In his armored form of Colossus, there is precious little that can harm Peter Rasputin. Unfortunately for him, Sebastian Shaw is one of those few things. Something Colossus just discovered once the Hellfire Club’s Black King punched the mutant and he went flying through the wall.

“Alright, I may not be a fan of the guy, but he’s still one of us,” said Thunderbird. He moved with lightning-fast speed and drove his elbow against Shaw’s face. The Black King just smiled and uppercutted John Proudstar.

“As Mr. Leland was kind enough to point out, everyone in this room is a mutant, X-Man,” said Shaw. “My particular talent allows me to absorb kinetic energy. Hit me all you want and I only get stronger.”

“Oh yeah? Let’s see how you deal with a light show, then!” said Dazzler. She unleashed her mutant ability to convert sound into light, blinding Shaw with the orb she generated in her hand and hurled at him.

“We don’t want to fight you, X-Men,” said Warren, his massive wings flapping and lifting him into the air.

“That’s your problem,” said Cyclops. His visor opened and fired an optic blast that Warren nimbly avoided. The angelic mutant dove towards Cyclops, dodging his optic blasts and slamming into him.

Nightcrawler teleported behind Leland, delivering a kick to the back of his head. He teleported again the instant Leland spun and did the same trick once more. This time, however, once he rematerialized, he found himself somewhere else. In a forest covered with a thick fog.

“What?” he asked.

“Kurt…”

The voice belonged to a woman with indigo-colored skin, red hair and bright yellow eyes. She was dressed all in white.

“It can’t be…” said Nightcrawler, facing the image of his mother. “You died.”

“More of the Shadow King’s mind games,” said Mystique. “I’m alive, Kurt.”

“No…” Nightcrawler started to back away, but then he bumped into someone else behind him. It was a young woman about his age with brown hair that had a white streak in it. “Marie?”

“We’re here to take you home, Kurt,” said Rogue.

“This isn’t right, I saw you die, too,” said Nightcrawler.

“Kurt, you’ve been under his control this whole time,” said Mystique. She approached him and held out her hand. “You have to trust us. Just give me your hand.”

“No!” he shouted as he punched his mother. The moment he did that, the illusion faded and he was back in Shaw’s mansion. Mystique’s appearance was gone, revealing Martinique lying on the floor. She rubbed her jaw.

Beast approached Emma Frost. “I’m loathe to hit a lady, you know.”

“There’s no need for us to fight, darling,” she said. “As Sebastian said, none of us want this. You can make this easy on all of us.”

“Not with you threatening my friends,” said Beast.

“Have it your way,” said Emma.

Beast stopped in his tracks and suddenly fell to his knees. He gripped his head and cried out in pain. Emma smiled as her psychic attack ravaged his mind.

“Quite painful I assume,” she said. “It only gets worse from here. All your fears are an open book to me, Mr. McCoy. I see you fear the transformation you’ve undergone. Your mind is sharp, yet your body keeps backsliding down the evolutionary ladder, doesn’t it? First you were human, now you’re an ape. I wonder, what form will you take on next?”

“Nnnn…” Beast tried to move, but whenever he made an effort, Emma’s psychic assault grew in its intensity.

Cyclops blasted Worthington off of him, and the angelic mutant crashed into Emma. He got to his feet and noticed Jean was just standing in a corner. She was staring at the entire scene before her, yet she didn’t seem to actually notice any of it. Almost as if she were in some sort of a trance.

“How about giving us a hand, Jean?” he asked.

She blinked and shook her head. As if she had come out of the trance she was in. She closed her eyes and when they opened, they burned like fiery coals. Flames began to surround her body and all the X-Men fell to their knees in pain.

“Jean, what are you doing?” asked Cyclops. “Stop!”

“It’s too late for that, Mr. Summers,” said Martinique. She walked to Jean’s side and placed a hand on the X-Man’s shoulder. “Jean Grey is now one of us. Our Black Queen, if you will.”

“Jean?” asked Dazzler.

“Jean Grey is dead,” said Jean. “Now there is only the Phoenix.”

PHOENIX RISING

Part IV: The Power of Myth

By Dino Pollard

When Cyclops opened his eyes, he was stunned to discover he wore neither his visor nor his sunglasses. However, his powerful optic blasts were somehow kept at bay. His arms and legs were outstretched and he was chained to the wall. He pulled at the chains, but with no effort. A look around saw the rest of the X-Men chained similarly.

The members of the Hellfire Club stood before their captives, with Jean by Martinique’s side. Also in the room was a decrepit old man in a wheelchair. Tubes came from his nose and were connected to an oxygen tank stored behind the chair.

“What’s going on?” asked Cyclops. “What did you do to me?”

“Thank the Phoenix for that,” said Shaw. “She has disabled your powers for the time being.”

“Impossible,” said Beast. “Jean’s not that powerful.”

“But the Phoenix is,” said Emma.

“You make it sound like they’re two different people,” said Thunderbird.

“Because they are,” said Emma.

“Yeah right,” said Thunderbird. “And who’s the old fart?”

A look of disgust fell over Leland’s face. He backhanded Thunderbird. “Show some respect!”

“What’s the meaning of all this?” asked Beast.

“I think the time has come for us to educate our new friends, Sebastian,” said Martinique.

“I believe you’re right, my dear,” said Shaw. “Have you ever heard of the Hellfire Club?”

“It was a group of sex maniacs in the eighteenth century,” said Beast. “What about them?”

“Oh, the Hellfire Club was about much more than debauchery, Mr. McCoy,” said Shaw. “An organization composed of society’s elite dedicated to one principle and one principle alone.”

“Which is?” asked Colossus.

“The Ascension of the Phoenix,” said Shaw.

Beast scoffed. “The Phoenix? Please, the Phoenix is just a name Jean chose for herself after she was almost killed by the Shadow King.”

“Wrong again,” said Shaw. “The Phoenix is a primal force of nature. Its power is limitless. But it only appears once every five hundred years. Jean Grey is nothing more than the current vessel of its power.”

“You’re all insane,” said Beast.

“The last time the Phoenix’s power was felt was at the dawn of the sixteenth century,” said Shaw. “Unfortunately, the Hellfire Club failed in its attempt to reach her before she died once more.”

“Reach her for what?” asked Dazzler. “What are you going to do to Jean?”

“We won’t do anything,” said Martinique. “But the Phoenix will.”

“The Hellfire Club first formed during the time of ancient Egypt,” said Leland. “During that time, the Phoenix appeared in the form of a great man. A man who had planned to raze the planet, to create a new paradise where only those who were worthy would survive. His name was Sabah an-Nur. He died in glorious battle, but his last words were that he would rise again, in countless forms. His essence has transferred from person to person over the centuries, each time burning out his host.”

Leland motioned to the old man in the wheelchair. “This is his current form. This man is only thirty years old.”

“My god…” said Nightcrawler.

“The power of Sabah an-Nur is too great for anyone to handle, human or mutant,” said Shaw. “Only the Phoenix is capable of containing its essence.”

“So you mean to tell me this man is going to possess Jean and then use her powers to… what?” asked Cyclops.

“To lay waste to the planet,” said Shaw. “The flames of the Phoenix burn away what doesn’t belong. And once the great fire has spread, a new world will be born from the ashes of the old. A world where only the strong survive. The flames of the Phoenix will give way to a new Eden.”

“Like I said, you’re all insane,” said Beast. “Nothing about any of this makes any sense whatsoever. It’s a fairy tale. A myth. You’ve taken these legends to heart.”

“Think what you like,” said Emma. “Your lack of belief will not prevent us from completing our task.”

“We were raised on the legends of the Phoenix,” said Warren. “Our ancestors have set these events into motion, this has all been planned for centuries. We knew the moment the Phoenix returned to this world. And we knew we had to act fast.”

“We have been monitoring you, X-Men,” said Shaw. “Why do you think the President allowed for the creation of this mutant strike force? It was under orders from us.”

“A massive worldwide conspiracy, huh?” asked Thunderbird. “I’m finding this hard to swallow.”

“The President is part of the Hellfire Club, as are many of the world’s leaders,” said Shaw. “War, poverty, hunger—all these are in service of a core philosophy. The survival of the fittest.”

He continued, “Xavier tried to hide young Miss Grey from us. Mental blocks on her abilities, to prevent her from reaching her full potential. Thankfully, she awakened and broke through those blocks. And that was when we knew she was the one. Of course, we needed… sacrifices.”

“What do you mean by sacrifices?” asked Beast.

“The community you knew as the Morlocks,” said Shaw. “Weak, pathetic mutants living in the sewers. We saw to it they were eliminated.”

“Monsters!” said Colossus. He pulled against his chains. “You hired the Marauders!”

“And they certainly lived up to their name,” said Leland.

“Survival of the fittest, huh?” asked Cyclops. “Alright then—let’s see how strong you are.”

“I beg your pardon?” asked Shaw.

“You and me, one on one—no powers,” said Cyclops. “If I win, the X-Men—and Jean—walk.”

“You’re in no position to make demands, Mr. Summers,” said Shaw.

“Afraid Shaw?” asked Cyclops. “Afraid you can’t live up to your principles?”

“He’s right,” said Martinique. “We should be tested to see if we are truly worthy. But it’s not Shaw you have to fight, Cyclops—it’ll be me.”

“Fine by me,” said Cyclops.

“Scott… what are you doing?” asked Nightcrawler.

“Giving us a fighting chance,” said Cyclops. “Come on, Martinique. Let’s get this over with.”

“As you wish,” she said. The world seemed to melt away and Cyclops found himself standing in what seemed like a tomb. All around were Egyptian markings and on the ground was a mural of the Phoenix. His restraints were gone and he held a sword in his hand. Martinique stood across from him also holding a sword, with Jean by her side.

“What the hell is this?” he asked.

“This is our battleground, Cyclops,” said Martinique. “You wanted a fight, and that’s what you’re going to get.”

“I said no powers,” said Cyclops.

“I’m not using my powers,” said Martinique. “This environment is courtesy of the Phoenix. She has provided us with a battleground of the mind.”

Scott thrust forward with his sword, but Martinique parried his strike. She slashed at him and he blocked it with his blade, forced back a bit. Before he could strike again, she put him on the defensive.

She was quick on her feet, faster than he was. She was also good with her sword. Cyclops, on the other hand, had trouble parrying her blows. It was all he could do just to keep her from stabbing him.

“There’s no hope for you,” she said. “Jean is ours and soon, Sabah an-Nur will rise once more.”

“Like hell,” said Cyclops. “You’re all out of your minds. Buying into ancient legends.”

“Legends? No, truths.”

She leapt over his head and before he could turn to block, her sword went into his back and out his chest.

In the real world, Cyclops cried out in pain and fell limp in his restraints.

“Scott?” asked Dazzler. “What did you do to him?”

“The body can’t survive without the mind,” said Martinique. “He wasn’t fit.”

“The time has come,” said Shaw. “Now, Sabah an-Nur shall rise again and the apocalypse will follow in his wake.”

Down in the sewers below Shaw’s mansion, the Hellfire Club’s guards searched.

“I don’t even know why we’re down here,” one of them said.

“Mr. Shaw wants us to find his body,” said the other. “He’s gotta be down here somewhere.”

“Why do they need his body? No one could have survived that.”

“Hey, I don’t ask questions, I just collect my paycheck.”

“Look, right here!” He reached into the sewer water and grabbed the collar of a shirt. He pulled the body towards the ledge and was about to pull it out. That was when the seemingly dead man’s hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the water. The other guard brought his automatic rifle up, but the man was already on top of him.

SNIKT

The Wolverine dropped the lifeless body to the ground. His claws were stained with blood, his clothes were torn, and he had only one thought on his mind—one which he gave voice to.

“Now I’m pissed.”