All disclaimers from my last stories are in effect.
They say power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely ... but what happens when absolute power is used righteously?
When the power of heaven and hell and the universe are brought about upon evil, does it make the Wielder corrupt?
That is a question We'll leave to the philosophers; all We know is that Our might and glory shall be used to destroy the demons in this world!
Our glory unfolds over the battlefield as We sweep down and work to decimate those who dare to stand to fight Us.
These 'warriors' raise their futile weapons against Us,and each volley they send, We simply wipe from existence.
As We soar towards the ants, We simply gesture, and the simpletons beneath Us, waver, and cease to exist.
Liz staggers as We destroy all she has created, for We KNOW, this is all a mental battle of her making. She has no power here; she is simply a pawn; a pawn We have no trouble toppling. Magneto is Our true goal now. We have learned that HE is the one who set Us up; to make Us his servant; to make Us his slave; and We will NOT stand for it!
We reach forward with Our claw, and a full third of her army is gone. The ones left, stagger in fright, before being forced on by the homicidal wishes of their master.
Our thirst be quenched with the blood of the fallen.
We are suddenly slammed with a force We did not reckon. Looking skyward, We see an assault from beings We have no name for, with weapons We can not fathom, but it makes no difference. We simply fly upward, engulf, and destroy this new 'threat'.
The carnage We have created arouses us, and We swoop down again to the 'general' Magneto has dared to face Us with.
With one more sweep of Our mind, we decimate the rest of the 'army', leaving Liz alone on the battlefield, worried and worn.
"WHAT NOW, OH POWERFUL ONE? WHERE ARE YOUR DEFENSES NOW?!"
We send a blast of power that blows Liz 100 meters across the field.
She crumbles in a heap, before slowly staggering to her feet again.
"YOU HAVE SHOWN US YOUR POWER, AND IT HAS BEEN FOUND LACKING! WHAT HOPE DO YOU HAVE NOW, FOOLISH MORTAL!"
Liz says nothing, just wipes the blood from her chin and replies, "I have THIS!"
A scream of agony pierces Our soul, as Tim cries out in even more torture as Liz increases her torment on him a million fold.
We turn to see Tim writhing in pain even Jesus on the Cross could not comprehend.
"Stop, and he lives ... continue, and his soul will be shattered beyond even the powers of the great Phoenix!"
"Tim!" I yell.
<HE DOES NOT MATTER! WIN THE DAY, AND HE WILL BE SAVED!>
"I can't let him suffer anymore!"
<KILL HER AND HIS PAIN WILL END!>
"I have to stop it!"
<THEN END THIS!>
"How?"
<END HER! SHE IS THE CAUSE OF ALL OUR PAIN! SHE DECEIVED US! SHE DESERVES OUR WRATH>
<don't>
Dazed at the sound of this voice, I ask, "Don't? If I don't stop this, he'll die!"
<if you don't stop this, there will be a worse fate than death for him and you>
<YOU WOULD LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF THE WEAK WHO WOULD LET YOUR LOVED ONE DIE?>
<he won't die if ...>
But I interject, "HE WILL NOT DIE!"
The battle is over; she has won.
"LIZ, IT ENDS NOW! YOU WILL NOT TAKE WHAT IS OUR OWN!"
We swoop down towards Liz and open Our caw to swallow her whole. Moments before We impact, We swear We see a tear in her eye.
The impact is horrendous! As Our mental prowress meets hers, the world splits in two, and the skies rend as chaos engulfs reality.
Our mind is suddenly attacked with psyonic weapons We never knew existed. We erect the wall around Us, but the weapons being used against Our mental shields overwhelm and destroy them. We patch up the holes and craters being gouged in Us as fast as We can, but Liz' attacks leave Us wanting.
"You think I would have taught you ALL my tricks?" she asks tauntingly.
We rally, in anger, against that, but the more We try, the more she finds ways through Our defenses.
Through the chaos of battle, a single sound rings through, and as We turn to see what it is, Liz' attacks still pry through Our defenses; yet We can't ignore the cry We have heard.
We see Nick tremble with one final assault, and then he lies still as death.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Our anger intensifies a million fold as We turn Our focus back on the assault of Our mind.
"YOU KILLED HIM!"
"No, you did," Liz replies, calmly, "You wouldn't let go."
"THEN YOU DIE!!!!"
We exert every last bit of strength and hatred into Liz, and strangely, she drops her offense and defense, and let's Our full fury hit her head on.
The moment Our attack touches her, I feel as if I am being sucked into a black hole. The Phoenix disappears and is drawn into her; my power is gone. Every wave of emotion and empathy is immediately lost in this all consuming vortex suddenly before me. My strength dwindles and I am a simple mortal, now finding myself naked. Nausea overwhelms me, and the urge to vomit surges up my throat.
There is no life, there is no God, there is nothing. And I fall into the everlasting darkness that must be hell.
Magneto cradles Liz in his arms as she thrashes, violently, in the throes of her metamorphisis.
"There, there, my dear, it will be ok. We are here for you," he whispers.
Liz stops convulsing, he eyes snap open, lit with a fire from beyond, and with a wave of her hand, tosses Magento across the room.
"YOU are here for ME?!" she scoffs, "You would be NOTHING without me!" She cries as she floats into the air before shuddering and collapsing to the ground.
"Rest, my child," says Magneto, as he caresses her hair, "You have sacrificed much tonight. Just rest."
The wedding chapel at the church is a complete disaster. After the mutant battle, the room is scored by energy waves and scarred beyond repair.
The only ones left are the X-Men who attended.
"What happened, Professor, they all disappeared?" asks Scott.
"I don't know, Scott," Xavier replies, "but I fear what has taken place is more important than any of us could have imagined."
"It is," replies Madelyne, who has wandered through the chaos to find a crumpled body in between the pews, "And only he has any idea WHAT it is, but I fear he is almost beyond our help to inform us of what really went on."
She says this as she finds Ryan, comatose, beneath a pile of upturned church pews. His jaw is slack, he is breathing, barely, and his eyes are staring off into nothing.
"Is he still alive?" Xavier asks, worried as he tries to wheel over the carnage.
"His body is," Madelyne replies, "but I'm not sure how much of his mind survived whatever he went through."
"Take him back to the mansion, and HURRY!" Xavier commands, "This boys life is at stake!"
"His life!" scoffs Scott, "he joined the enemy!"
"How dare you, Scott!" chides Xavier, "WE failed him by letting him fall into the hands of Magneto! It's not his fault he was lured away. Perhaps if we had been more vigilant, then none of us would be in this horrible situation. We must get him home, IMMEDIATELY, or we will lose him. Let us leave at once!"
Part 17 is done. Let me know what you think at ender2155@gmail.com. :-)