X-Men

by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

  Magneto turned as Sabretooth held up the radio. “Tapped in on one of their bands.”

  Magneto nodded as the radio came to life. Even from a distance, Logan could hear what the Secret Service guy was saying, unaware that his security had been compromised. “The house is full. Repeat, the house is full. Proceed to phase two.”

  Magneto nodded. “It seems the party next door is under way. It’s time.”

  He glanced around at Jean and Cyclops, then back at Logan. “Good-bye, brothers.”

  With that, he floated up through the hole in the head of the statue.

  Logan twisted, trying to fight his way out of the steel belt that held him, without luck.

  Sabretooth just sneered at him.

  More than anything else in the world, Logan wanted to wipe that sneer right off his ugly face.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Ellis Island

  Secret Service agent Craig Downer scanned the crowds milling about below his tower, then he looked out over the water toward Liberty Island again. He’d just been informed that they were having radio trouble, and communications were down for the entire city police contingent on the island. Nonetheless, he’d been assured that it would be fixed shortly. It had better be, he mused pessimistically. Four Secret Service agents were headed there now by boat to check the situation out. He didn’t dare take any chances.

  Down at ground level, the UN secretary general was finishing his speech.

  “We must never forget,” the secretary general said, “that the welfare of the smallest person, in the remotest corner of the world, is connected by infinite links to that of the world’s leaders, gathered here today. The alliance of the world is coming, and tonight we have taken the first steps.”

  Polite applause filled the air.

  At that moment the fireworks started. Red and green streamers shot into the air, the explosions echoing over the water. The display was scheduled to last for six minutes—six very long minutes as far as Downer was concerned.

  He continued to scan the crowd and the distant Statue of Liberty, now illuminated even more with the blues and reds and greens of the fireworks.

  Something was wrong. He could sense it.

  He just didn’t know what it was, and calling an emergency based only on his gut wasn’t something he could do—not on a night as important as this one.

  So he stood, watched, and stayed very alert.

  Liberty Island

  Logan watched carefully as Sabretooth moved to one of the observation windows in the statue’s head to watch the fireworks exploding out over the water. It was going to be now or never.

  He took a deep breath. This was going to hurt. But pain was something he had experienced a lot of in the past. He would survive this.

  As hard and as fast as he could, he extended the claw of his right index finger.

  It shot through his chest with a stabbing pain and made him suck in his breath. The claw went out his back and into the steel band holding him.

  Quickly, using his entire body for leverage, he twisted, cutting the band. As he fell forward, he withdrew the claw, growling as pain again waved through his body, twisting him, bending him over for a moment.

  But he was free.

  And as always, his wound was healing quickly.

  Sabretooth spun around and roared when he saw what Logan had done.

  “Glad to see me, huh?” Logan said, and before Sabretooth could react, he charged. With a flying kick, Logan planted one foot in his opponent’s stomach, the other on his shoulder, and sprang upward, using Sabretooth as a springboard that allowed him to get up and out, to the observation area on the statue’s crown.

  With one clean motion, he landed and rolled, then braced himself and looked around. The arm was too far away for him to reach. And he couldn’t see anything going on up there yet.

  “What the hell do I do now?” he asked himself.

  At that instant, Sabretooth shot up through the hole in the statue and smashed into Logan at full tilt, sending him over the crown of the statue and onto the spikes of the headpiece.

  It seemed his question had been answered for him.

  Logan rolled and came up fast as Sabretooth charged.

  “Here kitty, kitty, kitty,” Logan mocked, crouched and waiting. “Come and get what you deserve.”

  Rogue, for the past half hour, had been struggling to loosen the cuffs that bound her to Magneto’s machine. Her wrists were raw and bleeding, and the panel near her feet had been dented by her kicks, but she had made no real progress at all.

  Now fireworks had started out over the water. She knew time must be short. Very short.

  Magneto stepped in through the door that led from the observation area into the torch, where Rogue was being held. He was smiling.

  “No,” Rogue said. “Please don’t do this.”

  “I’m sorry, my dear,” Magneto said.

  He didn’t look sorry at all. He actually looked excited, like a child on his birthday. She watched as he removed his gloves, then took a few deep breaths, as if he were getting ready to jump into a deep pool.

  Then he moved up to her, his cold eyes locking with hers. She tried to turn away, tried to pull her hands loose, but she couldn’t.

  With his bare hands, he touched her face.

  Suddenly she felt the incredible energy flowing into her.

  She could see everything that he had seen.

  She knew what he knew.

  She saw all the death, all the horror.

  Abruptly, he let go and staggered backward, his face white with shock. The machine around her came to life, shifting, yanking her hands down onto the handles. The rings began to spin, slowly at first, then faster.

  She fought hard to let go, trying to use his power, his energy, to her advantage. And she failed.

  Though she possessed his power, the machine was in control. She knew, from the images that had coursed through his mind, that he had thought of everything. He had planned it all—down to the last detail.

  And she knew she was going to die.

  She also knew that, from this point forward, the process could not be stopped. She knew that if Magneto had been standing here, in her place, he wouldn’t have been able to stop it, either.

  A moment later, something shifted. The energy he had given her began to flow away, draining into the machine. Along with it went her own life force.

  It pulled at her, painfully taking everything she had and pouring it into the spinning rings.

  In the distance fireworks lit the sky.

  She used to love fireworks.

  She could see the beautiful colors, hear the distant explosions, as the machine pulled the blackness around her, covering her in deep and intense pain.

  She fought, with one last desperate burst of energy.

  But the machine took that also.

  And the blackness forced her eyes closed as the pain cut at her every cell.

  Then she knew she would see no more.

  Magneto watched as the young girl passed out in the machine, and the rings sped up to the point where they disappeared. He had never felt so tired, so drained. Another few seconds and her touch would have killed him.

  He moved out onto the observation platform facing Ellis Island, and the firework display going on there. “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses,” he said. Then he laughed bitterly and turned, waving at the door, willing it to close.

  It didn’t move.

  This time he laughed at himself. Of course—it was going to take some time for his powers to return.

  As his machine gained speed around Rogue, he moved to the door and closed it by hand, latching it.

  A moment later the flame of the torch above him was shattered, bursting outward in an explosion that was timed to mix with the fireworks.

  Perfect.

  The white light started to fill the sky, joining the greens and blues and reds of the celebration.

  Magneto watched in wonderme
nt. It was almost time for the world to change.

  Almost time for his world to begin.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Liberty Island

  Logan crouched on one spine of the statue’s crown and watched as Sabretooth charged him again. Logan’s claws were extended; his every sense was on full alert. He could feel his own blood pounding through his veins. It was payback time.

  All he had to do was get the big guy into the air and over the edge. Gravity and the rocks below would do the rest.

  But Sabretooth was too smart for that. Or he had the same damn idea.

  The big mutant smashed directly into Logan, smothering him, and the two of them tumbled backward, pounding and slashing at each other as they rolled toward the tip of the metal spine.

  As they came to their feet, Logan shoved himself away and slashed at his foul-smelling enemy, narrowly missing his face. But as Logan’s arm came around, he realized he had snagged his own dog tags and ripped the chain off Sabretooth’s neck.

  “This is mine,” he said, grabbing the tags and holding them up. He stuffed them into a pocket as Sabretooth came at him again.

  “You’re not getting them back,” Logan said.

  “We’ll see about that,” Sabretooth said, his voice a low growl—as if that was going to rattle Logan.

  The force of the attack shoved Logan back, and pinned him to the metal surface of the statue. He kicked upward, hard, catching a soft spot.

  Locked again, they rolled over twice, and Sabretooth pinned Logan’s arms before he could get them free. He kicked upward again, burying his knee in Sabretooth’s stomach, but that didn’t break the hold this time. Sabretooth lifted Logan up until he was staring directly into Sabretooth’s face, held there like a small child.

  Logan’s hands were pinned against Sabretooth’s side. He could feel Cyclops’ visor tucked in a pocket. With one hand he slipped it out and shoved it up the sleeve of his new uniform.

  Sabretooth was incredibly strong, and there was no way Logan could yank free. So he did the next best thing. He spit in the mutant’s face.

  It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

  Sabretooth laughed viciously. “That all you got?”

  Logan smiled. “Nope. How about a metal skull?”

  With that he smashed his forehead directly into Sabretooth’s face. He could feel Sabretooth’s nose break.

  The grip weakened, and Logan kicked free, tumbling away.

  But he wasn’t fast enough.

  And he was headed in slightly the wrong direction.

  Sabretooth grabbed his wrist, and using Logan’s momentum, he swung him around and off the crown, into the air.

  Logan spun around as he began to plummet toward the rocks below, extending his claws. Before he’d dropped more than twenty feet, he snagged one ear of the statue.

  His claws dug into the metal.

  One of them held.

  Barely.

  Yanked to a stop, he smashed into the cold metal surface.

  The pain threatened to cause him to black out. He had torn his right arm out of the socket, but he didn’t let go, hanging there from one claw like a bad earring.

  More fireworks exploded over the water in reds and greens. Logan focused on them for a moment, letting the pain subside slightly.

  The slightest wrong move and his arm would give way, or the one claw would slip from the metal. And thanks to the angle, there was nothing below him but rocks. He might live through the fall, but he wouldn’t be any good for a long, long time.

  Slowly, he turned his body.

  The claw held.

  Carefully he raised his other hand. Then, gauging exactly how much force he dared use, he stuck all three claws from his left hand into the metal of the ear, then pulled himself up a little, using the last of his strength to ease the pressure on his injured arm.

  He pulled the one claw out and let the ripped-up arm drop into a natural position. He could feel the pain subside as his healing ability kicked in.

  Over his head, the statue’s torch exploded outward, spewing an intense white light in all directions.

  Rogue!

  The thought sent another burst of energy flowing into him and he climbed, hand over hand, ignoring the pain.

  Ignoring the shoulder.

  He had to get up there, and get up there fast.

  While the fight between Logan and Sabretooth raged above, Jean had been trying to ease her way out of the metal trap, but she’d had no success at all. She was pressed tightly against a metal beam that rested between her and Cyclops, held against the metal wall of the inside of the statue’s head so securely that it was hard to breathe.

  “Can you see Storm?” Cyclops asked.

  “Yes,” she said.

  Storm had been trying to slip upward, with just about as much success.

  “Try mentally bending the metal away from her. Give her an inch to move.”

  “Ready, Storm?” Jean asked.

  “The one around my chest is the tightest,” Storm said. “Try it first.”

  Jean concentrated, using all her training to focus her attention down on the one beam. In her mind, she pictured it stretching away from Storm.

  “I can feel it moving,” Storm said, wiggling to move up.

  Jean pushed, harder and harder.

  The beam across Storm’s chest was shaking, but not bending.

  Finally Jean could push no farther.

  “No luck,” she said softly.

  Cyclops nodded slightly, as much as the spikes against his temples would allow.

  Overhead, the sounds of the fight stopped. Only the sounds of the distant fireworks remained. Jean held her breath, trying to sense Logan or Rogue.

  She couldn’t find either of them.

  Suddenly Sabretooth dropped into the middle of the room with a heavy thud. He was bleeding in a number of places, including his nose, and his coat and furs were ripped.

  There was no Logan.

  That meant he had lost.

  “Time to end it all,” Sabretooth said. “I’ll make it quick, I promise.”

  He walked toward Storm. Standing in front of her he raised his hand, claws out.

  “No!” Jean said, focusing on his hand, freezing it in midair.

  Sabretooth stared at his claws as if they were betraying him.

  He stepped back, and Jean released his hand.

  He turned and grinned at her. “Nice trick.”

  Then he stepped toward her, his hand outstretched, reaching for her neck.

  “No!” she said again, even more vehemently, focusing on his hand.

  Willing it to stop.

  And again it froze, just a foot in front of her.

  He grinned even more viciously, and pushed. He seemed to be enjoying this.

  She focused with all her strength, but she knew there was no chance she could hold him back for long.

  Slowly he moved forward, never losing the sick smile on his face, until finally his claws were about to touch her neck.

  “Hey!” Logan said.

  Sabretooth jerked around.

  Jean let his hand go and gasped for breath.

  She had never been so happy to see anyone in her entire life. Logan was standing there, cut in a dozen places, but healing. His new uniform looked as if it had been put through a shredder. And he was holding one shoulder a little lower than the other.

  But he was alive.

  He glanced at her and smiled. “What do you see?” he asked, then winked.

  Suddenly she was in his mind, and she knew instantly what he wanted her to do.

  “Scott,” she whispered, “when I tell you, open your eyes.”

  “What?” Cyclops said.

  “I know. Just do it and trust me.”

  “You’ll be killed.”

  “No, I won’t,” she whispered as Sabretooth took a step toward Logan. “Now trust me.”

  “You know, you really smell,” Logan said to Sabretooth. “And I think
someone needs to change your kitty box.”

  Sabretooth growled a low, guttural growl, and took another step.

  Logan reached into his sleeve and yanked out Cyclops’ visor, then tossed it into the air.

  Jean focused all her attention on the visor, snatching it out of the air and bringing it to her.

  Sabretooth reacted quickly, diving for it as it shot past.

  But he missed.

  Jean brought the visor into position in front of Cyclops’ face, snapped it open with her mind, and adjusted the control that focused the lenses.

  “Now!” she said.

  Cyclops opened his eyes.

  The intense energy rushed into the visor. She could feel its heat, but none of it touched her.

  The narrow red beam shot from the visor, went past her head and hit Sabretooth squarely in the chest, smashing him backward through the metal wall and out into the dark night sky.

  “Eyes shut!” she ordered Scott. He closed his eyes, and the visor dropped to the ground as she slumped against the metal that still held her in its grip. Logan jumped to the Sabretooth-sized hole in the wall and looked down.

  “Bull’s-eye,” he said. “Right through the roof of a boat.” He turned and smiled at her. “Nice shooting.”

  Jean was too tired even to smile back.

  “We still haven’t won.”

  “Rogue,” Logan said, moving quickly to cut them free.

  “Rogue,” Jean said.

  As Logan cut the metal away from her and Cyclops, she could see the white light starting to spread. They had to stop Magneto, and stop him fast, or thousands were going to die just as Senator Kelly had died.

  Maybe even millions, if that white energy reached Manhattan.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  Ellis Island

  Agent Downer couldn’t even begin to identify what he was seeing coming from the torch of the Statue of Liberty. White light.

  A cloud of white light.

  Or a cloud of something very bright that seemed to have no substance.

  Just light.

  It fascinated him and scared him to death in the same instant.