Categories > Cartoons > X-Men: Evolution > X-men: Evolution of the Heart
Day of Reckoning II
0 reviewsAU on how the X-men came to be. Major Jott and Kurtty. Scott, Jean, Kurt, Kitty, Evan, and Rogue have all had horrible lives. See how they ban together and become the future X-men with the help of ...
0Unrated
X-men: Evolution of the Heart
Chapter 33: Day of Reckoning II
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The large robot sentinel had Logan in its sights. It had a window to kill him right then and there...But then, something stopped it.
"STOP!" said one of the main scientists, "That's enough, we have the data we need."
Although Trask was noticeably disappointed that the test had been stopped before the sentinel could finish the job, he simply shrugged it off knowing that if the robot could easily take him down once...It could do it again.
Trask signaled some of the soldiers present to go down and clean up some of the mess that had been created during this little 'test.' It left him only with the scientists who were monitoring some of the readings from the fight.
"So what's the verdict? Do we have a valid weapon against mutants?" asked Trask in a dark tone.
"Indeed we do sir. With this data we'll make a few quick adjustments and then no mutant will be able to stop our creation!" said the lead scientist.
"Excellent...Make it happen."
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Back at the institute, the mansion stood empty. The X-jet had long since left, but there was still activity deep within the walls of the institute. Down in the main control room where most of the Danger Room sessions were run, the computer mysteriously came to life with the loud sound of an alarm that echoed throughout the mansion.
"Initiating level 5 lockdown."
All over the institute, windows were locked down and thick steel plates covered every point of entrance and exit. Out of the ground came ominous looking turrets and defense guns. More and more security came to life throughout the institute as the incessant alarm refused to be silenced. Then, an ominous message appeared on the immense monitors of the main computer.
"Security compromised. Final security levels activated. Institute will self destruct in 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1..."
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As the X-jet flew closer to its target destination in the vast harbors of New York City, they kept a firm watch over the magnetic interference that was their only clue towards Magneto.
"Are we getting close?" asked Scott who was the one flying the plane.
"We're almost there," said Beast as he looked at the monitor readings before him, "I think I've triangulated the source...Land over there in that clearing."
As Scott swung the jet around for a landing run, tensions began to run high among X-men. This was especially true for Rogue, who was a lot closer to Logan than the rest of the group. Rogue had always sought solstice with him ever since he had found her in that dirty alley nearly a year ago. Ever since then Rogue often took it upon herself to worry about him whenever he ran off on his own. However, each time he had come back and assured her nothing was wrong. But now, the situation they were currently getting in to seemed all the more dangerous now that Magneto was involved.
"Any signs of Logan yet?" asked Rogue intently as the plane began it's decent.
"I'm afraid not Rogue. I still can't detect him with all this magnetic interference," said Beast with a sigh as he looked at the unclear readings grow even more scrambled.
Rogue's hopes sank as she heard his words, but Kurt quickly reassured her.
"Don't vorry Rogue. I'm sure Logan's all right."
"Yeah, you know the guy. He can take care of himself," added Evan as the plane finally landed.
"I hope so...I really hope so," said Rogue who still didn't feel too good about this whole situation.
"We're here," said Scott as he turned off the engines on the X-jet. "Let's go."
One by one, the X-men filed out of the jet and began to investigate the area. It was nearly deserted now, but they had to stay vigilant. No sooner had they gotten off the plane did a cluster of empty metal orbs come in to view on the far side of the harbor.
"Looks like they've already been here," said Storm as they took a closer look.
Kurt began to teleport on top of each sphere in order to observe the inside.
"Nothing," he said as he stood atop the last empty sphere.
As they took a closer look, Scott suddenly stopped.
"What is it Scott?" asked Jean as he feverishly began to scan the area around them.
"I thought heard something..."
None of the team heard it, for they knew Scott's hearing was vastly better than anybody else there. However, they trusted Scott's senses as they started to look check the immediate area around them. Jean started scanning as well, and it wasn't long before she too detected many strange new readings.
"This isn't right...This whole thing just isn't right," said Scott as he couldn't fight the ominous feelings of being watched.
Before anybody could respond, a mysterious flaming card came floating down towards them.
"Everybody move!" yelled Storm as the strange card landed and exploded like a mini bomb.
Metal objects around the harbor began to shake and vibrate, hinting at who was there. The X-men scrambled, trying not to give Magneto too big of a target. However they were being watched from afar and every one of their actions could be seen. Suddenly, a strange fire erupted around them, coupled with a crazy laugh. Kurt and Kitty soon found themselves trapped within a ring of fire. As they looked up from the flames, they saw the source of the demented laughter.
"Hey kiddies! Ready for a little barbecue? Courtesy of Magneto!" laughed Pyro as he controlled the intense flames around the two flabbergasted teens.
"Who is this guy?" said Kitty as she struggled to avoid the flames.
Just then, a familiar presence joined Pyro as the flames grew hotter. An ominous shaking began to rock the ground beneath them, hinting at who it was. Kurt immediately felt a new sense of anger come over him.
"His name is Pyro...But he's the least of your worries now!" said Lance as he stepped in to plain sight of his two greatest enemies now.
A small tremor was then felt and it got bigger with each passing second. However, Kurt would not let it get too big. He teleported out of the fiery entrapment and tackled Lance to the ground, stopping the shaking. The two immediately began to duke it out.
"You've had this coming fuzz boy!" yelled Lance as he threw a punch at Kurt, but missed just barely.
"Spare me you're revenge speech Lance, I von't let you vin!" responded Kurt as he fought back.
"Too late blue boy...You've already lost," muttered Lance under his breath as he continued to fight.
Back with Pyro and Kitty, the fire had not ceased. However, Kitty soon got out of the maelstrom by phasing through the hot flames. But wherever she went, the flames followed her. And no matter what happened, the insane laughter of the pyromaniac mutant could be heard.
"Give it up girly! You and your mates are toast this time!" laughed Pyro as he kept the fires burning bright.
Kitty then phased through a large stack of crates in order to take cover. While this did slow the attack, it didn't stop it.
"This guy is nuts..." said Kitty as the fires started to follow her once more.
Back with Rogue, she kept low and quiet behind a stack of large boxes. She knew they were under attack, but she tried to stay calm and remember everything she had learned from Logan and the Danger Room. Suddenly, a new presence from behind startled Rogue out of her train of thought. She turned around to see Gambit casually leaning against one of the crates. He had a strange, almost hypnotic, smile on his face and he was casually shuffling a deck of cards. Rogue didn't fight him for some reason and he didn't fight her. He just slowly made his way towards her with the same strange smile that seemed to have cast a spell on Rogue, and handed her one of the cards from his deck; it was the queen of hearts. Rogue was stunned, she didn't know what to make of all this. As she looked down at the card, Remy made his escape and ducked out. Then suddenly, the card began to burn brightly and before Rogue could react, it exploded, knocking her back.
"I have that effect on women," said Remy confidently as he saw his plan come together against Rogue.
However, Rogue wouldn't take that. She immediately arose and looked back at the Cajun mutant with a new sense of anger in her eyes.
"You just made a big mistake pal!" said Rogue as she lunged forth at Gambit and began to fight.
Remy was somewhat surprised at her skill, but that only made him grin more.
"I like a girl with spunk," he grinned as he fought back.
Back with Scott and Jean, they found themselves up against the two strongest of their new enemies, Collosus and Blob. Optic blasts and telekinesis alone wasn't enough against these strong mutants. They just kept right on at it as a hail of flying object from around the harbor and numerous optic blasts riddled the area.
"Is that all you got?!" boasted Blob as he fought his way through Scott's powerful optic blasts.
"Not quite," quipped Scott as he turned up the power.
This knocked the immovable Blob back, but didn't stop him. Even with his large size, Freddy avoided some the increasingly intense blasts. However, this only made his rage grow as he continued to fight on.
Jean was in this as well, for she was busy trying to use her powers to hold back Collosus. However, he proved to be even stronger than he looked. Even though it was a struggle, his expression remained stoic. While Jean heard the others around him yelling out in anger and rage, Collosus seemed somewhat collected. He still fought on, ripping large metal beams from nearby construction work and heaving them in Jean's direction. While these were heavy, Jean's powers were more than strong enough to stop them...Thanks in some ways to her old friend the Phoenix.
"You're not one to talk much are you?" said Jean as she stopped another metal beam with her mind and flung it off to the side.
The Russian mutant said nothing as he only hurled more heavy objects at her.
"Fine...Be that way," said Jean as she continued to divert the metal beams.
Evan had his hands tied battling Toad. His spikes were hitting nothing but air as the nimble, young mutant jumped all over the many features of the harbor in order to dodge the incoming projectiles. It was almost like a game to him, but Evan didn't let that phase him. He knew Todd was always overconfident in some way or another, it just made the fight all the more frustrating.
"Whoa, you could put an eye out with those things," said Toad as he dodged more spikes from Evan.
"That's not all they'll do swamp breath!" replied Evan as he stepped up his rate of fire with his projectiles.
"Come on bone boy! You're makin' this too easy for me yo!" boasted Toad as he hopped along the edge of the harbor.
However, his overconfidence would be short lived as a metal beam from the fight between Jean and Collosus flew in their direction. This caught Todd off guard and he was soon knocked back by the heavy girder and pinned to the ground with spikes from Evan.
"Not so confident now are you Tolensky?"
Meanwhile, Beast was busy trying to subdue the savage cat-like mutant Sabertooth in an animal vs. animal bout. As strong as Hank had become with his powers, Sabertooth proved to be far more menacing with each passing moment. His loud roars that echoed throughout the harbor were deafening and his temper all the more savage. Beast tried to fight him off, but it was hard to get through all of the rage that Sabertooth fought with. With a loud grunt, the cat-like mutant kicked Beast to the ground and attempted to make one last pounce. But Hank used his animal-like limbs to catch him in the process and send him flying back in to the air. In a fit of rage, Sabertooth began another attack, but he wasn't prepared for what happened next.
A mysterious tornado of wind then swept up the savage mutant as he thrashed wildly to break free. Soon, he found himself looking eye to eye with a very angry looking Storm.
"Where is Logan!?" demanded Ororo as she held Sabertooth tightly in her windy confinement.
"Wouldn't you like to know..." said Sabertooth with a sinister grin.
"He knows something!" yelled Rogue, whom had heard his comments.
"He ain't the only one yo..." commented Toad as he broke free of Evan's spikes.
"ERR! What are you talking about!? What are you goons up to?!" yelled Evan as he tried to pin Todd down again, but missed.
"Get ready to find out..."
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Unknown to the X-men above, the vast facility that the Friends of Humanity were using was directly underneath them. The sentinel had been repaired from its earlier battle with Wolverine and they were making some final adjustments in order to perfect their creation.
"Is it ready?" asked Trask to one of the lead scientists who was typing feverishly on the console.
"Ready and awaiting your orders."
"Excellent, bring Wolverine back in to the test area. Let's see what this thing can really do!" said Trask with a sinister grin on his face.
Three armed soldiers then bought the unconscious Logan back in to the center of the room and quickly made their retreat for the safety of the observation deck. It didn't take long for the Wolverine to awaken from his forced sleep, but he only found himself back where he had started. With an angry grunt, Logan scanned the room for any threats and began trying to think of a way to escape. However, his thoughts were soon interrupted by two ominous red eyes staring at him from the far side of the room.
"Mutant identified. Objective: Destroy."
"Bring it on bub!" grunted Logan, who would rather go down fighting than just letting this thing win.
The Wolverine lunged forth and began to slash in to the thick metal armor of the sentinel with his adamantium claws. However, he found himself thrown against the side of the room once more by the overwhelming strength of the metal robot. However, this only caused Logan to grunt even louder as he pounced upon the top of the oversized head of the robot. With his claws he began to slash away at the armor plating. However, this only caused the sentinel to thrash violently in an attempt to throw him off. Logan held strong though as the fight continued on and the Friends of Humanity only watched on, eager to see their creation succeed.
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Out on top of a tall building overlooking the docks, Magneto stood with his daughter Wanda by his side. They only watched on in amusement at the fight between the X-men and the newly expanded Brotherhood below. Then, Pietro came speeding up to the roof with urgent news.
"Everything's in place dad. It's all coming together now," reported Pietro with an excited grin.
"Perfect...Now the whole world will know of the mutant race!" said Magneto as he raised his hand in to the air.
Suddenly, the ground beneath the harbor began to shake violently. The sudden rumble caused most of the fighting mutants to lose their balance as they struggled to fight against the new Brotherhood recruits.
"What's going on?!" yelled Storm as she watched the ground began to crumble.
Suddenly, the Brotherhood began to flee from the scene and make their way back to the orbs that had they had come from. Each one of them had a sinister smile on their face as they flew off in to the sky in Magneto's metallic spheres and left the bewildered X-men behind to face what was coming out of the ground.
Below the surface of the earth, the metallic fortifications had began to shake violently by some unseen force and all the electronic instruments began to short out.
"What happening?!" yelled Trask as some of the soldiers and the scientists began to flee from the sparking electronics throughout the room.
"I don't know! But we have to get out of here!" said the lead scientist as he attempted to leave, but Trask grabbed him by the collars stopping him cold in his tracks.
"NOBODY LEAVES! What about the sentinel?!" bellowed Trask.
"We can't control it now! We have to get out of its way or we may get caught in the cross fire!" said the scientist as he broke free of Trask's grip and fled.
Trask could only watch as a mysterious force lifted the sentinel through the thick outer roof of the underground complex.
"NO!!!"
Then, the massive sentinel robot finally broke through the concrete above taking Logan along for the ride. In the distance Magneto, Pietro, and Wanda watched in triumph, as everything seemed to come together just as they had planned.
"What the hell is THAT?" said Scott as he and the rest of the team watched in amazement as a massive humanoid robot came up out of the ground.
Upon breaking the surface, Logan was thrown to the sides where the rest of the X-men were standing. Ororo and Rogue quickly rushed to his side.
"Logan!" exclaimed Rogue as she helped him up, "Yer okay!"
"Yeah..." said Logan slightly out of breath, but fine none the less, "But we've got bigger problems now."
As they helped Logan back, the sentinel rose once more and began to scan the area around it. Before long, it had the X-men clear in its sights.
"Multiple mutant targets identified. Objective: Destroy."
With earth shaking steps, the massive robot began to make its way towards the bewildered team of mutants as they were soon led closer to the inner parts of the crowded city. Unknown to them, a local news chopper was hovering near overlooking the traffic.
"And west bound on route 18 we have...Wait! Get a shot of that!" yelled the reporter as he saw the massive sentinel enter deeper in to the city.
The helicopter then spun around to get a closer look as the sentinel closed in on the X-men. The team didn't respond to this new development, for they had bigger problems to deal with. As they prepared to fight this monstrosity, a strange mechanical noise came from within the sentinel and several ominous looking cannons formed along the body and arms of the robot.
"X-men, scramble!" yelled Scott as the sentinel began to fire on to the street.
Screams of civilians could be heard as the X-men split up and took cover around the area. However there was no hiding from this thing. It seemed all too determined to annihilate each one of them. Scott used optic blasts to fire back at it, but it had very thick armor that was only dented by the blows. Jean attempted to use her powers to push it back, but under heavy fire from the arm cannons, she found it too hard to keep her concentration up. Police cars along with law enforcement personal soon crowded around them and only stared in disbelief at what they were seeing. They didn't move as the sentinel deflected a car that was flung by Jean's telekinesis right towards them.
"Oh crap," said Kitty upon seeing this and quickly made her move.
She rushed over to the bewildered officers and promptly phased them through the incoming projectiles, which only caused the growing amount of onlookers to gasp even more. The damage being caused by the sentinel grew as it lashed out in to buildings around it forcing Kurt, Kitty, Beast, and Rogue to make sudden rescues of the bewildered audience around them. Some screamed in fear at both the sentinel and the X-men, even when they saved lives. Yet the team fought on and kept trying to subdue the massive robot. Logan tried to cut through the armor and Scott tried to blast it, but despite the damage they caused the sentinel kept on fighting. Jean was forced to use shields around both the team and civilians caught in the crossfire of the melee around them. Beast and the others tried to get people away, but some were just too paralyzed at what they were seeing.
All of this was being broadcasted live all over the world as more news choppers and eager camera crews scoured the area. People back in Bayville and all over the country tuned in to see the unreal events unfolding in the busy streets of New York.
"Live from Southern Manhattan the melee continues as what appears to be a giant robot continues to attack the city along with strange humans wielding unnatural powers. You heard it right folks, a giant robot is attacking Manhattan! Sources are unclear but you see it now live before you. I would never have believed it, but here it is in sight for the world to see. And it seems as though authorities are helpless to stop this thing as it continues it rampage across the city."
Cameras watched as each member of the X-men scrambled to stop the sentinel at all costs. Logan had once again leaped on to its head and finally was able to pierce in to the wires that lie within. Soon, sparks were starting to fly as the robot grew more out of control and flung Logan off to the side crashing in to Storm and Rogue in the process.
"Aunty O!" yelled Evan as he saw this event unfold.
Immediately, a new feeling of anger overcame Evan as he leaped on to the top of a nearby car and concentrated on his powers. As the sentinel aimed its cannons at the young mutant, a barrage of sharp spikes shot out of Evan's body before an amazed crowd. Some of the spikes missed, some of them bounced harmlessly off thick armor, but some did hit their marks and one of those marks was the cannon. More sparks erupted from the new gashes, as the sentinel became more unruly. As it attempted to fire its cannons, the arm exploded from within and soon the massive robot limb was blown to the ground leaving a deep pit in the middle of the street.
"Hit it from the side Scott!" yelled Evan he dodged bursts of fire from the other cannon.
"I'm on it!" yelled Scott as he tried to make his way over to the side of the massive robot.
Along with this, Storm had awoken from her dazed state as she got up and unleashed a powerful tornado around her much to the shock of the police officers watching the whole thing. The tornado soon engulfed the robot and forced it to stop its advance. It thrashed wildly at the buildings around, causing all the more damage. Jean, Rogue, Kurt, Kitty, Hank, and Logan were forced to get people out of the way once more as the damage around them grew. They knew this thing had to be stopped now before more carnage ensued. Scott was ready to unleash one more well placed blast to the massive opening left from the severed mechanical arm that had blown off. He carefully aimed, knowing he had to make this shot count.
"Hold him still Storm! I may only get one shot!" yelled Scott through the wind around the sentinel.
"I'm...Trying!" said Ororo as she increased the wind speed around the robot. "Do it now!"
With a single blast to the side, a large explosion erupted from within the sentinel. The ground shook as it stumbled back and parts of it caught fire. Finally, it let out one last explosion from within the mighty sentinel collapsed in to the side of a building, causing the entire side of it to crumble. As camera crews sent the fantastic images to the shocked audiences around the world, the X-jet appeared over the X-men piloted by the Professor. Along with the x-jet, a fleet of military helicopters sped towards the scorched battleground with the sentinel.
Magneto and his offspring couldn't help but relish their triumph. Everything had gone exactly as they had hoped. The whole world had seen what had just happened and the X-men were now exposed along with the rest of the mutant world. As they watched Xavier send down support ropes to pick up the X-men, several fully armed military choppers flew up towards the building where the three mutants were standing.
"This is the marines. Whoever or whatever you are, surrender immediately!" said a booming voice from the lead helicopter.
Magneto, Wanda, and Pietro only grinned in amusement at their demands.
"I don't think so."
Then, with a strong magnetic burst and a blast of hex bolts the fleet of helicopters was sent crumbling to the ground with little effort.
"Come my children, it is time to make our leave," said Magneto as he used the metal in the concrete on the rooftop to tear a circular piece of area to transport them out of the combat zone.
"What about the X-geeks?" asked Pietro.
"It's over for them. The military will see to that. And they will soon realize that Charles's dream was never more than a pathetic fantasy."
As they sped off in to the sky along with the spheres containing the Brotherhood they looked back down at the smoldering battleground left in wake of the sentinel. Millions of people had seen this happen and no power could keep mutants a secret anymore. As soon as they were out of sight, the final X-man boarded the hovering X-jet.
"Hurry Professor! Go!" yelled Scott as he saw the military helicopters get closer and closer.
"Hang on!" said Xavier as he lit up the powerful engines and sped off to the east at speeds no military helicopter could match.
The ride was very bumpy for everybody present, but that didn't register that much as they looked back at the smoke that had risen from where the sentinel had collapsed. It was clear now that the cat was out of the bag and there were no more secrets about mutants and their existence.
"Now what do we do?" said Kitty as she looked off in to the fading city skyline with the rest of the group.
"Ve hope...That's all we can do now," replied Kurt in a daze.
Kurt found himself wrap an arm around her waist in an effort to calm both himself and her. He couldn't give her the answer...Nobody could. Everyone was anxious to know what the next day would bring now that their secret was out. Millions of people had seen their faces and watched them perform superhuman feats on live television. Even the people who were there seemed afraid of them even though they were doing all they could to save those caught up in the fight. Now that fear may permeate throughout the rest of the world as the truth is finally revealed in the coming days.
Scott soon found himself looking back at the Professor, who seemed unusually stoic after what had just happened.
"What happens now Professor?" asked Scott as he walked in to the cockpit and was soon followed by Jean.
"We return to the mansion," replied Xavier simply as he set the course for home.
"That's it?" said Jean upon hearing this, "But everybody will know now!"
"It's all we can do now Jean."
The Professor didn't say anything more after that. He just stuck to flying the jet. Jean wanted to say more, but Scott stopped her by gently putting a hand on her shoulder. Soon, the two found themselves embrace each other in a comforting hug knowing tomorrow would be a very different world.
"They knew..." said Logan as the rest of the team struggled to process the events of this fateful day.
"What do you mean Logan?" asked Beast.
"They planned this...They set us up."
"Who?" said Rogue not knowing what he was talking about at first.
"Magneto...This was all his doing. He played us from the start and we fell for it."
"But why? Why would he want to expose mutants like this? They'll make just as big a target out of him as they will the rest of us," reasoned Ororo.
"Maybe that's exactly what he wants."
No more words were spoken as the X-jet disappeared in to the clouds. Just below them, messages of fear, panic, and confusion swept across the nation.
"Who are these beings? Freaks? Aliens? Are we being invaded? Is it safe outside anymore?"
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As the X-jet descended from the sky back towards the mansion, they were all greeted with a ghastly sight...The mansion was gone. It had blown up...Their home had blown up and was now nothing more than a big mound of rubble.
"What the fuck..." said Logan as the full extent of the devastation came in to sight.
"The institute..." said Rogue in a tone that was barely audible.
Shock overtook the X-men as they saw the rubble that was once their home...Their only home that they had ever been able to fit in. It was all gone now, the one place that had saved them from living a terrible life of poverty on the streets. It had saved them and kept them from rotting away in the alleys of city streets. All they could do now was gasp and look on in disbelief at the shambles that was once their only home.
As soon as the X-jet landed on the back cliff, everybody rushed out and stood before barren rubble of the Xavier Institute. They walked around in a daze through the twisted debris and soon found themselves at the mangled front entrance. Time seemed to freeze for all of them as they looked around at their destroyed home.
"This can't be happening...This is all a bad dream," said Evan as he picked up some of the charred pieces of the institute walls.
"No...It's real," said Logan who tried to remain strong as he saw the will of the rest of the team break down.
"How could this have happened? How?!" exclaimed Kitty who was in tears now.
There was nothing else that could be done anymore. They could only try and take in this horrible event that had shattered their fragile hopes that had stayed strong through so many tribulations in the past. They had felt the pain of famine, abuse, neglect, rape, poverty, and death...But even they could not amount to what they felt here and now in the wake of their destroyed home.
Then Scott, who was still in a state of disbelief, suddenly felt a great sense of anger come over him. His mind had a sudden revelation as he turned towards the Professor with rage in his eyes.
"You...IT WAS YOU! YOU DID THIS!" yelled Scott as he stormed over to the Professor, grabbed him by the collar, and threw him down to the ground.
"Scott?! What are you doing?" exclaimed Ororo as she and Jean grabbed Scott and struggled to hold him back in his state of anger.
Suddenly, the Professor stood up and let out a sinister laugh. The rest of the X-men only looked back in horror as Mystique's form replaced that of Xavier. She looked all to content with the reactions of her enemies and could only look back with them with a snide expression, taunting them for they had lost.
"Yes...You all fell for it just as planned. And now...Things will get MUCH worse."
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AN: To be continued for now! Stay tuned to find out how the exposure of mutants to the world will effect the X-men in the next chapter! See how they cope with losing their home yet again and see the first appearance of the unstoppable Juggernaut! I'll try and post it soon...But that all depends on the demand I get. Well what did you think of this version of "Day of Reckoning?" Like it? Hate it? Send all your feedback to me at slickboy444@aol.com or post them on fanfiction.net. Well, that's it for now! Until next time, best wishes to you all!
REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!
Chapter 33: Day of Reckoning II
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The large robot sentinel had Logan in its sights. It had a window to kill him right then and there...But then, something stopped it.
"STOP!" said one of the main scientists, "That's enough, we have the data we need."
Although Trask was noticeably disappointed that the test had been stopped before the sentinel could finish the job, he simply shrugged it off knowing that if the robot could easily take him down once...It could do it again.
Trask signaled some of the soldiers present to go down and clean up some of the mess that had been created during this little 'test.' It left him only with the scientists who were monitoring some of the readings from the fight.
"So what's the verdict? Do we have a valid weapon against mutants?" asked Trask in a dark tone.
"Indeed we do sir. With this data we'll make a few quick adjustments and then no mutant will be able to stop our creation!" said the lead scientist.
"Excellent...Make it happen."
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Back at the institute, the mansion stood empty. The X-jet had long since left, but there was still activity deep within the walls of the institute. Down in the main control room where most of the Danger Room sessions were run, the computer mysteriously came to life with the loud sound of an alarm that echoed throughout the mansion.
"Initiating level 5 lockdown."
All over the institute, windows were locked down and thick steel plates covered every point of entrance and exit. Out of the ground came ominous looking turrets and defense guns. More and more security came to life throughout the institute as the incessant alarm refused to be silenced. Then, an ominous message appeared on the immense monitors of the main computer.
"Security compromised. Final security levels activated. Institute will self destruct in 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1..."
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As the X-jet flew closer to its target destination in the vast harbors of New York City, they kept a firm watch over the magnetic interference that was their only clue towards Magneto.
"Are we getting close?" asked Scott who was the one flying the plane.
"We're almost there," said Beast as he looked at the monitor readings before him, "I think I've triangulated the source...Land over there in that clearing."
As Scott swung the jet around for a landing run, tensions began to run high among X-men. This was especially true for Rogue, who was a lot closer to Logan than the rest of the group. Rogue had always sought solstice with him ever since he had found her in that dirty alley nearly a year ago. Ever since then Rogue often took it upon herself to worry about him whenever he ran off on his own. However, each time he had come back and assured her nothing was wrong. But now, the situation they were currently getting in to seemed all the more dangerous now that Magneto was involved.
"Any signs of Logan yet?" asked Rogue intently as the plane began it's decent.
"I'm afraid not Rogue. I still can't detect him with all this magnetic interference," said Beast with a sigh as he looked at the unclear readings grow even more scrambled.
Rogue's hopes sank as she heard his words, but Kurt quickly reassured her.
"Don't vorry Rogue. I'm sure Logan's all right."
"Yeah, you know the guy. He can take care of himself," added Evan as the plane finally landed.
"I hope so...I really hope so," said Rogue who still didn't feel too good about this whole situation.
"We're here," said Scott as he turned off the engines on the X-jet. "Let's go."
One by one, the X-men filed out of the jet and began to investigate the area. It was nearly deserted now, but they had to stay vigilant. No sooner had they gotten off the plane did a cluster of empty metal orbs come in to view on the far side of the harbor.
"Looks like they've already been here," said Storm as they took a closer look.
Kurt began to teleport on top of each sphere in order to observe the inside.
"Nothing," he said as he stood atop the last empty sphere.
As they took a closer look, Scott suddenly stopped.
"What is it Scott?" asked Jean as he feverishly began to scan the area around them.
"I thought heard something..."
None of the team heard it, for they knew Scott's hearing was vastly better than anybody else there. However, they trusted Scott's senses as they started to look check the immediate area around them. Jean started scanning as well, and it wasn't long before she too detected many strange new readings.
"This isn't right...This whole thing just isn't right," said Scott as he couldn't fight the ominous feelings of being watched.
Before anybody could respond, a mysterious flaming card came floating down towards them.
"Everybody move!" yelled Storm as the strange card landed and exploded like a mini bomb.
Metal objects around the harbor began to shake and vibrate, hinting at who was there. The X-men scrambled, trying not to give Magneto too big of a target. However they were being watched from afar and every one of their actions could be seen. Suddenly, a strange fire erupted around them, coupled with a crazy laugh. Kurt and Kitty soon found themselves trapped within a ring of fire. As they looked up from the flames, they saw the source of the demented laughter.
"Hey kiddies! Ready for a little barbecue? Courtesy of Magneto!" laughed Pyro as he controlled the intense flames around the two flabbergasted teens.
"Who is this guy?" said Kitty as she struggled to avoid the flames.
Just then, a familiar presence joined Pyro as the flames grew hotter. An ominous shaking began to rock the ground beneath them, hinting at who it was. Kurt immediately felt a new sense of anger come over him.
"His name is Pyro...But he's the least of your worries now!" said Lance as he stepped in to plain sight of his two greatest enemies now.
A small tremor was then felt and it got bigger with each passing second. However, Kurt would not let it get too big. He teleported out of the fiery entrapment and tackled Lance to the ground, stopping the shaking. The two immediately began to duke it out.
"You've had this coming fuzz boy!" yelled Lance as he threw a punch at Kurt, but missed just barely.
"Spare me you're revenge speech Lance, I von't let you vin!" responded Kurt as he fought back.
"Too late blue boy...You've already lost," muttered Lance under his breath as he continued to fight.
Back with Pyro and Kitty, the fire had not ceased. However, Kitty soon got out of the maelstrom by phasing through the hot flames. But wherever she went, the flames followed her. And no matter what happened, the insane laughter of the pyromaniac mutant could be heard.
"Give it up girly! You and your mates are toast this time!" laughed Pyro as he kept the fires burning bright.
Kitty then phased through a large stack of crates in order to take cover. While this did slow the attack, it didn't stop it.
"This guy is nuts..." said Kitty as the fires started to follow her once more.
Back with Rogue, she kept low and quiet behind a stack of large boxes. She knew they were under attack, but she tried to stay calm and remember everything she had learned from Logan and the Danger Room. Suddenly, a new presence from behind startled Rogue out of her train of thought. She turned around to see Gambit casually leaning against one of the crates. He had a strange, almost hypnotic, smile on his face and he was casually shuffling a deck of cards. Rogue didn't fight him for some reason and he didn't fight her. He just slowly made his way towards her with the same strange smile that seemed to have cast a spell on Rogue, and handed her one of the cards from his deck; it was the queen of hearts. Rogue was stunned, she didn't know what to make of all this. As she looked down at the card, Remy made his escape and ducked out. Then suddenly, the card began to burn brightly and before Rogue could react, it exploded, knocking her back.
"I have that effect on women," said Remy confidently as he saw his plan come together against Rogue.
However, Rogue wouldn't take that. She immediately arose and looked back at the Cajun mutant with a new sense of anger in her eyes.
"You just made a big mistake pal!" said Rogue as she lunged forth at Gambit and began to fight.
Remy was somewhat surprised at her skill, but that only made him grin more.
"I like a girl with spunk," he grinned as he fought back.
Back with Scott and Jean, they found themselves up against the two strongest of their new enemies, Collosus and Blob. Optic blasts and telekinesis alone wasn't enough against these strong mutants. They just kept right on at it as a hail of flying object from around the harbor and numerous optic blasts riddled the area.
"Is that all you got?!" boasted Blob as he fought his way through Scott's powerful optic blasts.
"Not quite," quipped Scott as he turned up the power.
This knocked the immovable Blob back, but didn't stop him. Even with his large size, Freddy avoided some the increasingly intense blasts. However, this only made his rage grow as he continued to fight on.
Jean was in this as well, for she was busy trying to use her powers to hold back Collosus. However, he proved to be even stronger than he looked. Even though it was a struggle, his expression remained stoic. While Jean heard the others around him yelling out in anger and rage, Collosus seemed somewhat collected. He still fought on, ripping large metal beams from nearby construction work and heaving them in Jean's direction. While these were heavy, Jean's powers were more than strong enough to stop them...Thanks in some ways to her old friend the Phoenix.
"You're not one to talk much are you?" said Jean as she stopped another metal beam with her mind and flung it off to the side.
The Russian mutant said nothing as he only hurled more heavy objects at her.
"Fine...Be that way," said Jean as she continued to divert the metal beams.
Evan had his hands tied battling Toad. His spikes were hitting nothing but air as the nimble, young mutant jumped all over the many features of the harbor in order to dodge the incoming projectiles. It was almost like a game to him, but Evan didn't let that phase him. He knew Todd was always overconfident in some way or another, it just made the fight all the more frustrating.
"Whoa, you could put an eye out with those things," said Toad as he dodged more spikes from Evan.
"That's not all they'll do swamp breath!" replied Evan as he stepped up his rate of fire with his projectiles.
"Come on bone boy! You're makin' this too easy for me yo!" boasted Toad as he hopped along the edge of the harbor.
However, his overconfidence would be short lived as a metal beam from the fight between Jean and Collosus flew in their direction. This caught Todd off guard and he was soon knocked back by the heavy girder and pinned to the ground with spikes from Evan.
"Not so confident now are you Tolensky?"
Meanwhile, Beast was busy trying to subdue the savage cat-like mutant Sabertooth in an animal vs. animal bout. As strong as Hank had become with his powers, Sabertooth proved to be far more menacing with each passing moment. His loud roars that echoed throughout the harbor were deafening and his temper all the more savage. Beast tried to fight him off, but it was hard to get through all of the rage that Sabertooth fought with. With a loud grunt, the cat-like mutant kicked Beast to the ground and attempted to make one last pounce. But Hank used his animal-like limbs to catch him in the process and send him flying back in to the air. In a fit of rage, Sabertooth began another attack, but he wasn't prepared for what happened next.
A mysterious tornado of wind then swept up the savage mutant as he thrashed wildly to break free. Soon, he found himself looking eye to eye with a very angry looking Storm.
"Where is Logan!?" demanded Ororo as she held Sabertooth tightly in her windy confinement.
"Wouldn't you like to know..." said Sabertooth with a sinister grin.
"He knows something!" yelled Rogue, whom had heard his comments.
"He ain't the only one yo..." commented Toad as he broke free of Evan's spikes.
"ERR! What are you talking about!? What are you goons up to?!" yelled Evan as he tried to pin Todd down again, but missed.
"Get ready to find out..."
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Unknown to the X-men above, the vast facility that the Friends of Humanity were using was directly underneath them. The sentinel had been repaired from its earlier battle with Wolverine and they were making some final adjustments in order to perfect their creation.
"Is it ready?" asked Trask to one of the lead scientists who was typing feverishly on the console.
"Ready and awaiting your orders."
"Excellent, bring Wolverine back in to the test area. Let's see what this thing can really do!" said Trask with a sinister grin on his face.
Three armed soldiers then bought the unconscious Logan back in to the center of the room and quickly made their retreat for the safety of the observation deck. It didn't take long for the Wolverine to awaken from his forced sleep, but he only found himself back where he had started. With an angry grunt, Logan scanned the room for any threats and began trying to think of a way to escape. However, his thoughts were soon interrupted by two ominous red eyes staring at him from the far side of the room.
"Mutant identified. Objective: Destroy."
"Bring it on bub!" grunted Logan, who would rather go down fighting than just letting this thing win.
The Wolverine lunged forth and began to slash in to the thick metal armor of the sentinel with his adamantium claws. However, he found himself thrown against the side of the room once more by the overwhelming strength of the metal robot. However, this only caused Logan to grunt even louder as he pounced upon the top of the oversized head of the robot. With his claws he began to slash away at the armor plating. However, this only caused the sentinel to thrash violently in an attempt to throw him off. Logan held strong though as the fight continued on and the Friends of Humanity only watched on, eager to see their creation succeed.
**************************************************
Out on top of a tall building overlooking the docks, Magneto stood with his daughter Wanda by his side. They only watched on in amusement at the fight between the X-men and the newly expanded Brotherhood below. Then, Pietro came speeding up to the roof with urgent news.
"Everything's in place dad. It's all coming together now," reported Pietro with an excited grin.
"Perfect...Now the whole world will know of the mutant race!" said Magneto as he raised his hand in to the air.
Suddenly, the ground beneath the harbor began to shake violently. The sudden rumble caused most of the fighting mutants to lose their balance as they struggled to fight against the new Brotherhood recruits.
"What's going on?!" yelled Storm as she watched the ground began to crumble.
Suddenly, the Brotherhood began to flee from the scene and make their way back to the orbs that had they had come from. Each one of them had a sinister smile on their face as they flew off in to the sky in Magneto's metallic spheres and left the bewildered X-men behind to face what was coming out of the ground.
Below the surface of the earth, the metallic fortifications had began to shake violently by some unseen force and all the electronic instruments began to short out.
"What happening?!" yelled Trask as some of the soldiers and the scientists began to flee from the sparking electronics throughout the room.
"I don't know! But we have to get out of here!" said the lead scientist as he attempted to leave, but Trask grabbed him by the collars stopping him cold in his tracks.
"NOBODY LEAVES! What about the sentinel?!" bellowed Trask.
"We can't control it now! We have to get out of its way or we may get caught in the cross fire!" said the scientist as he broke free of Trask's grip and fled.
Trask could only watch as a mysterious force lifted the sentinel through the thick outer roof of the underground complex.
"NO!!!"
Then, the massive sentinel robot finally broke through the concrete above taking Logan along for the ride. In the distance Magneto, Pietro, and Wanda watched in triumph, as everything seemed to come together just as they had planned.
"What the hell is THAT?" said Scott as he and the rest of the team watched in amazement as a massive humanoid robot came up out of the ground.
Upon breaking the surface, Logan was thrown to the sides where the rest of the X-men were standing. Ororo and Rogue quickly rushed to his side.
"Logan!" exclaimed Rogue as she helped him up, "Yer okay!"
"Yeah..." said Logan slightly out of breath, but fine none the less, "But we've got bigger problems now."
As they helped Logan back, the sentinel rose once more and began to scan the area around it. Before long, it had the X-men clear in its sights.
"Multiple mutant targets identified. Objective: Destroy."
With earth shaking steps, the massive robot began to make its way towards the bewildered team of mutants as they were soon led closer to the inner parts of the crowded city. Unknown to them, a local news chopper was hovering near overlooking the traffic.
"And west bound on route 18 we have...Wait! Get a shot of that!" yelled the reporter as he saw the massive sentinel enter deeper in to the city.
The helicopter then spun around to get a closer look as the sentinel closed in on the X-men. The team didn't respond to this new development, for they had bigger problems to deal with. As they prepared to fight this monstrosity, a strange mechanical noise came from within the sentinel and several ominous looking cannons formed along the body and arms of the robot.
"X-men, scramble!" yelled Scott as the sentinel began to fire on to the street.
Screams of civilians could be heard as the X-men split up and took cover around the area. However there was no hiding from this thing. It seemed all too determined to annihilate each one of them. Scott used optic blasts to fire back at it, but it had very thick armor that was only dented by the blows. Jean attempted to use her powers to push it back, but under heavy fire from the arm cannons, she found it too hard to keep her concentration up. Police cars along with law enforcement personal soon crowded around them and only stared in disbelief at what they were seeing. They didn't move as the sentinel deflected a car that was flung by Jean's telekinesis right towards them.
"Oh crap," said Kitty upon seeing this and quickly made her move.
She rushed over to the bewildered officers and promptly phased them through the incoming projectiles, which only caused the growing amount of onlookers to gasp even more. The damage being caused by the sentinel grew as it lashed out in to buildings around it forcing Kurt, Kitty, Beast, and Rogue to make sudden rescues of the bewildered audience around them. Some screamed in fear at both the sentinel and the X-men, even when they saved lives. Yet the team fought on and kept trying to subdue the massive robot. Logan tried to cut through the armor and Scott tried to blast it, but despite the damage they caused the sentinel kept on fighting. Jean was forced to use shields around both the team and civilians caught in the crossfire of the melee around them. Beast and the others tried to get people away, but some were just too paralyzed at what they were seeing.
All of this was being broadcasted live all over the world as more news choppers and eager camera crews scoured the area. People back in Bayville and all over the country tuned in to see the unreal events unfolding in the busy streets of New York.
"Live from Southern Manhattan the melee continues as what appears to be a giant robot continues to attack the city along with strange humans wielding unnatural powers. You heard it right folks, a giant robot is attacking Manhattan! Sources are unclear but you see it now live before you. I would never have believed it, but here it is in sight for the world to see. And it seems as though authorities are helpless to stop this thing as it continues it rampage across the city."
Cameras watched as each member of the X-men scrambled to stop the sentinel at all costs. Logan had once again leaped on to its head and finally was able to pierce in to the wires that lie within. Soon, sparks were starting to fly as the robot grew more out of control and flung Logan off to the side crashing in to Storm and Rogue in the process.
"Aunty O!" yelled Evan as he saw this event unfold.
Immediately, a new feeling of anger overcame Evan as he leaped on to the top of a nearby car and concentrated on his powers. As the sentinel aimed its cannons at the young mutant, a barrage of sharp spikes shot out of Evan's body before an amazed crowd. Some of the spikes missed, some of them bounced harmlessly off thick armor, but some did hit their marks and one of those marks was the cannon. More sparks erupted from the new gashes, as the sentinel became more unruly. As it attempted to fire its cannons, the arm exploded from within and soon the massive robot limb was blown to the ground leaving a deep pit in the middle of the street.
"Hit it from the side Scott!" yelled Evan he dodged bursts of fire from the other cannon.
"I'm on it!" yelled Scott as he tried to make his way over to the side of the massive robot.
Along with this, Storm had awoken from her dazed state as she got up and unleashed a powerful tornado around her much to the shock of the police officers watching the whole thing. The tornado soon engulfed the robot and forced it to stop its advance. It thrashed wildly at the buildings around, causing all the more damage. Jean, Rogue, Kurt, Kitty, Hank, and Logan were forced to get people out of the way once more as the damage around them grew. They knew this thing had to be stopped now before more carnage ensued. Scott was ready to unleash one more well placed blast to the massive opening left from the severed mechanical arm that had blown off. He carefully aimed, knowing he had to make this shot count.
"Hold him still Storm! I may only get one shot!" yelled Scott through the wind around the sentinel.
"I'm...Trying!" said Ororo as she increased the wind speed around the robot. "Do it now!"
With a single blast to the side, a large explosion erupted from within the sentinel. The ground shook as it stumbled back and parts of it caught fire. Finally, it let out one last explosion from within the mighty sentinel collapsed in to the side of a building, causing the entire side of it to crumble. As camera crews sent the fantastic images to the shocked audiences around the world, the X-jet appeared over the X-men piloted by the Professor. Along with the x-jet, a fleet of military helicopters sped towards the scorched battleground with the sentinel.
Magneto and his offspring couldn't help but relish their triumph. Everything had gone exactly as they had hoped. The whole world had seen what had just happened and the X-men were now exposed along with the rest of the mutant world. As they watched Xavier send down support ropes to pick up the X-men, several fully armed military choppers flew up towards the building where the three mutants were standing.
"This is the marines. Whoever or whatever you are, surrender immediately!" said a booming voice from the lead helicopter.
Magneto, Wanda, and Pietro only grinned in amusement at their demands.
"I don't think so."
Then, with a strong magnetic burst and a blast of hex bolts the fleet of helicopters was sent crumbling to the ground with little effort.
"Come my children, it is time to make our leave," said Magneto as he used the metal in the concrete on the rooftop to tear a circular piece of area to transport them out of the combat zone.
"What about the X-geeks?" asked Pietro.
"It's over for them. The military will see to that. And they will soon realize that Charles's dream was never more than a pathetic fantasy."
As they sped off in to the sky along with the spheres containing the Brotherhood they looked back down at the smoldering battleground left in wake of the sentinel. Millions of people had seen this happen and no power could keep mutants a secret anymore. As soon as they were out of sight, the final X-man boarded the hovering X-jet.
"Hurry Professor! Go!" yelled Scott as he saw the military helicopters get closer and closer.
"Hang on!" said Xavier as he lit up the powerful engines and sped off to the east at speeds no military helicopter could match.
The ride was very bumpy for everybody present, but that didn't register that much as they looked back at the smoke that had risen from where the sentinel had collapsed. It was clear now that the cat was out of the bag and there were no more secrets about mutants and their existence.
"Now what do we do?" said Kitty as she looked off in to the fading city skyline with the rest of the group.
"Ve hope...That's all we can do now," replied Kurt in a daze.
Kurt found himself wrap an arm around her waist in an effort to calm both himself and her. He couldn't give her the answer...Nobody could. Everyone was anxious to know what the next day would bring now that their secret was out. Millions of people had seen their faces and watched them perform superhuman feats on live television. Even the people who were there seemed afraid of them even though they were doing all they could to save those caught up in the fight. Now that fear may permeate throughout the rest of the world as the truth is finally revealed in the coming days.
Scott soon found himself looking back at the Professor, who seemed unusually stoic after what had just happened.
"What happens now Professor?" asked Scott as he walked in to the cockpit and was soon followed by Jean.
"We return to the mansion," replied Xavier simply as he set the course for home.
"That's it?" said Jean upon hearing this, "But everybody will know now!"
"It's all we can do now Jean."
The Professor didn't say anything more after that. He just stuck to flying the jet. Jean wanted to say more, but Scott stopped her by gently putting a hand on her shoulder. Soon, the two found themselves embrace each other in a comforting hug knowing tomorrow would be a very different world.
"They knew..." said Logan as the rest of the team struggled to process the events of this fateful day.
"What do you mean Logan?" asked Beast.
"They planned this...They set us up."
"Who?" said Rogue not knowing what he was talking about at first.
"Magneto...This was all his doing. He played us from the start and we fell for it."
"But why? Why would he want to expose mutants like this? They'll make just as big a target out of him as they will the rest of us," reasoned Ororo.
"Maybe that's exactly what he wants."
No more words were spoken as the X-jet disappeared in to the clouds. Just below them, messages of fear, panic, and confusion swept across the nation.
"Who are these beings? Freaks? Aliens? Are we being invaded? Is it safe outside anymore?"
**************************************************
As the X-jet descended from the sky back towards the mansion, they were all greeted with a ghastly sight...The mansion was gone. It had blown up...Their home had blown up and was now nothing more than a big mound of rubble.
"What the fuck..." said Logan as the full extent of the devastation came in to sight.
"The institute..." said Rogue in a tone that was barely audible.
Shock overtook the X-men as they saw the rubble that was once their home...Their only home that they had ever been able to fit in. It was all gone now, the one place that had saved them from living a terrible life of poverty on the streets. It had saved them and kept them from rotting away in the alleys of city streets. All they could do now was gasp and look on in disbelief at the shambles that was once their only home.
As soon as the X-jet landed on the back cliff, everybody rushed out and stood before barren rubble of the Xavier Institute. They walked around in a daze through the twisted debris and soon found themselves at the mangled front entrance. Time seemed to freeze for all of them as they looked around at their destroyed home.
"This can't be happening...This is all a bad dream," said Evan as he picked up some of the charred pieces of the institute walls.
"No...It's real," said Logan who tried to remain strong as he saw the will of the rest of the team break down.
"How could this have happened? How?!" exclaimed Kitty who was in tears now.
There was nothing else that could be done anymore. They could only try and take in this horrible event that had shattered their fragile hopes that had stayed strong through so many tribulations in the past. They had felt the pain of famine, abuse, neglect, rape, poverty, and death...But even they could not amount to what they felt here and now in the wake of their destroyed home.
Then Scott, who was still in a state of disbelief, suddenly felt a great sense of anger come over him. His mind had a sudden revelation as he turned towards the Professor with rage in his eyes.
"You...IT WAS YOU! YOU DID THIS!" yelled Scott as he stormed over to the Professor, grabbed him by the collar, and threw him down to the ground.
"Scott?! What are you doing?" exclaimed Ororo as she and Jean grabbed Scott and struggled to hold him back in his state of anger.
Suddenly, the Professor stood up and let out a sinister laugh. The rest of the X-men only looked back in horror as Mystique's form replaced that of Xavier. She looked all to content with the reactions of her enemies and could only look back with them with a snide expression, taunting them for they had lost.
"Yes...You all fell for it just as planned. And now...Things will get MUCH worse."
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AN: To be continued for now! Stay tuned to find out how the exposure of mutants to the world will effect the X-men in the next chapter! See how they cope with losing their home yet again and see the first appearance of the unstoppable Juggernaut! I'll try and post it soon...But that all depends on the demand I get. Well what did you think of this version of "Day of Reckoning?" Like it? Hate it? Send all your feedback to me at slickboy444@aol.com or post them on fanfiction.net. Well, that's it for now! Until next time, best wishes to you all!
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