THE END OF THE WORLD

Part III: Wolverine!

By Kyle Trainer

“Hey, bub… I’m back.”

There is utter silence for what feels like an eternity… or a few months at the very least. No one can say it. The X-Men, the Acolytes, Gabrielle Haller, and Magneto all simply stare at the impossible, until Xavier breaks the ice.

“W-Wolverine?!” His voice is mere decibels above what can be considered a whisper. His eyes widen, and sweat beads down his forehead. Xavier’s forehead crunches up as his eyebrows force the skin into nervous folds.

And just like that… the man known as Logan stepped out of the doorway. His eyes did not waver. He stepped out, his heavy right boot making an indent on what was left of the door he had knocked off its hinges. Snow began to build up in the indent, as the heavy Siberian winds threw more and more ice onto Logan’s back.

He didn’t notice. His blood was alive with the flames of a lifetime’s pain… of memories. Adamantium – the hardest metal known to man. Logan was the first human being to be successfully bonded to it. His bone skeleton and the adamantium became one, until Magneto used his control over the electromagnetic spectrum to pull each and every drop of adamantium through Logan’s pores.

It was a breathtaking sight – an act of utter cruelty, of calculated anger, and of pent-up rage. Magneto had his mind telepathically wiped mere minutes later by Charles Francis Xavier… which would have its own repercussions, but for Logan the repercussions were a thousand times more severe. His body was overloaded by the pain – his inherent mutant healing factor overloaded, so much so that it was months before it began to work again. His mind was overloaded by the agony – he began to slowly revert to an animalistic state, becoming the savage he fought so hard to keep from becoming. The combination caused Logan to transform – from man to beast.

Now, he had control again – or he thought he did. It was always so hard to see which side of the gray line he was on at any given time, especially a time like this. Logan decided to visit the Xavier mansion, to make a statement about his position in the X-Men’s current state of affairs, but there had been scents – many of them, including some he had not expected to smell for the rest of his life.

The stink of the horrible human being that had – at one point – gone by the name of Erik Lensherr.

Magneto.

“Wolverine!” Storm, struggling in her metallic pod, felt ill at the first opening of her lips. She was trapped, her arms pinned to her sides and her legs glued together, thanks to the pod which would only reach Storm’s waist could she stand. She had thought she would be able to control her claustrophobia – but this was too much for her. Her head swayed to the side.

Logan stepped off of the remains of the door. In front of him stood a rail. If he should follow the metal path, he would walk ten meters, turn 180 degrees, and walk another ten meters. After doing this three times, he would exit the path made for a handicapped person to use – should they enter the base from the side door Logan used.

“Wolverine!” Iceman yelled, his hands placed into heat-generating sockets so he could not use his powers to generate enough ice on his hands to break free. He was beginning to feel ill again… and the signs of his illness were spread on the side of the pod in front of him and on the floor below his pod. This sleep-generating field – it made him feel like Hank.

Logan held up his hands. He retracted his claws, one at a time. He reached onto his chest, and tore off the jacket he had thrown over his shoulders halfway through the journey, as he stopped in Germany to try and refuel his plane. The plane had run out of fuel eight miles from the base… so Logan had run the rest of the distance in about half an hour. All that remained was his yellow costume.

“Wolverine!” That voice belonged to Rogue, on whom the sleeping field had reverse affects. She could not focus her mind enough to try and think straight, and were Rogue in her right mind, she would assume this pod was built with the intention of holding one with multiple personalities – as Rogue did, at one time.

Logan reached up… slowly… dramatically, as he had done everything else since he entered the base. He wiped snow off of his chest… and began walking down. Each footstep had a thunderous echo throughout the gargantuan room.

“Wolverine!” This was Sabra, the newest X-Man. Well – she technically was not an X-Man, but had joined as an unofficial member, so that the X-Men, who knew Joseph well, could determine what was wrong with him. Unfortunately, a large number of their medical equipment was not functioning, so they could not do a full analysis. Sabra used her rock-hard determination to keep her awake… and watched with horror as the man once known as Weapon X walked down the aisle. She had heard about him – read the reports. He supposedly could not be contained, should he get mad. Sabra assumed she could outwit him.

Logan continued walking down the metal plates, one step at a time. Not speeding up or slowing… but walking leisurely. As leisurely as he could.

“Wolverine!” Gambit finally spoke up. He had been having visions the entire time – caused by the damn machine. He personally suspected they emitted some kind of aura that weakened a person’s resolve. He struggled to keep his mental blocks up – so no one would be able to see deep into his mind. He doubted Xavier could… he looked weak enough as it is. Gambit glanced two pods over. He saw Joseph, who had recently rejoined the X-Men, asleep in his pod. What a surprise… Joseph couldn’t fend off the big bad sleeping machines…

Wolverine turned the first corner.

Meanwhile, inside the mind of Joseph…

“Wh… what’s going on?” Joseph felt himself blink – saw himself blink. He immediately recognized the sensation. He was dreaming once more. “Irene?”

“I am here.” She emerged, dressed as she always was. Wearing dark glasses, her graying hair tied behind her head. Holding her hands together on a wood/plastic cane.

“You… summoned me this time?” Joseph suddenly remembered something. “Mag… Magneto!”

“Yes.” Irene did not nod, nor did her face change. It seemed as though her lips did not move – but the words came. “He has returned.”

“But… what does this have to do with you?” Joseph couldn’t focus. There was something wrong – like he was hearing voices, or something similar. Well, other then Irene.

“I have been teaching you, these past months, how to unlock your mental blocks. These keep you from realizing your full power – and your full past.”

“I… I know.” What was that? He heard a whisper – something telling him something. “What…?”

“The day has come, Joseph. You will have neither an ally nor an enemy at your side – no battalions or legions to defend you. It will be you against your destiny.” She began to waver. Just then, he caught sight of where they were – Israel.

“What’s going on – why is this city burning?!” Joseph caught sight of something in the sky – a bright flash, and then a smoking something fell like a meteor into the side of a building. A brightly glowing object followed it. They were so far away.

Irene disappeared, and Joseph began to fade as well, but not before his mind made the connection. The hidden connection between her words and their place.

He was about to scream the word ‘no’, but the dream ended.

Back in Siberia…

“Wolverine!” Gabrielle Haller struggled to keep her voice even. The chamber was making her uneasy – this confrontation. Plus, Joseph and Magneto in the same room! She knew what was coming. She sensed Charles trying to mentally speak to her. She knew how much effort it took him to do this, to get past the dulling field around him. Thus, she felt bad as she rejected him.

Logan turned the second to last corner. He walked down the final row of metal sheets. At the end…was a choice for him. To fulfill his thirst for revenge, which he had been waiting for as long as he remembered. Or… to take the high road.

He had never been one to take the high road.

He reached the end. As he stood on the final metal plank, he reached up with his hands. He pulled his familiar mask over his face. His hands dropped halfway down his sides, stopping in closed fists – knuckles facing the ground – near his hips.

“W-W-WOLVERINE!” That voice belonged to Maggott. The man whose life Magneto had saved. And whose life Logan had saved. Logan paused – the other X-Men merely wanted him to not get into a rage, he knew – but Maggott seriously cared for the lives of both Logan and Magneto. Logan felt inner turmoil rise up – until he glanced to the right of Maggott.

There… was the greatest maggot of them all. Magneto turned to Wolverine, throwing his purple cape off his arms as he did. The cape draped over his back, leaving his hands loosely off his sides. His legs shoulder width apart, as were Logan’s. Shoulders squared… as were Wolverine’s.

This made the decision.

*SCHLUKT*

All six claws popped out, sliding down their housings and stabbing empty air. Not for long, Wolverine knew. Not for long.

He gave the Acolytes that were present no time to defend their master. Not that Magneto would let them anyway. This was a conflict of fate – a battle of titans who had longed for another round.

And then… Wolverine struck…

In the base’s corridors…

Sven Kleinstock, Harlen Kleinstock, Cargill, and Unuscione backed out of the main chamber. They began doing so as Logan first extended his claws. Magneto had whispered his command to them, and they listened, as they always did. They were Acolytes – Magneto’s Acolytes.

The four of them walked down the corridor. On the left were the chambers where they would sleep, as soon as sheets and mattresses were available. Further down on the left were the kitchen and recreation rooms – the kitchen still smelled wonderful, due to the herb chickens that Sven – a closet chef – had begun to create that morning, but he had long since forgotten about them.

On the right side of the corridor, starting at the far end, were weapons chambers, storage rooms, information banks, and finally, halfway down the corridor, was the doorway to the prisoners chamber. The doorway was located on the far left of the room, but this was where the Acolytes went this day.

They stepped over the scratch marks where the sleeping pods had been dragged the previous day. The Acolytes dragged them out, and Cargill rebooted them so that they could work in the main chamber. At the other end of the main chamber was a hallway, which led to the meeting room and Magnus’ personal room. Above the main chamber was another storage level, this one for items Magnus chooses to place there.

The Acolytes enter the prisoners chamber, and two other Acolytes stand at their arrival. Amelia Voght and Scanner, the last members of the slowly shrinking group. In the far corner, shackled to a wall, lies the lifeless body of Exodus. Evidently, having his powers cut off from linking him to the Acolytes for a few minutes is enough to knock him out. Magnus has given them instructions not to untie him until he awakens, should it happen.

In the center of the half of the room with shackles so prisoners have to lean on the walls, there is a large stump. It is a boulder, and tied down with forty different chains is the man who once led the Acolytes – Fabian Cortez.

Voght and Scanner stand behind him, as they have been securing his shackles for the last hour. They stare at the other Acolytes’ faces.

“What?” Voght asks.

“The… the interrogation is complete.” Cargill lowers her head. “Wolverine has returned.”

“…” Voght is speechless.

“Impossible!” Scanner cries. “How could he have found us?!”

“I know…” Cortez weakly sighs, his dry lips barely moving.

“Silence.” Voght strikes the base of his skull, causing him to flinch, but he is used to it. It seems they have been doing this for some time.

“Let him speak.” Unuscione steps forward, raising a hand. “Though he is no Acolyte, we know full well that we need to help our leader. What do you have to say, Cortez?”

“It’s just a plan Magneto discussed with me – oh, never mind.” He trails off, leaving them hanging. Voght stares distrustfully… but the rest lean forward.

“What?” Scanner asks.

“Tell us!” Sven smiles as he asks.

“Well – after he expelled me, Magneto returned here for a minute. When all of you were eating. I told him of a plan I had to win back his favor, but none of you would be interested.” Cortez stops.

“Why not?” Harlen asks. “Is it too good for us?”

“Well… he told me as long as the rest of you agreed on the plan, it would be fine. But none of you will – you hate me.”

“We don’t hate you,” Sven said. Harlen nodded his agreement. The two of them had always been his puppets.

“Well, he has one-man flying apparatuses in the hangar deck. Equipped with numerous bombs and other weapons. Each of them had a pre-programmed destination – and can track the others, should help be needed. He told me to take them, and fly them to seven major cities of the world, but none of you will come…”

“Well – it sounds like a good idea.” Harlen smiled.

“Yes – and if they really can track one another, there is no way of his escaping.” Unuscione motioned to Cortez. “I suppose… since Magnus said the X-Men are his duty now.”

“NO!” Voght turned into a grasslike structure for a moment, floating through Cortez, and turned herself solid right in front of him and in the middle of the Acolytes. “This man has betrayed us numerous times – and is lying to us now! Why would Magneto suddenly trust him, tell him the plan is approved. He is trying to take us over!”

“The ships all have pre-programmed return stations, as well…” Cortez mumbled. “They all return here. One of you can set my ship.”

“You know – Magneto did say the first step to the extermination of the X-Men’s type would be to forgive them…” Sven noted.

A murmur of approval went through the Acolytes.

“Shall we take a vote?” Scanner smiled. “All in favor here? And here, all opposed?”

Voght stood staunchly aside from the rest of the group as they began to undo his bonds.

Voght shook her head. “Should be a unanimous vote,” she muttered.

In the corner of the room… unspoken rage began to well up.

The X-Men all stared in wonder as Wolverine sailed through the air. It seemed like an instant after he leapt – but Wolverine was already smashing into Magneto with incredibly force.

He had his arms extended, both fists aimed for Magneto’s chest. Magneto had seen this, and quickly raised his electromagnetic shielding over his body. It settled across him – nearly right on top of his armor, all around him. He also raised his hands – and Wolverine’s claws sliced across them. This caused his momentum to falter, so he leaned back, and let his legs go full force into Magneto’s chest.

Magneto sailed backwards, but caught himself a dozen millimeters from the ground, and straightened immediately. Wolverine was there again.

Wolverine struck seven times – backhanding, punching, slicing – each time with his hands. Electromagnetic energy sparked, but nothing got through. However, Logan quickly retracted his claws on one hand – and punched Magneto in the face.

The electromagnetic energy closed on the fist, so that when the impact got to Magneto’s nose, it was surrounded by energy. Magneto’s head whipped back, and he stumbled back. When he raised his face… he was bleeding in two places. Where Marrow’s tooth had hit… and on one nostril of his nose.

Magneto then took the offensive. He leapt forward, grabbing Logan, and hurled him into the air. Placing his hands together, he sent a solid wave of electromagnetic energy into the mutant’s body. Logan kept flying up, until one last push sent him through the ceiling. He flew up into the hole… but didn’t come down.

Pausing only to surge his body once more with incredibly magnetic energy, Magneto flew straight up, through the ceiling twenty meters high.

Meanwhile…

Xavier looked around. He saw the X-Men were beginning to lose their resistance – they began to fall asleep. He could not let that happen. The pain caused by using his telepathy while under the influence of the sleeping field remained… yet he spoke to his students.

{X-MEN!}

The telepathic shout woke them up. Each of their heads snapped upright, and their eyes widened.

“NO!” Joseph screamed, as he awoke. But the mutant could not define what it was that troubled him so.

The X-Men looked at him, but he looked down. Something was troubling him, Xavier saw. And he had a damn good idea of what it was, but that would wait.

{My X-Men… our greatest nemesis has returned. All of you know this, but also, one of our greatest allies has returned. I have scanned the Acolytes minds’, and determined what they are doing. They plan on loading onto seven single-person ships and striking Tokyo, New York, London – and I cannot tell which other ones. Once we are free, I need you to man those ships, and follow them. I will send you the schematics of the crafts, so you will know how to fly them, once I have finished scanning Cargill’s mind.}

‘Uh, sir?’ Iceman thought, ‘how exactly are we getting out of here?’

{Simple – as simple as life can be for us. I will need Joseph, Storm, and yourself, Robert, to focus your powers when I say so. Other X-Men, I will be leaving your minds then, but don’t worry. I need to focus all efforts in keeping those three awake. After that, the machines will be shut down, and you will return to normal.}

‘What’s the plan, Professor?’ Iceman thought.

{The cold blowing in has lowered this room’s temperature, despite the fact that it is such a large room. When I push your minds to their full alertness, I need Storm and Iceman to focus the cold on these machines. Bobby, I need you to create as much ice in every machine as possible – or start in yours and Joseph. Once you are free, you can free the others. And everyone else – I’m sorry… but Storm, you need to create rain over all the machines.} Xavier felt the X-Men telepathically groan. {I’m sorry, it is all we can do. Are you ready? On three, begin focusing your power. One… two… THREE!}

Xavier left the other X-Men’s minds, and their eyes fell half-shut, and their heads to one side as they began to doze off. He focused on Joseph – who, despite the incredibly odd feelings he was getting related to his powers, let loose an incredible electromagnetic shock. The machines slowed, their programming faltering. Iceman began to create ice on all of the main circuits in his machine and those closest to him – and when the machines all faltered, Storm created a huge gust of rain. The machines all sparked and ceased to function properly.

With the doors frozen shut, few could get out. Xavier focused on Rogue, giving her the strength to get out. She ripped hers apart, and began to tear the other doors off of the others’. Within a minute of beginning the plan… all the X-Men were soaking wet – and free. They stumbled out of their machines, falling to the floor, gasping for breath. Most laid there for another minute, taking in the energy that had not been sapped from them, but denied from them.

“X-Men…” Xavier began, his voice weak, but growing stronger. “Go… I will remain…with Gabrielle, Joseph and… and Maggott. Go – make me proud…”

His head fell, and he began breathing heavily. Storm and Iceman paused near him, then continued on.

Back in the corridors…

The X-Men began briskly walking through the corridors, as fast as they could with their bodies as they were. Storm, Gambit, Iceman, Sabra, Marrow, and Rogue stalked through the halls. Rogue lifted off her feet as more and more alertness returned to her. She began floating next to the X-Men… and floated faster and faster, flying ahead of Gambit, who walked in the back.

Gambit’s eyes shut for a moment, his face a mass of emotions. Only for a moment. He was glad to have his deafnses again.

In the front, Storm walked quickly. The others tried to keep up with her long legs. She saw Sabra right next to her, and walked faster. She lifted off her feet and let the wind carry her forward. She was not trying to be mean – but she just did not trust something about Sabra.

Sabra – somewhat dejected – slowed and walked next to the next person in line, Iceman. He glanced to the side at her, smiling. He felt color rise in his cheeks, and quickly covered himself in his ice sheath as she looked at him, staring for a moment.

“You fought well against the Acolytes,” Sabra told him. She did not know why, but she felt a need to talk to Iceman. It wasn’t just her genuine need to find someone to talk to other then Joseph. “Reminded me of our previous battle together.”

“Yeah,” he noted. “But then you came to help us. Now you’re here on a mission for your government.”

“I’m not here on a mission for my government,” she said, after a long pause. That had hurt. The X-Men began to drift apart as they walked, so she was next to Iceman and only Iceman. They were off to the right of the others, walking together. No one knew why she was here, save Xavier, and possibly Joseph. “I came here to help Joseph. My government wanted to keep him tied up, study him, as a failsafe should Magneto return. I fought for him, and got him on the Mossad force.”

He said nothing.

“I cut my ties with my government to come here,” she said, finally. This stopped Iceman, and he paused for a moment – then continued walking. “To be one of you.”

“Well…” he finally said. He guessed that he couldn’t always distrust her. “It’s a pleasure having you here.”

“You too,” she said genuinely. He must have known how strongly she felt towards her government – she wondered if he wondered how strongly she felt towards Joseph. Something even she didn’t know. His eyes – she saw something there when she spoke of him. This made her feel… well, strangely good. “You too.”

Marrow watched this with growing disdain, but most of her vision was focused on a sight… the back of Gambit’s head.

Meanwhile, in the upper level…

Wolverine climbs to his feet, and Magneto softly lands on his soles.

“Logan…” Magneto says, speaking to Wolverine for the first time in years. “I did not want us to meet again – this way.”

Wolverine says nothing, circling his foe. Magneto began to step in the same pattern as Logan – circling each other.

“I always wanted…” Magneto paused. Swallowed. “I always wanted to… apologize.”

Wolverine stopped circling.

“For everything,” Magneto added. He waited. Seconds passed, long ones, possibly even a minute. Logan studied Magneto for a while… and Magneto waited. Wondering what was going on in his head.

“Right,” Logan suddenly spoke, making Magneto nearly jump. It surprised the hell out of him. “I’m sure you wanted to apologize for nearly killing me – all those times you tried to. For nearly killing the X-Men – each and every time. For ruining Charles Xavier’s life – and so many others.”

“I… I…” Magneto could not speak as Logan’s voice cut into him.

“You ruined so many lives. How about Quicksilver or the Scarlet Witch? Do you think you helped them out? How about the Acolytes? How many of them have fallen on the battlefield in your search for more mutants to listen to your worthless idea of what mutants should do? Xavier may have lost a few students – but he didn’t go LOOKING for fights. You did.” Logan stopped, his face turned into an imperceptible shadow.

“On Avalon… you X-Men came looking for me…”

“Only because you attacked the Earth, caused thousands to pay… and why, Mags?” Logan’s arm muscles tensed. “Because you felt you needed to make a statement. How many other people have caused thousands of deaths, looking to make a statement? The Stalins, maybe the Husseins… and the Hitlers.”

“NO!” Magneto lashed out, before he even thought about what he was doing. His hand swung out, like he was going to punch something, but the electromagnetic energy kept going, and slammed into Wolverine’s chest. Logan stumbled back, then caught himself as his cracked ribs began healing. Smoke rose from his chest, just enough to be noticed. “HOW DARE YOU!”

“How dare I WHAT?” Logan leapt forward. This time he was so quick Magneto had no defense. Logan slashed down across Magneto’s arm, his claws slicing through the armor and skin before Magneto could look down. Red began to seep out, merging well with the crimson of the armor. Magneto reached out, his fingers spread, and grabbed Logan’s shoulder. He focused the electromagnetic energy with his rage – and twisted his hand. The bone slid to the side, with a CRACK and broke. With his left hand, Magneto, swung a fist covered in energy. It slammed into the side of Logan’s face, sending him a few meters to Magneto’s right. Logan stumbled and fell, his arm in incredible pain.

“HOW DARE you compare me to those – those DEMONS!” Magneto jumped into the air, carrying himself across the space between him and Logan. He landed on top of him, his legs on either side of him. Magneto lashed out, punching Logan repeatedly with his energy-covered fists. He knelt over, and punched Logan six times. “I try to HELP mutants! I don’t kill without reason!”

Logan reached up with his good arm and caught Magneto’s fist, on its way to connect for punch seven. He twisted it, and with a pulled back leg, kicked Magneto in the side. Magneto flew a few meters away, landing hard on his back. Wolverine’s broken arm was nearly healed.

“Don’t lie to me. You sunk the Leningrad to make a STATEMENT! You could have disabled it! Why keep going, Mags?! Why do you GO TOO FAR?”

“NO!!!” Magneto leapt up. At the same time Wolverine stood, and then there were no more words.

Magneto swung, hard. He hit Wolverine in the face. Wolverine stumbled back, and spit a line of blood from where his tooth had cut his cheek. It was healing by the time Logan lashed out with both claws, scything out word, and cutting deep into Magneto’s arms. Magneto, in turn, placed his hands together and swung them both to the right. The electromagnetic energy knocked Wolverine off his feet, and all the way into the far wall.

Logan slowly stood, and leapt once more. Magneto shot a beam of electromagnetic energy into his chest, knocking him down. Logan landed, hard, right next to the hole.

Suddenly… the sound of over a dozen ships launching was heard. The Acolytes raced out into the night sky, while a few moments later, the X-Men launched as well.

“What… NO!” Magneto understood. “They’ve betrayed me! My Acolytes have betrayed ME!!!”

“Surprise, surprise. Magneto is all alone.” Wolverine jumped for him. “Like usual.”

Magneto screamed unintelligibly as his hands and Wolverine’s hands met.

Meanwhile, Charles Xavier has crawled over to where Gabrielle lies. She leans on a wall, gathering her strength. He leans on the wall next to her. Far into the corner, Maggott and his maggots sit. Odd sounds come, and it sounds as though the maggots are tearing into Maggott. Xavier cannot see them, for they are in a dark corner, but he doubts they are hurting Maggott.

Joseph leans against the booth Gambit got out of now, a meter between him and Gabrielle. All three of them are silent.

*WHUMP*

Another sound is heard from above. In the room above the main room, Wolverine and Magneto are throwing each other around, but all that can be heard are the occasional impacts when someone lands hard on the floor of that room.

“Gabrielle…”

“Charles…”

Gabrielle and Charles began to speak at the exact same time, but stop as Joseph opens his eyes.

“It… it’s time to learn the truth, isn’t it?” Joseph sounds weak and resigned, like a child. He lowers his head as Xavier nods. He knew it would happen. Irene told him so. “Fine.”

“I believe that mentally scanning both of you, I have deduced the clues of Joseph’s identity.” Xavier stops. He can’t – this is Gabrielle’s story. “Gabrielle?”

There is a long pause. Silence fills the room. Xavier wonders if she has the strength, as a minute passes. He is about to say something when…

“Legion,” Gabrielle says as her eyes close. “Legion…”

Gabrielle holds up her hands and begins to weep.

On the Astral Plane…

Joseph opens his eyes and finds himself standing upright, along with Xavier and Gabrielle. Xavier wears a suit and tie, sitting in the yellow hoverchair destroyed when he became Onslaught.

Joseph wears the blue and yellow/gold X-Men uniform. Gabrielle wears her usual blue business suit.

Gabrielle opens her eyes. Xavier moves forward with his hover chair, and the two follow him. They don’t even use their legs, they simply walk after him.

All around them is glowing reddish energy. The three of them float on nothingness, yet Xavier heads for something.

“I’m sure you are wondering why we are here,” he says weakly, “but it can be best shown to us in visuals.”

Suddenly, a few steps in front of them, Maggott appears. He looks sullen.

“Joseph, if you do not mind?” Xavier asks.

“No, never.” Joseph smiles. “Come on in, Maggott.”

The three men stay where they are while Gabrielle leans forward. Suddenly, beneath them, something bright flashes.

“This…” Gabrielle regains composure. She is a diplomat for the Israeli Government – she can handle this. She simply has to be strong. “…is Haifa. A port city located in Israeli.”

The flash fades, and Xavier sees a chilling sight, pulled from his memory. A young Magneto – known as Magnus Lensherr, at this point – shoots electromagnetic energy at a being known once as David Haller, a.k.a. Legion – the son of Charles Xavier and Gabrielle Haller.

“This was over two decades ago. The man in the telekinetic bubble is Legion. He…he…was my son. I did not know it then, but Legion – who had travelled back in time to kill Magneto – was my son from the future.” She stopped and caught her breath, then continued.

“Two weeks later… I would be talking to Erik – Magneto – and I… I…”

The four people fell silent as they watched the image beneath them. The visual changed to the young Magneto kissing Gabrielle.

“Magnus was, at that point, a different man. He was more human then – despite the losses he had faced before. He was my best friend…” Xavier said.

“But that is not the entire story, is it, Charles Xavier?”

“What…?!” Xavier turned to the origin of the new voice. “Impossible! DESTINY?!”

“Yes,” Irene said, approaching them. She wore her Destiny outfit now. “It is I.”

“How…?!” Xavier shook his head. “Our past is too complicated, we X-Men…”

“I am here to inform you of what happened, and it is as so… the child was delivered nine months later, in secret. Xavier could not know of it. Magnus and Xavier had introduced Gabrielle to most of the staff – they knew her, liked her, understood what was going on. The doctor delivering the baby knew Magneto – knew what had happened. He saw Magneto take part in the siege of Haifa, as their battle was dubbed by the media at that time. By the time the child was being delivered, they had seen Magneto using his powers yet again. He was feared. The doctor personally was afraid of Magneto proliferating. He feared the baby, so he took the one born with grey hair from the observation room, and hid it. He later delivered it to the government, who shipped it off on a food ship to an island a few miles off the coast of South Africa. The ship was hijacked by pirates from South Africa, who took the baby back with them. He ended up in the care of Sister Maria, where he grew up. This baby… was Joseph. This baby… unaware of its brother in Legion, or relatives reaching as far as to the Juggernaut or to Quicksilver… grew up.”

“When Magneto’s mind was wiped clean, Joseph’s mind was also, due to the electromagnetic similarities between the two. It was a chain reaction, due to the incredible similarities. Sister Maria decided it was the work of a higher entity and told him the first thing she could think of when he asked of his past, so he remained living with them. Joseph then goes on to find Rogue, the X-Men, and eventually return to the Israeli government. They wish to not let him go, sensing that he could be their weapon should Magneto return, but Sabra won’t let him out of her sight. So they keep trying to get him away, so they can take his genetic matrix and be done with him. Unfortunately, he ended up defecting while with the Elite Guard.”

“That – makes no sense!” Maggott cries out. “He’s – Magneto’s kid?!”

“Yes. That is all you need to know,” Destiny told him. “I, myself, was actually inside Legion’s mind – much the way Magneto lived inside Xavier’s. When he went back in time, I went into Joseph’s mind. When Magneto’s arrival was eminent, I began unlocking Joseph’s memory.”

“It was inevitable,” Xavier says. “So now you know, Joseph.”

“I…” Joseph lowered his head. “What do I do?!”

“I also unlocked every resevoir of power you have not accessed.” Destiny smiled – an icy thing. “You have the tools to alter the future of this planet.”

“Follow your heart,” Gabrielle said. She forced out the next words, through her tears. “That’s – the best motherly advice I can give.”

Suddenly, all four people vanish in a flash. Destiny looks around, and slowly fades.

In the higher room…

Wolverine and Magneto meet, hand against hand. They strain against each other, fighting for more ground. Wolverine leans back, and flips Magneto over him. Magneto rolls across the ground, slamming into a pile of metal crates. His cape draped underneath him, the Master of Magnetism stands.

“I lost everything I had during the second World War!” he says. “I did not even know I had two other children for years! And you – you, little hate-filled man – you dare compare me to the monster who caused that?!”

Magneto’s fists go to his sides, and he closes his eyes and releases a small electromagnetic pulse. The floor in front of Wolverine suddenly rips up, and stabs towards him. Sheets of metal slam into him, slicing into his body. Wolverine fights back, however. His bone claws appear through one sheet, and he cuts another down. He tears them from his body, and leaps over the gaping hole to get to Magneto.

Magneto tears up more of the floor, stabbing it into Logan’s legs. Logan topples down, already clawing at the metal. The floor creaks – that is three holes today. Logan rips it off, and runs across what remains of the floor in this section of the room. Behind Magneto are the air conditioning fans, which create a soothing rhythm.

Magneto and Logan meet again. Logan punches Magneto’s stomach, and Magneto pivots, and yanks Wolverine over his knee. Wolverine falls down, hard – just hard enough to make the floor where they are standing collapse.

The main room…

Suddenly, a huge rending sound is heard. The ceiling collapses in one side of the room, and loads of electronic equipment and two fighting mutants topple down. The metal stabs into the floor, and piles of snow and dust go flying into the air. A few small explosions are heard, as three or four more television monitors topple down from the huge hole in the ceiling.

Xavier, Joseph, Gabrielle, and Maggott are all snapped from the Astral Plane when this happens. They watch the dust settle. It is impossible that a person withstood that barrage. At least a ton of metal and equipment must have fallen, but as the saying goes… impossible only means it hasn’t been done yet.

Some sheets of metal slide off of a single spot. A chunk the size of a car makes a horrible sound as it is lifted up, and slowly but surely falls the other way.

There… amidst everything… is a single hand. A hand with a blue glove. And three bone claws sticking up.

The other hand stabs through the machinery, which, as it turns out, was part of what Magneto stored up there. Huge coolant pumps, and various other things which kept the base working. All of which – including the computers – toppled down onto Magneto and Wolverine. Piles of metal slide to the side as Wolverine stands.

His costume is torn. Along his chest, there is a gigantic rip. His legs are also covered in tears. His arms are bleeding, as are the little cuts all over his his body. Logan reaches up, and pulls out a piece of metal from his side. A long one. He looks at it, and tosses it to the side.

Soundlessly, like a warrior who has just walked through a battlefield and survived, he walks through the garbage, looking around. Sniffing. He turns to look at something, and Xavier sees his back is covered with rips as well, including a huge one on the side.

Suddenly, Magneto stands!

Huge metal chunks fly. Wolverine is pelted by a few, which knock him to his left, as they jam into his right. He falls down, with a heavy vibration running throughout the base. Near the farthest edge of the damage, the Master of Magnetism stands. His hands are at his sides, his costume torn and the metal rended. His cape behind him hangs, with holes and the entire bottom ripped off. It stops even with his knees. His helmet is missing. His cheeks are bleeding and his lips dripping blood. His forehead has a large cut on it, and his hair has red in it. His costume is rended, true, but he still stands. His shield defended him.

He floats up, on his shield, and more metal crates topples down on him. It bounces off his shield. He floats over the edge of the damage, and settles down just outside of the piles of metal. His back to the damage. With a roar, Wolverine leaps into him.

The two meet… for what may be the final time.

Wolverine slashes across his back. Magneto’s knees buckle, and he swings his right fist, creating a complete circle. He catches Wolverine’s healing face, sending Wolverine flying back. The two meet again. There are no powers. There are no claws. It is just two men.

Wolverine punches his right fist into Magneto’s left side. Magneto bends a little, grabs the right fist with his left, and yanks Wolverine towards him. Wolverine’s face slams into Magneto’s knee, and he bounces back. Magneto jabs him in the face quickly, his closed fist throwing Wolverine back.

Wolverine jump kicks. Magneto ducks. Magneto punches, gets Wolverine’s back. Wolverine kicks back, hitting Magneto’s chest. Magneto punches, Wolverine takes it into the face. Wolverine takes a few steps back, and then runs towards Magneto who grabs him and throws him into the air. Wolverine goes flying, and lands on his side, but stands quickly.

*SCHLUKT*

Magneto’s legs tense as Wolverine leaps forward once more. His claws stab into Magneto’s shoulders. Both shoulders. Magneto screams, and steps back, and grabs Wolverine’s wrists.

“I’m sorry,” Magneto says. He cannot let himself be hurt as he has so much to do, but he doesn’t want to do what he did to Wolverine again!

He sees Xavier… sees Gabrielle… and Maggott. He makes a choice – he unleashes an electromagnetic pulse which reverberates through Wolverine. Wolverine retracts his claws, and steps back, shaken. His bones are jarred, each one loosened in its socket. He begins healing, but not quickly enough.

Magneto pulls back his right fist, and unleashes his right hook. Covered with energy, the fist sends Wolverine back a few steps. Magneto steps forward, punching with his left. Then with his right. He forces Wolverine back, pummeling him. Wolverine tries to block, tries to catch Magneto’s left punch, but Magneto grabs his wrist, and snaps it with his energy. Wolverine swings his claws with his other hand, but Magneto – guided by his electromagnetic energy – slides his fingers between the claws. He holds tight on Wolverine’s fist, and the bones all shatter as they dislocate.

He knees Wolverine in the chest. He electromagnetically blocks his healing factor, and lets another electromagnetic wave slam through Wolverine’s bones. This time, they shake and crack, and he does not immediately heal. All of the stress of coming over here catches up with Logan… and his rage pauses for a single moment as he sees Maggott staring at him.

“No,” Maggott mouthes the words. He begins mouthing more, “Don’t do it, Logan!”

Magneto pulls back his right fist, covered with energy, and swings one more time.

Wolverine does not block it as he goes flying backwards. It is incredible – all the power Magneto can focus goes into the punch. Wolverine slams through the furthest wall and goes sailing into the Siberian tundra. He plunges into a snow dune, unconscious before he lands.

Magneto drops to his knees, and lowers his head. He raises his hand. His helmet comes flying, goes right for his hand… and then stops, halfway to his hand.

“What…?” He can’t be that weak – impossible! His energy is recharging him as he speaks.

“Hello.”

Magneto turns, and sees Joseph floating in the middle of the room. He looks grim, and stares down at Magneto.

It is then, too late, Magneto realizes he should have expected Wolverine would come, and he should have dealt with Joseph then and there, but he did not.

“Hello… father.”

NEXT ISSUE: The End Of The World Part 4! The X-Men face the Acolytes! Watch as two X-Men make life-changing decisions! Watch as Joseph faces the fight of his life… against his own father, Magneto!