian and all. He said some kind of incantation and I haven't been able to speak a word of it since. I couldn't even think about it before today, if you can believe that. Every time I would start to, my mind would just take me someplace else. Very annoying.”

'' You expect me to believe that?”

Jolen: “I would hope so. I have no reason to lie to you, Xander. I've not lied to you all this time.”

'' You're a fraud. You all are and a lot of people are going to get hurt behind this.”

Jolen: “No, they wont. That's why the both of you are down here. Neither of you know how to butt out.”

'' What does she have to do with any of this?”

Jolen: “She's been on our ass longer than even you, Xander. She's always around. Always writing in that journal of hers. Always cataloging every move we make.”

'' So what, you just kill every threat that gets in your way? You're just going to kill us?”

Jolen: “Apparently you're part of the elusive master plan, Xander. Only Jon and Regan know the true specifics. She's the mastermind behind it all, but he's a damn good enforcer. The only one she truly trusts.”

'' And where do you and Maddysin come in at?”

Jolen: “We're just the muscle. We're unique, I guess. And she has something on both of us.”

'' And whatever it is... It's that bad?”

Jolen: “Some things don't need to come to light, Xander.”

After that, I completely stopped talking to him. He tried to make conversation with me, but I shut myself off from him. I didn't need to hear his lies and I didn't want to hear him try and reassure me. I wasn't interested. What I needed to do was figure out a way to get out of my current situation. But on top of that, I had to make sure and help this girl. Whoever she actually was. Jolen never really took his eyes off of me and that made trying to do something sneaky all but impossible. My powers were still unresponsive, so that avenue was out. It just seemed like I was doomed to sitting here and watching evil happen right around me.

'' This is so unfair. I don't get to have any of the fun.”

Jolen: “What do you mean?”

'' Even at the Mansion, I never got any excitement.”

Jolen: “You think this is exciting? Baby-sitting?”

'' Well, no. Not this part, but you guys seem to be having so much fun. With the bank, the weapons, and then this... Whatever this is.”

Jolen: “I wouldn't call it fun. It's a level of excitement, but I'd give it all up if it was an option.”

'' I wouldn't. I'd do away with the baggage and go hard. If I was in your shoes, I'd get rid of her and me and go stake my claim. You're as important as Jon and Regan. Why do they get all the fun?”

Jolen: “I never thought about that. Xander you're a genius. Why don't I just let you go right now?”

He looked at me like I was an idiot. I felt deflated. He was an idiot for following behind her, but apparently he wasn't that stupid.

Jolen: “I'm not an idiot, Kid.”

'' Yeah, you are. You actually think you're going to get away with whatever you guys are planning?”

Jolen: “No. Probably not. But, that doesn't mean much to me. I'd rather my secret stay safe. I'd rather Regan take it to her grave.”

'' Then why don't you just kill her?”

Jolen: “I don't want blood on my hands, Xander. Not even hers.”

'' But you don't have a problem with me and her potentially dying?”

Jolen: “I would feel horrible, but I have no say in the matter.”

'' Well, lucky fucking you. You get to survive and I'll die.”

Jolen: “Xander....”

'' Go fuck yourself, Jolen. Hard!”

He looked at me like he wanted me to drop dead. I could see him getting angrier by the second and it was almost unnoticeable when small vines started creeping up the walls. His emotions were getting the best of him and his powers were reacting. He stood up just as quickly and the chair he was sitting in crashed to the ground. He gave me a parting glance and he stormed out of the room. I knew he wouldn't be gone long and I had to act soon or I'd lose any opportunity to escape. I tried scouring the grounds for anything to use to cut my binds when all of a sudden, there was someone standing over me. I thought Jolen had silently come back in the room, but when I looked up, it was the unconscious girl from across the room. She had an almost unnoticeable blade in her small hands and she immediately started cutting at my binds. Once she stood back up, I was able to get a really good look at her. She was maybe 5'6” or 5'7” and she was very fair skinned. She had dark black hair that was now pulled back into a pony-tail and she was very thin. She was beautiful, but she had such a youthful face that I didn't understand how she had gotten wrapped up in all of this.

'' Thanks a lot. I'm....”

Girl: “Xander. I've been listening the whole time. I'm Tess.”

'' Tess. And what do you mean you were listening the whole time?”

Tess: “Well, you and Jolen were talking and while I was pretending to be sleep, I was watching a movie.”

'' That's.... Why were you pretending to sleep?! Don't you know they are planning something bad?”

Tess: “Oh, it's not a plan. It's been going on for a while. I figured it out, that's why I am here.”

'' Goodness. And what did you do?”

Tess: “Exposing them. Well, I was going to with your help.”

'' My help?”

Tess: “Yes. You were going up against them and then you went and got caught. With your powers, I thought you would wipe the floor with all of them, but...”

'' I didn't.”

Tess: “No. You didn't.”

'' And what do you know about my power?”

Tess: “Normally, I could tell you more about your power than you could.”

'' That's not hard to do. I don't even know what my power really is.”

When I stopped to listen to what she said, it utterly confused me.

'' What do you mean 'normally?'”

Tess: “I don't get a read off of you. Jolen, either. For some reason, neither of you give off a reading.”

'' What does that mean?”

Tess: “I'm not sure. But, now's not the time to worry about it. We need to get out of here. Now.”

'' I can't help you. My powers are down. They must have given me some type of power inhibitor or something.”

Tess: “Well, we still need to get out of here. We can work on that inhibitor shortly.”

I stood and finally faced this Tess girl. I towered over her, but she seemed more intimidating than I would have imagined. She put on a pair of super sleek shades and then she turned to the door that was literally invisible. She seemed to know exactly where the door was and as she pressed a number of invisible buttons, the door silently popped open. She stealthily checked outside the door and then she motioned for me to follow her. This would have been so much easier if I had my powers. I could have scanned and told her exactly who was out there. I needed my damn powers back. I followed behind her silently and just took her lead. It was definitely different.

Tess: “I'm connecting to their network right now.”

'' Excuse me?”

Tess: “I'm connecting to the building's network right now. I can see where we are from there.”

'' Oh, okay.”

Tess: “This can't be right. I'm going to do another scan, but right now, it shows that we're.....”

'' It shows that we're where?”

Tess: “In the school. We're still at the Academy. That doesn't make any sense at all.”

'' No, it doesn't. Why would they keep us in the school?”

Tess: “Come on. We need to move.”

The trek through the basement was a silent one. Tess was more like a computer than I thought. Unless I asked her a question or something, she remained relatively silent. I wanted to know her opinion on the situation and how I was supposed to help, but she didn't give anything. After several slow minutes, we made it to the only stairwell in the basement. It was very inconvenient for the simple fact that the others would have to come down these very same stairs to come and check on us. If we met one of them on the way up, it would be all over.

Tess: “Your powers working yet?”

I tried for her, but there was nothing. Just a wisp of energy. I tried to build up on that, but I was in a fog of sorts. My powers were just depleted.

'' Nothing. I can feel something, but I can't do anything with it.”

Tess: “They must have a new inhibitor. I'll see if I can find what they used on you. It has to be military grade, if it worked on you.”

'' Military?”

Tess: “Yes... The people with guns that hate all mutants. You didn't think they were our friends did you? They have all types of stuff to end us.”

That severely depressed me. Being a mutant came with so much drama. I was trying to escape all of that and it just seemed to follow me wherever I was going. We didn't waste any time getting up the stairs and after we scoped things out, we started moving towards the exit. I wanted to confront all of them, but it wasn't a good idea without my powers. If I didn't have them, I would be dead in seconds. I still wasn't entirely sure how dangerous Regan's powers were, but I knew the rest of them were extremely powerful. We had finally made it and just when we were about to open the doors, we heard footsteps. I wanted to push the doors open and make a break for it, but I knew that wouldn't do any good. I was still contemplating my choices when vines quickly crept up the doors and secured the handles. After that, all types of plants bloomed on the door and there was no getting through. We were trapped.

Regan: “Wow. I figured you'd just know when to quit.”

I turned around to face her and I could see the exuberance on face. This was not going to end good, that's for sure. I looked into Jolen's eyes and I could see the regret in them, but he was resolved to let what happened happen. I was immediately enraged and I finally felt a spike in my powers. I knew I couldn't use them all the way, but they were definitely starting to come back to me.

Regan: “Well, it's time to move on.”

She turned to Jolen with disgust in her eyes and a smirk on her face.

Regan: “Next time, you'll let me kill them from the beginning.”

She pulled a small silver remote from her pocket and pressed a button on it. Immediately I hit the ground in pain. Something was shooting through my body and I couldn't tell what was going on. All I felt was the pain coursing through my body. I heard Regan laughing, but even that didn't fight through the pain. I was just about to give up and let the pain succumb me, when it stopped. I tried to get up, but a wave of nausea struck me and I fell back to the ground. I felt like I was about to throw up and that's exactly what I did. I hurled and immediately I felt better. I looked at what came up and I could see little metallic dots. That must have been the inhibitor.

Tess: “Nanites. They were cutting off your powers. Very basic design. I should have noticed it sooner.”

Regan: “Basic?! Those are Grade-A military, you little bitch. How did you do that?”

Tess: “You're not the only one with power, Regan.”

She set her feet and immediately ran at Regan. I didn't know what she was doing, but Regan smiled and with a swipe of her hand, the atmosphere around us started to peel away and a jungle took its place.

~~~

As we traveled through the forest, we kept our eyes peeled for danger. We had been walking for what seemed like days. After our plane went down... It was just best to keep moving. The trek had been brutal, to put it mildly. My powers made it easy to assimilate, but Tess was completely out of her element. She didn't have any networks to connect to, which was making things difficult. It was odd, because she was basically a network of her own, but her powers weren't working correctly.

We kept moving and it seemed we were coming up on some type of village. I didn't think this area would be very populated at all. There wasn't a big food source and there didn't seem to be anything edible even in the area. No small animals or anything, but here was a village right in front of us. Since my powers were more active, I signaled Tess behind me and we crept towards the village. Immediately the smell of death washed over me and I almost puked. I stopped as a hand came into view and I literally did have to hold in my vomit. There was a hand, but there wasn't anything attached to it. There were pools of blood in various spots among the dirt and unfortunately, they all looked very fresh. Tess was a lot better at masking her emotions than I was and I felt vomit fighting its way up again. We moved as silently as possible, until we came across the most horrendous sight. There was a group of villagers huddled together and a pack of four tigers circling them. One of the tigers had an injured leg and I could see the villagers brandishing weapons. They were of the homemade variety and they wouldn't do any real damage. I could see the wild tigers moving closer and I knew it was time to act.

'' Get away from them!”

It worked. Tess looked at me like I was crazy, but with my powers, this would be a cake walk. All attention was on us and when those animals started running for us, I sent out a wave of telekinesis. But, nothing happened. I tried again and again, but my powers were gone. I looked at Tess with fear in my eyes and then I told her to run. She did, but we didn't get very far. I heard a piercing scream as one of them jumped at Tess and cut her on the back and she fell to the ground. I circled back around to help her and when the tiger was about to pounce on her again, I jumped and kicked it in the side. It flew off of her, but it wasn't down for nearly as long as I wanted it to be. It got up and now it's sights were set on me. I grabbed Tess under her arms and dragged her to cover. I got us into this mess and I would get us out. I tried to use my powers again, but still nothing.

I searched the ground for anything I could use and when I saw a long wooden spear, I picked it up. All four of them were now in front of me and I knew I was dead. I had the spear in my hands and when the first one jumped at me, I did a 360°-spin and brought the stick down on its back. It whined in pain, but I didn't dwell on that as two more came at me. I jabbed and poked at them, but they were too big and this spear wasn't worth shit. I was about to try something else, when all of a sudden a pain like no other ripped through my shoulder and I was knocked to the ground. The other tiger, the one I had forgotten about had jumped at me and sunk its teeth into my shoulder. Now I was bleeding everywhere. I thought I was in trouble before, but now I knew I was dead.

I silently said my prayers. As the four tigers moved closer, my friends flashed in my mind. I closed my eyes as the biggest tiger lunged at me, but I heard a metallic thump and that was it. I heard the sound of the other three tigers roaring, but after a bunch of loud noises, that was gone too. I opened my eyes and Cessily and Kitty were looking down at me. They had apologetic looks in their eyes, but I was just happy they were here. While Cessily helped me up, Kitty went over to Tess and pulled her to her feet. We were both bleeding a lot, but we were alive. For now.

~~~

Regan: “Who the fuck is she?”

As the mirage faded, I was brought back to my senses and back to the school. What the hell was that?! I was scared shitless and I didn't know what else Regan had in mind. I held onto Kitty's wrist for dear life and I knew Tess was doing the same. She could phase us on the fly, but this had to end. I felt a twinge of my powers, but I knew I couldn't fight with my back the way it was and Tess was barely conscious.

'' What did you do?”

Regan: “Just one of my fun little illusions. Ready for another?”

Cessily: “Kitty, when I yell, phase them.”

As the mirage enclosed us, I wondered what we were in for this time.

-Kitty Pryde-

I was by myself. All alone and shackled.

I don't remember my crime, but all I knew was that I was a prisoner. The bonds on my arms were heavy and seemed misplaced, but when I tried to shake them off of me, it didn't work. I used my phasing powers, but when I phased, they just stayed put. I was about to scream out, when all of a sudden, a noise came out of nowhere. It was like a hammer being brought down on a brick, but it was much sharper. Like a knife stabbed into a brick. I looked down and a spear had phased through my stomach. I had trained myself to phase at any indication of danger and as the spear rested in my abdomen, I knew I had to stay like this as long as I could. As long as I had air in my body. But as I looked on, the spear and the building around my faded right in front of my eyes. I looked up and we were right back in Xander's school with the most gruesome sight in front of us. Cessily, had ballooned herself up into a large spiked monster and impaled Regan. She was stuck once through the chest, once in the shoulder and in each leg. As Cessily regained her normal form, I could see the tears streaming down her face. I had seen a number of accidental deaths while I was on my own team. It was something you never got used to.

But, what I was used to, was getting attacked. And when I felt a shift in the air, I phased again. A foot soared through me from the back and a body followed. I let Tess and Xander go and they fell down in exhaustion while I took on my attacker. He was a young guy and extremely attractive. He looked like he was from maybe Egypt. He had beautiful skin and thick hair and it was laid down straight. He had pain and agony in his eyes and I knew he would stop at nothing to kill us.

Jon “You killed her. She's dead. Do you know what that means?”

'' Why don't you calm down?”

Jon: “Calm down? Calm down?! Do you know what you've done?”

I watched as Jon readied for an attack. He started mouthing something and then his hands started producing a blue smoky substance. Magic was not my friend. He started mouthing more and after another second, a blue fireball flew my way. I didn't know if it was just regular old fire and I wasn't going to take that chance. I dived out of the way and heard the explosion behind me. I slammed to the floor and immediately got back up and started moving. I saw Cessily in the middle of the floor crying and I knew she was out of commission. Her emotions had gotten the better of her and she wouldn't be of much use. I cataloged the situation and was planning a point of attack when I was literally wrapped up in a vine. I struggled for a second, but then I phased my way out. I didn't have time for this. There was a new guy, now. Hispanic. And a beautiful Asian girl. They moved into my line of sight and the new guy picked up the blonde and vanished in a swirl of vines. The Asian looked like she was ready for a fight, but I wasn't too worried about her just yet. Jon, still had the glow around his hands, but after a second, it turned the color of regular smoke. I watched as that smoke grew and after a few moments, it encompassed both of them and they disappeared from sight. Damn, magic.

-Ororo-

'' Tess, is it?”

Tess: “Yes, Ma'am.”

'' How did you end up at the Academy?”

Tess: “My brother. He found out it was a school for the, different. He's on the police force.”

'' And you met Xander, when?”

Tess: “Just yesterday. But, I had seen him around school. And I knew he was a mutant. I've hacked into the school here.”

That immediately put up a red flag, but I kept my face cool. Years of keeping my emotions under lock and key had also granted me the ability to mask emotions from passing on my face. I hated to do it, but the girl needed to be questioned. She was young. Maybe fourteen or fifteen. She was a very serious girl. She had a beautiful face, but her eyes made her look many years older. We tried to get as much information as we could from her. It wasn't easy. I had a feeling she was keeping a lot of information for herself. Maybe keeping that information for her brother on the law force. After a while of more futile attempts, I simply gave up, She had closed herself off.

I left Tess in the infirmary, where she was being treated for her wounds, and I made my way to the Professor's office. I could feel the emotions exploding out of the room and when I opened the door to his office, Xander was barely containable. He was in the steel embrace of Logan, who for once didn't look uncomfortable at an outpouring of emotion. Xander was trying to fight away from his embrace, but Logan was having none of it. His shirt was stained with tears and it broke my heart all over again. So many students. So many children. Gone, just like that. Sooraya and Victor stood against the wall and I could see them holding in emotions as well. They needed to be strong, right now. Xander wasn't a friend of theirs, but they had lost several friends in common. Julian was in the yard with Piotr and he was blowing off some steam. He wasn't good at showing emotions and he was handling it the best he could. The other members of the team, Cessily mostly, were in their rooms mourning on their own. They hadn't been friends for long, but there was a connection from being on a team.

'' Xander, my deepest condolences.”

A fresh wave of tears fell from his eyes, but it finally seemed like he was calming down the tiniest bit. I walked over to him and laid my hand down on his shoulder. His eyes were extremely red and underneath the sorry and pain, I saw a rage like no other building. I knew that look and it was the look that had bred monsters. For a second, I was scared for all of us. These mutants, they had the power to do so much damage. The Professor had made that very clear, once upon a time. We were against his alternative and to this day, I still am. But, I understand his fear. Now, more than ever.

Xander: “All of them?”

Professor X: “All except Story. Rogue and Loa were also taken.”

His eyes closed at that as if he got punched.

Xander: “What are you doing to get them back?”

Professor X: “Get them back? Xander. They're gone.”

Xander: “Well have you even tried looking for them? Loa and Rogue were alive when they were taken, right?”

Professor X: “Yes, that's true. But, we don't have the technology capable of...”

Xander: “That's bullshit and you know it. You have the means to travel almost anywhere you want. I know that for a fact.”

Professor X: “Xander, it's not plausible.”

Xander: “You fucking ass. You'd let two of your students die in some other world because you don't want to risk bringing my friends back. You'd let them die there.”

Professor X: “How dare you?”

Xander: “I know it for a fact, Professor. I can see inside your head. I can pick the thoughts out of your mind as if you were shouting them out loud.”

Professor: “You could never.”

Xander: “I already have. I slipped in when I first heard it from your mouth what happened and you didn't even know.”

For the first time in my time here at the Mansion, Xavier looked petrified.

Professor X: “How dare you?!”

Xander: “Fuck you.”

He stood up from his chair and walked out of the room, but before he could, the Professor started talking again.

Professor X: “You are no longer a student here, Xander. You can't just roam the grounds.”

Xander: “I won't be roaming. I know exactly where I'm going.”

The door closed behind him and we all immediately felt something was off. Logan tried the doorknob and it wouldn't budge at all. The Professor rolled out from under his desk and I could see he was searching out with his mind. His face screwed up in concentration and then defeat set into his features. He opened his eyes and true fear resided in his eyes.

Professor X: “He's locked us in. All of us. I can't even broadcast outside of this room.”

Scott: “Is that possible?”

Scott didn't wait for an answer. He set his visor to the degree just before deadly and blasted the wall with his power. Nothing happened except the wall disintegrating. His power met an infinite force and it didn't go past it. I don't even think what Xander used was telekinesis. It was something else. We were literally trapped in a box of his making. It was physical and mental. I thought my claustrophobia would act up, but there was enough space for me to feel comfortable.

'' Gods help us.”

As there was no wall, we could see into the school and a number of children were looking into the room. They couldn't understand why we wouldn't just leave the room. As Kurt came into view and he tried to teleport into the room, he met that force head on. He had disappeared, but then, he slammed into the invisible wall. Hard. He seemed to float in mid-air for a second and then he fell to the ground, unmoving. Several students slowly walked over to him and they pulled him away from the invisible danger.

I watched as Victor, who had stayed in the corner barely concealing his rage, had walked up to the wall and stood there for a few moments. I didn't know what he was doing, but he walked out of the room as if nothing was there. He turned to us with an astonished look on his face, but then realization set in his face. He wasn't the enemy. We were. He motioned to Sooraya and before any of us could react, she had breezed her way out of the room in a gust of sand. She reformed herself just as quickly and they set off.

I looked to the Professor and saw it in his eyes. He had no plan. He had no answers. As I looked at him and the shock of Xander's words hit me, I could feel my respect for Professor Xavier leave also. He had become the very thing he had fought in Magneto. A tyrant. Casting judgments and making decisions without consulting anyone. Making decisions that affected the masses, but not caring how they accepted it. He had become everything we all feared. As this realization hit me, I backed away from him and out of the room. I felt a shock and relief, but I didn't let that show. I took off in the direction of the elevators and disappeared from sight.

-Xander-

As I took Story in, I knew the fight must have been brutal. She didn't have a scratch on her, but she was pale as death and her eyes were vacant. When Hank saw me enter the infirmary, he immediately went on the defensive and I put him to sleep. He almost slammed to the ground, but I caught him with telekinesis and laid him out gently. I saw Tess looking at me with awe and fear, but I didn't pay her much mind. I looked into my friend's eyes and I could see the pain and misery in them. What happened to her before, it seemed to have happened again. But this time, it was a lot worse. She was completely unresponsive. When I snapped my fingers in front of her face, she just continued to blankly stare. She blinked automatically and her breathing was quiet, but other than that, she didn't do anything. She might as well have been gone, if this was all that was left.

I reached into her mind and tried to see what was the problem, but the Infirmary door opened and I whipped around to defend myself. I didn't have to though. Victor, Sooraya, Julian, Kitty, Bobby (surprisingly), and Cessily walked into the room. They all had bags of clothes with them and I could see the determination in their eyes. I was just about to say my appreciations, but Ororo and Logan walked into the room and I went on the defensive again. But, they didn't attack, so I didn't either.

Ororo: “Hank?”

'' He's just sleeping.”

Ororo: “This won't turn out good for us. We're exiles now. All of us.”

'' Well, I have a place. We can all go there. Doesn't have the technology of this place, but since no one ever heard of Demos, I guess that makes no difference.”

Ororo: “We need to get going.”

Logan: “You think they are still alive?”

'' I know they are.”

That was all the assurance he needed and he was on board. I picked Story up and put her over my shoulder. She didn't respond in any way, so I continued on. We exited out of the Infirmary and someone was standing right in our way. At first I had no idea who he was, but after I looked at him a little longer, recognition finally set in. Gavin was pale as a sheet and I could tell he had been crying a lot. I had only met him once before and had seen him around school a bit before I left. I nodded my head to him and I that was all he needed from me. As a group, we made our way to the ground floor. The teachers, the ones I didn't trust, were still locked down. I didn't need them trying to stop us. When we came into view and Professor Xavier saw Ororo and Logan, rage lit up his features, but there wasn't anything he could do. Jean was enraged too, but I didn't know who with. I silently searched in her mind and she wasn't mad at me, I could feel that. She was such a mystery now. Scott, he was just as stoic as ever.

The crowd of students who had never moved from the foyer, parted as we walked through them and for once, they didn't have hate in their eyes. It was just remorse and what seemed like something else. We exited the school and none of us looked back. I was done with this place. As long as Professor Xavier was running this place, it wasn't safe. I had everyone hold hands and I teleported to my house. We all piled into the house and got to work. We had to find out whatever we could about the mystery that was Demos.

~~~

Okay. This chapter has been coming for some time now. I've gone through a number of changes story wise and trying to make it as exciting as possible. I don't know how this chapter turned out. I've read it over and over again and I like it, but IDK if all of you will after my long absence. Anyway, if you notice with Regan's fight scene, it's in her powers to kind of make you believe whatever is going on in her illusions at the time, so that's why there was such a sudden change.
Oh yeah. Um, I've actually started writing the next installment in the series, so hopefully it won't be such a long time before I can get the next chapter out.
Umm... So, I had considered adding Pixie (Megan Gwynn), but at the last minute, I took her portion out. Maybe I'll bring it back in at a later time.

If you can tell, most of the team member are part of the Young X-Men or just younger mutants in the X-Comics. They're new enough to where I can work a story around them and they are just really cool characters.

Hope you guys ENJOY and remember, join the group for updates

(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/highschoolx/)

Until next time.