X-Men

THE END OF THE WORLD

Part IV: Second Coming

By Jason Kenney

The helmet hovered inches above the floor, halfway between two men.

One floated in the middle of the room dressed in a blue and yellow bodysuit, white, shoulder length hair contradicting his youthful face which grimly looks down at the second man.

The second man kneels on the floor with his purple cloak gathered around him. He looks up into the face of the other man, a younger looking version of himself.

“Hello… father,” says the younger man, the helmet not moving.

The older man looks around to the others in the room, an old friend, an old love, and an old follower. He looks to the gaping hole in the wall across the room, made by an old adversary.

He looks back into the face of the young man, deep into his eyes.

He sees betrayal.

He screams in rage. The helmet clatters to the ground as he releases it from his power and lifts himself into the air using the magnetic fields that surround him and everything else on this planet.

He rips a hole in the ceiling as he flies off, the younger man starting after him, but pausing as a voice in his head asks him to stop.

The voice knows where the older man is going, and there is no point in stopping him before he gets there.

The ship was cramped, but he would survive. Especially since he was in the ship.

Fabian Cortez smiled as he looked at the small screen on the panel before him. The other Acolytes were on their way to the other cities. Each of them were followed by another ship, the X-Men no doubt, but no one followed him, and that was why he smiled.

They were gullible, the other Acolytes. Too ready, too quick to please the ‘master’, that they jumped at Cortez’s plan when he said he had support for it.

Magneto’s word was law, even if he never really gave the ‘word’.

With a push of a few buttons, Cortez deleted the return programming on the ship so he would not return to that cold place back in Siberia. Oh, he would do what the ship was intended to do, destroy a city, but afterwards, he was free.

“How is he?” asked Joseph as he settled on the ground beside Gabrielle Haller as she checked on the down, but not out Logan.

“I’m fine,” he growled as he pulled himself to his feet. He stretched a bit, audible cracks sounding over his groans as various bones tried to heal or pop back into place. His healing factor was kicking into overdrive.

{Joseph!} called a voice in all of their heads, {We must go now. Logan, you stay here with Gaby and Japheth.}

“No go, Chuck!” yelled Logan to the man who sat in a wheelchair just inside the building.

{Logan,} replied the voice as the three outside started to walk towards the gaping hole in the wall left from Logan being punched through it, {you are in no condition or position to continue to argue.} The three entered the building.

“Besides,” continued the voice vocally now they were inside and as Joseph used his magnetic powers to seal the hole behind them and keep the elements outside, “there is still the possibility of the Acolytes returning here, and I will want someone who could handle them here.”

Logan looked to the bald man sitting on the floor, who simply stared back with no emotions showing.

“You’ve had your fight, Logan,” said Charles Xavier, “the rest is up to Joseph and myself.”

With that, Joseph lifted himself and Xavier off the ground and they went through the hole Magneto created to leave, sealing it behind.

Deep in the base’s corridors is a room. A lone person is in his room where moments before all of the Acolytes had gathered and unknowingly betrayed their master. He is shackled to the wall in the far corner of the room, unconscious, or, rather, he was unconscious.

Now he stirs, tugging lightly on his bonds. With a cocked eyebrow he easily unlocks the chains around his wrists and ankles.

He thought for a moment, recalling the events that happened before he blacked out.

He and the Acolytes were in front of Xavier’s mansion. Magnus was there, in body at least. Xavier invaded his mind, defeated him.

So, why was he back here, at his home?

He smiled.

Magneto was alive.

He didn’t think about how he was bound in his own home. He felt others in the building. Not Acolytes, though, no, X-Men.

His smile widened.

Exodus would do Magneto proud.

Ororo Munroe studied the display before her. There was a screen that showed thirteen dots moving across a map of the world. She knew seven of those were Acolytes, the other six were X-Men in hot pursuit. But it didn’t add up, one ship was alone.

She silently cursed herself as she wiped sweat from her forehead with a shaky hand.

The ship was cramped, tight, small, too small, so small…

There was a jerk that took her attention off of the closeness of the walls. Her ship started to turn without her controlling it. She started to try and correct, but to no avail. Then she saw the screen.

The one dot that was alone continued on its course, the other twelve dots had turned to follow it.

Fabian Cortez, in the one solo ship, noticed this change as well.

Sweat broke out on his forehead as he played with the ship’s controls, trying to change his course, remove his signal from the other ships, anything.

“NO!” shouted Cortez, realizing that it getting away would be more of a challenge, especially now that he was caught.

{There’s been a shift…} Joseph started to think.

{I know,} thought Xavier back as the two of them flew towards the one solo ship’s destination. {Magneto has the ships.}

A lone figure hovered high above the Reflecting Pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Crowds noticed him as the setting sun caught the reds and purples of his uniform at just the right angle to make him an imposing sight.

He paid no attention to the people below.

Police arrived and started to cordon off the area. The media arrived, and started to bribe the cops to get a closer look. Emergency plans went into effect, the President was rushed out of the city, congressmen made their way out as well. The Pentagon was fully aware of the situation and kept a very close eye on it.

They were afraid to act.

Last time they acted against this man, he cut off all power to the world. Lives were lost.

They would wait. They would be ready, but they would have to wait.

Radar picked up the ship, a single blip on the screen, but it was moving fast. Fighters were scrambled, chased it, but were ordered to back down when they realized the course the ship was taking.

Fabian Cortez was panicking. Nothing was working. None of the controls, none of the weapons, the ejection, even the self-destruct wasn’t working. The ship started to shudder.

On the outside, sheets of metal started to peel away from the ship. Sheet after sheet, followed by parts, the ship fell apart as it sped closer to its destination.

Magneto turned his view to the coming ship as it approached from the east. He knew it was there, he brought it here. He watched as it drew closer, losing more and more parts as it approached. He held up an open hand, more for effect than anything, and the remains of the ship blew apart, the man inside flying and then stopping feet from Magneto, a cable wrapped tightly around his neck.

Fabian Cortez grabbed at the cable, gasping for air that was being denied to him as he looked into Magneto’s eyes which were harsh and cold.

Then, there was pain unlike any he had ever felt before. his body was racked with such unimaginable pain. His muscles tightened, loosened, he convulsed in front of Magneto as the Master of Magnetism only looked on.

“Do you feel that, Fabian?” asked Magneto through clenched teeth. “The pain. Do you feel that? Do you feel my wraith, Fabian? I had spared you before. I let you live. Perhaps I subconsciously enjoyed your annoyances, Fabian.”

Fabian’s body arched back in tension as he felt a new pain, one that was impossibly worse than the one before it. Every pore in his body began to bleed.

“No more.” Magneto’s outstretched and open hand suddenly clenched shut and Fabian’s cries were drowned out by a loud series of snaps and cracks sounded from the bloodied body that had been an Acolyte as every bone in his body broke.

His screams stopped as pain in his chest roared over the broken bones. A boaring pain, pushing forward and out. He tried to gasp, but his punctured lungs would not have it. Sharp pain tore through his chest, and, for a split second before he died, he saw it.

A little marble of iron, every ounce of iron that used to be in his body.

The lifeless corpse of Fabian Cortez fell into the Reflecting Pool followed by the little iron ball below as Magneto turned his attention to the other twelve approaching ships.

Logan’s head popped up and he sniffed the air.

“Logan?” said Gaby as she noticed his alertness.

“There’s a stink,” said Logan as a sound filled the room.

*SCHLUKT*

Bone claws extended from the back of Logan’s hands and he stood ready.

“What…” Maggott started to say, wondering what was going on. Then he felt it. Not physically, mentally. Something was in his head. Or, rather, someone.

Magneto watched the setting sun as the other twelve ships approached. Without any physical movement, he sent the ships crashing towards the ground, turning them back towards the sky just as they were about to crash nose first, and they landed on their hulls, skidding into the gathering crowd of onlookers and to a halt yards from the Reflecting Pool he hovered over.

People screamed, cried, and Magneto gave them no notice.

Rogue was the first one out of a ship, tearing her way out with brute strength. She stopped for a second, standing over the pile of twisted metal that used to be a ship and looked up and at Magneto. A split second later she was in the air and heading towards him.

A green field suddenly shot in front of Rogue, causing her to stop. Rogue spun to look at the source and noticed the Acolytes had freed themselves of their ships before the other X-Men. She flew at the one who produced the field, Unuscione, figuring her to be the strongest of the group, power wise.

But, one of the physically strongest of the Acolytes, Cargill, stepped in the way at the last moment and grabbed Rogue and squeezed.

“You X-Men aren’t as smart as you used to…” started Cargill, suddenly cut off by an explosion at her feet.

“Drop de lady,” said a voice that turned the Acolytes’ attention from the fresh crater.

Cargill in particular turned just in time to meet face first with a bone dagger Marrow had swiped at her.

The fight was on, yet Magneto paid no attention to the students of his dream fighting those of another.

His thoughts were on another fight to come, one with the approaching duo from behind him. They were still approaching, but Magneto knew they were there.

{Magnus,} a voice in his head said calmly, {end this now, it doesn’t have to happen this way.}

{Wrong on two accounts, Charles,} thought Magneto in response to the voice in his head, {I am Magneto, and it will happen this way.}

“No,” shouted an audible voice from behind Magneto.

There was a pause, a silence, no thoughts were made back and forth, no words were said.

“Hello, father,” said Joseph as he used his powers and set Xavier on the ground on the other side of the Reflecting Pool from the fight between the Acolytes and the X-Men.

Magneto kept his stare on the setting sun as it crept behind the horizon, splashing the sky with hues to match his uniform. There was a silence between the two men that seemed to last forever.

“I used to love this planet,” said Magneto finally, not turning his gaze. “The beauty of it that no one ever seems to fully accept. People take its splendor for granted. It hurt me when I was driven from here. It hurt to lose all of this. Look around you.” Magneto spread his arms wide in a gesture to the sky. “Nature is all around, all powerful, all perfect. Mankind, humanity has taken it for granted. Nature and its ways.” Magneto glanced over his shoulder to Joseph with hurt-filled eyes. “There is a natural hierarchy that man understands. The food chain is easily understood. The little nutrients in the soil feed the grass which feeds the cow which feeds the man. The grass holds power over the nutrients, the cow over the grass and the nutrients, man over the cow, the grass, and the nutrients. Man has felt what it’s like to be on the top of the heap, king of the mountain. But, now…”

Magneto looked again to the setting sun as a small crescent still held above the horizon, “…Nature has moved on…”

…And disappeared into darkness.

“…And a new king has been created.”

There was another pause as neither man was sure what would happen next.

“Nice speech,” said Joseph, “but you aren’t king.”

Magneto smirked and shook his head.

“No,” said Magneto as he turned to face his son, “I am no king. I am a revolutionary, a warrior, one who will fight for change, who will lead men and women to victory, lead them to the golden cup, but only a king could allow them to drink from it. I have the power, but I do not have the mind-set for the politics of ruling, nor do I have the youth to learn it. You…”

“No,” said Joseph.

“Son, look around you, look at the world! War, famine, hate, death, this is mankind, this is what their kings have created as they held themselves at the top of nature.”

“You do not change this by declaring yourself better, you must be equals.”

“But we are better!” shouted Magneto. “Think of what we could do for these people, think of the suffering we could end.”

“By what? By telling them what to do and think? By ruling with an iron fist, by force?”

“Force is the only language they know!”

“Force causes the hate and pain and death you want to end!”

“All temporary and brought upon themselves.”

“Do the ends justify the means?”

Silence again.

“Either you stand with me, my son,” said Magneto, “or you stand against me.”

“I will not allow people to suffer at your hands.”

“But you will allow them to suffer at their own hands?”

“We are running in circles.”

“Then decide!”

“I will not side with you,” said Joseph through clenched teeth.

Magneto closed his eyes and hung his head. Yes, this boy was his son, but he would not help him. And that put him in the way.

Family.

Oh, how he wanted a family, so many had betrayed him before. It hurt to have to decide.

Magneto looked up and into his son’s eyes. Personal sacrifice, then, for the good of the world.

“I am truly sorry to hear that.”

“Father, please, you don’t…”

Magneto held up a hand.

“Father?” said Magneto, cocking an eyebrow. “No, Joseph, not father. You will address me like all others do. I am Magneto.”

Joseph felt pain in his body as Magneto clenched his hand and caused muscles to tighten. Joseph quickly counteracted with his own powers, cursing himself for letting down his guard.

The boy was powerful, perhaps more powerful than Magneto. But, Magneto was sure of one thing, his own power, what it was, and its limits. This boy was too new to his, he was still learning, and didn’t know how far he could or couldn’t go. It could work either way, but Magneto was willing to gamble.

Magneto had returned, and he wanted the world to know it was no longer safe in its ignorance. When last he interacted with the world, he left his mark, a worldwide electromagnetic pulse that successfully cut off all power around the globe.

He knew he could do it again, but he had to distract the boy.

A battle raged on the ground as well, Acolytes versus X-Men. Magneto finally acknowledged the fight by looking at one of its participants. Poor, misguided Rogue. At one time there was something between the two of them, Magneto gave her something only he could. Well, now Joseph provided it as well. And Magneto knew this, and knew the feelings one had for the other.

Yes, a distraction.

Rogue gasped as she felt her body tense, then be tossed through the air and into the marble steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

“Rogue!” shouted Joseph, diverting his attention from his opponent. One of the ships that had carried the Acolytes and X-Men here lifted off the ground and slammed into Joseph from behind, grabbing him and carrying on its course into the hole Rogue had made in the steps.

Magneto turned from his newly made mess and inhaled deeply, concentrating and reaching into every part of his body and mind for strength. His pores coursed with energy. He shot upwards and into the heavens, pausing once he reached the upper atmosphere.

{Magnus,} said the voice of Charles Xavier in Magneto’s head, the voice of a one time friend and companion, {don’t do this…}

He felt pain, and his voice would have showed if space could carry sound, and he exploded in energy, an electromagnetic pulse bursting from his body and across the globe below in a show of force the world had been seen once before and would once again suffer through.

Magneto was back, and the world would feel his wrath.

NEXT ISSUE: Magneto’s back, the world is darkened again, and doubts of a dream?

Author’s Notes
Oh, yeah! This is why I came to this group. I think it was March and I found this group sitting here, trying to start up. They were looking for writers, and one book they had open was Magneto. I though of a proposal. I wanted to write the story that brought Magneto back. Oh, yeah! But, X-Men and Uncanny X-Men had already started, and their writers already had plans. Oh well. Then, surprise, the story starts and is left unfinished!

In comes me. This is great, I’m writing the story I wanted to, not just any story, the return of Magneto. Yeah, sure it’s not exactly as I would have liked to have gotten it, but I still have it and I can still make this puppy shine!

So, here’s Magneto!

Now, I apologize for parts of this story arc that seem rushed or scrapped or what not. I’m coming in at the tail end of an unfinished arc, and a lot of the open plots from X-Men #4-6 I can’t figure out. I mean, Kyle had plans, I’m sure, but I don’t know them, so I’m fudging a few parts, but it should all work out in the end. Certain things I had no control over, the EMP at the end here, had to do it, already recognized by other books, so I had no choice, good enough.

Otherwise, it should be all good. X-Men #8 is in progress as I write this and hopefully will be out shortly. Enjoy.

Jason Kenney
August ’99

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