HOUSE OF M FALLS! DECIMATION DAY!
" Ares!" Sunfire yelled. He exploded forward and slammed into Ian. " You will burn for that!" Sunfire told the man.
" NO! YOU WILL BREAK!" Ian told the man. Ian used the momentum to push against Sunfire and sent the man flying into the Genesis building and flew in after him.
And that's how we got back to this moment.
" Ah, Cessily, immune to my powers." Laurie spoke. " I suppose I should make someone hate you specifically, just to make sure you don't stop me. But you are my best friend."
" You don't have to do this!" Cessily told the girl. " Did SHIELD, get a hold of you?" Cessily asked.
" SHIELD? Please. Most of SHIELD is clueless. They have no idea what people like my father have to do to make Magneto's perfect world work. But dad does it anyway. We do it. What we have to." Laurie explained to the girl.
" Is that what you tell yourself? Is that how you make yourself feel better?" Ian asked the girl.
" Ahhhh! Sinclair. How long has it been? A few years Maybe more? It's so good to see you again." Laurie told the man. " Tell me, what are you doing here?"
" We're here to burn this facility to the ground and kill Sunfire. Simple as that. Which means if you want to get out, now's your chance. Or you could stick around and see why that's a bad idea." Ian told the girl.
" Ahhh, now there's an idea." Laurie spoke. " You now, I've always disliked you. Always thinking you were so much better than everyone else. So, much superior. You and your filthy human loving wife. Oh, wait she was put down like the little mutt she was."
" You just said your last words." Ian told the woman.
" Don't be upset, Ian. You are a piece of eye candy, ya know. And to top it all off, I now know how I'm going to kill you, Cess. I'm going to let your old crush do it." Laurie told the girl.
" Laurie, please! You don't have to do this!" Cessily exclaimed.
" Yes, I do." Laurie replied. She began trying to exert her Pheromones on Ian, but the man reached up and broke his own nose to prevent Laurie's Pheromones from working on him.
" Exodus, kill her." Ian spoke.
" What?" Laurie asked.
" Yes, my lord." Exodus replied. He lowered himself down behind Laurie with Boom-Boom and before Laurie could even realize what happened, Exodus broke her neck with a flick of his wrist.
Laurie's body dropped to the ground lifeless, and Cessily grabbed her.
" Good timing, you two. How are things on the outside?" Ian asked.
" I've done away with the Fantastic Four, Sir. They won't be getting up ever again." Exodus told the man.
" Exodus, you are my best man. I thank you for the service you've provided me all these years. All of your loyalty. " Ian told the man.
" Nonsense. You have been a greater leader to our cause than Magneto ever was." Exodus replied.
" And you, Boom-Boom? How are you feeling?" Ian asked the woman.
" I'm fine. Pyro and Iceman are leading the forces outside against SHIELD. But for some reason, next to none of SHIELD'S heavy hitters are here. No Strange, No X-men, No Avengers. Just the few losers we had to deal with outside. Though Thor did show up, he and Juggernaut are tearing it up all throughout the city." Tabitha replied.
" All right. We've fulfilled our end of the bargain. Now, it's time to put an end to this." Ian spoke.
" Not so fast, Onslaught." Julian exclaimed.
Ian looked at all the members of the Hellions and smirked.
" Well, isn't this just a grand old class reunion. The New Mutants and The Hellions all together again. Ain't that topical." Ian joked.
" My lord, do you want me to kill them?" Exodus asked.
" No, they're just children playing at being Agents. They aren't what we're here for, Exodus. This..." Ian stated as he pointed around the wrecked laboratory. " This is what we came for."
" Well, so did we!" David yelled.
" Is that right?" Ian asked.
" Yeah, it is." Julian stated. " Look, we're SHIELD.... But this isn't what we want. We want to keep the peace and protect the people. Mutant and Human alike." Julian explained.
" We'll see about that. Exodus, read all of their minds and show it to me." Ian told the man.
" As you command, my lord." Exodus replied. He took a step towards the group and his eyes started glowing green like an inferno.
" No, you won't." Sophie exclaimed. " You aren't the only telepath here, Exodus." Sophie told the man. She tried to push back Exodus' power and prevent him from entering the minds of the others, but she quickly crumbled with blood flowing out of her mouth and nose.
" Foolish girl. I am Exodus, even the likes of Charles Xavier and Jean grey cannot defeat me on the astral plane alone." Exodus told the girl as she fell to the ground. After taking a minute to thoroughly examine each of their minds, Exodus finally withdrew. " They speak the truth my lord. But these Hellions, are still SHIELD. Should I kill them?" Exodus asked.
" No, Exodus. There's point in killing them. When this is over, I have doubt they'll be hunted by their own superiors. After all they want to take down Emperor Sunfire as well." Ian told the man.
" Very well." Exodus flexed his hand and stopped a hail of bullets from hitting Sophie in her back as well as the Hellions and The New Mutants.
" What The hell?!" Julian exclaimed.
" You let your guard down too easily boy." Exodus told Julian. Julian had the same abilities as Exodus, but the difference in power between the two was like day and night.
" Thank.... You, Exodus." Sophie told the man as she recomposed herself.
" No thanks necessary, child. We are after all Homo-Superior. That means we protect one another." Exodus told the girl.
" Donald! What are you doing?!" Seiji asked Pierce, as he was the one who had fired at the mutants.
" What do you think, Seiji?!" Pierce exclaimed. " We're not Mutants. They might have gotten us here, but we aren't them! That means they've outlived their usefulness." Pierce spoke.
" We must work with these mutants. They are here to help." Seiji told the man.
" Before you speak again, Pierce. I recommend you listen to your friend. And chose your next words carefully. They may be your last." Ian told the man.
" I don't care about either of you. We are supposed to stand with Humanity against their oppression. I'll kill you, before I let you force us into cowing before them, Seiji." Donald exclaimed. Donald raised his gun again, but this time it was Dani who stopped him from firing it.
" You've killed enough, madman. And I've had enough of you! You think I want to work with you?!" Dani asked as she kicked the man in his chest.
Donald rolled along the ground and the two, Mutant and Human, began fighting.
" We should stop them." Seiji exclaimed.
" No, let them do whatever they want. Exodus, do me a favor and handle the rest of the guards. Tabitha, go back outside and help the others. We'll bring this place down and then, I'll finish of Sunfire." Ian explained.
" Sir."
" Yes, Onslaught."
" Now, then.... Welcome to the brotherhood, kids. Hope you survive the experience."
" Hey, we're not joining your terrorist cell!" Julian exclaimed.
" Right, because SHIELD is so much better, Julian. Wake up. You have two choices right now. You fight with me and join the brotherhood, and I'll guarantee you'll leave here alive. Or you take the risk of fighting Sunfire alone and SHIELD might just not kill you for your betrayal. Be smart Julian, David. Look around us... All the Brotherhood ever wanted was for all of us to be able to exist in a world where SHIELD'S Sick work and oppression were brought to an end. Look how many of your friends got hurt. Look at how many god SHIELD agents died today, simply because they were following orders. Look how many humans died here because of SHIELD and sunfire's demented experiments. Is this the world you envisioned living in? What if Sofia was one of the people? What if it was Noriko? These people need to be freed and we have the power to do it. So, Julian. David. Will you help me save them?" Ian asked the two men.
Julian and David looked between each other and nodded.
" All right. Let's get this done." Julian exclaimed.
" All right! Everyone, free as many people as you can!" Ian exclaimed.
The New Mutants and The Hellions began helping to free all of the men and women who were still stuck trapped in their containers and cells.
" IN THE NAME OF THE BROTHERHOOD! I SET YOU FREE!" Exodus exclaimed. With one flick of his wrist, he tore the cell doors off an entire row of prisons, freeing multiple humans at once.
" That's the last of them." Ian spoke.
" Great, now we just need to get out while the chaos above is still going on." David exclaimed.
* THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!
" Uh, somethings going on outside." Noriko stated.
" We will secure the perimeter."
" No wait!" Noriko exclaimed. She climbed up the ladder after her father's men and saw them already dead outside.
" Guys! Sunfire's back! And he's brought help!" Noriko exclaimed.
" Who is it?" Cessily asked.
" The only other people that SHIELD would bring out to protect a place like this. Sentry, Blue Marvel, and Hyperion.... Looks like they really want to kill us." Ian joked.
" I'll teleport us out of here." Illyana spoke up.
" No, they'll track us down. They know we're here. If we run now, we'll be running for the rest of our lives until we have to fight." Julian told the girl.
"My men inside have informed me that the Hellions squad is among you. For their sake, I offer you one chance to surrender." Sunfire exclaimed.
" If we surrender, we may never be seen or heard from again!" Dani exclaimed. She had been injured in her fight with Pierce, which she seems to have won. " We'll be silenced at least long enough for them to clean up Project Genesis and kill these witnesses." Dani explained.
" That's exactly what they'll do." Ian spoke.
" My lord." Exodus spoke.
" My old friend, it would seem the time for the final part of our plan has finally arrived." Ian spoke.
" So, it has. Do you have any words you wish for me to share with Tabitha?" Exodus asked the man.
" I've already left her my last words, Exodus. But thank you." Ian told the man.
" Of course." Exodus replied.
" Now I must ask something of you." Ian spoke.
" You need not ask. I will fight and die for our cause, always. Just say the word." Exodus spoke up.
" Heh! It's funny, all of this started all those years ago with you and me. And now, here we are once again at the end of our journey, together. I can't think of a better man or a better friend I would rather die beside than you." Ian told the man.
" I thank you for the kind words, my lord. I pray our sacrifice is not in vain." Exodus stated.
" It won't be. Because they'll spread our message. The entire world will know that two mutants died, protecting their beliefs and saving Mutants and Humans alike. They will hear our story, whether they want too... Or not." Ian told the man. He then turned to the New Mutants and the Hellions and spoke. " New Mutants, Hellions. You have done a good thing today. But this is not your fight. Not anymore. Go down the hall and join my forces on the outside. Boom-Boom will help you find someplace safe to evacuate to. We'll handle the rest from here." Ian told the group.
" That sounds, like a nice thing to do. But we both know that if we do that, they'll really come for us. Besides, we have a better chance at winning if we fight together." Dani told the boy.
" Heh!" Ian laughed. " You know something, Dani? Despite our many differences, I've always had nothing but respect for you. Even when I was your student. I might not have always shown it, I know. And I regret that." Ian told the woman. " What I wouldn't give to have just a few more of those precious years back." Ian said to the woman.
" Me too." Dani replied. " Me too."
" All right. What about the rest of you?" Ian asked.
" Do you even need to ask?" Julian asked the man.
" Illyana, get these people out of here." Dani told the girl.
" Wait, boss, you're injured. You should come with me." Illyana told the woman.
" No, my kids are all staying behind, and I'm gonna stay with them. They need me." Dani told the woman.
Illyana nodded and quickly gathered the civilians who were still stuck inside the building.
" Go, Illyana. And tell the world what your Hellions did. Tell the world our story.... And theirs." Dani told the woman.
" I will." Illyana replied. She raised her sword into the air and teleported everyone else out of the building and away from the fight.
" All right, people... We're gonna need a distraction." David stated.
" We have one." Ian spoke up. " Exodus."
" As you command!" Exodus replied.
With his final order being given, Exodus flexed his muscles and summoned forth as much power as he could muster and then with a single shout, he released it all out into world. Shaking the building to its core and bringing it tumbling down.
" All right! Brotherhood! Take them down!" Ian yelled.
" Kill them all!" Sunfire exclaimed.
The two forces charged each other one last time.
Ian rushed Sunfire and Sentry, while the others began fighting blue marvel and Hyperion.
To say the two sides were outmatched would be an understatement. Exodus was the first to try and the first to die. Followed by Synch, then max and Sophie, then Sooraya and Jubilee, then David and Noriko, then Julian and Sofia and Dani. And then finally Cessily and Ian alone remained.
The woman's ability to turn her body into liquid mercury helped keep her safe from the groups attack. But she was quickly getting tired.
" Ugh!" Ian came crashing to the ground below and landed right next to Cessily, sent flying by a punch from the Sentry. " Cess, get up and run." Ian told the girl.
" No... My friends... Are all gone now. This is really the end, isn't it?" Cessily asked.
" Yeah, looks like it." Ian told the girl. " Anything you want to get off your chest?" Ian asked the girl. He was joking to try and make the moment seem less horrendous for the both of them, despite the fact he had two holes punched through his stomach.
" Yeah... I wish I had come with you all those years ago. I wish we could have stayed together long. I wish I could have told you how I really felt. I love you, Ian." Cessily told the man.
Ian was dumbfounded by what she had just said, and he couldn't think of anything else to do other than laugh.
" What's funny?" Cessily asked.
" Nothing. Just... This isn't how I pictured my death would be. Surrounded by my old friends. Facing down gods among men. Doesn't seem like the kind of life a cripple would have does it?" Ian asked the girl.
" No, heh! I guess not." Cessily replied.
" HAhahahaha!"
" Hahahahahaha!"
Ian and Cessily both laughed together in the face of their impending doom. But Ian wasn't ready to just give up yet.
" I think that's enough time." Ian mumbled.
" What?" Cessily asked.
" Nothing. Just go Cess. I got this." Ian stated.
" You have nothing! You can barely stand1 Your little brotherhood, end today." Sunfire spoke.
" Heh! You think killing me will end the brotherhood? You must either be blind or be a bigger fool than I thought. There is no end to me. Do you hear me? No end! Even if you destroy this body there will be another to rise up and take my place. And when that day comes, the world will finally be at peace. It's just a shame none of you will be there to see it." Ian told the group.
" Oh? And why's that?" Sunfire asked.
Ian didn't reply, instead he charged the four men together. He avoided Hyperion and Blue marvel and took the full force of the Sentry's fire attack, just to get his hands on Sunfire.
Ian tackled the emperor to the ground and started choking him.
" YOUR MAJESTY!" Sentry yelled. He and the others all took off towards Ian, with the intent to kill him. But that's just what Ian wanted.
" The power of a million exploding suns, Anti-matter, Nuclear energy. Gonna have to thank Vulcan for this." Ian stated. ' Goodbye, Tabitha. It's up to you now to lead them. Rahne, Sarah finally, I'm coming home.' Ian's thoughts flashed back to the time he spent with all of his friends, beginning from his time at Xaviers, to his time with his family, to the years he spent leading the brotherhood, and in the end when the time finally came, he smiled.
Ian's eyes started glowing red and with a single thought, the moment the other three heroes touched his body, his entire body went up in a massive explosion of energy.
Suddenly, a bright light spread out across the entire earth and men and women began vanishing and fading out of existence.
Ian didn't know it. But this phenomenon was the result of Charles Xavier, Magneto, and the X-men and Avengers finally defeating the Scarlet Witch and setting earth back to the way it was before she warped reality, thus bringing an end to the House of M! And the beginning of the darkest days in the history of the X-men.