THE END OF THE WORLD

Part I: Harbingers of the Magnetic Storm

By Kyle Trainer

Prologue

Inside the mind of Charles Xavier…

The happiest place on Earth.

Charles Frances Xavier, paralyzed from the waist down, is also a mutant telepath. He founded the team known as the X-Men under his belief that mutants should be treated as equals, working together with humans. His mutant gene allows him to not only enter someone else’s mind, but to experience his thoughts and visions with startling clarity.

The same holds true for his dreams. And nightmares.

Charles Xavier has been having odd dreams for the past few months, since he was placed in the Hulkbuster Base in New Mexico. These dreams have focused on different times in his life, but involved one man. Magneto.

Magneto being the man once called Erik Lensherr, who was also a mutant, with the ability to manipulate the electromagnetic spectrum. Their views on what mutants needed to do to be accepted varied, with Charles dreaming of a peaceful union, while Magnus wanted mutants to fight for their freedom. He had endured much in his life. The two eventually became foes, with their respective teams and groups battling many times.

But this dream was totally different. They weren’t in a desert, or a Korean forest.

They were in the Xavier Institute.

The Xavier Institute being the headquarters of the X-Men, located on Greymalkin Lane, just outside Salem Center. The Xavier’s had owned the estate for quite a while before Charles reopened it as a school, where he taught mutants how to use their abilities to hold mutants and humans together.

“Hello, Charles,” Magneto said, like usual. Xavier, instead of wondering what was going on as he did before, went to sit next to Magneto on the ledge. But he was in his wheelchair… that hadn’t happened before.

“Come.”

“Hello, Magnus.” Xavier touched a pad on his chair that slid him forward. He stopped next to the ledge. Magneto was in full armor, his cape fluttering about.

“How are you?”

“I am well.” Magneto didn’t turn his head. “We need to speak. And quickly, for our time here is short.”

“M-Magnus, what?” Xavier could have sworn there was something odd going on… something…

“Our lives have always been intertwined, you know. We’re a couple of dreamers. And I’ve come to realize that my years against your goals, as the sole opposer of your dream, were a loss.” Magneto held a hand up.

“Before you say anymore, I want to tell you once more – I am sorry for what I did. I apologize for my actions. All I hope is that you can forgive me…” Magnus looked out, “and release me.”

“Release you?” The door to the roof began shaking.

“Look at your mansion. Look at what we’ve done. Charles, I don’t see any other way.” Magnus pointed to the roof, and finally, Xavier saw.

It was in shambles. All around the grounds there were fires, smoke, destruction, and he saw the same inside the mansion. The roof was lined with burn marks and gaps. The ground held numerous diggings.

“If you decide I can pass on, if you decide I am free to go, I will. It is the only way.”

The door banging became more incessant. Xavier wanted to see who it was. He sensed they would help him. But he couldn’t. Magnus stood.

“But I…. I don’t know what you mean.”

“You will, Charles.” Magneto nodded. “You will.”

And then they were gone. A flood of images washed over Xavier’s face. He saw Magneto grappling with a being he could not dare contend with. He saw his team in peril. He saw the world under siege. He saw something else… someone else… paying for his dream.

The happiest place on Earth.

The Xavier mansion. If there ever was a single place that could stand for everything that the X-Men are, it’s the Xavier Institute For Higher Learning.

Despite being knocked down numerous times, it has always persevered. It has always survived. It has come back looking the same, seeming to be infallible. The wood and polished floors always seemed the same. The chandeliers, the tables, the walls, the roof.

It always seemed the same, but wasn’t. Just as well, because the occupants of the mansion needed a place to call home.

Ororo Munroe is one of those occupants. The leader of the X-Men, she has recently seen her team go through some hard times. The X-Men split into two teams, leaving a smaller group in the mansion. They were then thrown into combat with the Elite Guard, a group of Mossad members out to capture them. Their founder and leader, Charles Xavier, was becoming more and more reclusive. And there were the news reports of the other X-Men team showing up in Chicago, where the Masters of Evil had just arrived.

Life was tough. But more to the point, the X-Men were tough. Ororo herself had seen them go through some terrible battles and still make it out with their spirits in one piece. She was amazed at all they could withstand. But she was Storm, their leader. And she would be with them.

“Hello, Ororo.”

As Storm stepped into the library where Charles Xavier spent most of his time, a calm voice carried over from the other end of the room. The collection of books had just been completed again, with many of her favorite volumes back. The smell reminded her of how much she missed her homeland… despite the fact that she was with the X-Men. The smells she encountered often reminded her of that.

“I… Sabra. Hello.”

Hiding her surprise with a small effort, Storm continued into the room. If the woman wanted to be alone, she could stay in her room, which had been provided by the X-Men. Her silverish dress gathered at her feet as she stopped and sat down, her long hair tied behind her head.

“I see you know my name.”

“Yes.” The former Mossad agent known as Sabra smiled at Storm. She had short blue hair and a clean-cut face, which held her thoughts carefully. She placed the book she was reading in her lap. “Mine is Ruth, Ruth Bat-Seraph. We should be on a first name basis if I’m going to be living here.”

“That would make sense.” Ororo said. “You’re making yourself at home, I see.”

“Well,” Sabra smiled again, her steaming plate of tea and muffins disappearing behind the pile of books on the table next to Sabra’s chair, “I do enjoy cooking often.”

“I’ll have to try some.” Storm stood. She had no interest in conversing with this woman. She knew full well she had left the Mossad to try and discover what the X-Men had done wrong, but still had something less then trust for her. “At a later time.”

As Storm left, she could have sworn Sabra sighed. As though the woman wanted to speak with Ororo – be friends with her. No matter to Storm.

Underneath the Xavier Institute…

The tension brews.

The small group of people hustled around some object they were plugging into an electrical box they had found. Three of them, following their orders.

They finished their task, and continued down the small tunnel.

Meanwhile…

“Professor Xavier?” His name is Bobby Drake, better known as the Iceman.

“Are you… oh.”

“Hello, Robert.” He is Professor Charles Francis Xavier, founder of the X-Men. His softly understated voice betrays the years of struggle and war he has had to face. With a smooth, bald head, and piercing dark eyes, he seems to see inside you. Odd, considering he is a telepath.

“Do come in.”

“Sure.” Stepping through the doorway, Bobby glances around the War Room. Screens are lit up with computer data, television broadcasts, and various other images and text. A small table has been set up in the opposite corner from the door – the only door – with a group of chairs bolted down around it. In the center of the room is the large seat where Xavier sits when he plugs himself into the network of sources he gets his information from. Since being rebuilt after Bastion’s attack, the room has been updated slightly.

“I wish to speak to you about the new members we have.” Xavier, sitting in his yellow hoverchair, seems oddly tired – despite being in his room, asleep, for the past day and a half.

“Like Marrow?”

“Marrow, and others.” Xavier took a file from a small table next to his chair, and moved his hoverchair over to where Bobby was standing. “I have only recently returned here, and I wish to learn more about things that happened in my absence. I know about Operation Zero Tolerance, but not about a few other things…”

“Well, Storm would really be the person to talk to, but I guess I can help.”

“Excellent. I am quite curious as to Maggott and Marrow’s arrival to the team.”

“That I can help you with.” Sitting down in a small chair, Bobby sucks in a breath with an ease he has been missing recently. It seems the X-Men are finally going to have a vacation, following these past few weeks of finishing rebuilding the mansion.

“Well, you know we fought Marrow and her Gene Nation friends before. But, during Operation Zero Tolerance, she helped Cecilia Reyes and I against some Prime Sentinels. Since then she’s been here, causing a few problems here or there, and I heard Callisto made her stay.”

Bobby wipes a strand of hair off of his forehead.

“Maggott caught up with the X-Men who were in Antarctica, before Gambit got… left… there. He came home with them and we haven’t gotten rid of him since. Though I wish he’d stop following me around…”

“Excellent.” Xavier nodded. “Now about the N’Garai…”

But, before he can finish, every light in the Xavier Institute goes off. Every screen shuts down, and a moment later, everything starts up again.

The supposedly ‘reliable’ Shi’ar energy systems, held by Moira MacTaggert at Muir Island before Xavier’s return, somehow shut down.

Which was impossible.

“I guess this conference is over.”

Bobby stood, and walked over to the door, sliding it open. Xavier led the way, and the two left the War Room.

In the kitchen…

He sits at the table, his long white hair tucked over his shoulder and between his back and the chair. His mind is troubled.

His name is Joseph, and he has had an odd life, or so he believes. He has long thought himself to be Magneto, Master of Magnetism, with twenty years taken off his life. But when Sabra first met him, he was informed by Maggott that he quite possibly may be believing a lie.

Wearing the yellow and blue training uniform that he wore for most of his stay with the X-Men, Joseph clenches his fist. A small wave of blue energy, electromagnetic energy, surrounds it before he releases his grip. Joseph focuses his mind again, trying hard…

“Irene, come to me. Come.”

Nothing happens.

“Please…”

Irene, the mysterious figure that has been coming to his mind for weeks now has been somehow silenced. He doesn’t know how, but he knows this person seemed to know what was going to happen to him beforehand. And she warned him.

“Ah see Ah’m not the only one who expected something to happen.”

Turning, Joseph sees the woman who first opened up to him. Other then Sister Maria, she was perhaps the only person he had ever been completely at peace with. Or so he thought.

Rogue, wearing a green body suit, steps into the kitchen, a cup of orange juice in her hand. A single white line goes up and down the outfit, the same way a white strand of hair dangles on her brunette ‘do.

“What, this?” Joseph, half-smiling, stands. He takes a step towards her, but pauses when he senses her air. He glances at the cup. “Still drinking that every day?”

“Does a body good.” Rogue puts her head down. “Look, Joseph…”

“You don’t need to say it, Rogue.”

“Yes, Ah do. Ah know you’re happy to see me n’all, an Ah’m happy to see you, but Remy’s back too, an’ Ah need to sort out my feelings.” Rogue left out the part about not totally trusting either of them. “Ah don’t know what to do. Just give me some time, please…”

“Of course.” Joseph could have sworn she was avoiding Gambit, the man she had loved. He saw it in her eyes, as well. But he said nothing more then a simple… “I understand.”

“So everyone else got Shiny’s telepathic… call?” Stepping into another door to the room, the mutant known as Maggott stopped as he saw the two people staring at one another. Not only did Rogue not like him, but Joseph and he had a relationship that would take quite a while to get into. He knew he had stepped into something bad.

“Uh, I’ll just…”

But on his way out, he walked into Gambit.

“Hey, maat! Care to come check out the new stuff in my room? I’ve got a picture of a skap that’ll make your guava…” Once again trailing off, Maggott lowered his head as Gambit saw over his shoulder into the kitchen. The Cajun stared for a moment, then turned away. “Skop.”

Joseph stared around the room. Rogue and he were standing very close, Maggott was in the doorway, and Gambit had disappeared.

A great way to begin the day.

Later…

Storm steps into the kitchen, mere steps behind Xavier’s hoverchair. He pulls it to a stop next to the kitchen table, and she steps around it to sit down. Her two long white strands of hair dangle over her face, and she glances at Xavier. He nods to her, giving her permission to begin the meeting.

“I apologize for the lack of a proper meeting room,” Ororo begins. “But thanks to our efforts furnishing the house, it appears that it will be up and running within the month. Barring any more setbacks.”

She continued, “This meeting will give us the time to review some pieces of information we should already have covered. Since there is no urgent battle to be fought, we have no rush.” Storm pauses, collecting the memories in her head.

“As you all know, the other team of X-Men has set up their base in Chicago. We have reports of the Masters of Evil also arriving in that city, so if our efforts are needed, we will give them. And the Generation X team has also had some trouble since our visit, so we will also aid them if needed.”

“What about Logan?” Iceman asks. “Where is he?”

“Wolverine has not decided yet which team he hopes to be allied with.” Storm paused a moment, “But as of now, we have no urgent need for any more X-Men, even though any ally would be appreciated.”

Her words carried a strong impact. Around the table were seated Storm, Xavier, Iceman, Rogue, Maggott, Joseph, and Sabra. Xavier’s telepathic call had reached Marrow and Gambit, the other two members, but they chose not to come. Storm was surprised at this behavior.

“Well,” Joseph said, “I’m always willing to help you guys out. Since my resignation to the Mossad must have arrived sometime recently, so I’d like to consider myself an X-Man once more.”

“I am not sure what to do yet.” Sabra added, “I will aid you if needed, but I cannot turn my back on my people.”

“Perfectly understanda…”

With a great flash, every light in the place shut off. And stayed off.

“Professor?”

“I am aware, Storm.”

Xavier was somewhere near her. And then, suddenly, she could feel him. And Joseph. And Iceman. And then the others.

“I have set up a telepathic link with you all, as well as Gambit and Marrow.”

“Xavier, I had heard you had some kind of special back-up here,” Sabra began.

“We do. Apparently, the technology of a futuristic race doesn’t always work out,” Iceman commented.

“X-Men, I have decided on a course of action.” Xavier’s voice carried into the room, bringing with it a hint of strength that it had been missing for months. “We will split up into teams to investigate the mansion. Sabra, you and Joseph come with me to the hangar deck. Storm, you take Iceman and Maggott through the upper floors. Rogue, you exit the mansion and search the grounds.”

Immediately, the X-Men rose and obeyed.

In the Hangar Bay…

“Professor, why are we down here?” Joseph couldn’t help but ask the Professor as they stepped off of the small lift. Xavier’s chair made no noise as he moved a little faster then the rest.

“You will see, Joseph.” Xavier turned down another hallway. He paused for a moment. The X-Men felt a calm wave from him…

Then Marrow stepped out of the shadows.

“Marrow…!”

Shocked, Sabra took a step towards her. The X-Men were under her protection, and for her, that meant at all times.

“I called her down here.”

Xavier continued on, and the others followed. The group took another few twists and turns, until they ended up at the work shop. During this time Marrow proceeded to get in Sabra’s way at every possible opportunity. They stepped out, and saw the main shop, where the Aurora sat.

Its hull ripped, wings tattered, it looked like a fallen eagle. But the ship that the X-Men had flown into the Statue Of Liberty was just sitting there, where it had been for the past few weeks. While some repairs had been possible, it was not going to be fully operational anytime soon.

“Professor…” Joseph began again. He stopped when he suddenly felt a flash of something. On the link with Charles.

“That was why we came down here.” Xavier moved forward, “I sensed something when the power dropped. And I believe there is someone on that plane, but I cannot tell who. Would anyone like to go find out their identity?”

All of them moved forward, heading for the ship.

Meanwhile, in the darkened hallways…

“Anything?” Iceman called from the room that had been Angel’s. So long ago, when he first joined the team. And recently still.

“Nope.” Maggott stepped out from Jubilee’s old room. “But that girl has some weird thing with the Wolvester. Worse then Shadowkitty did…”

Iceman couldn’t help but grin as he stepped out of the room. The two met in the middle of the hall and looked both ways. Maggott held a Wolverine doll and a few pictures of him.

“It was nice of the Professor to get another couple of those dolls,” Iceman noticed. He smiled as Maggott dangled the doll above his two pet slugs, Eany and Meany, then pulled it back up. “And to keep Lee’s room…”

“X-MEN!” Storm’s voice suddenly called out from down the hall, “To me!”

The two X-Men immediately bounded toward the entrance to her garden. They stepped inside, finding nothing but her plants. Looking up, Iceman noticed that the roof was open. He created an ice-column and rode it to the top, taking Maggott with him.

“Storm?” Iceman glanced from side to side. “You up… here…”

“Hello, X-Man.” The calm and collected voice of Exodus greeted him.

A single psychic blast and Iceman was flying across the roof. Maggott leapt up from below, attempting to grab Exodus. The telekinetic field Maggott had seen protected the man, thanks to the work of Unuscione.

“A new X-Man? Interesting…”

Her voice not nearly as calm as Exodus’ was, she sent out her greenish energy field and grabbed Maggott with it. He was lifted upwards, his teeth gritting. It closed in on him like the grip of a monster, below him was the teeth that she often used to symbolize her field. He felt himself lowering down…

But Eany and Meany jumped in. From his shoulders, they dropped into the mouth of the creature, and onto her head. Unuscione fell backwards, screaming, as they bit at her uniform. Maggott then dropped down, smashing the part of the roof.

“MAGGOTT! LOOK…” But Iceman’s cry was cut off. Rising thanks to the help of Exodus, the Acolyte known as Cargill punched him right in the jaw. He toppled over, the maggots reeling from the hit.

“Okay, that is as much as we can take! Storm?”

“I am… well…”

Where she had been thrown by Exodus she now rose, her body covered in arcing electricity. The sky above them seemed to focus near her, and she raised her hand. A hail of wind and ice flew into Exodus, the impact knocking him over. She then tried to do the same to Cargill, but another two Acolytes came onto the roof to stop her.

“Sven and Harlan Kleinstock, at your service!”

Reaching for her, they grinned with those faces she disliked so incredibly. Winds caught her and lifted her above them, and she scanned the roof. Maggott was rising, Unuscione was down, and Exodus was regaining his feet. Iceman, however, caught the attention of the twins.

“Hold onto your lug nuts, boys!” Holding up his hands, pillars of ice began rising from many points in the roof. They hammered the brothers, and Iceman focused a section of the roof below them. “It’s time for an overhaul!”

Storm looked at him oddly.

“What? I can take movie quotes, too!” He looked at the Acolytes, who looked at him similarly. “WHAT?”

“Acolytes! Remember our mission!” Exodus waved his hand, and Unuscione, Cargill, Sven, and Harlen floated off the roof with him.

The X-Men followed, Iceman creating a slide and Maggott being lowered by Storm. Only to find quite the shocking site awaiting them.

A gigantic hole was sitting there, right in front of the Xavier Institute, mere meters in front of the large doors. The hole was wide enough for a small boat to drop into it.

The Acolytes, grinning, backed up, into the arms of more of their comrades. Melloncamp, Cortez, Scanner, Voght, and Senyaka.

There was something odd about a few of them, Iceman noted. Something not right. The way they stood… he couldn’t tell, but he could have sworn…

“X-Men! To battle!” Storm held her hands into the air, the three X-Men facing incredible odds.

“The Professor’s link has just shut off, probably due to Exodus’ interference. The Acolytes have attacked our very residence, and I believe the proper way to defeat them is through power. Maggott, deal with the Kleinstocks, if you are well enough. Iceman, attempt to blanket them in snow and ice while I pin them where they are.”

The X-Men assaulted the Acolytes, outnumbered.

“Ah think you need some help!”

Dropping from the sky, Rogue knocked out Harlen as she landed. “Storm… is that…”

“Senyaka…” Iceman replied, as he suddenly realized what was going on. “Senyaka, Cortez, and Melloncamp… they died!”

“Not quite,” Cortez added, his eyes strangely distant. “I never quite went that far, but I am nonetheless fully devoted to our cause!”

“Dat’s odd.”

Suddenly dropping from one of the windows, Gambit landed right on Fabian’s chest. His hands filled with cards that were waiting to explode, the Cajun turned to Storm. “Is it me, or are d’Acolytes…”

“Zombies.” The voice came from the front door. It belonged to Professor Xavier, who came down, alone, as his chair hovered over the steps.

“Exodus is controlling them, X-Men. He discovered he could do it when he took those two,” he began as he motioned to Senyaka and Melloncamp, “from where they were. They are all linked, more strongly then we are, because their actions are linked.”

“That’s what I determined…”

“That voice… Gabrielle?!”

Stunned, Storm stared at the woman coming down the steps with Marrow, Sabra, and Joseph. Gabrielle Haller, former love of Xavier, who had been their ally for some time. Sabra looked quite odd standing next to her.

“I’ve been hiding in the Aurora, you see,” Gabrielle said. “I used the scanners onboard to watch the Acolytes.”

“Enough chat!” Exodus said. He turned and floated into the hole, followed by the Acolytes. “Follow us…”

The X-Men did, albeit cautiously. As they dropped into the hole, Xavier watched as the X-Men fanned out, Joseph staying nearby, lowering him into the large cavern, which was under the grounds of the Xavier Estate.

Xavier looked around, as Marrow stood in front of Cargill, Rogue near Scanner, Storm near Cortez, Iceman near Voght…

“Oh… my… lord!”

Her voice more shocked then it had ever been before, Gabrielle touched his shoulder. “Charles… it’s… no! NO!”

“Yes.” Exodus smiled, his hand waving towards the figure propped up on the chair carved from mud and dirt. In full armor, his body covered in gleaming red plates, the helmet keeping his white hair from flowing too much, despite its length. The purple cape beneath him.

“Our lord and savior… Magneto!”

“It’s… impossible!” Storm said. “His mind… it was wiped! How could this be?”

“They haven’t gotten him back,” Joseph said. “He is not there. His eyes… look at his eyes!”

“They’re blank.” Relief came through the X-Men as Marrow said this, and they turned back to the Acolytes.

Xavier sat while Joseph fought with Melloncamp, Storm swept out Cortez’s feet, and Iceman was pinned by Senyaka’s coils. He just stared at the man standing in front of Magneto’s body.

Exodus and he engaged in a psychic battle. Testing at first, until every ounce of their psychic strength was devoted to it. The Acolytes began to falter. Xavier fully understood that shutting him down would allow the X-Men to succeed, to win. But there was something in him, keeping his power back. He didn’t understand it, but it swept over him, and held him down. He pushed at it, as Exodus began to win. He pushed him back, his power reaching towards levels he had only used a few times before. He had not been at full power for a while, but he was going to regain his strength.

He didn’t know why, but he felt afraid to. He wondered why, then passed it off as fear that Onslaught would occur again. He would be careful. He would have strength. The X-Men needed him. Reaching past his concerns, he decided whatever it was, the X-Men were more important. He broke past it…

“AAH!” Joseph screamed as Melloncamp’s body gave out again. He fell backwards, as his mind was suddenly on fire. He didn’t know why.

Iceman ducked as Senyaka fell forward. The Acolytes touched their minds, weakened. Exodus fell to the ground, defeated. The X-Men knew they had won, but still…

Xavier suddenly felt his body tense up; suddenly felt very afraid. There was something in his mind, something bad. How could it have happened?

What had happened?

When he and the X-Men gathered around the body of Magneto.

They stared at him. Joseph was still in pain, for whatever reason. Xavier’s mind was still reeling. But why… why was…

Magneto’s body seemed to tense up. Electromagnetic energy, unnoticed by all but Joseph, gathered at their feet. The energy swirled, gathering around them. They began to notice, but didn’t know what it was. It gathered around them and finally, the body seemed to glow. It was impossible. They were shocked…

When suddenly, Magneto’s eyes opened.

“No!” Xavier shouted. “NO!”

“YES!”

The energy glowed brighter, until it shot outwards, blasting the X-Men down. None of them could stand up to it – within a moment, they were all knocked unconscious.

The cape flowed about his body, his eyes glaring. The armor… his hands… the face…

“THE MASTER OF MAGNETISM HAS RETURNED!”

NEXT ISSUE: Uh-oh!!!