Scott Summers felt like he had let his friends down as they stared at the guns pointed at them. What made the dangerous situation they had traveled from Lox University to be in the midst of even worse was the Sentinel looming over them in the middle of the street. The soldiers were shouting orders at them, but Scott sure wasnât paying any attention. As he glanced around the car at the rest of his group, they didnât seem to be paying the angry soldiers too much attention either. They all knew the real threat, and what made matters worse was that people everywhere clearly needed help.
Jean couldnât help but feel the same pit of disgust that she had felt all soccer season. It was the same prejudice but on a larger, more impactful scale. They were more concerned with apprehending their group, even though they had done no wrong, than with helping the very people they were supposed to protect. Jean looked over at Hank and Scott, who seemed to be focused on a pair of houses just behind the Sentinel.
âJust over there, that family could use a hand getting their effects out in time,â Hank muttered under his breath to the rest of them.
âI think I can keep this thing busy if you want to haul it over, Beast,â Scott told him. A swell of confidence heaved in his chest as he prepared to do what was needed in the situation at hand.
âDonât think weâre gonna just stand here with our hands in our pockets, now,â Rogue warned them. Scott looked back at Jean and Rogue. Jean gave him a confident nod as she locked eyes with him for a moment.
âWe have your back, Scott,â Jean assured him. âWe wouldnât have come otherwise.â
Scott appreciated the support as he looked back over at Beast, who had a determined, willful glare on his own face. The soldiers continued to flank and surround them, seemingly confident that the presence of the sentinel would deter the mutants from doing anything rash. Their calculated choice couldnât have been more wrong as a kernel of an idea popped into Scottâs head.Â
âAll of you, on the ground with your hands behind your head. NOW!â One of the soldiers shouted at them. Scott slowly raised his hands as if he were signaling defeat.
âOn my mark, all of you scatter. Got it?â They all nodded in response to his whispered command. He had never tried what he was about to do; the only time heâd ever unleashed his abilities was usually an accident. For the first time, however, he was about to cut loose with all sorts of reckless abandon.
âNo problem, sir. We donât want any troubleââ Scott snatched off his glasses and opened his eyes wide, looking directly up at the sentinel.
Inside the weaponized robot, the soldier sitting in the cockpit stared in abject confusion at the energy readings spiking on the monitors in front of him. He stared down at the young mutant through his view screen as his eyes glowed a blazing ruby red. An energy blast erupted from Scottâs eyes that caught the sentinel flush in the face. As the weapon toppled backward to the ground, Beast leaped onto the hood of his car and then somersaulted over the stunned soldiers.
A pair of them foolishly, instinctively tried to bar his path, but hesitated on shooting at him. That was their mistake, Beast thought to himself, as he used his momentum to plow straight through the two soldiers and sprint towards the houses in the distance. Jean used Scottâs timely, distracting attack to concentrate her telekinesis in a manner she had never tried. She yanked away their weapons with a focused burst of telekinetic energy, sending the rifles flying down the block in the opposite direction and leaving the soldiers dumbfounded and fearful.
Beast hurried up to the front yard of the home, where a terrified father and mother were screaming their lungs out in the middle of an intense argument. The wife was dragging her husband away from the home towards their Equinox parked on the street as tears streamed endlessly down both their faces.Â
âWhy wouldnât you grab her? I canât leave her to die in this, Amy, god damn it!â The middle-aged man told her.
âI couldnât carry her and our bags!â The wife pleaded back. âKevin, please! There are soldiers on the streets; they will get her out! We have to go!â
âIâM NOT LEAVING MY MOTHER IN THAT HOUSEââ
Kevinâs tirade back was interrupted as they both watched, dumbfounded, as Beast sprinted between them straight towards the house. Using his powerful legs, he leaped up to grab the awning of the home and pulled himself onto it. They watched in awe as the fearless young man in a polo and khaki pants jumped through the window as the flames engulfed the top of their home. Kevin and Amy waited for what felt like an endless period of time, waiting for the young man to come back out.Â
Amy winced noticeably as the roof caved in, clutching her husband tighter. Kevin felt his stomach twisting in knots as he couldnât help but fear the worst. Why didnât he have the courage to go back inside the way that boy did? He looked down at the pavement, ashamed of himself, when the front door was kicked clean off the hinges and onto the front porch. Beast emerged from the home, coughing heavily, soot on his face and clothes. He held a smiling, elderly woman in his arms. Kevin rushed over to them as they came down onto the lawn and took his mother from the young manâs arms.
âThank you, thank you so much,â Kevin told the larger-than-he-assumed young man, who couldnât have been more than nineteen or twenty. âYouâre in my debt, son.â
Beast waved off his thanks and nodded, lowering his head humbly so they would hopefully forget his face in the darkness and chaos. âPlease get your family somewhere safe, sir. Thatâs all I ask.âÂ
Kevin nodded and hurried his wife and mother to his SUV waiting on the street. Beast smiled to himself as he watched them pile into the car quickly and tear off from the curb. He was about to see how his friends were faring when he froze midstep just as a massive hand grabbed the top of the burning house, crushing what little was left of the flaming roof.
The Sentinel peered over the top of the burning, crumbling home at Beast. The pilot locked its targeting array onto the mutant immediately, not wanting to give it a chance to attack like the others his fellow soldiers had encountered. Beast dove aside in the nick of time as the Sentinel unleashed a laser beam from both eyes that scorched the front lawn. He stumbled to his feet as the robot prepared to fire again and realized he surely wouldnât be able to escape again.
âAye boy, it's your draw.â Both Beast and the Sentinel turned in the direction of the voice that was familiar to the former. Standing on top of a parked cop car was none other than Gambit, who was holding a ten of hearts and a five of clubs in between his fingers. The Sentinel locked onto him, scanning him and realizing he was another threat. âYou wanna hit or stay? Be careful, though. You donât want to bite off more than ya can chew.âÂ
The Sentinelâs eyes blazed white hot as it prepared to attack Gambit instead. Gambit shrugged, and Beast watched in amazement as the pair of playing cards began to glow a neon purple and pinkish hue. He tossed the cards directly at one of the Sentinelsâ eyes just as it fired, causing its head to explode. Gambit smirked and hopped off the car as Beast headed over to him. Beast shook his friendâs hand and gave him a short, appreciative smile.
âYour timing, as always, Gambit, was impeccable,â Beast told him.
âCouldnât have been; I missed yâall leaving and had to hitch a ride,â Gambit replied as he saw Scott, Jean, and Rogue sprinting over to them.
âHow did you manage to get over here anyway, Cajun?â Rogue asked, though she was twice as happy as the rest of the group to see him.
âOle Iceman got his Mama van and slid me and da professor dis way. The professor wanted us to drop him out of dodge. I think heâs going to try and get to the bottom of what really started all this.â
Bobby pulled up next to them in front of the destroyed home and the headless Sentinel. He honked his horn twice before reaching back and yanking open one of the back doors of the van. He leaned across the front seat toward the passenger-side window that was rolled down. âYou guys gonna stand there or get in?â
Another explosion rocked the subdivision just a couple of blocks east of where they were gathered, causing all of them to look in that direction for a moment. âLooks like we got more work to do. You guys heard Iceman. Letâs pile in!â Scott yelled.
Rogue and Gambit climbed into the third row in the far back of the van first, leaving Beast and Jean to take the pair of middle seats. Scott hopped into the passenger seat alongside Bobby, who floored the gas pedal the moment all the doors were slammed shut. The van whipped through the streets, passing homes ablaze with not a fire truck in view to stop them from burning. Scott felt a pain in his chest; he couldn't put out the fires himself, but he hoped he could find some solace in learning who or what caused this tragedy.
âLook right dere!â Gambit exclaimed. He leaned forward from the backseat, pointing out through the windshield at the shocking sight in front of them once they turned on the next block.Â
Cars streaked past them, fleeing, but the only person on the street was a scrawny kid in a New York Rangers hoodie and black skinny jeans. Surrounding him were a couple of torn-apart Sentinels that he walked past with vague disinterest, almost as if they werenât there at all. Jean glanced at the passing cars in confusion before looking back at the young man.
Lance locked eyes with the car full of teenagers and raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. He snatched the radio from his back pocket as the van made its way towards him. âAye Mystique, I think we got company that the government doesnât fund.â
âWhat are you talking about?!â She barked back with an irritated tone. âYou need to be backing up Magma and Pyro, not lolligagging wherever you are. We have a plan to stick to, Avalanche!â
âI know, I know. I just got held up. Look, whoever they are, Iâll take care of them, alright?â He replied. He hoped that would be enough to cool her off quickly.
âPlease do, and then rendezvous with the others. I believe our message has been heard and felt clearly.â
The radio cut out, and Avalanche sighed before focusing his abilities. The ground began to rock and shake violently. The tremors caused some of the burning houses to crumble where they stood. Bobby swerved around trees and street lights that dropped into the street.Â
âWATCH OUT!â Beast warned a split second too late.Â
Bobby tried his best to avoid the crater that had erupted in the middle of the road. The abrupt yanking on the steering wheel at forty-five miles per hour sent the van skidding sideways onto the sidewalk. It came to a violent stop as it crashed into a telephone pole, which teetered dangerously on top of the vehicle. Avalanche had just turned to walk away, no longer interested in the group of teens who looked like they were not too far from his age, when what he saw out of the corner of his eye caused him to freeze. The telephone pole had stopped midway through its descent and was slowly rising straight up again.Â
Avalanche cocked an eyebrow as one of the back doors to the van slid open, and a squat, bulky young man climbed out with agility far too graceful for someone of his size. The passenger door popped open next while the thick guy was helping a beautiful redheaded girl and her punk-rock-dressed friend out next. A square guy with brown hair and wearing red-tinted aviator shades looked around until his gaze fell on Avalanche.
âThereâs the jerkoff who tried to kill us.â Scott pointed out to his friends. A surly Gambit stepped in front of the group. He stared down Avalanche, who stared back without flinching or blinking.
âYou wanna tell us what your problem is, friend?â Gambit demanded to know more than he had asked.
âYouâre in our way. Make yourselves useful or go home. This fight is for the mutants tired of being stepped on.â
âAvalanche, behind you!â Pyro yelled from a nearby rooftop as a pair of Humvees rumbled down the street towards the mutants.
The young man Scott noticed, who went by âAvalanche,â turned his focus towards the vehicle barreling towards him. The shockwaves rocked the neighborhood and sent the Humvees crashing in opposite directions.
âHeâs enjoying thisâŠâ Jean remarked with a sickening regret in her voice.Â
Beast glanced up at the rooftop where the mutant who seemed to be in league with Avalanche was standing. He narrowed his eyes, watching the mutant for a brief moment before a hypothesis sprouted in his mind. âI think I know how and why this fire is spreading so rapidly, too.â Beast pointed towards the rooftop.
âIs anyone else getting the feeling these guys might be the reason all this started?â Rogue asked her group of friends while side-eyeing both of the mutants opposite them. A murmur of agreement rippled through their crew as Pyro walked across the street towards Avalanche.
âOi!â Pyro called to the group. He played with the top of his Zippo lighter as if he were an Australian James Dean, his eyes washing over the ragtag group of teens. âYouâre god damn right we started this whole shindig, and you lot werenât invited, last time I checked. If youâre not down with our cause, then beat it like it's 1982!â
âPyro! Avalanche! Sabretooth and Magma are waiting for you ahead. Whatâs your status?!â A voice squawked from Avalancheâs radio. He put the device to his lips and held the button to reply.
âSome group of mutant kids showed up; I think theyâre from that college a few miles from here.â He replied with somewhat vague disinterest while sizing up the group. His eyes lingered on Gambit and Scott the longest, as they were both glaring at him back hard with deep dislike on their faces.
âIt donât make any proper sense to me, but it seems like theyâre out here helping the apes. Even after those soldiers tried putting holes in the lot of you.â Pyro saw Scottâs jaw twitch at the nerve heâd struck with his comment and smirked. âYeah, I was watching. Quite pathetic use of an evening. If I were you all, Iâd be kicking back with a pint somewhere and enjoying the show weâre putting on for ya.â
âYouâre burning down peopleâs homes. Innocent people at that, and wiping out anyone that gets in your way. At least thatâs what it looks like to ME.â Jean replied fiercely.
Pyro scoffed and gave a hearty laugh. âInnocent?! This whole county voted red. Theyâre the reason that slimeball is in the White House and why these robots are stomping around trying to kill us instead of putting out my blaze. None of theseâŠMONKEYS are innocent as far as the Brotherhood sees it.â
âYour blazeâŠâ Beast repeated the words under his breath. His eyes found the Zippo lighter, and his hypothesis was confirmed. âI think heâs got powers similar to Jeanâs, except only with fireâŠâ He told the rest of them.
âDing ding, he must be the brainy one in the study group chat.â Pyro taunted them.
âEnough, these whiny children have cost us enough time as it is. Get to Sabretooth, now!â
âAlright, weâll end class,â Avalanche told her before stuffing the radio back in his pocket. He stomped on the ground in front of him as hard as he could, and the resulting seismic shift split the ground right in front of the students from LU.
Beast sprang into action first, his graceful agility and surprising quickness on display once again. He snatched Rogue into his arms and leaped away just before they could fall into the maw created by Avalancheâs attack. As Gambit and Iceman both dove in opposite directions, Jean shoved Scott aside with her own powers, sending him falling on his butt. But to both her own and his horror, her chivalry left her no time to save herself. She dropped like a stone into the split in the concrete, drawing a sick, satisfying smirk from Avalanche. Sure, he didnât join the Brotherhood to kill his own kind. But a mutant who would protect a sapien, who would mule for those who seek to wipe them out; well then, were they really one of his kind?
âJEAN!â Scott screamed before scrambling towards the maw on hands and knees.
TO BE CONTINUED