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Angel In The Attic	By : fusedtwilight Category: X-men Comics > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 5328 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own X-men, it is the property of marvel comics and in no way do i make a profit from this fic.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
Angel in the Attic
Chapter 16

Fusedtwilight: Thanks to my beta lisa and thanks to all the people who reviewed. This chapter the Champions must fight a heavy hitter and an old foe returns.

Two days after Michael's near death experience he was still in the medical ward. (Or rather one of the spare rooms they had that they were using as the medical ward until the old one was repaired)
Mary was holding onto him tight. His family was getting ready to leave to go back home.
"I'll stay, I will get a job here, that way I can keep a close watch on you," she said hugging him.
"Now, now Mary. Let the boy go," Nathan said, gently pulling her off him.
She looked at him and it was a stony look. Nathan flinched at the look she gave him. They still had a long ways to go before she was ready to forgive him for the role he played in Michael's almost-death.
She backed away from him silently. Nathan turned to Michael, and his normally stern eyes were soft. "We're going to get going now son," he said.
"Okay, I will be fine now that I have my wings back. I feel fine but Hank wants to keep me here just in case," Michael explained.
Nathan smiled. "I am glad, if anything happened to you...I...I."
Michael put his hand on his dad's arm. "It's okay dad, I forgave you, remember?"
"I know...but I haven't forgiven myself," Nathan said sadly.
"Don't live in the past father. Look to the future, a better one where we are a family again," Michael stated.
Nathan smiled. "That sounds good."
After his family left Michael was alone. He wanted to leave but Hank was insistent he be kept for observation. He explained that Michael had been dead for at least three minutes before he came back and he wanted to keep him in the medical ward just to make sure he was okay.
Michael tried not to think about his near death experience. He didn't tell anyone he had nightmares where he was back on that table and Stryker was cutting his wings off.
He reached his hand behind his back and felt around. Sometimes he just had to just touch his wings to make sure they were still there.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, he decided to try and get some rest. It was the only thing he could do.
Luckily for him he didn't have to wait too long to go back to his room.
A few hours later Hank gave him the okay to leave and Warren walked with him to the elevator.
"How are you feeling Michael?" he asked.
"Alive, which is good," Michael said.
"But how are you really feeling Michael? It is okay if you are feeling stressed about anything," Warren said.
"Actually Warren...I was wondering...have you ever heard of a hero called Ardor?" Michael asked.
"Ardor?" Warren thought for a few moments. Then his eyes lit up with recognition. "Oh yeah, now I remember. Gosh, I haven't heard that name in so long. Yeah, he quickly rose to fame in the sixties. He had a mutation like mine. He could use his voice to hypnotize people; he would say something and someone would have a powerful compulsion to do what he said. It was strong but really subtle as well. You wouldn't realize he was hypnotizing you until it was too late," he remembered.
"Was that all he could do?" Michael asked.
"Well he couldn't shoot angel fire like you. Why do you ask?"
"Because...Ardor was my grandfather," Michael answered.
"What?"
"My father's father. He told me the night I...the night Stryker took my wings," Michael said.
"Well, that's good. Hero blood runs in you, right?" Warren asked.
"Not...exactly."
Michael explained to Warren what his father told him.
"And your father is sure about this?" Warren asked.
"Positive, says my grandfather used his powers to make my grandma love him. But when he died it wore off but she still pined for him, like a drug addict pining for a fix. It got so bad for her my dad had to take care of her. That's the reason why he hates mutants."
Warren rubbed his chin. "I don't know about his love powers. I mean, he was a huge hit with the ladies and was a bit of a show off. Everyone was shocked when the sentinels killed him. He always said he wasn't a mutant. Then again, anti-mutant hysteria was a lot stronger back then than it is now."
"That's not all. My uncle Joe was a mutant too. Get this, angel mutation also," Michael retorted.
"Wow, you come from a family of angels," Warren was impressed.
Michael rubbed his neck. "Yeah...he was more like a fallen angel."
Michael told him the story of Uncle Joe. Warren's face darkened when Michael told him about his uncle.
"I know that nut job," Warren stated.
"You do?" Michael asked, surprised.
"Yes. It was when it was us original X-men; Scott, Jean, Bobby, Hank and myself. The Professor sent us on a mission to investigate some strange mutant activity. We found a whole town under the thrall of a mutant. He had six wings and believed himself an actual angel of God. He was able to...from the way I remember it, he could somehow feed off the belief of people. The more they believed he was an angel the more he could feed off them. From what I recall the weak-minded fell easily to his influence. But those who had a stronger will could resist it."
"I don't understand; what did he gain from the people believing in him?" Michael asked.
"We're not sure of the exact extent of the abilities it granted him. It seemed to make him stronger, made him almost immortal."
"Immortal?"
"Yeah, he was real tough. The people believed he could not be harmed so he was almost invulnerable," Warren disclosed. "By the time we arrived he had started a cult with dozens of people who believed he was God's holy messenger."
"How did you beat him?" Michael asked.
"It was not easy, not only did we have to deal with him but we also had to deal with his followers. The trick was proving to them he was not really an angel of God. So we confronted him and his cult and I showed them my wings. At first they thought I was another angel, but I told them the truth. It took some convincing but as their faith wavered so did Joseph's power. Scott hit him in the face with an optic blast and broke his nose causing him to bleed, and since an angel of God isn't supposed to bleed it made them realize they had been duped."
"What happened then?" Michael wondered.
"They turned on him, without their faith he was unable to defend himself and he flew away. Then they turned on us and we made ourselves scarce," Warren answered.
"Whatever happened to him?" Michael asked.
"Don't know. We were never able to find him after that. Even with Cerebro."
"It's just hard to believe that I had two relatives who were mutants and they both turned out bad," Michael grumbled.
"Well I can't speak for your grandfather. He did save lives after all. I am not saying what he did was right. But maybe you should learn more about him before you judge," Warren chided.

A few days later Michael took Warren's advice to heart.
He was on a computer in the computer room and was on YouTube. He had learned a few tricks and knew how to look up videos.
He typed in the words Ardor and hero. To his surprise there were various videos from a few decades ago.
He clicked on the first video.
It was a clip from a news report about a woman who was saved from a vigilante.
The reporter was with the woman who was saved. She held a microphone up to the woman's face.
"So I was being mugged by a group of men and I was so afraid. But then I heard this sound like wings on a bird. Then this guy appeared dressed in Roman-like armor. He told the muggers to give me back my purse and to go turn themselves in and it was like they were hypnotized. They gave me my purse and left. Then he gave me a peck on the cheek and flew off," she said with a dreamy smile.
Michael smiled to himself and clicked on another video. This one was an interview with Ardor himself.
He did wear Roman-like armor; his helmet was Macedonian with a griffin crest. The helmet covered his eyes so all you could see was the lower part of his face.
The reporter held the microphone up to his face.
"Ardor, is it true you saved a bank full of people from a group of robbers?" the reporter asked.
"Yes it is. I heard the commotion and decided to help."
"How is it you are able to get people to do what you want?" the reporter continued the questioning.
"I simply speak to them, I have always believed the right words can defuse any situation," he stated with a charming smile.
"Some say you have a supernatural ability. Many say there is nothing to keep you from taking liberties with this power," the reporter said.
Ardor got serious then. "I would never use my power for anything other than the defense of this world and its people."
"One last question Ardor: is there anyone special in your life?" she asked with a small blush.
Ardor winked at her and her blush become stronger. "As a matter of fact, there is. I am really lucky to have her in my life," Ardor smiled.
Michael checked the summery to see when the video came out. If it was right, then his father would have been two years old.
He watched a few more videos; he even found some news clippings on another site he was looking through. Ardor was a real hero. He saved so many people; he was a bit of a show off. He wasn't shy from letting reporters take pictures of him doing poses.
But then he found a video of the news report talking about his death.
It mentioned how Ardor was attacked by a sentinel one day while he was flying through the sky. A reporter had managed to film it. Michael was a little surprised they showed it on YouTube.
It showed Ardor battling the sentinel in the sky. There was nothing he could do against it, he didn't have any offensive powers and it wasn't like his love powers would work on it.
The sentinel shot him with lasers from its palms. Michael winced as he watched his grandfather get zapped.
He dropped from the air to the ground, if the laser hadn't killed him then the fall most certainly did. Once the sentinel confirmed Ardor was dead, it flew off.
The rest of the video was of a newsman talking about how shocked people were that Ardor was killed in such a brutal way and the fact he was a mutant.
Michael noticed a lot of people had disliked the video. He scrolled down to see the comments and it disgusted him what he read.
Mutie deserved what he got!
Looked like a total fag anyway.
Love powers? Really? No wonder he died.
Don't know why they were so shocked, it's what they all deserve.
Michael closed the tabs and shut down the computer.
"People sure are brutal, huh?"
Michael jumped and turned around to see who had snuck up behind him. It was Blut.
Blut was a year younger then Michael. He was five foot seven with chalk-white skin, scarlet eyes and his hair was grey like a storm cloud. He was very slim and it made him look younger then what he was.
He wasn't too sure about Blut. People had a habit of avoiding him like he carried some deadly disease. Michael wasn't sure, Blut was always friendly, a little air headed and ditsy, but nice enough. But the others seemed...scared of him.
"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I was wondering what you were looking up and wanted to see," he said with a friendly smile.
"Next time just let me know you are around, I didn't hear you," Michael came back.
"Sorry, I was trained to be silent," Blut muttered.
Michael didn't know what he meant by that. He had never seen Blut in any Danger Room sessions and he wasn't on any teams. Michael didn't even know what his power was.
"So, that Ardor guy was really well-liked, until they found out he was a mutant. Then they turned on him pretty quickly," Blut noted.
He sat on one of the chairs and began to spin around in it.
"Not all of them. His death actually caused people to question the Sentinel's production," Michael said.
"Of course it did, last thing the humans want are Sentinels killing mutants right in front of them. Then they have to clean up the mess."
Michael was a little put off by how Blut could talk about things so flippantly.
"Lots of people still cared a lot for him even when they found out he was a mutant. All the people he saved realized that mutants weren't evil like how the paper portrayed them. They protested the Sentinels being used."
"But that didn't stop them from being used. Even today, remnants of those death machines still exist. Or did you forget four of them wiped out Genosha?" he asked cheerfully.
Michael frowned at Blut.
"You shouldn't speak about such things in that way. The death of millions of innocent people isn't something you should smile about."
Blut's eyes narrowed, he kept his smile but Michael felt like he was being watched by a hungry snake.
Suddenly Blut was in his face, like inches away. He placed his hands on Michael's face, he had a strong grip.
"So noble, so eager to believe in the good of people." His faced moved to the crook of Michael's neck. "I wonder what your blood is like?"
Michael was about to blast him with some angel fire to get him away but then a firm voice cracked through the air like a whip.
"Blut!"
Blut pulled back. "Oh, hey X."
Michael saw X-23 standing in the doorway. She wore a black pair of jeans with a black shirt and a black leather jacket. She glared at Blut with a look that would make Logan proud...which made sense seeing how she was his clone.
"Get away from him now," she demanded.
Blut pouted. "Oh X, you never let me have any fun."
"Blut."
Blut let Michael go. "Fine, I was just talking to Michael. See you later Michael, have a nice day."
As he passed X-23 he smiled at her, but it was a patronizing look as if he was mocking her. She turned to look at Michael, giving him a firm look.
"Stay away from Blut if you know what's good for you," she said cryptically.
She turned on her heels and left, making Michael wonder what just happened.

The incident in the computer room bothered Michael.
He wanted to know more about who Blut was, why everyone seemed to fear him, and what his relationship with X-23 was, so he went to the only ones whom he knew could help.
Michael sat with Megan, Wayne and Sarah. They were among some of the most well informed students. They knew everything about everyone. If you wanted to know something about someone, you go to them.
"Hello Michael, what can we do for you today?" Megan asked him with a bright smile.
"Well, I was wondering what you can tell me about Blut and X-23," Michael said.
The trio's expressions were a mixture of curiosity and intensity.
"And why would you want to know about them?" Wayne asked his teammate.
Michael explained what happened in the computer room.
"Man, you are lucky Blut didn't suck you dry!" Megan said, her eyes went big and wide and full of fear.
"Excuse me?" Michael asked.
"Blut is a psychopath, totally off his rocker. He should be in prison, not here," Wayne explained.
"He doesn't seem that bad," Michael argued.
"Well, looks can be deceiving," Sarah said.
Sarah tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
"As you know, X-23 was made by a program designed to copy the Weapon X program after Logan escaped from them. They used his genetic material to create twenty-three clones of Logan. But twenty-two were failures because the sample they had from Logan's DNA was corrupted. When they used the DNA to make a female clone, they called her X-23. They raised her from birth to be a remorseless killing machine and for a long time she was."
"But she turned on them, striking out on her own. Eventually the X-men became aware of her and realized they couldn't leave her by herself. Let's just say she was getting into all kinds of trouble," Megan said.
"So what is her connection with Blut?" Michael asked.
"Well, turns out she wasn't the only mutant assassin they were making. X-23 would later find out the program had a place where they were creating more mutants like her to kill people. They had the mutants fight each other in duels to the death. Blut is one of those mutants," Wayne continued.
"X-23 allowed herself to be captured so she could infiltrate this program with the X-men helping her. She was in there for a while. The exact events that happened are unknown, though it would be no surprise if she had to kill a few mutants to stay alive. What we do know is while she was in there she met Blut. It is that little bit of history that makes her the only one who can really keep him in line," Megan said.
"Blut was the program's most successful assassin. He killed more people then X-23 did when she was under the program's influence and he never once lost a match against another mutant. X-23 was able to gain Blut as an ally in destroying the program. Together they helped the X-men invade the program's base," Wayne said.
"Well that is good, they were able to save the mutants right?" Michael asked.
The trio gave him a dark look.
"No, by the time the X-men arrived all the mutants save for Blut and X-23 were dead," Megan sighed.
"What? What happened?" Michael asked.
"Blut killed them all," Wayne grimaced.
"All of them?"
"All of them, apparently when he agreed to help X-23 he thought she meant it in the most literal of ways. While she was off sneaking into the control room to knock out the security systems he was killing the other mutants in their cells," Megan said.
"Man...he must be strong...what is his power?" Michael asked.
"He is a Deadman Wonderland rip-off basically," Wayne said.
"A what?" Michael asked.
"You know? The Manga about people who can use their blood as a weapon?"
Michael just gave him a blank look.
"Right, forgot who I was talking to," Wayne chuckled.
"Blut is able to control his blood for a variety of purposes," Sarah explained. "He can use it to form weapons, have it cover his body to make a shield, use drops of his blood as bullets, and he has a low level healing factor that instantly heals the cuts that form when his blood cuts its way out of his skin."
"So is that why everyone avoids him?" Michael asked.
"Partially. The X-men brought him back, hoping to rehabilitate him like they did with X-23. On his first day of school he almost killed a few students," Wayne said.
"It was horrible," Megan said with a shiver. "I was there; we were just supposed to be sparring. But Blut went berserk. You wouldn't believe the look in his eyes. He went all out on them. Josh almost wasn't able to save them."
"That's why he never trains with anyone but an X-man or X-woman. When he unleashes his power, it's like another being comes out. When he fights he does not hold back, even if it is just training. X-23 is always following him around making sure he doesn't get into trouble," Wayne remarked.
"Wayne, Michael, Sarah!"
Devin zipped into the room, a rush of air following him as he ran into the room at super-speed. "Hey, Warren wanted me to find you guys. We are going on another mission!" he said excitedly.
Wayne, Sarah and Michael stood up. "Thank you, I appreciate you helping me," Michael said to the trio.
Wayne, Sarah and Michael followed Devin to the lower part of the school.
"So, what is the mission?" Wayne asked.
"Don't know, Warren said we would learn when the whole team was assembled," Devin replied.
They stepped out of the elevator and followed Devin to the War Room. It was where the X-men went to discuss an upcoming mission and plan their course of action.
Xavier was there with Warren the rest of the Champions, as was Jean-Paul and his team Alpha Squadron.
"Good, we're all here now," Xavier said looking around.
"What's the mission?" Michael asked.
Everyone gathered around the computer console.
"Thank you all for coming. This morning, a S.H.I.L.D facility was broken into. A highly dangerous box was stolen. The box contained highly risky technology that if put in the wrong hands could spell disaster for the world," Xavier intoned.
"What kind of risky tech?" Rikard asked.
"It is from the future," Xavier replied.
"Seriously? Like back to the future kind of future?" Victor asked.
"Yes, which is why we need to recover it before it falls in the wrong hands," Jean-Paul said, "we have some experience with this tech and were asked to help recover it."
"So do we know who has it?" Sarah asked.
"We believe the thief is hiding out in a small town in North Carolina. We need to get the box back and return it to S.H.I.L.D as soon as we can," Warren explained.
"Do we know exactly who stole the box?" Angie wondered.
"We don't know, but we must be careful, this person single-handily broke into a heavily guarded government facility and stole this item. We must be cautious," Warren told them.

An hour later the two teams, along with their teachers flew to North Carolina.
The two teams listened as Warren spoke.
"Alright guys the professor has pinpointed the thief's location to northeast Raleigh. We know it is a male and he is waiting for his client to arrive to give him his money. He has the box with him so we won't need to try and search for it."
Jean-Paul began to speak next. "Now we have to be careful, this man is in a populated area so we can't outright attack him, we're going to have to be a little more careful."
"Why don't you just zip in there and take the box yourself Jean-Paul? You're so fast you could take it from him before he even knew it," Victor noted.
"Because of the bomb," Jean-Paul informed him.
"What bomb?" Rikard asked.
"Shield put a bomb on the box so if it was opened without being disarmed it would have enough force to destroy five city blocks," Warren clarified.
"Holy crap!" Angie cried.
"Why did they attach such a powerful bomb to it?" Andrea asked.
"The technology is too dangerous to be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. If I try speeding away with the box the g-force might trigger it," Jean-Paul threw in.
"That is why Sarah is needed, with your power we can switch the bomb off so Devin can grab it," Warren voiced.
"The rest of you will take down the thief and we will hand him over to shield," Jean-Paul instructed.
"Sounds easy," Michael started.
"It always does," Wayne stated.

Michael stood with Paras and Angie.
They were in their uniforms but were using image inducers to appear like any normal group of kids.
Paras whose mutation gave him purple skin now looked like an ordinary Indian boy with black hair. They were walking down the street, pretending to be talking about teen stuff.
Sarah and Devin were likewise doing the same thing across the street from them. The others were waiting back in case they were needed.
"I see him Warren," Angie said to her communicator.
"What does he look like?" Warren asked.
"White male, middle age. black hair, goatee. He's wearing a black suit and a matching black hat with a pair of shades. He is reading a paper. There is a suitcase next to him. I think it is big enough to hold the box."
"Good. Is he alone?"
"Yes."
"Okay Network, can you confirm the box is in it?" Jean-Paul asked.
They could hear Sarah speak over the communicators. "Yes...I feel something, it's like some kind of AI but it's not like anything I have ever sensed."
"Be careful, do not try to connect with it," Jean-Paul warned her.
"Wait, I am sensing something," she continued.
"What?"
"He is getting a text."
Sure enough the man reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell and read what it said.
"It says here. You have the package."
Sarah's power allowed her to control and communicate with technology. It also allowed her to tap into wireless signals so she was like a living laptop.
"He just typed yes, do you have the money? Alright he got another text saying yes."
"Alright everyone, wait. Let's see what happens."
They waited. Then a van pulled down the street and stopped at in front of the man. Michael and his group couldn't see but they heard the sound of a door opening.
"Warren, a man just got out of a van, he is walking up to the target!" Devin cried out.
"Alright Network, disarm the bomb, Speed Demon, when she does that grab the bomb and then bring it here," Warren directed.
They saw Sarah put her hand on her head. But then she suddenly fell to the ground and began to scream in pain.
"Network? Network what is going on?!" Jean-Paul shouted.
"It's Network! Something is wrong!" Angie exclaimed into her communicator.
"It's the AI! It senses me! It is attacking my mind!" she yelled.
Just then the doors to the van burst open and several Purifier soldiers jumped out and headed for Devin and Sarah.
"Warren it's Purifiers! The buyers are Purifiers!" Angie screamed.
"We're on our way! Protect Speed Demon and Network!" Warren yelled.
The trio turned off their image inducers. People had already started to run away once the Purifiers jumped out of the van. When a bunch of strange looking men appear with guns, it is always a smart idea to run the other way and hide.
Indra activated his power and soon his entire body was covered in purple sectioned armored plates with a rhino-like horn atop his head. Seraph spread his wings and took flight while Tazmin spun in a tornado and rushed at the Purifiers who were about to attack Speed Demon and Network.
They were caught in her vortex and were sent flying through the air. Indra took care of three Purifiers; they shot at him, but his armor protected them. Seraph watched as he carefully knocked them out. Indra was a pacifist and didn't like violence.
Seraph turned his attention to the man and the other Purifier. During all the action he had grabbed the suitcase and tried to run off with it. Seraph landed in front of him, his hands glowing with angel fire.
"Where do you think you are going?" Seraph asked.
"You! The heathen who killed brother Stryker!" the Purifier exclaimed.
"I didn't kill him; he died when he cut my wings off and put them on his back. Normally I don't like to hurt people but I have a particular dislike for your people for almost killing me, so hand over the-"
There was a flash of orange light and the Purifier screamed in pain. He fell to the ground and Seraph saw the thief was behind him holding a wooden cane glowing with energy.
"Try and stiff me laddy? I don't think so."
The man had a heavy Irish accent. He bent down and picked up the suitcase. "Thanks for distracting him boyo. But I must be going now."
"You're not going anywhere Black Tom!"
Angel landed next to Seraph. Northstar and the rest of the team appeared and quickly took out the Purifiers.
"Well look at this, I am outmatched and all," Black Tom said not looking afraid.
"Why are you working for the Purifiers Tom?" Angel asked.
"Yeah, in case you forgot they hate our kind," Loa reminded him.
"True, I normally don't associate with those mad men. But they paid me and myfriend a small fortune to get this for them."
"Wait, you don't mean-" Jean-Paul began.
"Thas right, you didn't think I would pull a job like this all alone?"
He raised his cane in the air and shot some energy out of it into the sky.
"The hell was that?" Kid Wendigo asked.
"Uh, guys. I hear the sound of something smashing through walls," Kid Devil said.
It wasn't long before everyone felt the ground shake and the sound of something large smashing through walls.
BOOM!
The wall of the building across the street exploded. A large figure walked out of the dust. He was tall, even taller than Colossus. He wore red armor with a red dome helmet.
"You called Tom?" the figure asked.
"Juggernaut!" Angel shouted.
"Well if it isn't the X-men, and look you brought the little babies to play too."
"Angel...is this the same Juggernaut who is invulnerable and unstoppable?" Seraph asked.
"Yep," Angel said.
"The same one who fought the Hulk and Thor to a standstill?"
"Yep."
"Are we-"
"Going to die? Yep." Juggernaut interrupted, smacking his hands together.
Kid Wendigo rushed at him. Juggernaut brought his hand back and punched him and Kid Wendigo went flying back into the wall and right through it.
Tazmin turned into rushed him as her tornado form and tried to pick him up and toss him, but he remained rooted to the spot. He reached out and into the vortex and grabbed her.
"Nice try girl."
He tossed her into the side of the van, knocking her out. Anger exploded in Seraph's chest and he shot a ball off angel fire at him hitting Juggernaut in the chest. He grit his teeth and rubbed his chest; it looked like it had hurt him.
Seraph was about to hit him again but got shot by Black Tom with his energy blast. Skald used his power to knock Black Tom out, Juggernaut went to attack Skald, but Skald focused his power on Juggernaut and tried to do the same.
But it didn't work. Juggernaut rushed at him ,Skald jumped out of the way as the massive mutate sped past him. Angel helped Seraph stand.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yes, I am fine. How do we beat him?" Seraph asked.
"We can't, only a telepath can take him down, but even if we had a telepath with us, his helmet protects him from such attacks," Angel explained.
"I am now starting to wish I didn't have the professor put those blocks in my mind," Seraph said.
"You and every one of us," Warren agreed.
Rubber Maid wrapped herself around Juggernaut, trying to slow him down. But no matter how much she constricted herself around him she could not keep him in place.
Indra rushed at Juggernaut and slammed into his gut but it didn't even phase him. Anole and Kidago jumped on his shoulders and tried to pulls his helmet off.
Anole managed to pull it off and Kidago shrunk down and with Anole's help squeezed himself into Juggernaut's ear.
"Son of a bitch!" he yelled as Kidago wrecked havoc in his head.
He threw Anole and Rubber Maid off and began to smack his head. Kidago flew out of his ear, turning back into his six-foot frame.
Juggernaut went to step on him bit Kid Wendigo tackled him to the ground.
Angel and Seraph were helping Angie. Seraph put his hand on her and was finally able to actually use his healing ability to heal her. His lessons with Elixir were paying off.
"Wow you're getting better at that," she said impressed.
"Damn it, how are we going to stop him?" Seraph complained.
Northstar appeared; he had run Network back to the X-Jet to tend to her. Once he got her away from the box she lost her connection to it and was able to function again.
"Angel, I contacted the mansion and they are sending a team with a telepath," he explained.
"They won't get here in time," Angel frowned.
Just then a circle of energy appeared in front of the four, Illyana peered at them through one of her stepping disks.
"Privet,I heard about your troubles with Marko," she said.
"Illyana can you give us a hand here?" Angel asked.
"Sorry, I am in the middle of dealing with the forty-seventh horde of the blood swamps. Little bastards like to blow a gas that makes you super depressed. Smells awful."
"We're kind of in the middle of a battle here so could you help us or not?!" Northstar snapped.
"You already have the way to beat Marko. It's Michael," she told him.
"Me? But my telepathy is blocked and we have no way to open them," Seraph responded.
"No, not your telepathy Michael; your angel fire."
"But the Juggernaut is only vulnerable to telepathy," Seraph said.
"The Juggernaut is unstoppable because of his patron Cyttorak."
"Who?" Seraph asked
"A powerful demon god. It's his mystical power that makes Marko invulnerable, but it's magic that makes him unstoppable. So strong mystical forces can mess with the magic that powers Marko and mess with his invulnerability," she explained.
"Still not seeing the point," Angel grumbled.
"Michael, what did I tell you about your power when we were talking by the fountain?" she asked Seraph, giving him a look.
Seraph remembered about their talk at the fountain when she told him the true nature of his power. "The angel fire! It's a mystical substance! It can only be used by good people because it can't be used by people with bad magic!"
"And since Marko is powered by a demon god…" Angel encouraged.
"Michael's power can hurt him!" Tazmin exclaimed.
"Earlier when I hit him with a blast it seemed to hurt him!" Seraph remembered.
"There you go. Now, if you'll excuse me," she held up her soul sword. "I have some gas bags to pop."
The disk disappeared and the four of them stood up. "So Michael is magic?" Tazmin asked.
"We'll send him off to Hogwarts later, let's just hurry up and blast Marko!" Northstar yelled.
They returned to the battle. Juggernaut was as his name suggested unstoppable. Kid Wendigo was in his human form bleeding from all the punches he took from Juggernaut.
Indra lay next to him and his armor was cracked.
Rubber Maid was tied in a knot.
Kid Devil tossed Loa at Juggernaut hoping her power could stop him. Loa, like Shadowcat, could pass through solid objects. But when she did she disrupted the molecular stability of the object she passed through causing it to turn to dust.
She aimed for his right arm, not wanting to kill him. But to her astonishment she didn't pass through him, just slammed into his arm. Which was like hitting the trunk of a tree.
Skald brought his hands up to his mouth and screamed, using his mutant power to send a sonic shock wave at him. Windows shattered and chunks of the road broke off. Had he been a normal man, his flesh would have been stripped from his body.
But Juggernaut remained unharmed. He clapped his hands together and his sheer strength sent a shock wave that knocked Skald back.
Anole jumped on Juggernaut's back and tried punching him in the face. Juggernaut grabbed Anole's arm, catching it between his thumb and finger.
He applied just a little bit of pressure and his arm snapped in half.
"VICTOR!" Northstar yelled.
He ran forward when Juggernaut dropped Anole. He caught him before he hit the ground and laid him on the ground twenty feet away from the Juggernaut.
"It's okay Victor, I have you," Northstar said softly as he held Anole.
"Jean-Paul...my...my arm," Anole stuttered out. Tears fell from his eyes.
"Don't worry, it will be okay," Northstar tried to sooth him.
"I don't know about you guys, but I would seriously reconsider using kids to fight your fights," Juggernaut said with a chuckle.
"Hey jerk face!" Seraph yelled.
Juggernaut turned to face Seraph.
"What?"
"Suck it!"
He brought his hands together and created a sphere of angel fire. He tossed it at Juggernaut and like the last time it hit him in the chest.
"Ow! What the hell are those things?" Juggernaut asked rubbing his chest.
"Suck it?" Angel asked Seraph with a raised brow.
"I have been trying to increase my smack talking skills," Seraph told her.
Juggernaut began to walk towards them.
"Blast him!" Angel shouted.
Seraph raised his hands and shot a beam of angel fire at Juggernaut. It started to push him back and he gritted his teeth in pain. "The hell is this shit?!"
"Holy fire!" Seraph announced.
Juggernaut began to push against the beam. A strange crimson aura seemed to glow around him now.
"Is that normal?" Seraph asked.
"That's new," Angel said, "I think it is working!".
Seraph put more power into the beams, causing them to become thicker and push Juggernaut back with more force.
"You think you can stop me! I'm the Juggernaut bitch!"
He continued to push through the beam and chunks of his armor flew off. Soon his upper body was exposed, showing off muscles the size of a small beach ball.
He continued to push against the beams and Seraph amped it up more. Burn marks were starting to appear on Juggernaut's chest where the beams were hitting him.
"You're doing great Michael! Keep going!" Angel exclaimed.
The crimson aura was much stronger now. Juggernaut seemed to be glowing; there was a very strong crimson colored light coming from his chest, it was the source of the crimson aura. He was ten feet from Seraph now. If he got his hands on him he would be done. No way would Seraph be able to take a hit from someone in the same class as the Hulk.
"Look out!" Angel yelled.
Juggernaut braced himself and rushed at them. He knocked Angel aside and grabbed Seraph, slamming him into the wall.
Seraph screamed as Juggernaut began to crush him.
"Think you're so tough? I will pulverize you!" Juggernaut screamed.
Juggernaut began to squeeze Seraph and his bones began to crack under the pressure. He screamed, but all the air left his lungs and all that came out was a silent gasp.
Juggernaut pulled his fist back and slammed Seraph into the wall again and again and again, deep cracks formed on the wall and Seraph coughed up blood as his insides began to tear up from the force of the blows.
By the time Juggernaut was done Seraph had four broken ribs, a ruptured lung, both his arms were broken and his spine was damaged.
But Seraph refused to give up, he refused to die. He could heal himself, he had done it before. He had to stop Juggernaut, if he didn't they would fail in their mission and there was no telling what Juggernaut would do to the others.
He remembered seeing poor Anole lose his arm, Anole who was nothing but nice and caring, Anole who you could trust and depend on. Anole who was so brave and fearless he was willing to take on one of the most deadly beings to defend his friends.
And he remembered the others; Tazmin who was thrown against a van, Kid Wendigo who was beaten senseless, Rubber Maid tied in a knot, Indra with his now cracked body armor, Rickard unconscious, his ears bleeding after being hit by Juggernaut's sonic-boom.
He refused to give up, he refused to give in. He faced Magneto, Kid Omega, he survived the Purifiers and this giant monstrosity with his evil satanic powers would not stop him!
"What's wrong bird boy? Got no fight left in you?" Juggernaut snarled.
He threw Seraph on the ground and his broken body slid. His whole body screamed in pain, but he did his best to ignore it. Now was not the time to whimper in defeat.
Instead he reached deep down inside himself. Ever since he lost his power he had become more aware of it; it was not until Stryker cut off his wings he realized exactly what his power felt like.
It was like a warmth that radiated from deep inside; like the molten core of the earth, or the sun itself. All his life he had feared this power, shunned it, tried to ignore it out of fear.
But his time with the X-men taught him to embrace it, accept it, control it, master it, live with it in pride. It was a part of him, as much as his very blood.
But now he had to reach deep into that core, deep into that power. He had to tap into his power in a way he never had before. Like when he fought those simulations in the Danger Room or when he fought Kid Omega.
He called upon it; let it flow all over his body, from the bottom of his feet to the tips of his wings.
He was not sure if he could control that power, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
So he opened himself up to his power, let it wash over him like water, filling him up. In his mind, dark with pain and fear, a radiance soon cast out the dark, drowning him in light. He gave up his grasp on reality and let the instinct take over.
Juggernaut advanced on him and Angel flew in front of Seraph to protect him. He knew he didn't stand a chance but he would not let anything harm Seraph.
Juggernaut grabbed Angel and using his free hand began to pull on his left wing. "Should have done this a long time ago," he hissed.
Before he could rip off his wing there was a blinding, white light. A strong wind began to blow and Juggernaut looked to the source of that light.
Seraph was standing up, his bones were cracking back into place, the blood was being reabsorbed into his body and his wounds were healing. A small halo covered in blazing thorns hung above his head, wreathed in angel fire, it glowed like an iron rod.
Markings in the shape of eyes appeared on the feathers of his wings which were glowing a pale, blue light.
Seraph's eyes which were normally amber now burned with a golden light. He extended his wings and levitated off the ground, never once having to beat his wings.
Juggernaut covered his eyes because the light Seraph radiated blinded him; the light seemed to burn him straight to his soul. He didn't know what was going on, but he had a feeling he had to take this kid down now.

Meanwhile, back in New York, Adonai was at his desk.
He was going over some paperwork when it hit him; the feeling of an immense power coming from far away.
But he recognized the power, recognized what it was made of.
"It can't be!" he shouted.
He extended his consciousness, traveled through the astral plane and across hundreds of miles. Just as he thought; the source of power, of pure emphyrialpower was Michael.
Adonai smiled savagely, pleased beyond belief at the turn of events.
But what could cause him to reach this form?
He sensed a mystical presence of a dark, malignant power, or rather crimson power. Sure enough he saw the present avatar of of Cyttorak there as well.
Realizing that only desperation and pure instinct could have driven Michael to tap into such power, something fighting the incarnation of raw power would cause, Adoani continued to observe the fight, deciding not interfere. He wanted to see where this would go.
"Magnificent, he is exceeding my wildest expectations, to think he could achieve the archistratege state at such a young age! I have to meet him in person!"
Adonai began to plan then, if Michael had learned, even instinctively how to achieve such power he needed to be trained, properly trained, training that Xavier was not equipped to give him.
He was going to have to accelerate his plans; tomorrow he was going to have to arrange for a meeting with the press.
But for now he was going to sit back and watch.
He wasn't the only one; many other minds had become aware of Michael. He could sense them turning their gaze to him, psychics sensing a release of power, mystics trained in the arts, recognizing the mystical energies being unleashed.
But Adonai had to wonder, if beings in this realm could sense Michael...could the higher powers as well?

You must think you are impressive," Juggernaut sneered.
Seraph said nothing as he continued to float five feet off the ground gracefully.
"Think this little light show impresses me, well think again punk. I have fought Gods and lived to tell the tale, and you sir, are no God! You're just a stupid, punk kid who thinks he has the balls to fight with the big boys, but allow me to bring you off your high horse!"
Juggernaut bent down and was about to charge at Seraph. But before he could Seraph raised his hand pointed his finger at him and a ball of energy the size of a basketball formed at the tip of his finger and shot out as a beam. Much to Juggernaut's horror, this time the energy was much more powerful than before.
He could feel it sheering away at the mystical energies that filled the cells in his body. Once again his body began to glow crimson, only this time it was brighter than before.
He screamed in pain as the energy burned him, the pure energy burned the black filth that filled his soul; the pain was both of the body and the spirit, for Marko had a dark soul long before he was the Juggernaut.
Kid Wendigo help Skald up, they both stared in wonder as their teammate radiated with heavenly power. "The hell is Michael doing?" Kid Wendigo asked.
"I don't know but I think he is winning now," Skald smiled.
"Should we help?" Kid Wendigo wondered.
"I don't think it is wise to get between two clashing Titans," Skald shook his head.
Seraph stopped blasting Juggernaut who fell to his knees. His chest was horribly burned and covered in blisters and sores.
"That all you got?!" he spat.
Seraph raised his hands and clapped them together. Three halo shaped rings of angel fire wrapped around Juggernaut, binding him.
He tried to break them apart; he flexed his muscles, ignoring the pain, putting enough pressure on the rings to crack a titanium rod.
He glared at Seraph, hating him for this humiliation; the Juggernaut, being bested by a kid?
"You can't do this! I'm the Juggernaut!"
Anole jumped up from behind Juggernaut. His arm which had been pinched off had re-grown, only now it was much more muscular than it had been before and his nails were a little longer.
He slammed his new fist onto the top of Juggernaut's head and he fell forward unconscious.
"Who's the Juggernaut now, bitch?!" Anole spat.
Seeing the danger was over, Seraph released Juggernaut from the rings. He landed back on the ground and the angel fire disappeared, as did the halo, the markings and his eyes returned to normal.
He fell, landing on his side. Anole quickly made his way to Seraph, helping him sit up.
"Michael, are you okay?" he asked
"Victor. Your arm, I saw it get ripped off," Seraph said upon seeing Anole's arm.
"It did, but it grew back into this," he showed Michael his new and improved arm.
"Has that happened before?"
"Never lost a limb before, so no."
Just then another X-Jet appeared skyward. Reinforcements had arrived.
"Good job everyone. Now, let's grab the-"
Angel did not finish. The suitcase was gone, nowhere to be seen.

"Well, at least Black Tom and Juggernaut are in custody," Michael noted.
The two teams were in the med wing of the mansion.
"But the suitcase is gone, we failed," Angie said sadly.
"That was awesome how you took down Juggernaut, Victor," Paras said.
"I wouldn't have been able to do it if Michael hadn't worn him down," Victor praised.
"Dude, what was up with the light show?" Jacob asked.
"I don't know, to be honest I don't really remember what happened," Michael said.
"You were covered in glowing marks and you had this cool looking halo," Angie told him.
"The last thing I remember is tapping into my power more then I have before and then everything went...light."
"You mean dark?" Sarah asked.
"No, light. All I could see was light, I felt like I was drowning in an ocean of it," Michael explained.
"So, what's the deal with the arm because it is seriously freaky," Devin asked Victor.
Victor showed off his arm. "Hank says it's part of my mutation; when I lose a limb I grow back a new, stronger part," Victor said.
"Luckily it wasn't permanent," Sarah said.
"So what happened with you?" Jacob asked.
"I was trying to disarm the bomb but the AI began to attack me, it wasn't like anything I have ever sensed. Whatever it is, it's the most advanced AI I have ever connected to. And it really, really doesn't like mutants," she said.
The group was quiet for a moment, taking that in.
"And now the Purifiers have it. That's just swell," Devin scowled.
"At least now we know who to call the next time Juggernaut breaks out of prison," Rickard said putting his hand on Michael's shoulder.
"Yeah, how did you do that? He's supposed to be unstoppable," Andrea asked.
"Well, apparently my angel fire is some kind of white, magic energy and it weakened Juggernaut's power because his power is based on dark magic," Michael informed them.
"Jeez, we should have named you dues ex machina," Devin laughed.

Meanwhile in a secret underground hideout:
The Purifiers opened the box, after disabling the bomb.
The leader reached in and picked up a robotic head.
The leader walked over to the body they had designed for their new master. He placed the head on top of the machine body. The wires of the neck came to life and like serpents they crawled into the body, connecting the head to it.
The eyes opened, glowing with a red light.
The body began to move, looking around the room.
"Where am I?" the voice asked.
"Welcome back, we have been waiting for your return," the leader said.
"And you are?" the android asked.
"Your servants, Lord Bastion!"

Fusedtwilight: The X-Men are in trouble, what destruction will Bastion rain on the X-Men? Please review.
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Angel In The Attic