Westchester

Under the setting sun, Kevin Ford sat alone in the woods surrounding the Xavier Institute. The area around him was covered with ash, the gloves which kept his powers at bay resting in his lap. He reached his hand out for a nearby dandelion. As his bare finger touched the step, the weed slowly began to wither. Kevin concentrated on the weed, and the rate of degradation seemed to slow. But only slightly. In just a matter of moments, the dandelion crumbled under his faint touch.

“Kevin!”

He heard something overhead. A girl with fairy-like wings, pink hair and pointed ears hovered to the ground. There was another girl with her, this one seemingly made of pure energy. Megan Gwynn and Hope Abbott, two of his classmates. Both touched down a few feet from him. Kevin instinctively backed away.

“Don’t come any closer, not until I put the gloves back on,” he said.

“Where have you been all day? We started to get worried when you didn’t show up for any classes,” said Megan. “Mr. Guthrie didn’t look too pleased.”

“I decided to search for you with my astral form, Megan wanted to come, too,” said Hope. “Have you been here all day? What were you doing?”

As Kevin pulled his gloves back on, he glanced down at the ash. “Practicing.”

The two girls exchanged questioning looks. Kevin knelt down amongst the ash, picking it up and letting it fall through his fingers. “This was a living tree before I got my hands on it. I’ve been working at trying to control it.”

“Any luck?” asked Megan.

“Some. I managed to slow the process down, but I’m still a long way from actually controlling it.”

A worried look crossed Megan’s face. “Does anyone else feel cold all of a sudden…?”

“I’m in my astral form, so no,” said Hope.

Kevin shook his head. “Don’t feel a thing, why?”

“There’s…something…” Megan looked off into the distance and moved away from her friends, going deeper into the woods. Hope flew after her.

“Megan wait, you know one of Professor McCoy’s rules is that we shouldn’t go too deep into the woods!”

The young Welsh girl ignored her friends pleas. She moved as if possessed by an uncontrollable urge to explore the forest even deeper. As she moved past the trees, she could see a structure of some kind. Something…ancient. It was large, towering over her and hummed with a low glow. Megan had never seen anything even remotely like it.

Kevin and Hope came up behind her. “What is that?” asked Hope.

Kevin just shook his head. “I dunno…” He moved closer as well.

“Guys, I don’t like this…” said Hope.

“It’s…a doorway…” said Megan. She reached her hand out, gently laying it on the surface of the monument. The light expanded, blinding both her and Kevin. Hope lost total sight of her friends, couldn’t even sense their presences. As the light dimmed, Hope was shocked to see that her friends were gone.

In their place were two tall, demonic creatures with large red eyes and razor-sharp teeth. Hope stood frozen in fear for a moment or two. The demons noticed her and ran for her, but simply passed through her astral form. Quickly realizing there was no point in trying to attack, the demons ran through the woods, heading back in the same direction the kids originally came from.

Back to the mansion.

Hope flew back towards the school, her intention to warn the others before it was too late. “I am in so much trouble…”

BLACK MAGIK

Part I

By Hunter Lambright, Gavin McMahon, and Dino Pollard

With a plot assist from Chris Munn

Xavier Institute
Sub-Levels

Sean Cassidy sipped a cup of coffee, watching replays of Havok’s trial in Washington. He shook his head, sitting on a chair in Forge’s lab. Forge himself sat at the workbench, tinkering with the helmet usually attached to the Cerebra unit.

“Can’t believe what a circus it’s become,” said Sean.

“Mmhmm,” muttered Forge.

“Alex has completely thrown Rachel under the bus, so now Scott’s actions have damned not only his brother, but his daughter as well.”

“Mmhmm.”

Sean glanced at Forge. “Yeh haven’t paid attention to a word I’ve said, have yeh?”

“Mmhmm.”

Sean turned from the television. “How can y’ be so casual about all this? Scott betrayed everythin’ Charles stood for, everythin’ we’re supposed to stand for.”

Forge sighed and looked up from his work. “Maybe because I know that high minded ideals are nice, but they don’t always get the job done. Sometimes, you have to get your hands dirty. Wish I could condemn Scott’s actions, but I’ve got blood on my hands, too. Had to sacrifice the souls of my friends to fight the Adversary.”

“That was different,” said Sean. “You had no choice, it was a life or death situation an’ yeh had to make a call. Scott didn’t make this call in the heat o’ battle, it was his strategy. And t’ think, he asked his brother and his daughter, both of whom are payin’ for it. I’d never ask somethin’ like that of my own kin.”

“Is that because Black Tom would do it of his own accord?”

“Excuse me, boyo?” asked Sean, anger beginning to show in his tone.

Forge held up his hands in a mock surrender. “Sorry, that was in poor taste. But you get what I’m saying, right?”

“No, can’t say I do.”

“What I’m saying is Scott made a call to try and fight fire with fire. Was it a bad decision? Possibly, especially given how it’s played out,” said Forge. “But look at it in hindsight—the X-Men got respect. Scott was trained to operate in the shadows, and he knew what sort of threats were out there in those shadows. He couldn’t fight them, so he got someone who could. It’s not the same as my fight with the Adversary, but we both did what we felt we had to, consequences be damned. I can relate to that.”

“That makes one of us,” said Sean. “I just—”

The door to the workshop opened from the outside. Forge and Sean turned from each other and saw Illyana enter, with Sam behind her. “We have trouble, someone’s opened the Cairn!”

“The Cairn? It’s back?” asked Sean, moving to his feet.

“That’s not possible, we’ve got sensors all over that area, how could it have risen without an alert?” asked Forge.

“I can sense the N’Garai, they’re here,” said Illyana.

“She ain’t fibbin’, Trance came to me in a panic, said Pixie an’ Wither both vanished when they touched it,” said Sam.

“How many?” asked Sean.

“Trance said she saw two,” said Sam.

“There are more now. The door has been opened, I’m not sure on the exact number that have gotten through,” said Illyana.

Forge picked up an energy rifle mounted on the wall, hefting it in his hands. “Take us to the Cairn.”

“I won’t have to,” said Illyana, her eyes vacant. “They’re already here.”

The students of the Institute waited for no order. The moment they heard from Trance that Pixie and Wither were gone thanks to the N’Garai demons, they raced out to the front lines. They were out there before the X-Men even had a chance to assemble and form a plan. Rockslide led the charge, relishing in the opportunity to prove himself as a hero. But though he fought valiantly, it wasn’t long before a pair of N’Garai had him cornered. He just smiled at them.

“You gonna do it or what? ‘Cause lookin’ at your ugly faces is worse than dying.”

The N’Garai snarled and unison, brought clawed hands down on the young mutant. Santo braced himself, but he only heard cries of frustration from the demons, feeling nothing. He opened his eyes and saw that with each strike, the N’Garai hit some invisible barrier that briefly shimmered on impact. The invisible barrier expanded, forcing the demons back. Santo saw his savior—Cecilia Reyes-McCoy, wife of the Beast and resident doctor on the school grounds.

“You got a death wish, kid?” she asked.

One of the N’Garai rose up behind Cecilia, but before he could strike, the Beast jumped on his back, pulling the demon to the ground and roaring as he pounded his fists into the creature. With the demon defeated, Beast looked at both his wife and student, his yellow, catlike eyes filled with anger at the both of them.

“Neither of you should be out here,” he said.

“Save it, Hank. I may not be an X-Man any more, but I live here, too, and I’ll be damned if I can’t defend my home,” said Cecilia.

Rockslide gestured to Cecilia. “Yeah! What she said!”

“In case you two have noticed, we do not have the luxury of debate at the moment!” snarled the Beast.

“Too bad for you,” said Cecilia. She moved back into the battle, concentrating on her force field and expanding it into spikes that impaled one of the N’Garai. Beast and Rockslide stood and watched her for a moment.

“Hey Professor, hope you don’t take this the wrong way or nothin’…” Rockslide began. “…but how’d a nerd like you score a hot babe like that?”

Hank removed his glasses, dress shirt, tie and jacket. “Mr. Vaccarro, if you do not shut your mouth this instant, you will discover why I’m called the Beast.”

The Omega Sentinel’s arms shifted into massive energy cannons, unloading pulse after pulse into the N’Garai. Forge came up alongside her, adding his own firepower to hers. Cannonball streaked overhead, his blast field protecting him as he dove straight into the fray. His field remained over his fists, allowing him to turn each punch into an explosive shock wave.

Cannonball had only been a teacher for a short time, but these students had been entrusted to him, and he wouldn’t let anyone harm them, not after the recent events at the Institute. He was joined in his onslaught by Magik, who used her Soulsword to sever anything that crossed her path. Banshee arrived next, his sonic scream bringing some of the demons to their knees. The other X-Men joined the fray as well, all of them fighting side-by-side with their younger students.

With a brief respite having been temporarily won, Cannonball saw the students who remained on the field. Some of them were struck by the N’Garai. “We gotta get these kids outta here.”

“This isn’t over yet,” said Magik. “As long as the Cairn remains standing, the N’Garai will continue to come through.”

“We’ll stop it,” said Banshee. “But Sam’s right, the students are a liability out here.”

“Screw you, man! These freaks took our friends!” said Rockslide.

“Ease up, Santo. Ya’ll won’t be any good to Kevin or Megan if yer dead,” said Cannonball.

“Sam, take the students down to the sub-levels. Cecilia, you go with him,” said the Beast.

Cecilia crossed her arms, a defiant look on her face. “Didn’t we just have this conversation?”

“It’s not because of that,” said the Beast. “The N’Garai’s claws are poisoned, the students who were struck need treatment, immediately. Treatment only you can provide.”

“Okay then.”

“I’m stayin’,” said Cannonball. “With my blast field, that makes me damn-near invulnerable. You could use that kinda firepower. Karima, can you go with the kids?”

The Omega Sentinel appeared surprised. Her first encounter with the school was attacking it. Now, she was being asked to defend the children. “You’d trust me with that?”

Cannonball nodded. “I told you I’d need your help with these kids, don’t blow your shot.”

Karima nodded. “Very well.”

Cecilia and Karima moved the students into the Institute’s sub-levels, taking the ones who needed medical attention straight to the infirmary. Once the field was clear, Banshee addressed the team of X-Men left behind. “We know the source of this is the Cairn. It’s risen again, so we need t’ destroy it.”

“Easier said than done, Sean. The N’Garai aren’t going to be too happy that we destroy their gateway,” said Shadowcat. “These things are tough.”

“I’m aware,” said Banshee, recalling his own experience with the demons. “They’re strong and tough, but not invulnerable an’ they’re dumber than me sainted uncle on a bender. Their biggest strength lies in their numbers. If we can hold them off long enough to destroy the Cairn, our problems will be solved.”

Magik created a teleportation disc, transporting the X-Men to the site of the Cairn. Around a dozen N’Garai emerged from the portal, waiting for the mutants. Rogue glanced over to Banshee.

“‘Just hold ‘em off long enough,’ eh Irish?” she asked.

“You don’t want things to be too easy, eh?” asked Banshee with a grin.

“Would y’ be disappointed if Ah said Ah did?” asked Rogue.

“Enough talk!” Magik launched from her spot, landing amidst the N’Garai.

“Snowflake, you—” Colossus’ warning was cut off almost instantly. As Magik took on the N’Garai in combat, more demonic features began to appear on her body. Horns grew from her forehead and she sprouted a tail. Her eldritch armor appeared, piece by piece, over her body with each strike of the Soulsword.

Phoenix’s fiery telekinesis burned through the N’Garai, one by one. Others were struck at in their primitive minds, some of them turned on their brethren. Shadowcat came to Magik’s side, her artificial claws acting as both defensive and offensive weapons. She used one armed to block a N’Garai strike and the other to tear out the attacker’s throat. Colossus grabbed two of the demons, snapping their necks simultaneously, and moved in to protect both his former lover and his sister, the two women he cared about more than anyone in the world.

Rogue and Cannonball combined aerial strikes with their superhuman strength to pound on the demons from the sky. As they fought in the air, Forge and Beast fought side-by-side on the ground. Forge’s energy rifle kept most of them at bay, and the Beast’s own superhuman strength and claws hands enabled his namesake to come forth.

Banshee found himself pinned to the ground. But before his N’Garai foe could take off his head, the N’Garai was struck by a crimson burst of energy. Cyclops stepped over to Banshee, his visor still glowing brightly from the intense energy contained within. He offered his hand to the X-Men’s leader. Banshee took it without question. Neither man said a word to the other.

Magik slashed through the N’Garai, leaving no physical wounds, but the mystical damage inflicted was enough to kill any who crossed her path. As they came at her, she formed a teleportation disc beneath her feet and dropped into it. The portal closed before any N’Garai could follow. It reopened above the Cairn and Magik dropped towards it, bringing the Soulsword down upon its surface. The Cairn was cleaved in two, vanishing from this plane of existence and taking the N’Garai demons with it.

The X-Men allowed themselves a few moments to regain their composure. The Beast was the one who finally rose first. “This isn’t over. The N’Garai still have Kevin and Megan. We have to find a way to rescue them. Illyana, can you open a portal to their dimension?”

Magik nodded. “Of course I can.”

“Then it’s settled, we—”

“Stop,” said Phoenix. Her random interjection came at a surprise to all the X-Men. Jean looked to Cannonball, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Sam, Cecilia’s just gotten some bad news.”

“Whaddaya mean?” asked Cannonball.

Jean’s green eyes appeared sympathetic. “It’s Paige. Her and the rest of the kids who made up Generation X have gone missing.”

To Be Continued…